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To Know the different principles of games
To understand why these are important
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Visual style:
world (terrain, architecture, objects);
characters;
non-playing characters (NPC); f
Feedback interface;
perspectives (2D, 3D, first-person, third-person, scrolling, aerial, context-sensitive);
full motionvideo (FMV)
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Gameplay
interaction model, eg avatar, omnipresence
single player;
multiplayer
narrative;
game setting eg physical, temporal, environmental, emotional, ethical
goals
challenges;
rewards
player actions
rules
difficulty
game mechanics (inventory, scoring, win condition)
balance
feedback
game structure(flowchart)
addiction
The type of terrain used in a game depends on the range of
navigation needed. Some common styles of navigation are:
 Top-down games only let you look at a downward angle, and do
not have to deal with a wide range of distances. Hither clipping
and LOD is greatly simplified or not needed.
 Unconstrained ground games let you look up or down, and get
close to the surface. They must allow a wide range of distances
and levels of detail, and deal with hither clipping. Some have
third-person display modes, but allow the full navigational
freedom of a 1st-person point of view.
 Unconstrained air games are similar, but do not have to deal with
drawing near objects/scenery accurately.
the role of architecture in games, I started off by making a list of
reasons that humans construct buildings in the first place:
 To protect people, goods, and animals from the weather.
 To organize human activity efficiently (factories, theaters,
offices, sports arenas)
 To conceal and protect goods and animals from theft
(warehouses, barns, shops, storage facilities).
 To offer personal privacy (toilets and private houses).
 To protect people from other people (fortifications,
military installations, prisons).
 To impress, commemorate or simply decorate (civic monuments
and religious buildings).
 The primary function of architecture in games is to support the
gameplay.
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How the character is played and used
How you interact with the character
NPC
 The term non-player character is also used in console and
computer role-playing games to describe entities not under the
direct control of players. Nearly always the connotation is that an
NPC is allied with, or at least neutral toward, the player, while
hostile characters are referred to as enemies, mobs or creeps. In
video games, NPC is sometimes expanded as "non-playable
character" or "non-player class".
 NPC behavior in computer games is usually scripted and
automatic (see artificial intelligence), triggered by certain actions
or dialogue with the player character(s).
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There should be continuous visual and aural
confirmation about the state of the system; if the user
clicks on something it should move, preview, or make
a noise; if something is thrown away it should
whimper or vanish in an animated way; if new mail
arrives, or new pages are downloaded, there should
be a ping and some visual change, and so on. Also, all
these noises should be modulated by the content of
the page and the context of the user---otherwise the
feedback is not providing any other information
except that the event happened (which would rapidly
become annoying). The user should never be in doubt
about the state of the system.
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2D. A few years ago, the vast majority of games had
only two dimensions. This was especially noticeable in
2D side-scrolling games such as Super Mario Bros. (see
Figure 4.1). Mario could run left and right and jump
up and down, but he could not move toward the
player (out of the screen) or away from him (into the
screen). Two-dimensional worlds have one huge
advantage when you're thinking about how to display
them: The two dimensions of the world directly
correspond to the two dimensions of the monitor
screen, so you don't have to worry about conveying a
sense of depth to the player.
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3D. Three true dimensions. Thanks to 3D hardware
accelerators and modeling tools, 3D spaces are now
easy to implement on hardware that supports them.
They give the player a much greater sense of being
inside a space (building, cave, spacecraft, or
whatever) than 2D spaces ever can. With a 2D world,
the player feels as if he is looking at it; with a 3D
world, he feels as if he is in it. 3D worlds are great for
avatar-based games with exploration challenges, such
as the Prince of Persia series (see Figure 4.3). Most
large games for personal computers and consoles now
use three dimensions, but many small casual games
still need only two.
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In video games, first person refers to a graphical perspective
rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. In many
cases, this may be the viewpoint from the cockpit of a vehicle.
Many different genres have made use of first-person perspectives,
ranging from adventure games to flight simulators. Perhaps the
most notable genre to make use of this device is the first-person
shooter, where the graphical perspective has an immense impact
on game play.
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Games with a first-person perspective are usually avatar-based,
wherein the game displays what the player's avatar would see with
the avatar's own eyes. Thus, players typically cannot see the
avatar's body, though they may be able to see the avatar's
weapons or hands.
In video games, "third person" refers to a graphical
perspective rendered from a fixed distance behind and
slightly above the player character. This viewpoint allows
players to see a more strongly characterized avatar, and is
most common in action games and action adventure
games. Games with this perspective often make use of
positional audio, which the volume of ambient sounds
varies depending on the position of the avatar.[1]
 There are primarily three types of third-person camera
systems: the "fixed camera systems" in which the camera
positions are set during the game creation; the "tracking
camera systems" in which the camera simply follows the
player's character; and the "interactive camera systems"
that are under the player's control.
