- Copyright
- Publisher's Acknowledgments
- FOREWORD
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- PRESS START!
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: EVERYTHING I LEARNED ABOUT WRITING A BOOK
- 1. WELCOME, N00BS!
- 2. IDEAS
- 3. WRITING THE STORY
- 4. YOU CAN DESIGN A GAME, BUT CAN YOU DO THE PAPERWORK?
- 5. THE THREE CS, PART 1—CHARACTER
- 5.1. FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
- 5.2. PERSONALITY: DO WE REALLY NEED ANOTHER BADASS?
- 5.3. LET'S GET PERSONAL
- 5.4. FINALLY, WE TALK ABOUT GAMEPLAY
- 5.5. WHY WALK WHEN YOU CAN RUN?
- 5.6. THE ART OF DOING NOTHING
- 5.7. MIGHT AS WELL JUMP
- 5.8. HOISTS AND TEETERS
- 5.9. WHAT GOES UP, MUST FALL DOWN
- 5.10. THE WATER'S FINE... OR IS IT?
- 5.11. BE KIND TO OUR FOUR-LEGGED FRIENDS
- 5.12. USING ALL OF THE PARTS
- 5.13. WE ARE NOT ALONE
- 5.14. WHO ARE THE PEOPLE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD?
- 5.15. Level 5's Universal Truths and Clever Ideas:
- 6. THE THREE CS, PART 2—CAMERA
- 6.1. GET IT RIGHT: CAMERA VIEWS
- 6.2. FIRST PERSON CAMERA
- 6.3. THIRD PERSON CAMERA
- 6.4. GIVING UP CONTROL
- 6.5. TWO AND A HALF D
- 6.6. ISOMETRIC CAMERA
- 6.7. TOP-DOWN CAMERA
- 6.8. SPECIAL CASE CAMERAS
- 6.9. TUNNEL VISION
- 6.10. CAMERA SHOT GUIDE
- 6.11. CAMERA ANGLE GUIDE
- 6.12. CAMERA MOVEMENT GUIDE
- 6.13. OTHER CAMERA NOTES
- 6.14. MULTIPLE PLAYER CAMERAS
- 6.15. Level 6's Universal Truths and Clever Ideas:
- 7. THE THREE CS, PART 3—CONTROLS
- 8. SIGN LANGUAGE—HUD AND ICON DESIGN
- 8.1. HEALTH BAR
- 8.2. TARGETING
- 8.3. AMMO GAUGE
- 8.4. INVENTORY
- 8.5. SCORE
- 8.6. RADAR/MAP
- 8.7. CONTEXT-SENSITIVE PROMPT
- 8.8. THE CLEAN SCREEN
- 8.9. ICON HAS CHEEZBURGER3?
- 8.10. DON'T GET QTE
- 8.11. HUDS, AND WHERE TO STICK 'EM
- 8.12. THERE ARE OTHER SCREENS THAN THE HUD
- 8.13. THE PAUSE THAT REFRESHES
- 8.14. A FINAL WORD ON FONTS
- 8.15. Level 8's Universal Truths and Clever Ideas:
- 9. EVERYTHING I LEARNED ABOUT LEVEL DESIGN, I LEARNED FROM LEVEL 9
- 9.1. THE TOP 10 CLICHÉ VIDEO GAME THEMES
- 9.2. THE NAME GAME
- 9.3. EVERYTHING I LEARNED ABOUT LEVEL DESIGN, I LEARNED FROM DISNEYLAND
- 9.4. THE BEAT CHART
- 9.5. RE-USING RE-USE
- 9.6. THE GARY GYGAX MEMORIAL MAPPING SECTION
- 9.7. THE DAVE ARNENSON MEMORIAL MAPPING SECTION
- 9.8. WRAPPING UP MAPPING
- 9.9. ILLUSIONAL NARRATIVE
- 9.10. GRAY MATTERS
- 9.11. LEAVE THE TRAINING LEVEL FOR LAST
- 9.12. Level 9's Universal Truths and Clever Ideas:
- 10. THE ELEMENTS OF COMBAT
- 10.1. 400 QUATLOOS ON THE NEWCOMER!
- 10.2. NOW YOU HAVE TO KISS ME
- 10.3. ON MOVING
- 10.4. ON GUARDING
- 10.5. STATE OF THE ART BANG BANG
- 10.6. THE BEST GUN FOR YOU
- 10.7. RUN AND GUN
- 10.8. NOT JUST SHOOTING
- 10.9. DAMMIT JONES, WHERE DOESN'T IT HURT?
- 10.10. DEATH: WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?
- 10.11. Level 10's Universal Truths and Clever Ideas:
- 11. THEY ALL WANT YOU DEAD
- 11.1. FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION!
- 11.2. BRING ON THE BAD GUYS
- 11.3. I LOVE DESIGNING ENEMIES
- 11.4. I HATE YOU TO PIECES
- 11.5. NON-ENEMY ENEMIES
- 11.6. HOW TO CREATE THE WORLD'S GREATEST BOSS BATTLE
- 11.7. WHO'S THE BOSS?
- 11.8. SIZE MATTERS
- 11.9. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
- 11.10. WHY NOT TO CREATE THE WORLD'S GREATEST BOSS BATTLE
- 11.11. Level 11's Universal Truths and Clever Ideas:
- 12. THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF MECHANICS
- 13. NOW YOU'RE PLAYING WITH POWER
- 14. MULTIPLAYER—THE MORE THE MERRIER
- 15. SOME NOTES ON MUSIC1
- 16. CUTSCENES, OR NO ONE'S GONNA WATCH 'EM ANYWAY
- 17. AND NOW THE HARD PART
- 1. THE ONE-SHEET SAMPLE
- 2. THE TEN-PAGE DESIGN DOCUMENT SAMPLE
- 2.1. Page 1: Title Page
- 2.2. Page 2: Story and Gameplay
- 2.3. Page 3: Game Flow
- 2.4. Page 4: Character(s) and Controls
- 2.5. Page 5: Main Gameplay Concepts and Platform Specific Features
- 2.6. Page 6: Game World
- 2.7. Page 7: Interface
- 2.8. Page 8: Mechanics and Power-ups
- 2.9. Page 9: Enemies and Bosses
- 2.10. Page 10: Cutscenes, Bonus Material, and Comps
- 3. GAME DESIGN DOCUMENT TEMPLATE
- 4. THE MEDIUM-SIZED LIST OF STORY THEMES
- 5. THE BIG LIST OF ENVIRONMENTS1
- 6. MECHANICS AND HAZARDS
- 7. ENEMY DESIGN TEMPLATE
- 8. BOSS DESIGN TEMPLATE
- 9. HIGH CONCEPT PITCH PRESENTATION
- ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: EXACTLY LIKE MAKING CHILI
- CONTINUE?
So, let's see ... We've thought up some game designs, we've written some game design documents, we've eaten some chili, and we've pitched our game.
Congratulations! You've leveled up!
And just like in games, you're just getting started. Now it's time for you to learn firsthand that making video games is the best job in the world. Do me a favor, as you zoom ahead and make your own games, keep this book in your back pocket; hopefully it will come in helpful the next time you get stuck.
Finally, always remember these three things:
Take a break every once in a while. You're only human and you're only making games. You're not a heart surgeon. No one is going to die if you leave something until tomorrow.
Always be fair and generous. This is a very small industry and word gets around very fast when you aren't.
Always keep playing games—even the bad ones.
Not many people make games for a living, so enjoy every minute of it: after all, you could be flipping burgers instead.
OK, so I lied, there were four things.
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