Elements of Game Design

5.84 MB·English

by  Robert Zubek

Title Page Page: Cover Page
Copyright Page: iii
Dedication Page: iv
Table of Contents Page: v
Acknowledgments Page: xi
Introduction Page: xiii
Game Design and the Scope of This Text Page: xv
Classroom Use Page: xvii
Note on Exercises Page: xviii
Note on Style Page: xviii
Note on Definitions Page: xix
1. Elements Page: xx
Design Process Page: 1
Games as Machines Page: 2
Game Design Is User-Centered Page: 3
Motivating Example: Poker Page: 3
Model Description Page: 4
Designer’s Role Page: 6
Designer’s Process Page: 6
Player’s Experience Page: 8
Elements of Games Outside This Model Page: 9
The Practice of Game Design Page: 10
Game Design, Systems Design, Content Design Page: 11
Discipline Interactions Page: 12
Summary Page: 13
Further Reading Page: 14
Formal Tools Page: 14
MDA Page: 15
The Practice of Design Page: 16
Individual Exercises Page: 16
2. Player Experience Page: 17
Experience Is Relative Page: 19
What Do You Enjoy? Page: 21
Building a Naive Taxonomy Page: 23
Player Theories Page: 24
Designer Theories Page: 24
The Bartle Model Page: 25
The Koster Model Page: 26
User Personas Page: 27
Empirical Models Page: 28
The Big Five Personality Model Page: 29
Yee’s Gamer Motivation Profiles Page: 30
Player Motivations and the Big Five Page: 33
Experience Design Page: 34
Questions to Guide Experience Design Page: 34
Experience Archetypes and Genres Page: 35
Summary Page: 36
Further Reading Page: 38
Player Psychology Page: 38
Designer Theories Page: 38
Individual Exercises Page: 39
3. Mechanics Page: 40
Mechanics as Building Blocks Page: 41
Composition of Mechanics Page: 42
The Language Metaphor Page: 44
Example: Exploring Monopoly Page: 44
Games as State Spaces Page: 46
Game State Page: 46
State Spaces Page: 47
Action Spaces Page: 48
Perceived Action Spaces Page: 50
Explicit and Implicit Mechanics Page: 51
Examples of Families of Mechanics Page: 53
Control Mechanics Page: 55
Progression Mechanics Page: 58
Uncertainty Mechanics Page: 60
Resource Management Mechanics Page: 62
Beyond the Four Families Page: 68
Mechanics Design Page: 68
Design Heuristics Page: 69
Primary and Derived Mechanics Page: 71
Summary Page: 72
Further Reading Page: 73
History of Mechanics Page: 73
Taxonomies Page: 74
In-depth Explorations Page: 74
Individual Exercises Page: 75
Group Exercises Page: 76
4. Systems Page: 77
Motivating Example: Diablo Page: 79
Game Systems Page: 81
Setting and Systems Page: 82
Layering Page: 82
Thinking in Systems Page: 84
Mechanic Chains and Loops Page: 84
Conversion Chains Page: 85
Calculating Exchange Rates Page: 86
Conversion Loops Page: 87
Feedback Loops Page: 90
Positive Feedback Page: 91
Negative Feedback Page: 93
Effects of Positive Feedback Page: 95
Effects of Negative Feedback Page: 98
Emergence and Chaos Page: 100
Emergent Behavior Page: 100
Chaotic Systems Page: 102
Systems Design Page: 104
From User Stories to Systems Page: 105
System Tuning Page: 108
Approaches Page: 109
The Role of Tuning in the Production Process Page: 111
Summary Page: 111
Further Reading Page: 113
Individual Exercises Page: 113
Group Exercises Page: 114
5. Gameplay Page: 115
Motivating Example: The Sims Page: 117
Gameplay Loops Page: 119
Loop Frequencies Page: 120
Onion Diagrams Page: 121
The Core Loop Page: 123
Layering Page: 123
Loops and Systems Page: 125
Player Motivation Page: 126
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation Page: 127
Intrinsic Motivation: Flow and Learning Page: 128
Flow Theory Page: 128
Learning and Challenge Escalation Page: 130
Learning to Overcome Uncertainty Page: 131
Dominant Strategies and “Solving the Game” Page: 135
Loops and Challenges Page: 136
Extrinsic Motivation: Work and Rewards Page: 136
Progression and Rewards Page: 137
Reward Schedules Page: 138
Types of Schedules Page: 139
Game Examples Page: 141
Changing Workload Page: 142
Related Topic: Gamification Page: 144
Gameplay Loop Design Heuristics Page: 145
From User Stories to Gameplay Loops Page: 145
Playtesting Loops Page: 146
Summary Page: 146
Further Reading Page: 147
Gameplay Loops Page: 148
Motivation Page: 148
Individual Exercises Page: 149
Group Exercises Page: 149
6. Macrostructure Page: 150
Motivating Example: The Witcher Page: 151
Game Fiction Page: 153
Fantasy Page: 154
Story Page: 155
Story and Agency Page: 155
Consistency Page: 157
Macrostructure and Content Arcs Page: 159
The Three-Act Model Page: 159
Story Arc and Episodes Page: 160
Three-Act Model and Non-story Games Page: 162
Narrative Patterns Page: 163
Linear Narrative Page: 164
Branching Choices Page: 165
Branch and Merge Page: 166
Branching with State Page: 167
Hub and Spokes Page: 168
Narrative Composition and Quests Page: 168
Open Worlds Page: 169
Open Worlds and Quest Design Page: 171
Simulated Worlds Page: 172
Pacing Page: 174
Metagame Page: 175
Mastery Metagame Page: 176
Social Metagame Page: 177
Game Modding Page: 179
Benefits of Metagame Page: 180
Summary Page: 180
Further Reading Page: 181
Individual Exercises Page: 182
Group Exercises Page: 183
7. Prototyping and Playtesting Page: 183
Motivating Example: Project Highrise Page: 186
Production Stages Page: 187
Game Concept Page: 188
Understanding the Game Idea Page: 189
Understanding the Market Page: 190
Forming a Game Pitch Page: 192
From Concept to Prototyping: Kelly Guidelines Page: 193
Prototyping Page: 196
Playable Prototypes Page: 197
Iterative Process Page: 198
Playtesting Page: 201
Documenting Design Page: 203
Finishing Iteration Page: 204
Production and Beyond Page: 205
Ideas for Student Prototyping Page: 207
Shorter Production Cycle Page: 208
Scaling Prototyping Scope Page: 208
Supporting Portfolio Development Page: 209
Summary Page: 210
Further Reading Page: 211
Group Exercises Page: 211
Conclusion Page: 212
References Page: 213
Index Page: 220