Click,Design,Play

So has gaming now become all about getting in-house gaming tools to turn yourself into a game designer? Aditya Apte,a software engineer and game developer with a prominent gaming firm that develops content for social networking websites in the US,says,“It has to change some day. If you observe the trends from the 80s till the current decade,you will realise that the changes have revolutionised the entire concept of gaming.” First came the arcade games,then those that were coded on softwares like BASIC for the first generation Apple Mackintosh home PCs. In the 80s,multi-player games were introduced wherein two players could play a game simultaneously. “The 90s saw the introduction of online gaming,and the last decade has boomed with social network gaming. This is the logical next step where a gamer has the freedom within the boundaries of the game’s storyline to create,play and share a game with others,” he adds.

The trend is slowly being adopted by studios across the globe,be it Electronic Arts,Rock Star,Santa Monica studios or even Ready at Dawn Studios. However,for most developers the idea still remains a very nascent one. Chetan Deshmukh of Toolbox Animation Studios says,“It will take time for gamers to adapt to the idea. Developing a game that allows gamers to create separate games within the game is not easy and the cost of the same needs to be looked into. In the long run,this will be the next big thing though.”

So how exactly does the concept work? “You can compare the entire process to a building blocks set,” says 3-D graphics designer Jugal Lalwani. “Two things go into the game design – one is the graphic design that comprises the visuals,and second part of the game is the interactivity aspect that needs hardcore programming.” Games like the LittleBigPlanet,Saw,God of War,Grand Theft Auto and so on let the gamer design and manipulate the surroundings of the game. “While it might appear as though the game is designed by the player,the codes for these options already come preloaded with the game. And the gamer enjoys the feel of designing it,” he explains.