TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! This page intentionally left blank TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! ©2004 by Thomson Course Technology PTR. All rights reserved. No part of SVP, Thomson Course this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, Technology PTR: electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any infor- Andy Shafran mation storage or retrieval system without written permission from Thomson Publisher: Course Technology PTR, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a Stacy L. Hiquet review. The Premier Press and Thomson Course Technology PTR logo and related Senior Marketing Manager: trade dress are trademarks of Thomson Course Technology PTR and may not Sarah O’Donnell be used without written permission. Marketing Manager: Important: Thomson Course Technology PTR cannot provide software sup- Heather Hurley port. Please contact the appropriate software manufacturer’s technical support Manager of Editorial Services: line or Web site for assistance. Heather Talbot Thomson Course Technology PTR and the author have attempted throughout this book to distinguish proprietary trademarks from descriptive terms by fol- Acquisitions Editor: lowing the capitalization style used by the manufacturer. Mitzi Koontz Information contained in this book has been obtained by Thomson Course Senior Editor: Technology PTR from sources believed to be reliable. However, because of the Mark Garvey possibility of human or mechanical error by our sources, Thomson Course Associate Marketing Managers: Technology PTR, or others, the Publisher does not guarantee the accuracy, Kristin Eisenzopf and adequacy, or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any Sarah Dubois errors or omissions or the results obtained from use of such information. Readers should be particularly aware of the fact that the Internet is an ever- Project Editor: changing entity. Some facts may have changed since this book went to press. Jenny Davidson Educational facilities, companies, and organizations interested in multiple Thomson Course Technology copies or licensing of this book should contact the publisher for quantity dis- PTR Market Coordinator: count information. Training manuals, CD-ROMs, and portions of this book Amanda Weaver are also available individually or can be tailored for specific needs. Copy Editor: ISBN: 1-59200-493-8 Sean Medlock Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2004108015 Interior Layout Tech: Printed in the United States of America Marian Hartsough 04 05 06 07 08 BH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Cover Designer: Mike Tanamachi Indexer: Sharon Shock Proofreader: Sara Gullion Thomson Course Technology PTR, a division of Thomson Course Technology 25 Thomson Place Boston, MA 02210 http://www.courseptr.com TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! For Peggy, with love and admiration Credits Command & Conquer™ Tiberian Sun™ ©1999 Electronic Arts Inc. Command & Conquer, Tiberian Sun, and Westwood Studios are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All rights reserved. Westwood Studios™ is an Electronic Arts™ brand. Final Fantasy® IX ©2001 Square Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. Square Soft and the Squaresoft logos are registered trademarks of Square Co., Ltd. Final Fantasy is a registered trademark of Square Co., Ltd. U.S. Patent No. 5390937,5649862. Madden NFL™ 2000 ©1999 Electronic Arts Inc. John Madden Football, EA SPORTS, and the EA SPORTS logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All rights reserved. Officially Licensed Product of the National Football League Players. ©1999 PLAYERS INC. The PLAYERS INC logo is a registered trademark of PLAYERS INC. www.nflplayers.com. ©1999NFLP. Team names and logos are trademarks of the teams indicated. All other (NFL-related marks) are trademarks of the National Football League. NFL Footage ©NFL Films, Inc. 1999. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The Sims™ ©2000 Electronic Arts Inc. The Sims, Maxis, and the Maxis logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All rights reserved. Maxis™ is an Electronic Arts™ brand. SimCity 3000™ Unlimited ©2000 Electronic Arts Inc. SimCity 3000, SimCity, Maxis, and the Maxis logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All rights reserved. Maxis™ is an Electronic Arts™ brand. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! Acknowledgments t’s hard to acknowledge all the people who have helped you without starting to sound like an actor at the Oscars, but the fact is, no one writes a book without a lot I of help. In more or less chronological order, I would like to thank my parents and family for the support and encouragement they have given me, and for all the games we played along the way. Steve Lauder, Joe Joyce, and Sue Thimmesch also must share the credit (or blame) for shoving me down the writerly path. Next are all the people at Infocom and Legend Entertainment, especially Mark Poesch and Duane Beck, who taught me more about game development than I ever taught them about game design. A special thanks to Mike Verdu, who was the best business partner a guy could ever hope for, and who was also kind enough to make valuable suggestions about the first edition of this book while it was in progress. At Course Technology, Stacy Hiquet, Mitzi Koontz, Jenny Davidson, and Sean Medlock all have my appreciation for shepherding the material from manuscript to book. Most of all, I would like to thank my wife, Peggy Oriani, and our children, Alex and Malia, from whose lives were extracted the countless hours it took me to write the book. I love you all. vi TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! About the Author BOB BATES began his game writing career at the legendary Infocom in 1986. His design and development credentials include more than 25 games that have won over 40 industry awards, including the 1993 Adventure Game of the Year, Eric The Unready. In 1989 Bob co-founded Legend Entertainment and served as its President until the company’s 1998 sale. He continued as Legend’s Studio Head and as an active designer/ producer until the studio closed in January of 2004. On the publishing side, he has at various times been responsible for marketing, PR, sales, and business development. His industry activities also include a term on the Board of Directors of the IGDA (2004-2006), and frequent speeches on design and production at conferences and events around the world. Bob is a co-founder and organizer of the Game Designer’s Workshop, an annual invitation- only conference attended by many of the top storytelling game designers in the business. He is also the editor of the Game Developer’s Market Guide from Premier Press. Bob is still an active game designer, producer, and industry consultant. His website is www.bobbates.com. vii TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! Contents at a Glance Introduction . xxi Part I Design . 1 Chapter 1 Getting to “Yes” . 3 Chapter 2 Principles of Game Design . 17 Chapter 3 Genre-Specific Game Design Issues . 39 Chapter 4 Storytelling . 95 Chapter 5 Level Design. 107 Chapter 6 Designing the Puzzle . 119 Chapter 7 Franchises, Brands, and Licenses . 135 Part II Team . 149 Chapter 8 The Development Team. 151 Chapter 9 External Resources . 183 viii TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! Contents at a Glance ix Part III Development . 201 Chapter 10 Project Lifecycle and Documents . 203 Chapter 11 Managing Development . 217 Part IV The Business . 235 Chapter 12 The Business. 237 Chapter 13 Breaking In. 255 Part V Conclusion . 265 Chapter 14 The Hero’s Journey . 267 Part VI Appendixes . 269 Appendix A Project Documents . 271 Appendix B Resources . 317 Glossary 325 Index 329 TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! Contents Introduction . xxi Part I Design . 1 Chapter 1 Getting to “Yes” . 3 Concept Development. 3 Genres . 6 Adventure Games . 6 Action Games . 7 Role-Playing Games (RPG) . 7 Strategy Games. 8 Simulations . 9 Sports Games . 9 Fighting Games. 9 Casual Games . 10 God Games . 10 Educational Games . 11 Puzzle Games . 11 Online Games . 12 Client Goals . 12 The Game Proposal Document . 14 High Concept. 14 Genre. 14 x TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine ! Contents xi Gameplay . 14 Features . 15 Setting . 15 Story . 15 Target Market. 15 Target Hardware Platforms . 15 Estimated Schedule and Budget. 15 Competitive Analysis. 16 The Team . 16 Document Summary . 16 Chapter 2 Principles of Game Design. 17 Player Empathy . 17 Feedback . 18 Grounding the Player . 18 The Moment-to-Moment Experience . 20 Verbs . 20 Hazards . 20 Immersion . ..