Game Design Workshop: Designing, Prototyping, & Playtesting Games (Gama Network Series)

Conclusion

Once you’ve designed your controls and interfaces, you will work with the artists and programmers to implement them and the rest of the game logic. This is where the real fun begins. Collaborating with team members can be one of the most rewarding and creative experiences if you approach the process with an open mind and a clear vision. Like the playtesting process, the collaboration process will open your designs up to new ideas and perspectives. The next section deals with this process in depth.

Before moving on though, take a look back at the process you’ve just been through:

• You not only came up with an idea for an original game, you’ve learned skills and techniques that will make you a valuable member of any design team. You are an idea generator.

• You’ve translated your ideas into a prototype of a working game.

• You’ve playtested your prototype and revised it until its gameplay delighted your testers.

• You’ve envisioned your game as a digital product, designing controls and interfaces for the target platforms.

At this point, you should feel empowered by your control of the design process. No longer a mystery, the process of game design is one you should feel confident with practicing on your own, with friends, or as a member of a professional design team. You may use your skills to create games in your garage, or you may try to get a job with an established developer or publisher. Whatever you decide to do, you will have the experience and the critical skills to approach the task of game design as both a personal art and a social, collaborative dialogue between the designers and the players of games.