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Interdisciplinary Design in Games Presented By: The International Game Developers Association Pittsburgh Chapter

Interdisciplinary Design in Games

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Interdisciplinary Design in Games. Presented By: The International Game Developers Association Pittsburgh Chapter. Game Design Discipline. Shawn Patton Game Designer Schell Games. What Do Game Designers Do?. Games. What Do Game Designers Do?. What Do Game Designers Do?. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: Interdisciplinary Design  in Games

Interdisciplinary Design in Games

Presented By:The International Game Developers Association

Pittsburgh Chapter

Page 2: Interdisciplinary Design  in Games

Game Design DisciplineShawn Patton

Game DesignerSchell Games

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What Do GameDesigners Do?

Games

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What Do GameDesigners Do?

Page 5: Interdisciplinary Design  in Games

What Do GameDesigners Do?

Page 6: Interdisciplinary Design  in Games

What Do GameDesigners Do?

Page 7: Interdisciplinary Design  in Games

What Do GameDesigners Do?

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What Do GameDesigners Do?

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What Do GameDesigners Do?

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Process ofGame Design

1. Have a reason to design a game.2. Brainstorm3. Sift, strain, and find the “good” ideas4. Prototype5. Playtest6. Experience Doc7. Game Design Doc8. Develop9. Playtest10.Repeat 8 and 9 till you run out of

time/money

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Reason

• For fun!• For a client!• For fun and a client!• As a gift!• Did I mention for fun?

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Brainstorm

• Could be just you, could be a group• Get ideas flowing!• Write down keywords, thoughts, phrases,

everything!• No idea is bad during a brainstorm!• (Whiteboards and giant post-it notes are useful if

you’re in a group.)

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Find “Good” Ideas

• Strain feasible ideas from infeasible ideas.• Which ideas kept coming up again and again?• Talk to your team (if you haven’t already)• Try to keep in mind time and money constraints.

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Prototype

• Prototypes are quick!• They are easy!• Paper prototype• Prototype in a known game engine• Don’t get too attached to any one, remember, they should be quick!

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Playtest

• Playtest with yourself first.• Bring other people in!• Keep in mind your key demographic• Though try not to outright turn anyone away…• Take notes!• Don’t interfere unless you absolutely must!• Let the playtesters know that anything wrong is

your fault, and you need their Help to fix the game!

• Remember to listen with more than your ears!

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Experience Doc

• Write out a story of a player playing your game.• “After watching the cool intro cut scene, Timmy

clicks on New Game.”• Put yourself in the shoes of a naïve player.• Notice everything you haven’t thought of!

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Game Design Doc

• Get everything you’ve learned on paper• Keep it readable: Bullet Points are good!• Don’t dig too far down on any one part (yet)• Pictures help a lot! (even “crappy” ones)

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Develop

• Make the Game!• Be flexible• Learn from prototypes and playtesting• Keep listening!• You can do it!

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Playtest Again!

• Use fresh playtesters!• Seriously… use fresh playtesters.• Iterate the design.• Trust yourself too, run feedback through a filter.• Give people what they need, not always exactly

what they want.

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Game Design Complete

• Just keep repeating until you run out of resources!• Anyone can be a game designer, you just need to

practice!

My web: shawnpatton.comJesse’s Book : artofgamedesign.com

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Game Audio DisciplineScott Gainar

Composer, Creative DirectorGainar Creative Music

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Three Components of Game Experience

–Visual (graphics, art, etc.)

–Gameplay

–Audio

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Audio

Three types of audio found in games:

–Music

–Sound Effects

–Dialog (voice-over)

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Music

The role of music:• Emotion• Continuity• Source music• Other

– Ambiance– Effect– Foreshadowing– Character themes

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Sound Effects

• Real – 95% of “real” sounds in film are added

after the fact• Car door• Foot steps• Buzz from lighting• Wind/rain• Brushing past bushes• Ambiance

• Imagined– Spaceship– Creatures– Futuristic weapons

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Dialog

• Examples– Narration– Character spoken word

• Has to be easily understood

• Pay attention to other audio elements

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Challenges Specific to Game Audio

• Non-linear nature of games– Music– Real-time “mixing” of audio elements

• Need to be technical minded– Understand integration of audio engine– Basic programming

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Game Programming DisciplineMark Tomczak

Game ProgrammerSimOps Studios

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Three Game Programmer Hats

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Overview

• Games have rules, context, content

• Programmers are involved in all three partso Building rules for the gameo Building context for the gameo Achieving the team's shared vision 

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A Game Is Rules

• Game rules usually stated in a language specific to the gameo functions

movePieceTo canCastle

o objects chess piece

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Scripting Language

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Game rules need a context

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Things I need to teach the computer

to do…• Manage memory• Draw to screen (render)

o ... quicklyo ... beautifullyo (this is most of

the work)• Play sounds• Accept commands from

the player (input)o Mouseo Keyboardo Joysticko Wii Remote?

• Simulate an opponent (AI)• Make things solid

(collision)• Simulate a realistic world

(physics)• Do things at the right time

(timers)• Play with other humans

(networking)• NEVER CRASH

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“…but I just want it to

play chess!”

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Game EnginesPyGame

Panda3D

Torque 3D

Wild Pockets

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Working With the Team

-vs-

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Developer Tools

Torque Constructor

Wild Pockets Builder

Good Game Design is About Iteration

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Thank You!

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Game Production DisciplineAndy Jih

VP of Production, Evil Genius DesignsProducer, Schell Games

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Team Client

Budget Schedule

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Pick 2

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Communication

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Game Art DisciplineNick McClay

Game ArtistSimOps Studios

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Artist’s Role

To design the visual impression of the game– Create the Characters– Build the World– Design the style of the entire game

Use visual design to enhance the game’s design

– Building Intuitive Interfaces– Creating clear visual cues for game mechanics– Influencing player perceptions

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Defining a Style

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Style is Independent of Technology

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Concept Art

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Storyboards

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Assets

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Assets

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Prototype Asset

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Taking it to the next level

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Finished Asset

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Game Engine Integration

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Thanks!

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Thank YouFor more information about the

Pittsburgh IGDA Check out: www.igda.org/pittsburgh