kebaux

IVW (IP -> Verbs -> World) Game Ideation

This page is an early attempt at trying to codify a framework for how I quickly iterate on game ideas and set vertical slice targets.

The TL;DR



So you have a new idea for a game.

But where do you start? And what do you build first?

Ask around, and you'll hear a range of approaches: some will insist you start with the experience you want players to feel and work backwards from there. Others argue for focusing on mechanics first to find the "fun", then build everything else around it. Still others champion starting with a story, crafting characters and a world to immerse players in.

Most perspectives you'll hear have a kernel of truth to them, but you'll be hard-pressed to find an approach that sufficiently produces a method which can hold between new game ideas, much less one that is game and genre agnostic.

Attempting to tackle this ourselves, we approached the question of "How to prototype new game ideas" from the notion of game design as a formal discipline.

Across other formal creative disciplines, whether art, film, or writing, creators rely on techniques that allow them to explore new ideas with confidence, irrespective of the style, type, or genre.

For instance, in writing a book or movie script, it's common to start with the end in mind and work backwards to ensure consistency and cohesion across the plot and its arcs.

Designing a game, however, requires a different approach because the degree of agency a game affords (as opposed to books and films) creates a dynamic of co-authorship between the player and the designer.

The designer crafts the world, establishes the framework for interaction, and gives the player skills to navigate it. The player's choices within that container results in a collaborative storytelling process where the designer sets the stage and the player determines the path forward.

Some might argue that co-authorship isn't unique to games, pointing to how audience interpretation can influence the experience of books or films. However, in this context, we use co-authorship to refer to the player's ability to actively interact with the designer's framework, and the collaborative shaping of the player's experience through those choices.

So you mentioned you had a new idea for a game, eh?

Let's roll up our sleeves and get to work.



Step [ 1 ] - Game Ideation Starts With The IP

Whether you recognize it or not, this is the natural origin point of every idea you've ever had for a game.

The IP is the product of our intuition of a theme we find interesting, paired with a set of activities to support gameplay within that theme.

Let's draft a few quick game IP examples:

This seed of an IP is all we need to get started.

We intentionally start every IP example with "You are" to better internalize the fantasy as the player. 


if you don't care for additional context, you can move to Step [ 2 ]


Why does starting with the IP matter?

In a previous discussion where we wrote about the role and significance of authenticity in games, we found one factor to consistently define the success of standout titles: their ability to remain authentic.

Put another way, successful games are considerably better at maintaining consistency and cohesion with regard to their core concept. This, in turn, creates an experience that's as intuitive as it is immersive.

We start with the IP because it provides you, the designer, with a clear and tangible target to be authentic towards right from the outset.

We deliberately use the term "IP" instead of "Experience" because the latter often comes loaded with subjective implications—emotions, feelings, and thematic nuances. While these aspects are undoubtedly important to consider, they tend to obscure the primary goal of building a focused prototype that embodies the core fantasy of the game.

To maximize our chances of success, we have to start by defining the core fantasy we want the player to fulfill. From there, we can then design systems and a world that supports and enhances the authenticity of that fantasy.

A common pitfall for designers is the tendency to micromanage the player's journey, attempting to control the moment-to-moment experience.

Instead, we need to trust in (and embrace) the interplay between the player's agency and the thoughtfully constructed world we've built, allowing room for the player to co-author their meaningful and memorable experience.



Step [ 2 ] - Authenticity Requires Consistency In Verbs

We use the term "Verbs" to describe the foundational actions the player can take: "Run", "Aim", "Cast", "Jump", "Hit", "Climb", and "Lick" are just some examples.

"Verbs" are not to be confused with "Skills", which we consider to be the intersection of two or more Verbs:

Continuing on with verbs, let's apply this exercise to one of our draft game IPs: "You're a victorian seamstress attempting to grow your small tailoring shop into a renowned atelier."

