is an exhilarating...” instead of “Winter Carnival Whirlwindwill be an exhilarating...”
This lends your game a more concrete existence in the minds of those who read your
focus. It is not just a game that may come about at some point in the future; it already is
a game, if only in your head. Something else to avoid is using generic descriptions that
do not actually provide the reader with any useful information. For instance, “Winter
Carnival Whirlwindis a high-quality, fun game that...” Of course it is supposed to be
fun. Does anyone set out to create a boring or low-quality game? Edit out any sections
of your focus that do not communicate important information about your game.
Putting together the parts of your focus, you will end up with the following:
Winter Carnival Whirlwindis a fast and furious character action and
theme park management hybrid game. The player’s experience revolves
around running an ice carnival, with the player responsible for maintain-
ing as long a season as possible, despite uncooperative weather. The game
captures the excitement of playing in the snow, including the simple phys-
ics that make that fun, through a central character who must navigate a
somewhat hazardous environment and keep multiple systems operating
smoothly. The player's main source of conflict is the weather itself.Winter
Carnival Whirlwindhas a light and whimsical tone throughout.
The Function of the Focus.........................
Try to keep your focus from referring to other games. You want the focus to describe
the essence of your game, and if your focus is, “Voltarris likeTomb Raider, but set on
the whimsical planet Dongo and featuring many intense laser gunfights,” it is hard for
someone looking at your focus to understand immediately what parts ofTomb Raider
you are hoping to emulate. Take a look atTomb Raideritself and determine what you
think its focus may have been. Then take that focus, remove whatever parts are not
necessary for your game, and add in whatever new ideas your game will incorporate.
Chances are your idea of what was compelling aboutTomb Raiderwill be different from
74 Chapter 5: Focus
Your game may be
similar to another game
such asTomb Raider, but
in your focus you want to
describe the game on its
own terms and avoid
making comparisons to
other games.