Name it to nail it

• Quick Design Tip
• Practicality: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ •
• Theoretical: ♥ • • • •

One technique that I found to be tremendously useful when designing variations of a certain elements in a game, such as designing levels OR designing specific minigame variations, is to simply name that particular variation upfront.

For instance, when designing the “Delicious” levels for Heart’s Medicine Hospital Heat, I named my levels while designing and developing them. So one level was called “Rush Hour” and the other would be called “Toasty Tornado”, etc.

By naming the levels, it helped me to “set the tone” of the level variation I was creating and boosted my excitement while working on them. It helped me visualize and aim to create a certain feeling or communicate a particular theme to the player, which on its turn sparked new ideas and ways to reach that goal I set out for myself.

By naming things, I’m giving it personality, from which new associations arise. When the name reflects that what you want to evoke with your player it also becomes a measuring rod for your own design performance. For instance, with the “Rush Hour” level, after my initial level is complete I can test it and see if I feel that I created a rush hour like experience. I can become my own critic and partially do my own review, based on the goal I’ve given myself, just by adding a name. Even if I think the level might feel OK, I can still try to get closer to achieving that “Rush Hour” feel, which would increase the fun.

In a way, naming is a way to set a small design goal.