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Game Prototyping Insights & Tips

The document discusses good practices for prototyping games. It recommends that prototypes focus only on core mechanics and experience without unnecessary elements like animations. A good prototype should function like a toy that is fun to play with and allows dynamics to emerge organically. The document also advises embracing failure and being willing to abandon bad ideas quickly. It cites a "Game a Week" course where students independently prototype games within a week as a good way to learn scoping and exploring mechanics with low pressure.

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lunardust.0608
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107 views1 page

Game Prototyping Insights & Tips

The document discusses good practices for prototyping games. It recommends that prototypes focus only on core mechanics and experience without unnecessary elements like animations. A good prototype should function like a toy that is fun to play with and allows dynamics to emerge organically. The document also advises embracing failure and being willing to abandon bad ideas quickly. It cites a "Game a Week" course where students independently prototype games within a week as a good way to learn scoping and exploring mechanics with low pressure.

Uploaded by

lunardust.0608
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Reflection on the Prototype Lecture​

What is a good prototype? Toy first​


Making a prototype for a game should not be simply considered as making part of the final game
in advance. The purpose of making a prototype is to verify if a game idea works and deserves to
become a bigger project. So, a prototype should only focus on core mechanics or experience.
Anything else is unnecessary. Doing unnecessary stuff such as drawing fancy animations is not
only time-consuming but also influences your judgement of the quality of the game idea.​
A good prototype is a toy. The toy should be the core mechanic of the game minus any goals or
decisions. There is no win or lose state, just a fun thing to play with. If you really enjoy playing
with the toy, congratulations! The toy works and you have found a great idea. While playing with
the toy, some fun dynamics will emerge. In that way, the game could design itself.​
Embrace the possibility of failure​
Behind a fantastic game, there must be tons of terrible prototypes. All talented game designers
have a huge portfolio of boring games. You have to embrace failure . Only in this way, can you
take risks and behave bold and explore the boundary of game. You have to abandon a bad game
idea at once even if you have devoted lots of time to it. You can not polish a turd.​
In NYU, they have a "Game a Week" course. Students taking that course make a game prototype
every week independently based on some given themes and graded on 3 best prototypes. I
think this is a very good way to learn how to scope a game idea and really explore some fun
mechanics. And the course really attracts me because of the "one week" and "work alone" parts.
There is not much pressure. If you make a terrible prototype, it's only 7 days "wasted" and you
can do whatever you want. If you have to work in a group for a long time, things will become
totally different. Maybe everyone wants to play safe.​
Hope we could have a similar course some day in Aalto.​
References​
Game a Week: Teaching Students to Prototype https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O9Q8OVWr
FA​
How to Prototype a Game in Under 7 Days https://www.gamedeveloper.com/disciplines/how-to-
prototype-a-game-in-under-7-days​

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