Ultimate Game Design : Building game worlds

Building Game Worlds
38
U L T I M A T E G A M E D E S I G N
Short of complete actual engines, there is no way to test game ideas in any efficient
way. Some game ideas, by definition, are easier to prototype than others. A game of
environmental navigation and light puzzle solving might be fairly easy to prototype.
One person could prototype a game like Myst using an application like Macromedia
Director. Prototyping a 3-D update to an arcade action game like Smash-TV, however,
would be difficult, because it would require considerable test programming and
art resources to do it justice.
Prototypes are commonly used in other entertainment-oriented industries. Every
large toy release produced for the market is rigorously prototyped, tested, refined, and
tested again. As we’ve seen, this is not very easy to do in the world of game development.
Developers sometimes use tools from previous game releases to test new ideas for
future games. However, if the next game a developer is considering doing is substantially
different in genre from a previous game, using that previous game’s established
tools and code may be of very little help.
There is no “game construction” prototyping software used commonly in the industry.
Testing a game idea often requires substantial code resources, which often must be
custom-written in order to try to test a game idea to any degree of completeness.
POST LEVEL STUBBING CONSIDERATIONS
Using the combined power of file referencing, modularity, and prefabricated geometry
pieces, you have now stubbed out your level basics. Awesome, isn’t it? Hopefully,
now you see the importance of the previsualization and level planning stages. As always,
you’re trying to transfer gameplay concepts and ideas past level geometry and
into action. It’s wonderful to have a visually stunning environment to navigate, but
we need so much more. We need a stunning environment with tons of fun play. As exciting
as the early level stubbing phase can be, it is really just the beginning of an extended
refinement and cross-checking cycle.
From this point forward, we need to focus on adapting architectural and terrain
features to support gameplay in the best method possible, and we’ll need to check
character flow (such as character navigation) throughout our new level. Are steps,
items, and ladders positioned at the right heights for our character to step, jump, and
climb? Do our environmental hazards show the right scale, purpose, and design intention?
Is our level in total coming together size-wise on an appropriate physical
scale? As you can see, there are many features and facets to check at this point.
We also need to check our concepts. Amidst these details, are we keeping the big
game picture in view? The early evolution process in level development needs to
maintain a certain amount of forward momentum, or ideas and goals tend to get lost
or dissolve in the fray of details. Also, before we’re too far along we want to be able to
make large adjustments if necessary. This suggests the importance of getting early