I am currently designing a project based around my estimates of the 3DSes specifications (design document is 20 pages storng so far. Quite a bit to go yet. Thank you for asking) and, based off my research IE playing my DS. I learnt that alot of different design choices need to be made in certain areas.

I mainly found that handheld games have to have very frequent save slots to make them suitable to take on the go, while also allowing alot of longevity in terms of side quests. Whereas, in a home console game, the player boots up the game and expects to play for 30 minutes minimum. (Metroid Prime hunters had serious save game issues)

another thing is the gameplay has to be alot more basic. Controls need to be streamlined in most games in my opinion (with the exception of PC games) but it is very noticable on a handheld.

have you ever designed for a handheld? If so, what problems did you encounter? If you haven't designed around a handheld, is there a particular reason why? Please get back to me.

Dan
(hopefully) future games designer :)

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Original post by Bladerz666 1. have you ever designed for a handheld? 2. If so, what problems did you encounter?

1. Yes, more than once.
2. Design "problems"? None that I can recall. What do you have in mind?

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Original post by Tom Sloper Quote: Original post by Bladerz666 1. have you ever designed for a handheld? 2. If so, what problems did you encounter? 1. Yes, more than once. 2. Design "problems"? None that I can recall. What do you have in mind?

just unexpected things you didn't take into account in early stages of the project. Things like having to adjust pacing etc.

also do you find that online is neccesary in a handheld game? I personally don't think my game would be suited but how important do you find it?

Depends on the game, depends on the platform, depends on the audience's expectations, and depends on the client's desires. ("The client" being "the party who's paying me to design the game.")

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have you ever designed for a handheld? If so, what problems did you encounter? If you haven't designed around a handheld, is there a particular reason why? Please get back to me.

1) Nope! But I've programed on two released titles for the PSP.
2) Tonnes of stuff!

First off, controls are a big one. Just check out the difference between Jak for the PSP and Jak for the PS2. With just a couple more buttons and a second joystick on the PS2, our control scheme got way better. It is very limiting to think of controlling a camera, player attacks, menus, weapons, etc. all on the limited PSP buttons.

Secondly, you have to design around the hardware, as it is very limiting compared to a PC. You have limited memory, meaning smaller or less detailed levels than you can get on a PC. You have to figure out the limits of your teams engine. There isn't as much processing power in a PSP as there is in a PS3 or even a PS2. Depending on your engine you'll end up with set limits on view distances, enemy counts, enemy variety, etc.. Expect to trade off where you put all your details.

Then there is a accessibility problems. You have to consider that you may not be able to rely on audio (to loud in public, and they may not use headphones). Hud choices have to be made based on the really small screens. You need to come up with a minimal hud. You have to design your full screen menus considering that you won't be able to fit many lines of text in them. Some buttons may be harder to physically use (consider the L3 R3 buttons on the PS2/3 analog sticks). Some inputs may not be as nice as you expect (the PSP's analog nub is not as good as an actual analog stick, and is hard to use for extended periods of time). The screens aren't that great, and the lighting conditions may not be ideal. Game colors like you'd see in Doom 3 wouldn't work. So you'd have to make sure your art design is vibrant and high-contrast enough to work. That isn't to say you can't have realistic and gritty environments, but that you may not get the visual style you were looking for. It is a lot easier to have the darker, and more subtle textures on a TV or monitor than it is on a handheld.

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Original post by KulSeran Quote: have you ever designed for a handheld? If so, what problems did you encounter? If you haven't designed around a handheld, is there a particular reason why? Please get back to me. 1) Nope! But I've programed on two released titles for the PSP. 2) Tonnes of stuff! First off, controls are a big one. Just check out the difference between Jak for the PSP and Jak for the PS2. With just a couple more buttons and a second joystick on the PS2, our control scheme got way better. It is very limiting to think of controlling a camera, player attacks, menus, weapons, etc. all on the limited PSP buttons. Secondly, you have to design around the hardware, as it is very limiting compared to a PC. You have limited memory, meaning smaller or less detailed levels than you can get on a PC. You have to figure out the limits of your teams engine. There isn't as much processing power in a PSP as there is in a PS3 or even a PS2. Depending on your engine you'll end up with set limits on view distances, enemy counts, enemy variety, etc.. Expect to trade off where you put all your details. Then there is a accessibility problems. You have to consider that you may not be able to rely on audio (to loud in public, and they may not use headphones). Hud choices have to be made based on the really small screens. You need to come up with a minimal hud. You have to design your full screen menus considering that you won't be able to fit many lines of text in them. Some buttons may be harder to physically use (consider the L3 R3 buttons on the PS2/3 analog sticks). Some inputs may not be as nice as you expect (the PSP's analog nub is not as good as an actual analog stick, and is hard to use for extended periods of time). The screens aren't that great, and the lighting conditions may not be ideal. Game colors like you'd see in Doom 3 wouldn't work. So you'd have to make sure your art design is vibrant and high-contrast enough to work. That isn't to say you can't have realistic and gritty environments, but that you may not get the visual style you were looking for. It is a lot easier to have the darker, and more subtle textures on a TV or monitor than it is on a handheld.

I think my design is fine on all of that. Alot of the characters conversations in the game are done in text only, radio chats (similar to metal gear solid or resident evil 4).
The games world is designed to be open to the player but seperated into smaller spaces joined together (like zelda or metroid) not seamless.
The graphics are designed to be quite vibrant so they stand out on the 3DSes samll screens and the camera worlds a bit like zeldas (tap the target button to centre the camera behind you.

I think I should be alright control wise (got my scheme sorted out) but you've given me quite a bit to think about. Thanks.