How can you make a Game Today?

Do you want to make a whole game in a single day?
Is that possible?
Why would you do that?
How can you do that?

Here’s a plan that’ll help you to create a whole game in a day.

Core Rules

• 4 Main Themes
• What are the Fundamental Aspects of this Game?
• Why are they Fundamental?
• How will they create Engagement?
• How will they create Involvement?
• Who will they Engage?
• Which Players are you looking for?
• How will these Players contribute to the Game?
• How will they develop it?
• How can they expend the Game using only these 4 Themes?

• A list of 12 Core Rules
• Divide the 4 main themes in 4 subsets of 3 Rules.
• Each Subset represent the 3 way you will implement each Theme in the Game.
• Each of these Rule can be directly turned into a game mechanic.
  • ex: If 1 of the themes is Preservation.
    • 1 Rule would be on Accessories.
    • It could read as such:
      • Each player is given an Armor at the Beginning of each party.
      • Once the Armor breaks, the Player loses.
• What should be in these 12 Rules?
• The Win conditions.
• The Loss conditions.
• How the Game ends, indifferently of Win or Loss by any player.
• What are the Players Limitations.
• What are the Setting’s Limitations.
• The Rewards.
• The Penalties.

• Clarity
• Why would you limit yourself to 4 Themes?
• Why would you limit yourself to 12 Rules?
• Clarity.
• Both you & the Players need a Clear Game.
• It’s a Game you’ll make in only 1 day.
• You need to be Clean & Efficient.
• We recommend you to use this Rule for Longer games as well.
• Start Small, Start Now.
• And then Scale Up.
• You want a Synthetic Game.
• You want Entertainment to be Simple.

Setting

• Which Settings?
• Where do you Start?
• Why this Place?
• What is the Atmosphere?
• Which Emotions does it Convey?
• Which Peculiarities define it?

• Which Settings does your game need?
• How many types of Environment should your Game contain?
• What makes them Unique?
• Why would your Players want to visit them?
• What do they expect from this World?
• How do you respond to these Expectations?
• What should contain these Environments?
  • Which Objects?
  • Which Creatures?
  • Which People?

• For which Games?
• How can they interact with their Environment?
• With which elements?
• Who can they interact with?
• Which decisions should they make?
• Which choices do they have?
• What are the Consequences to these choices?
• Are these Consequences memorable?
• Do they affect Character Relationships?
• Do they affect the Environment?

• Interconnectivity
• What is the Story of this World?
• How do the Settings depend on each other?
• By which paths are they linked?
• What’s the use of these path?
• What circulates through this World?
  • Merchandise
  • People
  • Animals
• Why do they circulate through this World?
• Are there specialized places?
• Is it a Labyrinth?
• How is the Interconnectivity displayed?
• Is there a Map?
• How does it serve Research?
• How does it help you Control the rhythm of the Game?

If you want to know more on how create Game Settings.

Main Characters

It would be useful to propose Character Templates to the Players.
And then, when they’ll be more experimented to give them more lenience on Character Creation.

• Identity
• What is the Name of each Character?
• What do they look like?
• Why this Appearance?
• What does it display?
• Which Accessories do they bear?
• How can you identify them?
• What makes them Iconic?
• Do they bear a Totem?
• Which Symbol defines them?

• Relationships
• Who are the Characters created by the Players?
• Who are the Characters you created?
• What are their Roles?
• What are their Functions?
• What are their Goals?
• How do they relate to each other?
• How do they differ?
• When will they interact?
• How will they interact?
• Can they pursue the same Goal?
• Do they pursue opposite Goals?
• Will they oppose each other?
• Can they create Alliances?
• Do they have to?

• Abilities
• What are their Skills?
• Which Quirks do they possess?
• How do these Quirks make them Memorable?
• Which Resources can they collect?
• Which Resources can they use?
• How are they useful?
• Which Skills do they bring to their Team?
• Are they the same as their Individual Skills?
• How do they use their Abilities?
• What’s the Impact on their Relationships?

If you want to Help your Players to create Characters easily.