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A side-scrolling game or side-scroller is a video game in
which the gameplay action is viewed from a side-view
camera angle, and the onscreen characters generally
move from the left side of the screen to the right. These
games make use of scrolling computer display technology.
 [edit] Use of side-scrolling
 The most popular use of the side-scrolling format is in the
platform game genre. Platform games are action games
that feature jumping, climbing, and running characters
who must be guided through many diverse levels. Games
such as Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog are
among the most famous side-scrollers of this type.
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FMV cutscenes became a nearly mandatory
component in computer games, and even as a betterquality replacement for sprites in FMV games. Popular
platforms for FMV include QuickTime, MPEG and
Smacker.
 FMV differs from real-time cutscenes in that real-time
cutscenes must render the game environment just as
in the actual game, whereas FMV is simply a playback
of something that was previously recorded, usually
rendered by a much more powerful machine. Thus,
FMV was traditionally usually much higher quality
than real-time cutscenes, and the two can usually be
differentiated by this.
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A single-player video game is a variant of a
particular video game where input from only
one player is expected throughout the course
of the gaming session. "Single-player game"
usually implies a game that can only be
played by one person
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A multiplayer game is a game which is
played by several players.[1] The players might
be independent opponents, formed into
teams or be just a single team pitted against
the game
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The standard model for storytelling in video
games is based upon having the player
complete a set of goals and then playing a cut
scene which advances the plot. Some may
argue that this is fine; the cut scenes
represents a reward given to the player for
completing a section of the game
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The temporal dimension of a game world defines the way that time is
treated in that world and the ways in which it differs from time in the real
world.
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The environmental dimension describes the world's appearance and its
atmosphere
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The physical surroundings define what the game actually looks like
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The emotional dimension of a game world defines not only the emotions
of the people in the world but, more important, the emotions that you,
as a designer, hope to arouse in the player. Single-player games have to
influence players' emotions with storytelling and gameplay.
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The ethical dimension of a game world defines what right and wrong
mean within the context of that world.
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What the player of a game has to strive for. A
goal is an assignment of value to the possible
outcomes of a game. The goal refers to the
game as an activity, not to the game as an
object.
Additionally, some games enforce goals,
while other games have optional goals.
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Challenge: an important way to shape the
experience of play. If the challenge of a game
is too high for a player’s skills, they might
become anxious or frustrated. If there is not
enough challenge, boredom results. Ideally
games provide a balanced challenge at all
moments.
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Mechanical Rewards: such as increases in stats
that the player can feel the effect of. Highly
motivating for many players –
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Narrative rewards: a little narrative exposition
is effective for certain players as a reward. A cut
scene can be a bigger reward than dialogue when used well.
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Emotional rewards: related to the above, but
applicable when the player feels they have done
something for someone in the game.
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every game has actions that it lets the player
perform. The player can run, shoot, paint,
throw, eat, duck, swap polarity, teleport,
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It is the process by which a player takes
action withinthe designed system of a game,
and the system responds to this action.
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Rules are a fundamental part of any game.
They provide the structure out of which play
emerges, by defining what a player can and
cannot do, as well as the relationships
between components in the system.
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In general usage, difficulty level refers to the
relative difficulty of completing a task or
objective.
In computer and video games, the term
specifically delineates the ease or difficulty
with which an average user may complete a
game or a part of a game
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Game mechanics are a construct of rules
intended to produce an enjoyable game or
gameplay.
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Scoring: If any kind of reward system is in the
game
Win and Lose Conditions How do you win
and how do you lose the game.
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Game balance is a concept in game design
describing fairness or balance of power in a
game between multiple players or strategic
options.
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One example of imbalance in action games,
especially first-person shooters, is the possibility
of spawn camping, which can cause players to
be killed before they have a chance to defend
themselves. This is a clear example of the player
being unable to influence the outcome of the
game.
Positive Feedback
Positive feedback occurs when the act of
succeeding makes it more likely that you will
succeed.
The lead car not only has a lead that can be
protected, but doesn’t have to deal with other
cars forcing him out of the optimal line.
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Negative Feedback
Negative feedback either constrains the player in
the lead, or gives an advantage to the player or
players trailing
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Addiction of Finishing the Game
An addiction to finish the game is often based
on either wanting to see the end result or just
to complete it.
Addiction of the High Score
Addiction of Exploration