Level Up.pdf

68 LEVEL 4 You Can Design a Game, But Can You Do the Paperwork?
are all of the locations connected within the game world as well as for the
player? Include a simple map or flow chart diagram to show how the player
would navigate the world.
PAGE 6: GAME EXPERIENCE
There is a fancy German word, gestalt, which translates as “ the whole ” of
something. Gestalt can be found being used by stuffy film and art critics to
describe the overall feeling of a work of art or the ambiance of a restaurant.
But don ’ t let the term ’ s fancy- pantsy- ness fool you; the concept of gestalt is
fantastic when applied to video games. To make a game feel like a
complete experience, you need to account for the feel of the starting
screens, your cinematics, your music, your sound design, the camera …
in other words, the whole, or the gestalt of your game.
So now that you know what gestalt means, what is the overall gestalt of
your game? Humorous? Horrific? Thrilling? Hardcore? Foreboding? Sexy?
How is this feeling going to be presented to the player from the very
beginning of your product? Look to DVD movie menus and packaging
(especially deluxe editions) as inspiration, as they usually do a great job
of capturing the feel of the movie with just a little music, some fonts, and a
few visuals.
Are there any special modes or interfaces for your gameplay? These can be
special modes such as the “ attack copter ” gameplay in Call of Duty 4:
Modern Warfare or Rubi ’ s “ Rage Mode ” in Wet.
Here are a few other important questions about the game ’ s experience you
should answer for the reader of your ten - pager:
• What does the player first see when they start the game?
• What emotions/moods are meant to be invoked by your game?