someone else’s understanding. When members of your team read, “It’s likeTomb
Raider,” they are probably reminded of some different aspect of that game’s gameplay
than you are. That’s assuming that they have playedTomb Raiderat all. Since the focus
is designed to guide your team members as well as yourself, it needs to communicate
the same ideas to everyone who reads it. Even if the focus is primarily for your own use,
the process of analyzingTomb Raiderto determine what about it you want to replicate
will help you to better understand your own game. You need to have a properly stream-
lined focus that can stand on its own, without demanding that the person who is reading
the focus understand any other particular games. All the relevant information that is
important to your focus must be contained within the focus itself, without outside refer-
ences. Often when designers set out to create “It’s likeGame Xbut with...” games,
they tend to lose sight of what made the game they are imitating so compelling in the
first place. Then they proceed to make their own game top-heavy with tacked-on fea-
tures that exist only to hide the fact their game is just likeGame X. Removing
references to other games from your focus will help expose the true nature of the pro-
ject you are undertaking. If you add sufficient description revealing what it is about
another game that you are trying to capture in your new design, it may be OK to leave in
the reference to that original game since it can provide a helpful starting point for read-
ers. This is a matter of individual preference when writing your focus, and I personally
prefer to leave out other game references of any kind if at all possible.
Establishing a focus for your project does not need to limit the scope of your game,
and is not intended to do so. Your game can still be a massively complex game with an
epic sweep. In fact, if appropriate, this complexity and depth should probably be men-
tioned in your focus, but you should still be able to describe the game in a few sentences
in order to succinctly communicate what is most important about your undertaking.
Your game can even include multiple styles of gameplay within the same game. Sup-
pose your goal is to simulate the life of a pirate. You might want to include an
exploration mode for navigating the seas, a tactical mode for engaging another ship in
battle, a sword-fighting mode for fighting an enemy captain one-on-one, and even a
trading mode for selling off booty. (Indeed, Sid Meier already made this game; it is
calledPirates!) But having this multiple game structure does not mean that the focus
could not still consist of, “This game recreates the many different facets of a pirate’s life
through numerous different campaign modes, all designed to evoke the spirit of being a
cutthroat. The player is able to explore the nature of being an outlaw, including the eco-
nomic and physical risks involved.” If your game is to have multiple separate modes,
your focus should apply to all of the different sub-games within your project.
If you are working on a project solo or with a small team, you may think it unneces-
sary to actually write down your focus. After all, if you can just explain it to everyone
who needs to know, what’s the sense in writing it down? I would argue that writing it
down is key to truly coming to grips with the nature of the game you are planning to
develop. There is a world of difference between an idea that is kicking around in your
head and one that is written down on paper in front of you. When it is on paper you can
look at it and make sure that what is typed is really the core of your idea, and that those
sentences represent everything that is most important to you about the project. Unlike
when you describe the project to someone, on paper you cannot say, “Oh, yeah, and
there’s this part, and this other aspect over here, and I really mean this when I say
Chapter 5: Focus 75