Ultimate Game Design : Building game worlds

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envied the Disney animators who are sent all over the globe to sketch and study and
prepare for movie productions.
I find connections to games in many places, and you will too if you don’t already.
I think about games at sporting events, concerts, and museum visits. I like to visit
museum bookstores and purchase books like Pieter Saenredam: The Utrecht Work by
the 17 th century master of beautifully rendered perspectives on church chapel interiors.
I consider all of this “field work” for game development. I might need a good-looking
chapel soon. I’m always aware that I have a long way to go in my learning.
You may find that some of the most exciting work you eventually complete is
inspired by the work you were doing in order to grow your game skills. I encourage
you to find entirely new ways to explore each of your gaming interests. I know you’ll
be excited by what you will find.
The best developers I’ve ever worked with are slightly mad by definition, interested
in everything around them, and some of the best people you’ll ever get a chance to
meet. I remember one artist, absolutely brilliant at modeling and texturing; I told him
flat out that he was an amazing digital artist. He paused a moment, looked up at me
from his stylus, Wacom tablet, and mouse after making his next move and said, “I’m
not a digital artist. I’m a painter.” And I’d forgotten he was—classically trained.
“Beautiful” I thought to myself. He didn’t define himself by games alone, but
brought everything he knew outside of games to their construction.
I NTERVIEW WITH BILL ROPER
Bill Roper is the vice president of Blizzard Entertainment North. Blizzard Entertainment needs little
introduction as the creators of the best selling Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo series of games, as
well as the forthcoming Worlds of Warcraft. I had the opportunity to interview Bill about how to
approach game design.
TM: How do you start to develop a game design idea?
BR: Did you ever get stuck on the freeway and daydream about blasting through traffic, sailing off
the side of the road, and skidding to a halt in the local 7-11 parking lot so you could grab a soda while
waiting for traffic to break? Welcome to Grand Theft Auto III. Anything and everything that touches
your life is a potential launching point for a game. Music, art, literature, television, comic books,
movies, sports, food, basic social interaction—these are all things that can spark ideas for a game
designer. The key is to find something that is a personal interest, enjoyment, or passion and make that
into your game. Whether it is certain subject matter, a particular game mechanic, or even an artistic
expression, you need a guiding vision. Within that vision, however, must reside a true focus on fun.
Too many designers get caught up in the need to make a game that has cutting-edge technology,
or the best-looking artwork, or the smartest AI ever created, or a wholly bizarre and innovative twist
while losing sight of the need for the game to be fun. Stay true to that vision of creating something
that you want to play over and over and over, and never forget that the design of the game needs to
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Getting Started in Game Development