Share

























Does it? Does your game matter?

The function of almost any game is to be enjoyed, but their purposes are diverse. As a designer, you should be aware of what that purpose is, and how to better support it in your game.

This purpose can be to earn yourself money, give enjoyment to your players, give the designers fame, share an artistic view, and so many other things. Some of these are seen as more morally correct then others, but hey, we won’t pass judgment.

Because when you are income-dependent of your game; of course your game and its financial success matter to you. Nobody will hold that against you, and your whole team should work their collective butts off to make it happen.

So why should your game matter, in the grander scheme of things?



Well… perhaps because it can.

Making a fun game is cool, but as a game designer, you have a chance to create an experience for your players. You have a chance to enrich their lives and add to their experience. That’s a very precious thing and a chance for you to give something of value to your players, besides enjoyment.

Some designers might even not be aware of the purpose of their game. About what the game can give to their players. Perhaps, your players are learning about adventure; more inclined to go out and adventure in real life, perhaps they are learning about hardship, about losing love or finding friendship. It can be many things.



Giving back through a theme

In all our games we try to add a little something, to give back to the world. Game mechanics, artwork, and themes in music or narrative can be designed to support this purpose, bringing a unifying theme to your game. You can find a strong example for this in the great title: Brother, Tale of two sons. On that game, the brotherly theme is both incorporated into the game mechanics, in the key artwork and in the title itself!

We try to educate players about personality in our Mohawk game. We designed Geobeast with an incentive to go out into nature and, in Woven, there are strong themes of friendship present. The story in Woven is about two very different characters that become tethered to each other through friendship and shared circumstances. We know that designing themes like this won’t change the world, but we try anyway, and I think that that is important.

Social media

Also, that following you’ve been hoarding on your social media channels, for your next Kickstarter or Steam Greenlight campaign; try to give a shout-out to a non-profit organization once in a while. Your screenshots are great, but pass the attention around!

Like we did for these guys: https://www.secondlife.toys/en/. They are campaigning for donor-awareness for children in Japan. They are even doing it Woven style, so there is no excuse not to show it to the audience of our social media channel.

Find the organizations you care about or the one your audience might be interested in. There is nothing wrong with non-gaming content on your channels once in a while. Although it’s always more respectful to your subscribers when there is a link between the non-profit project and your game.

If you'll take one thing from this post, I'd like it be about these questions: What is the purpose of your game? How could you bind that in a unifying theme? Who or what could you support with it?

And then it is up to you.

Thank you for reading

For more info on the project Woven in development check out our Facebook

Twitter: @AlteregogamesBV

Website: www.woventhegame.com