Musings on game design

A game mechanics designer...
     ...creates the design of a game using game mechanics.
     ...Game mechanics are rules.
     ...games are devices for learning.

Much like a writer uses the words of their language to construct a novel, the game designer uses game mechanics to assemble a game.

Unlike disciplines like engineering, game mechanics are abstract ideas whose forms are not bound by the laws of physics but instead by the boundaries of the game designer's imagination.

A game's design exists independently of the medium it is used to express it. A game's medium can be digital or physical. Prototypes of even some videogames can be physical so the designer may freely manipulate the pieces during the design process to solidify the ideas.

The goal of a game designer is to make a fun game. If the game is not fun then the designer has failed in their task.

Therefore the purpose of game design is to create a fun way to learn (and whether the information learned through play is of value outside of play is a separate matter, deciding whether the game is entertainment or edutainment).

Much of what a game mechanics designer makes are mathematical patterns; in video games, these are algorithms that will be translated into a programming language so they can be expressed to the player through the digital medium. So even if a game mechanics designer is not a programmer they should familiarize themselves with how programming works in order to draft patterns that translate well into existing languages.

Example of a mathematical pattern used to create a mechanic

{rnd (minATK, maxATK) x ItemModifier x Skill Modifier x (1-DEF / 100) - STR - VIT/2} x Elemental Modifier = Stereotypical  "Attack" command damage formula in an RPG video game

Even the design of a board game like Monopoly requires mathematical calculations to determine the odds of dice rolls (2d6 has bell curves, resulting in certain numbers more probable to occur during play) to make predictions about the value of places on the board, which is essential to designing a balanced game (we'll get to this in a'bit).

Qualities of a game designer

1) Spatial intelligence: The ability to visualize with the mind's eye. Required in order to understand and create ordered relationships, such as flowcharts and algorithms.It is also required so one can imagine transformations in the design, as well as the consequences of making these changes to an existing game's design based on prior knowledge of player behavior.

2) Interpersonal skills: High interpersonal skills allow one to be sensitive to others moods, feelings, temperaments and motivations. This allows one to guess what players will do and design to accommodate their actions; to predict emergent gameplay; that is, the actions players will take during game that may not be openly stated in the instructions but are allowed by the rules of the game. (Ex. A MMO may not have trade windows to allow secure trading between players, or a currency, but a meta-system of bartering may emerge around the 'Drop item' and 'Pickup item' commands).

3) Intrapersonal skills: This is one's ability to be self-reflective. It requires one to have a deep understanding of yourself and predict reactions and emotions of yourself in various situations. Knowing what makes you tick is going to help you understand what makes other's tick, and how you can design content for other groups of gamers you don't belong to.

4) Logical-Mathematical Intelligence: This is your ability to use logic, abstractions, reasoning and using numbers. This is not necessarily all about math; it is more about understanding logic and being rational. It is needed to perform accurate and unbias investigations into raw data to make ego-free decisions. A game designer must be able to think logically to solve problems in a novel way independent of any acquired knowledge, as well as identify the patterns and relationships that underpin those problems. It is the ability to use inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning.

5) Excellent Memory: Your ability to do all of the above is going to depend greatly on your own experiences and acquired knowledge from other sources, such as books and postmortem reports from completed games-- as well playing many different types of games, especially the bad ones.

Your ability to use logic to evaluate problems and use spatial intelligence to imagine all the ways a design might go wrong rely heavily on your ability to identify situations you'd already experienced or that you've heard about before.

6) A love of learning: Mechanics take form from your imagination. You need stimulation from books, movies, places you vacation, dates you go on, etc. I've come up with ideas for elements in my designs by trying to model things I've seen in everything from history channel specials to comics I read as a child. Game mechanics are an artistic expression the same as painting and story-telling are. Game designing is a creative endeavor and at its highest level it comes from within the same melting pot of history, legend and culture that Tolkien's Cauldron of Story does; both simmer over the fire of human imagination.

A love of learning is crucial to obtain true mastery of mechanics rather than simply imitate the mechanics of others; that is, to create entirely new ones or utilize old ones effectively.

Most important elements of a game's design

1) Synergy: All mechanics in the game working together as opposed to having some mechanics be combative with other mechanics.

Example: Talent trees in World of Warcraft from The Burning Crusade. You had three tanking classes of Paladins, Druids and Warriors but only Warriors were able to generate enough threat to maintain aggro on end-game raid bosses, and Warriors had superior damage mitigation cooldowns, as well as the ability to break fear, which many bosses used often. Paladins and Druids didn't have these parameters yet had tanking trees, sending the message to players that they could do the tanking role in raids when the design of their trees simply did not allow this to occur in any effective way. Thus the design of raid encounters did not have synergy with Paladin and Druid tanking tree design and this resulted in a problem.

2) Balance: The difficulty of a game. Many players and even some game designers think this means the player and opponents must have equal chance to win. This is false. If this were true then a perfectly balanced game would result in the player losing half the time, all the time and that is not fun!

Once system mastery is obtained the player should rarely lose; losing should punish lack of system mastery, and a player should never lose for any other reason.

Even in cases of PVP in an MMORPG, the player and/or team with higher system mastery should defeat the player / team of lower system mastery. Game balance is essentially the pacing of the player's learning of the system, on the road to system mastery. A game where system mastery is obtained too quickly and effortlessly is a game that is too easy and a game where mastery is slow and difficult to comprehend is hard.

3) Clearly defined target audience: Games are devices of learning. A game designer is the architect of the game and does not need to learn the rules; only players can learn rules. Games are thus intended for others to play.

It is extraordinarily difficult to design a game that can be all things to all people; the designer must decide who they want to play their game so they can design the mechanics to appeal to that demographic.

You cannot please everyone but you can please your target audience. That is an achievable and realistic goal. By having a target audience you will also generate a cohesive and focused design, and be able to more easily decide which elements need changing or deletion in order for the game mechanics to all have synergy with one another.