Ultimate Game Design : Building game worlds

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Building Game Worlds 132
U L T I M A T E G A M E D E S I G N
AO: If you want to pursue game development, I would recommend that you spend some time
analyzing your interest in the field and try and develop specific goals that you can work towards. This
sort of focus will help you sell yourself to others as you look for a job, if that’s the path you take.
TM: What three design features do you focus on as “critical” points of content evaluation?
AO: User interface, gameplay mechanics, and replay ability. I think basic user interface is often in
danger of getting overlooked in game production. Thoughtful GUI design, menu designs, etc. can really
help add to the depth of the game experience, as these are elements that the user is constantly
interacting with.
Of course, if the game isn’t fun to play, then you can have the best interface in the world and it
doesn’t matter.
And if your game doesn’t provide something to bring players back to play again, then it’s not going
to have a long life.
TM: What near-future aspects of gaming excite you?
AO: I think the continued growth of online game communities is exciting. Even though AI keeps
advancing, there’s something cooler about playing a strat-sim game online against real people in
different parts of the world.
TM: What advice do you have for others interested in game design?
AO: Find the specifics of what interests you in game design and pursue that. Study games you like
and dislike, analyzing that specific area.
TM: What current games on any platform interest you?
AO: I’m excited about the community that’s developing around the online version of Neverwinter
Nights. Granted, you started here with a strong Dungeons & Dragons fan base, but I think it’s great
that Bioware created the tools to allow the fans to shape their own game experiences and create their
own worlds.
TM: How do you measure whether a gameplay mechanic “works”?
AO: I guess the success of a gameplay mechanic is ultimately subjective. You could always improve
everything, and as deadlines approach, sometimes you just have to ask “is it good enough?”
TM: What are your goals in gaming at this point?
AO: I’ve recently been pursuing an interest in landscape architecture, and this has got me thinking
quite a bit about how this relates to creating game environments. I think there’s a lot to learn from
that design field as well as from architecture and urban planning.
Conversely, a lot of those fields have been using game tools to further their development of spaces
and structures for the real world. It’s an interesting relationship.
TM: What game industry trends disturb you?
AO: The consolidation of publishers and distributors in the game industry disturbs me, although this
is certainly not a trend unique to the industry. I am also dismayed by the proliferation of game sequels.
There doesn’t seem to be much support these days for independent, original games. I hope this will
change in the future.
TM: What is the ultimate communal form of gaming in your opinion?
AO: I don’t know that I have a single idea of this in mind. Watching groups of people play Sambe
de Amigo and Dance Dance Revolution is fascinating and entertaining, and that’s sort of
communal and attracts nongamers as well.