Designing Design Tools

1. DesigningDesignTools

2. DesigningDesignTools • What is designtools? • Why do weneedthem?

3. Table of Contents • DesiredFunctionality • Scripting Languages and Object Behaviors • Us VersusThem • A Game Editor for All Seasons

4. DesiredFunctionality • What sorts of features should be included to allow an editor to truly shine, to empower designers to do the best work possible?

5. DesiredFunctionalityVisualizingtheLevel • The most important objective for a world creation tool must be to allow the designer to see the world he is creating while simultaneously enabling him to make modifications to it. (WYSIWYG)

6. DesiredFunctionalityVisualizingtheLevel • The designer should be easily able to move the camera in this player’s view • This movement is probably best accomplished with a simple “flight” mode

7. DesiredFunctionalityVisualizingtheLevel • Of course, the world as it will appear in the game is not always the best view from which to edit that world. For this reason, level editors often need to include an “editing view” in addition to the player’s view.

8. DesiredFunctionalityVisualizingtheLevel ValveHammerEditor

9. DesiredFunctionalityTheBig Picture • The player’s view window does not always need to represent exactly what players will see.

10. DesiredFunctionalityTheBig Picture • Waypoints • Triggerobjects • Spawnpoints • Characterdatas • Audiosources

11. DesiredFunctionalityTheBig Picture • The ability to turn on and off the rendering of different data can be quite useful in setting up the level’s behaviors.

12. DesiredFunctionalityJumpingintotheGame • In addition to having the player’s view of the world represent what players will see in the game, it can be quite useful to allow the designer to actually maneuver in this view as he would in the actual game.

13. DesiredFunctionalityJumpingintotheGame Unity3D

14. DesiredFunctionalityEditingtheWorld • It is important that the editor actually allow the designer to modify all gameplay-critical aspects of a level.

15. DesiredFunctionalityEditingtheWorld • ChangeableGeometry • Terrain - heightmapEditor • AnimationEditor • AssetImportingfromcommercialsoftwares

16. Scripting Languages and Object Behaviors • Game behaviorsshould be editablewithoutinvolving a programmer • Enemies, • Weapons, • Andothers…

17. Scripting Languages and Object Behaviors • Many games now include scripting languages • Customscriptinglanguages, • Orexistingones: • Lua, GameMonkey, AngelScript vs…

18. Scripting Languages and Object Behaviors • ScriptingLanguages; + Easy to learn + No compile time + Faster coding - Less debugging capabilities - No powerful IDE support - Slower than native code

19. Scripting Languages and Object Behaviors • Behaviorvariables, PropertyEditorsetc…

20. Scripting Languages and Object Behaviors • Each level in the game can have a unique script that sets up and triggers various unique behaviors on that level. • There is a key difference between “scripted events” and the “scripting language”

21. Scripting Languages and Object Behaviors Warcraft III TriggerEditor

22. Us VersusThem • The development of the tools for a project often comes down to a battle between the programmers and the designers.

23. Us VersusThem • Gameprogrammerswantstomakegames

24. Us VersusThem • Designers and programmers think differently • Theymust be in constantcommunication

25. Us VersusThem • A programmer can be assignedfortoolsdevelopment • This is called Tools Programmer (o rly?) • Or a programmer can try to make a level using the tool to see what designers might be need

26. A Game Editor for All Seasons • A level editor does not actually need to be bug free.

27. A Game Editor for All Seasons • Once a designer becomes adept at the tools he will know what not to do and will be able to easily work around the trouble spots..

28. A Game Editor for All Seasons • If the tools used on a project are good enough, marketing may catch on and can come up with the bright idea

29. TheEnd