Look outside of the game you are playing for inspiration!

Take a look OUTSIDE of your game's world for inspiration in your game design. For mechanical changes, look at some of the rules, scoring and penalties of major sports and see if you can find ideas for rule changes based on them.

Football: teams have four chances to score, then it is the other team's turn. Also, the score in football is interesting because field goals, touchdowns, and post-touchdown plays are all worth different point values.

Baseball: Players have three swings to hit the ball - but pitchers can walk the batter if he/she is too much of a risk at bat.

Tennis: Scores in tennis are relative - to win, you must achieve a certain quota, and then you must lead your opponent by two points.

Basketball: Shots from outside of a certain zone are worth more points.

Hockey: Teams that commit a penalty lose a man on the ice for 2 minutes, resulting in 4 men defending 5.

Lens #7: The Lens of the four elements

To use this lens, think about your game from the perspective of the four elements: Mechanics, Aesthetics, Story, and Technology.

Ask yourself these questions:

Is my game design using elements of all four types?

Could my design be improved by enhancing elements in one or more of the types?

Are the four elements harmonized, working towards a common theme?

Qualities of games

Games are entered willfully

Games have goals

Games have conflict

Games have rules

Games can be won and lost

Games are interactive

Games have challenge

Games can create their own internal value

Games engage players

Games are closed, formal systems

A game is a problem-solving activity, approached with a playful attitude

Lens #6: Lens of Problem Solving

To use this lens, think about the problems your players must solve to succeed at your game.

What problems does my game ask the player to solve?

Are there hidden problems to solve that arise as part of gameplay?

How can my game generate new problems so that players keep coming back?

Four basic elements of game design

These are the core elements of a game. Most games have a balance of all four of these.

Mechanics - the procedures and rules of your game

Story - sequence of events or history that occurs in your game world

Aesthetics - The visual look and feel of your game

Technology - Paper, plastic, dice, spin wheels, Playstation...:)

Lens #5 : The Lens of Endogenous Value

Endogenous is a biology term meaning "caused by factors inside the system". Applied to game design, this means that things that have value in the game only have value in the game. For example, monopoly money has no value outside of the monopoly game.

To use this lens, think about your players' feelings about items, objects, and scoring in your game. Ask yourself these questions:

What is valuable to players in my game?

How can I make it more valuable to them?

What is the relationship between value in the game and the player's motivations?

The value of items and score in the game is a reflection of how much players care about succeeding in your game.

Essential skills of a game designer

Animation
Anthropology
Architecture
Brainstorming
Business
Cinematography
Communication
Creative Writing
Economics
Engineering
History
Management
Math
Music
Psychology
Public speaking
Sound Design
Technical Writing
Visual Arts