Approaches to Computer Game Design

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Computer Games and Digital Cultures Conference Proceedings
Tampere University Press, June, 2002
Volume: 1
ISBN / ISNN: ISSN 2342-9666


From the player's point of view, action is an important feature of a game. Action can be created and directed by raising expectations, building up motivations and setting goals for the players. An important tool for setting up motivations and goals for the player are well-defined characters with distinct natures and needs. Those will create the basis of conflict in the game. Expectations, which guide the choices of players, are the expectation of gaming, genre and also intermediality as a whole. Space and architecture can be used for communicating the genre, thus creating some expectations and removing others. On the other hand, by using the design of space and the rules of the game the players can be guided into using the space in a manner that endorses the gaming experience.