Overview: |
This lecture explores the profound differences among game
design for single-player, multiplayer, MMOG, and free-to-play
games. These differences extend beyond the obvious
considerations (types of challenges, fairness, balance,
synchronous and asynchronous play, etc.) to questions about
how the designer relates to the players, and how his or her
own role changes with each type: artist, engineer,
sociologist, economist. The experience of the single-player
game arises from minute details of interaction, while the
multiplayer game is much more about competition and mechanics.
The lecture ends with suggestions to help guide the designer's
thinking and avoid mistakes caused by assuming that all game
design is the same.
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