Introduction
Good game design is crucial to Gimkit Creative. I mean, literally all we do on it is make games. So while there are other guides on the topic, this tackles what I think are important points of game design. Also, I’m just a stranger on the internet force-feeding a bunch of fellow strangers subjective and, um, kind of random facts, so listen to me or don’t (don’t is probably the safer choice), and I think I’m getting off-topic so here we go:
Planning
I know that a lot of people will probably groan at this, but planning is absolutely one of the key factors in making or breaking a game. Most of us get an idea and skip straight to building/coding, right? Well, there’s a more organized way of starting the whole process, and believe it or not, that’s having a plan. Here’s how your game plan might look, although obviously yours can look different. Follow your heart. Anyways:
I actually found a really great source for a game plan so I’m going to put that here instead of my version right about… here. Sorry if you’re disappointed. Continue on to discover where your hopes and dreams go to… um, just keep reading…
Structure
This is kind of a long section. I apologize in advance.
The structure of a game refers to the way gameplay is ordered and organized (make sense? Good, I’m glad we got that squared away). Every game has structure, every structure is unique, you’re unique, be you, whatever… moving on. So game structure is like a chain (bear with me here), and the more events, levels, rooms, pigeons, etc. you add, the more links there are.
But since games are usually sequential— meaning you need to finish Event A to get to Level B and (usually) can’t skip around— when one link breaks, the entire rest of the chain is useless and the player is stuck. So if that one jump on your platformer was impossible? The entire rest of the game is done. Nothing. An empty void where your hopes and dreams can go to, er, finally be at rest.
Anyway, this “breaking of the chain” is (I think…) known as a soft lock. For the purpose of this guide, a soft-lock is defined as when the player can still “play” but is unable to continue on (e.g. you could be stuck in a hole in the game terrain and still technically be playing the game, but you would be unable to progress). However, you could potentially restart the game and the problem would be fixed (big disclaimer coming up).
As you can imagine, soft-locking is incredibly frustrating to the player and it can be hard to notice when developing the game because as developers, we know the objective of the game and can often play through without even going into some areas (I’m looking at you, you purple-faced walnut chicken). So here are some things you can do to prevent soft locking in your games:
- Code an aspect of the game, then playtest immediately.
- Identify an error when playtesting, write it down, and then fix it as soon as possible
- Playtest frequently, and ask other people to playtest because everyone will interact with/see the game differently.
However, it’s important to remember that this is Gimkit we’re talking about. You can’t refresh the game, you can’t save your progress if you close out of the game, and the only way to leave is by playing through the entire game. So any soft-lock that occurs automatically ruins the entire game, meaning the stakes are extra high with GKC. Unfortunately, there isn’t really a lot you can do for this besides playtesting your map a lot, coding and building carefully, and hoping for the best (until your hopes and dreams inevitably end up in the void…).
And this brings us into another common failing point. This issue is when a game can function successfully— people can win, play all the levels, do all the things, whatever— but they can also mess up and the game won’t respond correctly. So if you are on a platformer and you fall but there are no lasers, the game is over (or at least really, really annoying) because you cannot do anything (or have to trek back through an empty section of the map just to start the entire thing over again).
UI & Player Communication
UI refers to the term User Interface, which is how the user (player) interacts with the game. Some examples of GKC UI are:
- Buttons
- Popups
- Menus
- The whole-player-moves-to-control-the-menu-that-is-actually-a-bunch-of-props smashed-together situation
- On-Screen Text
Having a UI is not necessary for everything, but here are some UI elements that are commonly and realistically used in all sorts of games.
- An energy meter Platformers
- A text display All
- A button All
- Menus Class System (RPG)
Player communication means how the game tells the player what to do. For example, an issue with loads of platformers (Credit @TopZ) is that there will be a jump where the player cannot see where they are meant to go. I’ve explained this poorly… but I’m not reinventing the wheel so just read the guide. I don’t know how to link it. Deal.
Anyway, add some of these features to your games and it will make the player feel more… gamey. Hmmm. My phrasing is getting weird. Probably should do my English homework now.
- Instructions at the beginning of the game
- A clear objective for the player
- A clear way to progress
- “Trail markers”, like checkpoints, signs, text, arrows, waypoints, distinct areas
- Ways to respawn from or reset the current event
Cohesion
This… actually drives me crazy. Every time I see something incoherent in a game, which believe me, happens a lot more often than I’d like, it triggers me and I—
hold on, let me just grab a drink of water—
Okay. Alright. I can do this. So, what does cohesive mean? Well, you can look it up on your own time. I don’t have all day. You might even already know what it means. Fine. Whatever. This is a lot of incomplete sentences.
Cohesiveness/cohesion is when something is logical and consistent (ahhhhh…. paradise). Basically, it means using common sense (like doing your homework instead of browsing the forum right now) and creating a game where things are styled the same— text, graphics, animations, storylines, anything!— so that the game feels like one, united product. This will take your game from good to great because this is something that all professional game designers do. Cohesion is important in graphic design and art as well, because we all hate it when things have… gulp… different line thicknesses! No? Just me? Weird. So in Gimkit Creative, here are things to watch for in order to make sure your game is cohesive.
- Sentry size
- Text size (you can use different sizes, but make it logical and look nice)
- Font (again, use several in combination, but then don’t put random fonts in halfway through the game)
- Terrain layers, meaning you should use layers for certain terrains and keep those terrains on those layers! Don’t flip-flop around like some limp fish without oxygen. Ah, humanity.
- Style of terrain, so if you’re making a medieval map, don’t start texturing that lovely stone with red plastic! Who are you? But if you are making some kind of, say, time travel map, then obviously there are exceptions.
- Popup color (assign different colors to different NPCs, for example, or keep them all the same color)
- Text formatting (so are there periods at the end of titles, or at the end of activity feed messages? With or without, keep it consistent)
- Grammar (yes, this is a cohesiveness issue! Try, please, please, TRY to punctuate at least)
- Interaction lengths (for buttons and such, try to keep those consistent! Or if you’re varying them up, make it sensible and have the answer questions button be one second and the end game button five!)
- Camera view (honestly, no one wants a ridiculously limited camera view, but try to keep things consistent and have camera views be mostly the same size)
While this is not a complete list, you get the gist (I’m a poet, I know) and as a good rule of thumb, keep core elements of the game (platforms, props, etc.) mostly the same style, or, I don’t know… feel… so you draw the player’s attention towards the actual gameplay.
Conclusion
These four aspects of game design, when done well, make games better. I can’t claim that this guide will get you a million plays, or any plays at all, but I do think that following at least some of these tactics will make you a better developer or even player. And this wouldn’t be a proper conclusion without some humor from me, so my final words of wisdom are that 98% of humorous conclusions are fake.
Disclaimer
This is a more abstract guide than most, and it is also kind of subjective. That being said, I think most people agree on the basics of game design and this isn’t exactly precise, endorsed information. Also, I’m fully aware that there are other guides on game design, but those are more specific and tackle different aspects of what is a very general term. This guide is designed to be a vague timeline that could be followed to create a good game.
Also, this is my first guide so please be critical! I’d like to hear your feedback and constructive criticism.