Ideating and
Conceptualizing a Game
Lesson 1
Exam Objective Matrix
Skills/Concepts
MTA Exam Objectives
Ideating a Game
Differentiate among game types (1.1)
Differentiate among game genres (1.2)
Understand the different game platforms (2.5)
Understand player motivation (1.3)
Creating the Game Concept
Ideating a Game
• Identifying the idea of a game is the first
step in the game development process.
• The idea for a game encapsulates defining
the motivation for the set of players you are
targeting.
• A good game begins with a strong idea,
which comes from understanding what
motivates people for playing games.
Identifying the Motivation
• Identifying the motivation behind playing
games involves finding the reasons for which
people play video games.
• Playing games satisfies three psychological
needs of people:
– Achievement
– Recognition
– Satisfaction
Fulfilling Basic Needs
• The three psychological and emotional
needs manifest into one or more of the
following basic needs:
– Quest
– Learning
– Task management
– Determination
– Competence
– Thrill
Identifying the Target Audience
• The game motivation varies with the type of
players.
• While ideating for a game, it is important to
identify the target audience or group of
people for whom the game is meant.
– Casual players
– Hard-core players
– Intermediary players
– Professional players
Identifying the Game Genres
• Video games are classified into various
genres based on the type of player’s
interaction with the game called gameplay.
• You decide the genre of the game based on
the motivation and the target audience
identified for the game.
Common Genres
• Action
– First-person shooter
(FPS)
– Third-person shooter
(TPS)
• Adventure
• Sports
• Simulation
• Role-playing game
(RPG)
• Fantasy
• Card
• Board
• Education
First-person Shooter vs. Third-person Shooter
Halo 4 (FPS)
Gunstringer (TPS)
Adventure Games
Kinect Adventures
Fable II
Identifying the Game Type
• Games can be of various types: online or
offline, single player or multiplayer, and
console, PC, arcade, or mobile games.
• “Game type” not used consistently.
– Some take it to mean “genre
– Some use it to refer to the “platform”
– Others believe it means the “online status”
• Some examples on the next slide…
Selecting the Game Type
• Common categorization methods:
– Game Status (online, offline)
– Number of players (one, two, many)
•Single player games
•Multiplayer games
•Massively multiplayer online role-playing
games
– Gaming platform used (Console, PC, Mobile,
Arcade)
Platform Examples
• Console:
– Full size: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo
Wii
– Handheld: Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation
Portable (PSP)
• Mobile:
– Windows Phone 8, iPhone, iPad, Amazon
Kindle, various Android powered devices
Platform Examples
Console (Xbox 360)
Arcade
• [Prod: Please insert
Figure01-11]
Creating the Game Concept
• Creating a game concept or conceptualizing
your game means giving a concrete shape to
your ideas for the game.
• This process involves creating a mission
statement, storyline, gameplay, and
mechanics of the game.
Parts of the Game Concept
• The final objective of the game or the
mission statement
• The plot or the storyline
• Various interactive and noninteractive
elements of the game or the gameplay
• The flow of the game or game mechanics
The Game Concept Creation Process
Writing the Mission Statement
• The purpose behind writing a mission
statement is to clearly pass on the idea of
the game to the game production team.
• A basic mission statement must answer
three questions:
– What is the objective of the game?
– What challenges does the game present to
the player?
– How will the player achieve the objective?
Writing a Good Mission Statement
• To write a good mission statement, you need
to ask yourself the following questions:
– How should the player act and feel in the game?
– What role should the player perform in the
game?
– Does the player have a well-defined objective?
– What are the obstacles in achieving the
objective?
– What kind of resources will the player have?
Missing Statement Tips
• Involve everyone connected to the game and
brainstorm together. Others also can provide
useful insights.
• Set aside several hours to work on your
statement.
• Make every word of the mission statement
count.
• Avoid making a generic mission statement.
A Good Example
• Example mission statement:
– "Creating a game that will be set with challenges not just
from your opponent, but also from nature. The only way
to survive is to live, but remember that the tyrant is
watching."
– Objective: to survive against all odds
– Challenges: an opponent player and elements of nature
designed for the game
– Method: live or ensure that the player’s character
remains alive at the end of the game
Creating a Storyline
• The storyline of a game is the underlying plot
that defines the flow of the game from start
to finish.
• A good storyline is the primary ingredient for
creating an engaging game.
• Parts:
– Purpose: who, what, when, where, why & how
– Complexity: add this in after you answer the
purpose questions
Common Storyline Mistakes
• Too much dependence on lovable, friendly
characters.
– Carefully analyze your target audience to
determine their likes and dislikes here.
• Too many fetch quests.
– Making the player go in circles just to make the
game longer brings the story to a halt.
• Overuse of “turnarounds”.
