Why make a Game?
- Why do you want to make a game?
- Why do you need to make a game?
- With who will you make it?
- For who will you make it?
- Take your 3 favorite games.
- What would you remove?
- What would you add?
Balance
- Do you consider your favorite games Balanced?
- In Difficulty?
- In Tempo?
- Are they balance for the whole game?
- At some point?
- How irregular are they?
- What are the greatest factors of imbalance?
- How much do they hinder the game?
Customization
- Are these games customizable?
- Can you create a Character?
- Can you create a Story?
- Can you build a tool/item/settlement?
- Can you use vehicles?
- Can you play other games inside the main game?
- How much of the game is Compulsory?
- How much of the game is Facultative?
- Can you play the game without playing the Main Quest at all?
Replayability
- Are there different Outcomes?
- Are there different Endings?
- Are there branched Outcomes?
- Are there Choices?
- Can you see the impact of these Choices?
- Will you replay the game as soon as you finished it?
- How long is the game?
What Interests You?
Balance & Interest
- Do you want to introduce new Win conditions?
- Ones that are not based on Competition?
- Only on Collaboration?
- Do you want to create a game where Luck plays only a minimal role?
- Do you want to create a create with little to no randomness?
- Do you want to make the simplest game possible without scarifying interest?
- Do you want to make the Easiest game possible without scarifying Fun?
Customization & Framing
- Do you cook?
- Do you always follow the recipe?
- Do you enjoy experimenting?
- Do you want your players to experiment?
- Will your game be based on finding new rules?
- Will your game be based on breaking the game?
- Do you leave room for players to invent their own formats/versions of the game?
- What’s the frame of the game?
- What freedom do the players have within that frame?
- How can they expend the frame?
Replayability
- You have unlimited Time…
- How many times a day/week/month/year would you play this Game?
- With what kind of player will you play it?
- With who will you play it?
- Where would you play it?
- Where else would you play it?
- What kind of extensions do you imagine?
- Is the game enough as a standalone?
What Interests the Public?
- Fun.
- Place the Fun where it can’t be missed.
- Provide diverse/individual sources of Fun.
- Attention.
- Allow them to make the Game theirs.
- Allow them to make the Victory theirs.
- Consistency & Consequences.
- Link the Players fate.
- Unite Players before fatality.
What didn’t work?
- Why test with your Team?
- Why test with an external test group?
- You are habited to the game, they aren’t.
- What will you remove?
How do you Win?
Win Conditions
- Do you need to Reach a Number?
- Up to 21?
- Down to 5?
- Is the number 0 the end of the game?
- Do you need to gather pieces?
- Assemble a figure/form/construct?
- Combine the pieces of a whole?
- Should you Place a component in a specific Area?
- Place an amount of counters in a specific Area?
- Should you protect or thwart?
- Destroy all enemy units?
- Protect own units by the end of time limit?
Relationships
- Collaboration
- How can players help each other?
- What advantage does it bring them?
- Are there collaboration skills?
- Are there cooperation bonuses/manœuvres?
- Is Collaboration forced?
- What is the input of each player on Collaboration?
- Are there signs of reluctance?
- Are there signs of enthusiasm?
- Competition
- How can players hinder each other?
- What advantage does it bring them?
- Are there competition skills?
- Are there dissensions bonuses/shenanigans?
- Is Competition forced?
- What is the input of each player on Competition?
- Are there signs of reluctance?
- Are there signs of enthusiasm?
- Survival
- Do we need to survive a Number of Turns?
- What is the Time Limit?
- What can affect the Time Limit?
- Do we need to make Other players lose?
- Do all the players need to survive for you to win the game?
What are the other Rules?
We know how to Win…
How do we play?
Balance
- Where do we start?
- What’s the Threat?
- Why are we here?
- Difficulty
- What are the players constrains?
- What are the inerrant hindrance the game creates?
- What is the input of each player on the Starting Point?
- Are there signs of reluctance?
- Are there signs of enthusiasm?
- What is the input of each player on the Ending Point?
- Are there signs of reluctance?
- Are there signs of enthusiasm?
Customization
- Where do we start?
- Do the Players choose?
- What’s for them in this location?
- Resources
- What are the resources in the location?