From this premise, we can start to identify the Verbs necessary to support the authenticity of this fantasy:

As you brainstorm verbs for the Player to action through, gameplay ideas will naturally begin to take shape:

With our IP guiding us toward authenticity and a list of verbs to support the fantasy, the next step is to give meaning to the player's actions in the fantasy.


if you don't care for additional context, you can move to Step [ 3 ]


Why Are Verbs Necessary To Define At This Step?

To use an expression, think of the IP as your head in the clouds, and the verbs as your feet on the ground. Defining verbs early helps anchor the IP so as you continue to design (and ultimately develop) your prototype, you don't drift too far from the core fantasy you're aiming to fulfill.

If you've ever attempted to design a game without a core set of verbs defined, you'll know how frighteningly easy it is to fall into the trap of designing top-down from the experience, as opposed to designing bottom-up through the actions.

The verbs you choose significantly influence the direction for the game.

Referencing our Victorian Seamstress game IP, if we had chosen the verbs "Manage, Barter, Supply" instead of "Thread, Stitch, Seam", the player would be a bustling entrepreneur overseeing a victorian tailoring shop instead of being a hands-on seamstress.

Even more dramatically, if we had opted for the verbs "Lick, Zap, Weld" rather than "Thread, Stitch, Seam", the original setting would be preserved but the player now has a curiously different skill set fit for an unconventional clientele.

All three examples fulfill the fantasy of being "A victorian seamstress attempting to grow your small tailoring shop into a renowned atelier", but the verbs drive how the player will participate in that fantasy.

As an aside, if your IP is well-defined but the verbs remain unclear, consider this a red flag. Hopefully the two previous exercises we did demonstrate that without a clear, actionable set of verbs, you risk wasting time, mounting costs, and ultimately missing the mark with your game.



Step [ 3 ] - Worldbuilding Is The Gluing Agent for Authenticity

All games operate on a spectrum of risk versus reward, and it's this dynamic which gives meaning and weight to player actions.

But how does that relate to worldbuilding?

For anything that inhabits a world to have meaning, it must have a motivation.

This motivation is a catalyst for conflict which, in turn, creates the foundation for meaningful risk and reward.

To figure out that dynamic, we use a simple structure to explore entities which could exist in our world and quickly evaluate whether an entity supports and enhances authenticity.

The motivation of a gene is to pass biological traits from one generation to the next. The motivation of a tree is to supply oxygen and remove harmful gases from the air. Though these examples are literal and seemingly innocuous, they illustrate a key point: wherever there is meaning, there is also motivation.

By framing entities with regard to their underlying motivation, we gain a powerful tool to understand how each entity can shape gameplay and the setting required to support those gameplay dynamics. This helps us avoid worldbuilding through thematic embellishment, which rarely produces a meaningful and authentic experience for the player.

Each entity is defined by the following:

Let’s revisit our Victorian Seamstress game IP for this exercise.

Lady Brooke (The Player)

The Aristocratic Debutantes (Client Type)

The Foreign Dignitaries (Client Type)

This quick exercise has now given us some glue to work with, and we can see how the gameplay dynamics emerge naturally.

Simultaneously the game's setting begins to take shape, as does its atmosphere, mood, and tone.

You are welcome to define multiple motivations and conflicts for greater nuance, but we typically limit ourselves to a single motivation and a single conflict (in the beginning) to simplify the surface area of the risk versus reward dynamic.


if you don't care for additional context, you can move to Step [ 4 ]


What If My Game Has Combat And Enemies?

This game design technique can equally be applied to a game that takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where the player is the only character among a bastion of enemies.

Let's consider the following game IP: "You’re an underwater miner attempting to survive a dangerous ecosystem after falling into an undiscovered ancient city following a catastrophic mining accident."

