Formal Abstract Design Tools (My Notes)

I just finished reading an article on Gamasutra on Formal Abstract Design Tools (FADT) and I have spent a little time writing up some notes on the subject. Again like previous notes these will be a direct copy of my hand written scribbles so please feel free to build off ideas (I hope to post my views more fully after my discussion about the article tomorrow)

Notes:-

All aspects of game development are improving exponentially without limits but game design is far slower.

Game Designers have no clear definitions to its vocabulary. Where doctors know the Latin names for different parts of the body, 'Fun' and 'Not Fun' can be discussed but never really go any further than that in terms of definition.

After new games are analysed by teams, things are taken away, stolen etc but overall remain mostly shallow and leaps forward in game design are few and far between.

Some definitions are described as concrete such as 'Jump', as this means pretty much one thing from one person to another. Others such as 'Cool' are much more open to interpretation from both the person using it and the person hearing or reading it.

Abstract words are tools, not building blocks. "You build a house out of bricks not tools" Using the right tools for the job are crucial as not every tools is required every time.

"Mario 64"

Mario 64 was picked apart to find its core and see what makes the game a success.

 Game Play - Open world exploration with a guided story (section by section)

The player spends most of his time deciding what to do rather than getting themselves unstuck. Levels are laid out in such a way that most of the area is seen on the first play through. Future goals and interactions are implied by the apparent hollow red squares and floating (currently inaccessible) platforms and even obvious additional stars on the initial route.

Simple controls = Solid game play

Power ups are slowly implemented and usually build on a pre existing idea or action in the game.
A constant game world means that when a player fails, they can see where they went wrong and act on the information the next time they attempt that task.

In RPG's such as Final Fantasy VII, you can be offered an decision such as "help the evil wizard" or "don't help the evil wizard" and then if you chose help him, the following negative consequences feel as though they are a direct reaction to the players action. however if a player is just told that he helped the wizard and bad things happened because of it, the player can feel cheated. This can be worked around by creating an illusion of choice or by moving the focus of player control (action/reaction) into another aspect of the game such as fighting.

FADT is a framework designed to help aid designers progress and develop better games. Knowing what game you want to build at first helps you chose the right tools for the job. FADT helps the designer craft the player experience they want.