edg3
12-03-2008, 11:44 AM
This list has not been completed, so technically is only actually a list of 112 rules, but I found it very interesting: Link - The Inspirancy (http://www.theinspiracy.com/Current%20Rules%20Master%20List.htm)
A few Quotes from the list, for no particular reason are they more interesting, but they catch the attention:
1
Fight Player Fatigue
Games are a challenge, and playing takes effort ? actively work to keep the player involved, and make sure the appeal of your game always exceeds its difficulty. (The Flow idea, where the designer neatly guides players between boredom & frustration, is a subset of this rule.) Basic, Variety, Flow
- Hal Barwood
7
Let the Player Turn the Game Off
A player should be able to save and exit the game at any point, losing at most a few seconds of progress as a result. Our objective as designers is to entertain, not punish ? and many games force players to play for extra minutes, even hours, until they can reach a ?save game point?, forcing them to recapitulate those minutes if they quit prematurely, in frustrating repetition of now-familiar events. It?s a commercially important rule, akin to the old adage, ?the customer is always right?. Players have been known to give up on games that did not follow this rule, and even return them. Single Player Games (?)
- Noah Falstein, Dale Geist
21
Use Real-World Formulas and Minimize Cheating with Simulations
Avoiding early shortcuts often saves time in the long run. It can be tempting to cut corners with canned animation or table-driven behaviors, but use real formulas to simulate real-world consequences and you?ll find that later expansions to the AI that also stick with actual physics can fit in seamlessly. For instance in a racing game it may be tempting to have an AI car jump a gap with a preprogrammed animation, but if an opponent?s race car is subject to the same constraints as a player?s car when jumping a gap the level designers can add new jumps or adjust old ones without having to go back and change all the previous enemy behaviors. Games that simulate real-world systems, Simplicity, Balance
- Noah Falstein
50
Simple as Possible
"Everything should be as simple as possible, but no simpler" - find ways to simplify any game element or system of game elements, but only to the point where further simplification takes away more interest than it compensates for with clarity. The master simplicity rule Simplicity
-Albert Einstein
85
Let Players' Actions Leave Lasting Effects
The game world will feel more real if the player's actions leave lasting effects, for instance damage remains until patched or repaired, and good and bad deeds result correspondingly in lasting gratitude or resentment. Meta, Feedback
- Dave Perry
And my favourite one:
19
Make the Game Fun for the Player, not the Designer or Computer
This may seem obvious, but often game designers forget that it is the player who is the final audience. It?s hard enough to make a game fun for the player ? in fact, that?s what most of the craft of game design is about ? but it?s even harder when you lose sight of your audience. Basic, Psych
- Sid Meier
A few Quotes from the list, for no particular reason are they more interesting, but they catch the attention:
1
Fight Player Fatigue
Games are a challenge, and playing takes effort ? actively work to keep the player involved, and make sure the appeal of your game always exceeds its difficulty. (The Flow idea, where the designer neatly guides players between boredom & frustration, is a subset of this rule.) Basic, Variety, Flow
- Hal Barwood
7
Let the Player Turn the Game Off
A player should be able to save and exit the game at any point, losing at most a few seconds of progress as a result. Our objective as designers is to entertain, not punish ? and many games force players to play for extra minutes, even hours, until they can reach a ?save game point?, forcing them to recapitulate those minutes if they quit prematurely, in frustrating repetition of now-familiar events. It?s a commercially important rule, akin to the old adage, ?the customer is always right?. Players have been known to give up on games that did not follow this rule, and even return them. Single Player Games (?)
- Noah Falstein, Dale Geist
21
Use Real-World Formulas and Minimize Cheating with Simulations
Avoiding early shortcuts often saves time in the long run. It can be tempting to cut corners with canned animation or table-driven behaviors, but use real formulas to simulate real-world consequences and you?ll find that later expansions to the AI that also stick with actual physics can fit in seamlessly. For instance in a racing game it may be tempting to have an AI car jump a gap with a preprogrammed animation, but if an opponent?s race car is subject to the same constraints as a player?s car when jumping a gap the level designers can add new jumps or adjust old ones without having to go back and change all the previous enemy behaviors. Games that simulate real-world systems, Simplicity, Balance
- Noah Falstein
50
Simple as Possible
"Everything should be as simple as possible, but no simpler" - find ways to simplify any game element or system of game elements, but only to the point where further simplification takes away more interest than it compensates for with clarity. The master simplicity rule Simplicity
-Albert Einstein
85
Let Players' Actions Leave Lasting Effects
The game world will feel more real if the player's actions leave lasting effects, for instance damage remains until patched or repaired, and good and bad deeds result correspondingly in lasting gratitude or resentment. Meta, Feedback
- Dave Perry
And my favourite one:
19
Make the Game Fun for the Player, not the Designer or Computer
This may seem obvious, but often game designers forget that it is the player who is the final audience. It?s hard enough to make a game fun for the player ? in fact, that?s what most of the craft of game design is about ? but it?s even harder when you lose sight of your audience. Basic, Psych
- Sid Meier