Exploring Game Mechanics : Principles and Techniques to Make Fun, Engaging Games

Learn simple yet powerful, modern-day techniques used in various gaming genres, including casual and puzzle, strategy and simulation, action-adventure, and role-playing. This book is your pocket-sized guide to designing interesting and engaging mechanics for any type of game.Exploring Game Mechanics is a cornucopia of concepts related to gameplay mechanics that you can use to create games that are fun and rewarding to play. Dive into key gameplay elements that improve the player experience, such as implementing in-game tutorials, controlling the flow of player-choice-based games, and building a game narrative through storytelling. Understand how to establish the game’s end goal for the player to work towards by creating quests, missions, and objectives. Explore the key ideas behind creating immersive game worlds, generating better NPCs and enemies, and controlling the in-game economy. Finally, discover the unique mechanics that make established industry games so successful.What You Will Learn• Discover the key elements that make gameplay immersive and entertaining• Develop players and NPCs through customization and levelling up• Gain insight into the tried-and-tested concepts behind modern-day gamesWho Is This Book ForGame development enthusiasts with little to no knowledge of game mechanics will find the content informative and useful. About the AuthorMaithili Dhule is an Engineer by profession, writer by choice, and an aspiring game developer at heart. She is the author of Beginning Game Development with Godot, a beginner’s guide to creating and publishing 2D Platform games from scratch. After a friend introduced her to the art of creating games, it quickly became one of her passions. She can be found creating pixel art or being immersed in one of her favorite games in her free time. She also enjoys trying out new restaurants, sketching portraits, writing poetry, and going for runs while listening to a good music playlist. Table of Contents 5 About the Author 10 About the Technical Reviewer 11 Acknowledgments 12 Introduction 14 Chapter 1: Why Do We Play Games? 15 It’s All About the Player’s Needs 15 Novelty 16 Creativity 18 Achievement 19 Social Interaction 21 Rules That Are Fun to Follow 22 Appeal of Different Game Genres 24 Casual and Puzzle 24 Strategy and Simulation 29 Action-Adventure 35 Role-Playing Games (RPGs) 42 Key Takeaways 49 Chapter 2: Creating Fun Gameplay 50 Making Choices That Matter 50 The Hollow Decision 51 The Obvious Decision 52 The Uninformed Decision 52 The Informed Decision 53 The Immediate Decision 55 The Weighted Decision 55 The Moral Decision 55 The Long-Term Decision 56 Designing Better Player Choices 56 Permanence of the Choice 57 The Butterfly Effect 58 Maintaining the Illusion 59 Game Balancing 60 Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Games 60 Power Balance 62 Risk vs. Reward 64 Challenge and Success 65 Chance vs. Skill 66 An Iterative Process 68 Teaching the Player Through Game Tutorials 69 Learning from Super Mario Bros. 69 Tips for Tutorials 73 Storytelling and the Game Narrative 76 Linear and Non-linear Games 76 Writing Our Own Stories 78 Character Motivation 78 Connecting with the Characters 79 Cut Scenes 80 Key Takeaways 81 Chapter 3: Crafting Meaningful Experiences 82 Player Progression 82 Leveling Up 82 Perks and Skill Points 84 Unlocking New Content 86 Skill Trees 90 Combat Skills 91 Venom Skills 92 Camouflage Skills 92 Quests and Missions 93 Gather Quests 94 Kill Quests 95 Delivery Quests 95 Escort Quests 96 Interaction Quests 96 Designing Fun Side-Quests 97 Abundance of Resources 97 An Interesting Variety 98 Length of the Quests 98 Balance the Rewards 98 Link the Sub-quests to the Main Game 99 Movement Mechanics 99 Swipes and Taps 99 Movement in Platformers 102 Action Points 108 Traveling in the Game 109 Fast Travel 111 Key Takeaways 113 Chapter 4: Defeat, Collect, Repeat 114 Heading Toward Victory 114 The Collection Mechanic 115 Popular Power-Ups 122 Dodging Difficulties 123 Fighting Monsters 128 Combat Mechanics 129 Jumping on Top of Them 129 Shooting/Slashing 130 Using Environmental Objects 132 Designing Smarter Enemies 133 Novelty 133 Aggro Meter 134 Announcing an Intention 135 Giving the Player Hints 136 Adjusting Enemy Difficulty 137 Iconic Bosses in Games 137 Game Economy 139 The Source/Tap 139 The Sink/Drain 142 Player Inventory 144 Key Takeaways 146 Chapter 5: Choose Your Mechanics 147 Mechanics as a Toolkit 147 Game Type 148 Game Length and Complexity 151 Randomness in the Game 154 Player Investment 157 Player Types 163 The Achiever 163 Level-Up Systems 164 Progress Bars/Stars 165 Boss Fights 166 Challenging Others 167 Bonus Content 168 The Explorer 170 Unique Game Locations 170 In-Game Puzzles 173 Easter Eggs 174 Interaction with NPCs 174 The Socializer 176 Chatting 177 Learning from Others 177 Trading and Gifting 177 Mini-Games 178 The Killer 178 Fast-Paced Chaos 178 Elements of Horror 180 Competition 181 Game Analysis 182 No Man’s Sky 182 Type of Game 182 Character Development 182 Unique Game Mechanics 184 Fallout 4 190 Type of Game 190 Character Development 190 Unique Game Mechanics 192 Life Is Strange 197 Type of Game 197 Character Development 197 Unique Game Mechanics 198 Key Takeaways 200 Index 201 Learn simple yet powerful, modern-day techniques used in various gaming genres, including casual and puzzle, strategy and simulation, action-adventure, and role-playing. This book is your pocket-sized guide to designing interesting and engaging mechanics for any type of game. Exploring Game Mechanics is a cornucopia of concepts related to gameplay mechanics that you can use to create games that are fun and rewarding to play. Dive into key gameplay elements that improve the player experience, such as implementing in-game tutorials, controlling the flow of player-choice-based games, and building a game narrative through storytelling. Understand how to establish the game’s end goal for the player to work towards by creating quests, missions, and objectives. Explore the key ideas behind creating immersive game worlds, generating better NPCs and enemies, and controlling the in-game economy. Finally, discover the unique mechanics that make established industry games so successful. What You Will Learn Discover the key elements that make gameplay immersive and entertaining Develop players and NPCs through customization and levelling up Gain insight into the tried-and-tested concepts behind modern-day games Who Is This Book For Game development enthusiasts with little to no knowledge of game mechanics will find the content informative and useful.