Game Design is the practice of creating and balancing systems and the mechanics which the player uses to affect those systems. This is not to be used for programming questions about the "design" of features, engines, etc.
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6answers
837 views
Fight with creativity burnout
I have big creativity burnout :/ Do you have any ideas how can I fight with it ??
16
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4answers
810 views
It is worth adding 'futuristic' features to our game, or should we put our focus elsewhere?
I'm lead programmer in a medium-sized indie game studio. This is our first game as a team. We're working on a futuristic FPS game, with a profit-sharing buisness plan.
Anyway, we have some very good ...
16
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9answers
824 views
How do/should MMOs handle disconnection during PvP?
In an MMO (not even necessarily an MMORPG) what are some techniques for dealing with players disconnecting in the middle of PvP?
In particular - how do you avoid adversely affecting people who get ...
16
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12answers
848 views
Balance in online PvP games
I don't know if there's an accepted solution to this wicked problem. I'm thinking about the design of an online PvP game. A key aspect of the game, something that is just a given, and not my choice, ...
16
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14answers
1k views
Advice for a first year CS major
I'm coming to the end of my first year of CS which has been primarily a Java based course. I'd like to get my feet wet with some game development but I'm not sure where to start.
Some people have ...
16
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5answers
1k views
Enemy Spawning method in a Top-Down Shooter
I'm working on a top-down shooter akin to DoDonPachi, Ikaruga, etc. The camera movement through the world is handled automatically with the player able to move inside of the camera's visible region.
...
15
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6answers
1k views
Handling player logoff and logon in a persistent world without breaking immersion
One problem I've never seen fixed in any persistent online game is how to handle player logon and logoff without the characters just popping in and out of the world. My first thought is to simply ...
15
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7answers
1k views
It is worth planning before jumping in the code?
I always thought that planning is important for a game. But i don't know at which point. Some are telling me to code instead of planning but i feel like its still important because when you will be in ...
15
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8answers
672 views
Does it make the game more fun when the user is forced to progress through the levels sequentially rather than letting them pick and play?
For the first time in my game, I'm stuck with a real design dilemma. I guess that's a good thing ;) I'm building a word puzzle game that has five levels, each with 30 puzzles. Currently, the user ...
15
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7answers
11k views
What does a Game Designer do? what skills do they need?
I know someone who is thinking about getting into game design, and I wondered, what does the job game designer entail? what tools do you have to learn how to use? what unique skills do you need? what ...
15
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2answers
663 views
Multiplayer Implementation, Can I implement it later if I chose to?
I plan to use XNA to build a game project. I'm not entirely sure at the moment if I want to add multiplayer functionality or not, bearing I have a lot of other problems to solve that I'm still new at. ...
15
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2answers
1k views
Would studying psychology give an advantage to a game designer?
I've recently read The Art of Game Design and am currently reading Why Reality is Broken and am wanting to learn more about the psychology behind game design. I'm a computer science student but I'm ...
15
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3answers
3k views
Pleasing isometric hexagons
What angles and long-side:short-side ratios give the most aesthetically pleasing and graphically regular isometric (squashed, flat side up) hexes; that additionally resolve to whole pixel sizes for ...
15
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2answers
455 views
Is there a definitive reference on Pinball playfield design?
I'm looking at designing tables for Future Pinball but I'm not sure where to start as I've little background in game design per se. I've played scores of pinball tables over the years so I've a fairly ...
14
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5answers
2k views
Can and should a game design be patented?
I have an idea for a game that I want to develop and I feel is unique, and I'm wondering if I should patent it. I read on the web that games can be patented, but just because it can be done doesn't ...
14
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11answers
675 views
When dealing with a static game board, what are some methods to make it more interesting?
Let's say you have a game board that you look at. It does not move but there is some action going on. For example Chess, Checkers, Solitaire. The game I'm working on is not one of these but it's a ...
14
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5answers
4k views
Algorithm for dynamically calculating a level based on experience points?
