The Hidden Truth Behind Game Design

hey what's up guys so i've been thinking a lot about game design recently as you might know game design is built on various principles principles that have been created by people to better describe what game design is and how to use it as a tool these are high level concepts and very much the nuts and bolts of game design and i plan to talk about these in more detail in future videos but you see there's actually a deeper primordial layer under this a level of understanding that makes those tools have more meaning that's what i want to discuss in this video and teach you guys about it and offer a new perspective that i believe can help you to become a better game designer it most certainly helped me so what is game design like what is it really you know as mentioned there's various principles that have been extensively documented in different books and you know gdc talks things like foreshadowing space goal systems and reward mechanics these principles as far as i can see are simply tools used to tease out this underlying layer this essence that lies underneath this core force let's call it and while these tools have immense utility in harnessing said force without an awareness of what it actually is we're trying to manipulate underneath these tools can kind of lose their meaning and leave you as lost as you were without them because at all will tell you how but a tool won't always tell you why and it's why i'm making this video because i feel that if we understand the original motivation that lies underneath which affects all of these decisions we have a much clearer understanding of how to move forward now this underlying essence is the same which creates good music music being a fantastic analog for game design because much like good game design good music takes us on an adventure you know peaks and troughs anticipation and tension repetition and surprise and conversely good game design just like music has a melody with the notes and beats played being the game design choices and the elements that we put into our games [Music] and it's why in the game design industry we use what are known as beat sheets where we extensively document the beats of a game the levels um the story and we lay them out in a way that they can be easily contrasted against each other and better harmonized and as we all know it's not at all about the quantity of notes played whether it's game design music stories animation art or you know cooking recipes objective harmony can be achieved with even a few components strategically contrasted against each other to create ever more interesting variations and it's why some of the most iconic songs or games in history are quite often simple and elegant a rhythm of predictability punctuated with moments of surprise you know that long quiet corridor that opens up into a boss room and the door closes behind us or that seemingly endless cave full of enemies that beat us down wave after wave within one heart of our life before the cave finally gives away and opens up to the surface where a save point that replenishes our health is waiting for us this thing i'm describing this core whatever it is it doesn't really have a perfect word to describe it in english in english perhaps the word harmony comes close but it still falls short in fully capturing the feeling of it which is you know chaos and uncertainty pushing up against order creating this exciting interplay this friction this uh tussle this tension it's that feeling when we're on the edge of our seat which you know in gaming and game design we refer to as flow in various philosophical disciplines this has often been referred to as balanced dualism or complementary opposing forces so keep this in mind that which drives good game design is the very same thing that drives so much of that which humans love it's found all around us and permeates throughout our lives and culture this you know rhythmic harmony this sign wave like tussle it's integral to what makes us uniquely human it's all around us from storytelling to architecture take storytelling or comedy for example a comedian will tell you a story with a degree of predictability leading you through a sequence of beats to an anticipated outcome then they hit you with the punchline a surprise a high note they will then do this many times over building up to a final punch line the sequence i've described here is very much what we see in the interest curves of game design so start to think about what are your punch lines in your game whether it's you know an interesting boss battle or a new mechanic being introduced or a plot point use tools like contrast and anticipation to draw on that essence underneath and make those moments more impactful and meaningful for players by the way guys as you might know i'm currently working on my own game called blood and mead where i'm also making efforts to try to draw on and capture this underlying essence i think you guys are really gonna like it i'm really putting every ounce of my passion into this one so please do give it a wish list i would really appreciate that i should probably do a devlog or something soon that might be a good idea and you know most creative people are already aware of this underlying system that unifies all creative disciplines and if not literally then intuitively that is to say they may not have read about it in a book but they know it to be true in their gut sort of like instinctively and it's why those who are successful in one creative discipline often can and do transition to another sometimes taking on several becoming proficient in each because though the subject matter might change these underlying principles stay persistent i'm a programmer by trade and you know programming often gets this bad reputation from the outside where people look at it as this rigid boring field but that's far from the truth programming and engineering is a highly creative field which requires a lot of creative problem solving and you know i'm also very invested in game design with passions in art and animation and more recently i've started to try to teach myself piano you know music and admittedly i kind of suck but you know it's a learning process and eventually i'll get there and be able to enjoy you know playing my favorite final fantasy songs and you know i don't consider myself to be gifted in any one of these fields but i feel that i've managed to gain enough control in each to be able to kind of do the things i want to do without needing to rely too much on other people and i think that's a pretty good position to get to if you can so anyways guys thank you for watching i hope you found this video insightful and it gives you some degree of perspective change that might help you in making better decisions about your game design and how to move forward all right guys please do give the video a like if you found it useful and i'll see you in the next one bye

Channel: Lost Relic Games

Views: 10,688

Keywords: game design, game dev, motivation, learn game dev, indie dev motivation, indie dev, get better, tips for beginner game devs, lost relic games, john stejskal, advice, game dev tips, indie dev advice, game development, how to make games, game development beginner, game development college, how to make first indie game, how to learn game dev, tips for beginner game dev, tips for starting game dev, starting first indie game, how much money game dev, game design principles

Id: VR8FZjZI4kM

Length: 8min 49sec (529 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 02 2021