1. Role of the Game Designer
Chapter 1
Role of the Game Designer

2. An Advocate for the Player
The role of the game designer is, ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ __________________
As a game designer, a large part of your role is to keep your concentration focused on the _______________ _____________________ and not allow yourself to be _____________________ by the concerns of production

3. Playtesters
Play testers are people who _____________________ your game and provide _____________________ on the experience so that you can move _____________________ with a fresh _____________________ .
By _____________________ other people play the game, you can learn an great deal
Complete Exercise 1.1: Become a Tester

4. Passions and Skills _____________________
_____________________ a _____________________ Player

5. Communication
The most important _____________________ that you can _____________________ as a game designer is the ability to _____________________ clearly and _____________________ with all the other _____________________ who will be working on your game

6. Teamwork
From the hardcore _____________________ _____________________ who might be designing graphic displays, to the talented _____________________ and _____________________ who bring the characters to life, to the money-minded _____________________ and business managers who _____________________ the game to its players, the range of personalities that you will need to _____________________ with is intense.

7. Process
Games are fragile systems, and each _____________________ is inextricably _____________________ to the others so a change in one variable can send _____________________ ripples throughout.
This is particularly _____________________ in the final phases of development, where you run out of time, mistakes are left unfixed and _____________________ of the game are amputated in the hopes of saving what's left.
It’s _____________________ , but it might help you understand why some games are _____________________ .
Complete Exercise 1.2: D.O.A

8. Inspiration
A game designer often looks at the world ________ from most people.
When a game designer looks at the world, he often sees things in terms of ________ , structures and ________ .
Games are all around us
Complete Exercise 1.3: Your Life as a Game

9. Becoming a Better Player
By “_____________________ ” we don’t just mean more skilled or someone who _____________________ all the time.
What we mean is using yourself and your _____________________ with games to develop an unerring _____________________ for _____________________ _____________________ .
If you want to be a good game player you need to learn to play with the same conscious sensitivity to your own experience and _____________________ _____________________ of the underlying _____________________ .
Complete Exercise 1.4: Game Journal

10. A Playcentric Design Process
Setting Player Experience Goals
Goals that the game designer sets for the type of ________ that players will have during the game
These are not ________ but rather ________ of the interesting and unique situations in which you hope the players will find themselves
Example: Players will have the freedom to pursue the goals of the game in any ________ they choose

11. Prototyping and Play testing
Immediately after ________ ideas designers should construct a ________ version of their idea
A ________ prototype can use paper and pen, index cards or even be ________ out.
It is meant to be played by the ________ and her ________

12. Iteration – design, test and evaluate over and over again – Handout on website
Step 1: Brainstorming
Step 2: Physical Prototype
Step 3: Presentation (Optional)
Step 4: Software Prototypes
Step 5: Design Documentation
Step 6: Production
Step 7: Quality Assurance

13. Designing for Innovation
Designing games with ________ play mechanics – thinking beyond existing genres of play
Appealing to ________ players
Solving ________ problems in game design
Ask difficult questions about what games are, what they can be and what their impact is o us ________ and ________

14. Peter Molyneux Managing Director, Lionhead Studios
20 year veteran of the game industry
Game designer on many influential titles:
________________________

15. Have you played any of Peter’s games? What do you think?

16. What were Warren Spector’s game influences?

17. What are your game influences?