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

Summary


In this chapter, we learned about three interconnected subjects which come together to help you make a game full of varied and exciting gameplay scenarios.

To start with, game balancing helped us increase the possibility space by addressing dominant strategies, tuning mechanics, and changing the parameters of game content. Following that, we explored the methods of setting and adjusting the overall difficulty of the game, helping us match it with the capabilities of our audience. Finally, we looked at pacing, which allows us to maintain a player's interest and keep them in the flow by manipulating the structure and relative intensity of each gameplay session.

Next up, we'll dive into the Final 10 Percent, which covers practical tips and guidelines on how to raise the quality of your games and turn every interaction into a delightful experience.