• Game Pillar

 

A game pillar is an action – centric concept or an objective which helps in the development process. When a team is deciding the next title to work on after. The first thing you do is you decide the key game pillars because they clarify the global intentions that needs to be present in every aspect of the game; from design to art to program , covering each person who is in the development loop. FOR EXAMPLE: There is an "X" game a team is working, they just pitched a concept and now they want to start with Game Pillars.

 

• The game "X" game is a reflex based game where the player is suppose to reach from point A to B

 

What will the Game Pillars be?

• Game pillars are intention that the team decide for the game at a very early stage of development which help each of them maintain a common vision. 

 

The game pillars for the X game goes as follows. In the game I want:-

1. Fluid Navigation

2. Exploration of the level

3. Fast paced game play

 

The above listed are the game pillars that forms the core structure of the "X" game. Now, how are these game pillars helping me for this "X" game? Let’s take fluid navigation as an example for this "X" game. Fluid navigation in "X" game dictates the following:-

 

1.    Screen Transitions

               a. The Screen Transitions of the game needs to be clean and simple so that it does not contradicts the “FLUID NAVIGATION” pillar

 

Since Screen Transitions is an element in the game and our game pillars consist of fluid navigation so we need to make sure that the perspective has elements of “FLUID NAVIGATION”

 

2. Animation Workload

             a. Fluid Animation means smooth transition in animations, now the artist of the team knows that it is a very animation intensive project because smooth animations contribute towards “FLUID NAVIGATION”

              b. The artist now knows that the art style needs to be in support of fluid navigation pillar

 

 

Once again what do game pillars do?

 

• Maintain a common vision

• Prevents contradicting opinions

• Keeps people on the same page

 

 

• Game Play Loop

 

Each and every game has a repetitive set of actions. A player in game only repeats the actions which are fun for the player. The actions which the player takes in the game and are also repeated the most are called Game Play Loops.

 

Purpose of a Game Play Loop:-

• Be Precise, Add loops if required but do not detail them

• List the primary mechanics/action /features only

• I should know what the game is about just by looking at the game play loop

• Make sure that no other actions or features which have not been listed in the loop are not breaking the loop

• The loops needs to be complete

• A game play loops consists only verbs. (Mechanics, Action or Features)

• Needs to be Extendable , Flexible and Combinable

• Keep the Objective , Challenge and Reward clear

 

 

Now there are various kinds of gameplay loops which are very specific to FREE TO PLAY design:-

 

1. A wait core loop / Appointment Mechanics loop

2. Open loops

 

 

• Let's just avoid this!

 

Fundamental Attribution Error

 

Source Wikipedia:-

As a simple example, consider a situation where Alice, a driver, is about to pass through an intersection. Her light turns green and she begins to accelerate, but another car drives through the red light and crosses in front of her. The fundamental attribution error may lead her to think that the driver of the other car was an unskilled or reckless driver. This will be an error if the other driver had a good reason for running the light, such as rushing a patient to the hospital. If this is the case and Alice had been driving the other car, she would have understood that the situation called for speed at the cost of safety, but when seeing it from the outside she was inclined to believe that the behavior of the other driver reflected their fundamental nature (having poor driving skills or a reckless attitude)