Creating a video game is like driving a car…
I am not going to go with the obvious and talk about racing games 🙂
Creating a video game is like driving a car in that all of the elements, no matter how big or small, need to work together in order for the final product to work. There is a concept in game design that I call the 3 Fs – Fast, Functional, Fun. These three things are not a hierarchy, and they are all of equivalent importance. The 3 Fs apply to driving a car as well!
Video Game Design
Fast – this does not just mean the speed of the software or hardware, but the speed of understanding the game. Players are quick to get frustrated when technology does not work as expected. If the game is slow to load, or lags, or the gameplay mechanics are too difficult to understand the player will give up.
Functional – the most obvious one – the game needs to work! There is a reason that services like Steam have both minimum hardware requirements and recommended hardware requirements. Players (or, potential customers) have expectations about functionality. If they download the game and it doesn’t work on their machine, despite being within the requirements, you are going to lose a customer. If the game has hardware requirements that are too expensive or out of reach, you will never gain that customer at all.
Fun – this does not happen without the other two, and the other two do not happen without this. If a game cannot be understood quickly, yet hard to master or does not work at all, no fun will be had. If the game is not fun, the player may consider it to be dysfunctional or not quick to learn.
Cars
Fast – whether the driver is a “0-60 in 2.3 seconds” type driver, or “just an A-to-B” type driver the vehicle needs to do it within a reasonable time. Cars that do not get up to speed in a reasonable time, or turn on in a reasonable time, or warm up in a reasonable time are not very fun to drive.
Functional – obvious! All of the elements in a car need to work, and they need to work together, or else the car will not function at its maximum. There is also a moment with cars (we’ve all been there) where the cost to repair is more than the car itself. You never want to get to that point!
Fun – this is a broad spectrum, when it comes to driving. Driving on an open road with the roof open is fun, finally getting up to the speed limit after being in traffic for 45 minutes is fun, going on a small drive to the park is fun… If your vehicle does not function, or is not quick to function, this will never happen!
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