Game Design Thinking – Foundations

by Roy Shapira

When starting to think about creating a game there are several subjects that must be decided, they will determine what it will become, the purpose it will have, these subjects are affected by the target audience. The focus of the concept document will determine the rest of development, it will force the developers to decide many important aspects of the game, and will ultimately save many hours of development.

The initial concept document, requires a focused treatment, this article will include the main subjects that require focused defining by the developers. The Definitions will also include an example from the movie “Batman Begins” staring Chris Bale as the Batman.

1. Plot:  The main goal of the game, this is a black and white objective. (Batman Example = Save Gotham City)

2. Premise:  The main way to reach said goal, it will include the obstacles on the way to the goal, and define the motivation of the hero to reach his goal. (Batman Example = A rich boy that was left orphan by a homeless mugger, has sworn to avenge his parents and save the city, he becomes a vigilante dressed as the batman to hide his true identity, while using his money and power for unique hi-tech equipment giving him special abilities.)

3. High Concept:  The general overview flow of the story, in essence this is a short paragraph, which includes the summary of the story. (Batman Example = The beginning of the story how the high and mighty Bruce Wayne becomes the Batman, why he chose to become the Batman, and how he learned his special skills, the journey is not only for Bruce to save the city, but internal to save himself, for it he goes and hits rock bottom – becomes a thief in china and the far east where no one knows of him, he gains his will back when he meets Rass-Al-Goul – a mysterious master of the league of shadows. Bruce gets back to the city more powerful then ever, after finding and saving himself, he now needs to save the city.)

4. General Game flow:  The overall succession of the settings or major events. (Batman Example = As a boy / teen in Gotham city > young adult in China streets then Prison > Tibet (unknown monastery at the top of a mountain) > Gotham city as the adult mature Batman.

5. Main Features:  All the elements that the player has that effect the game world – (Batman Example = The Batman special armored suit, utility belt + high tech gadgets, martial arts, tank-car (Bat-mobile), Nano-Wings, Gripping hook.)

  • Weapons: Which weapons are in the story, and their effect on the gameplay / story – and who can use them, if they are unique. (Batman Example = All regular weapons used by everyone, batman only uses non-lethal weapons to capture his enemies, he uses his utility belts, verity of grenades – smoke, flash so on, ninja stars, gauntlets etc.)

6. Main Mechanics:  All the game elements effecting the player by the world (Batman Example = Climbable buildings, drivable cars, bat cave as a safe house, police hindering movement if not using stealth, criminals attacking civilians if not stopped, general city moral meter, police relation meter etc.)

7. Fun Type Focus:  There are 8 types of fun, there is a need to define which are to be focused the types are:

1. Sensation – Game as Sensual-Pleasure

2. Fantasy – Game that is Fictional

3. Narrative – Game as a Drama

4. Challenge – Game as an Obstacle Course

5. Fellowship – Game as a Social framework

6. Discovery – Game as some form of a Journey

7. Expression Game as Self-Discovery

8. Submission – Game as Pastime

(Batman Example = Narrative, Challenge, Discovery, Expression)

8. Main characters:  Defines the Hero (Protagonist) Villain (Antagonist), and characters who are present for the entire feature, and their main qualities, its important to note that the hero in games is the player, defining his characteristics will effect how other characters will treat the player during the curse of the game. Batman Example =

  • Bruce Wayne:  (Batman – Hero) Player Character (PC) – skilled in the art of deception and manipulation, and as a rich man trained in politics and ethics, he is very morally stable and strong, and will never kill anyone.
  • Commander Gordon:  The morally ambiguous good cop, that is fed up with the way Gotham city is ruled by thugs and criminals, he has a symbiotic relation with batman, and gives him unofficial aid, mostly by looking the other way, and informing Batman with any useful updates.
  • Rachel Dawes:  Assistant DA and the love interest of Batman, she keeps him in line, and the only one apart from his core team who knows of his secret. She loves Bruce but hates the Batman. Since as long as Batman lives, she cannot truly be with Bruce. Rachel is passionate, smart, and intelligent, go-getter, she sees the city in pessimistic eyes. She hopes to save the city in her own way, as being the DA assistant.
  • Alfred:  The butler who was actually the father figure serving Bruise both private and on his vigilante quest. Alfred is loyal to the end, mild mannered, and always calm and logical. He is the voice of reason, in the sometimes madness of Batman.
  • Dr. Crain:  (aka Scarecrow – Villain) He is a psychologist specializing in hallucinogenic drugs for the mentally insane, he is smart, devious, manipulative, calculating, and ingenuous, he turns batman into the villain in the eyes of the citizens making them his “shield”. He is morally corrupt, and self righteous. Keep in mind (especially in games) that the more powerful the villain is the better the hero will shine.

