(Card) Game Design
Dick Thung@SCM, CityU
A Goal or Goals
A Goal or Goals
• Clear and Precise.
• Fun to do.
• Have Flexibility to achieve the goal(s).
Questions
Rules
Rules
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Create (artificial) challenges.
No ambiguity.
Emotionally rewarded.
“Restriction breeds creativity”.
Design the challenge - FUN
Example
Interaction
Interaction
Face-to-Face Interaction
:No definite rules
Face-to-Face Interaction
:With definite rules
Face-Video Game - Face
Interaction
Interaction
• Should reinforce the social interaction.
• Op player CAN act as a challenge.
Example
A Catch-Up Feature
Catch-Up
• Player losses interest if he/she thinks his/her
has ZERO chance to win.
• Need a come back in game mechanics.
Example
• Pit has some handicap in this aspect. Any
suggestion that can remedy it?
Inertia
Inertia
• Game length too long.
• Make it end as early as you can make it.
• Create an mechanism to drive, i.e. inertia, the
players to end game.
Example
Example
• Take notice of:
– the mana system in the game.
– the maximum amount of mana available.
• Question:
– What is the inertia mechanism in Pit card game?
Surprise
Surprise
• Player likes surprise in game coz they are “safe”
in game.
• Surprise increase depth of game.
• Surprise increase re-playability.
Example
Strategy
Strategy
• The more player play the game, the better the
player becomes better in playing the game.
• “Easy to learn, Difficult to master” – Blizzard
design motto.
Example
Fun
- Raph Koster
Fun
• Subjective.
• Play-testing and observation.
Flavor
Flavor
• A story, a theme, or an environment that
players emotionally attaches/attracts to.
• Visual appearance can be vital here.
Suggestion
Hook
Hook
• Now you have a good game or game design.
• …but can you sell it?