Adam Kramarzewski is a Game Designer at Space Ape with 11 years of experience in the industry and a new book just about to be published. He gives students an unfiltered insight into the production practices, responsibilities, and challenges facing Game Designers in the modern game development scene.
2. My Journey So Far...
Adam Kramarzewski
● 11 Years
● 4 Companies
● 30+ Game projects
● 17 Releases
● 1 Book
3. Space Ape Games
● Award winning London-based mobile games studio.
● Founded in 2012
● ~110 people from over 28 nationalities.
● 4 Live games
○ Samurai Siege
○ Rival Kingdoms
○ Transformers: Earth Wars
○ Fastlane
● >70% of resources on new ideas and genres.
● Majority stake held by SuperCell (2017)
● Goals: Create the highest quality, most successful mobile games in
the world.
● Methodology: Iterate and innovate to create a genre-defining hit.
4. Menu For Today
● Reality check - state of our industry.
● Approaching game design from 3 perspectives:
○ Who? Who are the game designers? What do they do?
○ What? How do you develop a game idea? What are the steps when
designing a game?
○ How? How to approach working in a team? What shortcuts can you
take?
● Tips for the future.
● Question Time!
5. Reality Check
● A fierce, competitive, and unpredictable
world.
● Discovery and retention are big issues.
● Crowdfunding has peaked and publishers
are still alive.
● Golden age of indie development is over,
but miracles can still happen!
● Barriers to entry are low, marketing and
sustain costs are very high.
● Game design is an established role, but
hard to get into.
● If you have the passion and drive, games
industry can be incredibly rewarding.
8. Game Design Roles
● Generalists (Junior, Senior and Lead Designers, Creative Directors etc.)
● Economy Designers/Monetization Specialists
● Level Designers
● Content/Mission Designers
● Narrative Designers
● Systems Designers
● Technical Designers
Everyone on the team can be involved in game design, but the designers are
responsible for it.
9. Each Job is Different
● All Paper.
● All Politics.
● All Hands-on.
And everything in between…
11. Project Scope Influences Your Career
● Large teams (35+) found in AAA console and PC industry usually imply
more hierarchy and specialization.
● Small (3-15) or Midsize teams (~25) often found in mobile and indie
companies require more comprehensive skill sets but can offer more
empowering environments.
Go where you think you’ll learn the most!
12. Day-To-Day Tasks of a Generalist
● Design documentation, communication, and oversight.
● Creation, implementation and balancing of all playable content
(characters, weapons, abilities, gameplay features etc.).
● Level design.
● Dialogue writing and integration.
13. Day-To-Day Tasks of a Generalist
● Design documentation, communication, and oversight.
● Creation, implementation and balancing of all playable content
(characters, weapons, abilities, gameplay features etc.).
● Level design.
● Dialogue writing and integration.
But also...
● Playtesting.
● Managing external resources.
● Audio implementation.
● Visual Effects.
● User interface and user experience design.
● Community outreach (streaming, videos, Q&A’s)
14. Day-To-Day Tasks of a Generalist
● Design documentation, communication, and oversight.
● Creation, implementation and balancing of all playable content
(characters, weapons, abilities, gameplay features etc.).
● Level design.
● Dialogue writing and integration.
But also...
● Playtesting.
● Managing external resources.
● Audio implementation.
● Visual Effects.
● User interface and user experience design.
● Community outreach (streaming, videos, Q&A’s)
● Game economy.
● Live Operations
(special events, sales etc.)
...and these two giants
16. Working With A Vision
● The origins of the game idea do not matter!
Remember: Game ideas on their own are worthless.
● Refine and question the vision:
○ Why is it exciting?
■ If it doesn't excite you, why does it excite other people?
■ Can you get excited about a vision you don’t believe in?
○ Can you imagine a finished product?
○ Who will want to play this?
○ Why is this an opportunity?
○ Can you convince people this is a good idea?
○ Do you have the team, tools and resources to make it?
17. Game Concept
Do not jump straight into a 100 page design doc! Begin by doing research, then expand the idea
into concept. Concept usually contains:
One slide should intrigue and sell the idea.
Twenty slides should be enough to explain the game to a fellow developer.
