Game art & design - Prototype

[Wselfwulf]

Hello,


I just started (last september) with my degree in Game art & design on an academic level. Hoping I can become a game developer / designer some day.

It demands a lot of time since most of the subjects are pratical thus a lot of tasks and projects you have to complete.

Now outside of those subjects we also have a general assignment of creating ONE level/segment of our own Indie Game towards the end of the year.
It does have a few limitations:
-It has to be 2D
-The Level/Segment has to contain all Mechanics and Dynamics that create the Aestethics that'll be within the game.
-It has to be my work.

Now I do have to test the many aspects of my game and I wondered if anybody would be interested to test those at the point I'll have to (probably around april) and if you have suggestions for the game itself (Coding language, engines, ... and game content)

My project is named: Above the Horizon

My mechanics, respectively dynamics are:
(they might change on basis of my camera angle, fixed or variable)
Mobility:

-limited vision (can't look through walls, objects, ...)
-jumping
-ducking
-crawling
-sprinting
-sneaking
-....​

Searching:

-mobility*
-picking up objects
-dropping them
-inventory
-....​

​

Fighting:

(Should I make it real time or turn based?)​

Crafting:

-Combining objects
-limited items you can use to craft
-fail chance (if no blueprint/recipe)
-if success you get blueprint/recipe
-Blueprints can be found​

Choices:

Dillemas will occur at moments of which some might and others will influence your playing experience.​

And that's it for now and if you read this, thank you for your attention.

Edit: The following information is an extention to the information concerning the game itself.

Short:
Aesthetics: Fantasy, Narrative, Challenge, Discovery.
Main Aesthetic: Discovery
Dynamics to reach Aesthetics: Searching, Movement, Crafting, Fighting, Choices

Game content *elevator pitch: Above the horizon tells about the legacy of Relin Skyron (Don't question my choice of names) and allows you to follow into his footprints.
The player can find his way through the game by exploring never before seen area's, get in battles with gaint monstrocites and the foulest creatures, find new weaponary to add to his arsenal and create his own materials to empower him... but not always without concequences...!

*elevator pitch is the concept of telling the content of your game (which is normaly written in a game pitch) to a moneylender and persuade him/her to support it, ALL within the time they get in the elevator with you and reach the destination where they have to get off.

 

[GhostWolf]

It sounds like you're trying to make a game, rather than a level of a game.
I am not exactly an artistic person (far from it, sadly), but I think you should focus more on a story and setting, because that will create the mood of the level.

 

[Wselfwulf]

It sounds like you're trying to make a game, rather than a level of a game.
I am not exactly an artistic person (far from it, sadly), but I think you should focus more on a story and setting, because that will create the mood of the level.

That's what I thought untill they taught me about the M-D-A framework in which it states that a game doesn't need a story nor art to be a game.

The Game Aesthetic is the feeling the player gets (or at least the goal to make them feel like that) by the way you present the Mechanics and Dynamics to the player.

Mechanics are basicaly ALL actions you can do within a game, Dynamics are the ways a player can use the mechanics as a combination.

It's also stated if by all means people can find ways to create other Dynamics within a game than the creator intended, then the creator has failed in his purpose.

An example of this is where in shooting games players invented the concept of the rocket jump making them able to get on places they couldn't get before or shouldn't be able to go.


M-D-A > story & art


And besides that. "Nobody cares about your stupid little world"

 

[GhostWolf]

I didn't mean a complete story which you will present to the player, but rather the concept for yourself, because that will dictate how the world will look and work (and this affects what you call MDA).

 

[Wselfwulf]

I didn't mean a complete story which you will present to the player, but rather the concept for yourself, because that will dictate how the world will look and work (and this affects what you call MDA).

Could you give an example?

P.S.:
M-D-A
=> Mechanics - Dynamics -Aesthetics

 

[Tanasren]

I just started (last september) with my degree in Game art & design on an academic level. Hoping I can become a game developer / designer some day.

I hope one day they will teach us how to be a hero and save the entire world. There will be so many students, so many heroes...

 

[GhostWolf]

For example, instead of arbitrarily deciding you want the functionality of an air-controlled jump (as in what nearly every platformer ever implements), derive that from the story being people who wear some air mobility suits.
This doesn't only define exactly the functionality that you need (rather than just want to push there), but it also affects the graphics and mood of your level.

In short, don't just go out there and make a long list of features that can define practically any game, but instead create a world in your mind and derive the features for it.

I do the former, but I am an imagination lacking programmer. It ends up with a nice demo and all, but with no mood to which a player can connect.

 

[Adiktuz]

I agree with GhostWolf

One of the worst things to do in a game is to add features without a back-idea that fits the game...

yes you could think features now, story later... but doing that, you'd probably end up with a pathetic excuse of a story just to make a feature "fit"...

and yes, you can make a game without a story, if your game doesn't really need one... but your mechanics will still be based on a common ground, not just a mash-up of this one is good, that one is good too, let's use them both...

about the fighting idea, do you even need to ask that??? looking at your other mechanics, I don't see how a turn-based approach to battles will fit...

It's also stated if by all means people can find ways to create other Dynamics within a game than the creator intended, then the creator has failed in his purpose.

Unless you actually meant for people to find their own mechanics... also, this is the beauty of games and player interaction, players do find their own mechanics/dynamics... if we go by that idea, most games if not all are a designer's failure...

maybe on an academic level, a game that you (the designer) have full control is a designer's perfection... but if you think about the players, one thing that most players hate is being confined to do only this and that...

a perfectly designed game is not equal to a successful game, always remember that...

