This essay is a compendium of a talk I gave (Spanish) in October 1st, 2019, in the context of Gamedev Planet, a monthly gathering in Santiago, Chile, where gamemakers give talks and show demos of their in-development games. This talk focused on the decision-making process from the players and how to analyze
Maybe you don’t know it, but in the older days, I was a professional musician. I’ve struggled for many years trying to find a relationship between both worlds. Can we find a relationship between Music Theory and Game Design Theory? How could we benefit from that?
One of the pillars of motivation is a framework known as Competence, Autonomy and Relatedness. But the last one, although being one of the most important for social connection, is often left behind by (especially single-player) game designers. How can you add Relatedness to your single-player games?
There are games with very innovative mechanics that seem familiar, although new. There are other games that have stunning graphics. And there are others like “Before We Leave” that have both. The economy of the game is innovative, yet easy to grasp. How can you achieve this balance?
Frostpunk’s Book of Laws can seem like a regular tech tree, but behind its (not so) innocent appearance, you can find a source of well-crafted opportunities for players to make meaningful decisions about the people in their colony. Can humanising these characters have an influence on players’ decisions?