Game Design Process: Researching Your Video Game pt.2 Main points: Design Pillars > Must have elements More than a feature set You have to define what makes this pillars important Define in one sentence 3 to 5 design pillars They are no features What the consumer thinks of first on your title Game Loop > Repeated throughout the game Also called addiction loop The crux of the experience Ensure retention through rewards Clash of Clans -> Collecting Resources, Building & Training, Batting Be sure it is fun and rewarding Magic Moments > Shareable with friends Causes emotion Needs to be Specific On sentence definition No more than 3 - 5 Mario Kart magic moments -> Cross a finish line (zoom of on the distance) Red shell Hit Drift perfect
Feature Set A List of all major Elements Can be non-functional things (build, tools and dev related stuff) Everything necessary to ship What matters most for every feature -> the main goal of the feature What Cannot be compromised Guide your decision making Elevator Pitch Communicate your game with other efficient Critical step If you can’t describe your games in a way that make people interested, you probably miss something Mistakes to avoid when making games: th-cam.com/video/HbhdTt4IgPk/w-d-xo.html Define your elevator pitch: What makes your game great in just a few sentences Fifa -> Authentic football action with the stars and teams around the world that we know and love. Unparallel strategic realism lets you control your squad with incredible precision. Visual accuracy that showcases the game beautiful. Then break your vision down to a single sentence (X statement or Product Razor) Fifa -> Authentic football that makes the user the star Iterate and get it tight (can take time) Try it with friends see reactions Development Order of Feature development Prototype (on the most important of your feature pillars) Central to your game loop Then start your complete feature roadmap (all your remaining features in order of delivery by development) It is really hard, check the video th-cam.com/video/a7vZFiFLw-w/w-d-xo.html Docs while working with a team Keep brief, documents can be inefficient and outdated after your game diverts from your assumptions. The right approach depends on the size of your team and complexity. More people == more documentation. Writing docs can be counterproductive. Adjust the framework to your needs.
you probably dont care at all but does anybody know of a method to log back into an instagram account? I stupidly lost my password. I would appreciate any tips you can offer me
I just realized this is quite a small channel, the quality of the video is through the roof in comparison to the sub count, i love the videos at the moment and i hope the channel continues to grow.
He definitely grew! This is a great vid. I made a similar vid-- but one that helps people break down ideas when they have a design solution. I hope it's helpful for people!!
I've watched a lot of videos but I don't think I've ever seen one that approaches it from this angle. Thank you for being one of the best game design channels and not just going the easy route of making quick decent videos that get decent views but go above and beyond to make the best content possible which for you guys is never less than knocking it out of the ballpark.
Ask Gamedev Honestly not that I can think of except that I'd always love more videos haha but I'm a believer in quality over quantity and I wouldn't want you to change that. As for topics and improvements nothing comes to mind at the moment but if I think of anything I will comment it immediately.
Excellent video! Concise and very insightful. One thing that I'd like to point out (and you did in the video but I'd like to reinforce) is that: Making huge documents is counter productive. So, make one very small and laser precision document to communicate one thing at time. The best way to do that is to make documents that answer questions. So, don't make them unless needed. E.g. if you were able to communicate to your team the design of the game, and they got it all, you don't need a design document. On the other hand, if you communicated it well, but someone asked "hey but which are the pillars?" make a simple document that, with the help of the team, communicate the pillars. If someone asks "hmm what about the sound?" make a simple document that explains how you ideate the sound. If someone asks "I got the design of the characters, but how will be the environment?" make an environment design document. I.e. just make documents if they will help you and your team to leap forward in development, otherwise just dig into the development itself :D
Thanks for the kind words Pigdev! This is really solid advice - we wholeheartedly agree! Having short documents that are each specific to an individual's question will save a lot of time, and still provide enough for alignment. Have you employed this strategy to develop a game? We'd love to see it!
It's totally awesome for me, feel free actually! Game is MIT and CCBY, so yeah, feel free to use it is the most accurate thing I can say lol But depending on when you guys plan to make the video (if really mid-term like 1~2 months) I'll make some improvements to port it to Godot 3.0 and add my new set of animated characters, so, hopefully, game will become way nicer then!
I'm not experienced in game making even in the slightest bit your channel makes it seem as though I can make these through enough work and research, you guys are awesome keep up the good work!!
