case. You may be one of several designers on the project. You may even be one of seven
and you were just hired last week, so you are at the bottom of the seniority ladder. This
does not excuse you from determining what your game’s focus is and doing everything
you can to keep the game on track. Hopefully the lead designer has already determined
what the project’s goals are and should have included this information in the introduc-
tion to the design document. If you cannot find it there, you may wish to go talk to your
lead. Ask him what the project is really trying to do, not in a confrontational way, but just
so you get a good idea of where the project is going, and how your contribution to the
game can be properly aligned with that direction.
If it turns out the design lead does not really have a focus in mind, it may be held by
another member of the team, say a lead programmer or lead artist. However, if despite
your best research efforts, the project seems to be goal-less, you may need to take mat-
ters into your own hands. Try to figure out where the project seems to be heading, and
start talking with people about it. Chat with the other designers, artists, programmers,
and producers. Try to talk to them about what the game is all about, and try to get
everyone to agree. Meetings may be a good place to do this; when everyone is present,
any conflicts between different perspectives or personalities on the team can be found
and addressed. You do not need to be in a lead position in order to keep your project on
track. As a designer in any capacity on a project, it is ultimately your responsibility that
the game always has a clear direction and that a fun game emerges at the end of the
tunnel.
An Example: Winter Carnival Whirlwind.................
Let us suppose you have a vision for a game involving a winter carnival. What is it about
winter carnivals that excites you? Is it the ice sculptures? Taking a block of ice and con-
verting it into a snow-themed mammal? No? Perhaps what is really exciting to you is
going to winter festivals, with their combination of frozen art, ice skating, snowman
competitions, skiing, snowball fights, and championship ice fishing. Indeed, you always
wondered how they kept those festivals going so long even with the threat of warmer
weather constantly looming on the horizon. Since the winter carnival component
seems fairly central to your idea, you will need to include it in the focus. So your focus
can start with a sentence that explains this: “The player’s experience will revolve
around running an ice carnival, with the player responsible for maintaining as long a
season as possible, despite uncooperative weather.”
Now, what is it about running an ice carnival that grabs you? You see a relentless
battle against the elements, racing against spring to keep your operation running as
long as possible. Something about harnessing the cold is uniquely compelling to you.
Perhaps you enjoy the feeling of running around in the snow, not quite being in control
of how fast you can stop and the slapstick moments that may result. This particular
appeal of the elements may be unique to you and may not be the most commercially
promising new game to come along, but at this stage you’re trying to capture your per-
sonal thoughts about the game. Do not self-censor your ideas until it is absolutely
necessary. So include a few more sentences that serve to illustrate the feeling of your
game: “The game will capture the excitement of playing in the snow, including the sim-
ple physics that make that fun, through a central character who must move around a
somewhat hazardous environment and keep multiple displays, rides, and other
72 Chapter 5: Focus