Doom as a textbook of game design
Video games are part of modern culture and, as a result or as a reason, they are a product of human labor. And in any activity there are certain principles – the result of the collective accumulation of strategies that lead to a positive result, and their consolidation as a standard. Such patterns appear in different ways. Sometimes a more effective solution replaces competitors, as it was with firearms. There are situations when it comes to an unspoken public agreement, as an example- right- or left-handed movement. In some cases, the foundations found thanks to the experience of many are formulated by specific people;In particular, we can recall the work of the Soviet director Leo Kuleshov About installation and cinema in general.
As for the video game, the doctrine of the schemes for creating projects in this industry is called Heydhadery. Since the works are aimed at human consumption, other participants in relations can find the principles – players. This text is an attempt to analyze Doom 2016th year of issue and some other works with the aim of answering the question: “What a person can understand in a game design based on private examples?”. The conclusions obtained will probably be obvious, especially for people engaged in the creation of games. The basis that will be discussed is easy to illustrate with many projects, because it is often used, as it has proved the effectiveness. Nevertheless, such thoughts are at least gymnastics for the mind. We will end a prolonged entry and move on to the main part.
First of all, it is worth determining the item of gamedes – video. Games in general is one of the main types of activities, and they can describe their distinguishing features for a long time. But we will dwell on the fact that the game is a voluntary overcoming of optional obstacles. Video games, in turn, are a subspecies of games in which people interact using electronic computers. In fact, is there a stimulus that makes us kick the ball or learn the combo-cities, in addition to the pleasure caused by victory or the process itself? It is unlikely, unless you are a victim of the madmen who hold you in the basement, or psychologists, that the essence of the same. The first principle follows from this definition.
The player must overcome difficulties
In other words, the game should have something to do, it should challenge. Moreover, it does not necessarily consist of hardcore. The need to walk 500 meters around the field in a ferment is also an obstacle that needs to be overcome in order to find out the next piece of the plot. Each small victory over the world, others and himself makes a person happy at the physiological level. And therefore, the presence of barriers plays such an important role.
Doom, which we finally remembered, at the forefront puts just overcoming difficulties. His plot follows the covenants John Karmak, the number of quoting words which is probably more than the number of the game itself. Since 1993, nothing significant in the series “Mars, Hell, Demons, Guns” was added. Argent-energy, non-argent-energy, gentlemen, there is a double-barreled and dissect?
Mmm, beauty
Levels Doom They are a set of arenas on which the player should defeat virtual opponents. All areas are connected by a thin thread of the plot, and little was injured if they were supplied with a different. Most of all, this approach resembles a school problematic. In the same way, the Dumgai we driven out gradually honing skill, starting to cope with more and more difficult “Given“.
Create obstacles, that is, follow the described principle, you can and should and should be different in various projects. Doom Built on battles with monsters that can tear the player’s legs, and in Firewatch It is necessary in ten seconds to read three lines of the text and keep your finger on the key for a long time “IN“. But even within the framework of one work, one must remember that ..
The tasks should be diverse
Let’s start immediately with examples. Imagine that in Doom There was only one type of demon, say, the Reborn – a wriggling face flying on a reactive satchel, shooting rockets, undoubtedly steep, but still the only enemy. Add that the premises will be the same from both the designer and gameplay point of view: no elevations, only a straight corridor clogged with reinforces. The first duel will be interesting, the second, third, perhaps the fourth spectacular finishing will also please, but after you start to miss. Purely psychologically, it’s hard for us to perceive the same. Even the most heterogeneous object and the strongest emotion caused by it will become commonplace after some time.
Sorry, boy, you are not cool enough
In order to prevent this, it is necessary, as already mentioned, to do the tasks facing the player, diverse;constantly put it in new conditions. The abundance of demons, of which everyone does not act like others;several types of weapons with modules and alternative shooting modes;brutal finishing and the use of several heights in the design of the Arena – all this together creates an extensive range of animations of the death of opponents who personify the victory over enemies. Overcoming the same obstacle to the same obstacle – shaitans from hell, the player solves problems with one “Find“, But different”Given“, If you return to comparison with the textbook. In one situation, he ran with a shotgun along a narrow corridor, in another – jumped along several tiers with a machine gun, in the third – he picked up the rune and went into hand -to -hand. And every time it was felt in a new way.
This effect can be achieved by influencing the components of the task: “”Given“,”Find” or “Solution“. If, in general, the goal facing the player is constant (in our case, to kill demons), then only the first and last option remains. Impact on “Given” – the very creation of many enemies, weapons and unlike levels – makes obstacles diverse already at the start. But heterogeneity can manifest itself at a later stage – during the overcoming of the barrier. For this, several mutually exclusive solutions are needed, that is, it is necessary to give the player a certain freedom, and not make him look for the only right path. And in fact, this is the next principle.
