The rules are below:

“Given what you do know, make a list of 10 items that could replace a standard “crate” in a video game that your new friend can pitch in the next design meeting.

Consider what information you do have:

1. The company is called Sci-Fi Games Studio. This might tell you something about the kinds of content the company is likely to be working on.
2. You want to provide a range of ideas, since you really don’t know what the game will be.
3. “Crates” need to be simple objects which, in and of themselves, don’t take up a lot of memory (read: low poly count).
4. Crates are used for storing, blocking, building, climbing, throwing, smashing, and more! The object needs to be versatile, movable, stackable, and stable when situated on the floor.”

Below is what I came up with:

1. Corporate Product Box – The environment in which the player resides may be controlled by a monopolistic corporation which provides all of their products in boxes with the same corporate logo.
2. Compacted Space Junk – Because it is compacted, it does not need unique recognizable pieces of trash within it.
3. Modular Shelving and Drawers – Crates are often placed in environments which they do not necessarily belong. For instance, if you look around your room, you won’t see your belongings in crates or even boxes, but usually in drawers and shelves. The idea of modular shelves allows for a reusable storage item which makes more sense.
4. Layered Stone Walls – Crates could be replaced with walls made out of large block stones. Stones can be removed and placed in many patterns which gives the designer a great amount of freedom while keeping the object simple and low-poly.
5. Experimental Animal / Alien Enclosure – If the designer needs to instill fear into the player, these enclosures could be mostly empty boxes. A few could have walls ripped off because of escaped mutant animals. In some instances, an animal or alien could jump out and attack the player while he or she is near it.
6. Old Computing Equipment – This solution may be easier on the artist if these computers are located in a lab or office which purchases only one type of computer.
7. Lab Instruments - Similar to the computers above, the instruments could be similar and form the same company.
8. Decorative Stone Blocks – Science fiction environments often contain abstract structures outside which may have a purpose or could just be aesthetically pleasing.
9. Volumetric Solar Energy Cells- If the game take place outdoors, the power of the sun or nearby stars could be harnessed with the use of Solar Arrays.
10. Small Space Craft – While not necessarily good for stacking, these craft would be a great source of blocking for the player that breaks up some of the monotony. This may be good to mix in with another idea.

The Fourth Try

Reverting To Old Gameplay / Adapting the Constellation Idea

One of the big problems with constellations that it really limited the player on what parts of the game board he or she could change.

I changed the game back to simpler rules. I brought back the system used in the first version of the game. Players had to arrange stars into rows or columns. Instead of the previously needed 5 stars, the player only needs 3. Three is more practical since it is very difficult to arrange rows (horizontal lines) as it is.

It is still difficult to plan out horizontal moves, and much easier to get vertical lines. This problem still needs to be addressed.

I did not want to scrap the idea of constellations altogether however. For now, I want the player to arrange white stars on the constellations, one at a time. Only seven white stars exist on the game board at all times making the task more difficult. However, with the current rule set, I fear it will still be too difficult to plan how to get the white stars on the constellations and will be too reliant on luck.

A New Twist: Locking Rings Together

The player needs to be able to lost the game. In this game, that happens when there are no more moves. With the current system, it will be nearly impossible for that to ever happen. So, I introduce dark stars.

After the player completes a turn (hits space bar), if there are any dark stars touching each other in adjacent rings, the rings lock together. Trying to turn a ring that is locked will turn all of the rings that are locked together. This feautre is not yet implemented, so I may have to tweak it a little.

Sadly, while this will make getting vertical lines more difficult, it still does nothing to increase the ease of getting horizontal lines.

New Colors

In the original version of the game, I had the idea of light colors in order to looks similar to bright stars. However, I want the player to be able to clearly see the differences amongst the stars. I decided to make the colors more distinguishable.

Secondly, in order to make the game more challenging, I decided to increase the number of different colors from five to seven. With only five colors, lines would be clearing when not expected. It felt more like luck than strategy.

The new star colors:

1. Red
2. Orange
3. Yellow
4. Green
5. Blue
6. Turquoise
7. Purple

Scoring

The scoring is definitely not yet implement, but I have a good idea of how it will work. Instead of being based on points, it will be based on how much the player can get done in the least number of moves.

• At the top of this high score list will be players who have completed the most goals.
• If multiple player have achieved up to the same goal achieved, the list then gives preference to whomever got there in the least number of moves
• If multiple players have achieved up to the same goal and their total moves are the same, whomever did it first takes the higher spot.

I have yet to test this new version of the game, because I have not implemented the locking rings. Once I do, I am sure I will find more things to tweak.

Problems With the First Try

The Basic Rules

The original rules listed below have some problems.