– Making players return the same way they just
traveled, often used with fetch quests.
Conceptualizing the Gameplay
• A gameplay describes various elements
through which the player interacts with the
game.
• These include the visual theme and
cinematic, objects and characters in the
game, user interface, and the audio theme.
• Gameplay is largely influenced by two things:
game setting and the storyline of the game.
Game Setting
• Game setting: the procedures that players
use for setting up or personalizing a game.
• Examples:
– Typing in the player’s personal information,
such as the player’s name
– Choosing the character that the player wants
to play
– Allowing players to design their avatars
Storyline
• The storyline is the birthplace of gameplay
because the storyline sets the mood of the
game.
• A strong storyline creates an excellent game
experience with various gameplay elements
in the game.
Gameplay Types
• Linear:
– The challenges are predetermined in a fixed sequence
– The gamers have to follow the predetermined plot in this
gameplay type
– Halo 3, Call of Duty 4
• Nonlinear:
– The challenges are posed to the player in multiple
sequences
– The gamers can choose their choice of path to victory
– Borderlands, Alpha Protocol
Gameplay Elements
• While conceptualizing a game, you
conceptualize the following gameplay
elements:
– Visual theme and cinematic
– Objects
– Characters
– User interface (UI)
– Audio theme
Visual Theme
• The visual theme helps set the stage for the
game.
– Creating a visual theme involves deciding a common
background, color pallet, and effect for all the visual
elements of the game, so that they all look like they
belong to the same game.
• The visual theme has to go hand-in-hand
with the idea of the game.
– For a reality-based game, you need to thoroughly
research the background to create a visual theme.
Cinematics
• Cinematic or cut-scenes are sections in the game
where the player does not have any control.
• Before creating a cinematic sequence, you must
outline the goals by answering the following
questions:
– Why must the player watch the cinematic elements?
– What kind of reaction from the player is the cinematic
intended to elicit?
– Will the cinematic inform the player about the game and the
characters?
– Do you want the cinematic to showcase the game’s graphics?
Objects
• Objects are the visual elements of a game
that complete a scene in the game and
make it look real.
– In a car racing game, all the elements that constitute a
gas pump where the car stops to take fuel are objects.
• The player may or may not be able to
interact with all the objects.
– The player may be able to click the hose to fill up the car
but may not be able to swipe the credit card machine
placed in the scene.
Characters
• The character in a game represents the player.
– The player should be able to recognize and identity with the
character.
• Answering these questions will help you create your
character’s persona:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
How will the physique of the character be?
What does the character eat?
Where does the character live?
What is the character’s routine?
How does the character behave when angry or surprised?
Does the character have a unique catchphrase?
How does the character feel about the game situation?
Who is the character: villain, hero, mentor, ally, or some other?
User Interface (UI)
• User interface (UI) is a collective term referring to the
onscreen elements through which a player interacts with
the game.
• The UI helps the player access information about the game
world and the status of his or her character.
• The UI elements in a game include:
– Menus
– UI components (for example, different character avatars)
– Text
– Icons
– Layout
– Color
User Interface: Good vs. Bad
Good User Interfaces
• A well-designed UI makes
the game easier to play.
• The player can easily
assess the situation and
respond accordingly.
• The player can focus on
the game itself and not the
interface, thus increasing
enjoyment of the game.
Bad User Interfaces
• A poorly designed UI
makes it harder for the
player to identify what
needs to be done or what
resources are available
• This results in frustration
for the player and ruining
of what might otherwise be
a good game.
Well Designed UI Characteristics
• Intuitive
• Responsive
• Customizable
• Relevant
• User friendly
Audio Theme
• A great game depends on a great audio
theme.
• To choose the best audio theme, you need
to consider the following questions:
– Will each character have a unique voice?
– How does the characters’ sound or dialogs function in
the game?
– What types of music work best with the game?
– Where in the game will the music play?
– What types of sound effects work best in the game?
Defining the Game Mechanics
• Game mechanics is all about how a game
operates.
– Game rules, challenges, activities to be
performed, goals required to win the game
• All games have the same mechanics; only
their complexity differs.
• Consider each of the following elements of
game mechanics in your conceptualization:
– Quest, task, activities, how to gin, game goals
The Game Mechanics Cycle
Common Game Mechanics
• Quest:
– Kill quest, collection quest, target quest
• Tasks:
– Like a quest, but may not always yield a
reward
• Activities:
– Loss avoidance, eliminating opponents, logic,
races, scoring
Recap
• Identifying the Motivation
• Identifying the Target Audience
• Identifying the Game Genre
• Identifying the Game Type
• Writing the Mission Statement
• Creating a Storyline
• Conceptualizing the Gameplay
• Defining the Game Mechanics