Game Design Computer or Video Thesis

(Crawford)

The I/O structure is of great importance because of the reason that it makes the connection between the computer and the player. It consequently is the message of the designer sent to the player with the help of the computer. I/O is created out of input and output. The output of the game refers to the graphics and to the sound coming from the computer and the speakers. Designers are dedicated to having the graphics of games as good as they can because of the fact that people generally pay more attention to visual effects than to sound effects.

The input of the game refers to the player's interference in the game with the help of the contact that the player has with the keyboard, the mouse, or the joystick. Game designers had often failed from having a success with their games because of joysticks which had not been properly designed; hence it annoyed the people playing.

A true gamer would not be able to limit himself to playing games on the computer by using the keyboard and the mouse, but he would inevitably need a joystick in order to play the game to its full potential.

When reaching the part where he would have to create the game structure, the designer would have to find means of uniting both the goal and the topic into a scheme which would not be impossible from making. One can stumble into more than one problem when trying to actually put the story of the game into an operational program. It is common for a designer to realize that the plans for his game are too complex for the gaming platform.

The program structure brings together the I/O structure and the game structure into a functioning product. The program structure takes up most of the platform's available memory and thus the designer needs to keep this in mind.

After successfully creating all of the three structures, the designer needs to evaluate the product and to verify that it is exactly what the designer wanted it to be. Designers are often reluctant from choosing to abort a project as they believe that it might work in spite of the few flaws that it has. This one of the worst mistakes that a game designer can do, since continuing the project would only involve loosing money.In case that the designers decide to continue the process of creation further analysis should be given to all of the parts in the design process and after that the designers would be finally able to begin the programming process. Despite the fact that programming seems hard, it actually involves taking care so as not to fail in writing the games code.

After having finished with creating the game, the designers move on and begin tests with their creation. Tests are useful because they often reveal flaws in the game play which take time to correct. If tests indeed find that the game has faults, it is sent back to the project phase in order for the designers to repair all of the errors.

After finishing the game and presenting it to the public, the designers need to accept all critics, whether or not they are founded.

The future of video/computer games is definitely bright, with designers constantly working to come up with better and more interesting games.

One of the most successful games today is World of Warcraft, a sequel of a previous strategic game. The game relies on the interaction between online players, which are dedicated to improving all the aspects of their characters. There are millions of players around the world and there have even been reports of special clinics being built in order to treat people that are addicted to playing World of Warcraft.

The games in the future will do be more than just presenting the player with a screen and a joystick. The future games might give the player more control of the game and ultimately the designers might come up with a game in which the players would play online and could make physical contact with any other player around the world with the help of special costumes and goggles.

Works Cited

Bellis, Mary. Computer and Video Game History. Retrieved November 26, 2008 from About.com Website: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blcomputer_videogames.htm

Crawford, Chris. (1997). The Art of Computer Game Design. Retrieved November 26, 2008 from Washington State University Vancouver Website: http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/peabody/game-book/Coverpage.html#TOC

Player-centric design. Retrieved November 26, 2008 from a series of Tubes Website: http://aseriesoftub.es/blog/2008/1/26/player-centric-design.....