Tag Archives: Game Design

Train2Game News: First 15 minutes “key” to game design says Civilization creator Sid Meier

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The first fifteen minutes of a video game being enjoyable is one of the key rules of game design. That’s according to veteran game designer Sid Meier, the man behind the Civilization and the founder of Firaxis Games.

“One of the key rules of game design is the first 15 minutes. These introductory minutes have to be fun, satisfying, and exciting. You are letting players know they’re on the right track, you should reward them, and let them know cool stuff will happen later.” Meier told GamesIndustry.biz, before admitting mistakes with this when it came to his early games.

“In early Civilization games, I made Civ real-time, which meant everything happened in real-time: My first mistake was to make it real time.” he said.

“I modelled some elements of the game from SimCity, which was real-time. It was inspiring. But what we found was that in real-time gaming the player becomes the observer. Our mantra is that, “it’s good to be king.”

“When we made Civ a turn-based game, the player became the star, they made things happen.” Meier added.

The full GI.biz interview with Sid Meier on game design, his career and the industry as a whole is here.

As previously reported by Train2Game, the Civilization creator believes there are more opportunities than ever to be a game developer.

Meier’s Firaxis Games are currently working on a reimagining of XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and there’s more about the studio here on The Train2Game Blog.

Do you agree with Sid Meier that the first fifteen minutes are a key part of game design? What games gave you the most memorable first quarter of an hour?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Frozen Synapse dev blogs about ‘How to Be an Indie Game Developer’

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Frozen Synapse by Mode 7 Games is published through Steam

‘How do I become an indie game developer?’ is a question that’s often asked to industry professionals, so Mode 7’s Paul Taylor has attempted to answer that very query in a in a lengthy, but very interesting blog post.

Mode 7 Games is the Oxford indie game development studio behind PC tactical strategy title Frozen Synapse.

The ‘How to be an indie game developer’ blog post should make fascinating reading for any Train2Game student, as it discusses almost all areas of development and marketing. Subjects covered by Taylor include game design, concept, code, art and animation, music and audio, writing, business and marketing, free-to-play vs. pay once and even using videos.  Be sure to give it a read.

Taylor has previously written about what he thinks made Frozen Synapse a success, and there’s more about the indie title here on The Train2Game Blog.

Be sure to keep reading for advice from games industry professionals on how you can break into development.

What are your thoughts on the blog post from Mode 7? Do you have aspirations to be an indie developer and if so, what steps have you made towards it?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Warren Spector considered making Deus Ex just a shooter while struggling to make it “perfect”

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Deus Ex designer Warren Spector worried that its open gameplay meant the game would be compared unfavourably to the likes of Half-Life and other titles which set the benchmark in 2000, and even considered making it into a straight shooter as a result.

“There was a point on the first Deus Ex when we were at alpha and tuning the game, trying to make it perfect.” Spector told CVG about development of his classic title.

“I remember putting my head on my desk going, “Why don’t I just make a shooter? Oh my God. If people judge our combat against something like Half-Life – which was state of the art at the time – then we’re dead. If people compare our stealth to Thief, we’re dead.”

“If people compare our role-playing elements to Neverwinter Nights, we’re dead.” he continued,

“There are games that are razor sharp in their focus, but if people get that in our game they can decide how to play or shift back and forth – that if a combat situation is too hard for them they can try something else – then we’re going to rule the world.”

Fortunately, people did understand that Deus Ex could be played in a variety of ways, and it went on to be one the most well renowned video games of all time.

“Luckily people got that, knock on wood, they got it.” Spector added.

Read the full interview with Warren Spector – which is actually about Epic Mickey 2 – over at CVG, while there’s more about Epic Mickey 2 here on the Train2Game Blog.

Spector’s comments just go to show that even at the top end of game development; it’s very difficult not to compare your work to others.