With the following verbs: "Lure", "Distract", "Salvage", "Repair", "Navigate"

Here is some world construction we could do:

Ronan Kai (The Player)

The Tentacle Bloom (Enemy Type)

Titan Scrap Crabs (Enemy Type)

Silken Serpents (Enemy Type)

Grovelith Sentinels (Enemy Type)

We see that even when applied to vastly different game styles and genres, this design technique consistently allows gameplay dynamics to emerge naturally and implicitly suggests the setting required to be authentic towards the fantasy of our IP.



Step [ 4 ] - Targeting The 1-2 Hour Gameplay Mark For Our Prototype

By this step, we’ve confidently addressed the question, "Where do you start?" but another critical question remains: "What do you build first?".

Answering this question requires we choose a specific point in the game to focus on. We find the most effective starting point for your prototype is the 1-2 hour mark of gameplay.

Why begin here?

By the 1-2 hour mark, players have typically been introduced to the game's world, core verbs, and have a firm grasp on the essential skills they'll use throughout the game.

This point also represents a natural progression where gameplay systems begin to intersect, allowing verbs and skills to combine in unexpected and exciting ways, all the while providing an ideal stage to assess the enjoyment and depth of moment-to-moment gameplay and evaluate whether the experience authentically delivers on the core fantasy of the IP.

Lastly, targeting this slice of gameplay mitigates risk. It avoids over-investment in early concepts that may fail to resonate while still providing sufficient depth to determine if the gameplay, its systems, and the overall experience is cohesive and engaging.

Why Not Start With A Tutorial? It's tempting to start with a tutorial, but tutorials are designed to tech the _known fun, not discover it. We use tutorials to familiarize players with the mechanics we've already decided are fun and meaningful. To keep the process open and iterative, and avoid locking ourselves in prematurely, we skip the tutorial as a starting point altogether._



Step [ 5 ] - Designing The Prototype Objective To Test Authenticity

This step is the most challenging part of the process, because it's frighteningly easy to overextend and build a prototype that greatly exceeds what is required to validate the concept.

Even with a clear plan for your prototype, you have to remain vigilant about fighting the urge to add unnecessary gameplay elements or prioritizing thematic details you believe add authenticity, but fail to contribute to the gameplay.

How do we approach this?

We want to start with a singular objective that gives our prototype a clear arc to follow aligning with the fantasy of our IP, the actions (verbs) the player will use to participate in that fantasy, and the worldbuilding we established.

Let's revisit our Victorian Seamstress game IP for this exercise.

Our singular objective could be: "Serve the newly arrived caravan carrying 2 foreign dignitaries. One needs a design alteration to their Frock for a lavish dinner party while the other needs a pair of Breeches repaired before their next fox hunt".

In this singular objective, we have the following covered:

For this next exercise, imagine the player is interacting through an interface similar to the game Potion Craft

From here, we can start to map how our game prototype will unfold:

So what's next?

From here, your intuition about good game design is what will steer the gameplay decisions for your prototype.

Let's consider a thought exercise with one of the gameplay layers as a continuation of the previous exercise.

"The first dignitary requests a design alteration to their Frock for a dinner party; dialogue ensues, notes are collected, the player takes the garment".

What would you choose if you were building this prototype?

However you decided, there are no right or wrong answers. Ultimately your intuition about what makes a good game, your acknowledgement of the level of abstraction needed to fulfill the authenticity of the core fantasy, and an awareness of the skill set you have posses to build the prototype will influence how you move forward.


if you don't care for additional context, you can move to Step [ 6 ]


What If My Game Has Combat And Enemies?

Let's apply the same technique to our underwater mining game IP.

Our singular objective could be: "Navigate through a hostile, collapsed atrium within the ancient city to reach an abandoned mining excavator and salvage a torque converter. Upgrade your drill with the torque converter to mine through tougher surfaces, allowing you to drill through crystallized coral".

In this singular objective, we have the following covered:

For this next exercise, imagine the player is interacting through an interface similar to the game Deadspace

From here, we can start to map how our game prototype will unfold:



#design frameworks #game design #game development #game ideation #game prototyping