Game DESIGN Challenge?

[phibermon]

I have to be honest - when concidering game design as defined, I've not given it hardly enough thought as I could of done.

I either have a story I'd like to tell (as a fiction book is a story) or I have 'game-mechanics' in mind that I'd like to play with (IE minecraft style, Elite space style)

Actually thinking about the specifics is something I've not yet done, how will the players life work? is it a fixed amount that decreases? is it the 'recovery' style used in call of duty?

If it's a FPS, will there be goals? switches to pull? monsters to shoot?

It seems a lot trickier than it appears at first glance!

[WILL]

I either have a story I'd like to tell (as a fiction book is a story) or I have 'game-mechanics' in mind that I'd like to play with (IE minecraft style, Elite space style)

Actually thinking about the specifics is something I've not yet done, how will the players life work? is it a fixed amount that decreases? is it the 'recovery' style used in call of duty?

That's essentially it. One could define game design as create an experience or series of experiences for the player(s).

It seems a lot trickier than it appears at first glance!

It's not overly hard if you take the time to think it out in your head. It's not possible to have all the values and exact mechanics and game element interactions thought out in your head at the beginning. Instead start with your idea and let it evolve as you play around with it and look at examples of other games and influences that give you inspiration.

Designing a game is an ever evolving process. From the beginning to the end, the "plan" will get changed at least a whole bunch of times. Unless you are some kind of freak brilliant genius savant.

Each game should have some kind of pre-development phase, or a early design phase if you will. This is where you throw all your "super awesome ultra brilliant wow amazing what if" stuff at it and see what sticks and what turns out to be horrible for your game as you get to the actual intended shape that your game will take. Some of this is trial and error. Some of this is your inner genius coming through.

It can get a little artsy fartsy, but that's the whole point it's pure creativity in this part.

My idea is to have a competition based on this pre-development phase planning of designing a game. Let the best one be taken and used to serve as a framework for a follow-up competition.

The idea is that the early game design would start out as a "plan" from the start and turn into all these different outcomes and each developer's take on the original concept. It would change and all of the games would be different, yet share the same core.

It would be interesting to see how many different directions each team would go on it.

[T-Bear]

It would be interesting. Could give people the opportunity to get feed back on their ideas and stuff.
I am not sure if I would join. I really am not the planning guy. Would be cool to see what people come up with though!

"super awesome ultra brilliant wow amazing what if"

or "Stuff I think is superb and great, and will cause world peace and everything, but actually sucks".

Cheers!

[WILL]

A game design plan can be as simple as some doodles or a neat sketch on piece of grid paper or a napkin with some labels and a short descriptive blurb of text to go with it.

It could end up being more of an idea factory jam than a real competition to be honest. Depends on the interest.