Game design

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In the context of computer game development, game design refers to the theoretical conception of game worlds, rules and characters with a view to a specific target group.

Range of tasks

In relation to the overall game development process , game design encompasses all subtasks that are required for creating the game vision and the game world (including the characters living there and the prevailing laws). For this purpose, narrative and interactive elements are combined , depending on the game . Depending on the target group, ethical and psychological aspects are also taken into account and included in the schedule. The preparatory work with regard to the marketing aspects of the product (here knowledge of the target group is of central importance) are often part of the game designer's areas of responsibility.

The result (the products) of game design in the narrower sense is a group of written design documents or game concepts . The theoretical game concept is often accompanied by a supplementary prototyping , ie the development of a (technically, playfully and multimedia "simple" - that should at least be the goal) game version, which can be used to gain a basic impression of the later gameplay in advance . With the help of the prototypes, the game concept is checked and refined before its completion. In this way, ambiguities and gaps in the game concept can be identified and eliminated in advance, before the costly implementation of the game version intended for sale by other specialists (programmers, graphic artists, musicians, designers) begins.

Despite the theoretical character of the conceptual work and the rather prototypical function of a possibly implemented preliminary version, game design cannot take place completely independently of the later technical platform targeted in the final version . Particularly with regard to usability and gameplay , questions that may initially seem very "technical" and not very relevant to the game can very well be serious in their effects. (Consider, for example, the atmospheric or control-related effects if an interactive 2D instead of a 3D world were used in a role-playing game , or the economic damage if the performance of the computer hardware or network infrastructure of the players turned out to be poor In general, it can be said that game designers can also serve other areas of game development (often programming or art) in order to understand the background and the interfaces and communication protocols. Only then can a concept be implemented in the increasingly complex game industry.

Study and training

For some years now, there has been the possibility in German-speaking countries to learn game design formally as a degree or as a training occupation. It must be taken into account that the majority of these offers give the term a wider definition than the terminology used in the game industry , in that they also integrate or even focus on typical tasks of the downstream development process (such as programming , graphic design, etc.).

Not an exhaustive list of some private and public universities offering game design as a degree or focus:

Well-known game designers

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Game design studies. In: medienstudienfuehrer. © Copyright 2017, TarGroup Media GmbH & Co KG, accessed on March 5, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Virtual Design - made in KL. Retrieved May 29, 2019 .