HOW TO MAKE GAME PROTOTYPE

Because game design is not a traditional curriculum like Math or physics that we can learn from the class, many students don’t have a clear understanding about what a game designer should do while making a game. The only thing they know in their mind is that the game designer will somehow influence the final shape of the game. Most students who want to be a game designer because of this sentence in their mind: “I have an amazing idea!”

When I am reading “The Door Problem”, wrote by Liz England, the designer of Watchdogs Legion, she lists many problems when a game designer wants to add a “door” to their game. Therefore, I think having an amazing idea is not the necessary thing for designing a game, but a icing on the cake to make the game better.

According to my experience of attending many game jams, I found everybody in the team have their ideas. In a successful team project, ideas must come from the combination of everybody’s thoughts. Thus, to most of the students who wants to be a game designer, including myself, the first thing we need to know is that “game designer isn’t the guy who sells ideas”. Game designing is not spreading your own thoughts but telling others how to realize one of your idea by using your wisdom. A designer should work more like a filter to make sure inappropriate ideas won’t be permitted, and to support those ideas that may have a good result. Afterward, the designer should corporate with other teammates, communicate, develop, update, test, and finally get the game done properly.

Since my own game jams experience, most game jam prototype projects don’t have a methodology, and they usually discuss about some flashy points, and fall into the circus of discussing the narrative stories of RPG games. Until I attend a game jam in China this year, I finally thoroughly understand the high-efficient way to make a prototype game. In accordance with the One-week development principle proposed by Bennett Foddy, director of NYU Game Center, I will show you some methods to make a prototype here.

1: Combination of classical games

Instead of thinking for a long time, it’s not ashamed to admit that classical games are great models to learn from. Due to the performance limit of the console in the years of FC console, the requirements for game designing are very high. In limited performance, designers must create a great game play that attract players to replay it hundreds of times.

Here are some examples:

1. Arkanoid

2. Asteroid

3. Bejeweled!

4. Bomberman

5. Dig Dug

6. Donkey Kong

7. Duck Hunt

8. Flappy Birds

9. Frogger

10. Gun Smoke

11. Ice Climber

12. Lode Runner

13. Marble Madness

14. Pac-Man

15. Pinball

16. Pong

17. Pooyan

18. Puzzle Bobble

19. Qbert

20. Snake

21. Space Invaders

22. Tetris

23. Zuma

This summer, I combined the Arkanoid and Pong, and create Arkapong.

In that game jam, my friend made Pac-Bomberman by combining Pac-man and Bomber man.

This is only the simple 1+1 method, but you can change it into 1+1+1 method, or even 1+a noun, 1+ a verb, 1+anything. This will also be my direction of practicing in the future.

2: Inspiration from childhood games

The games (not video games) we played in childhood are mostly the prototype of team competition games and puzzle games.

Dodgeball, hide and seek, all these kinds of game we played always inspire many popular video games.

Super Dodge Ball is one of my favorite games.

Also in this summer’s game jam, I get inspiration from one game.

Chopping Dragon

It was inspired by an Chinese toy ruler which has a maze with a ball in it.

3: Learn from popular indie games

I am a fan of Baba is you when it just won the “Best Student Game” at the IGF Awards. Without any fancy arts, focus only on the design and game play. Try to learn the core game design idea from it and make a practice, there was someone already done this online.

http://warpdoor.com/2019/10/17/null-is-zero/

In order to become a good game designer, it’s not enough to have only good ideas. I hope these three methods can help you quickly understand how to make a prototype game in a fast way. Also, these methods may help you in your game design assignment. As far as I know, University of Utah asks its students to submit 100 game design ideas. If you master these methods of making prototypes, you will save a lot of time and get a better grade.