The Game Design Canvas: Base Mechanics

Image: oskay

Dave is working on his blockbuster indie game title.  He knows the genre, and he has a general idea of what he wants it to be about.  It’s an action/adventure title about vampires and he wants the player to be able to steal blood from victims.  He’d also like the player to have to avoid light in the day, and it would be a story about love and romance.  Sounds like a great game!

He expresses this idea to a friend of his who is in the industry.  His enthusiasm is apparent in his voice and his excitement about the idea, with the main part of the game revolving around the vampire stealing blood.  But then his friend asks him…

“How does the player actually steal blood?”

Dave reminds his friend that the vampire will be able to go up to anyone and suck their blood, and that’s how it occurs.  But his friend reiterates, “But what actual buttons will the player be pressing?  How are you going to convey stealing someone’s blood as a vampire through pressing a button?”

Dave looks down at his shoes, realizing that although his idea may be exciting from an elevator pitch, he may have jumped the gun.

You Can’t Build a House without Bricks

Dave’s idea may be a good one, but will it come to fruition?  It depends; all of his thoughts are fine ideas, but there’s no structure to them.  Dave hasn’t taken to the time to build the foundation of his game; he’s just started with random anecdotes.  Odds are that if good old Dave just goes ahead and starts coding in his idea without connecting the dots first, he’s going to end up with a mediocre game that feels kind of like…well, every other game.  Which is to say it won’t really feel like anything. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »