There’s been a lot of talk about simplifying gameplay. Taking away features or buttons doesn’t necessarily lead to a simpler design, so what does?
Focused Design
Know exactly what the game is about. What words can describe the design? Virtua Fighter can be reduced to: fighting, attack, throw, block, and balance (in this case, rock-paper-scissors with unequal rewards). The series has stayed true to these basic words throughout its many renditions. Keep the number of words short; the fewer words, the more focused the design will end up. If working on a team, this is especially important as it will help everyone understand the exact goal of the design.
Shadow of the Colossus is another example of a focused design which consists of exploration, boss battles, and puzzles. The world is barren and void of life, constraining (in a good way) and directing the player into hunting down and defeating these giant creatures. It’s a game that’s exclusively a series of boss battles and there’s no doubt that the entire design was based around these astounding colossi.
The Mega-Buster is a trick.
Minimalism
Mega Man 9 did something brave; it stripped most of the baggage that built up over the years. It was pleasing to finally see the nonsensical mega-buster removed. It was a gimmicky element that gave the player a false sense of building up strength. In the end, it was still a shot, only slightly annoying due to having to hold a button down in anticipation of the next target. With or without the mega-buster, it’s the same game!
When there are added abilities that are integral to the design, a stacking system can keep things simple by eliminating the needless input of switching through menu selections. Metroid: Zero Mission continuously adds abilities, without needing to resort to a menu to switch them. A simple, short ranged beam eventually becomes long ranged, gains the ability to freeze targets, can shoot through walls, and multiplies in strength throughout the game. All of these abilities stack and negate the need to go through a menu, keeping the game’s flow going without pause.
Make the game work, not the player
David Sirlin made an excellent point in his critique of Street Fighter 4; despite trying to simplify the game, there’s still a “wall of execution” between the player and controls which prevents total engagement of the actual fighting. It feels amazing to pull off a special move just in the brink of time. Often though, it’s less about thinking about the special move, and more about getting the controls to trigger it. The same goes with throws and counter-throws. The window of input is less about fighting and more about some ridiculous exercise in precision. When it comes down to it, Street Fighter 4 is more of the same: still fun, yet still with its barriers. Consider this: where is the player’s mind when playing a game in a crucial situation? Are they knowing what they want, but fighting to perform the said action? Or maybe they are flabbergasted and overwhelmed with the possible moves laid before them? The human mind often works in threes. Again, remember the value of rock-paper-scissors.
Starcraft is essentially Microsoft Windows in outer space.
Intuition
With Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo, Blizzard takes what people already know through using Windows or Mac OS X, and ingeniously applies it to a more entertaining design. Pointing, clicking, and dragging via the mouse are all skills people quickly get acquainted with in the interface of today’s operating systems. These games are essentially “fun” operating systems due to their intuitive and quick to learn design. Blizzard didn’t create anything new, they simply applied what people already knew to the structure of their game design. Due to this, Blizzard has seen phenomenal success in drawing new players into the mix while creating games that are easy to learn.
