| |
| |
|
Game Information | Mommy Home Jobs |
|
|
|
Ingredients For A Great Game
There are millions of computer games out there on the market, how do you make your game best selling? What features have to be included? I have taken a look on previously best sellers trying to determine what makes a great game. Set the player in focus The player wants to be in focus in the game, he or she wants to feel that he can control the outcome of the game. It doesn't have to be easy, or it shouldn't. The harder the game is the better the player will feel when he has completed the game and won. For example in Sid Meiers Civilization the player is set in focus and can affect the outcome of the game. She knows that it's up to her if she wins or loose. This concept is seen in virtually all best sellers, Doom, Civilization, The Sims, Sim City, Warcraft, Command&Conquer to name a few. This can also be done in games that are heavily built on a story. For example in several adventure games by Lucas Arts the concept of that the player can control his or her destiny is used frequently. Developers should look out for basing the game too much on what the computer does or other factors. Simplicity Never underestimate simplicity; a gamer does not generally like to read hundreds of pages to be able to play a game. Sure advanced features could be included, but still the player should within ten minutes be able to understand what the game is about and how it is played. If the gamer doesn't the game will probably be turned into a dust collector in the basement. Here the design of the menus and the interface comes in. Avoid having strange controls, like the firing button on F for example. If you were making a 3rd person shooter you would want to use the same set of controls as other games in the sector do. The menus should be easy to understand, I have reviewed a lot of games were the menus are made out of symbols without any text. This is not recommended since the interpretation of a symbol is highly subjective; try to mix symbols with text. Action With action I don't necessarily mean violence. There should however be something happening in the game, and when it happens the player should really notice it. For example killing an enemy in a 3rd person shooter should generate blood, building a police station in Sim City should reduce crime, killing the last enemy in Warcraft should generate victory, ok I guess you got the picture. Perhaps this seems quite basic, and it is, but still some developers don't think in these terms. Story Never ever underestimate a game story. If you read any gaming magazine today you notice that there is an awful lot of focus on the graphics. The graphics are important but they mean nothing if the background story sucks. Of course this isn't true if a game is ground breaking. Doom didn't have a very well developed story but still it was ground breaking because people had never seen nothing like it before. But generally the story is important, sometimes a player wants to feel part of something bigger. To name a few examples we could start with virtually all role playing games. However don't do the mistake of writing the story too complicated. A simple story or shorter story should work fine as long as the story is good. Graphics Yes well I have to mention it. Graphics serve one purpose as I see it; they enhance the game play and all the other factors I have mentioned. They are important in the sense that they communicate the game to the player. They don't have to be stunning but they should serve a purpose. A recent example of this is Command&Conquer Generals, the graphics are good, they serve a purpose and they enhance the gaming experience. However the game in question was not that long-lived for various other reasons. There are several games with bad graphics that are still fun to play for example Warcraft 2 or Sid Meiers old classic, Pirates. Things that people can relate to A bestseller game has to include something that the player can relate to in some way. The Sims that is the world's best selling game right now have several factors that people can relate to in real life. However remember that different people relate to different things. Say that a person just saw a science fiction movie and thinks "I really want to fly a space ship like in that movie", so the person in question starts a search for such a game. This is also one of the reasons the Warcraft series become very popular, the Orcs and other characters in the game people remember from reading Tolkien's book. Developing a game about solving equations will probably not be a hit since far too few people relate to it. These are the main factors that create a good game, if these factors are followed you will probably have a pretty good game. There are of course other elements that make a difference; marketing is one of them that will be more important as the gaming scene grows. Daniel Westerstal is the editor of: http://www.uziana.com/ which features many reviews and other PC gaming related content.