The ability to create things, instead of destroying them is one thing which has yet to be enhanced in games. Wouldn''t you want to jam with the alien Musicians in the Star Wars canteena ?

There are a few games where you can design things, but I think you mostly find these in the strategy realm (unit design).

But designing this stuff is no good unless there''s a system to support it. Even in an RPG, if all you can do is design or modify weapons (Diablo 2?) then this gets old.

How about a game with a roughly simulated physics system that supported the design of different items? In the game world, weight, size, heat, power, etc., would all matter. You''d design objects to accomplish certain things in the world, like overcome puzzles.

Or, you could have a game of being an inventor. The goal would be to design the best items before your competitors. ... ''course, testing which is best without some supporting system would be highly arbitrary, I think...

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Just waiting for the mothership...

I once worked on a ship structure for a game that operated in a similar fashion to Diablo''s inventory system. You had X amount of space to place your engines,weapons,generators,shields,armour etc. So the player could design there own ship. I knew it would be sucessfull if done right and got finshed (which it didn''t). This is what you''re talking about, correct?

I love Game Design and it loves me back.

Our Goal is "Fun"!

quote: Original post by Paul Cunningham

I once worked on a ship structure for a game that operated in a similar fashion to Diablo''s inventory system. You had X amount of space to place your engines,weapons,generators,shields,armour etc. So the player could design there own ship. I knew it would be sucessfull if done right and got finshed (which it didn''t). This is what you''re talking about, correct?

I don''t think that''s what he''s talking about, although he would be the best person to answer this. I think he means the same as his example: things not related to combat. Eg. in Deus Ex, *TINY SPOILER* it would have been cool if you could have actually danced with that girl in the bar in Hong Kong. Not related to combat, not related to the game, not even related to the plot, but it would have been fun. Immersion is the (buzz)word.

-Jussi

What I mean, is all kinds of creativity that could be implemented in games. There are obviously difficulties in implementing such things on a meaningful basis but I hope that designers will be able to work out new ways to integrate these things into games, or even new types of games.

Whilst it is we cannot have a game evaluate a player/user created piece of art, the act of creating it might be enough fun. Or in multiplayer, people could bid for it (?).

The ability to create critters, and mold them to a way of life. (See Black& White). The ability to customise objects that you can make in the game, ornate magical shields? This could be done in a way like skinning ? This would increase the players emotional attachment to artifacts. It will also help multiplayer characters recognise each other.

The ability to dance like in Pulp Fiction, or to make sandcastles in the sand, snow angels in the snow. The ability to design different loaves of bread, or even just select from an array of pre-made molds.

Try to improve the scope for the player to do cool stuff, and that might increase your range of players, or at least make a richer and more enjoyable environment.

See what you can come up with.

That was me posting BTW.

Sorry if this comes across as a flame but i personally can''t see why you would want to be able to do lame things in games like build sandcastles. Unless it has at least some kind of significant input into the gameplay. Why would you make a loaf of bread in a game when its a lot more fun to do it in real life. Its like sex in games, its really quite pointless unless it has relavence and impact on the gameplay. Its a waste of time atm, maybe when the entire industry has become a game construction kit but its just unfeasible to send time working on these thing today i think. Once again, sorry if this sounds like a flame as it wasn''t intended that way.

I love Game Design and it loves me back.

Our Goal is "Fun"!

Yah, but the point is that such things are entertaining. I am not advocating that things should be chucked into games, which have no relevence to the rest of the game but that people should be able to get creative in personalising stuff. Creating stuff is cool if there can be some judgement criteria, whether that is other people or the game itself BUT ALSO EVEN IF THERE ISN'T. Think about Quake, where there is a multitude of skins, or in The Sims where there are loads of different downloadable objects. The ability to personalize your character and their objects / life style / input into the world is a very fun option for people who want to be recognised by their online friends, who will see the guy with the painting of this fight with the dragon , on his shield and say there is Dave (or there is UUkarth the Destroyer of apoplectic nations) it will add a personal touch to games.

Then think of the people who just like to doodle, jam on musical instuments or muck about with body paints (?!) there are loads of people who enjoy such things. People enjoy being able to personalize their pets by naming them (Pokemon). Will baking bread add to a game's gameplay, well that depends on how it is handled. For instance, you could sell the bread to people for cash. Maybe in an RPG you could improve the healing properties of bread, if a talented baker has designed a new style. There are ways in which things like this can become integrated mixtures of experience, fun, creativity , personalisation and GAMEPLAY.


Also check out the Zelda 6$ Survey thread, and you will see that the favourite moments mentioned there are not necessarily cool gameplay moments, but other things which were fun or dramatic or made an impression.

Edited by - Ketchaval on September 15, 2000 3:20:12 PM

Yeah, well fare enough. Why not have more of these things in games. They way you''ve put it there it sounds good.

I love Game Design and it loves me back.

Our Goal is "Fun"!

Paul, I also think that the strategic creativity (combined with the personal creativity of being able to texture the ship in leoparskin + give it furry dice ) in being able to design your own ship/ mech / spells is good, what challenges does this bring to us? Balancing the points value of the components, how do we avoid too powerful combinations?