.:Out-of-the-box:.

After a short break, I'm presenting last part of  the thoughts I had shared with students in December. Speaking of design in games I can hardly avoid a feeling that in near future we will reinvent already known wheel but in very new creative way. This is true to all community and Indie game development initiatives. Platforms like generic Web, Facebook, Mobile phones, Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network give an opportunity to look at the past successes in gaming from early to mid 90'ties. 16 and early 32 bit blockbusters come back now utilizing modern graphics and propose new game play but in details. Generally 2D scrolling platform game isn't anything new we know, yet example I like to give – game called Braid is damn new and fresh indeed. I have more examples of those that keep me even stronger in evolutionary approach to game design.

This is good lesson for wanna be game developers, just starting creators going through the "Indie games" scenario. Many of these guys try to be another Jonathan Blow. Many create great games but also many fail for one simple reason. They start with very high expectations to the project like "a game like none other was before in every aspect". Then some get stuck with  creativity, some find themselves making the perfect engine forever and so on. Evolutionary approach is one of the solutions for this paradox. I found good example of this on web pages from one of American colleges. I don't remember its name, I found it on "Games Career Guide". Case is, that teacher in that school had given simple task to his students. Task was: take a game you like, look at it with criticism, find 5 things in that game that you dislike and propose changes (features) that would help this game been even better. Genius in that task is that you immediately leave way of thinking like "I'll make the best strategy game world has seen" and no details as your vision scope. Results of that training were published so I'd seen classic "Lemming" with a new lemming type who was building a cannon and firing other lemmings. Very drastic alternative for bridge already featured in the game. Many ideas coming from that approach were crap like nothing else in context of game play, but that's okay. I think this is very best way to think and learn what good game play means.

I believe that technology in modern platforms allows to make any possible kind of game with amazing visuals and other technical aspects of the title. We can choose from casual platforms where these visuals might have not yet been so important and in every game beside some geeky hardcore players market demands unique experience while playing. Thinking on ideas big and small should be first while considering games development. Technologies and business models already exist.

From titles like Braid, Flow and Flower to big blockbusters, I observe that emotions in games take bigger role.  From shooters like Halo and Call of Duty, through racing games like Need for Speed to real adventure and role playing games I see that having a story is part of the design decision making. Need for Speed Most Wanted in this case was very surprising to me. Racing like many other released already by EA, you can like or not. But between every major race (a checkpoint in the game) you have a movie alike story to watch and listen which is not bad and quite close the Fast and Furious narration. It's not important for the race winning and totally non-interactive but adds some adrenaline too. Emotional and story driven approach in many different types of games are already highlighted by industry's legends. Peter Molyneux has major impact on evolution in classic RPG genre where you interact in character growth not only counting his levels but also understanding periods of his life from childhood, getting adult, romances, marriage, betrayals. RPG and adventure game is where that should be strongly visible first. Interesting thing was said by Cliff Bleszinski for the British Magazine – Develop. Cliff stated that the future of current shooters is role-playing game. If you take a look at GTA IV, Bioshock examples it's really hard not to agree. Future of adventure games I all the time see in Fahrenheit and upcoming Heavy Rain. Sense of drama and way these games show narration is amazing. This is the potential that was not fully utilized in Mass Effect's dialogue system.

For casual games and massive multi player on-line games social networks should the core element. This is especially true in the Facebook era. If you can create a game where really huge and active community is your key to success, evaluate and test your ideas for that argument and condition. If features you designed can trigger that viral messaging to join the community and play, that's good. In social gaming, it is important to share the experience, to create an atmosphere for conversation, to extend that geeky culture of gamers to the masses. We already know that as for movies and music. When you visit your friends at pub you feel free to mention movies and music you watched and listened to recently. Mentioning games might be still considered geeky and nerdy depending on the company you spend time with. Designing games that will definitively break that stereotype will be a major milestone in casual, social gaming. People like to talk about things that bring positive emotions in their life, use that knowledge.