What is meant by Gameplay?
When i hear the word gameplay i always think of having a controller in my hand and a headset on shouting at the non responsive tv, normally expressing my anger in someway. But essentially it is not. Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with the game, its the connection between the players and the game, the challenges the player has to overcome and experience the player has with the plot of the game. This term is basically used to describe the interactive aspect of game design. Some aspects of gameplay would include, the presence of an environment, rules governing changes in the game, rewards and punishments for the player and players being able to interact with the environment such as moving objects. There are also different types of gameplay such as cooperative or deathmatch.
Game Design which i think is the same as Game Development is not the sole responsibility of one person in a company but a job for the whole team to create. I believe this is the process and development of designing the content and rules of the game including story line, challenges, characters and environments. This team puts together not just artistic skills but great writing and documentation demonstrating a preview of the idea put forward. I could say a leading game design company would be Bioware manufacturing games such as Mass Effect but i could argue that these games are just copies and developments of an original idea, so is the design any different from a game such as doom? I believe the huge growth of technology has allowed such companies to change to look of games but in my opinion the design has not been changed.
I think the interaction with games can be different depending on what the player wants, different genre of game provide different interaction therefor the design of those games cant all be the same. Different genres include action-adventure, role playing, simulation, strategy and shooter. For example flight simulator would not have the same design principles as Call of Duty, although they both want the player to feel like their very much involved in the game, i think the development process on how they do that would differ.
What do i need to keep me interested?
Stats and showboating! A major factor in keeping my attention on a game is the statistics of my character, this i guess like many other players keeps me wanting more. If i know i can improve, learn new skills or have to level up to get a certain weapon then ill play until i get it. Obviously not just this alone though, visual effects, great cinematics, intriguing story line and a character you grow to love are all important for me to keep playing. I am also a big fan of the ever growing online multiplayer games, this adds a certain amount of competitiveness, knowing that your playing someone else makes you want to be better. I guess all game companies thrive on all these factors when developing a game otherwise no one would bother buying them!
