David Perry on Game Design: A Brainstorming ToolBox

Contents......Page 8
Preface......Page 4
Introduction......Page 21
Part I: How to Use This Book......Page 32
Delving Deeper......Page 34
Using Brainstorming in Groups......Page 36
Brainstorming Solo......Page 38
Brainstorming Exercise......Page 39
Brainstorming Examples......Page 40
Games and Research......Page 42
What to Look For......Page 43
Research Sources......Page 44
Part II: Which Game Will You Make?......Page 46
Benefits of a Hook......Page 48
Hook Evaluator v3: DP’s Forty Questions......Page 50
Getting Your Game Published......Page 52
Preparation for the Pitch......Page 53
Pitching Games to Publishers......Page 57
A Good Pitch......Page 58
Good Pitches versus Bad Pitches......Page 60
Elements of a Game Design Submission......Page 61
Getting Work in the Game Industry......Page 63
Basic View Options......Page 64
Types of Graphical Views......Page 65
Future Game Views......Page 66
Visual Styles......Page 67
Game Genres......Page 68
6 Business Models......Page 74
Around-Game Advertising......Page 75
Try before You Buy......Page 76
Insurance......Page 77
Support Tiers......Page 78
Selling Consumables......Page 79
Pay Players to Meet a Challenge......Page 80
Foreign Distribution Deals......Page 81
User-Generated Content......Page 82
Sell Branded Physical Items......Page 83
Add Download Insurance......Page 84
Methods of Avoiding Buyer’s Regret......Page 85
Working with Someone Else’s Brand......Page 88
Picking a Brand......Page 89
Qualities of Successfully Branded Properties......Page 90
Building Value on a Character Licensed Property......Page 91
Trade Secrets......Page 94
Copyrights......Page 95
Trademarks......Page 96
Part III: Storytelling......Page 98
9 Storytelling Techniques......Page 100
Elements of a Good Story......Page 101
The Basic Story Arc: Games and the Three-Act Structure......Page 104
Joseph Campbell Meets Star Wars and The Matrix......Page 107
Story and the Player’s Character......Page 115
Ways to Start a Story......Page 120
Ways to End a Story......Page 121
Story Techniques......Page 122
Plot Twists......Page 123
Dilemmas......Page 125
Timelines......Page 132
Social Pressures (Grow Every Year)......Page 134
Multi-Session Storytelling......Page 135
Keeping Secrets......Page 136
Wrong-Headedness......Page 137
Creating Comedy......Page 138
Making Things Scary......Page 147
Enhancing the Player’s Emotional Response......Page 152
Creating Emotional Responses toward Characters......Page 155
Story-Builder Activity......Page 156
10 Movie Genres......Page 160
Types of Comedies......Page 161
Movie Genres Used in Games......Page 162
11 Scenarios......Page 164
Preemptive Strikes......Page 165
Environmental Goals......Page 166
Mortal Threats......Page 167
The Plot Thickens......Page 168
Infiltration......Page 169
Neutralize the Base......Page 170
Making an Area Safe......Page 171
Timed and/or Cyclic Events......Page 172
Ways to Trigger Events and Flags......Page 173
Delayed Gratification......Page 174
Qualification Tests (Tests of Worthiness)......Page 175
Criminal Investigation......Page 176
Reversals of Fortune......Page 177
Party Members......Page 178
Unwanted Sidekicks......Page 179
Is It Safe?......Page 180
Unexpected Location Changes......Page 181
The Obscure Object of Desire......Page 182
Innocent Bystanders......Page 183
Ways to Gain Allies......Page 184
Something’s Screwy......Page 185
Time Travel......Page 186
The Gauntlet......Page 187
Godlike Roles......Page 188
Misdirection......Page 189
Part IV: Characters......Page 190
12 Character Design......Page 192
Some Characters Are Roles......Page 193
Build a Character......Page 195
Step-by-Step Examples......Page 198
Character Descriptions and Gameplay......Page 210
Character Racial/Species Options......Page 211
Strong Character Names......Page 213
Relationships of Characters......Page 214
Character Goals......Page 215
How a Character Grows…Character Arcs......Page 217
Real People’s Attributes......Page 222
Identities......Page 224
Character Traits......Page 229
Quirks......Page 238
Moods......Page 240
Hobbies......Page 242
Phun with Phobias......Page 249
Catchphrases......Page 255
Kinds of Heroes, Villains, and Minions......Page 256
Functional Character Roles......Page 275
Personality Types......Page 278
