focusing your game patrick lipo hidden path entertainment
TRANSCRIPT
Focusing Your Game
Patrick LipoHidden Path Entertainment
Who the heck am I?
Who the heck am I?
Game designer / programmer / lead
In the game industry since 1993
Not an academic Focus on “action
games”
Who the heck am I?
Some recent projects: X-Men Legends Lord of the Rings
Online This is Vegas
Big Games!
Multi-million dollar budgets
Teams of 40, 70, 100…
3+ Years of development time
Lots of features Awesome!
…right?
Big Games…
Why do large projects sometimes create weak experiences? Ex: The designers
want Diablo
Big Games…
Why do large projects sometimes create weak experiences? Ex: The designers
want Diablo …while
programmers create tech for The Sims
Big Games…
Why do large projects sometimes create weak experiences? Ex: The designers
want Diablo …while
programmers create tech for The Sims
…as the artists start making Halo
Big Games…
Fear of player expectations
Resources without meaning
An excess of ideas No Limitations
Wait a minute!
No Limits? Ideas are good! Cool new stuff is
what a game designer does! …right?
We all need limits
A blank sheet of paper is dangerous
Every project needs to build a box for themselves
We all need limits
What about smaller projects?
We all need limits
What about smaller projects?
Small games have partial boxes built-in They are efficient
because they have to be
But this still doesn’t guarantee a focused effort
The Enemy
“More”
Everyone loves the word “More”
We all want “stuff” in our games
“More”
We all want our games to be cool! Saying “no” sucks
Stuff adds “value” for the dollar
Extra features just make things better …right?
Open-World Insanity!
Grand Theft Auto has set a ridiculous precedent
Open-World Insanity!
Grand Theft Auto has set a ridiculous precedent
Breadth in all things is starting to be demanded by audiences
Open-World Insanity!
Ex: Spiderman 2 The environment
looked like GTA But you couldn’t get
in the cars
Open-World Insanity!
Ex: Spiderman 2 The environment
looked like GTA But you couldn’t get
in the cars
Should Spiderman have been able to cruise around in a low-rider?
The Ideal
Focus vs. “Cool Stuff”
Designing a great game is about focus
Every feature takes energy to create! No matter how small
A good design works within constraints …or creates its own
Focus vs. “Cool Stuff”
Constraints help you prioritize features to support a game’s objectives
They assure that each feature is worth the cost of entry
They demand that the gamer will notice your efforts
Focus vs. “Cool Stuff”
What will impact your players the most?
Focus vs. “Cool Stuff”
This is an unpopular stance to many
Gamers want their games to be everything they could possibly be
Focus vs. “Cool Stuff”
This isn’t an argument for simplicity
Depth is best targeted at carefully chosen places
Focus vs. “Cool Stuff”
Ex: God of War Simple combat
system Highly polished Light RPG
elements
Focus vs. “Cool Stuff”
Ex: Bioshock Simplified version
of System Shock 2 Tough cuts to
make Still complicated
and deep …and more
successful
Tools for Focus
Verbs
Use verbs to abstract player activities
Keep them “chunky” and high-level
Fight Explore Customize Build Cook Expand Destroy Solve Socialize
Verbs
Use verbs to help you group features
Pillar Verbs
Identify a very small number as the Pillar Verbs
These are what the player does 90% of the time
Pillar Verbs
Use them as a razor for prioritizing features
Pillar Verbs
Use them as a razor for prioritizing features
Use them to spot where you are trying to do too much
Ask “what activities will players want most out of this game?”
Pillar Verbs
What will impact your players the most?
Secondary Verbs
Verbs that are not pillars are secondary verbs
These are side activities that provide breadth Alternation of gameplay
Examples: Half-Life 2 – Driving Diablo 2 - Crafting
Verb Examples
God of War Pillar: Fight Secondary: Upgrade,
Explore
Halo Pillar: Fight Secondary: Drive
Super Mario Pillars: Traverse,
Collect Secondary: Fight
Diablo Pillars: Fight, Acquire Secondary: Upgrade,
Craft
Oblivion Pillars: Fight, Explore,
Customize Secondary: Collect, Craft
Grand Theft Auto Pillars: Drive, Fight Secondary: Collect,
Acquire, Upgrade, Drink, Bowl, etc…
Pillar Values
Beyond verbs, what abstract concepts make your game memorable? Where should your extra
love go? Create short vision
statements to serve as your Pillar Values For education, “Teach skill
X” is a pillar
Pillar Value Examples
Ex: X-Men Legends It’s about a team
of heroes, not an individual
The most destructive environments possible
The player’s own team of X-Men
Pillar Values
Make sure that your game screams them
Make them plain and easy to understand
Ask “What are people going to remember most about your game?”
Pillar Values
What will impact your players the most?
Pillar Value Examples
Halo Cinematic set pieces Unique vehicles Genre-defining multiplayer experience
God of War Unapologetically brutal main character Powerful, visceral combat experience Epic moments
Devil May Cry Fast, over-the-top combat Style over substance
One Last Tool
The Scale of a Game
A ridiculous example:
The Scale of a Game
A ridiculous example: A warrior fights his way
through thousands of enemies
The Scale of a Game
A ridiculous example: A warrior fights his way
through thousands of enemies
Then faces off against hisarch-rival
The Scale of a Game
A ridiculous example: A warrior fights his way
through thousands of enemies
Then faces off against hisarch-rival
…in a rousing game of Chess
The Scale of a Game
What happens if your Pillar Verbs don’t compliment each other?
Sometimes activities seem “stapled together” This can happen in
educational games
At what level of organization does the bulk of gameplay occur?
The Scale of a Game
Activities happen at various scales in different games Soul Calibur
Fighting per-person
Ninja Gaiden Fighting per-room
Dynasty Warriors Fighting per-legion
The Scale of a Game
Different games make obvious scale choices in environments as well Grand Theft Auto
Interaction density: ~20m
Stranglehold Interaction density: ~2m
Flight Simulator Interaction density: miles
The Scale of a Game
Sometimes it isn’t so obvious
Ex: Diablo II It appears to be
about fighting …but the most
compelling gameplay is in acquisition and upgrades
Vegas Design Dilemma
This is Vegas started with a vision of “GTA meets The Sims”
It sounded different and cool
The technology was up to the task…
But the problem was scale
Vegas Design Dilemma
The player had the run of the city and could enter dozens of buildings
The player could sway entire crowds with a single outrageous act
But the player could also affect his relationship with any individual
Vegas Design Dilemma
This required the player to think on a “per room” basis as well as a “per person” basis
Suddenly one out of every 100 people wasn’t part of the crowd
Worse yet, it led to behavior that was “unpredictable”
Vegas Design Dilemma
The gameplay was deeply rooted in two places
Ultimately we had to pick one: “It’s about the
room, not the individual”
Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Pillar Verbs, Pillar Values and Game Scale are just tools …not very scientific
ones either
They make you think about what you really want to provide the player with
Final Thoughts
What are people going to take away after playing your game? It doesn’t matter
whether you are trying to entertain them or teach them
Final Thoughts
What will impact your players the most?
Questions?
Patrick Lipo
Email:[email protected]:www.patricklipo.com
Unconventional but useful reading:
Generating Buy-in: Mastering the Language of Leadership Mark S. Walton
Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind Al Reis, Jack Trout