A Game Designer cannot design every kind of game without getting used to the new genre. Continue reading ‘Designing for different genres: mastering both sides of the force.’
Archive for the '1. Can a good game designer design any type of game?' Category
20
Oct
09
The passion factor
Yes.
But will all of the designs be good? In fact, you don’t need to have ever even though about game design before and you can still give any game a shot.
Perhaps I’m being a smart-ass here but let me modify this topic somewhat so I make clear what I’m writing about in this piece; can a designer design any game that will also be great?
This brings me into the terms competence and passion. I know quite a few people in creative positions who have a lot of experience and are very competent at what they do, producing solid stuff over and over again, but that lack any passion or joy in what they are doing.
I’m sure most people have met or worked with someone like this and I’m quite certain that these types of people exist among game designers as well. The reason for the lack of passion can be a lot of things, but one that is relevant for my rambling is that the designer is working on something that he doesn’t like.
I’m still not answering the topic, but bear with me.
So image yourself being a designer for a game based on the most awful TV-show you can come up with. “Days of our Lives” comes to mind for me for example. Do you think you would make great designs for it?
So the answer to my modified topic is no. I don’t think a designer can stay passionate doing ANY game and make it great, not talking about good, but great. Admittedly, I’m a bit torn about whether my “Days of our Lives” example is too extreme but when I think about it I’m sure that if everyone at Blizzard loved it they would make an awesome game for fans of the show.
18
Oct
09
What he said.
To be able to properly answer the question if a good designer can design any type of game, I’d like to have a look at the two important parts to that question:
“What is a ‘good designer’” and “what is ‘any type of game’”.
Concerning the former, I think EA’s Gordon Walton hit the nail on the head with his GDC 2009 talk, where he stated a good designer should bring the following to a team (short version):
Can a good designer design any type of game?
The question posed is a very open one and thus has many different ways of approach. Are we talking about one good designer in charge of the design aspect of a new genre he hasn’t worked on before? What criteria is the finished product being judged by, is a “good” designer making a “good game” enough, or are we talking blockbuster titles? Is the question focused on the swiftness of a designer to master a new genre, or are we talking about a designer’s ability to quickly jump between genres?
I would like to answer Yes to this question, but ultimately my instincts tell me No. The reason for this is that a good designer can probably make a good game, but I am not sure that is enough in today’s competitive market.
While I do believe the general skill set involved in making different types of games are transferable. I do not believe that the skills of making a successful FPS game can be directly transferred to making a successful realistic racing game. There are too many barriers to cross.
But then again, a good designer probably has enough experiences to quickly understand what is core in different titles; he is also a very quick learner and a good researcher. This gives him the tools needed to change genres if he wishes. But there is still a learning curve to each genre that everybody must go through, even the best designers.
I am a game designer. And I have a glaring weakness: math.
Every time I balance games, I try to balance off of feeling alone. And of course, it does not always work. When this happens, I usually take a look at games with similar systems (resources, in-game economy, etc.) and retrofit their system into my game. Now, I know this is not the most elegant approach, but it has served me well so far.
Why am I telling you this? To me, a game designer should have a deep understanding of systems (whether it is designing or reading them) and all forms of interaction concerning those systems (whether it is system – system or user-system interaction). So, if we are talking about tried and true game formula, I do believe that any reasonably good game designer can design them.
If, on the other hand, we are talking about new, innovative game concepts, I doubt ANY good game designer can pull them off. Let’s take me as an example again. If I were to design a new, innovative in-game economy, I would miserably fail, since I lack basic and profound understanding of math.I am a game designer. And I have a glaring weakness: math.
Every time I balance games, I try to balance off of feeling alone. And of course, it does not always work. When this happens, I usually take a look at games with similar systems (resources, in-game economy, etc.) and retrofit their system into my game. Now, I know this is not the most elegant approach, but it has served me well so far.
Why am I telling you this? To me, a game designer should have a deep understanding of systems (whether it is designing or reading them) and all forms of interaction concerning those systems (whether it is system – system or user-system interaction). So, if we are talking about tried and true game formula, I do believe that any reasonably good game designer can design them.
If, on the other hand, we are talking about new, innovative game concepts, I doubt ANY good game designer can pull them off. Let’s take me as an example again. If I were to design a new, innovative in-game economy, I would miserably fail, since I lack basic and profound understanding of math.
I am a game designer. And I have a glaring weakness: math. I am also a trained musician.
Continue reading ‘Game Design – Designing the same old, same old’
The topic which I’m to discuss is one that I think most people have an opinion about. Can a good game designer design any type of game?
I’ve decided that I’ll break it down to two different ways of answering that.
Can a good game designer contribute to any type of game? Yes, absolutely!
Can a good game designer unfamiliar with the type of game in focus, design that kind of game by himself? No! Well, yes… But… It depends… A definite “maybe” perhaps?
Continue reading ‘A good designer is always a good designer’
The first topic we’ll discuss is a topic about the very craft of game design.
Can a good game designer design any type of game?
Feel free to comment on this post as well and let us know what you think of it. Let’s hope for some opinions that boggles our minds!
Links (manually updated):
Arcade: http://aboutgamedesign.com/2009/10/12/a-good-designer-is-always-a-good-designer/
Arcade
Arshak Ardeshir
Gustav Ziolkowski
Severin Brettmeister
Andre Beccu
