Game Architecture and Design

960 Pages·2003·8.77 MB·English

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Game Architecture and Design:
A New Edition
Contents at a Glance
I Game Design III Game Architecture
1 First Concept 3 16 Current Development Methods 433
2 Core Design 35 17 Initial Design 457
3 Gameplay 59 18 Use of Technology 511
4 Detailed Design 87 19 Building Blocks 553
5 Game Balance 105 20 Initial Architecture Design 607
6 Look and Feel 141 21 Development 637
7 Wrapping Up 171 22 The Run-Up to Release 687
8 The Future of Game Design 197 23 Postmortem 719
24 The Future of Game Development 747
II Team Building and Management
9 Current Methods of Team Management 227 IV Appendixes
10 Roles and Divisions 245 A Sample Game Design Documents 785
11 The Software Factory 263 B Bibliography and References 887
12 Milestones and Deadlines 293 Glossary 893
13 Procedures and “Process” 327 Index 897
14 Troubleshooting 367
15 The Future of the Industry 409
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Game Architecture and Design:
A New Edition
Andrew Rollings
Dave Morris
800 East 96thStreet, 3rdFloor, Indianapolis, Indiana 46240
An Imprint of Pearson Education
Boston • Indianapolis • London • Munich • New York • San Francisco
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Game Architecture and Design:
A New Edition Publisher
Stephanie Wall
Copyright © 2004 by New Riders Publishing
Production Manager
All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced,
Gina Kanouse
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means—
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise— Senior Project Editor
without written permission from the publisher, except for the Kristy Hart
inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
Copy Editor
International Standard Book Number: 0-7357-1363-4 Chrissy Andry
Senior Indexer
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2003111600
Cheryl Lenser
Printed in the United States of America
Composition
First printing: November, 2003 Gloria Schurick
Manufacturing Coordinator
08 07 06 05 04 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Dan Uhrig
Interpretation of the printing code: The rightmost double-digit
Interior Designer
number is the year of the book’s printing; the rightmost single-
digit number is the number of the book’s printing. For example, Kim Scott
the printing code 04-1 shows that the first printing of the book
Cover Designer
occurred in 2004.
Aren Howell
Media Developer
Trademarks
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All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks
Marketing
or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. New Riders
Scott Cowlin
Publishing cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of
a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity Tammy Detrich
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Warning and Disclaimer
Susan Nixon
Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as
accurate as possible, but no warranty of fitness is implied. The
information is provided on an as-is basis. The authors and New
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This book is dedicated to the memory of Ram De Silva,
respected colleague and beloved friend.
‰
Andrew Rollings
In loving memory of my father, Victor Morris.
‰
Dave Morris
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vi Game Architecture and Design:A New Edition
Table of Contents
Introduction xxiii
Part I Game Design
Chapter 1 First Concept 3
The Shock of the New 3
The Creative Road Map 4
Having the Idea 6
Inspiration 7
Synthesis 8
Resonance 9
Convergence 10
Shaping the Idea 11
Dramatic Effect 11
The Treatment 15
Taking Stock 16
Analysis 16
Evaluation 17
Justification 17
Case Study 1.1 The One-Page Pitch 18
Feasibility 20
Commercial 20
Technological 20
Developmental 21
Getting it Down 21
Case Study 1.2 Initial Treatment for Conquerors 22
Chapter 2 Core Design 35
What Is a Game? 35
Cool Features 36
Fancy Graphics 36
Puzzles 37
Setting and Story 37
Games Aren’t Everything 38
Case Study 2.1 Story Versus Gameplay 39
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Table of Contents vii
Games Mean Gameplay 39
Case Study 2.2 A Missed Opportunity? 40
Creating the Game Spec 42
Case Study 2.3 Integrating Game Objectives 43
Features 43
Case Study 2.4 An Instance of Emergence 45
Gameplay 45
Interface 47
