Reading Journal: Game Design Workshop-Week 3, 2019 Fall

This week’s reading focused on the process of prototyping a game. Game Designer Nikita Mikros talks about selecting the tools and methods to effectively prototype a game in the starting phase of its development. Although he is focusing on the method of prototyping through software, he did mentioned about the method of paper prototyping, which based on my experience last year is a great and efficient way to prototype a certain types of games.  The main idea of prototyping is to make a simple physical version of the game through materials we could get hands on easily. And the prototype version of the game should allow the designers to try out the main mechanic of the game and provide a basic visual of what the game should look like. 

The example that Nikita gave us is how he created a spread-sheet as a prototype program for his game. He didn’t really example how the spread-sheet works with details, but based on the image he provided on the page, it looks like the sheet contains in-game elements such as Player’s Actions and currencies, and the sheet presents a straightforward cycle between these two elements. It looks like a helpful tool for the designers when they are dealing with numbers during the prototype phase. And just like the paper prototype, it is only provides a temporary vision of a system of the game that the designer will get feedback and make improvements based on it.   It never should be treated as a final version of the game or anything close to it. And that’s an important message from Nikita about prototyping, it is a tool to help the designers to understand the elements or their games. I think this is a valuable experience for us beginners to learn.

In the next section, Steve Swink talks about prototyping the feeling players would get from playing the game. And he breaks it down into the following categories:

• Input
• Response
• Context
• Polish
• Metaphor
• Rules

Whether the designer wants the player to interact with the game system through controller or keyboard & mouse, it is important for them to find a sweet spot of the input’s sensitivity during the prototyping phase. A good Input and Response could leave a great first impression to the players when they first put their hands on the game, and it will continuously improve their gaming experience after they get used to the controls and get better with the game.Besides that, the context of the map, the game’s overall aesthetic, and the mechanics that set the rules of playing would also generate a great feeling for the players when they are playing. It is important for the designers to have a clear goal but also be open at the same time when prototyping the game. They should have a general idea of how the game feels and what impression it would leave to the players, but it is also important to get feedback from the players so they could find the sweet spot within the direction set by the designer.

I took Nikita’s prototype philosophy into my prototype process for the space shooter project last week. I made a simple version of the game on Unity that allows me to playtest the core mechanics of my game. The prototype version of the game looks very plain with only one sprite art that represents the player and boxes for enemies. I didn’t go for the physical or paper prototype because I was hoping I could continue building the game based this version I have. The project is only 3 weeks long and I don’t have too much time to build multiple prototypes for the game. I understand this is not as ideal as the method and suggestions introduced by the book but I think it suits with the current situation I’m in. 

In the continue reading of chapter 8 the author address on the topic of digital prototyping, in which was the process I was in last week. The author breaks the digital prototyping into four areas: Game Mechanic, Aesthetic, Kinesthetic, and Technology. The prototype for Game Mechanic allows the designers to test out their initial thoughts on their game in terms of how the game will be played and if it’s playable. It also allows them to try out new ideas during the process and see if they could bring additional features into the game without breaking or contradicted with it’s core mechanic. Right now I believe I’m still in the area of Game Mechanic part of the prototyping where I have already got the core and basic mechanic built and tested out. But there are still a few things I’m working on that would complete the game more in terms of it’s mechanic. 

The aesthetic of the game determined the overall visual of the game, Artists started their design on characters and the visual of the game’s world by producing concept arts. What they are trying to achieve in this phase is to set a tone for the game. The process also involved with the animation, effects, and the interface. 

The aesthetic of the game is also an important focus of the production of my game, during the prototype phase I’ve made the sprite art for my player character according to the story of the game. Since the project itself is not big enough and don’t have enough time that allows me to construct a grand story with detailed writings and cut-scenes to explain it’s background to the players, the art of the characters(both protagonist and enemies) and an appropriate interface design would help the players to better understand the story at the basic level. Since I’ve spent most of the time working on mechanic and the level design for this project so far, I think my focus for the later production should be onto the background and character arts and animations. If they are done correctly, it should add flavor of characteristic to the game and make it look more appealing and complete.

The Kinesthetic area of the prototype is to focus on the feeling of the game, mainly the controls. The goal of the developers for this area is to find a perfect spot for the game’s input. This is a topic that directly related with the interaction players have with the game. It reflects the intention of the game designer in terms of the game’s difficulties and what types of experiences they want the players to have while playing the game. My game is a side scrolling space shooter which the camera moves automatically to the right side of the map, and the player can only control the character to move vertically and shoot. There is a “deadline” behind them and the players need to dodge the obstacles on the map while shooting the incoming enemies. My goal in the Kinesthetic area during the prototype is to find a nice sensibility for the control so the players could make the dodges without too much trouble. I also need to test out the speed of the camera movement so the screen won’t be moving too fast for the players to make the reaction, it also can not be too slow that the game would be too easy to play.