Elements of game design part 1

Game design is the creation of the content of games, such as the background and rules of a game. It is a very important part to the creation of a game. Game design starts with the idea of the game, and it is usually the game designer who produces the game proposal document. This includes the concept, game play, feature list, setting and story, target audience, requirements and schedule, staff and budget estimates. Once the game is in production, it is the game designer who makes decisions about the content of the game, and oversees the various teams (such as art, programming and music) to make sure all elements in a game are consistent and work together. They also have to make sure that the game fits into deadlines, budget and hardware limitations. In short, they design the game play. 

A link to basic information about the job of a game design:

http://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/411/game_design_an_introduction.php

 

Game play is the interaction the has player  with the game . These provide challenges to the player using game mechanics to make the game fun and entertaining. It's how the player can change the game by interacting with the environments and objects within them. This can be seen in puzzle games where the player can interact with the game to solve the puzzle. It is up to the game designer to decide how the game play of a game works.

Game designers are needed from start to finish on the project. This is because they make lots of the creative decisions, from the initial design document and concept, to testing the game and deciding what needs to be changed for the final product. This is the process of a game being produced:

It is not a single persons responsibility, there is more than one type of game designer. However, in the past, when teams were a lot smaller, there was often not a dedicated game designer. In present day, the main types of game designer are lead designer, game mechanic designer, level designer, and writer. Lead designers are the leaders of the other designers and the team. They co-ordinate the team and make the large design decisions. The game mechanic designer designs the game play mechanics, and also makes sure they are balanced. Level designers, which is a more recent role, create the environment and levels of a game. Writers are often commissioned to write the games narrative, as well as anything else written within the game world, such as journals.

Different genres require different design principles. This is because each genre has different game play elements and different things that the players expect. For example, a player would expects something different from a first person shooter than a real time strategies game. However, a good game designer should be able to design games across the genres.

To me, it is mostly important that a game is entertaining. Across every genre, this is the most important part of a game, if it is not fun to play, then it is not worth playing. This can be achieved by great game design, whether it is art driven, or story driven.