What are your thoughts on the troubles Spector had with Deus Ex? Have you had moments where you think about changing your games entirely?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: BioWare senior writer Jennifer Hepler on getting into the industry

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Dragon Age 2 Train2Game

Aspiring game designers looking to break into the industry should work on tabletop roleplaying games in order to learn about writing. That’s according to BioWare senior writer Jennifer Hepler who wrote plots for Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2 and Star Wars: The Old Republic.

“If you don’t have a pressing need to make money, do a little time working for tabletop roleplaying games. It’s fairly easy to break in, because they pay peanuts, but you learn a ton about game design from working with dice systems.” she told the BioWare Blog, adding that it looks good when applying for jobs in the games industry.

“And since most videogame designers (certainly of RPGs) are huge tabletop game geeks, it’s a great credit to have when applying for jobs. Most people in the tabletop field end up drifting into videogames eventually, since you can live on what they pay you, so you’ll also make contacts who can end up being helpful down the line.” said the Dragon Age writer.

Hepler also described how she and her husband – Mass Effect writer Chris Hepler – broke into the games industry and even had a stint in Hollywood.

“My entry into games came in college when I met my now-husband and was introduced to Vampire and Shadowrun.” she said.

“Having spent my high school years writing and trying to sell short stories, I immediately thought about trying to do some professional writing for RPGs, and by the time we graduated college, Chris Hepler (now a writer on Mass Effect) and I had written several books for Shadowrun, Earthdawn and Paranoia.”

“We then took a detour in Hollywood for a few years, but it was a very natural gravitation back toward games which brought us to GDC to meet Bioware. After six years in Hollywood, when we were still calling “extras” “NPCs,” we figured maybe we were in the wrong field.” Hepler added.

Read the full interview with BioWare senior writer Jennifer Hepler here, in which she also details what her job involves.

There’s more advice from professionals on getting into the industry here on The Train2Game Blog, with more information on Train2Game courses here.

What are your thoughts on the idea of using tabletop RPGs as a base for getting into the games industry?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Inversion developer diary discusses influence of gravity on game design

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Get behind the scenes of Saber Interactive’s upcoming third person shooter Inversion in a brand new developer diary from Namco Bandai.

Saber President Matthew Karch and associate producer Nick Madonna discuss the game design of inversion, covering the story, the gameplay, and perhaps most interestingly of all, how gravity and physics at as Inversion’s main weapon.

Watch Inversion – Behind the Game: Weaponizing Gravity developer diary below here on The Train2Game Blog.

Inversion from Saber Interactive and Namco Bandai is scheduled to be released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Get behind the scenes of many more games by watching the latest developer diaries here on The Train2Game Blog. There’s more Namco Bandai news here.

What are your impressions of Inversion? What do you think about gravity being key to the game’s design?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: “A tonne of research” going into Company of Heroes 2 to produce authentic experience

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Relic Entertainment game designers have visited eastern Europe in an effort to make Company of Heroes 2, their upcoming RTS title, as authentic as possible.

“We do a tonne of research at Relic. We had a core group of guys go to actual Eastern Europe, to Leningrad, to some of the battlefields like Sinyavino Heights, and Germany to Berlin so it’s incredibly important.” Company of Heroes 2 lead campaign designer Jacen Torres told Shadowlocked.

He added that the trips to Russia and Germany were key to make the player get a feel of what it was like fighting on the Eastern Front during World War 2.

“Now, there’s always a difference between authenticity and realism, and we try to get realistic where we can, especially in things like visuals.” said Torres.

“But obviously gameplay is not going to completely mirror the realism or war, necessarily, but in that particular case we tried to make it authentic and we try and get the tone and a feel and the look or what is the Eastern Front, how does it feel to be fighting in these small Russian villages, and that’s a big part of it.” the Relic lead campaign designer added.

Company of Heroes 2 is scheduled for release in the early part of 2013. Keep reading The Train2Game Blog for the latest Company of Heroes 2 news it developers.

What are your thoughts on the effort Relic are going to research Company of Heroes 2? How important do you believe good research to be for game development?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or here on The Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: How The Elder Scrolls Online story is being written by Zenimax

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Train2Game students can find out how the story is being written for The Elder Scrolls Online, the upcoming MMO from Zenimax Studios based on Bethesda’s popular RPG series.

