LogInSee what Sam Bass learned in 30 years of development.
Starward Industries
Don't know how to make your game fun? Feeling stuck? Then Sam Bass – Epic Games' technical designer and a game developer with 30 years of experience – is here to help!
In the second part of his monthly Make Your First Game with Sam series, he addressed some of the most difficult questions beginners might have.
Setting Goals
First of all, Bass suggests, when you have your concept, set some goals to aim for and measure your progress against. They can change, but be sure you don't get random tunnel visions that are not important for the project. Bass's advice is to think about these things:
- How will we implement them?
- How do we want these things to work?
- How much flexibility do we want?
This should help you develop your ideas further "until you have the framework for your system and all the things you need to factor in."
In the end, your design will come into focus: important elements are iterated and matured, others will "fall by the wayside. This is fine: a tight, focused game is likely to be a better experience than a big mess of unfinished systems."
"One key recommendation is to swap out your prototypes for “gyms” for each of your core systems. A gym is a simple “gray-boxed” environment that provides a focused way to test said mechanic and evaluate the effect of any changes."
KeokeN Interactive
How to Make a Game Fun
After it's done, you should make sure your game is fun. Yes, it might look awesome or have amazing ideas, but if it doesn’t feel good to play, you won't be able to keep your audience.
Bass thinks the heart of the game feel is play control: "not just responsiveness, but also how intuitive the controls are and how good each action feels."
You should pay attention to little details, adjust them to make the experience feel better, and consider art and readability to see if they're visually confusing. So check everything from interactions to environment and audio-visual design, they should exist "to reflect and reinforce your core concept and systemic design."
"There’s a method here. By testing and iterating in our prototypes, and then gyms, from the very start, you should be able to start defining “standards” for your game. This means you know how far a player travels, how fast characters move etc. That will help you lay out your actual gameplay spaces with those you had in mind and determine how, why, and where your systems and AI interact with the player."
GSC Game World
Problem-Solving
If your game starts feeling too big for you, Bass suggests stepping back from the project: "Take a breather, then try and see the issues from a new light."
Sometimes an issue is just above your skill level, so you should work on something simpler for some time. Another important part of game development is community: find the people that will encourage you: "Because making games can be pretty tough and a friendly world/chance to bounce some ideas around can go a long way."
Finally, don't be shy to draw inspiration from other games, it can be really useful.
devpachi
In the blog, Bass also talks about choosing your game's genre and some things you should think about in the process. If you want to absorb his wisdom, check out the full post here.
Also, join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.