In this article I’m going to be talking about the process behind actually making, testing and publishing a game. It’s aimed at the absolute beginner but there should be something of interest here for the intermediate level reader as well. I’m going to be concentrating on making game with Adobe Flash, but the general techniques are applicable to any platform.
What is a game?
“…structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool”
I would add that a game must contain these three components:
- Interactive element
- Challenge
- Goal
Obviously a game must be interactive, there must be some kind of challenge involved (mental or physical) and in most games there is a predefined goal which the player strives to achieve.
For example, take Pac-Man, one of the most recognisable games there is:
Pac-man
In Pac-man, the interactive component is that you control Pac-Man and can move him left/right/up/down. The goal is to eat all the pills and the challenge is that the ghosts chase Pac-Man and will kill him on touch. The way Pac-Man interacts with the maze-like environment also forms part of the challenge because the maze forces the player to choose the correct route ahead of time in the hopes that a ghost will not head him off at the pass, so to speak.
Pac-Man also contains a nice twist which, in my view, is the key to the game’s addictiveness; when you eat a large pill, all the ghosts turn blue and flee as Pac-Man is able to eat them on touch. This reversal of the game rules provides an excellent contrast to the normal game-play; it feels extremely satisfying to eat a ghost and this reversal has the effect of balancing the game-play so it feels fair.
Read more: How to make games
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