Addiction

A games designer would want to make a game addictive so more people will enjoy it and more people will buy it gaining them more money and more success in the long run. An example of an addictive game that is very successful is World of Warcraft. One of it's main reasons for it being addictive is the social side of it, joining guilds, making friends, going on dungeon runs etc.


Game designers achieve this by giving the game a certain angle or a hook and other games don't have or that they can do better. This hook could be a great story, a competitive multiplayer or a certain great mechanic or even the user interface. A good example of the last one is Dead Space, the user interface in Dead Space is seen as completely realistic, your health is on the characters back, which is explained as their R.I.G. or how the ammo left in a clip is show by the side of the gun as it is being aimed in which is cannon to the game and the character can see it, not just the player.



Addiction is not always a bad thing, it could be because the game is so good they do not want to put it down or stop playing, but when the game starts to interfere with your real life or effect your health addiction is defiantly bad. What they person should do if addicted is to set a certain amount of time on the game they they must come off it, maybe a friend could set up parental controls or something like that.

Winning

Winning games can be seen as completing the game, collecting everything and so on, here is three very different examples of games and how someone wins them.

Pokemon X and Y


In Pokemon X and Y you beat the game by defeating the champion, this enters you in the Hall of Fame where the Pokemon you used to defeat the champion are remembered forever.... on your game that is.

Geometry wars


In Geometry wars the only way to win is for you to count it as winning as the game is infinite, so most likely by beating your high score you win, but this sets up the game to be beat again, to win again as the high score has been raised.

WoW



In World of Warcraft the player can only win when they choose to, maybe by beating a certain boss, or reaching the max level, as the game is infinite again.

Other Game Mechanics

In a lot of games, especially RPG's, the game has an inventory where the player can store items they have gathered in the game and can compare them to other items they have, an example of this is Oblivion:



In the inventory the player can look at information about an item, whether it be how much they cost, how much damage they do, it's weight or how much of that item the player has. An inventory is useful as it allows the player to look though their collected items. In some games an inventory is a limited space where you can only collect a certain amount of one item, for example dead space



Other inventories are measured on the amount of weight a person can carry like you can see in oblivion, yet there is also another type, where the inventory is unlimited and as many items as possible can be stored in it, for example Final Fantasy XIII

Score

A lot of games now have scores, this is because it shows the player how well they have done or how well they are doing, this gives players a sense of accomplishment and maybe a sense of challenge to beat their current high scores. Sore also allows competitive play so people can compare their scores to each other and to their friends. A recent game released with score is the PS4 game Resogun



Though score is not needed it ca be useful to have as it adds another element to the game which could make or break a game, imagine such games like Pac-man without a score, it would seem there is no point of it, people would probably start making their own type of scoring system to make it seem more enjoyable. But for other games like Pokemon score is not really necessary.

Rules & Diffficulty

Rules affect the difficulty by limiting what the player can do, without rules a game could be over with the press of one button. For example how easy would Mario be if you could double jump, then jump again, and again and so on, it would remove most of the difficulty from the game.

Some people like to create their own rules to increase a games difficulty for example a popular challenge at the moment is the Nuzlocke challenge on Pokemon this increases the difficulty a lot as if Pokemon a player uses faints it has to be released therefore making it more difficult




Games get harder as you progress this is to keep you interested in the game this is done by increasing the difficulty by adding more enemies, more challenging enemies, enemies with more life, less weak points and so on. Difficulty is also increased  by adding harder challenges like a puzzle that requires more thought. A good example of this is seen in The legend of Zelda Twilight Princess, from when you start the game and fight some goblins you end it by fighting large and multiple shadow creatures.



If a game is created too easy the player will loose interest as it will be too simple for them, they don't see the point in continuing, when a game is too hard the player will give up after a certain amount of time. This chart of the flow of a game explains it nicely.




If a game is made easy in some parts and hard in other parts it can be useful to ease the player into the game so it is not that difficult but that can only happen if they difficulty is controlled correctly, if not controlled correctly a difficulty curb is created making the game very hard for newcomers to play. A classic example of a hard difficulty curb is Gears of War 2's online multiplayer.

Player Actions

In several different games the player can only move in certain directions, this can be taken as going up, down, left and right only but can also be taken in other ways as players are allowed on a set path and can turn and go forward along this path.

An example of the first game is the 2D game Pokemon Emerald.



In this game the player can only move the set directions up, down, left and right.

An example of the other type is the game Myst



Myst is a pre-rendered point and click game, you can only move in the directions he game allows, you can still move in different directions, you just have to turn first.

Objectives

Goals

Goals in gaming are points in which a player must reach to advance or finish the game. A game can set multiple goals to keep a player entertained thought, these goals can be as simple as going to a certain place or picking up a required item, or they can be long and a bit annoying, for example a quest could ask you to kill a certain amount of creatures using a specific method which is hard to do. 

These harder goals are usually side-quests though, a side quest is a quest taken on along side your current goal. Side quests are goals that are not necessary to complete a game but in some circumstances can improve the overall game or the game ending, this could be by providing the player with better equipment, giving the location a player is defending better chances of surviving etc.

