Game Direction 101.
Iâm starting this blog with a post about game direction because I consider it one of the most important aspects when creating any game. While it's possible to let development proceed blindly and see where it leads, this approach often results in a disjointed, confusing final product and a lot of struggle, stress, and grief along the way.
Iâve dedicated much of my career to game direction and establishing it across a range of projects, from small indie games to large AAA titles. This experience, combined with prototyping and pitching these games, has given me insight into how to structure them and determine the appropriate features, systems, and content for each.
If you've ever been unsure about âwhat to addâ or âwhat to removeâ from your game, or if you have elements that donât work but you're unsure how to integrate them, this article should help find the answers. If youâre beginning a new project, it will guide you through the necessary steps to understand the game's core and ensure that all elements you include align with its intended vision from the beginning.
So what is this âgame directionâ thing?
The term "game direction" is somewhat unclear. I will outline it in simple, easy-to-follow questions.
The primary focus is on âdirection,' not the destination. It offers clear criteria to assess what enhances the game and what doesn't. This guides you in asking, 'Does this improve my game?â or 'Is this just unnecessary clutter?' in a way of getting the desired experience from the game.
Who is the âgame directorâ then?
In larger game studios, the 'game directorâ is responsible for reviewing the game and ensuring it aligns with the original project vision. This involves providing developers with feedback on whether certain elements fit the vision and explaining WHY. The reason behind this is essential, as it helps team members understand the initial intent and ensure their work aligns with the desired outcome. Often, decisions are made by a CEO, game director, or lead designer without clearly explaining how these choices fit into the overall direction. This can lead to team members feeling demotivated and confused, unsure how to contribute, which may reduce creative ideas and, in the long run, destroy the entire project or company.
Since weâre discussing small games, you are the game director and the designer/developer. Even so, it's essential to communicate your intentions clearly to yourself and be deliberate about what you spend hours or days working on or creating art for.
While itâs simpler for smaller games, as you donât need to take care of the âpeopleâ aspect and communication frictions, the entire game direction process works very similarly for big and small games alike.
How do you do it?
The first point is that you can do this at any stage of development. While doing it later might require some rework, the final outcome will generally be more consistent than before.
If you stumble upon an interesting game idea, then you can take it and ask yourself those questions:
What is the game about?
Try to identify a unifying theme for the entire game, such as a feeling, a sentiment, or a simple idea. A helpful way to approach this is to formulate a single question to ask yourself when creating a new game idea. For instance, the developers at Harmonix asked, âDoes it rock?â when designing the RockBand game. Any addition to the game would be evaluated with this question: if it made the game ROCK more, then it was included.
The game Iâm currently making in Pico-8 centres on embodying the âfastest gunslinger in the wild west,â inspired by Western movie tropes. When brainstorming ideas, I ask myself how each element enhances this feeling. For instance, does managing inventory strengthen the feeling of being the fastest gunslinger? Probably not. But if for some reason you already have an inventory system done it's worth considering how it could: a gun could jam, requiring you to switch to a different one with different firing methods. Alternatively, you might loot weapons from defeated enemies, allowing quick swaps, with each gun requiring different controls. This way, choosing and switching guns becomes a strategic part of gameplay. Do you see what I mean? Ultimately, you make the decisions, but this process helps test ideas that deepen your game's identity, rather than randomly borrowing mechanics from others. The critical word here is intention - you deliberately choose elements that shape your game into what you want it to be.
The answers may be different for every person, which is why itâs essential to describe WHY and WHAT is exactly important to you if youâre working in a team environment. Itâs common to draw comparisons of feeling from real life, movie scenes, games, etc. Whatever reference will clearly demonstrate what kind of thing you have in mind.
It follows the classic high noon gunslinger duel trope. I aim to capture the tension, the opponent's observation, and the quick reaction after they draw. Being the fastest gunslinger means overcoming that tension, observing the opponent, and reacting swiftly. This concept could translate into a simple arcade game where you score points by defeating enemies, but itâs easy to fail if you're too slow. The emphasis is on reaction speed rather than aiming. To add excitement, we could award more points for quicker shots. Additionally, there's the question of HPâhow much strength should the player or enemies have? This naturally leads to the next question.
Who is the player and whatâs their objective?
This is often called âPlayer Fantasyâ. So whatâs the Player Fantasy in your game?
While exploring Wild West tropes, I discovered the iconic 1952 western film âHigh Noon." The plot centres on a solitary town marshal who must defend the town alone while everyone else escapes in fear of the gang seeking revenge. I believe this perfectly aligns with the game's theme, providing a clear objective: defeat all gang members and their boss to save the town. It also gives the main hero a motivation to remain and stand their ground, reinforced by the classic gunslinger duel concept.
