In one of my classes, the teacher wanted us to explore the functionalities of game engines and make us adept at prototyping and testing game mechanics as quickly as possible.
He proposed a project where we prototyped one game a week for a whole semester. It added up to about 8 prototypes per student, with some weeks for leisure, especially for the later projects, as those needed some extra work.
We were told to prototype these, in order (Link to quick demos):
- Tools
- Infinite Runner
- Platformer
- Side-scroller
- Top-down Shooter
- Vehicular Combat
- Grid Puzzle
- Traditional RPG / Online Multiplayer
Coming from a Computer Science Major, I got caught up in complex functionality and over time learned the importance of aesthetics. And as I look back, the evolution is quite clear! I came in too focused on code and left knowing that aesthetics are as important or more.
Lesson 1 – Aesthetics matter
In the first prototype, there were only blocks and some functionality.
In my fourth prototype, there was art.
By the fifth I had sound is sound and art. Simple, but the game looks more realistic because our brain is filling in the blanks. Those polygons are green and have a cylinder, so they must be tanks. The music is a march, 8 bit, but a march, but we relate them to war.
Lesson 2 – You don’t need much
You don’t need to add that much media to achieve a good immersion effect. Especially when making a prototype.
My best example here is the car’s ignition sound in my vehicular combat game.
It was so easy to add and it adds a lot of immersion in no time.
Lesson 3 – Think about actions, not goals
When prototyping, think first about what actions the player will be able to take during the game.
Make sure the main actions of the game are fun to do, and once you have those, goals will come by themselves, as you can reward players for taking the right actions in the right sequence.
Lesson 4 – Actions have feedback
If the player makes a click, things should happen. Not just movement, but special effects, sounds, explosions, and points going up. If every action in the game is fun to do then the players will be more inclined to do them.
In my tank game, there are three actions. Moving, aiming and shooting. Movement is generally slow, as to put the player in danger. Aiming is also a bit delayed, so we can build anticipation. But shooting? Shooting is instantaneous, it has recoil and sound and it makes enemies disappear. It has a lot of feedback.
Extra: It’s about the game
Looking back on it, It’s clear I was focused on highlighting my programming. I can see it in the videos as I have the editor open to showcase the “behind the scenes” work.
It did leave an impression on my teacher as he understood what those gizmos and lines meant, but the player won’t care about the code, just the game. But it didn’t earn me all that much credit.
And rather than writing perfect code or complex systems, he still cared more about how I solved design problems and integrated new elements into the experience.