Book Image

Practical Game Design

By : Adam Kramarzewski, Ennio De Nucci
Book Image

Practical Game Design

By: Adam Kramarzewski, Ennio De Nucci

Overview of this book

If you are looking for an up-to-date and highly applicable guide to game design, then you have come to the right place! Immerse yourself in the fundamentals of game design with this book, written by two highly experienced industry professionals to share their profound insights as well as give valuable advice on creating games across genres and development platforms. Practical Game Design covers the basics of game design one piece at a time. Starting with learning how to conceptualize a game idea and present it to the development team, you will gradually move on to devising a design plan for the whole project and adapting solutions from other games. You will also discover how to produce original game mechanics without relying on existing reference material, and test and eliminate anticipated design risks. You will then design elements that compose the playtime of a game, followed by making game mechanics, content, and interface accessible to all players. You will also find out how to simultaneously ensure that the gameplay mechanics and content are working as intended. As the book reaches its final chapters, you will learn to wrap up a game ahead of its release date, work through the different challenges of designing free-to-play games, and understand how to significantly improve their quality through iteration, polishing and playtesting.
Table of Contents (22 chapters)
Title Page
Copyright and Credits
Packt Upsell
Contributors
Preface
Index

Prototyping techniques


When it comes to creating a prototype, there are two main options: physical and digital.

You would be surprised to know how many times a physical prototype is used in the video game industry. Many game mechanics can be reproduced through board games, card games, miniature games, or just one sheet of paper with a pen and maybe a few coloring pencils.

Digital prototypes are a bit more complex to put together, but of course, their fidelity to the medium and ability to create real-time environments and handle complex calculations makes them the go-to choice. Most of the time, though, it is always a great idea to start very simply on paper, and then move to digital with clearer ideas.

Paper prototyping

Paper prototypes are my favorites. Making them is as quick as it takes to write on a piece of paper and cut out some cardboard elements. Each time is like creating a little board game! Here's an example:

A simple sketch on a piece of paper might be a great start for a prototype...