Raymond Toh Game Design Notebook http://ravendsg.com Game Design Thoughts & Games Development Related Articles Wed, 03 Aug 2011 16:32:57 +0000 en hourly 1 Rebirth of my Game Design Notebook | Beginning of A New Chapter http://ravendsg.com/video-games/rebirth-of-my-game-design-notebook-beginning-of-a-new-chapter/2011/07/17/ http://ravendsg.com/video-games/rebirth-of-my-game-design-notebook-beginning-of-a-new-chapter/2011/07/17/#comments Sat, 16 Jul 2011 16:48:44 +0000 Raven http://ravendsg.com/?p=1775 Somehow, I managed to lost my whole blog… yes… EVERYTHING…

Managed to find an old backup with last posted dated 10th March 2009… lost the most posts of 2009 and whole of 2010… but then… I didn’t really write much during that period of time.

  • No Related Post
]]> http://ravendsg.com/video-games/rebirth-of-my-game-design-notebook-beginning-of-a-new-chapter/2011/07/17/feed/ 2 Analysis of Racing Games | Game Play Activities in Racing Games http://ravendsg.com/video-games/game-design-theory/analysis-of-racing-games-game-play-activities-in-racing-games/2009/03/10/ http://ravendsg.com/video-games/game-design-theory/analysis-of-racing-games-game-play-activities-in-racing-games/2009/03/10/#comments Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:23:27 +0000 Raven http://ravendsg.com/?p=1701 This article in the series lists the activities, broken down as detailed as possible,  that constitutes the game play in a racing game.

The Game Play Activities

Core Game Play Activities a racer or gamer can master and execute in a racing game as below:

  1. Accelerating,
  2. Decelerating,
  3. Braking,
  4. Gear Shifting,
  5. Line Taking,
  6. Strategic Boosting (nitro or speed boosters if available),
  7. Slipstreaming (or Drafting),
  8. Understanding the Track’s Layout,
  9. Drifting,
  10. …etc…

Additional Game Play Activities that require mastery in “evolved” racing games:

  1. Aiming / Firing Accuracy
  2. Ammo conservation (A curve is approaching, hold back on the missile until a better opportunity arises?)
  3. Additional finesses in control (To get items or boosting strips on tracks on top of racing lines.)
  4. Reaction (To avoid obstacles or traps on tracks, especially those left by opponents!)
  5. Combat Strategy (Which stretch of the track to take down the opponent for optimum advantage? Around the curve perhaps?)
  6. Team Strategy (Team mates acting as shields against attacks, blockers against opponents catching up, assists by creating slipstream in front of the ace racer…)
  7. …etc…

Possible Community Activities in a racing game brought about by online game play capabilities offered by pcs and consoles?

  1. Record a Replay
  2. Share a Replay
  3. Spectate a Race
  4. Offering a chance to players to play other roles?
  5. Offering a chance to players to play as mechanics? (Players can salvage parts from other destroyed vehicles that the player has destroyed, must bring it to the mechanic to build. Mechanics require different skill-sets mustered by different game play loops.)
  6. Offering a chance to players to play as a manager of a racing team? (Can manage other players or train AIs?)
  7. Bets (May not be the most moral…)
  8. Drafting to assist a teammate in a race
  9. Blocking an opponent team member in a race
  10. …etc…

There are more, but this is not the definitive list. Just to serve as a reference.

]]> http://ravendsg.com/video-games/game-design-theory/analysis-of-racing-games-game-play-activities-in-racing-games/2009/03/10/feed/ 0 Analysis of Racing Games | Evolution of Racing Games http://ravendsg.com/video-games/game-design-theory/analysis-of-racing-games-evolution-of-racing-games/2009/03/10/ http://ravendsg.com/video-games/game-design-theory/analysis-of-racing-games-evolution-of-racing-games/2009/03/10/#comments Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:08:24 +0000 Raven http://ravendsg.com/?p=1715 With the rising numbers in racing games titles, video games developers tried to out-do each other, or tried to justify the gamer’s money, by putting additional game play features such as weapon combat, advantageous items or speed boosters (or otherwise) lying in strategic points in the racing track. With game play features like these, I feel that racing games can be divided into 2 sub-genre…

Combat racing games have started early with the release of DeathTrack in 1989!