@@AskGamedev personally the prospect of multiplayer is something I'd like to delve into, but I don't have the experience to do that nor the team, so for now I'm investing into singleplayer story driven until I get more of a name built.
In elevator pitch stage, should be also point about creation a visual first impression of game (logo, screenshots, trailer, few sec gif) its even more important than text because one picture is worth thousands of words
#Davis W that’s too kind. We’re working on the subs! Any video topics you would like to see us cover? Let us know if you have any feedback on how we can approve.
LOVE this video and the channel. This video is the absolute NO.1 informative video about game design. Though I just had a thought that it would be even nicer if this channel uses easier vocabulary. Since I'm a Korean student I'm not really the master of english so I get easily stuck with words like 'retention' 'crux' 'erring' 'brevity'. So I have to pause video, google those words one at a time, and come back and resume. If you'd be so kind to care just a little bit more for non-english users like me, it would be wonderful.
A typical action survival game core gameplay loop: -explore…........................................................................>collector pickups,items -Access(access to different areas and levels ) - encounter -fight -kill -collect pickups - repair/craft/upgrade -progress And it repeats........
Ask Gamedev I’m into how to make good graphics in ue4 while it not being resource intensive. Idk how to use ue4 if that’s not your thing then what about “how to get an idea of a game”
Thanks for the information! Not sure if it is done on purpose, but your audio is quite noticeably panned right when listening on headphones it makes it slightly harder to focus.
Hello! I am wondering if and how this way of designing goes together with an agile development mindset. It seems like there is a whole lot to decide before the development process start, but what if you realize that one of the core features has to be changed based on playtesting the first prototype? This might affect the other features as well and the whole feature list might have to be re-written. How do you think about this? How much can you decide before starting to prototype?
Really awesome stuff! I will definitely start adopting most if not all of these steps! I was hoping you can tell me where the prototyping phase would begin because normally, wouldn't we prototype before we commit to a game idea?
How to do game design: Step 1: open a text editor and start writing Step 2: prototype Step 3: tweak your writing to fix things which did not work or add things which would be good Repeat from step 2 until the game is ready to be made.
My most magical moments in Mario Kart is bullying the other players. Taking every short cut and setting banana traps to slow down players who follow my path. Also letting those pass me when a blue shell is coming. Muahaha.
Magical moment: watching a homing missile arc right into some little hearts dreams and hopes of actually winning against ME! I’m the man. I’m the man. Sorry that took me way back.
Amazing tutorial -- great insights. I also made a video on some basic game design principles that tackle the process of breaking down ideas into digestible chunks -- this is important when it's hard to think about how to make something when you don't know exactly how !
Then you should focus-group your design and eliminate everything that isn't popular, then run it by a bunch of suits and eliminate anything that they don't think is profitable. Or just make a game that's a clone of something that sold well. Make the game that you are dying to play, but no one else has decided to make. Prototype early, and murder anything that you think is boring or takes too long. Don't get lazy about iterating and improving -- don't quit until you are happy, and don't be so easy to please.
Game Design Process: Researching Your Video Game pt.2
Main points:
Design Pillars >
Must have elements
More than a feature set
You have to define what makes this pillars important
Define in one sentence
3 to 5 design pillars
They are no features
What the consumer thinks of first on your title
Game Loop >
Repeated throughout the game
Also called addiction loop
The crux of the experience
Ensure retention through rewards
Clash of Clans -> Collecting Resources, Building & Training, Batting
Be sure it is fun and rewarding
Magic Moments >
Shareable with friends
Causes emotion
Needs to be Specific
On sentence definition
No more than 3 - 5
Mario Kart magic moments ->
Cross a finish line (zoom of on the distance)
Red shell Hit
Drift perfect
Feature Set
A List of all major Elements
Can be non-functional things (build, tools and dev related stuff)
Everything necessary to ship
What matters most for every feature -> the main goal of the feature
What Cannot be compromised
Guide your decision making
Elevator Pitch
Communicate your game with other efficient
Critical step
If you can’t describe your games in a way that make people interested, you probably miss something
Mistakes to avoid when making games: th-cam.com/video/HbhdTt4IgPk/w-d-xo.html
Define your elevator pitch:
What makes your game great in just a few sentences
Fifa -> Authentic football action with the stars and teams around the world that we know and love. Unparallel strategic realism lets you control your squad with incredible precision. Visual accuracy that showcases the game beautiful.