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Evolution of Gaming : Graphics vs Gameplay If you are old enough to remember the early days of computer gaming you know there were a lot of great games that were fun because of the exceptional gameplay and not just the graphics. Gaming started to become a little more popular in the 90s once people started buying computers. Codename Revolution - Nintendos Next Generation Gaming System Over the past year or so plenty of hype, mystery and controversy has been raised over the new Nintendo Console. Systems like the Xbox have taken the lead in gaming with offering capabilities such as online multiplayer. UAV GeoBat Balloon Radar Decoy Strategies A GeoBat small UAV might be the perfect platform for an enemy radar decoy and disruption balloon concept. A swarm of GeoBat UAVs could be hand launched and sent into enemy territory and travel using tiny amounts of fuel. Solitaire RULES Half Life DROOLS It's a popularity contest.Solitaire is hip, cool, and way more popular than Half Life 2. Downloadable Game Review: Diner Dash Playvue.com Editor's Rating: 8. Another Title by Atari Released on StarForce Protected DVDs "Atari has selected StarForce to protect their brand-new game called Race Driver 2", a supervisor from StarForce has stated today."Race Driver 2" is produced by Codemasters and distributed by Atari. A Comparison Of the Next Generation Gaming Consoles (Part 2) Arguably Microsoft can attribute a great deal of its success to the hugely successful online capabilities. The new Xbox 360 will continue with the online feature and develop it even further. A Parents Guide to Online Gaming, Part 2 In part 1 we talked about online gaming and your children, including FPS games and exposure to violent content. We wrap up this week by talking about RTS games, MMORPGs and the additional threats of addiction and social predators. Go Digital and Groovy... and Save Trees! Have you inherited your Dad's trading card collection - ie. pieces of printed cardboard that come with a piece of gum that looks like it tastes like cardboard too? Well today's trading cards have evolved to include, wait for it. Popular Electronic Games - They Are Not Just For Kids Anymore Superheroes battle monsters and space invaders in fast action games. Players take on the role of these superheroes in epic battles. PC Gaming Video: Meeting the Demands If you have an interest in playing PC games that were made at least in the past couple of years, you've probably seen the serious video demands these games now have. It's not only that you need a fast system that can handle all of the information in today's games, but you need a major performance video card to handle computer game video too. UAV Swarm Reconfiguration for computer war games The modern battlespace is changing in the real world and in the very near future swarms of UAVs with be a tactic and weapon of choice. Is your computer game software ahead or behind the curve of inovation. Rent Games Online Renting video games online has exploded in recent months! I for one am thrilled to see this available to me and my family. Over the summer it was my sanity saver! Why you ask? Well simply because for an affordable price I can rent unlimited games online and have them sent to my door. Flying an MAV Through Fan Blades to Attain Target Flying an MAV Through Rotating Fan Blades - It maybe possible to write into the software code of a MAVs Optic Flow Sensor Network an algorithm, which would allow it to fly though a rotating set of fan blades. Now then as difficult as this may sound the idea might not be as complicated as you think. Blast From The Past - Retro Games Are Hot Again Miss the brainlessly simple and extremely addictive games from the 80s? Find out which game developers feel the same. Dozens of teams are creating new games based on the old classics. Rome Total War: Battle Strategy Guide A. FormationsIt's pretty much common sense to come up with a good formation for your army but the basic idea in most situations is to have your infantry in front, ranged units behind, cavalry protecting the flanks and your general right behind the infantry. Create Computer Games - Get Started on Creating Your Own Virtual Worlds I've always loved video games, ever since I first played them on a friend's computer in the afternoon after elementary school. There's something almost magical about the fact that we can move images around and interact with virtual worlds, a living fantasy presented for us to interact with however we please. A Look at the Sony PlayStation 3 At the recent E3 gaming Convention, Sony gave the world a first look at the new Playstation 3, Sony's contribution to the next generation gaming consoles. Much like the news surrounding the Nintendo Revolution, the Playstation 3 has been immersed in mystery and controversy for the last several years. Sony PSP The period of the greatest portable console has finally arrived. Brace yourself for astonishing, gaming quality on a gaming device which is poised to change the way you think about portable devices. New Helicopter Design for Your Video War Games Using Underbelly Cone with Slots Facing Up On a Helicopter to Increase Payload and Liftoff Force. Picture a helicopter model sitting on top of a funnel.
|
| Mommy Home Jobs | Mommy Matters | index | site map |
| Copyright © MommyHomeJobs.com |
