2012, the awakening of the Vietnamese Game Development - Game designer’s job - Mr. Nicolas Leymonerie. Phuong Hoang Enix
- 1. Introduction to the job of Game Designer Hanoi November 16, 2012 The Game Designer Nicolas Leymonerie Chairman of Phuong Hoang Enix – www.ph-enix.com Head of the Digital Creation Training Department of the Yersin University of Dalat – stkts.ph-enix.com Authorized Reseller of Game Development software– gaemsofthub.ph-enix.vn
- 2. Introduction to the job of Game Designer HCMC July 21, 2012 Introduction Why am I talking about Game Design to you today? The Game Design What is the Game Design and who can become Game Designer? Design a Videogame What to do as Game Designer from the pre-production to the game’s release Contact Information
- 3. Introduction HCMC July 21, 2012 My background • Nicolas Leymonerie, French guy in Vietnam since 2006, 10 years XP • Graduated in Computer Science and Game Design • 3 years in Paris working in game studios (Visual Impact, Cyanide Studio) • Consultant in Game Development in Hanoi (Trangenix, Vinagame) • Participations in about 20 games: • PC games (Gray Matter, Loki, Winter challenge, Cycling Manager…) • Console games ( Gray Matter, 4 Tales to enjoy, SSX3 GBA) • Mobile games (Cadwallon: City of Thieves, Doc Yersin, Lucie la luciole, Tony) • Online games ( 2 Kingdoms 4 Thrones…) • Various positions : Game designer, Level designer, Graphics production manager, Programmer, 3D artist, Consultant
- 4. Introduction HCMC July 21, 2012 My actual positions in the Game Industry • Chairman of the Phuong Hoang Enix Company (2008) • Coordinator of IGDA Vietnam (2008) • Authorized Reseller for Unity Technologies, Allegorithmic and Reallusion in Vietnam (2011-2012) : gamesofthub.ph-enix.vn • Head of STKTS: Digital Creation Training Department, Yersin Univ. Dalat (2012) ) : stkts.ph-enix.com This presentation • Target: New to Game Design, Apply as Game Designer or Hire Game Designers • Definition of the Game Design • The work of the Game Designer in the Game development team from A to Z
- 5. The Game Design HCMC July 21, 2012 What does the Game Designer do half of his time?
- 6. The Game Design HCMC July 21, 2012 What does the Game Designer do half of his time? Write Design Documents!
- 7. The Game Design HCMC July 21, 2012 What does the Game Designer do ? Optionally: Draw concepts, draw storyboards, program scripts, information retrieval, build Create the game level concept Set game parameters Test the Write Design game Documents!
- 8. The Game Design HCMC July 21, 2012 What does the Game Designer do ? Optionally: Draw concepts, draw storyboards, program scripts, information retrieval, build Create the game level concept Set game parameters Test the Write Design game Documents!
- 9. The Game Design HCMC July 21, 2012 Game Design = Way to make a game concept understood by the rest of the game development team then it can realize the game in accordance with the view of the Game Designer. • Way to do that: write documents, draw sketches, develop game prototypes, communicate information • Tools: Text / datasheet editors (Word, Excel), Graphics/Diagram softwares, Game editors (Unity, Gamemaker), Emails/Regular meetings/Conference calls… History • Early stage: Programmers Game Design • Complexity of the game production dedicated person = Game Designer • Complexity of the game production Lead GD, Level designer, Character designer, GUI Designer, Writer etc…
- 10. The Game Design HCMC July 21, 2012 What is a good Game Designer: • Qualities : Communicative, Curious, Cultured, Creative, Consistent • Skills: be good at Writing, Organizing, Analyzing, Conceptualizing + Tools • Knowledge: Game industry (videogames but not only) + complementary knowledge ( mathematics, world cultures, sport, sociology, architecture etc…)
- 11. The Game Design HCMC July 21, 2012 What defines a good videogame concept: • A motivating goal : Need to have a main clearly defined objective to be accomplished by the player. • Interesting choices : The outcome of the activity is unforeseeable (unexpected or random events…), so the player has to make choices. • Interesting consequences : By doing a choice the player expects to get an immediate or a delayed result that is significant. • Interesting game mechanisms : The way the player interacts with the game and the rules must make the player pleased to master them. • Balanced : The learning curve of the gameplay, the difficulty, the dramatic structure at any moment of the game must be defined to support the enjoyment of many kind of players. • Fun : Generate strong emotions which the player enjoys or wants to overpass: excitement, challenge, fear, amazement, surprise or even frustration. Fun comes from the graphics, the interactions, the story and other game design elements. • Comply with its main purpose : design-driven, market-driven, technology-driven, art- driven, education-driven…
- 12. Design a Videogame HCMC July 21, 2012 Position of the Game Designer in the Game development team regarding the design of the game Communication flow – Q&A QA Producer Design Marketing char, lvl, sound.. Game Designer Program Art
- 13. Design a Videogame HCMC July 21, 2012 Game’s life cycle and Game Designer’s main tasks Pre-Production Production QA Beta Marketing Define the Game Concept Write the Game Design document Test the game and set gameplay parameters Provide info for marketing / gamers community Post-mortem
- 14. Design a Videogame HCMC July 21, 2012 The Game Design Document: Bible of the game • Pitch (1/2 page) • Scoping Document (2-3 pages) • Genre : Adventure, Role playing, 2D, 3D, Multiplayer… • Platform : PC, Mac, Online, Mobile, TV… • Target market : Geographical data, age, genre, casual/hardcore… • Selling points : slogan • State of the competition : results, market statistics… • Objectives : financial, market… • Schedule : milestones, deadline… • Budget : team, technology… • Constraints : market, technology…
- 15. Design a Videogame HCMC July 21, 2012 The Game Design Document: • Detailed Game concept (20,50,100 or more pages depending on the game’s size) • Core Gameplay • Background : screenplay… • Characters and levels • Game mechanics • Structure of the game : organization of the levels, duration of the game… • Interaction: interface, controls, cameras… • Look and feel: graphics, audio… • Appendix: sketches, diagrams, screenshots… • …..
- 16. Contact Information HCMC July 21, 2012 • Nicolas Leymonerie: nicolas@ph-enix.com • Phuong Hoang Enix : www.ph-enix.com , apps.ph-enix.com • Digital Creation Training Center : stks.ph-enix.com • Ngành Sáng tạo Kỹ thuật số -Trường Đại học Yersin - TP. Đà Lạt • Thiết kế Game - Phát triển Sáng tạo - Lập trình Ứng dụng Đồ họa Vi tính - Thực hiện Dự án • Game Software reseller : gamesofthub.ph-enix.vn • IGDA Vietnam : www.igda.org/vietnam
Editor's Notes
- #10: As the complexity raises , there is the need to divide the Game Design job in sub categories with one perso, the Lead Game Designer, supervising the designers team.
- #11: As the complexity raises , there is the need to divide the Game Design job in sub categories with one perso, the Lead Game Designer, supervising the designers team.