Ultimate Game Design : Building game worlds

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AS
a point of reference and as a quick discussion about in-game art assets, I
have assembled several screenshots from Ultimate Baseball Online
(UBO), introduced in Chapter 8. I provide a few comments for each of the
screenshots, which I hope you’ll find useful. As I mentioned earlier, this game project
called for much innovation in both technology and design—a factor I found very
exciting from the beginning as a design and production consultant for the makers of
UBO. An attempt to develop, produce, and market the very first MMOG sports title
ever is rife with many risks and considerable challenges. I applaud each of the developers
who have contributed to UBO for their dedicated efforts in building this game.
I’d like to thank Andy Wang and everyone at Netamin for their generous permission
to use various images from the game.
Baseball as an MMOG choice presented several unique design challenges. How do
you entertain players waiting for action on the field or in the dugout? One potential
solution is to have a roving spectator camera with a “quick jump” feature allowing
players some freedom to essentially jump views during the game in order to participate
and spectate the game in parallel. If you happen to be watching the game from
the pitcher’s view, the catcher’s view, or the blimp overhead and you see the ball hit in
your direction, a hot key snaps the camera back to your on-field position. There are
other solutions currently in the works to entertain players when on-field action is low
for your character or position.
U For every game, no matter which genre, it’s extremely important to get the interface
details right. This is why I always encourage designers to start with a thorough interface
diagram put together in a flowchart application like MS-Visio.
Every game interface must be easy to understand and navigate, and must operate
various game details with power and efficiency. This is a balance that is always hard
to achieve. Most interface details evolve substantially with player and developer
feedback as a game goes deeper into development. At the very minimum, you must
always begin with a well-crafted interface diagram. Be sure to map your overall
screen logic, your screen-to-screen transitions, and your single-screen logic details
very carefully to avoid massive amounts of reworking.