The reading about "what is a game?" seems to suggest that there is no easy or definite answer to this question. I agree with this as I think a game can be described in many different ways depending on the characteristics of the game. The reading highlights the importance of the use of critical vocabulary with games which is "being able to analyse them carefully by considering all of their parts and how they fit together, and looking at both the good and the bad)." I think this is very important because in order to be able to describe your game to someone who has never played it, you need to be able to use critical vocabulary for them to fully understand it.
The reading also talks about how people can only really describe a certain game by comparing it to another game. I often find myself in this scenario and if someone hasn't played the game I'm comparing it with, unfortunately they don't know what I'm talking about. I then find myself giving up trying to describe what the game is like because I don't know how to. I've learned from the reading that game terminology is being worked on but at a slow rate. This means at some stage, we will be able to use this terminology to describe games without having to compare it to another game which is exciting to hear.
The reading talks about puzzles, role playing games and choose your own adventure books being able to be classified as game for some people but not for others. This depends on what definition the individual decides to use to define a game. I found this very interesting as I would have considered all of them to be games but different types of games. The reading has made me reconsider my opinion based on why some people don't classify them as a game.
The reading about "what is game design?" mentioned how game designers can be compared to other jobs. The reading compared how a game designer could be considered a lawyer as they create a set of rules that others must follow. I found this an interesting point of view because I would have always considered a game designer to be in a completely different field but I now understand how that could be interpreted differently by someone else due to the nature of some of the things they do. I still do however agree with the reading that I do believe game design has elements of many other fields but that it still is its own field.
The reading talked about the different types of risk associated with a game such as design, implementation and market risk. I found this insightful as I never would have really thought making a game would have all of these various risks. This showed me that you could make a brilliant game but if the marketing wasn't performed well, then no one might buy it. This really opened my mind up to the reality of making games.
The reading stressed the importance of the iterative process when it comes to developing a game which I strongly agreed with. I think it will be vary rare to have all the answers to your game from the get go. I think by only testing your game and getting a feel for what it is like is the only way you're going to know how to truly improve it. This may be through encountering faults or simply the game lacking the element of fun but you will only come across that by testing it.
The reading also talks about how people can only really describe a certain game by comparing it to another game. I often find myself in this scenario and if someone hasn't played the game I'm comparing it with, unfortunately they don't know what I'm talking about. I then find myself giving up trying to describe what the game is like because I don't know how to. I've learned from the reading that game terminology is being worked on but at a slow rate. This means at some stage, we will be able to use this terminology to describe games without having to compare it to another game which is exciting to hear.
The reading talks about puzzles, role playing games and choose your own adventure books being able to be classified as game for some people but not for others. This depends on what definition the individual decides to use to define a game. I found this very interesting as I would have considered all of them to be games but different types of games. The reading has made me reconsider my opinion based on why some people don't classify them as a game.
The reading about "what is game design?" mentioned how game designers can be compared to other jobs. The reading compared how a game designer could be considered a lawyer as they create a set of rules that others must follow. I found this an interesting point of view because I would have always considered a game designer to be in a completely different field but I now understand how that could be interpreted differently by someone else due to the nature of some of the things they do. I still do however agree with the reading that I do believe game design has elements of many other fields but that it still is its own field.
The reading talked about the different types of risk associated with a game such as design, implementation and market risk. I found this insightful as I never would have really thought making a game would have all of these various risks. This showed me that you could make a brilliant game but if the marketing wasn't performed well, then no one might buy it. This really opened my mind up to the reality of making games.
The reading stressed the importance of the iterative process when it comes to developing a game which I strongly agreed with. I think it will be vary rare to have all the answers to your game from the get go. I think by only testing your game and getting a feel for what it is like is the only way you're going to know how to truly improve it. This may be through encountering faults or simply the game lacking the element of fun but you will only come across that by testing it.
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| "Trust The Process" Created by: Sugam Anand Source: creativecommons Changes were not made to this image. License |
Hi Ciaran,
ReplyDeletegreat post! Loved reading about your thoughts about game design.I agree with you about the statement of game designers being in the same field as lawyers.
I really enjoyed your whole blog. Great work :)
jen
Hello Ciaran
ReplyDeleteI like the layout and colour of your blog. There is a lot compact in this post and you seem to find game design very interesting and you seem to know a lot about it. I agree with you when said a lot of people have different definitions on what a game is. Good luck and have fun
Jamie gannon