Then break your vision down to a single sentence (X statement or Product Razor)
Fifa -> Authentic football that makes the user the star
Iterate and get it tight (can take time)
Try it with friends see reactions
Development
Order of Feature development
Prototype (on the most important of your feature pillars)
Central to your game loop
Then start your complete feature roadmap (all your remaining features in order of delivery by development)
It is really hard, check the video th-cam.com/video/a7vZFiFLw-w/w-d-xo.html
Docs while working with a team
Keep brief, documents can be inefficient and outdated after your game diverts from your assumptions.
The right approach depends on the size of your team and complexity.
More people == more documentation.
Writing docs can be counterproductive.
Adjust the framework to your needs.
This is an awesome overview of the video script. Thanks for the great work!
Was going to write that down for reference, thanks :)
you probably dont care at all but does anybody know of a method to log back into an instagram account?
I stupidly lost my password. I would appreciate any tips you can offer me
@@novanikolas4491 lol what? Speaking out of context here. :D
Thankyou Rinaldo for this awesome documentation of the video. God bless you Brother!
My right ear enjoys this info
I was pretty disappointed my headphones were broken already lol
hahahaha yessir spot on
My left side headphone is broken, so this comment frustrates me because I can't tell if the video is all right sound
I am blessed with a mono button on my headphone monitor.
I just realized this is quite a small channel, the quality of the video is through the roof in comparison to the sub count, i love the videos at the moment and i hope the channel continues to grow.
He definitely grew! This is a great vid. I made a similar vid-- but one that helps people break down ideas when they have a design solution. I hope it's helpful for people!!
TH-cam is a rough platform
I've watched a lot of videos but I don't think I've ever seen one that approaches it from this angle. Thank you for being one of the best game design channels and not just going the easy route of making quick decent videos that get decent views but go above and beyond to make the best content possible which for you guys is never less than knocking it out of the ballpark.
#Creature Feet Much appreciate the kind words.
Any video topics you want to see us focus on? Or any feedback on how we can improve?
Ask Gamedev Honestly not that I can think of except that I'd always love more videos haha but I'm a believer in quality over quantity and I wouldn't want you to change that. As for topics and improvements nothing comes to mind at the moment but if I think of anything I will comment it immediately.
Excellent video! Concise and very insightful.
One thing that I'd like to point out (and you did in the video but I'd like to reinforce) is that:
Making huge documents is counter productive.
So, make one very small and laser precision document to communicate one thing at time.
The best way to do that is to make documents that answer questions. So, don't make them unless needed. E.g. if you were able to communicate to your team the design of the game, and they got it all, you don't need a design document. On the other hand, if you communicated it well, but someone asked "hey but which are the pillars?" make a simple document that, with the help of the team, communicate the pillars. If someone asks "hmm what about the sound?" make a simple document that explains how you ideate the sound. If someone asks "I got the design of the characters, but how will be the environment?" make an environment design document.
I.e. just make documents if they will help you and your team to leap forward in development, otherwise just dig into the development itself :D
Thanks for the kind words Pigdev! This is really solid advice - we wholeheartedly agree! Having short documents that are each specific to an individual's question will save a lot of time, and still provide enough for alignment. Have you employed this strategy to develop a game? We'd love to see it!
I did!
Whoa! Moon Cheeser looks pretty fun. If it's ok with you, we'd love to spotlight it at the end of one of our future videos.
It's totally awesome for me, feel free actually! Game is MIT and CCBY, so yeah, feel free to use it is the most accurate thing I can say lol
But depending on when you guys plan to make the video (if really mid-term like 1~2 months) I'll make some improvements to port it to Godot 3.0 and add my new set of animated characters, so, hopefully, game will become way nicer then!
That's great! We'll feature it in a video in the coming weeks. We'll make sure to let you know when it goes live!
Right Ear: Ah yes I understand..
Left Ear: can you speak up?
Watching this video for a class assignment. LETS GO!!!
The magic moment of Mario kart is when your friend stops talking to you
3:45 i can't understand why you pronounce it as "may rio kart" lol
Facts first thing I noticed And I came to the comments right after
I'm not experienced in game making even in the slightest bit your channel makes it seem as though I can make these through enough work and research, you guys are awesome keep up the good work!!
No problem, the lazypeace! We're glad to help motivate you! What gamedev topics are you most interested in learning about?
@@AskGamedev personally the prospect of multiplayer is something I'd like to delve into, but I don't have the experience to do that nor the team, so for now I'm investing into singleplayer story driven until I get more of a name built.
Thanks for watching and supporting Ask Gamedev!
What element of game design planning is most important to you?
I think you have to have a strong and well-tested game loop, but for me, I think magic moments are what make a game most memorable.
Good suggestion Matt! Do you design games?
Ask Gamedev Not at the moment, but maybe in the future!
Matt Linsangan I I think that would be great, the more designers with different outlooks and perspectives the better.
I think even flow of the game matter too!
i love mario been playing since i was a kid and the most magical part to me is the beauty of the levels like rainbow road
In elevator pitch stage, should be also point about creation a visual first impression of game (logo, screenshots, trailer, few sec gif) its even more important than text because one picture is worth thousands of words
"Mary-O Kart" = instant loss of game dev expertise respect.
Just kidding.
But only sort of. ;)
I am so happy TH-cam recommended this video and your channel for me! I'm looking forward to more great content, keep it up!
I am a simple pirate with one ear yarr, and I love this :)
You should have way more subs!
#Davis W that’s too kind. We’re working on the subs!
Any video topics you would like to see us cover? Let us know if you have any feedback on how we can approve.
everyone must know this channel
@@nickol0yo922 also 90% of humans addicted to tiktoks
In this video your voice is on the right audio channel only.
What book would u recommend to get more information about this topic ?....Design pillars, Magic moments etc.
Hey started making games a month ago any advice any tips anywhere where I could learn some programs from using Construct 3 at the moment
LOVE this video and the channel. This video is the absolute NO.1 informative video about game design. Though I just had a thought that it would be even nicer if this channel uses easier vocabulary. Since I'm a Korean student I'm not really the master of english so I get easily stuck with words like 'retention' 'crux' 'erring' 'brevity'. So I have to pause video, google those words one at a time, and come back and resume. If you'd be so kind to care just a little bit more for non-english users like me, it would be wonderful.
Thanks for the kind words and feedback
A typical action survival game core gameplay loop:
-explore…........................................................................>collector pickups,items
-Access(access to different areas and levels )
- encounter
-fight
-kill
-collect pickups
- repair/craft/upgrade
-progress
And it repeats........
could you fix the sound please. All the music is playing in right ear and your voice on left side
You had your headphones on the wrong way
portal has a great core game loop.
1.good story
2. fun elevating puzzles that eventually get impossible.
3. makes people think.
Aren't those the design pillars rather than the loop?
Happy to have seen the channel grow in subs so much! Valuable and inspiring content.
This is the best channel I’ve seen for dev help
Thanks for the kind words speedracer! What types of gamedev videos interest you most?
Ask Gamedev I’m into how to make good graphics in ue4 while it not being resource intensive. Idk how to use ue4 if that’s not your thing then what about “how to get an idea of a game”
@@speedracer123222 Thanks for the suggestions! We'll add them to our list of community ideas.
good video... a lot of insights I'll include in my game design
I'm really astonished by the precision of the information and the clarity about the speak language! I'm literally in love with this channel
Check out part 1 in this series on Design here: th-cam.com/video/utmlfUZvdJw/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for the information! Not sure if it is done on purpose, but your audio is quite noticeably panned right when listening on headphones it makes it slightly harder to focus.
Hello! I am wondering if and how this way of designing goes together with an agile development mindset. It seems like there is a whole lot to decide before the development process start, but what if you realize that one of the core features has to be changed based on playtesting the first prototype? This might affect the other features as well and the whole feature list might have to be re-written. How do you think about this? How much can you decide before starting to prototype?
Really awesome stuff! I will definitely start adopting most if not all of these steps!
I was hoping you can tell me where the prototyping phase would begin because normally, wouldn't we prototype before we commit to a game idea?
Great video. I think Civilization has a great core loop.
Agreed. We love Civ! Just one more turn!
speaking about game loop... what do you guys think about clicker/idle games?
