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edg3
09-03-2009, 06:58 AM
Directory of All Essays
Sunday, March 01, 2009
What is your game design style?

I was about to ask a friend what sort of games she liked to make and I realized that I didn't even know how to frame that question in an intelligent manner. I've noticed that games have distinct styles. These are not visual styles. Nor are they styles associated with prefered process of development. Instead, they are unique styles of game design, how you mix and match mechanics, story, player agency and feedback. What do you emphasize? What aspects of the the player's experience do you highlight with your design choices?

A spectrum of game design styles
It is a broad topic, so I'll just jump right in. Here are some styles that I've noticed. You can think of these categories as pieces of a spectrum that cover all major aspects of the final game design that the player experiences. Though they are all present, each style is emphasized to varying degrees in a particular title.

1. Copycat: make a game like another game that is interesting.
2. Experience: Make a distinct moment of game play that looks and feels interesting.
3. Narrative: Make a story that is interesting
4. World: Make a place or world that is interesting
5. Systems: Make systems and objects that are interesting.
6. Player Skills: Make verbs for the player that are interesting.
Moar (http://lostgarden.com/2009/03/what-is-your-game-design-style.html)

Havent finished reading it yet, but im off to school.

Gazza_N
09-03-2009, 09:09 AM
I'd say that mine is primarily a Systems approach, since I know that when I build a game I'm usually thinking more about how individual objects/weapons/obstacles operate and interact than anything else. Thing is, it's not a mutually exclusive thing. I'm generally not inspired by systems on their own. I'll take my original inspiration thinking from the Experience, Narrative or Copycat standpoint, then morph it to a systems approach as I start fleshing the game out.

The problem is that the very nature of games, being software, means that you can't avoid thinking from a systems perspective regardless of the original approach. I wonder if that makes it a valid classification...

Nandrew
10-03-2009, 12:37 PM
I think that it's difficult to associate with any one style as mentioned here, because a good game should draw from most of the categories anyway. Each paradigm has its own strength, but I feel that a good developer should be looking at all of them.

Even games that look like they wouldn't suit a narrative may have potential for a story -- just perhaps not in the classically understood manner.

dislekcia
10-03-2009, 12:51 PM
True, finding one specific style on that list is a bit difficult, but I think that's because a lot of the regular Game.Dev members have evolved their own, strong styles. I can spot a Nandrew game at a distance, Gazza's gameplay balance is obvious, Squid's ideas stick out, Chippit is hax, Fengol never finishes anything ;), etc.

Personally, I haven't had a narrative-focused idea for nearly a decade now. I don't seem to want to tell stories with games as much as I did when I was a kid. Odd. Maybe I'm just too jaded by the sheer size of a narrative game (at least, that's what feels like the limiting factor to me). That probably puts me in the systems/copycat camp... I keep getting bothered by poor implementations of otherwise fun ideas.

BlackShipsFillt
11-03-2009, 01:00 AM
Each of these approaches is kind of a departure point. A goal that you set yourself.

I have one idea though that is an experiencial one. But to make the experience work I'd have to really work hard and long at the game... it's easier to tinker with mechanics with lower expectations.

I think to date I've focussed mostly on building interesting worlds and interesting player skills/interactions..

I do often start off copying a game, or part of a game, that I like, but with the intention of owning it, even improving on it.