Hey guys! In order to make sure that this forum stays on track, here’s a list of suggested topics that you can contribute to. Its not an exhaustive list, of course: think of it as more of a guideline of what would be a good fit for the forum.
Achievements
Discuss in-game achievements here: how should good achievements be designed? Greg once posted a comprehensive article on Gamasutra on this topic, and it’s an excellent read: Greg’s Article
Difficulty Balancing
Like the three bears in Goldilocks, getting the difficulty of a game “just right!” is a tough process. It’s too easy to end up with games being “too easy” or “too difficult”, and the larger the audience, the wider the disparity with their skills. Difficulty selection before a game? Dynamic difficulty? Cater to the hardcore audience? Look for the lowest common denominator? Discuss!
Level Design
Discuss the basic principles of level design: flow of the level, escalation of difficulty, etc. What makes a good level in games? What are some examples of good level design you’ve seen? Level design is important, and it’s more art than science!
Genres
Share your thoughts on existing “genres”: of course, flash games are so wildly creative that it’s impossible to classify some games! But generally, tower defence is a genre: so are role playing games, or platform games, or puzzle games. What are some cool twists in each genre you’ve seen? What interesting mix of genres have you played recently? Which genres have been done to death and are crying out for unique twists? And so on and so forth.
Unique Gameplay Mechanics
If you can develop games, and you have a unique gameplay idea, posting it on the forums is a sure fire way to have it stolen from you. However! If you can’t code or draw or ever want to make a game, but you have a cool idea that you’d like to see in a game, you can share it on the forums. Developers who use the idea can then give you credit: at their discretion, unfortunately.
Also, you can discuss existing unique gameplay ideas, including their respective pros and cons, and suggestions for improvement!
Story/Setting
Feel free to suggest or discuss stories and background settings: fantasy, futuristic, steampunk, etc. What’s the coolest part of each setting? How is it unique from others? What are some tropes that are usually used?
Art, Sound and Music
Discuss art, sound and music design in games: how they affect the gameplay or contribute to the game experience, how important they really are, etc. There’s never a right or wrong answer in design!
The Long Game
Some games are quick, once off affairs. Some games, you come back to again and again, racking up hours of gameplay. Discuss the pros and cons of each, and how they are different in terms of game design!
That’s about it for now, I might add more stuff as we go along. Cheers! If you have useful posts that are relevant, we can link to them from here in the future, too!
