Inafune-Juku Semester5-6 Star Neuron's Xanthos.

Hello, everyone. I am Star Neuron’s Vouldis Xanthos, and today it is my turn to make my team’s blog entry.

I want to talk about the things we discussed during Inafune’s last seminar, but before I get into that I want to talk a little bit about the meaning of these meetings. The goal, if you wish. What we are trying to achieve.

Week after week, everyone in these seminars are trying their best to come up with the coolest, most fun ideas for a game. In the games industry however, ideas are cheap. Everyone has them. Complete game plans and, even more so, prototypes are what people want to see. How do you then turn your idea into a beautifully crafted interactive experience? What makes your raw excitement into a marketable product that every onecan enjoy?

In other words, the Science and Art of Game Design.

There are many rules related to game design, but almost all of them can be broken. In fact, they should be broken at some point to create originality. In my experience, the two most important questions a game designer must answer about her idea/game/battle mechanic/story element/character are the following, and in that order.

What is interesting about my idea?

How can I relate that to others?

Now, all I said up to now might seem painfully obvious. It becomes difficult when you have someone important sitting on the other side of the table, listening to your idea. In my case, it is a little extra difficult because I don’t speak Japanese very well. I am not complaining though, I asked for this. I love challenge ^^

This brings us to our meetings with Inafune-san and his colleagues. When every team is presenting their game plan, usually the fun element of the game doesn’t come across. The people listening are not entirely convinced of the fun elements in the game, and the team is left feeling that there is a lot of thought and discussion that didn’t show up in the presentation.

Ono-san knows this, as an industry veteran. In Inafune-san’s absence last time, he carefully took the time to show us just that.

What is interesting? – How can you show it?

Through a series of examples and exercises he tried to distil all the juicy bits of the elements that make us get interested in something. The first pages of a manga, the introduction of a new character in a anime or tv series, and how you can use unforeseen real-world circumstances to your advantage when crafting an ongoing scenario for your drama or game. Here is an example for our readers.

Your job is to decide the contents of the first paragraph of a book about Julius Caesar. Which part of his life do you talk about first? How do your describe it?

Another example:

You are in charge of a famous TV series when the actor playing leading role suddenly quits. How do you proceed with the story?

You see, making games is more about moving colors on the screen. It is about communication. It is about sharing your ideas, or what you think is cool, with others. It is a cry for attention, a thousand tears in the rain, and a fit of uncontrollable joy. It is what makes our souls burn in the cold air of the night.

All the great writers, movie directors, painters, poets had to fight this fight. They had to show to the world what is interesting about what they are doing, and what they are trying to say. They had to master the skill of presentation to be understood. And they won. Their works are celebrated, and their names became immortal. The time for games to rise as a communication medium and take their place among the art giants has come.

Our time is now.

Thank you for your time.

I hope you have fun doing whatever you are passionate about!

Xanthos