In a game a singular part of it can be made of multiple goals, in a linear FPS these goals can be consecutive meaning that as soon as you complete one goal you are given another as objective are updated and you continue the mission, whereas a sandbox games may give you a couple of objectives at once and you can choose which you go for first, or they may have a time limit on them, a classic example of this is dead rising 2, in this game you are given several goals and a time limit for each, including an over all time limit.

Goals are important as they give the player a sense of meaning in the game, they are given objectives to save a world or to help those who need it. This sense of meaning is important as otherwise the player will wonder aimlessly trying to make sense of a game that can't provide anything.

Challenges

In games challenges can be set for raising the players level, giving the player extra equipment or in game money or set for fun. Challenges can be ranged from completing a certain goal or zone in a certain amount of time or defeating an enemy in a very tasking or comedic way. A great example of these challenges are Mario Kart ghost races, daily, weekly and monthly challenges on Halo 4 and general challenges in Hitman absolution.

Challenges are important to a game as it adds an extra bit to a game, challenges allow players to re-visit previously completed levels and complete the, in different ways or using certain items. Challenges also allow the player to use a certain item and get a set amount of points with that individual item or a group of similar items.

Rewards

Rewards in gaming are used to convince a player to complete a certain goal or challenge, these rewards can range from extra money to valuable equipment for the character. Rewards make a player want to complete a challenge as if they don't know what the reward is the player may be curious or they may see what the reward is and want it.

Rewards are also given by completing goals, these rewards are likely shown when the player is excepting a quest or mission, an example of this is borderlands 2

Rewards are important in games as they push the player to complete the goals and challenges so they can obtain the this new reward. This also includes experience points for the character, which levels them up quicker, this is useful for leveling up your character when you're in a difficult spot in the game so you can take on some side-quests to earn extra experience or in multi-player to unlock new weapons, abilities or apparel pieces.

Game Setting

Location

Location is very important to some games, this can because of the resources around the area, for example having a stone castle or a wooden fort would make no sense in a tundra, as there would be no trees to cut and no stone to shape. Location is important in a lot of games because of this for example, in the game Minecraft you can only get some items for some terrains, they won't be available anywhere else.



In games location can also change what enemies appear too, for example in Borderlands 2 the monsters called Bulleymongs. The white variants only appear where there is snow, except on special occasions of course

Time periods

Time periods in games are important as the weapons and structures in the game will have to relate to the time period. For example a game set in medieval times will have stone and wooden buildings and the characters will use swords, bows and axes etc.

This is important as the game needs to be consistent or it won't make sense, making it not enjoyable.

Type of environment

The type of environment in a game is important as this can change a lot of things in the game, how the player moves for example, if the player is underwater they will be able to move up an down giving them more freedom, this would also change the environment, there would be fish, and maybe coral and some caves. For example some of the levels of tomb raider underworld.



Another example of this is icy or muddy conditions, iciness would be slippy and muddy conditions would make it difficult to travel though the area.

Ethical Considerations

Games have to consider ethnicity and other taboo areas. These include slavery, drugs, crime, trafficking, racism etc. This aspect of games is important as some games try to avoid these points whenever possible to avoid controversy, but even some games can gain unexpected controversy, for example Pokemon, Pokemon had a racism lawsuit do to the colour of one of the Pokemon.




















 Original Japanese Version
























Over Seas Version

Other games have main aspects of that game based on one of these issues, for example GTA V has a large portion of the game based on crime and drugs.

Narrative

Narrative is the main story of the game, whether it is spoken or written. The narrative goes over the whole game, this allows the story to develop as the player goes though the game. Narratives can change within a game, this happens if the game has choices that allow the player to choose their own way of telling the story. they can choose to be good or evil and so on, this is particularly in RPGs as the player is role-playing as the character, making choices on their behalf. Some games with this choice element don't really effect the story, take Fable 2 for instance, this game has a great choice mechanic, you can destroy, kill, steal. As you do your character becomes more evil and the same applies to the good side too, but this morality choice dose not effect the story, you may get a comment every now and then or a small change in dialogue but the over all story does not change. This is known as an embedded narrative.



On the other hand there is a narrative called an emergent narrative, this is were the player creates their own story, this is often seen in games were there is next to no story, minecraft for example, people like to create their own stories of why they are in a large plane of existence without any reason, they set goals for themselves and can even get other people help by creating structures so the player can explore them.



Narrative is important to a game as it gives the player a reason to push on through the game, especially if other aspects of the game are failing. That's why people sometimes create their own stories to suit the game better, it helps them keep playing, gives them goals and makes the general experience a lot better.

Numbers of players

Single Player

People play single player games for a story or for continuing an aspect of the game, some games only have a single player, when this happens the single player is usually very long. Campaigns that are very long are usually RPG genre games like final fantasy 12, the average length of a playthrough is 110 hours,



Games with both a single player and a multiplayer the games designers can decide whether to focus on either the single player or the multiplayer, or they can try to make both as great as the other.