Try this exercise: while playing any game, ask yourself, âWho am I?â Are you a hero, an ordinary person scared in a dangerous world, a driver, an army leader, a monarch, or a deity? Some games explore this question, but others donât establish your identity and purpose properly, making it hard for the Player to connect with the experience.
The Player Fantasy is basically this. Who is the player, and what is their objective in the game?
So in your game, are you playing as a scientist trapped on an alien planet? A warrior seeking revenge upon the gods? A boy delivering morning paper? All of those come with some expectations from the Player. Itâs your choice to select which one you are bending more towards.
You can create many games on the same subject, but there's always a way for Player Fantasy to stand out. For example, horror games like Silent Hill 2 Remake and third-person shooters like Gears of War seem similar, with gameplay involving shooting enemies and exploring. However, their supporting game systems differ significantly: in Silent Hill 2, you play as an ordinary, frightened individual, whereas in Gears of War, you are an experienced soldier confronting aliens daily.
Imagine itâs the same third-person shooter, but youâre playing as the scientist. You would expect to outsmart enemies, craft weapons or modifications, utilise technology to navigate, and possibly gather samples to research upgrades or new technologies.
While the core game would remain the same (shooting at monsters), the game would require different systems to deliver the desired Player Fantasy.
The Player Fantasy can also suggest the game's genre. For example, in the Gears of War context, if the Player were a commander leading space marines against aliens, it would become a turn-based strategy game like Gears of War: Tactics.
If you have a fantasy in mind, itâs helpful to do some research. For example, if your game features pirates, learn about their history and culture. If your game centres on photosynthesis, study how plants use light in real life. This exploration can inspire unique gameplay ideas and help clarify your fantasy by offering new perspectives on familiar themes.
How do I want the Player to feel while playing?
If you already understand the game's purpose, the Playerâs role, and their goal, then itâs time to consider how this should make them feel and the steps needed to reach that feeling.
Here, we also consider elements such as visual style, audio direction, and musical themes. All these aspects work together to create a cohesive experience and should align to evoke the desired feeling.
How does it feel to be the fastest gunslinger in the Wild West? It's stressful, constantly alert, where split seconds determine life or deathâjust like your opponents. How can we transfer this feeling through gameplay?
Enemies or the Player have low health or die immediately after being shot.
The Player encounters waves of enemies; each defeat brings satisfaction, but they're aware that another, possibly faster and more dangerous foe, awaits just around the corner.
The game is not about moving, so we hold still while enemies enter the scene
The game can be played in distinct rounds, with the preparation - capturing the tension between the gunslingers, the release - when a fast reaction matters, and the aftermath - where we see who is left on the battlefield.
To ensure the preparation feels tense, players may not know the duration of the phaseâwhether itâs consistent or randomised - and this can be conveyed by silencing music to highlight ambient sounds like wind, creaking wooden structures, character breathing, or heartbeat. The heartbeat could function as a timer, counting down seconds, potentially growing louder as the end approaches.
To emphasise the reaction speed, we could make the shot instant by drawing a line from the gun to the enemy without any projectiles. The blood of the targeted enemy should be visible, and they should fall clearly to communicate the game state to the player. Points should be awarded after this sequence if the player is the one remaining. When players see who falls, the score could visually appear over the fallen opponent. Additionally, a success or failure jingle could play accordingly.
I hope you get where Iâm going with this. Each decision should reinforce the theme, player fantasy and the feeling youâre aiming towards.
These are just some of the ways to achieve this. When working alone, you have the freedom to make any of these decisions. In larger teams, responsibilities are typically delegated to specialists such as designers, visual artists, audio engineers, VFX artists, and writers. As a âgame director," your role is to clearly communicate your vision for all these aspects and guide the team members' work accordingly.
Summary
I hope this will help make your game development process more organised and focused. It has been invaluable for me in organising my thoughts and keeping my projects, whether professional or personal, more structured and engaging.
So while working on a game, remember to ask yourself:
- What is my game about?
- Who is the player and what do they aim to achieve?
- How I want the Player to feel as they do it?
As you develop your project and respond to questions about your game, be sure to record everything you discover. Take some time to make sense of it all, then keep these notes in an accessible place for easy reference. If a new, exciting idea arises, youâll have a clear set of rules to decide whether it fits into your game. If it doesn't, you can determine how to adjust it to align with your overall vision. This process shapes the direction of your game.