Anyway, since it's a thing for your school, better just follow your teachers so that you'll get a good grade... but I do think they would be asking questions as to why you add this/that...

 

[Kanadaj]

Imho a complete lack of story is not a good idea... Take Dark Souls, for example:

It has barely any story, you can just skip the intro, and sum up the story in 4-6 relatively short sentences. However, those 5 sentences explain WHY and WHAT you have to do, and creates a logical bridge between the different parts of the game. If you don't do that, you end up with a meaningless arcade game.

Also I highly doubt that they made up the mechanics after deciding on the theme: they most likely knew when starting out that they want a dark fantasy world with undead and magic. So they needed arrow drop mechanics and magic. They also knew the genre they wanted: a hack'n'slash third-person RPG.

If you don't even know the genre/theme of what you want to create, you'll end up with mechanics that feel like they were forced into the game.

I'm not saying that it's an impossible approach, however it means that you'll have to remove mechanics while creating your prototype as you feel that they are out of context - thus you end up with way more things to do than originally.

 

[Adiktuz]

Imho a complete lack of story is not a good idea...

Depends on the game... Why would you do a story for game that has no use for it? like what if you make Tetris???

If you don't even know the genre/theme of what you want to create, you'll end up with mechanics that feel like they were forced into the game.

I'm not saying that it's an impossible approach, however it means that you'll have to remove mechanics while creating your prototype as you feel that they are out of context - thus you end up with way more things to do than originally.

yes... and probably ultimately decide to redo it from scratch after seeing as how none of it seems to connect...

 

[Wselfwulf]

A story or theme isn't always needed, you could even "imply" a story just by having a game with certain elements. But on top of that if you want a story in your game it would have to co-operate with the mechanics and dynamics which form the Aesthetics. (M<D<A)

I can give both a good and bad example in the BioShock games:
GOOD:

In the first BioShock the gameplay and story perfectly enhanced each-other causing people to not only enjoy playing it but also getting dragged into the game.​

BAD:

In BioShock Infinite they just "took" the Mechanics and Dynamics of the former game and 'improved' it but it had no decent relevance to the new story whats-how-ever causing it to be more of a spin-off than an 'exaltation' as the creators described it.​

*You might have your own opinion on this



To explain how the Aesthetic is the "feeling" aka "mood" the game has is how the options and actions, the mechanics and dynamics, in game function in whole.

The most known Aesthetics are:
1. Sensation
Game as sense-pleasure
2. Fantasy
Game as make-believe
3. Narrative
Game as drama
4. Challenge
Game as obstacle course
5. Fellowship
Game as social framework
6. Discovery
Game as uncharted territory
7. Expression
Game as self-discovery
8. Submission
Game as pastime

If you want a story it'd be more towards the 'lore' of the game. This is not needed as I can point back to "Nobody cares about your stupid little world" except probably for the Narrative Aesthetic ...

But for a good game it should be like in case 1 (*GOOD) if you do imply a story.

 

[Wselfwulf]

Imho a complete lack of story is not a good idea... Take Dark Souls, for example:

It has barely any story, you can just skip the intro, and sum up the story in 4-6 relatively short sentences. However, those 5 sentences explain WHY and WHAT you have to do, and creates a logical bridge between the different parts of the game. If you don't do that, you end up with a meaningless arcade game.

Those 4-6 relatively short sentences sound more like the Rules of the game, just like board and card games have rules too.
On top of that I'd like to adress I wouldn't play Dark Souls for anything else than the gameplay itself. Since that is, in my opinion, like a terrible relationship with f***ing great sex. The story is more of a side issue.

And by all means if you want to play a game for the story you might as well read or watch a movie about it...

 

[Adiktuz]

First, don't multipost... Second, a good/bad game is pretty much subjective... lastly, if ur not gonna take anything from what we say, why ask in the first place? you should just continue on and do whatever your profs tell you to do, after all that will probably result to the highest grade that you can get... especially seeing as how you're probably 100x better at these standards of design instead of maybe 90+% of us here who were just mere wc3 modders...

 

[Wselfwulf]

And that's where I'd like to appologize if in place,
also I do know it's labeled as multiposting but as this forum doesn't support sub-replies it's hard to make a reply to all other replies in general besides listing them up...

On top of that I might have build a good fundamental theoretic basis but I probably do not have the practical experience most of the people here do have.

That's why I explicitely placed this in my thread:

Now I do have to test the many aspects of my game and I wondered if anybody would be interested to test those at the point I'll have to (probably around april) and if you have suggestions for the game itself (Coding language, engines, ... and game content)

and added some extra information at it now.

And besides a few miss-understandings here and there, this was meant to be a thread for suggestions...




Now to put all that asside I'll list up the vital information:

-It's a 2D game, not 3D nor 2.5D
(So topview / sideview / both)

-It's MAINLY a Discovery Game (Game as uncharted territory) this refers to both orthographical to something as simple as crafting.

-The gameplay is to be focussed on (M-D-A), I do have a little story for this first "segment" but it's far from finished to use...

-If needed the setting would be a retro-steam (& cyber) -punk world that consists of floating land chunks that vary from small rocks to huge air isles.
(Airships, Zeplins, Steampunky robots, ...)

-The actions I'll most likely put in my game are already listed up at the start of the thread (Mechanics & Dynamics)

-It will be a 'single-player' (if that's any help)

-Fighting turn based or real time (= Fight instance with turns or on-spot real-time battles.)



And that's all for now.