1. Get five or more stars of the same color in a row, column, or spiral.
2. Hit “Space” to clear them.
3. Once cleared, the stars shift inward or outward to fill the gaps. This is dependent on whether or not the universe is expanding or contracting.
4. After the new stars are present, if any more rows, columns, or spirals of same-colored stars exist, they, too, will be cleared.

Problem 1: It is very easy to clear vertical lines (columns)
Being able to rotate every row allows to very easily make a horizontal line that using every row.

Problem 2: It is difficult to plan ahead
Since it is so easy to clear vertical lines, the player can often create a large one. After clearing it, the pieces shift up, and new pieces come onto the game board to fill in the space of the old ones. That is the problem. The player does not know what those pieces are. Making strategies becomes extremely difficult.

Problem 3: It is difficult to plan horizontal lines (rows)
Getting five in a row in a horizontal line is no easy task.

Problem 4: There is not much of a reason for spirals
Spirals are practically the same thing as vertical lines, except each consecutive piece is shifted over one. Considering the ease of achieving a vertical line, there is not much of a point to having spirals.

The Second Try

Little was changed in the second version of the game. In order to give the player more time to plan, I limited the rows in which he or she could manipulate. When the universe was expanding, the player could only manipulate the outer five rows. When it was contracting, the player could only manipulate the inner five rows.

Though this helped, most of my problems from before still existed. It was back to the drawing board.

The Third Try

Constellations Are Fun

I decided to scrap the rows, columns, and spirals idea completely. I replaced it with constellations. You can see them in the image above. Players would now have to arrange the same color of stars on each point of a constellation. After doing so, those stars will clear.

The Ring

A new goal I added was “the ring”. The player must try get a whole row of the same color of stars. I am not sure what it would do, but it would somehow be vital to success.

While solving some problems, more were created with this method. Check out the next post in the series in which I will talk about the fourth version of Starlight Shift, and how I solved some of the problems.

Part 1

Part 3

The Controls

• The “Up” and “Down” arrow keys are used to select an active ring of stars to manipulate.
• The “Left” and “Right” arrow keys are used to rotate the currently selected ring of stars.
• Finally, “Space” is pressed to clear any stars.

The First Try

The Basic Rules

1. Get five or more stars of the same color in a row, column, or spiral.
2. Hit “Space” to clear them.
3. Once cleared, the stars shift inward or outward to fill the gaps. This is dependent on whether or not the universe is expanding or contracting.
4. After the new stars are present, if any more rows, columns, or spirals of same-colored stars exist, they, too, will be cleared.

The Stars

There are five basic colors to the stars

1. Light Yellow
2. Light Green
3. Cyan
4. Light Pink
5. Light Violet

The Universe

The universe will expand or contract.

• An expanding universe will cause pieces to move outward after a line is cleared.
• A contracting universe will cause pieces to move inward.

The Winnable Game

I wanted to make this game winnable. In order to do this, I put 5 white stars on the screen. If the player can manage to clear those five white stars, a black hole appears. If the player get the maximum number of black holes, he or she wins.

While much of this seemed like a good idea to me, I ran into many problems. The next post in this series will discuss several of them and offer the second iteration of gameplay design. Stay tuned for the new post!

Part 2

Part 3

I hope you enjoyed the first comic. If not, learn more about skyboxes.

The Different Types of Save Systems

1. Savestate

Found in many PC games, a savestate is a snapshot of a video game. Loading a save file will not only give players all of the items held when they saved, but return them and the entire game world to the exact position and state it was in when they saved.

This feature can be found in:

• Half-Life 2
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
• Game Console Emulators

2. Save Anywhere (Limited)

Just like games using the savestate system, “save anywhere” games allow the player to, like the name implies, save anywhere and anytime. But instead of saving the exact state of the game universe, the save usually contains information on the items the player has and the general area in which he or she saved.

Game which use this system include:

• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
• Ratchet and Clank

3. Auto-Save

Auto-saving games will automatically write the relevant data to the save file at certain points in the game. Usually this is done after completing a level, defeating a difficult enemy, or progressing to a particular point in a level. Auto-saving is found in many games today, and is sometimes used in combination with another save system.

Games that auto-save include:

• Halo
• Sonic 3

4. Save Point

Another common system found in games is the save point system. In this system, players must get to a specific location before being able to save their progress. For instance, in Resident Evil, the player must get to a typewriter in order to save his or her progress.

Game which use save points include:

• Resident Evil
• Metroid Prime
• Final Fantasy VII

The Benefits and Drawbacks of the Systems

Freeing the Player

In a game with checkpoints or save points, players must finish a part of the game before they can save. In contrast to that, games using a “save anywhere” system or save state system allow the player to turn off his or her console or leave the PC at any time. Using a savestate system in particular gives the player a great amount of freedom. The player can now choose exactly when he or she wants to save.

