In the following series, major disciplines of game development will be examined and discussed with examples of how IMD has applied these to the Anointed games. The series will start with Design, and follow with posts on Programming, Art, Music, and AI.
Design
The series starts with Design because this is the discipline that is the most misunderstood. Game Designs and Designers are not created by schools, friend groups, or people with good ideas (even if they play a lot of games). A professional Game Designer is usually a person that has excelled in another area and/or discipline. A good example would be a Level Designer (Art) that has created a proper environment and level design that supports the schema of a larger and more complete game design. Of course, there are exceptions and some have jumped right to design on their own propulsion, but this is very rare and the game dev graveyard is full of ‘would-be designers’ that thought all they had to do was have a good idea. In reality, this is an earned position and requires a great deal of experience. Publishers, Producers, and Project Managers must be able to see how the design will prosper in the market and be developed, and the Game Designer is responsible for giving them the tools to do so – often before the first line of code has been written.
So, what is Game Design if it is not just a good idea? Well, it might be best understood as a discipline through the role of a Game Designer. A Game Designer must be able to conceptualize and communicate a full game idea that includes systems, flow of a game state, game play loops, risk/reward scenarios, player/character motives, and storytelling in a manner that effectively targets an end-user with a desired experience.
IMD had the greatest challenge and the best blueprint for achieving a good game design in The Anointed with the Bible and the story of David as it’s subject. After all, David is a hero that everyone knows, but that is a double-edged sword because the game design must be true to the characteristics of David – Patience, Obedience, Courage, Humility, and Discipline – and not be dictated by what the end-user already knows about David. Example: The story of young David is often met with some random comment about Bathsheba. In the context of The Anointed, this does not belong. It is from a different time period and may even be the antithesis of what David’s young life is about. So, how does the designer remove the arrogance of all-knowing players so that something new can be learned? The Design. The game designer must express the game’s intention, support it through gameplay, and reinforce it through signs and symbols (St Augustine).
Player expectations and innovation are often in conflict and can be a challenge in gameplay. How does a Game Designer provide gameplay that promotes the design and innovative methods of immersion when many players want to speed-run, challenge the game rules, and, in the case of The Anointed, make David as they wish he would be instead of the hero he was? Well, the design must bring the player along and guide them, and not ingratiate players who wish a different experience. This starts with documentation (user-guide) within the game, and game objectives (missions) that promote David’s character and allows the player to slowly acclimate to the flow and risk/rewards scenarios that manifest the overall intentions of the game design.
IMD recognizes many challenges when designing a game based on the Bible. The player might be reluctant to read the backstory, relevant scripture quotes, and/or even follow the actual story because their familiarity with David may provide a false impression that there is nothing new to learn. These challenges are matched by those that feel games are intrinsically bad, and on the other side, Bible-based games are of low quality. IMD uses the design process to illuminate biblical scripture (1 Sam.16 – 2 Sam.), and intentionally brings the story to life through the player’s interactions where edutainment becomes the main construct for gameplay loops, risk/reward scenarios, and replicating David’s characteristics is the lattice in which a player may grow – in the game and in life.