Multiplayer

People play multiplayer to play against other people, this appeals to people as you can compare scores against friends and compete against friends. But another way multiplayer appeals to people is the fact they can work together, this can be co-op campaign or working as a team in competitive multiplayer. This is especially useful in games like League of Legends or fighting off waves of enemies in iron brigade.

How does it effect gameplay?

If a game like Super Mario Galaxy had multiplayer it would drastically change the gameplay, the levels would have to be made harder, the boss battles would also have to be increased in difficulty as there would be two players running around, also if a player was able to advance a lot further than the other, the other would just be trailing behind with nothing to do, the other player has already defeated every enemy and collected every item.

Changes in Multiplay:

Multiplayer has changed over the years, it used to be taking turns on the game, now we play simultaneously together. This allows for team work, and the contesting of skills. This has changed because people wanted to play together, not just after each other. The more this demand increased, the more the game industry included multiplayer in their games, now there is at least some form of multiplayer in most games.

Crysis 2




Grand theft auto San Andres online mod

Interaction model

An avatar in the game is the character the player is playing as, in some games players can customize their avatars so people can differentiate, this is especially common in MMO (massive multiplayer online) games. WoW is a great example as you can create your own avatar with a race and a name.



A player can make their avatar look like them, what the player wants to look like or completely different.



A god simulator on the other hand allows the player to view everything from the sky, therefore there is no avatar for the player, they are omnipresent, meaning they are everywhere at once. This means that other players have no idea on their location in the game or where they are looking at on the map. This is common on turn based strategy games (TBS), real time strategy games (RTS) and simulation games,

Blood bowl



Supreme commander 2



The sims 3

Other terminology

FMV:

FMV or full motion video is a pre-rendered cut-scene or cinematic sequence in a game. As it is pre-rendered it does not take anytime to load and therefore does not but strain on the hardware, this also means that the video is of higher quality to the game as it does not take time to render. A great example of this is Final Fantasy XIII-2,

Cinematic sequence

Gamplay

Perspectives

Perspectives are the types of views that the player sees in a game. These are:

2D Scrolling
2D Aerial
3D First-person
3D Third-person
3D Isometric

2D Scrolling:

A 2D scrolling game is a game that is viewed from the side. These types of games are usually platformers like Metroid but it is also used a lot in puzzle/ skill games,

Metroid




Space-is-key



Jetpack Joyride



A 2D scrolling game either has a permanent movement system or a background that moves when the character moves. The games above hold all three of these examples, Metroid's background moves with the character, the character never stops moving in Space-is-key and you have to make it jump over obstacles and Jetpack Joyride's background never stops as you move up and down to avoid traps.

2D Aerial:

A 2D aerial game is a game that is viewed from the top. These types of games are usually scrolling shooters, old RPG games and some action games,

1945




The Legend of Zelda



Frogger




A 2D aerial game either has a set background, a scrolling background or a background that moves when the character exits the area, again all three of the said backgrounds are in the examples. Frogger has a set background and the obstacles move in your way. 1945 uses the scrolling background as it's a scrolling shooter, it's background is an ocean style that repeats itself to make the illusion that you are travelling over a large body off water, the game also puts small islands that travel downward to continue the illusion. The Legend of Zelda uses a background that changes when the player exits the area, this allows the player to move freely around the map without it changing when fighting enemies, this also allows the player to escape from enemies.

3D first-person:

A 3D first-person game is a game that is viewed from the characters point of view this is usually a shooter game or a survival horror game,

Battlefield 4



Amnesia: descent into to darkness



The first person perspective allows the game to become more immersive this is especially useful for survival horror games as the player becomes more involved with the game, the music start to make them nervous, they start hearing noises, they become more cautious about their surroundings making the general game experience better. The first person perspective also has an entire sub-genre to do with the shooter genre, first person shooter, better known as FPS. The FPS genre uses the first person perspective by allowing players to hold their players guns and aim them to allow for better accuracy.

3D third person:

A 3D third person game is a game that is viewed from over the shoulder or behind the character, this is usually a shooter game, an adventure game or an RPG,

Transformers: fall of Cybertron



Uncharted 3



Monster hunter 4



The third person perspective allows the player to view all of their character, this can be good for looking at environments for adventure games, trying to find the next part to climb, otherwise you would just be looking at a wall, it also allows the players to look round corners in shooting games, just like first person, third person has a sub genre of shooter: third person shooter otherwise know as TPS. The third person perspective also allows the player to better understand the size difference between a player and another object in the game, this is especially useful in RPG games for giant boss fights.

3D isometric:

A 3D isometric game is viewed from a angle this is usually 45 degrees at the X and Y axis's. The games that use this perspective are an RPG or a turn based strategy, also known as TBS.

Diablo 3



Xcom: enemy unknown



3D isometric views are used to see above the player, this allows them to see enemies above their cover but also keeps the amount of depth in the game that is needed.