Major game features

When I was reading the book, I found some attention-grabbing information that I never knew.  Some of important features must be included in game. Rules, Geography, Representation, and Number of players are important aspects of video game for both players, and game developers.  Nielsen said “rules are an essential component of a game….they are what challenge us in the game world, they are what enable us to feel satisfaction when we win”. Game developers should make a game based on its basic rules in which gamers would find the gamer interesting, and challengeable. The rules would look like limited burden and constraining for gamers, but they are necessary aspects. For instance, gamers could get pleasure and satisfaction when gamers overcome and win the game. In short, the rules made by developers can help the rules limit players’ freedom in entertaining way.

 Also game should be well balanced between players by game designers.  Therefore, the game should include both “in-game balance” and “player-player balance”. However, you probably know that it’s really hard for developer to make perfect balance game in the real time strategy games. For example, Starcraft 1, it’s been around 12 years since it was first released. But, last year, there was a patch in which there were some of changes to upgrade system for Zerg, and Terran, and attack point for some Protoss units as well. This means that developers should have responsibility to watch how their games balance is going between players.  In the book, Nielsen talked about some useful ways to achieve game balance; Rock-Paper-Scissor strategy and an example of the strategy from Age of Empire (archers – siege weapons – heavy infantry).  I think that the strategy is necessary tool for video game development in order to understand balance and the related concept of strategy.

In Geography and Presentation, Perspective, dimension, space type, off-screen, scroll and exploration are important aesthetic strategies for game developers. By using these characteristics, developers are allowed to make creative world in which gamer enjoy the game. It was very interesting that developer s is using different methods of aesthetic strategy according to the games they are making.  For example, RPG with third-person perspective always uses the isometric perspective.

The chapter was very useful information to understand the major game features like rules, geography and interactivity. Here’s my question, do you think that there will be new kind of graphical/spatial game characteristics in the future by advances of graphic technology?

-kevin koo