For each decision the designer makes about the game she is hoping to create, she
needs to understand how that limits what the game will be. If the designer tries to fit a
type of gameplay around an ill-suited engine, the game will suffer in the end. Trying to
do aPopulous-esque “god-sim” using a first-person, indoorUnreal-style 3D engine is a
big mistake. Just as if one tried to tell the story of the Greek gods through flight simula-
tor gameplay, the game would simply fail to work. Herein lies the difficulty with many
“high-concept” ideas, often the brainchildren of marketing specialists who want to cap-
ture disparate markets with one product. If the parts do not work together, it does not
matter how many markets the concept covers — no gamers will be interested in play-
ing the final game.
Starting with Gameplay..........................
Beginning with gameplay is one of the most common starting points for game develop-
ment, especially for designer- or management-driven projects. Thinking about a style
of gameplay is often the easiest core for someone to latch onto, especially if that
gameplay is similar to an existing game. “It’s a racing game!” “It’s a flight simulator!”
“It’s a 3D action/adventure likeSuper Mario 64!” “It’s a first-person shooter likeHalo!”
Often a game developer will have enjoyed a game in one of these genres and will want
to apply her own spin to it. With a general idea for a game that is interesting to her, the
designer will want to work out what her particular game is going to accomplish in terms
of gameplay. What type of racing game will it be? What aspects of racing are we trying to
capture for the player? With a more specific idea of what type of gameplay she wants to
create, the designer should start thinking about how that will impact the technology the
game will require and what sort of story, if any, the game will be able to have.
Depending on the type of gameplay you are hoping to create for the player, you
need to analyze what sort of technology that undertaking will require. Does the game
need a 3D engine, or will 2D be enough or even more appropriate? What sort of view
will the player have of the game-world? Will it be fixed or dynamic? Does the action
transpire fast and furious with a large number of entities moving around on the screen
at once? Are the game-worlds large or small? All of these questions and many more
need to be analyzed to understand what the game’s engine must accomplish in order to
properly execute the gameplay idea. Of course the technology you choose to employ for
your gameplay must actually run on the target system, whether it be a PC, console, or
custom-made arcade cabinet. You must also ask if the game’s programming team is up
to creating the required technology. Technological feasibility may end up limiting the
scope of your gameplay. Even worse, will the engine team’s existing technology work
or will they need to scrap it and start from scratch? Is there enough budget and time to
trash it and start over? If you find that you need to adapt your gameplay to match the
engine, you really are not starting out with gameplay as the origin of your idea, but
instead with technology, as I will discuss next. If you are starting out with a gaming
engine that must be used, it is in your best interest to not fight that technology with
incompatible gameplay. Instead you should try to conceive of gameplay that is well
suited to that engine.
The type of gameplay your game will employ similarly limits what type of story can
be told. An RPG can tell a much more complex and involved story than an action/adven-
ture game, and in turn an action/adventure can tell a more substantial story than an
42 Chapter 3: Brainstorming a Game Idea