ID:154582
 
What sort of game do I design?
Should I do something I like or something other people will like? I have strange taste in games.
Do I design something simple or difficult (but fun)?
Is there any good design tips out there?
What sort of game do I design?
Should I do something I like or something other people will like? I have strange taste in games.

I'd say design to please yourself first, but certainly take the time to consider how you can make the game appeal to as wide a group of users as possible without watering down your idea. Personally, I think one of the most exciting things about BYOND is that it's going to encourage people to write some damn weird games. :)


Do I design something simple or difficult (but fun)?
Personally, I'd say start simple. When I started with BYOND I wanted to design a huge MUD right off the bat, but eventually I realized that (for me at least) it was more useful to write small things that would give me good practice while still giving me a sense of accomplishment. And now I'm ready to tackle a MUD in the not-too-near future. It all really depends on you, though... what works for me might be all wrong for you.

...or did you mean simple to *play*? In that case, go for simple. If it's difficult, I won't play it long. :)


Is there any good design tips out there?

For design tips, check out this link for starters: Gamasutra
On 2/13/01 5:13 am sunzoner wrote:
What sort of game do I design?
Should I do something I like or something other people will like? I have strange taste in games.

I don't have a rule about it or anything, but my games tend to all be the type I'd enjoy, even games I've always wished I could find in shareware. Tailor-made for me, as it were. I don't know if it's just coincidence that other people seem to like them too, or if I have good taste, or if making the game you want to play is a good way to maintain quality.

I guess my advice is to create what you'd want to play!

Z
On 2/13/01 5:13 am sunzoner wrote:
What sort of game do I design?
Should I do something I like or something other people will like? I have strange taste in games.
Do I design something simple or difficult (but fun)?
Is there any good design tips out there?

Everyone's opinion is different; myself, I like pseudo-medieval things (like Shadowrun or Final Fantasy VII) and sci-fi things (like Blade Runner or Star Trek) and post apocalyptic games (like Fallout). I also play fantasy games, but I like the additional part where the little factual details about medieval life are actually fleshed out. So you can't carry out billions of coins from dungeons.

But those games (with the exception of FF7 and possibly Blade Runner) haven't really appealed to a large group of players. And when people play fantasy games, they want it to be GLORIOUS! Not to earn a measly 500 gold coins after venturing through the deepest dungeon! Myself, I love the games that most people usually don't. (Not condoning it or anything, but I also like downloading abandonwares... especially like the ones at this site, for instance (it's technically illegal, but most of the companies don't even mind =))

My favourite game type is one that combines all the types; action, strategy, role-playing, sci-fi, realism, fun, fantasy... I just bought Jagged Alliance 2 over the weekend, and I love it, because it combines strategy, role-playing, and some realism. (I bought it partially as an impulse buy, and partially as suggested by Deadron =)

Most of my games that I'm developing with BYOND fuzz those boundaries, too. CATs, for example, has realistic physics (for realism), lots of gunfights (for action), lots of kick-arse weapons and gadgets (for fun, and sci-fi =), the ability to command teams (strategy), and an entire melancholy story and plot (role-playing, and fantasy too!).

Difficulty has never really been a turn-off to me. As long as it's possible to make the correct decisions to avoid death, I love games like that. Roguelikes, however, are possibly a little TOO difficult; if you die, your character is gone, dead, and deleted, and you have to start over from the very beginning. Realistic, perhaps... but too frustrating for me to stomach. Besides, there's times that nothing you possibly can think of can save you... not my cup of tea.

I like it either difficult to get (takes some thought, which is rewarding), or simple (you can have fun against other players with a minimum learning curve). In between, I start to get bored (how do you pull the sceptre out of the sacred throne?). =)

Variety is the spice of games I play. I like things (interface and structural, or things that would show up nicely on a 'features' list) that vary from the norm. So if you have three different methods of attacking someone, or hundreds of different ways to die, then that's cool. The standard 'click-to-attack' still appeals to me, though... variety just appeals to me MORE. =)



Erm, what I'm trying to say is, do whatever the heck you feel like. But pay attention to what other people like.

(Then again, if people don't like the fact that in The Haven Seed, if they get hit with a sword they're likely to die if unarmoured, even when hit by a fairly unskilled newbie weakling, then so be it, they can go play something else. That's the realism part; the only reason people lasted so long in battles in medieval times was because of those solid sheets of iron they wore. And the fact that they were good enough to dodge slashes and swings.)
In response to Zilal
On 2/13/01 7:01 am Zilal wrote:
I don't have a rule about it or anything, but my games tend to all be the type I'd enjoy, even games I've always wished I could find in shareware. Tailor-made for me, as it were. I don't know if it's just coincidence that other people seem to like them too, or if I have good taste, or if making the game you want to play is a good way to maintain quality.

I guess my advice is to create what you'd want to play!
Yeah that's what I usualy do. I have been playing muds for a long time and have come across ideas i really wanted in the games, so when I make games in BYOND, I attempt to add them into my own game.