Games are More than Just Code: How to create simple and engaging arcade games

Have you ever played a really good game? Have you played a really bad one? You might not realize it, but more goes into game design than graphics and code.

Story

Great games tell a story.

Your plot line doesn’t need to be super-intense, it just needs to give the user purpose. They need to understand the world they are in and feel connected to the gameplay.

What’s your theme? What’s the problem? How can your user get involved?

Organization

Before you begin, try organizing your ideas.

You can gain a lot of clarity by creating a storyline, series of images, or a flow-map for the progress of your game. This can also keep you from “following your nose” and developing progressions that don’t make sense.

Consistency

When designing a game, keep in mind the mental overhead that is required for someone to learn new mechanics. It can be helpful to make your mechanics work the same way as similar games that users might have played before.

It’s also helpful to make sure your games are internally consistent. It’s worth double-checking that the imagery looks similar from level to level and that the purpose / theme of the game doesn’t change too drastically between missions.

Technique

Take into account the console that your users will be playing on. Different mechanics have different amounts of complexity depending on the inputs and outputs you’re using. For instance, typing text is simple for someone playing a game on a computer but it’s very difficult for someone playing with MakeCode Arcade. Keep this in mind when you’re developing the experience level for each task.

It’s also worth testing features like speed and distance. Completing a maze-run could be extremely simple in 90 seconds but nearly impossible in 10 seconds. Make sure you’re testing your tasks to check that they’re the right size for a user’s skill at any point in the game.

And More

Of course, it would be impossible to list all of the fundamental game design ideas here — there are college courses dedicated to exploring these best practices. I do, however, hope that this helped you think about your game creation process.

If you have any additional thoughts, please leave them in the comments below.

I can’t wait to see what you make next!