Hiking the Game Design Trail

Steps, Milestones and Peaks.

Image credit: Maysam Yabandeh.

Game Design is like Hiking

I’m not much of a “game design” guru. In fact, I really only know a little about the subject (funny since I released a game last year..), so mostly my approach to game design up to now has revolved around making something that “feels” good, much the same way you know when a song or a dish you’re cooking is “done”. I know for sure there has to be a risk-reward system to promote tension and conflict. If not, then the game gets really mundane and uninteresting. I know that a good game feeds small rewards for steps in progression to keep a constant drip of dopamine, otherwise things feel unsatisfying and you get the sense of “why am I doing this?”, which is probably the worst question a player can ask.

But one thing above all of these is the game loop. Er... loops? The heart of the game. The warp-core of the Federation starship, the foundation on which everything else in the game is built. Without a game loop, there is no game.

As you’ve played games maybe you didn’t even know they existed. Some even struggle to define their game loop when developing a game, they just kind of “go for it”, especially first-time devs (like I was with Attack of the Karens). When we talk about game loops, I like to keep it to three. A core loop that you do all the time, a medium game loop that happens infrequently, and a big, huge, overarching monster of a game loop that takes a long time to achieve.

Game loops can be a lot like hiking a mountain. When you go hiking, you take steps (small and frequent tasks), reach milestones (medium and infrequent goals), and finally reach the peak (huge overarching achievement).

Types of game development loops

You need all three to make an interesting game. Peaks and steps without milestones lack a constant feeling of progress. Peaks and milestones without steps feel slow moving. Steps and milestones without peaks feel pointless.

Let’s examine Attack of the Karens as a case study. You take steps by shooting enemies and collecting energy. You hit milestones by leveling up and picking an upgrade, and you reach peaks by spending modules at the shop between runs to strengthen your ship. These core loops keep you engaged, keep you wanting to play until you’ve played through all the content you can. It works surprisingly well for that game, and is the sole reason for why people found the game to be a lot of fun when playing (even if a little short).

If you think about your favorite video game, you can probably nail down the game loops. Mario. Steps - avoiding enemies and collecting coins. Milestones - sliding down that sweet pole and getting the points from the flags. Peaks? Beating castles!

The Boardwalk Builders Mountain

So what about Boardwalk Builders? Whats my plan there?

I’m going to paint in broad strokes here, because I don’t have all the detail fleshed out and a lot can still change, but It’s super important to get this nailed down early in the development process so everything can build on it. So let’s jump into the steps, milestones, and peaks of Boardwalk Builders.

Steps: building and managing your boardwalk.

The constant action of the game will be making decisions around where to place buildings and tweaking things so your cash flows just right. To guide these decisions, you’ll have access to a demand readout of what customers want. Play your cards well and satisfy this demand without overextending yourself, and you’ll see progress. Build too fast to quickly or fail to meet demand, and you’ll see your bank account shrink. Demand is affected by many things, some of which you have control over (such as buying ads) and some of which just plain happen (such as bad weather).

Milestones: leveling up your boardwalk’s shops and attractions

Yes, you can LEVEL UP your boardwalk in this game! In fact, this is one of the main hooks - a tycoon sim where you level up your shops. As your customers continue to flock due to ongoing demand (which you’re so carefully paying attention to and working to maintain), each of your attractions and/or shops they visit get a small amount of xp per visit. Build up enough, and a building will gain a level. This means you get to pick a way to grow the shop! I’m planning on things like expanded shop inventory, increased customer capacity, serving customers quicker, and being able to charge more for the same products. Again, still early on the specifics but you get the idea.

Peaks: Major attractions and VIPs

Another key feature of Boardwalk Builders will be the ability to build major attractions and hire VIPs to visit your boardwalk. These come at high cost, but offer serious boons to your pier. A major attraction such as a roller coaster is no easy investment, but if you have the demand for it, it’ll pay serious dividends in customer visits and cash flow. On the flip side, build a major attraction before you’re ready to sustain it and the maintenance and operating costs could tank your funds. On the side of the VIPs, they will cost a serious bundle to bring out, but if you have a shop or attraction that needs a serious boost in demand, a VIP visit for the day sends customers flocking to catch a glimpse and spend their hard earned cash at their favorite celeb’s new hangout. VIPs are only hire-able once you’ve achieved a certain amount of visitors to your boardwalk.

So there’s the plan for steps, milestones, and peaks in Boardwalk Builders. Every little decision you make and thing you build pushes you closer to buying that VIP visit or building that massive attraction, and along the way you get to level up your pier and get a feeling of satisfaction and progress.

Right now it’s all words, but I can’t wait to show you these things as the systems get built out!

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-Joel