One of the struggles I've always had in game development is deciding how to implement experience points attributed to gaining a level. There doesn't seem to be a pattern to gaining a level in many of ...
14
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5answers
779 views
Should developers make their games easier with new versions?
It seems that the game Angry Birds is becoming gradually easier with new versions. Maybe so people get the illusion of progress and satisfaction of breaking new records?
I would like to know if ...
14
votes
3answers
624 views
Is there a rule of thumb to scale up the environment by 33%?
I was reading an article on Gamasutra called A Rational Approach to Racing Game Track Design, and I found the following:
A commonly acknowledged rule for third person games is
that the ...
14
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5answers
668 views
I have an “amoeba” game mechanic. Any idea on how to implement it?
Outside of a tetris clone, a crappy 2D top-down shooter, and some messing around with stuff like Unity and Flixel, I realize that I have yet to complete a single, polished, bells-and-whistles game. I ...
14
votes
2answers
822 views
Should the game host be the authority, or another dumb client?
When designing a networked multiplayer-game where one player hosts and others connect, there are two strategies I'm aware of:
Have the host-player's game be the authority, with all other players as ...
14
votes
3answers
1k views
Guidance for building a proper in game economy
I'm seriously thinking of building a space opera game which would share some of Machiavelli The Prince aspects regarding commerce: each player will be able to extract/build/buy/sell/donate a wide ...
13
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7answers
3k views
What makes Minecraft so great?
I believe everybody has heard of Minecraft. It is a deceptively simple game, that was made by a single indie developer, and sold more than 500k copies - despite having no active marketing and being ...
13
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5answers
4k views
Lag compensation with networked 2D games
I want to make a 2D game that is basically a physics driven sandbox / activity game. There is something I really do not understand though. From research, it seems like updates from the server should ...
13
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4answers
1k views
(RPGs) Drop table design
I guess this question pertains more to games like MMO and Diablo-like games.
What are the usual designs for implementing a drop table, where a monster could drop different type of items depending on ...
13
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3answers
735 views
Are games designed to be addictive?
When I was younger I used to play games a lot for hours. I would say I got addicted to them. Now I'm a software developer and was wondering if games are explicitly designed to be addicting?
Game ...
12
votes
5answers
532 views
What are the makings of a good Character
What properties make the main character of a game such that players can easily identify with it? Can the same set properties be used when designing the NPC characters players interact with, or should ...
12
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5answers
1k views
How is game development different from other software development? [closed]
For a solid general purpose software developer, what specifically is different about game development, either fundamentally or just differences in degree?
I've done toy games like Tic-tac-toe, ...
12
votes
6answers
549 views
How is game difficulty tested/balanced?
How is game difficulty typically tested or balanced so that there's a steady progression of difficulty; how do I ensure that no level is too difficult or too easy for its point in the game?
Are play ...
12
votes
6answers
873 views
Are hidden stats a good idea?
I'm thinking of and RPG, FPS or a turn based game (does not really matter), where the player does not know his character(s) exact stats. Of course they exist as random variables of normal distribution ...
12
votes
3answers
638 views
How do they keep track of the NPCs in Left 4 Dead?
How do they keep track of the NPC zombies in Left 4 Dead?
I am talking about the NPCs that just walk into walls or wander around aimlessly. Even though the players cannot see them, they are there ...
12
votes
12answers
882 views
Styles of games that work at low-resolution
I'm taking a class on compilers, and the goal is to write a compiler for Meggy Jr devices (Arduino). The goal is just to make a simple compilers with loops and variables and stuff.
Obviously, that's ...
12
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6answers
1k views
Puzzle design in Adventure games
Creating interesting, original, logical, thoughtful puzzles is an art.
What techniques and methods do you use to create good puzzles?
Do you write storyline before designing puzzles or combine these ...