Saving Endlessly

Giving the player the ability to save anytime is not necessarily a good thing. It can lead to continuous saving. Continuous saving can definitely break immersion. Instead of getting sucked into a game, a paranoid player may become caught up in menus or keyboard shortcuts.

Manipulating the Difficulty

Savestates can also make a game easier. Instead of struggling to get to certain point, a player can keep playing very small portions of a game until he or she “saves” their way through a difficult encounter. Once a player can keep doing this, the game become easier and less fun.

I know many people think, “If you don’t like the feature, don’t use it”, but the fact of the matter is that even if people don’t like it, they will tend to use it anyway as long as it makes things easier for them. As the author of A Theory of Fun for Game Design writes, the human mind likes to find the easiest way out of a problem. It may not be the most fun solution, but the mind will be lazy whenever it can.

Replaying the Game

Save points also have a major downfall of possibly becoming a huge frustration for players. A game which places a save point too far after a difficult boss fight can become very frustrating when after 20 times, a player finally defeats the giant monster, but then dies right before the save point is reached. Also frustrating is when save points are too far apart and dying causes the player to replay a boring part of the game over and over again.

However, replaying an area is not necessarily bad. In a game that does not auto-save, players have more control over when they save. A player can replay a part of the game in a different way by loading a previous save.

While some of the benefits and drawbacks are stated above, they are not all labeled as one or the other. This is because they are not necessarily right or wrong. For example,

“A player can replay a part of the game in a different way by loading a previous save.”

That could be interpreted as a good thing or a bad thing. It could be good that players can try something without taking a major risk. Or it could be bad that players’ choices don’t carry much weight due to the ability to reload from a save created before a bad decision. In the end, the designer has to decide which system or combination of systems is best for the game, or come up with a new system that fits his or her game.

1. Capture the Feeling

As stated in Part 1, the first step is to find the feeling you want capture and deliver to players.

2. Build the Scenery

After you have captured the feeling, think of the surroundings in your mind. Visualize the scenery and objects. This is harder than it sounds. Turning a thought into something tangible is no easy task. Eventually, you will come up with some concepts and some art assets.

3. Translate the Feeling

Now, you must translate these concepts and assets into something that will cause the players to have the same feeling that you designed the area around. Having the objects and scenery alone may not give the player the same feeling you envisioned. You may have to use other techniques to convey the feeling.

The Example: An Apartment Roof

1. The Feeling

Now, let’s run through a quick example. Let’s say at one point in your life, you were on a tall apartment building in a large city. You could see everything in the city, but more importantly, you could see much of the sky (which is usually blocked out by buildings when on the ground level) while staring ahead. This is the feeling you want to recreate. The best way you come up with to describe your feeling is: “A sense of openness and peacefulness in a large, busy city”.

2. The Scenery

Now, that you have capture the feeling, imagine the surroundings. Come up with an asset list. For example:

• roof of the apartment complex
• wall attached to roof
• skyscrapers
• potted plants
• air conditioning units
• blue sky with clouds
• birds flying in the air

3. The Translation

Now that you have a decent asset list, you must make sure to translate this feeling for players. Let’s remember the original feeling:

A sense of openness and peacefulness in a large, busy city

There are a few extra things that can be added to this scene to give that feeling. For the “peacefulness” part, try focusing on the sound of flowing wind with only a slight bit of noise coming from the ground below. You still need to create that sense of openness, though.

This can be achieved by framing the scene in such a way that the sky takes up a very large portion of the screen. This will help give the player a sense of openness.

There are other ways that you may come up with to capture the feeling. These are just a few of my ideas. Try talking to people and getting them to understand the feeling you have come up with. Pay close attention to when they “get it”. Examine what descriptive terms you used during that time, and then try applying the knowledge to the level.

Unbalanced Maps: A Few Examples
There are a couple of beach maps in one of the older versions of Day of Defeat (2.0 beta I believe). One involves having to capture five flags past the top of a hill. The Allies are at a pretty large disadvantage. Axis machine gunners will spray them down with bullets.

Another interesting map that I enjoyed way more than I should have is a custom map for Counter-Strike. One team had machine guns and was behind an impassible wall. If they shot down all of the players on the opposing team, they would win. The other team had no weapons, and had to run across a series of small hills to a small button. If one of the weaponless players pushed that button, their team would win.

Unbalanced maps are good for three reasons:

1. They provide extra challenge for experienced players.

Players who have no trouble achieving a positive kill to death ratio are provided a greater challenge by joining the team with the disadvantage. A greater challenge translates to much more fun for them.

