focusing your game patrick lipo hidden path entertainment

Focusing Your Game

Patrick LipoHidden Path Entertainment

Who the heck am I?

Who the heck am I?

Game designer / programmer / lead

In the game industry since 1993

Not an academic Focus on “action

games”

Who the heck am I?

Some recent projects: X-Men Legends Lord of the Rings

Online This is Vegas

Big Games!

Multi-million dollar budgets

Teams of 40, 70, 100…

3+ Years of development time

Lots of features Awesome!

…right?

Big Games…

Why do large projects sometimes create weak experiences? Ex: The designers

want Diablo

Big Games…

Why do large projects sometimes create weak experiences? Ex: The designers

want Diablo …while

programmers create tech for The Sims

Big Games…

Why do large projects sometimes create weak experiences? Ex: The designers

want Diablo …while

programmers create tech for The Sims

…as the artists start making Halo

Big Games…

Fear of player expectations

Resources without meaning

An excess of ideas No Limitations

Wait a minute!

No Limits? Ideas are good! Cool new stuff is

what a game designer does! …right?

We all need limits

A blank sheet of paper is dangerous

Every project needs to build a box for themselves

We all need limits

What about smaller projects?

We all need limits

What about smaller projects?

Small games have partial boxes built-in They are efficient

because they have to be

But this still doesn’t guarantee a focused effort

The Enemy

“More”

Everyone loves the word “More”

We all want “stuff” in our games

“More”

We all want our games to be cool! Saying “no” sucks

Stuff adds “value” for the dollar

Extra features just make things better …right?

Open-World Insanity!

Grand Theft Auto has set a ridiculous precedent

Open-World Insanity!

Grand Theft Auto has set a ridiculous precedent

Breadth in all things is starting to be demanded by audiences

Open-World Insanity!

Ex: Spiderman 2 The environment

looked like GTA But you couldn’t get

in the cars

Open-World Insanity!

Ex: Spiderman 2 The environment

looked like GTA But you couldn’t get

in the cars

Should Spiderman have been able to cruise around in a low-rider?

The Ideal

Focus vs. “Cool Stuff”

Designing a great game is about focus

Every feature takes energy to create! No matter how small

A good design works within constraints …or creates its own

Focus vs. “Cool Stuff”

Constraints help you prioritize features to support a game’s objectives

They assure that each feature is worth the cost of entry

They demand that the gamer will notice your efforts

Focus vs. “Cool Stuff”

What will impact your players the most?

Focus vs. “Cool Stuff”

This is an unpopular stance to many

Gamers want their games to be everything they could possibly be

Focus vs. “Cool Stuff”

This isn’t an argument for simplicity

Depth is best targeted at carefully chosen places

Focus vs. “Cool Stuff”

Ex: God of War Simple combat

system Highly polished Light RPG

elements

Focus vs. “Cool Stuff”

Ex: Bioshock Simplified version

of System Shock 2 Tough cuts to

make Still complicated

and deep …and more

successful

Tools for Focus

Verbs

Use verbs to abstract player activities

Keep them “chunky” and high-level

Fight Explore Customize Build Cook Expand Destroy Solve Socialize

Verbs

Use verbs to help you group features

Pillar Verbs

Identify a very small number as the Pillar Verbs

These are what the player does 90% of the time

Pillar Verbs

Use them as a razor for prioritizing features

Pillar Verbs

Use them as a razor for prioritizing features

Use them to spot where you are trying to do too much

Ask “what activities will players want most out of this game?”

Pillar Verbs

What will impact your players the most?

Secondary Verbs

Verbs that are not pillars are secondary verbs

These are side activities that provide breadth Alternation of gameplay

Examples: Half-Life 2 – Driving Diablo 2 - Crafting

Verb Examples

God of War Pillar: Fight Secondary: Upgrade,

Explore

Halo Pillar: Fight Secondary: Drive

Super Mario Pillars: Traverse,

Collect Secondary: Fight

Diablo Pillars: Fight, Acquire Secondary: Upgrade,

Craft

Oblivion Pillars: Fight, Explore,

Customize Secondary: Collect, Craft

Grand Theft Auto Pillars: Drive, Fight Secondary: Collect,

Acquire, Upgrade, Drink, Bowl, etc…

Pillar Values

Beyond verbs, what abstract concepts make your game memorable? Where should your extra

love go? Create short vision

statements to serve as your Pillar Values For education, “Teach skill

X” is a pillar

Pillar Value Examples

Ex: X-Men Legends It’s about a team

of heroes, not an individual

The most destructive environments possible

The player’s own team of X-Men

Pillar Values

Make sure that your game screams them

Make them plain and easy to understand

Ask “What are people going to remember most about your game?”

Pillar Values

What will impact your players the most?

Pillar Value Examples

Halo Cinematic set pieces Unique vehicles Genre-defining multiplayer experience

God of War Unapologetically brutal main character Powerful, visceral combat experience Epic moments

Devil May Cry Fast, over-the-top combat Style over substance

One Last Tool

The Scale of a Game

A ridiculous example:

The Scale of a Game

A ridiculous example: A warrior fights his way

through thousands of enemies

The Scale of a Game

A ridiculous example: A warrior fights his way

through thousands of enemies

Then faces off against hisarch-rival

The Scale of a Game

A ridiculous example: A warrior fights his way

through thousands of enemies

Then faces off against hisarch-rival

…in a rousing game of Chess

The Scale of a Game

What happens if your Pillar Verbs don’t compliment each other?

Sometimes activities seem “stapled together” This can happen in

educational games

At what level of organization does the bulk of gameplay occur?

The Scale of a Game

Activities happen at various scales in different games Soul Calibur

Fighting per-person

Ninja Gaiden Fighting per-room

Dynasty Warriors Fighting per-legion

The Scale of a Game

Different games make obvious scale choices in environments as well Grand Theft Auto

Interaction density: ~20m

Stranglehold Interaction density: ~2m

Flight Simulator Interaction density: miles

The Scale of a Game

Sometimes it isn’t so obvious

Ex: Diablo II It appears to be

about fighting …but the most

compelling gameplay is in acquisition and upgrades

Vegas Design Dilemma

This is Vegas started with a vision of “GTA meets The Sims”

It sounded different and cool

The technology was up to the task…

But the problem was scale

Vegas Design Dilemma

The player had the run of the city and could enter dozens of buildings

The player could sway entire crowds with a single outrageous act

But the player could also affect his relationship with any individual

Vegas Design Dilemma

This required the player to think on a “per room” basis as well as a “per person” basis

Suddenly one out of every 100 people wasn’t part of the crowd

Worse yet, it led to behavior that was “unpredictable”

Vegas Design Dilemma

The gameplay was deeply rooted in two places

Ultimately we had to pick one: “It’s about the

room, not the individual”

Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts

Pillar Verbs, Pillar Values and Game Scale are just tools …not very scientific

ones either

They make you think about what you really want to provide the player with

Final Thoughts

What are people going to take away after playing your game? It doesn’t matter

whether you are trying to entertain them or teach them

Final Thoughts

What will impact your players the most?

Questions?

Patrick Lipo

Email:patlipo@yahoo.comWebsite:www.patricklipo.com

Unconventional but useful reading:

Generating Buy-in: Mastering the Language of Leadership Mark S. Walton

Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind Al Reis, Jack Trout