Task 8: Elements of game design, part one: from Pong to next-generation

‘A good game has to have a fun core, which is a one-sentence description of why it's fun’. Paul Reiche III

Gameplay is the way that players interact with a game and this is largely due to the decisions of the Art Director. Gameplay is almost a pattern that is encoded in the game, the rules, challenges and overcoming them, the plot and the connection the player has with it and the game. Gameplay is very different from graphics and audio.

In video games gameplay can be divided into several different types. Cooperative gameplay involves cooperation of one or more players, or deathmatch where players compete to kill each other, another example could be "twitch" gameplay which is based around testing a player's reaction times and precision. Others are:

·        Asymmetric gameplay

·        Cooperative gameplay

·        Deathmatch

·        Emergent gameplay

·        Hack and slash

·        Levelled gameplay

·        Micromanagement

·        Nonlinear gameplay

·        Passive gameplay

·        Twitch gameplay

In terms of the big wigs of the Gaming Industry the companies that yearly bring out AAA titles that are battling for biggest sales are:

·        Ubisoft

·        Bungie/ Microsoft studios

·        Bethesda

·        Activision/ Treyarch

·        EA Game Studios

Each company specifies in different types of gameplay, Ubisoft try to provide a wide variety of gameplays ranging from 1^st/3^rd person shooters to extreme sports and role play games. A few of their main games are the Ghost recon series, Shaun White snowboarding and their main AAA title Assassins creed. Bungie/Microsoft studios concentrate mainly on 1^st person sci-fi shooter gameplay such as the Halo series and the next generation game Destiny. Bethesda concentrate on immersive single player, role play gameplay which can be seen in the Fallout series and the highly loved Elder Scrolls series.  Activision/Treyarch make the games that are ‘money making’ 1^st person shooter gameplay with their annual release of Call of Duty and each year it is a re-skinned version of Call of Duty 4.  EA Games Studios also provide a wide variety of gameplays from sports games such as FIFA and Madden to 1^st person shooters in the Battlefield series. They also include 3^rd person horror shooter Dead space series and MMO gameplays seen in Star wars the Old Republic.

Mainstream games are generally developed in phases. The game moves through pre-production, pitches, prototypes, and then game design documents are written. If the idea is approved, a full-scale development begins. This usually involves a team ranging from 20–100 person team each with various responsibilities, such as designers, artists, programmers, testers, and loads more. The games go through development, alpha, and beta stages until finally being released. Modern games are advertised, marketed, and showcased at trade show demos.

A designer designs the Gameplay, they set out the rules and structure of the play. They can also be writers that devise the narrative of the game. An artist then creates the video game art either 2D or 3D orientated making scenery/ environments, textures and terrains and any characters of the game. A programmer who is the software engineer, they handle the ‘games codebase development’.  A level designer creates the different levels a character goes through and all the challenges they face during the game. A sound engineer then creates sound effects and a score to go alongside the challenges and quests the player faces during the game. A Quality assurance test is then carried out and if everything goes to plan, the Game is on its way to production.

When I play it’s important to me that I actually enjoy the gameplay. If I don’t enjoy it I don’t feel compelled to play it. The kinds of gameplay I enjoy vary from realistic 1^st person shooters to immersive role play games which allow freedom. I also find that a detailed background story makes me want to play on further because I want to find out more about the character and the story so I progress through the game, to find the answers.