Why Games Design matters to me
Why Games Design matters to me
Why Games Design matters to me
By Thomas Ackland
September 09, 2020
Summary
This appreciation for games was started by, no surprises here, a lifetime of playing a wide range of games from an early age and having the opportunity to begin learning about games design and development at college, I haven't looked back since.
Whilst my list of played games is far too long to share without being boring and irrelevant to the point I want to make; I've decided to share a couple of games with you that inspired me from both a gameplay/level design and a character/narrative perspective.
Whilst these might not objectively be the best games available, I hope you'll find this interesting and informative enough to also give these games and design ideas a look for yourself.
One of the many problems that game designers often struggle with is how to best teach a player how to play their games.
Before the introduction of game design rules that we use now, many games were treated like traditional games, such as football or solitaire where you could teach someone by telling them the rules, showing gameplay or they'll learn over time as they play.
Whilst there isn't anything inherently wrong with this approach, the unique thing about computer games is that there are ways that you can teach a player as they play.
While it's nice to share some of the interesting commercial games that inspired me to pursue games design as a career, my time learning about games design lead me to the existence of Serious Games and I was lucky enough to be properly introduced to this format of games through a work placement with the lovely people at Imaginary SRL in Milan, Italy.
During my 1-year placement, I worked as a consultant games designer on a major training program that simulated the experience of working as a neonatal resuscitation specialist.
I fulfilled several roles including; managing the games design documentation, communicating with the clients in Singapore, drafting designs from the scenario information provided by the clients and QA testing the product throughout its development.
Overall, learning about games design has provided me with a wide range of possibilities that I never expected to experience such as; learning another language, living independently in another country and showing me a form of games design and development which allows me to provide people with games that accomplish more than entertaining their users and I can't wait to see what new discoveries emerge in the world of games design, serious or otherwise.
Reference
Ackland, T. (2020, September 09). Why Games Design matters to me - Part I. Retrieved October 03, 2020, from https://www.ludogogy.co.uk/article/why-games-design-matters-to-me/