The 2 Sub-Genre of Racing Games

Currently, with all the features and what-not offered by video game developers for gamers, I think the racing game genre can be divided into 2 sub-genre: “Simulation” and “Twisted”. Don’t get me wrong, “Twisted” is not in the bad sense, but rather, “Twisted” as in “with a twist”. Racing games with combat, weapons or game play features, that are not elements in real-life races, are what I’m referring to.

“Simulation” Racing Games

Are “Simulation” Racing games boring? Rigid? Stale? Too high-brow for the average gamer? Don’t think so… the thrill, danger and exhilaration of speed… the feeling of power and mastery over the vehicles… the sense of achievement brought about by beating your personal best or your closest rival… “Simulation” racing games offer fun in the ways why racing in real life is fun!

“Evolved” Racing Games

Are “Evolved” racing games evil? Do they pollute and dilute the racing spirit? Are they impure? I would say no. They offer gamers what games are about in the first place, that is… having fun! They offer fun in different ways than what is available in real-life, limited only by their imagination, technical capabilities, team size etc…

]]> http://ravendsg.com/video-games/game-design-theory/analysis-of-racing-games-evolution-of-racing-games/2009/03/10/feed/ 0 Analysis of Racing Games | Analyzing Racing Games http://ravendsg.com/video-games/game-design-theory/analysis-of-racing-games-analyzing-racing-games/2009/03/10/ http://ravendsg.com/video-games/game-design-theory/analysis-of-racing-games-analyzing-racing-games/2009/03/10/#comments Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:37:47 +0000 Raven http://blog.ravendsg.com/?p=1597 Racing games are fun, no doubt. Not only for the gamer, (or racer, if you like) but races are also fun for the spectators to watch. So where are the fun hidden, in a racing game?

This series of articles will be my analysis and study on racing games. It will be my attempt to dissect the racing game genre and discover the fun and game play mechanisms that make racing games fun.

It is based purely on self study, analysis, from my experience as a game developer on a racing game (Anomaly Racing UT2004 Mod) and from my experience as a gamer of racing games.

]]> http://ravendsg.com/video-games/game-design-theory/analysis-of-racing-games-analyzing-racing-games/2009/03/10/feed/ 0 The Raven’s Basic Principles of Video Game Design | Draft #1 http://ravendsg.com/raymonds-portfolio/the-ravens-basic-principles-of-video-game-design-draft-1/2009/03/07/ http://ravendsg.com/raymonds-portfolio/the-ravens-basic-principles-of-video-game-design-draft-1/2009/03/07/#comments Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:26:27 +0000 Raven http://ravendsg.com/?p=1639 The first draft of my own “Basic Principles of Video Game Design” based off the 13 Principles from the Gamasutra Article “The 13 Basic Principles of Gameplay Design”.

The 13 Principles listed in the Gamasutra Article “The 13 Basic Principles of Gameplay Design” provides very good food for thoughts and I came up with the first draft of my own “Basic Principles of Game Design” based off that list.

My own list is not a definitive list for anyone except for my own study and understanding as a student of game design and development.

This is Draft #1 because I came up with the list pretty quickly based on the points in “The 13 Basic Principles of Gameplay Design”. I’m sure (hopefully…) after letting it set for a few hours or days, a better version would emerge.

The Raven’s Basic Principles of Video Game Design | Draft #1

  1. Provide Anticipation for every event that would lead to the requirement of the Player’s Input.
  2. Provide appropriate Feedback for every Player Action.
  3. Lead the Player so as to prevent Frustration.
  4. Logical AI Behavior to create believability of life in AI.
  5. Logical Physical Behavior to imitate Real Life when possible to encourage experimentation and reduce the need to relearn.
  6. Flow Generation from Chain of Events. Individual unrelated events do not create Flow. Only when events inter-relate to each other do they generate Flow.
  7. Pacing of Events to improve Player skills progressively and provide proper mix of challenge at appropriate times to entice and encourage Player to keep on playing.
  8. Recognize the difference in spatial requirements between real-life and in-game. It is more important to give an illusion of relative space than keeping to real-life spatial rules due to the need to accommodate different game genre cameras and game play requirements.
  9. Design Approach? (Principle No. 10)
  10. Create an enjoyable experience for the Player, not try to show that you are smarter than them. There is a difference between a logical challenge that requires lateral thinking and an unfair puzzle that requires pre-knowledge. (Meaning information that the Designer knows beforehand that the Player might not know. Proper release of this knowledge is crucial. ) Hurt or punish the Player to let them learn, but never kill them as the method to teach them.
  11. Early and timely communication ensures conformity in design concepts amongst the game development team thus producing game and level designs that are uniform in experience for the Player.
  12. Be Objective when judging your own work. You must be your greatest, most truthful and brutal critic.
  13. Provide proper ergonomics for the tools the game development teams uses. The engine and tools might not be the most stable (as we all know in games development), but the least that could be provided would be properly exposed tools with proper and logical keyboard shortcut support for the most frequently used functions, all which leads to easier understanding and reduced frustration. Customizable shortcuts has its pros and cons, pros being well-suited for the individual, cons being a loss in conformity amongst big teams and possible communication and tools learning breakdown. This may sound irrelevant, but providing easily accessible and easy to understand tools leads to increased productivity and helps to encourage experimentation, which will in turn lead to a better and more interesting game play experience for the Player.