2. They are good for beginners.

Players who have just started playing the game or struggle with getting a high score benefit by joining the team with the advantage. As many will probably know, an online competitive game is very hard to get into for beginners, because they do not know the maps, the controls, or how the game works. This is especially annoying in a game like Counter-Strike where you must wait for the next round to begin after being killed. Unbalanced maps help in the skill-building of new players.

3. Victory is Rewarding

It is much more rewarding to overcome lousy odds and take a victory. Think about playing a game on a server against a team who is really good. It feels good the first time your “weaker” team takes a win.

The Problem

• Joining the Right Team

Unfortunately, the use of unbalanced maps does have a major drawback. They can ruin a game-playing experience when most of the expert players join the side with the advantage. Many gamers like to take the easy way out (Even though it will be less fun). In fact, people in general will take the easy way out even though it can be argued that “fun” requires a challenge.

What does this all mean?
Mainly, I am concerned that there is too much of a push for balance in games. Balanced maps are good, and I don’t think a game should be completely unbalanced. I am just arguing that unbalanced maps are not as bad as they are sometimes said to be. In fact, I think they add a lot of fun to a game. Some of my favorite online games had a few unbalanced maps thrown into a large array of balanced ones.

“What is the third letter of the alphabet?”

The obvious choice is ‘c‘, but the answer to this puzzle is ‘e‘, because ‘e‘ is the third letter of “the alphabet”. At least that is the answer according to the designer. The main problem here is that ‘c‘ is also a correct answer, but if the player answers ‘c‘, he or she does not get to move on. This presents a problem I see in a myriad of games today. Instead of trying to think of a solution to a puzzle, you have to try to think of the designer’s solution. The player isn’t figuring out puzzles. Instead, the player is figuring out how the designer’s mind works.

Also, it is annoying to a player when he or she can think of five possible solutions (that all seem equally valid) to a puzzle but only one of them works. To them, there are multiple solutions that could work, but only one does. And the one that does work doesn’t seem that “right” when they think of it. Players feel much more gratification when they know the solution they come up with will work for sure (Once they figure it out!).

A Way to Make It Work
Now, how could we make that alphabet puzzle work? If the designer made sure that prior to the puzzle, the player receives knowledge of Alexander Grisand’s love for riddles. Then, the player would be trying to figure out Alexander’s mind, and not the designer’s.

So, how is figuring out Grisand’s mind different from figuring out the designer’s? Well, it is different in two ways:

1. The player does not receive knowledge of whether or not the designer likes riddles.
2. Figuring out the mind of a character keeps you in the game world. Figuring out how a designer thinks breaks immersion.

Breaking Immersion Is Bad
Bad puzzle design can break immersion, and broken immersion can destroy a game playing experience. In order to avoid this, designers must try to anticipate how other players will solve their puzzles. Here are some questions a designer must ask:

• Does the player know the rules and limitations of the world?
• Does the puzzle make sense with respect to these rules and regulations? In other words, does it follow the game’s own rules?
• Is there more than one way to solve the puzzle given these rules and limitations and if so, do all solutions work?
• If all solutions do not work, is there a good reason (that the player should be able to figure out) for only the specific solution?
• Once the player comes up with the correct solution, is it obvious to him or her that the solution is correct?

Asking these questions will hopefully help in creating more puzzles with solutions that a player can come up with because of his or her wit, not because of the ability to understand the designer’s mind.

(Image from http://www.albatross18.com)

1. Color Theory

The Colors of the Character:
It is a good idea to come up with a particular color scheme for a character. Find three or four colors that go well together and fit the character. A good website for finding a suitable color scheme is Color Jack. Make sure to check out the color sphere.

The Colors of the Environment:
Also, make sure you know what types of environments the character will be in. A white suit may blend right into the snow. A lime green dress may be very jarring against a pale orange and blue background. A designer must decide how much he or she wants a character to blend into or stand out from the surroundings. Ultimately, the designer needs to make sure the colors of the character work well with the colors of the background.

2. Create a costume that suits the character

It is important that the costume fits that particular character. What will the character do? Where will the character travel? If a game takes place in the desert, it does not make much sense to wear a winter coat. Granted, that is a rather extreme example, but you get the idea. Knowing who the character is will greatly help narrow down ideas for what kind of costume works best.

The environments don’t match the costumes.

3. Look at other costumes for inspiration

One very important thing to do is collect reference work. I do this often when perusing the web. Anytime I come across something I like, I download it to a “References” folder.

It also helps to organize references. For instance: costumes, characters, worlds, etc. To organize even further, it is good to provide subcategories. Costumes can contain: medieval, fantasy, desert, summer, street, office, etc.