Written by Ruby, 2021 Cohort
If you are in the game industry, in addition to learning theoretical knowledge related to games, you must also be exposed to various types of games. Whether it’s single-player or multiplayer, mobile or PC, it’s easy for us to get lost among the numerous games and spend plenty of time playing games unknowingly. This is the opposite of what we want. So, how should people in the game industry quickly grasp the essence of a game?
Understand the genre of a game
There are some popular categories of games, such as Action Games (ACT), Role Playing Games (RPG), Adventure Games (AVG), Simulation Games (SIM), etc. I will not go into detail about these game genres. What is more important is why games need to be classified. First of all, the game genre distinguishes the target population of players. By playing a particular genre of game, people in the game industry can think about which target groups this genre appeals to, and apply the knowledge in the future. Second, games in the same genre have relatively similar operating systems to each other.
Therefore, we can find out the pattern of the operating system among these games, and players’ learning cost across the games in the same genre. Then, we can understand how to make it easier for players to master the game we design.
Understand the story of the game
In order to quickly understand a game, we first need to identify the background setting. The background setting can quickly help players establish an expectation of the story and worldview of the game. For example, the setting may take place in the East, or in the Western world, and maybe based on real historical events, or maybe a story created entirely through fantasy. It’s not a difficult task if we just take a look at the aesthetics of the game scenes. Most games start building their worldview in the process of tutorial through narration, dialogue, aesthetics of the scene, animation, etc.
Then, we need to analyze the structure of the story. For example, the classic Hollywood three-part structure, hero’s journey, etc. Finally, we also need to be aware of the narrative structure. RPGs, especially some Japanese RPGs, and AVG games often use the chapter structure which is also known as a linear structure. Meaning that the story is told chapter by chapter in the same order as the book is read. Another type of narrative is the interactive narrative, but of course, the interactive narrative can also be linear. The interactive narrative allows players to feel like they are able to manipulate the narrative of the game, therefore bringing players a stronger sense of immersion.
In my future article, I’ll cover the remaining three aspects of ‘how to get to know a game quickly’ which include understanding the rating system, the payment model, and the platform properties of the game.