What I did:

  1. I rephased some points for (hopefully) easier understanding.
  2. I grouped some points together into a more general principle because I felt points like “Sound” should form part of Feedbacks and Anticipation instead of being taken out as a specific principle. If “Sound” is one principle on its own, then should we take out “Effects”, “GUI”, “Music” or perhaps… “Particles”?
  3. I avoided using “Gameplay Design” because I felt that its a pretty focused term. Instead I chose to use the broader term “Game Design” instead.
  4. I do not really agree with some points currently, and those are highlighted in red below in the recap.

Recap of “The 13 Basic Principles of Gameplay Design” by Matt Allmer in Gamasutra.com

  1. Focal Point (Direction)
  2. Anticipation (Direction)
  3. Announce Change (Direction)
  4. Believable Events and Behavior (Behavior)
  5. Overlapping Events and Behavior (Behavior)
  6. Physics (Behavior)
  7. Sound (Behavior)
  8. Pacing (Progression)
  9. Spacing (Environment)
  10. Linear Design versus Component Breakdown (Method)
  11. Player (Foundation)
  12. Communication (Foundation)
  13. Appeal (Foundation)
]]> http://ravendsg.com/raymonds-portfolio/the-ravens-basic-principles-of-video-game-design-draft-1/2009/03/07/feed/ 0 The 13 Basic Principles of Gameplay Design | Matt Allmer | Gamasutra.com http://ravendsg.com/video-games/game-design-theory/the-13-basic-principles-of-gameplay-design-matt-allmer-gamasutra-com/2009/03/05/ http://ravendsg.com/video-games/game-design-theory/the-13-basic-principles-of-gameplay-design-matt-allmer-gamasutra-com/2009/03/05/#comments Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:15:01 +0000 Raven http://blog.ravendsg.com/?p=1615 An article that I don’t really agree with as a whole, but its a good step nevertheless. I would say that its very good food for thought… but … NOT AS THE (definitive) 13 basic Principles of Gameplay Design…

Anyway, who am I to judge?

Will write more about this by the next few days (or tomorrow hopefully.)

Anyway, as a summary, the 13 principles from the article are as follows:

  1. Focal Point (Direction)
  2. Anticipation (Direction)
  3. Announce Change (Direction)
  4. Believable Events and Behavior (Behavior)
  5. Overlapping Events and Behavior (Behavior)
  6. Physics (Behavior)
  7. Sound (Behavior)
  8. Pacing (Progression)
  9. Spacing (Environment)
  10. Linear Design versus Component Breakdown (Method)
  11. Player (Foundation)
  12. Communication (Foundation)
  13. Appeal (Foundation)

Read the Article at Gamasutra below:

The 13 Basic Principles of Gameplay Design | GAMASUTRA ARTICLE

]]> http://ravendsg.com/video-games/game-design-theory/the-13-basic-principles-of-gameplay-design-matt-allmer-gamasutra-com/2009/03/05/feed/ 2 The Irony of My Life… http://ravendsg.com/the-ravens-nest/the-raven/the-irony-of-my-life/2009/02/26/ http://ravendsg.com/the-ravens-nest/the-raven/the-irony-of-my-life/2009/02/26/#comments Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:10:10 +0000 Ray http://ravendsg.com/?p=1563 Games have been influencing me throughout my life, and I’ve been searching for ways and knowledge to make games for more than half of my life. (counting those days til now…) But now that I have the ability, knowledge and resources to create most games that I desire, I kinda fizzled out…

Ubisoft Singapore

After leaving Ksatria Gameworks, I joined Ubisoft (Singapore Studio) as a Level Designer. Its a great place with many experienced and creative people.

