Designing a Video Game - Article Example

Design you own video game Introduction Game design has become a strategic importance in the software industry and also in the modern world along with all other disciplines. Video games give relief to day long strain and also help in sparking up creative minds in the younger minds. Game design is the process of designing the contents and rules of game. This would include both coding as well as documentation of the code. There are various types of games such as board games, card games or video games. These games may be related to multiple disciplines. For example the game road rash is related to bike race i.e. sport and games like Rise of the nations refers to war like situations. The main aim of game design is to create a game according to a set of constraints that could be technical, production, the choice of the targer, ethical, cultural and political. Also designing a game needs interaction with many other disciplines such as game mechanics, visual arts, programming, production, the audio i.e. sound effects and narrative. By considering the elements it can be observed that game programming involves lot of complexity than the abstraction which is presented to the user. This is mainly because all the design principles are interdependent on one another. There are lots of methodologies involved in game designing. For example a documentation can be prepared that describes the nature of the game, the elements which the game must have, the level of toughness etc. The other strategy would be through iterative prototyping which depending on the game can be an appropriate way of discovering new ideas. Also some combination of forward planning and iterative design is used in the development of game. Iterative design tends to be more suitable for core game mechnics (or gameplay) where the emergent properties of the design can be very hard to predict. On the other hand, game elements such as story, setting, logical flow and level designs often lend themselves to being designed on paper, although almost invariably some unforseen issues will arise that will need to be dealt with through a modification of the paper design. Thus, even a design document can and usually does undergo some kind of iterative process during the development of a game, either formally or informally.(wikipedia-the free encyclopedia online) Ethical and social issues in game programming: Every choice implies responsibility. Responsibility implies ethical principles imprinted in those choices. Computer games have been measured as "a series of appealing choices". Is it possible to think of games as moral objects' Or, more precisely: is the design of computer games morally accountable' Computer game design is the craft of gameplay, the challenge of creating a balanced and enjoyable game. In a way, computer game design is the art of creating interesting, entertaining choices. What are the ethics this activity imprints in computer games' What are the ethics of game design' Understanding the importance of design as a creative ethical activity, will allow the analysis of computer games' rethorics and the ways they are or could be used for conveying engaging ethical experiences. Understanding the morality of the digital expression can show us both the ways for new expressions, and the moral being of computer game as a form of art. To understand the fundamental premises of the ethics of game design, it is necessary to explain how computer games are designed objects. Here the concept of ergodic arts and notions give an understanding of how games operate as designed experiences. According to (http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/retrieve/1560) "All games are ergodic objects. An ergodic work of art "is one that in a material sense includes the rules for its own use, a work that has certain requirements built in that automatically distinguishes between successful and unsuccessful users. Ergodicity as such lies in the material organization of the artifact. Ergodics as a code, the software code, is the first condition for ergodicity of the artifact. Without the materiality of the code there is no ergodicity. Code creates the architecture of the ergodic experience, "the rules for its own use". There is an observable distinction between code and architecture of a game. Code is the material existence of the game before it is played, from the design documents to the strings of programming language. Architecture is the experience of the code by the users." In Aristotelian terms, code is the game in potentia, and the architecture is the game in actio. Code regulates the possibilities of the architecture; it determines the way it can evolve. Game design has social aspects as well. For example people playing the game must be able to exhibit predictable responses to reproductive situations. For example in a society everyone is bound by certain rules. Similarly the player is bound to the rules of the game. Hence the rules must be designed in such a way in which they can be implemented conveniently by the player. Several questions arise here such as what elements must the game contain so that the player can play for another few minutes' What is an efficient process of rule creation'' What are the pitfalls of balancing a game and what are techniques that help avoid these pitfalls''Etc. The quality of the overall system of rules is the result of balancing the rules against one another. The process of balancing a game is merely the creation and modification of rules while continually evaluating the effectiveness of the resulting system.'' A few years ago programming itself was bound to only outstanding professionals who were in the field for several years and researchers. For a common man computer itself was some sort of miracle that could be seen only from a distance. But now computers are every where and technology has reached the common man. This has also sparked a special interest in younger minds to do something greater and fruitful. The same is the case with Maneesh sethi, a young and energetic guy who had started learning web designing right from fifth grade itself. Hence it is observable that training must be from the root level. Once the foundation is perfect one can learn the complexities of the subject with ease. And there is no denying the fact that programming would become a part of the curriculum compulsorily within a few years and it is also essential too. As for the skills basic programming skills like c and c++ are necessary and apart from these artistic skills are quite essential for designing various elements of the game. Also the developer must be sound in physics and mathematics as well as these are also equally essential in game building. Many of the theorems of Mathematics such as trigonometry and algebra are applied in games. Similarly the laws of physics and kinematics are also applicable for creating motion in the objects and for developing controls. Also one must increase interpersonal skills to work as a team since developing a game may need involvement of an entire team. (Harbour, Jonathan) Bibliography: Game design Game design,http Beginning game programming, Jonathan S. Harbour, Prentice Hall publications. Game programming (www.wikipedia.org) Read More