Elements of Play

How to make Game System

What makes a game good?

The Core Diagram

Core Mechanic

“The core mechanic in a game will

usually be the purposeful

interaction that occurs the most

frequently…. Another way to

determine the core mechanic is, if

without it, you wouldn’t be able to

play the game at all.”

“A core mechanic is the most basic

element of a game; it is the heart

of the system.”

What is the core mechanic for a:

●Platformer?

oRunning / jumping

●FPS?

oShooting

●Racing game?

oDriving

Why is the core mechanic so

important?

●“The best games usually have a very strong core

mechanic that is easy to grasp but provides room

to expand upon.”

●“If this action is boring or unfulfilling, it doesn’t

matter how many twists or extra features you add

to the game. They can’t save your game design.”

Important things to consider

●“The core game mechanic must be intuitive and

relatively easy to learn, because learning a

mechanic is never as interesting as utilizing it as a

means to completing your goal. In other words,

learning time should be minimized.”

●“Truly fresh experiences often result from

innovations at the core of the game.”

Secondary Mechanics

Secondary mechanics “provide

twists to the core gameplay

mechanic, forcing the player to use

it in a slightly different and more

challenging way.”

What are the secondary mechanics

for:

●Mario?

oUppercut

oStomp

oDash

oDash jump

oCrouch

oCrouch slide

oMushrooms

oEnemies

●Halo?

oDifferent weapons

oVehicles

oChallenges (stealth

missions vs. run and

gun missions)

oEnemies

Important things to consider

●Vary the secondary mechanics, but try to have

each one relate back to the core mechanic

●“Don’t spam your game with huge amounts of

[secondary] mechanics.”

●“The fewer game elements you have, the more

important each one becomes.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlBR1z-ue-I

Progression Elements

“Progression systems form the

mechanical envelope to the the

game, being the source of change

within the game.”

Progression helps players keep

playing

●Mario

oLevels

oLives

oPowerups

oKilling

enemies

●Halo

oLevels

oHealth

oSheilds

oKilling enemies

oCheckpoints

Important things to consider

●Know the difference between intrinsic progression

and extrinsic progression

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h86g-XgUCA8

Narrative

“The Narrative is the outer most

layer that puts all the inner layers

within it into context.”

Narrative tells us why the player

should progress.

It brings together all the mechanics

and progression elements

●Mario

oSave the princess

●Halo

oSave the world

●Portal

oEscape death

Final thoughts

●“The most effective games are ones where each

layer compliments the other.”

●“Sometimes innovation comes from having an

unusual combination of layers.”

●“By crafting a smart set of a few core mechanics

that can be mixed and matched together and

allowing features and [secondary] mechanics to

support them rather than take the spotlight, you

have saved so much time developing your game.”

Credit

●http://www.funstormgames.com/blog/2012/06/des

igning-around-a-core-mechanic/

●http://gamasutra.com/blogs/ElendilCanete/201302

13/186529/CAKE_Core_analysis_knowledge_and_e

xecution.php

●http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/CharmieKim/201

20612/172238/

●http://www.redkeybluekey.com/2011/08/principle

s-of-good-game-design-part-8.html

●http://gamedesigntools.blogspot.com/2012/04/core

-progressive-game-mechanics.html

Additional Reading/Viewing

●Extra Credits: Differences in Scale vs Differences

in Kindhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlBR1z-

ue-I

●Extra Credits: Intrinsic vs.

Extrinsichttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h86g-

XgUCA8

●Extra Credits: Narrative

Mechanicshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQJ

A5YjvHDU