Games GDD

Reading

Hi again! Today I read about initial design which is the first step of the iterative process. I first read an article by Greg Aleknevicus where he spoke about what makes a game more appealing. He discussed components, boxes, themes, cards and rules.

I learned that the visual aspect of components can have a great impact on the game I create. Both colour and shape are important to look at when making them. I never took into account that many people suffer from colour blindness. After reading about this, I looked into what colours would be the least distinguishable. They mainly have difficulty with seeing green, red and blue or a mixture of these colours. Adding different shapes depending on the colours can also help people distinguish between the components. Icons can also help users quickly understand what each component means. Another point Greg made was to try and not crowd the components. I definitely think games with less clutter are more visually pleasing.

The colors of the rainbow Normal color vision	The colors of the rainbow Deuteranope (simulation) Absence of green retinal photoreceptors

The colors of the rainbow Protanope (simulation) Absence of red retinal photoreceptors.	The colors of the rainbow Tritanope (simulation) Absence of blue retinal receptors

Images: How different colours can be viewed depedning on eye sight (https://www.colormatters.com/color-and-vision/what-is-color-blindness)

Greg then went on to discuss the box of a game. I learned that although the box is a simple part, it is still very important as it is what the user sees first. You should list the name of the game on the side of the box, make sure any "back of the box" photo shows a legal game position and print opposite sides of the box horizontally and vertically.

The theme and rules are also important aspects to creating a game. You want the theme to work with the rules rather than against them. Blind-testing the games rules is an easy and effective way to figure out if users will be able to understand pick up on how to play the game.

I attempted to read chapter 4 of 'Challenge for Game Designers' but it was unavailable on Amazon.
 (Links to an external sGreg Aleknevicus