game development 1 - north allegheny school district · game development 1 designing good games....

GAME DEVELOPMENT 1DESIGNING GOOD GAMES

Question: What makes a computer game a game?

A computer game is a software program in which one or more players make decisions through the control of game objects and resources in pursuit of a goal.

DESIGNING GOOD GAMES

A computer game:

• Is a software program

• Involves a player or players

• Is about making decisions

• Is about control

• Contains objects and resources

• Needs a goal


What makes a GOOD computer game?



– Has a challenging, yet attainable goal.– Creates interesting and difficult decisions, often under

pressure.



– Balance: the game shouldn’t be too hard or too easy, the player should have a chance to reach a goal but it can’t be so easy it becomes boring.

– Balance between competing players: one should not be stronger or possess more power than another.



– Rewards: Something good should happen when a goal is achieved. Examples: more power, extra life, access to better resources

– Flow: keeping the challenges, pace and competition realistic to the capabilities of the player


What makes a GOOD computer game?– Immersion – feeling part of the game

• Connected to the story behind the game & during the game• Does a player’s actions & decisions really matter• Does a player really care about the characters or goals within the game• Balanced and real (real within the context of the game) • Graphics & sound also play a large role in the “feel” of a game


Necessary Components

– The Story– The Game World– Main Characters– Music and Sound Effects– Special Effects



– The Story• A good game will have the character follow some sort of logical

path; they have a story• Even games like PacMan & Tetris started as stories to help the

designers ensure the games had focus• Some games (sports, historical, movie based) come with a story

already in place where others are 100% original



– The Game World• Can be in 3D graphic

detail, 2D abstract & cartoonish or just text and static images

• The world has to be “realistic” in context of the game.



– Main Characters• Every game has at least 1

character; • In a first person game, the

player is the character; in third person games the character must have a strong, relatable personality



– Music / Sound Effects• Background music adds a lot to

the game experience • Choose music or sounds that

match the tone and flow of the game; a creepy game should have creepy music; funny games should have funny music

• Sound effects need to match the action



– Special Effects• Just like in a movie they can greatly enhance the players

experience• Sometimes less is more; make sure they don’t slow the game down

or get too repetitive• Too much “razzle dazzle” becomes distracting and even annoying


Do, Critique, Learn

– Come up with a game plan and start developing

– Continually critique your work as you go

– Have others critique the game as you go

– Learn from others / work with others

• Use resources from other game developers, learn from

other’s mistakes

• 2 heads are better than 1; So 3, 4 or 5 are better yet


As you're about to embark on the world of building computer games there are a few things to keep in mind.

The following are the 7 commandments to follow to bring your games to the next level.

CODING COMMANDMENTS

COMMANDMENT 1: TESTING

It cannot be said enough, but when you go to publish your game and have others try it out for the first time you only get one chance to impress. Having a game with errors is a large red flag. Try these things to avoid bugs:

• Test at least 5 times. • Have others test your game. • More eyes the better.

CODING COMMANDMENTS

COMMANDMENT 2: LOOK AT OTHER GAMES

You can always learn from others (that is life advice),but this is especially true when building games. Use sites like and other arcade sites to get an idea on what makes a goodgame.

CODING COMMANDMENTS

COMMANDMENT 3: CORRECT SPELLING AND GRAMMAR

A game is more than just its graphics and gameplay. A good game builds a story, and a story shouldn't contain spelling and grammar mistakes. Don't give users an easy reason to dislike your game, spell-check is your friend.

CODING COMMANDMENTS

COMMANDMENT 4: CONTROLS ARE KEY

Make sure that the buttons you choose to control characters and other objects within your game are easy for a user to reach. Having a user press tab + 0 isn't really functional. Rule of thumb: The closer the keys are the better.

CODING COMMANDMENTS

COMMANDMENT 5: USING SOUND

As we will cover later in the presentation, sound is a necessary component and commandment to any game. Think of it this way, side by side a game with sound is more engaging and less stale.Use sound sparingly though, too much sound is a bad thing. Also, make sound relevant to the action happening on the screen.

CODING COMMANDMENTS

COMMANDMENT 6: USE RESOURCES

Yes, even your teacher doesn't know everything (sorryteacher). Before and during the building out process of a game use online tutorials to help guide you and give you new ideas to enhance your game. Also, tutorials are a great way to learn best practices when it comes to coding games.

CODING COMMANDMENTS

Free Game Development SoftwareStencyl - 2D Game EngineGame Maker - 2D Game EngineBlender - 3D Modeling with built in game engineUnity - 3D Game EngineUDK - 3D Game EngineGimp - Raster Graphics (Like Photoshop)Google Sketch Up - 3D ModelingAutodesk Maya - Free for students

Game Art and ResourcesOpen Game ArtFree Game ArtsPsionic Games - 3D Game ResourcesSprite LibLost GardenCG TexturesGoogle 3D WarehouseBlender 3D ModelsFree SoundPublic Domain SoundsSuper Flash Bros Sound Fx

COMMANDMENT 7: CREATE A CLEAN USER INTERFACE

It's important to remember that the person playing the game isn't the person that built the game. Don't forget to display important details to the user on the screen or HUD (heads up display). Items that might be included are health, lives, time, etc.

CODING COMMANDMENTS

CODING COMMANDMENTS

game development 1 - north allegheny school district · game development 1 designing good games....

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