Everyday brings new challenges, I get to learn and understand more about design and games development.

Work-wise, it is somewhat easier than what it used to be, just focused on level designing (instead of in the past where I have to do not only design but many more things)… just responsible for my own level. And of course, financially, its (slightly) better and more stable.

… but somehow, the excitement is not really there anymore. Somehow, its feels more like a job than what it used to be.

The Loss of Motivation

Creatively, the notebooks that I used to have no trouble filling with ideas, theories and what-not have stayed stagnant. Nowadays, entries in the current notebook have just been sprinkling of notes of ideas for my work (as a Level Designer in Ubisoft, Singapore).

Coming home everyday, I find no desire to write or do anything. Even on the journey to work, I’m forcing myself to open my notebook instead of playing Monster Hunter on the PSP. (Yes, I’m still playing Monster Hunter… nope.. I don’t feel tired of it yet… )

Fizzled…

Maybe I’m burnt out, maybe I’m demoralized, maybe its a bit of everything together, but 6 years in games development putting all my heart, soul and sweat in, without releasing a single game, with all the previous companies that I’ve worked in all closed down, I’ll be lying if I say that I don’t feel anything.

Somehow, it feels better after letting out some steam.

… I don’t really know how to end this post, so I’m just gonna stop writing :p

]]> http://ravendsg.com/the-ravens-nest/the-raven/the-irony-of-my-life/2009/02/26/feed/ 0 I left… http://ravendsg.com/the-ravens-nest/the-raven/i-left/2008/12/25/ http://ravendsg.com/the-ravens-nest/the-raven/i-left/2008/12/25/#comments Wed, 24 Dec 2008 18:15:43 +0000 Ray http://ravendsg.com/?p=1545 Christmas Eve.
My last day at Ksatria Gameworks.

]]> http://ravendsg.com/the-ravens-nest/the-raven/i-left/2008/12/25/feed/ 2 A Matter of Luck | Richard Todd | Gamasutra.com http://ravendsg.com/video-games/game-dev-articles/a-matter-of-luck-richard-todd-gamasutracom/2008/12/13/ http://ravendsg.com/video-games/game-dev-articles/a-matter-of-luck-richard-todd-gamasutracom/2008/12/13/#comments Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:46:23 +0000 Ray http://ravendsg.com/?p=1515 Talking about luck. An article about Luck in Gamasutra.com soon after my own post about the same subject! Whats the probability of something like that happening? ;P Of course mine is just a simple introduction to the subject, whereas Richard Todd’s article goes deeper. Read the Article.



]]> http://ravendsg.com/video-games/game-dev-articles/a-matter-of-luck-richard-todd-gamasutracom/2008/12/13/feed/ 0 Logo Design of “Rock Paper Scissors Online!” http://ravendsg.com/raymonds-portfolio/rock-paper-scissors-online/rock-paper-scissors-online-logo-design/2008/12/11/ http://ravendsg.com/raymonds-portfolio/rock-paper-scissors-online/rock-paper-scissors-online-logo-design/2008/12/11/#comments Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:48:51 +0000 Ray http://ravendsg.com/?p=1488

Did a simple logo (The logo to the left.) for “Rock Paper Scissors Online!” tonight because I wanted something to visually represent the spirit of this game.

“A Game for Anyone to Enjoy Playing Together in the Spirit of Clean, Healthy Competition.”

How does the Logo Design Represent the Game’s Spirit?

Simple clean, colorful graphical icons to attract attention of anyone without putting casual gamers off with overly stylish graphics. The graphic in the center shows the Rock, Paper and Scissors (three competitors or opponents) laughing together to represent the enjoyment of the competition.

Why Bother Doing a Game Logo Design?

It is not a very good design but it will stay because it will not be developed so I do not intend to spend too much of my (or anyone’s … ) time or resources on it. This video game design might be forgotten in time, so a visual logo will serve as a reminder for me in future.

Something “wrong”…

Kind of “wrong” I guess… the images are not positioned according to the text’s position :p

Video Game Design of “Rock Paper Scissors Online!”

If you are interested, feel free to read about the Video Game Design and Ideas for “Rock Paper Scissors Online!”
.

]]> http://ravendsg.com/raymonds-portfolio/rock-paper-scissors-online/rock-paper-scissors-online-logo-design/2008/12/11/feed/ 1