Super addicting - and a lot of fun when done right :)
How to do game design:
Step 1: open a text editor and start writing
Step 2: prototype
Step 3: tweak your writing to fix things which did not work or add things which would be good
Repeat from step 2 until the game is ready to be made.
Still a great vid, four years later!
Wow! Awesome video!
How to upload our game design entrance examination plz tell me about this topics detailed!
please make a more on this topic with more examples!
Sure thing - we will add that to the list of future scripts!
Are you a designer? Did you have any feedback on the first video
Ask Gamedev I am beginner in the game design. You content is really good. You content helped me in the game I am working on now !!
Do you have your own game studio? If not are your looking forward to it?
My most magical moments in Mario Kart is bullying the other players. Taking every short cut and setting banana traps to slow down players who follow my path. Also letting those pass me when a blue shell is coming. Muahaha.
Great video straight on topic!
My right ear enjoyed this
There are some ROBLOX games that have great game loops, like Mining Simulator. You have to mine blocks, sell blocks, then repeat.
It's a great video. For me it wasn't clear where the iterative process in game design fits within the framework.
Merio cart is the best
Nice Video. Thanks!!!
great video, but that background music makes me nauseous and sick.
Same with me. I couldn't watch the entire video because of that. :/
I must agree with that. I had to pause to times, to rest my ears, to be able to finish the video. Which was very informative!
Factorio and Minecraft have good game loops
"limitless building capabilities" OMEGALUL
Why is he saying mae ree oh cart instead of maw ree oh cart?
I would feel creeped out of5 petiole were watching me work like that 7:48
could you make a videeo on agile game design? Cause that is what most indies do completly wrong.
What is agile game design?
Agile game design?
Magical moment: watching a homing missile arc right into some little hearts dreams and hopes of actually winning against ME! I’m the man. I’m the man. Sorry that took me way back.
Amazing tutorial -- great insights. I also made a video on some basic game design principles that tackle the process of breaking down ideas into digestible chunks -- this is important when it's hard to think about how to make something when you don't know exactly how !
Hey Grate Video, I was wounder if there a chance you can do something on collaborations
Thanks! We can certainly look into that topic! What are you most curious about in regards to collaborations?
u should write a book about this👍😁
Amazing
but how are you supposed to create a new big world without having a long game document? I mean all the monsters and stuff?
Maerio Kart ?
Merio kart?
Can you make 3D modeling tutorial(s) please???
Not this channel but if you use Blender, a channel called "Blender Guru" would be a great place to learn 3d modelling.
Please center your audio
you guys have great videos and insight, but come on man what is your excuse for calling it "Mary-o kart"?
there was no link to click
Merry-o cart
Mary-o? Mario. Mar. Ma - r. lol. Where did you get mary o? Anyway, still thought it was a great vid
I watched this a year ago, and my ears learned multi-tasking since then.
dark souls game loop: death
Then you should focus-group your design and eliminate everything that isn't popular, then run it by a bunch of suits and eliminate anything that they don't think is profitable. Or just make a game that's a clone of something that sold well.
Make the game that you are dying to play, but no one else has decided to make. Prototype early, and murder anything that you think is boring or takes too long. Don't get lazy about iterating and improving -- don't quit until you are happy, and don't be so easy to please.
Hey have you played chirpy
Injustice gods among us game loop for me is there power especially batmans
Thank you for great content! It was very informative and great. @mediaartssbcc
Cool
I kept zooming in and out of focus looking behind my right shoulder.
You said mairio cart!
Does this framework have a name?
The video is amazing but the sound track is a mess!!!
great video but having the music in my left ear and your voice in my right ear drives me nuts
first, thank you for your video series, you've helped me immensely. Second who the fuck is mary-o
Extremely irritating music.
Merio Kert
Yeah the audio is really weird
Coding your own games is easier than you think...
That s sound are stabbing my ears...
Thanks for the feedback! We'll pay attention to this issue in our future videos.
No I don’t like marryo cart I do like the video tho
Sorry but I can’t trust a video game designer who can’t pronounce MARIO...
merio kart
Merrio. lol
Good video but that background music is awful
.
OMG please stop saying Mareo Kart! Learn how to speak please
The title should be "how to take out the soul from games"...that is the reason there is so much cr@p and all game slooks the same