Hi, I'm Tariq Ayubi, I'm 19 and am on a Games Computing course in the Lincoln,UK. The Problem is I have to plan a project/dissertation that I would do for a years time. The planning document should be around 3500 words, I'm able to do that - but one slight problem, I don't know what to do it on exactly. I Love videogames, and I do want to revolutionise the way in which we play and see them but everything I think of has lots to do with phsycology and not exactly videogames. ????????Has anyone got any ideas I can further strengthen and explore????????? Something in the field of Game Design. I'll keep you up to date with what I choose to do, might even post it up :) -------------------------------- I want to bounce off your ideas! --------------------------------

Well, if you want to "revolutionize" gaming, I think you'll need to first focus on a specific target. Pick a genre or kind of game you like. Once you have that narrowed down, think of what kinds of things you'd like to do or implement. A revolution in gaming could be nothing more than a really neat interface that goes beyond typical menus. Or it could be a really sophisticated AI.

So first, decide what kind of game you want to tackle (First Person Shooter, Real Time Strategy, Role Playing, etc.) and that might help get the ball rolling.

Psychology plays a large part in game development. Level design, color schemes, music, etc., all of this lends itself to the ambience, the "feeling" the player is supposed to experience.

If you want to make a design that is fresh and new, turn to non-video-game sources of inspiration. Draw elements from your favorite books, movies, or real life. Maybe base it on a game that isn't a video game. There are plenty of ideas that haven't been explored just because there is no precedent video game. Maybe the big companies can't afford to take a risk on a crazy idea, but that's where the amatuer can pick it up.

You sound like an entusiastic newcomer :p I hope that your entusiasm continues to be like that after you are not a newcomer anymore ^^

Many game designers do make their designs in a way that it takes into account the way people think. I remember reading that nintendo wants to make a their nintendo revolution system more bonded with player's feelings and emotions than ever. Also what character designers usually look for is a character that can atract players with their looks and personality, usually picking certain paterns that are interpreted by us as atractive.

But anyways, you might want to check gamasutra.com and while I don't know if they have articles related to the gamer's mind, I think there is a high posibility that you find a couple of those.

Maybe you might want to try to learn psychology and apply it to videogames. Try to lurk into the gamer's mind. Check out games the games that are the most enjoyable and discover what connection it's capacity to be fun has with the way the gamer sees and reacts to the elements in the game. Check out other things that 'play' with our minds, things like cartoons, books, movies, social movements, reaccions to different colors, etc..

Just google for this stuff. You might want to check http://graphicdesign.about.com/od/psychology/ it's aimed to web design but I bet it can be useful in game design.

There are lots of great problems in video game design. You can find some good threads on them here and in many other places. Here are a few I can think of. I put an asterisk next to the ones that I think would be most effectively addressed from a psychological standpoint.

*Non-violent, non-lame gametypes

Good true-3d interface

*Non-grinding objectives for an MMO that preserve the sense of effort and reward

*Features that increase replayability

Real-time scaling of maps from galactic to personal scale


I'm sure there are dozens of other important hurdles that the posters here can help you find. You need to pick one that you think will be interesting and feasible for your project, and then just put your head down and get to work. I don't know if you've ever done an assignment this big before, but for my thesis I went through so many phases of optimism, pessimism, hopeless confusion and bizarre tangential inspiration that there should probably be an emotional disorder named for me.

No matter what, try to stay on-topic and doing something every day , even if it seems unnecessary or impossible to finish. I had ten pages of notes for every page I finally submitted. I could have written three more papers from them and nobody would have known they came from the same research.

Good luck with your assignment. Post it to GD.net when it's done. I'm sure we'll all appreciate the contribution.

Thanks for the advice everyone, really does mean a lot.

By the way Iron Chef Carnage, you got me wondering. And now I think I might get the same emotional disorder later on in the development of the damn beautiful project. non-violent, non-lame gametypes - that a good one.

After visiting the great gamasutra.com, again :P, I realised there was a lot lacking in the actual methodology of game design. There had been various attempts at outlining a method, but of course none have yet to be globally seen as 'the one'. What I now -may- plan to do is to discover which is the right method, or create a new method which is a combination of the exsisting and my own ideas.

The methods spoken of are:

- Doug Church's Formal Abstract Design Tools
- The 400 Project
- Game Design Patterns Approach (gamedesignpatterns.org)

Does anyone know of any more methods I could look into?

I shall read Chris Crawford's "The Art of Computer Game Design" soon to get more ideas. Yes I know I haven't read it, be amazed :p

I'd much appreciate more of your 'expert' advice people, thanks :)

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I want to bounce off your ideas!
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