9. Secondary Characters:  Any character that is part of the main plot, but does not appear through the entire feature, usually they have a certain role, in advancing the plot or a sub-plot.  Batman Example =

  • Falcone:  The Mob Boss holding the entire city hostage to his will, ruling as the thug lord, he is ruthless, executing, street-smart, strong willed, and very proud, he thinks he is invincible while holding all the city’s officials under his thumb.
  • Finch:  The corrupt cop serving as Gordon’s partner, he enjoys the life of a cop, by making criminals and civilians do his bidding, he serves as one of Falcone’s thugs, he is morally corrupt, has no consensus, he is self loving and egotistical.
  • Fox:  The head of research and development (later CEO) of Wayne Enterprises he helps Bruise create the Batman’s equipment and lands help in the funding for all the batman’s projects, he is very smart, very loyal, although very simple, and humble. there are more of course)

10. Settings:  The time and place that the story takes place in, this affects all aspects of the world, from type of dialogue, to architecture and music. (Batman Example = A fictional NYC type metropolis, the city is one of the richest most advanced technologically with design elements from the 1930s. The time is in the near future)

11. Themes:  Subjects that are looked at from different points of view, reaching conclusion or not during the feature. Themes are usually philosophical questions in nature, they bring depth to the story and make the player develop some kind of opinion about it, themes are usually ambiguous questions that do not have a clear answer.

(Batman Example =

  • What defines good and evil?
  • How can one person make a difference?
  • What is the value of life?
  • Is revenge worth it?
  • The good of the one vs. the good of the many?)

12. Factions:  Different groups with unique characteristics to all of their members, usually they have a common goal, and a similar view toward life or toward the hero, factions have relations to the player, and to each other. (Batman Example = The Mob, the Political Parties, the Police, the Asylum, the Civilians).

  • Enemies:  The main enemy types and their abilities. (Batman Example = thugs, asylum criminals, mobsters, hallucinating civilians, Ras-al-gaul’d Ninjas. etc.)

13. Races:  If it’s a Sci-fi or fantasy story – there can be different races each with their own physical characteristics, and views of life. (Batman Example = only humans – we’ll look at Star-Wars and Lords of the Rings for this example, Star Wars Example = Humans, Wookies, Ewoks, Trandusians.  Lord of the Rings Example = Dwarfs, Elfs, etc.)

14. NPC Relations Web:  The relations between different NPCs (Non-Player-Character) ether individually or as a group, the web has the hero at its core. This makes each interaction with an NPC character effect all the characters connected to it, depending on the weight and importance of their relations. (Batman Example = Police vs. Mobsters, Mobsters vs. batman, Police Vs Batman, Batman vs. Asylum thugs, Ras-Al-Gaul with mobsters, Crain with mobsters, Crain with Ras-al-Gaul, police vs. Dr. Crain, etc.)

Game Design is the “Bible” of the game everything needs to be written and planned, the more detailed the description the better. These points are very preliminary, and each of them needs to be enhanced with reference pictures and descriptions, and be added together into a 300+ page document for a full game – this document is called “the Game Design document”, note that every subject should include a summary with highlights for the developers to follow.

When writing the design document its recommended to use references that everyone knows, and in the case they don’t, include links to references. Many developers write their design documents in wiki pages, and embed any reference be it a picture, a video clip or an MP3.

Kind Regards

Roy Shapira

Game Designer