- What are the resources in the following locations?
- Do all the players have access to all information at all time?
- Who has access to information?
- How can they acquire new resources?
- What are the means of exchange?
- What are the currencies?
Replayability
- Where do we start?
- Is it a different place every time?
- Where does it lead?
- Tempo
- What’s the time limit of each turn?
- Can you extend/reduce this time limit?
- What’s the main time constrain?
- How can you impeach another player to play?
Why add Subgames & Mini-Games?
Your Game is a Room.
In this Room are multiple mini-rooms.
What’s in these rooms?
Balance
- What’s the difficulty level?
- Are there multiple difficulty levels?
- What are the Rewards from Mini-Games?
- Do they help you in the main Game?
- Is the Mini-Game inclusive enough?
- Is it boring some of the players?
- How many?
- Should you include Enigma & Riddles?
- Should you include Puzzles?
Customization
- What are your Players preferences?
- Is one of them Thievy & Sneaky?
- Prepare an Infiltration or an Impersonation Mini-game
- Is one Strong & Agile?
- Prepare a Fight or a Survival Level
- Is one Cunning & Brilliant?
- Prepare an Enigma or a Negotiation Quest
- Have some Cake for everybody.
- What kind of Enigma & Riddles will engage all players?
- What kind of Puzzles will engage all players?
Replayability
- Are the Mini-games linked to the main Game?
- Can you test all of them in 1 Session?
- Can you test all of them with 1 Character?
- How Enigma & Riddles increase the game’s lifespan?
- New zones
- New items
- New characters
- How Puzzles increase the game’s lifespan?
- New zones
- New items
- New characters
Can you create a Character?
Balance
- Are there some better Classes?
- Allowing every player to use the same tools will hinder diversity.
- Justify your discriminations.
- Discriminations are made to create Diversity.
- They should also be used to create Replayability options.
- If they players wonder if they made the right choice by selecting this specific Class or Tool you may have made the right choice.
- Allow them to reorient their strategy as the game unfolds.
- But by allowing to preserve the core elements of their character.
Customization
- This is the crucial part of experience Customization.
- Generally, character classes are the way to go in term of predefined customization.
- But you can go for other archetypes.
- Create transversal items to push customization forwards.
- These items can be used by everyone, but don’t make them essential or everyone will use them.
- Choice v. Need is the dilemma here.
- Keep the number of Necessary items as low as possible.
Replayability
- Different character types allow your players to have different games.
- Consider that most players will not enjoy classes/types that are too different from their favorite one.
- Creating a progressive & transversal panel of classes is a good option.
- This way you allow every player yo access 4-5 different classes while maintaining their main identity element.
- Transversality is the way to entice players to try new character types.
Integrating Storytelling to the Gameplay
- Integrate storytelling to the Gameplay to enhance your game’s consistency.
- You found a new item.
- Who did it belong to?
- How will you use it?
- This mountain’s inhabitant are agressive toward you.
- Why?
- Who caused their defiance?
- Why do they see you as someone similar to this person?
- A new character joins your team.
- What’s her interest in doing so?
- What does she answer/show you?
- What does she hide you?
- How does she act towards/interact with others?
- Can you observe her?
- Diversify Interaction options.
- Speak/Sing with/Tell/Order/Shout/Call/Summon
- Watch/Observe/Scrutinize
- Touch/Push/Hold
- Smell/Taste
- Infuse/Chanel/Canalize
- Serve/Help/Assist
- Run Away/Flee/Escape
- Hinder/Impeach/Attack
- More Options will allow you to access new zones & discover new information.
- You will need a few rules to understand your Game.
- The Public will need a few rules to understand your Story.
- You can go for 1 rule per Chapter/Setting/Level.
- Or for 10 rules for the whole Game/Story.
- Keep it at 20 rule maximum.
- And 5-words Phrases max.
- A Sample Table of Rules:
- Everything has a Purpose
- Your Team is United
- Living beings strive to Grow
- Sun brings Hope
- Hunger Gathers us
- Play with Fire
- Run through Seas & Skies
- Temperance soothes the Mind
- Ponder through Time
- Follow the Footprints of the Survivors
- These rules are different from your Win Conditions.
- However the Players will use them to Win.
