Week 11 - Gameplay

Finally something a bit more interesting..........GAMEPLAY!!!

Well.......Where do we start?????????????

Gameplay involves the full interactivity between you and the hardware. It includes Game Mechanics (rules and theroies that make a good game) and AI (the difficult bit). It is extremely important because if a game cannot play good, it is NOT a good game. In other words, if playing a certain game feels more like a chore, then it is a failure at being a good game. The game Mechanics define such rules that are usually needed to make a good game. However these rules do not have to apply to all games e.g. games of a new genre, games of a new platform (Wii, DS), etc. I mean that you can't use rules developed for a D-pad and buttons if there's no use to any (like a touchscreen), so you have to decide for yourself how to make a good game with new technology (usually with loads of testing).

I think that deciding how a game plays is the most important thing about creating a game. But I also think that gameplay should be defined before production, because bad ideas usually result in game with bad gameplay. Good gameplay is creates a good gaming experience and a good form of entertainment, like a good film or a good song that you can never part with. This is probably why programmers are the best designers. Just look at the old games like Tetris, Super Mario, Street Fighter -Pure Addiction..........and it never really gets achieved these days!!!