Leave space for a maneuver
It is https://privecasino.uk/ most clearly manifested in RPG, where the reiglable, based on the presence of plot of important elections, is one of the conditions for the success of the project. But in other games, as well as at another gameplay level, the value of this rule is great. Levels c Doom, As already mentioned, these are small arenas, and even on the scale of the smallest battle there is variability. This is a consequence of the fact that the authors did not stop at various sets of conditions (here is the foundry, here are jumping on the rocks, here you have a gun – there will be a double -barreled room in the next room), and gave the player freedom. The game seems to say: “Hey friend, why don’t we smash these cacodemones from a rocket launcher? Although maybe better a chainsaw? That’s just fuel lies. And this, by chance, is not a rune up there? Have fun, guy “.
But we should not forget that these are rather principles than the rules, therefore they can be violated in accordance with the creative intention. Doom It was entirely created as a sandbox with demons and guns, and if the player cannot choose a way of destroying the enemy, then this is no longer Doom. But when in the project the emphasis is on other components, say, the plot, then creating dozens of obstacles is not necessary. In particular, c Firewatch, Where the main barrier is the distance, parkour and jet satchels would look inappropriately, unlike Titanfall, based on speed and multi -tiered shootings.
Of course, if desired, you can release a crossover, but is it necessary?
Let us return, however, to another way to diversify the game process – to the impact on the conditions of the tasks. You can do this with the help of such a thing as ..
Gradual complication
Games are one of the types of activity, which means the main way to improve and improve the skill is practice. The more hours you have played in Doom, the more agile you shoot the heads of the impams. Therefore, it is logical that the game designer at the beginning will place simple obstacles, firstly, that the player has merged in the game and does not suffer from the first n-two hours, losing interest closer to the end;secondly, in order to introduce new mechanics one by one, thereby gradually complicating the tasks.
Refer to the text for subtitles
Imagine that at the first level you are greeted by dozens of Barons of Hell, but you immediately have all the weapons with a double jump, and when creating the location, all mechanics were used, including springboard and teleports. With flour and fun, you get to the control point, you go further, but you are fighting with weaker opponents, losing one barrel after another with a light hand of the developer. Closer to the end of you will not be waiting for catharsis, not the joy caused by the murder of the most complex boss, but bewilderment. “Why did they rush into the quarry, and after that they reduced the pace?”, You will ask yourself and decide that either everyone in the studio has gone crazy, or an error crept into the game files and the fast patch will fix everything.
So, it was decided. The tasks facing the player at the beginning should be easier than those that are located at the end. To achieve this, it is necessary to reduce the likelihood of an error, which can be made in several ways: to reduce the number of a mechanic necessary for solving, that is, to simplify the task itself, or to limit the number of actions that can be taken to search for an answer.
Or you can simply give a hint if such an obstacle is found for the first time. Actually, this is the following principle.
The player needs to be taught
Since this is a special case of the previous thesis, the entire theory presented above here is also true and little to add to it. When meeting with something new-an enemy, weapon, mechanics-the player needs time to realize what it is and-in the case of Doom – How is it or to kill. Of course, it is not necessary to constantly help, on the contrary, you should leave the possibility of independent study. After all, to say about something-it means to make it uninteresting. However, support at first is still necessary.
Moreover, training is not necessarily an empty room with pop -up tips in which you cannot die. If the project is also aimed at beginners who are not familiar with management, or it is non -standard, then the presence of a “kindergarten” is justified. But such a solution can be safely abandoned in favor of something else, more corresponding to the spirit of the game, as he did Doom. His first shots tell us: “It would be possible to mention that you need to go to WASD, but 25 years ago we actually created this genre and you probably know the purpose of the buttons, so we will better break the skull to this obsessed”.
Yes, baby, that’s what this game is talking about
But, as already mentioned, not only at the beginning, but also at any meeting with the new, there should be training. And no matter what hour of gameplay we talk about, it should meet the criteria voiced above: explain and at the same time leave space for independent study.
Then a good training can be called a situation where the player is presented as a Gauss-gun as an exact weapon with high damage and low rate of fire and release a large fat enemy to try out a novelty on it. This allows you to understand for what situations the barrel was created, but at the same time does not put significant restrictions on use and helps to come up with its own tactics. An even more specific example. In the Gauss-gun, I see weapons for accurate and powerful shots. Therefore, it is logical to use it for bosses or healthy enemies, but small creatures are split into atoms no less beautiful. In addition, a strong returns along with the stop of the demon when receiving damage allows you to keep an optimal distance, which is not directly mentioned in the description of the weapon. As a result, the player learned to handle new equipment, he realized in which situations it was better to use, and he himself came up with tactics associated with him.
The result of any successful training, regardless of how much it corresponds to the above criteria, is an understanding. In other words ..