Case Study 2.5 An Elegant Interface 48
Rules 48
Case Study 2.6 The Rules Must Serve the Features 49
Level Design 50
Case Study 2.7 Interesting Level Design 51
Example Game Spec 53
Case Study 2.8 Game Spec 53
The Value of Prototypes… 57
…And the Necessity of Documents 58
Chapter 3 Gameplay 59
What Is Gameplay? 60
Implementing Gameplay 61
The Dominant Strategy Problem 62
Near Dominance 63
Case Study 3.1 Environment Plus Rules Equals Gameplay 67
Supporting Investments 70
Versatility 71
Case Study 3.2 Unexpected Versatility 72
Compensating Factors 74
Case Study 3.3 Balancing Compensating Factors 75
Impermanence 76
Shadow Costs 77
Case Study 3.4 Shadow Costs in Age of Empires 77
Synergies 78
A Final Word About Gameplay 79
Interactivity 80
Kinds of Interactivity 81
Case Study 3.5 A Different Kind of Interactivity 82
“Why?” Versus “What?” 84
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viii Game Architecture and Design:A New Edition
Chapter 4 Detailed Design 87
The Designer’s Role 87
Case Study 4.1 A Development Timeline 88
Design Documentation 92
The Gameplay Spec 92
The Designer’s Notes 93
Case Study 4.2 The Need for Documenting the Spec 94
Using The Design Documents 95
Fitting Design to Development 97
Tiers and Testbeds 98
Case Study 4.3 Planning the Mini-Specs to Fit
the Architecture 100
Why Use Documents at All? 102
Chapter 5 Game Balance 105
Player/Player Balance 106
Symmetry 107
Player/Gameplay Balance 111
Case Study 5.1 Is This Supposed to Be Fun? 111
Reward the Player 113
Let the Machine do the Work 113
Make a Game You Play With, Not Against 114
Case Study 5.2 The Save Game Problem 114
Gameplay/Gameplay Balance 116
Component and Attribute Balance 117
Case Study 5.3 Component and Attribute Balance in
Dungeon Keeper 119
Intransitive Game Mechanics Guarantees Balance 120
Case Study 5.4 Attribute Balance Using SPS 126
Case Study 5.5 Using Game Theory Analysis to
Achieve Balance 132
A Game Balance Checklist 139
Chapter 6 Look and Feel 141
Ambience 142
Sound 143
Case Study 6.1 Sound Effects at Their Best 143
Vision 144
Case Study 6.2 A Discordant Note 146
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Table of Contents ix
Touch 147
Interface 148
Case Study 6.3 Meshing the Interface with Look and Feel 148
Case Study 6.4 Sometimes Less Is Less 150
Storytelling 152
A Toolbox of Storytelling Techniques 153
Case Study 6.5 An Example of a Look-and-Feel Document 157
Case Study 6.6 An Unexpected Development 162
Case Study 6.7 An Unsatisfying Conclusion 167
The Sum of the Parts 169
Chapter 7 Wrapping Up 171
The Professionals 172
The Game Concept 173
Planning for Change 174
The Technology 180
Development 182
The Team 186
Costs and Timelines 187
Gameplay 189
The Future 192
Chapter 8 The Future of Game Design 197
The Necessity of Design 197
Don’t Be Afraid to Plan 198
Case Study 8.1 Design Saves Time 198
Why Design Is Fine 200
Case Study 8.2 Keep the Design up to Date 202
Essentials of Game Design 203
Is it Original? 204
Is it Coherent? 204
Is it Interactive? 205
Is it Interesting? 206
Is it Fun? 206
The Future of Design 207
Making Designs More Generic 208
Nonsymbolic Design 209
Case Study 8.3 Comparing Nonsymbolic and
Symbolic Design 211
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x Game Architecture and Design:A New Edition
The Future of Games 212
The Next Decade 213
The Strengths of Software 214
The Crossroads of Creativity 215
Case Study 8.4 An Example of Mise En Scene 219
Games as Entertainment 222
The Way Forward 224
Part II Team Building and Management
Chapter 9 Current Methods of Team Management 227
The Current Development Model 228
The Origins of the Industry 228
The Trouble with Game Developers 231
The Problem Developer 234
Excessive Long Hours Mean an Unsuccessful Project 241
Exceptions to the Rule 242
Case Study 9.1 Quake, StarCraft, and XCOM: Interceptor 243
Chapter 10 Roles and Divisions 245
Assigning Personnel 245
Management and Design Division 247
Programming Division 249
Art Division 250
Music and Miscellaneous Division 251
Support and Quality Assurance Division 253
Improving Morale and the Working Environment 255
Morale Boosters 255
Morale Booster Caveats and Warnings 261
Spreading the Risk 262
Chapter 11 The Software Factory 263
What Is a Software Factory? 263
Why Use a Software Factory? 265
Solving Game Development Issues 266
Case Study 11.1 The Effects of Losing Key Personnel 268
Case Study 11.2 Code Reuse 269