Setting - leemet16/game-design-toolkit GitHub Wiki

Think about your video game like its own little world with its own unique setting. Setting is important because it can help create the mood and tone of your game (and story if you are creating one) (Hohl, 2014). As you are thinking of the game setting, think about what is most appropriate given your game’s purpose, players’ goals, and the overall story.

You can ask yourself the following questions to figure out what your video game world should look like:

• Does this game take place in a fictional universe or the real world?
• Does this game take place in the past, present, or future?
• How will you design the game to convey this setting?

Your setting must coincide with other elements in your game (e.g. characters) so that the final product makes sense as a whole. Consider a game that has cats as its main characters.

Image Source: durmieu

What settings would make sense for this character? Would space be the right setting?

Image Source: ac3raven

Are the characters and setting on the same page? Probably not (unless your game is going to be about space cats and their adventures traveling the universe). If the characters and setting are not in sync, it may leave game-players feeling a bit confused and less engaged with your game.

Another aspect about your setting to consider is objects. If you are creating objects in your game, determine whether or not players can interact with these objects (e.g. a box that players can pick up). Also, make sure these objects make sense in the setting you’ve created.

Refer to the following pages for ideas about objects and setting in video games:

• Lesson 1 Continued: What are video games? - Objects in games
• The 11 greatest video game objects – in pictures
• 10 of the best video game worlds

Reference

Hohl, N. (2014) Setting The Mood: How In-Game Environments Affect The Way We Play. Artistry in Games. Retrieved from https://artistryingames.com/setting-mood-game-environments-affect-way-play/