The main objective of this book is to inspire the audience to begin creating more interesting games. Game development is a magical process, but the magic has some rules that should be determined and followed. All elements, principles, and methods are connected; one thing arises from another and it is very interesting to note such links. As soon as you see and feel a game as a system of events and factors, where even a tiny cogwheel is very important to the whole mechanism for operating like clockwork, you can control and tune it properly to get amazing results in the form of remarkable products. The entirety is one of the most import features. This book is a collection of blueprints that will show you how the mechanism works by demonstrating some vivid examples. It tries to note and explain many details, including the tiny ones.
Chapter 1, Starting the Game, helps to plan your very first game title, beginning with a plot and story. Some interesting ways to work with the plot are exposed, including plot squares, allowing generating various situations on a fly. Specific attention has been given to game identity as right naming and an application icon, which can help to appear on an app store in the best form. The second part of the chapter comprises useful information about game artwork: backgrounds, tile-textures, animation sheets, achievement graphics, and promo graphics.
Chapter 2, Ergonomics, is fully dedicated to a player's comfort when he is playing a game. Sometimes that is an issue, especially if a gameplay is complex. The chapter starts with user interface (UI) design and moves on to optimal screen dimensions of buttons, reliable logic of elements, and so on. The second part of the chapter gives information about increasing the accessibility of games. In an ideal case, a game product should be for many people, including those with some disabilities. Some advice is given on how to make the application color-blind friendly, how to try preventing possible problems with photosensitive epilepsy (PSE), and so on.
Chapter 3, Gesture Games, demonstrates that strictly functional mechanics as input processes on touchscreen devices can be easily transformed into a game. It is worth starting your very first game taking such an approach; the experience can be used for creating advanced controls for future games. The principles of gesture games are simple. An application asks a player to make a specific gesture if the objective is achieved, since the player will get some points. Though this doesn't sound much, with the help of good graphic ornamentation and a good game idea, the gameplay can be very interesting. There are several vivid design ideas in the chapter.
Chapter 4, Card and Board Games, explores the world of digital interpretations of traditional board games. It introduces some general elements of games that humans have played for centuries: a gameboard, gamepieces symbolizing various objects or characters, bonuses, pitfalls, and so on. The process itself is usually a war or a race. These principles, in some symbolic form, can be seen in modern games, including the most advanced ones. The chapter describes the concept of a virtual card game with RPG mechanics, a story of opposition between a group of robots on a small asteroid. Players may construct their own robots by upgrading their abilities, fighting monsters, collecting bonuses, and so on.
Chapter 5, Puzzles, tries to answer the question: is it possible to create very addictive gameplay by using a minimum amount of game pieces? The answer is affirmative. Puzzles need only few elements with a pretty plain simple design, but game developers should define smart rules very accurately. If the job is done well, it will be very difficult to stop playing the game. Moreover, it is usually easy to generate a lot of variations of gameplay based on a fixed number of elements. The chapter illustrates this thesis by exploring boundaries of the match-three puzzle paradigm. Several game modes have been described, including the exotic ones such as a match-three RPG game.
Chapter 6, Platformer, takes the next step; it increases the complexity and realism of games. They are not made of abstract elements any more. From now there is an interesting plot to follow and admit several objectives, large sceneries, and of course, characters (both a protagonist and antagonists). The chapter tells us how to create a charismatic main hero, how to develop a scary enemy, and what the uncanny valley is. Several aspects of animation have been referred to, including some psychological aspects of perception of motion on the screen and walking cycle animation details. All this is implemented into the description of a platformer game with some match-three puzzle logics. Its plot is about a planet where all robots, except one, have become crazy and hostile.
Chapter 7, Adventure, sends you into an engrossing journey by introducing various types of interactive and non-linear storytelling. Adventure games are novels where a plot can be controlled and changed by a player's actions or will; they are "The Garden of Forking Paths", storing many possible alterations of events and situations. The chapter portrays a concept of point-and-click adventure games. It takes place in a fictional diesel-punk universe where very long trains are used. They look like small towns constantly moving. The main protagonist is Anna-Amelia, a girl who wants to be a pilot. Some plot technicals are described, a portion of text is given to a conversation tree, inventory system, and, of course, puzzles.
Chapter 8, Action Games, introduces some popular genres such as shooters, which are one of the most dynamic and advanced classes of games. They are an eclectic mix of different genres, technologies, and story approaches, since they can be considered as an apogee for each game developer, a top everyone dreams to climb up to. This chapter exposes some conceptual ideas of a simple action game, where a player controls an astronaut lost in space. The story can be expressed in the best way by using 3D engine (however the game can be 2D as well), so there is some reference to low poly modeling, texturing, and so on. Special attention has been given to control issues, a controversial point of mobile devices when 3D games are involved.
Chapter 9, Games with Reality, starts with principles and definitions of mixed realities, both augmented reality and augmented virtuality, so that they can be turned into a game experience. The image of the technologies is pretty deliberate and honest, both unique advantages and obvious disadvantages are fully listed. The main interest is contributed to applications based on graphical tracking markers. There are several examples of popular designs. Few words are given to location-based games. The last sections of the chapter are dedicated to unusual practices, such as controlling of remote control toys with some video game logics in mind. There is some reference to gamification, a method where an everyday routine is turned into a game process, motivating people for some achievement and even helping to resolve some needful problems; by playing this game, players assist scientists.