Designing Games for Nintendo's Handheld Platforms:

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Designing Games for Nintendo's Handheld
Platforms

• The transition from GBA to DS.

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Abstract

• Games for traditional handheld platforms have
  always presented the designer with a set of
  challenges and opportunities quite different to
  those that the console or PC designer must face.
• The Nintendo DS, with its unique display and
  input possibilities, adds yet another set of
  challenges of its own, while offering developers
  a chance to pursue the holy grail of game design
  innovation. The hardware itself seem explicitly
  designed to goad us into taking bigger risks and
  trying new things.
• How, then, do handheld developers approach this
  enticing new piece of hardware? What are the
  expectations? The rules? Where are the pitfalls?
• How does the development of a DS game,
  specifically the creation of its design, differ
  from that of a GBA title, or a console title for
  that matter?

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Overview

• Introduction
• Nintendo
• Handheld Platforms
• GBA
• DS
• Traps
• Strategies
• The Design Process
• The Development Process
• Summary
• QA

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Introduction

• Who am I?
• Who do I work for?
• What do we do?
• What have we done on GBA, and where are we
  currently at with DS?
• Why talk about this now, before weve got all the
  answers?

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Nintendo

• What values and qualities are associated with a
  Nintendo game?
• Who plays games on Nintendo platforms?
• Where do independent, third-party developers fit
  in to Nintendos plans?
• What does all this mean when you sit down to
  design a game for a Nintendo platform?

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Handheld Platforms

• Some specific design considerations, when
  developing for a handheld.
• User interface
• Game structure
• Visual presentation
• Use of audio
• The diversity of situations in which handheld
  games are played.

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GBA

• Constraints.
• Expectations.
• Haven for ports and classic gameplay
• but also a place for neglected genres to
  flourish and grow once again.
• Emphasis on gameplay over both innovation and
  wow factor.
• First party releases and licensed product.
• Who plays GBA?

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The DS is Announced

• Top responses
• What? Two screens? You mean like Donkey Kong?
• If one screen is fun, then two screens means
  twice the fun! lt/sarcasmgt
• Huh?
• Um.
• LOLROFLMAO!

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Introducing the DS

• A picture says a thousand words.
• With Photoshop, however, you can say even more

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Introducing the DS, Take Two

• Tech specs (in designerese)
• Ability to do some 3D stuff.
• Two screens.
• Stylus and touch screen control.
• 4 face buttons.
• Microphone.
• WiFi connectivity.
• Game sharing.

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DS

• Constraints.
• Expectations.
• Is there place for ports and multi-format
  releases?
• Modular design.
• Linked settings and stories.
• Emphasis on innovation.
• Can this go to far?
• Is this the expense of gameplay depth?
• What are the risks involved in re-inventing the
  wheel?
• First party releases and licensed product.
• Who will play the DS?

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Traps

• 3D or not 3D?
• No analog stick. Control is key, and must be
  designed around two types of fundamentally 2D
  control input.
• 2048 triangles.
• Camera control.
• Touch screen use.
• When, where and how?
• More importantly why?
• Whats the second screen for?
• Quick how many thumbs does the player have?

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Strategies

• Minimising risk.
• Technology.
• Design.
• Prototyping.
• Looking beyond console and handheld gaming for
  inspiration.
• Modular design.

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The Design Process

• GBA
• Points of reference.
• What is the game like?
• Okay, so how is it different?
• DS
• Points of reference.
• How does the game stand up, on its own?
• How does it use the hardware? Does it justify
  being on the DS?
• Wheres the familiarity?
• Wheres the newness?

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The Development Process

• GBA
• Legacy from 16-bit console development.
• Tools.
• Production pipeline.
• Scheduling.
• Implementation.
• Testing.
• Quick ramp-up. Known quantities.
• DS
• Pre-production.
• Looking ahead at scheduling, implementation and
  testing.
• New tools.
• New pipeline.
• Flexibility, experimentation and the ability to
  make mistakes.

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Summary

• Look further afield for inspiration. Break
  habits. Leave your comfort zone.
• Find ways to prototype, test and evaluate.
• Play your game as early and as often as you can.
• Strike a balance between novelty and substance.

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QA

• Fire away!