Meta-observation:
- The best way to learn is by playing many games and learning from other designers
- Game designers must also learn to observe themselves on many levels as they play
- Some levels in playing/designing games: Mechanics, strategies, cheat/exploit, game design rules… but there are other ways to see it
Basic brainstorming:
- Be aware of, but not shackled by constrains
- Listen to what others say
- Challenge assumptions – your own and others
- Vary discussion of theme/story and gameplay mechanics (Important!)
- Try to cross-fertilize ideas even (specially) when it seems absurd
- You are finding new neural pathways
- Mixing wildly different ideas or themes can create useful tension
- Example: Art deco + bio-tech + Ayn Rand + 1960 + underwater = Bioshock
- Ideas, not egos: Critique concepts, not people
- Review constraints and question them too
- Good, not escential, to have a reason why
- Nothing is to odd or silly – low hit ratio
- It’s normal to wander – some!
- Best size around 5 +- 2
- Common ground, divergent opinions
- Avoid including managment directly (fear of firing, danger of deferring to boss)
- Consider flied trips, resources, toys
- Time pressure (optional)
- No judgments (optional, useful for dealing with people that has never done brainstorming)
- More than art as you gain experience
Great game elements (advanced techniques):
- Classic convexity structure (Start wth one node, then many, then one again)
- Appropiate inteface
- Negative feedback (Handicap)
- Self-tunning features
- Emergent complexity (Overlap various game mechanics)
- Great balance (tradeoffs again!)
Negative feedback examples:
- Exponential costs (experience, money, etc)
- Easier to aim after each failure or death
- Selling items give you less money that what you originally paid for it
- Stronger units are more restictive (specialized, only good against another specific unit, etc)
