Exercise 1:
Core Elements:
- Cheese or font to guess
- If the answer is correct or not
- Score (count of correct so far)
- The mechanism to input answers
Supportive Elements:
- Hints
- Instructions
Extraneous Elements:
- Snarky Feedback
- Timer
- Next / Prev buttons
Exercise 2: Sketch of Core Elements
Exercise 3: Make one element in a NEW thumbnail sketch HUGE.
Exercise 4: Using ONE color
Exercise 5: 3 thumbnails with type
Exercise 6: Proximity
What should be grouped? What is different, and thus should be separated from gameplay?
Gameplay elements, like the cheese/font to guess + the input mechanism should be grouped together. Stuff like the timer or the score, which aren’t as core to the key mechanics, should be separated.
I also drew out some experiments with proximity.
Game Analysis:
One game I think is really beautiful is Starman, a puzzle game for the Apple App Store / Nintendo Switch.
Starman really utilizes color (or lack of) and contrast to create emphasis and its eerie atmosphere. Only the main character and certain objects shine brightly, whereas the rest of the world is in shades of gray. This helps draw attention to how the main character is the only source of light in the world, and emphasizes how lonely it is.
