Elements of game design: Pong

In the Games industry, the term “Gameplay” is used a lot, especially during the designing stages of a game. Gameplay is basically a smaller part of Game development, which is made up of several elements which include the characters, storyline and the environment.

Games have become the number one source of entertainment for this generation, and the majority of people my age have had several game consoles. Game designers still game or play demos to keep up to date with their market and what their audience is receiving from other companies. This makes them in high demand to keep up with the audience unsatisfying hunger.

Gameplay does play an important role in the Game industry, it is sometimes overlooked. It is often added last minute to the games, whilst the team focus more on the technology based side of it. Sometimes there is a wall between the writers and the rest of the team, because the writer feels that they have laid everything out. However, they do not understand the technical side of the game, for example the control scheme. Small details like the behaviour of townspeople, like what they are doing, interactions with main characters, habits like nervous twitches, and their body language are not included in design documentations. These days, the teams are mainly focused on the technology, like the game Quake was. Critics and the audience have argued that the teams should be more in to the game than the technology. Personally, I know a lot of gamers who only truly care about the graphics, and now popular the game is than the actual experience of the game.

In the 1970’s, it did come down just to one person’s responsibility and their decision in this area. However, as games and game consoles have evolved, so has jobs in the industry. Now usually, there is an entire team of people working on separate areas, with several heads, writers, technicians, mechanics and general designers including specific designers like environment or level. Depending on their budget, and the team, depends on which elements the team will focus on, usually there are always some elements that are lacking.

In the concept stage of game design, the idea will most likely fall under different genres which gives the team room to experiment. Different games have different targets and not just different audiences. For an example of different genres, Quake’s main focus was to show off the technology and the game engine used, whereas Myst was based more upon visual design. However, they also have to focus on other aspects of the Game industry, such as business, and their business partners along with contracts. Profits play a role in whether the game will be cut or not. It is not all about just the quality of the game anymore. Building a game that includes everything is a difficult and lengthy production.

For me personally, when playing a game, it is usually the story that keeps my attention. As I do like to read, the constant flow of a story, along with memorable characters make the experience a joy. I rarely notice environment compared to the characters, and there have only been a few games that have impressed me by the environments.