12
votes
2answers
316 views
Scrambling word into least recognizable form
My goal is to present the player with a scrambled word that should be reordered back into the original form:
OELHL --> HELLO
I want a scrambling algorithm that takes any given word(>3or4 letters, ...
12
votes
6answers
704 views
Is there a site where people discuss game concepts and questions in general?
I like making game concepts for fun, as a hobby. I don't think that all my game concepts are amazingly awesome and have to be created and would revolutionize the industry. I just want some people to ...
12
votes
8answers
565 views
Multi-disciplined: Strength or Weakness?
My last two credited titles I was Lead Programmer then moved to Lead Design role. At my current company I kinda switch between design and programming hats quite often.
The bulk of my education is in ...
12
votes
3answers
332 views
How many achievements should I include, and of what challenge?
I know this question is fairy broad and subjective, but I'm wondering if there's been any published research into what an optimal number of achievements is and what kind of challenge they should ...
12
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4answers
800 views
Why not show progress towards achievements/badges?
Achievements are everywhere now — Xbox Live, iOS Game Center, many individual games, and even in social communities with gaming elements like Stack Overflow.
A common user request of Stack ...
12
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2answers
2k views
What is a Game State?
The terminology "game state" is a bit vague to me. Could anybody clarify, what is included in the game state, please?
Is it a state of all the variables and objects within the game at particular ...
12
votes
2answers
12k views
OpenGL ES 2.0: Setting up 2D Projection
This article describes in general, how to draw sharp OpenGL 2D graphics, using fixed function pipeline.
http://basic4gl.wikispaces.com/2D+Drawing+in+OpenGL
Because OpenGL ES 2.0 has some ES 1.x ...
12
votes
4answers
1k views
What makes puzzle games addictive?
I'm currently developing a puzzle game for Android that is sort of along the lines of Alchemy.
I was wondering what makes games like Alchemy or Bejeweled so addicting? How do I keep players ...
12
votes
1answer
784 views
Programming a climbing system like tomb raider
I was wondering if anyone knew or had knowledge of how to program a climbing system like the one found in tomb raider/uncharted.
I had thought of just having bounding boxes at all the climbable ...
11
votes
3answers
442 views
How do I deal with the problems of a fast side-scroller?
I'm making a side scrolling airplane game and when I begin going very fast I begin to experience some problems as a player:
Elements are not distinguishable, like power-ups from bullets, etc
I start ...
11
votes
3answers
715 views
Can Achievement systems be implemented later in development?
I'm undecided if I want to implement this feature in my game at the time or not. I don't want the project to get to far out of control so I'm focusing on core mechanics first.
Is this a feature that ...
11
votes
4answers
8k views
Best Way to Create A Map for a 2D Game?
I apologize for the subjective "best" keyword.
My friend and I have started creation of a 2D adventure game. It will be top-down in the style of pokemon or zelda (just the perspective). We have been ...
11
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3answers
3k views
Beat detection and FFT
I am working on a platformer game which includes music with beat detection. I am currently detecting beats by checking for when the current amplitude exceeds a historical sample. This doesn't work ...
11
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5answers
619 views
Do any games have this type of mechanic?
This question got closed on gaming SE as off topic. I hope it's on topic here.
Many years ago, a friend and I prototyped a simple 2d rpg with what we thought was a unique idea for the combat ...
11
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4answers
1k views
Programming the combat sequence in a role playing game
I'm trying to write a short "game" where a player goes around and fights monsters but I have no idea how to handle the combat.
For example, say I have a "Warrior" and a "Troll". How do the two fight ...
11
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2answers
322 views
Sounds to describe the weather?
I'm trying to think of sounds that will help convey the time of day and weather condition. I'm not even sure of all the weather conditions I would consider, and some are obvious. Like if it's raining, ...
11
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3answers
1k views
Plot and Story design basics
I have made several games but they have all been space invaders or mario style.
Following my last question (thank you for all the great answers) I am trying to write out a plot line and a plan for ...
