Written by Here is a short list i have compiled
- Concept
- Gameplay
- Style
- Layout / Colours
- Simplicity
- Time – To load, to begin and to finish.
Tomorrow, i’ll begin part 1 and go into detail of each of these…
What makes a good flash game – overview
What makes a good flash game – concept
A game has to have an idea
Wiser people call this the concept.
The concept is basically an overview of the game. To begin with think of some genres you may want to make a game about; top down, rpg, platformer, arcade etc…
You should compile it is a table style structure and then think up some basic ideas for each, pick your favourite and you 25% there.
However, the most important part is to express all possibilities.You’ll need a lot of ideas. You should probably make a list of 20-30 features (money, power-ups, weapons, modes). The more you have, the better. Now we can begin eliminating them, as you do so you will gain a visual in your head of what you want to achieve.
Second part, spitball and brainstorm a lot of ideas. I mean a lot. You want to have a list of 20-30 features (power-ups, game modes, enemies). The more you have, the better chance you’ll come up with a great idea. Go through all of them. Consider them in depth, then start eliminating them. Whittle down the list. Make sure those are the features you want to implement in the game.
Now, the final part – by this stage you should probably have a good idea of what you want, so sketch up some art. Maybe the main character in 2 sets of eyes, or 3 sets of clothes. This is vital because you can now visually see what you want. The idea should now bend around this character and should not clash.
What makes a good flash game – gameplay
Obviously gameplay has a large part on a game because it is in this section where we decide; the controls, the story, the interactivity and as a global – the gameplay.
So, how do we create good gameplay?
Most importantly you will need addiction. The game itself needs to be addicting. Arcade games generally fall into this category. But another thing is that it gas to be as interactive as possible so that people feel they have control, usually RPG games are good for this. And a final vital is the need for a scoring system. A player needs to know how well they are playing. So ‘next time’ they can try to beat their ‘score’.
It’ll probably seem obvious to the most of you but for many then please be warned because you will not make your game perfect straight off.
What makes a good flash game – style
This is probably going to be the hardest tutorial to write because the style is a relative variable so there is no right or wrong.
But there are guidelines which I thought of.
The most important being that to never mix styles. Don’t have a cartoon character in a realistic environment. But it isn’t all about the art, think of the music. Don’t have a hip hop dance track in an RPG.
But I hope it’s just common sence.
One final note is that to never mix coding styles because different styles have different oucomes and may change your game significantly.
What makes a good flash game – layout & colour
Layout and color?
Vital for a good game. It isn’t something that can be done randomly or inconsistently. Instead it has to be thorough throughout the whole of the game. From the menu, to the game and even to the high scores or loading screen.
And that goes for layout and colour. If the menu has all of the buttons on the left then I hope all the high scores will also be based around the same position.
If however you do Go for a random approach, don’t expect to make any money from it.
What makes a good flash game – simplicity
A game does not have to be complicated, advanced or hard to understand.
My latest project was going to have a video and a very complex story line. But after thinking about it I realised that it was unnecessary and pointless.
Simplicity in most games allows a game to become addictive. And an addictive game is an instant winner
What makes a good flash game – time
You’re probably thinking, WHUT?
And rightly so, Many people don’t understand how greatly a game is affected by it’s timing. For example if you use a lot of videos or images in it then the loading time will be dramatically increased.
As one i hate waiting for something to load unless i can be pre-occupied. Mainly because i know i can find a better game 2 minutes away… So, where possible make your file size to the game as small as possible.
Next, people just want to play. Don’t force them to read the instructions. Don’t play them videos randomly (unstoppable) because i hate it when i just can’t play. I WAN’T TO PLAY A GAME – SO LET ME PLAY…
The final factor of time is how long it takes to play, in a good game this is forgot about and unnecessary but on a not so good game then it is greatly affective. A good game should last around 20 – 30 mins. If your game is too long, people will become bored.