The Art of Game Design (Jesse Schell, 3rd edition, CRC Press) is a wonderful book on game design. It covers all aspects of the long task of bringing a game to life.
One of the most important things that I took away from reading it is:
“The game is not the experience.
The game enables the experience.”
It has a subtle approach with lenses to address all the questions you should be asking yourself when starting and pursuing a new project.
I played this little game and here are my answers for the two first lenses. I will post more from time to time.
#1 The Lens of Emotion
What emotions I would like my player to experience?
I would like the players to feel pleasure by reminding them of times spent in old games.
What emotions are players (including me) having when they play now?
It depends on the player and the game that is being played. But I think the fun and willingness to play predominates in most cases. Why play if we don’t like it? The challenge can be, at least for me, an important point of a game.
How can I bridge the gap between the emotions players are having and the emotions I’d like them to have?
By using elements from old video games, I hope to bring back good memories to the less young players, but also to introduce beautiful things to the younger players.
#2 The Lens of Essential Experience
What experience do I want the player to have?
As I already said (on Lens #1), I want to revive or make discover – according to the age of the player – good memories related to the old days of the video game, while proposing a pleasant game and presenting a little challenge with these puzzles.