Video Game Basics:- Block Structure of a game
The PPR:
A typical video game has the following main parts
- Plot
- Player
- Rules
Plot:
The enviornment of the game incuding the story, environment, event sequences. Creating a plot for a video game involves crafting a narrative that drives the player’s actions and motivations throughout the game. Here’s a general outline for creating a plot:
Introduction: Set the stage for the game by introducing the player to the world, the main character (or characters), and the initial situation. This could involve providing background information, establishing the setting, and introducing any conflicts or goals.
Inciting Incident: Trigger an event that disrupts the status quo and propels the player into action. This event could be a personal tragedy, an attack, a mysterious discovery, or any other event that pushes the main character towards a quest or goal.
Rising Action: Present a series of challenges, obstacles, and quests that the player must overcome to progress in the game. This is where the story unfolds and the player’s actions have consequences. Introduce supporting characters, reveal more about the world, and escalate the stakes.
Midpoint: Reach a turning point in the story where the main character faces a significant obstacle or revelation. This could involve a major plot twist, a betrayal, a loss, or a significant change in the game world. The midpoint often changes the direction of the story and introduces new goals or motivations for the player.
Climax: Build up to the game’s most intense and critical moment. This could be a final boss battle, a pivotal decision, a grand revelation, or a major conflict resolution. The climax should provide a satisfying payoff for the player’s journey and bring together various story threads.
Falling Action: After the climax, the game’s pace starts to slow down. Resolve any remaining conflicts, tie up loose ends, and provide closure for the player. This phase can include epilogues, character resolutions, and final revelations.
Conclusion: Bring the game to a satisfying conclusion, where the main character achieves their goals, overcomes challenges, and experiences personal growth. Consider the overall tone and theme of the game and ensure that the ending aligns with the player’s choices and actions throughout the game.
Remember that creating a compelling plot involves character development, world-building, pacing, and engaging storytelling. The plot should complement the gameplay mechanics and provide a meaningful and immersive experience for the player.
Player:
The player of a video game is the person who interacts with and controls the game. They are the person engaging with the game’s world and experiencing the gameplay. The player’s role is to navigate the game’s challenges, make decisions, and progress through the game’s objectives.
Here are some key aspects related to the player in a video game:
Control: The player uses various input devices, such as a game controller, keyboard, mouse, or touch screen, to control the actions of the in-game character or avatar.
Objectives: The player typically has specific objectives or goals to accomplish within the game. These objectives may be predefined by the game’s storyline or open-ended, allowing the player to explore and create their own goals.
Agency: Players have agency within the game, meaning they have the freedom to make choices and decisions that influence the outcome of the game. This can range from selecting dialogue options to determining the course of the game’s narrative.
Skill and Progression: Players often develop and improve their skills as they play the game. They may acquire new abilities, unlock upgrades, or increase their character’s stats. Progression provides a sense of accomplishment and motivates the player to continue playing.
Immersion and Experience: The player seeks to immerse themselves in the game’s virtual world, becoming emotionally invested in the story, characters, and gameplay. The player’s experience can be influenced by factors such as graphics, sound design, storytelling, and game mechanics.
Engagement and Enjoyment: Ultimately, the player engages with a video game to have fun and enjoy the experience. The game should provide entertainment, challenge, and a sense of fulfillment to keep the player engaged and motivated to continue playing.
It’s important for game developers to understand the player’s perspective and create gameplay experiences that cater to their interests, preferences, and desires. Player feedback and engagement are crucial for the success and enjoyment of a video game.
Rules
The rules of a video game define the boundaries, mechanics, and interactions that govern the gameplay experience. They establish the constraints and guidelines within which the player operates. Here are some key aspects to consider when defining the rules of a video game:
Game Objective: Clearly define the main objective or goals that the player needs to accomplish to progress in the game. This objective gives the player a sense of purpose and direction.
Gameplay Mechanics: Determine the core mechanics that govern how the player interacts with the game world. This includes movement controls, combat systems, puzzle-solving mechanics, resource management, and any other gameplay elements that shape the player’s actions.
Environmental Rules: Establish the rules that govern the game environment. This includes physics simulations, collision detection, weather effects, day-night cycles, and any other rules related to the game world’s behavior.
Interactions and Consequences: Define how the player’s actions and decisions affect the game world and other characters. Determine the consequences of different choices, whether they lead to rewards, penalties, branching storylines, or alterations in the game’s outcome.
Progression and Unlockables: Determine how the player progresses through the game and unlocks new content or abilities. This can include experience points, leveling up, unlocking new levels or areas, acquiring new items, or accessing additional story elements.
Time Constraints: Decide if there are any time limits or constraints that add urgency or challenge to the gameplay. This could involve countdown timers, limited resources, or time-sensitive objectives.
Player Interaction: If the game supports multiplayer or online features, establish rules for player interactions, such as cooperative play, competitive gameplay, chat systems, matchmaking, or leaderboards.
Game Balance: Strive for balanced gameplay by ensuring that no particular strategy, character, or ability dominates the game excessively. Adjust the difficulty curve and gameplay elements to maintain an engaging and fair experience for the player.
Rule Clarity: Communicate the rules clearly to the player through tutorials, tooltips, in-game prompts, or intuitive design. Players should understand the mechanics and constraints of the game to make informed decisions.
Fairness and Fun: Ultimately, the rules should create an enjoyable and fair experience for the player. Strive for a balance between challenge and reward, allowing players to feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
By defining and implementing well-designed rules, game developers can create engaging and immersive gameplay experiences that captivate and entertain players.
Normal screens involved:
- Splash
This is the screen that shows the logo, name and current version of the game additionally it can show the developer's details
- Loading
This screen is generally a static screen or a screen with some basic animations.
This screen is displayed when required assets for the game or a level are loaded in the background.
- Home
This screen is generally used to show main menu, settings menu, level map etc..
- Main menu
The main menu provides navigation options for players to access different game features.
It serves as a hub that connects the various components of the game
Home screen and main menu many times go hand in hand
- Instruction:
This menu provides an overview of the game to player.
It helps the player to understand the plot, the controls, the mecanics etc.. of the game.
This menu can also be used to show tips and tricks to the player to play the game.
- Game scene
This is the actual gameplay scene where the whole **PPR** is experienced.
This is the screen where the player should forget his own world and get immerced into the game.
- Levelup
In case the game is having multiple levels this screen is used to indicate the player that he has completed a level
and allows a navigation to next level.
This screen can also be used to show the performance details of the player in the last completed level.
Sometimes this shows if player has unlocked/completed any achievements also a replay functionality for the same level.
- Game over
Present, accept, interpret, calculate, repeat:
- Present the Plot
- Accept the Player’s input
- Interpret the input
- Calculate the outcome
- Repeat the whole process
The Game loop:
- Heart of the game
- Covers the core functionality of the game
- Checks for different screens like level ups, game overs, menus, maps etc..
Things to remember
- Initialization
- Resets