The player should know what he can and should be done
Similar is a consequence of the mastery of mechanics, which implies that a person is able not only to press the desired key at a certain moment, but also by characteristic signs to understand what is possible and what cannot be done. For example, if it was previously necessary to push the jammed door leaflets in order to go further, then add a similar, but non -interactive object, means confusing the player. This refers not only to actions, but also to the construction of levels as a whole: in cunningly hidden ventilation it would be nice to put a secret, and in the room in front of the boss – cartridges and first -aid kits. In the first case, this will strengthen the motivation to search the premises, in the second – will prepare the player for the fight, although, given that we are talking about Doom, which consists entirely of battles, rather, the thought “Oh, now some seven-meter monstrin will come out”. In real life, it is unlikely that anyone will leave a chocolate in a dark nook or soothing in front of the chief’s office, but since we have overcame additional difficulties in the game or are about to encounter them, a small gift will not be superfluous.
Everyone knows that no one leaves equipment in hell from a good life
To what extent such predictability is good depends on the specific project. Is it bad if the player, turning into a side corridor or going into a small room and solving some problems, will find a cache or hidden passage, as expected? Is it bad if he, having dealt with the same difficulties, does not see anything if his actions turn out to be meaningless? Despite the fact that globally we prefer the lack of repetitions – the most diversity that we have already talked about, the first option is still better than the second. At least because it is Doom And the secrets are its integral part. As a maximum because then the steps taken are significant, and the system with which we interact is not chaotic.
Understanding the meaning of a particular action sometimes gives them all the activity of the individual, no matter, in a real or fictional world. In Nazi concentration camps from prisoners who simply dragged stones and built crematoriums, the “builders” were easier to endure the conclusion, because their work had a goal – the final and understandable. The presence of significance allows you to build order from chaos, create a general picture, the connections between the elements of which are subject to perception. Earlier I said that Doom Little will lose if the levels are served in dispensing. From a gameplay point of view, this is a lesserly true, with the exception of compliance with the principle of gradual complication. But the integral perception of such a work would be difficult due to the lack of a sense of meaningfulness of what is happening. So that it is present ..
It is necessary to create stories
This allows you to get a self -sufficient, albeit fictional world, being in which has a meaning, in other words, the player has motivation. To achieve this, things such as the plot and ENT are needed. Tell stories that help answer the question “Why am I here?“, Can be different. The basis of all is the plot. The demon crawled out of hell and killed all the people on Mars, help us, soldier of the rock. Dragons invaded our world, save us, elected. Terrorists hold the hostage in this building, correct this, Mr. Fuez.
But in addition to the main plot, there are ways to immerse in the world of the game. We give several examples from Doom. Some Datakubs say that someone had long killed demons suspiciously similar methods. Perhaps it was us and this is our purpose. The disfigured corpses of soldiers who clearly tried to fight the invaded creatures in different ways are scattered at the levels, but died. How not to help with it Homo sapiens, which came up with such cool things as a double -barreled and machine gun? Yes, and demons are the first to attack our avatar, so the whole game is only many hours of self -defense.
Suddenly a meat shooter turns into an acute story about dysfunctional areas
In addition to creating motivation, all this has a different role: it is simply pleasant to observe such stories, recreating or complementing the events on their own using the information found. Here people tried to defend themselves using a turret;This soldier, fighting off, hid in ventilation;But in hell there is a weapon drone and there are cartridges that are probably forgotten during research expeditions. This has the greatest significance in projects that are aimed at creating the Universe, in the possibility of which you believe, in particular, in RPG. Such “collages” or scenes, depending on whether the bodies move or no, make the world alive, why it becomes easier to apply the concepts of our reality.Rob the merchant who allows you to put a bucket on his head and does not see anything, and the one who takes out a shotgun from under the counter with any suspicious action is two big differences. Such thoughts run the risk of getting us into the wilds of existentialism, but do not forget about small everyday joys. In the case of p Doom..
Sometimes you just need to stern from BFG9000
Or, if you do not dwell on one example, the game should give pleasure in trifles. Indirectly we have already mentioned this above when we talked about overcoming obstacles. Pleasant feelings caused by the murder of the boss or the decision of the puzzle is a special case of the implementation of this principle. But as the joy of victory is not the only reason for the release of endorphin and other hormones, as well as advance forward along the thorny path of tasks is not the only way that allows the game to follow this commandment. These include such components as humor;visual, including stylistics;competently created stories and the worked out ENT in general and much more.
How all this will be presented in a particular project, again, depends on it. Absolutely different content can cause approximately the same emotions. For example, looking at trenches of the First World War may be no less interesting than certain parts of the bodies of the characters Overwatch. In games in which the creation of a living world is not the last importance, sheets of characters lying on the table look appropriate Dungeons & Dragons or something similar and the right to blow up someone else’s lunch in the microwave. Doom pleases the soul with pharmacies and spectacles: brutal finishing, shooting parts of bodies and the same charge from BFG9000, first sparkling green sparks, and after coloring all the walls around red. There are other household joys in this project, but they are presented to a lesser extent, and the principle itself, I hope, has already become clear.
This was the next story of the struggle against demons on Mars, and these were the conclusions made by me as a result of the analysis of this game. As always, I will gladly listen to your thoughts, additions and criticism. Thank you for reading this essay. Patch and cartridges to you in the inventory.