Rogers - Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design

This edition first published 2014

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ISBN 978-1-118-87716-6 (paperback); ISBN 978-1-118-87719-7 (ePub); 978-1-118-87721-0 (ePDF)

Set in 10/12 Chaparral Pro-Light by SPS/TCS

Printed in the U.S. by Bind-Rite

Please note that the following characters and works are copyrighted to the following corporations:

Tennis for TwoThis work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.

Space Invaders 1978 Taito Corporation

Galaxian 1979 Namco

Star Wars Arcade 1983 Atari Inc.

PAC-MANTM & 1980 NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc.

Space Panic 1980 Universal

Popeye Arcade 1982 Nintendo

Pitfall! and Pitfall Harry 1982 Activision

Dark Castle 1986 Silicon Beach Software

Donkey Kong and associated characters 1981 Nintendo

Mario Bros. 1983 Nintendo

Super Mario Bros., Mario, World 1-1, Super Mario Bros. Theme 1985 Nintendo

Ghost n Goblins 1985 Capcom

Mega Man 1987 Capcom

Mario 64 1996 Nintendo

Crash Bandicoot 1996 Sony Computer Entertainment

Wizard of Oz and associated characters 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer

Monty Python and the Holy Grail and associated characters 1975

Star Wars and associated characters 1977 Lucasfilm Ltd

Robocop 19871998 Orion (MGM) Pictures

Maximo vs Army of Zin 2004 Capcom

Maximo: Ghost to Glory 2002 Capcom

Team Fortress 2 and associated characters 2007 Valve Corporation

Laura Croft 1996 Eidos Interactive

Tomb Raider 2013 Square Enix

Batman 2014 DC comics

Resident Evil 2 and associated characters 1998 Capcom

Army of Two 2008 Electronic Arts

Ico 2001 Sony Computer Entertainment

Doom 1993 id software

Darksiders 2010 THQ

Syndicate 1993 Electronic Arts

Supreme Commander 2007 THQ

Warriors 1979 Vectorbeam

Berzerk 1980 Stern Electronics

GoldenEye 007 1997 Nintendo

LittleBigPlanet 2008 Sony Computer Entertainment Europe

Playstation Dual Shock controller 1998 Sony Computer Entertainment

XBOX 360 controller 2005 Microsoft

World of Warcraft 2004 Blizzard Entertainment

Dragons Lair 1983 Cinematronics

Bad Dudes vs Dragon Ninja 1988 Data East

Mortal Kombat 2009 Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment

Sleeping Beautys Castle, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Peter Pans Flight and associated characters, Pirates Lair 2010 Walt Disney Company

Prince of Persia 2010 Ubisoft

Kratos 2010 Sony Computer Entertainment of America

Solid Snake 1987 Konami

Marcus Fenix 2006 Epic Games

Gauntlet 1985 Atari Games

Spider-Man, Rhino 2010 Marvel Entertainment/Walt Disney Company

Bioshock and associated characters 2007 2K Games 2007

Demolition Man and associated characters 1993 Warner Brothers

Earthworm Jim 1994 Virgin Interactive

Master Chief 2001 Microsoft Game Studios

Holst, the PlanetsMars Bringer of War, copyright unknown

All other characters displayed within this book are created by Scott Rogers and cannot be reproduced without his permission. 2014 Scott Rogers

Dude with Sword, Dude with Sword 832, Relic Raider, Farm Wars 2010 Scott Rog-ers

The Mighty Bedbug, Grave Robber 2005 Scott Rogers

Dude with Sword 2010 Scott Rogers

Dude with Sword 2 2010 Scott Rogers

Relic Raider 2010 Scott Rogers

Die Zombie Die 2010 Scott Rogers

Farm Wars 2010 Scott Rogers

Bedbug 2005 Scott Rogers

Grave Robber 2005 Scott Rogers

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Level

THIS CHAPTER IS written especially for people who are new to video games and how they are made. I talk about what is a game, who makes them, and what kinds of games there are. Its pretty basic stuff and if you already know it all and are not a n00b, feel free to skip it. However, you are going to be missing out on a lot of great stuff. Dont say I didnt warn you.

Within the academic gaming community, there are many different definitions for what qualifies as a game. Some scholars insist that a game needs to be a closed formal system that subjectively represents a subset of reality. I think those definitions are trying too hard to sound smart.

Game definitions are often simpler than that. Bernard Suits wrote that playing a game is a voluntary effort to overcome unnecessary obstacles. This is a pretty amusing definition, but still a bit too scholarly for my taste. Lets keep things simple. Lets consider hand ball. You need only one player for hand ball. Where are the other players to be in conflict with? Bouncing a ball against a wall without missing it is hardly a metaphor for realityunless you lead a very boring life. Lets face it, sometimes a ball bouncing against a wall is just a ball bouncing against a wall.