sexta-feira, 3 de maio de 2024

Some notes on my recent reading in game design

Last week, I completed reading The Game Designer's Playlist: Innovative Games Every Game Designer Needs to Play by Zack Hiwiller. This book proved to be particularly engaging due to its innovative "playlist" approach. The format functions as a comprehensive compendium, showcasing the rich variety within the field of gaming.


I have extracted two key points from the book that I intend to utilise in a future article. These points are outlined below.

The element that separates games from other art forms is its requirement of audience participation. No game exists in a bubble distinct from its consumption by players. Although more traditional media need to consider the social and cultural framework in which the media will be consumed and interpreted, game authors also have to consider how the consumers will interact with the media itself. Authors generally are not concerned with how quickly the reader reads; musicians don’t generally concern themselves with the specs of the listener’s stereo. But game designers need to consider the actual act of playing as an element of their art. It is in the act of playing itself that games are uniquely qualified to deliver meaning. P.69

 

As we discussed in the previous chapter, one of the features of games that positions them in a different space from its more static media brethren is that the interactive nature of games opens the doors to new rhetorical and aesthetic effects stemming from that interactivity. A game can be beautiful aesthetically, but it can also be beautiful in how its systems function. P.86

We remain steadfast in our dedication to expanding our knowledge and expertise in this field. 🎮 🎲 😀



Source: HIWILLER, Zack. The game designer’s playlist: innovative games every game designer needs to play. New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2019.

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