One hour should be enough to give a high-level overview of the entire game.
● The elevator pitch.
● Game overview.
● Target platform and audience.
● Key features and/or game pillars.
● Unique selling points.
○ E.g. In Titanfall we have titans and parkour, in Battlefield we have destruction,
vehicles and scale.
● Define the next steps!
18. Every game is different, there is no template.
● Outline -> Bullet Points -> Content
● Use google docs, slides or any cloud-based collaborative tool.
● You’re writing for your team/publisher, not for yourself!
● Prioritise the information. Start broad, then go into detail.
● Avoid putting balancing values in the documentation!
● Expand your vocabulary! Use drawings, sketches, reference
screenshots and videos.
● Review early and often, don’t wait until it’s “done”.
Game Design Documentation
19. Define the Scope and Structure
● Beware of “feature creep”!
● Is the game content driven (sudoku) or systems driven (chess)? How wide
is the possibility space?
● Establish the Critical Vector of Progression. Is it player level? Is it story
progress?
● Create a Content Lifespan. This is a table that lists when content and
features come in and out.
● Prototype the most innovative/risky ideas.
● Reassess your scope regularly.
20. 7 Stages of Prototyping
1. Decide on the objective.
2. Pick the framework and tools.
3. Create the rules.
4. Implement!
5. Play (see what’s broken the most).
6. Iterate.
7. Move on!
The hypothesis has been proven or
disproven. Go back or keep going!
For more details on prototyping, watch our
masterclass on “Creative Engineering” on Twitch.tv
Credit: Ennio De Nucci
24. Finding Balance
● Communication!
● Your team is everything.
● Open up the creativity.
○ You are not an “idea person”.
○ You are an “idea curator”.
● Clear vision ownership.
● Users and product first.
● Embrace changes.
● Pick your battles!
26. Giving and Receiving Feedback
● People like different things, for different reasons.
● Who is the feedback coming from?
○ Is it a potential player?
○ Is it an expert in their field?
● Good feedback =/= positive feedback. Find out what’s wrong!
● It’s not about you/them, it’s about the game.
● Why someone’s saying something can be more important than what
they are saying.
27. Playtesting 101
● Get people to play your game as soon as possible.
○ Friends, colleagues, family.
○ Strangers you meet in real life or online.
● Distance yourself from the product.
● Ask testers to think aloud.
● You’re testing the game, not the player, be reassuring.
● Observe! Don’t explain or sell the game, just watch.
○ If it hurts you to see people fail, you’re doing it right!
○ Keep the test on track, intervene if you’re wasting time.
○ Answer the questions at the end of the test.
● Focus on the origin of questions and suggestions.
● After the test, ask the player to explain the game to you.
● Track the feedback, record the sessions, get a profile (age, gender, fav. games).
30. Can’t Program?
No worries!
● Game Maker, Construct 3,
Stencyl, and many more!
● Inkle for interactive stories.
● Playmaker plugin in Unity.
Tons of free video tutorials online!
Learn by deconstructing sample
projects.
31. What and How to Learn?
Theory is good, practice even better. No need to pick, you’ll need both!
● Design working game systems. No need to go high end. Start with
pen, paper and a set of dice. Build something and learn from failures.
● Mod games, use map editors or built-in tools to create interesting
gameplay scenarios.
● Self study! Articles, books, youtube videos, podcasts.
○ Go beyond games and into popular science, psychology, physics, cinematography.
● Spend time with the software:
○ Docs, sheets, slides
○ Unity, Unreal
○ Audacity, Photoshop
32. Getting a Job in Games Industry
Jumping into the industry takes time, effort and passion.
● Build a portfolio.
● Connect (game jams, BAFTA gurus, dev. forums.)
● Be ready to accept suboptimal jobs and move countries.
● A degree is helpful, but ultimately it’s about skills, experience
and attitude (curiosity, passion, humility)
33. Further Reading
Over 400 pages of concrete and applicable
insight into the processes and techniques
used in modern game design.
Available April 2018, pre-order now:
https://tinyurl.com/practical-gd
50% off eBook use code:
PGDFD50
15% off Print Book use code:
PGDFD15
Codes valid for 500 pre-orders of this book only.