Game Types & Trials

• Fights
• How do you make a Fight Fun?
• How do you make it Interesting?
• What are the Stakes?
• What are the different Options?
• What relationships link the Combatants?
• How does 1 win?
• What are the handicaps?
• What’s the reward?

• Research & Gathering
• What are we looking for?
• Why are we looking for it?
• Which kind of resource is it?
• Why is it needed?
• By whom?
• Who is the Sponsor paying for the discovery of this particular resource?
• Why do they want to recover it?
• Are there no visible Sponsor?
• How can the Players find her?

• Stealth
• Are the Stealth phases mandatory?
• What is their purpose?
• Can they be skipped?
• Are they here to force the player to adopt a new approach?
• Are they here to show her an alternative way to play?
• Why should an enemy be skipped?
• Because it is invincible?
• Because it is dangerous?
• To save ammunition?
• To save another type of resources?

• Puzzles
• What’s its Form?
• Does it look like a Puzzle?
• Is it Obvious?
• Is it a Door?
• Is it a Wall?
• Is it a Box?
• Can you see a lock?
• Which Technology is used?
• When was the Puzzle Built?
• Which Sequence should you Identify?
• Which Pattern should you Identify?
• Which Sequence should you Complete?
• What do you need to open it?
  • A key?
  • A code?
  • Another object?

• Riddles
• Which Issue do you need to Solve?
• What is the Story behind the Riddle?
• How does it support the Game’s main Story?
• Which Clues are given to you?
• Are they sufficient?
• Do you need to find others?
• How can you find them?
• Are the Clues given accurate?
• Are they Correct?
• Could they be misleading?
• Was it expected from this Riddle?

Accessories & Keys

When creating Objects you need to take into account 3 elements for them to be easily found & used: Function, Design & Location.

This is particularly true for Keys.
Rather than indicating the purpose of a Key, it feels more organic to give it a form & to place it in a Location when the Player can make the connection with the appropriate Door by herself.

• Function
• What’s the use of this Object?
• Is it a consumable?
• Is it usable indefinitely?
• Is it an accessory?
• How do you use it?
• Can it be broken?
• Can it be stolen from you?

• Design
• How does it look like?
• What’s its form?
• Are there Symbols on it?
• What’s its Color?
• Is it Part of a Collection?
• Is it Part of a Whole?
• Which other object should it be collected in order to use it?
• How should you assemble it?

• Location
• Where should you use the Object?
• Where is it Situated?
• Where do the Characters find it?
• How does it hint at how it should be used?
• Why do you find an Object in a specific location?
• Is the Location surprising?
• What makes it surprising?
• Why is the object here?
• Who left it here?
• Was it left willingly?

1st Level

• The essence of your game
• The 1st level should contain all the Game core Mechanics.
• How are they integrated?
• In which environment?
• How should you design it?
• Which enemies will be faced?
• Which encounter will be made?
• How do you design peaceful interactions?

• Tutorials
• It’s easier to start with a Small space.
• Especially if it is Isolated from the rest of the game.
• Your 1st goal is to make is Clear.
• Your 2nd goal is to make it Memorable.
• This should be a Special place.
• What makes it Special?
• For whom?
• How does the Player relate to it?
• How does it create a Sense of belonging?
• Which feelings does it convey?
• How can you create a form of Nostalgia through it?

• Target
• How do we finish the Tutorial?
• How do we Reach our objective Fast?
• The Tutorial will be short in many cases.
• And Straightforward.
• Think that mods are build in order to skip the Tutorial.
• If you can’t make it enjoyable, make it short.
• If you want to make it enjoyable:
  • How could it be used to create Surprises?
  • Which kind of surprises?
  • Does the tutorial adapt on each new game?
  • How can it maintain interest even in experienced players?

• Mild Difficulty
• The 1st level is your Barrier to entry.
• It should give players an Incentive on the Game’s difficulty.
• It indicates how Balanced the game will be.
• Practice it on the Highest level of difficulty in order to see its flaws.
• Help your Players by showing them how the Difficulty will be for most of the Game.