The Future of Game Design:
Moving Beyond Deus Ex and Other
Dated Paradigms
Original Paper by Harvey Smith,
Designer of Ion Storm, Austin, Texas
Presentation by Dwaine N. Hewitt Jr.
November 16, 2006
Overview / Introduction
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The State of Game Design
Deus Ex and its’ impacts
Simulation Overview
Game Systems: Then and Now
What’s Next?
Questions for you
Questions for me
Film at 11… wait, what?
The State of Game Design
• Game Design is in a transitional state
• Past environments
• Future games and their impact
– What Nintendo Wii is doing about it
Deus Ex
• Video here
Ion Storm’s Deus Ex (2000)
• Very personal game
• Several genre elements implemented
• Designers did not wish to always limit
users to a few generic choices
• Flexible sub-systems
More about Deus Ex
• “Special Case Breaks”
• Map limitations
• Overall success and failures
Simulation Overview
• A simulation is just a representational
model.
• All games have done it – why talk about it?
• Hi-fi models
• Larger range of expressions
Why build around hi-fi models?
• More emergent behavior
• Consistency to player stimuli
• Labor-cost benefit / content
Caveats of Hi-fi Models
• Emergence is a benefit and a cost.
• Can introduce exploits
• The strategy game ChronX is one
example of this
ChronX – strategy / card game
(1997)
Exploits in emergence - ChronX
• Player enhancements exploit
• Unit stealing exploit
• Both put together greatly affected
gameplay
Emergence done better - Thief
Looking Glass’ Thief and its’ effect
on emergence
• Used advanced sound and lighting
• Light Gem feedback
• Impact on gameplay
Specific Game Systems: Then and
Now
• Sound Propagation in DX
• Where it worked
• Where it didn’t
Game Systems Continued
• Realistic Physics
– Does it need to be THAT realistic?
• Environments in DX and their effects
• System Shock and future FPS games
using physics as a benefit
• Half-Life 2, also
General Game Systems and…
GUNS!
• Weapons: The Old way
• Weapons, bullets, and the game world:
The new way
Other Game System
Considerations
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Racing games
FPS enemy behavior
IK based Movement
What’s happening now
– Katamari Damacy
– Second Life
– The Sims
Long Term Considerations
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Dynamic Game Conversations
Long- Term Persistent Games
Auto-Generated content
Intelligence vs. Multiplayer
Conclusion
• Where games were
• Where games are
• The next level from here in 2006
Questions for you
• What ideas or concepts do you think will
revolutionize gaming?
• What would be awesome to do in a game
that you cannot do now (in a specific
genre)?
Questions for me?
Thank you!
The End
Works Cited
Smith, Harvey. “The Future of Game Design - Moving Beyond Deus Ex and Other Dated
Paradigms”. October 2001. International Game Designers Association. 6 November
2006.
http://www.igda.org/articles/hsmith_future.php
Gamespot. November 2006. CNET Networks. 14 November 2006.
http://www.gamespot.com
Deus Ex. 26 June 2000. Ion Storm / Eidos Interactive. 16 November 2006.
Half-Life 2. 16 November 2004. Vivendi Universal Games & Valve Software. 16
November 2006.
Chron X. May 1997. Blue Sky Red Design LLC. 16 November 2006
Thief – The Dark Project. 30 November 1998. Looking Glass / Eidos Interactive. 16 November 2006.