Game Elements

October 09, 2018

The article by Doug Church starts off with discussing how video games have evolved and how technology has pushed us into an area where problems are a thing of the past and we are only going to keep advancing thanks to technology.

in a sense video game making has become a form of art where we put together a lot of elements to make something captivating enough to make video game makers and players all around the world want more but in the end you must direct the player to everything and not just expect them to because if they don’t find these levels then the design of the game is flawed and time is waisted so design plays a big role in developing a game.

but to really make a game fun we must understand all about games not just code, we must know what drives players to keep coming back, what makes for good design building and why people really enjoy them.

through sharing past games and ideas, we can help build better games from inspiration and we can do this also by just finding out why people enjoy games with research. and players love rewards in the games like a new item or a new weapon that’s more powerful helping you progress through the game.

Mario 64 was shown as an example of a good game that always has options and never puts you in a spot where you have nothing to do or get stuck, another good example is legend of Zelda breath of the wild where it's also open world allowing you to choose what you do next.

these games allow players to form their own goals and allow them to take full control of the game, picking what level to do next and which way you prefer to go, allowing players to just go anywhere they want and setting their own goals in the process allowing players to feel a lot of self-accomplishment.

games where you also play a role like in RPG's where you’re a character with real consequences for your actions often excite players because it allows you to feel like you’re making a difference and that in its self feels good to anyone.

story is a big part of any game and helps with the flow of the game and designer’s often put you into a story, so you can feel like your part of the game as well as keep you wanting to know what happens next after intense moments.

you must however make sure not to take too much freedom away from the player because doing so makes you feel less like you’re playing the game like in legend of Zelda wind waker I often felt like the game was telling me where to go and this made the game feel bland, players like to feel like they are in control.

also, being consistent in games is important too, make sure when you put in a punch and it connects that the same action happens so players once again feel in control and the game feels more fun then.

because games are not booking or movies we must make sure that the right route is taken each time but also ensure the player feels like they have a choice in what happens allowing the player to feel like they are part of the game and they can somewhat control what happens within the story will make any player enjoy any game.

all and all we could do many things to make a game but the best thing we can do is make a game your excited about making and playing as well.