Objective 4
Demonstrate the ability to evaluate game
designs for a variety of game play
mechanics, game applications, and game
Genres.
PostMortems
These documents fit the objective because in them I discuss various game
designs for a variety of gameplay mechanics, game applications, and game genres. For example, in the BattleBlock Theater and Golf with your Friends Postmortems, I discuss the level editors and the games in general, how they work, and what I like about them.
Level Design Journals (Under Game Discussions)
These Journals are a great fit for this objective because in them I discuss various game
designs for a variety of gameplay mechanics, game applications, and game genres. I talk about what games I think are good examples of the level/game design rules that we discussed. For example, for the rules Rule #1- Maintain the Vision, Rule #2- Make it Unique, I write “I learned that in most cases the vision or core idea of the game is usually defined by the Lead game designer and that you must stick with that core idea. You can end up doing what is known as “feature creep” where you keep adding a bunch of new features because you keep thinking of so many cool ideas and then your game turns into something completely different. That can be really bad because you can lose focus on the really awesome idea you had for your game and instead end up with a half-finished game with a bunch of random features that aren’t implemented all the way or do not necessarily go together.
Genre Discussions (Under Game Discussions)
These documents are a great fit for this objective because in them I discuss various game
designs for a variety of gameplay mechanics, game applications, and game genres. I talk about a bunch of different genres, what the genre entails, what are good examples of a genre and what are bad examples of a genre. For example, Multiplayer - Versus, I wrote “ I think a good game in the genre is one that players get very involved in and that brings out their competitive side. If players are not that engaged then they will be less likely to want to play again. It’s important that the game is balanced and there are different strategies that players can use to win. Some games have only one really good strategy to win and that doesn’t make for a good versus game.”
These documents fit the objective because in them I discuss various game
designs for a variety of gameplay mechanics, game applications, and game genres. For example, in the BattleBlock Theater and Golf with your Friends Postmortems, I discuss the level editors and the games in general, how they work, and what I like about them.
Level Design Journals (Under Game Discussions)
These Journals are a great fit for this objective because in them I discuss various game
designs for a variety of gameplay mechanics, game applications, and game genres. I talk about what games I think are good examples of the level/game design rules that we discussed. For example, for the rules Rule #1- Maintain the Vision, Rule #2- Make it Unique, I write “I learned that in most cases the vision or core idea of the game is usually defined by the Lead game designer and that you must stick with that core idea. You can end up doing what is known as “feature creep” where you keep adding a bunch of new features because you keep thinking of so many cool ideas and then your game turns into something completely different. That can be really bad because you can lose focus on the really awesome idea you had for your game and instead end up with a half-finished game with a bunch of random features that aren’t implemented all the way or do not necessarily go together.
Genre Discussions (Under Game Discussions)
These documents are a great fit for this objective because in them I discuss various game
designs for a variety of gameplay mechanics, game applications, and game genres. I talk about a bunch of different genres, what the genre entails, what are good examples of a genre and what are bad examples of a genre. For example, Multiplayer - Versus, I wrote “ I think a good game in the genre is one that players get very involved in and that brings out their competitive side. If players are not that engaged then they will be less likely to want to play again. It’s important that the game is balanced and there are different strategies that players can use to win. Some games have only one really good strategy to win and that doesn’t make for a good versus game.”