Mental/Emotional Signals: The Other 93%......Page 289
Other Ways to Show Character Emotions/States......Page 296
Facial Expressions......Page 299
Ways to Customize Avatars......Page 301
Human Universals......Page 307
NPC Roles......Page 312
NPC Jobs......Page 314
Evil Jobs......Page 321
Participatory Player Jobs......Page 322
Character Species/Type......Page 323
Character Race/Ethnicity......Page 324
Military Ranks and Divisions......Page 325
Types of Enemies......Page 334
More on Bosses......Page 336
Enemy Fighting Styles......Page 337
Boss Battles......Page 338
Ways to Encounter Enemies......Page 342
Ways to Avoid Enemies......Page 346
How to Make You Hate Them......Page 347
Range of Human Abilities......Page 350
Superhero Abilities List......Page 351
Statistical Abilities......Page 354
Fighting Abilities......Page 358
Magic Abilities......Page 373
Known Superhero List......Page 378
Dialog Input......Page 380
Phonetic Alphabets......Page 382
Military Time......Page 383
Nicknames......Page 384
Slang......Page 385
Buzzwords......Page 410
Speech Patterns......Page 418
Interactive Conversation......Page 424
Common Hand and Body Expressions......Page 425
Police and Military Codes......Page 426
Colorful Language: Scatological Terminology and Other Dirty Words......Page 435
Part V: Worlds......Page 438
What Is a World?......Page 440
Types of Worlds......Page 442
Perception of Freedom......Page 444
Ways to Make a World Feel Alive and Real......Page 452
Randomness......Page 462
NPCs......Page 463
Animation and Effects......Page 464
Lighting......Page 465
What Is Reality? (Common Reality Distortions)......Page 474
Dangerous Places......Page 475
Places to Get Lost In......Page 476
Good Places to Attack or Defend......Page 477
Weather Types and Phenomena......Page 478
Location Sizes......Page 479
Money and Commerce......Page 480
Politics......Page 481
Creating Your World......Page 482
The Functions of Travel in Games......Page 484
Travel Dos and Don’ts......Page 485
Types of Vehicles......Page 486
Rules/Methods of Police Pursuit......Page 487
Secret Routes......Page 491
What to Display on a Map......Page 492
19 Objects and Locations......Page 494
Some Qualities an Object Can Have......Page 495
Other Qualities of Objects in Games......Page 499
Relevance to the Game......Page 500
Objects by Locations......Page 501
Good Places to Hide Objects......Page 526
List of Machines......Page 527
The Many Uses of Ordinary Items......Page 528
Individual Objects Carried by Specific NPCs......Page 529
Things You Can Also Love......Page 530
Music......Page 532
Sounds......Page 539
Part VI: Experience Design......Page 542
Section A: The Elements of Experience......Page 544
21 Experiential Design......Page 546
22 Game Conventions and Clichés......Page 580
Section B: Goals and Rewards......Page 598
23 Goals......Page 600
24 Rewards, Bonuses, and Penalties......Page 608
Section C: Obstacles......Page 616
25 Barriers, Obstacles, and Detectors......Page 618
26 Traps and Counter Traps......Page 628
27 Puzzles......Page 646
Section D: Time......Page 668
28 Controlling Pacing......Page 670
29 Time Limits and Time Manipulation......Page 684
Section E: Communication......Page 692
30 Ways to Communicate with the Player......Page 694
Section F: Common Problems......Page 714
31 Common Game Design Problems......Page 716
32 Ways to Die......Page 732
Part VII: Weapons and Armor......Page 754
Weapons......Page 756
Armor......Page 800
Medieval Castles......Page 809
Siege Equipment......Page 813
Guns......Page 822
Modern Explosives......Page 847
Modern Artillery......Page 863
Automatic Artillery and Machine Guns......Page 872
Armored Fighting Vehicles (AFV)—a.k.a. Tanks......Page 881
Mines......Page 914
Aircraft......Page 920
Bombs......Page 977
Torpedoes......Page 982
Biological and Chemical Weapons......Page 1003
Nuclear Weapons......Page 1022
Modern Armor......Page 1033
Nonlethal Weapons......Page 1035
Information Warfare......Page 1041
Brainstorming Weapons and Armor......Page 1042
35 Epilogue......Page 1044
A......Page 1046
B......Page 1048
C......Page 1049
D......Page 1051
E......Page 1052
F......Page 1053
G......Page 1054
I......Page 1056
J......Page 1057
M......Page 1058
N......Page 1061
O......Page 1062
P......Page 1063
R......Page 1065
S......Page 1066
T......Page 1068
W......Page 1070
Z......Page 1071