Speaking in an exclusive video interview with Game Informer, lead content designer Rich Lambert and creative director Paul Sage discuss the story for The Elder Scrolls Online and how it fits in with Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim, and Tamriel as a whole.

They also reveal some of the techniques used at Zenimax to decide on their story, including research, brainstorming and communication with Bethesda Game Studios.

Watch the video over at Game Informer. You can also watch the Elder Scrolls Online announcement trailer below, right here on The Train2Game Blog.

There’s much more about The Elder Scrolls here on The Train2Game Blog, including this post about nearly 14 million mods being downloaded for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

What are your initial thoughts about The Elder Scrolls Online? Do you think an MMO in an established single player universe will work well?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game news: Darksiders II developer diary focuses on game design

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Train2Game students can get behind the scenes of Darksiders II’s story in a new developer diary from THQ.

Titled ‘Behind the Mask: Death’s story’ the video sees the Darksiders II development team discussing the story of protagonist Death, and how the narrative runs parallel to that of  fellow member of the four horseman, War in the original Darksiders.

And in what will be especially interesting to Train2Game game designers, the developer diary details how THQ and Vigil Games ensure that their “deep story” has rules, which ensure everything makes sense and comes together.

Watch the Darksiders II developer diary curtsey of GameSpot, below here on The Train2Game Blog.

The video features, among others, Lead Designer Haydn Dalton. You can find out what a day in his life working on Darksiders II involves right here on The Train2Game Blog.

Darksiders II is scheduled for release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on Tuesday 14th August 2012.

There’s more Darksiders II news here.  

What are your impressions of the game design and story behind Darksiders II? Are you looking forward to this one?

Leave your comments on The Train2Game Blog, or here on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game news: A day in the life of Darksiders II lead designer Haydn Dalton

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Train2Game students can get an insight into what it’s like working on Darksiders II for Vigil Games thanks to a ‘Meet the Team ‘feature with Lead Designer Haydn Dalton.

In a blog interview with THQ, Dalton describes a typical day in the life of a lead game designer for Darksiders II, and as Train2Game game designers may already expect, it’s a busy life!

“I’ll get in the morning, get the latest version of the game code and start playing the game. Depending on what’s the current priority; up-coming demo, milestone, stability, encounters, combat, what have you – that’ll dictate how I focus my time with the game.” he said.

“I write up feedback on the content, sit with designers and provide guidance on a whole variety of design components.” the Darksiders II lead designer continued.

“This also extends out to animators, programmers, etc. Sometimes I may go into some of the script files and tweak numbers myself, but most of my time is set on the broad view of the game, and it’s a BIG game.” Dalton added.

The full interview with Darksiders II lead designer Haydn Dalton is here, and also features talk of where he started in the industry, and balancing in-game weapons.

There’s more on Darksiders II here on The Train2Game Blog. The game is scheduled for release on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC later this year.

What are your thoughts on a day in the life of Haydn Dalton? Does it give you a greater insight into what it’s really like being a game designer?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game news: Grasshopper on Lollipop Chainsaw’s game design

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Train2Game students can get behind the scenes of upcoming cheerleader fronted action title Lollipop Chainsaw in a development diary from Grasshopper Manufacture.

Lollipop Chainsaw features a high school cheerleader who fights zombies with, among other things, a chainsaw. She’s accompanied by the living, fully conscious decapitated head of her boyfriend.

Lollipop Chainsaw – Behind the Apocalypse features Grasshopper Creative Director Suda 51 and film writer James Gunn – whose credits include Dawn of the Dead – discussing the thought process behind the game design of what looks to be a very over the top title.  Watch it below here on The Train2Game Blog.

Lollipop Chainsaw is scheduled release for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on Friday 15th June.

What are your thoughts on Lollipop Chainsaw and the game design ideas behind it?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.