Content design for the game

Video game content design is a type of game design that designs most of the in-game elements with which the user interacts: characters, items, equipment, and so on. In addition, content design includes the design of puzzles and additional missions.

This type of game design is especially important for large projects, such as MMORPG and role-playing, which are characterized by a variety of options for improving the character and the presence of quests. However, lately it is often used in the implementation of casual games, including card games and classic “three in a row.

For example, in Magic: The Gathering by D3 Go! the gamer does not just solve puzzles, but unlocks new card characters, improves their skills, completes tasks, and more – all these elements are created by content designers.

In this article we will take a closer look at what refers to content design, as well as how it is used in projects of different genres.

While playing the game, the user does not just want to blindly pass levels and receive rewards, of course, if it is not a hyper-casual project with the simplest mechanics. The depth of the story, each character, dialogue and additional activities that allow a new perspective on the virtual world and the creatures that inhabit it, is important for a person. Creating such elements is the main task of the game content designer.

The work of the content designer has no effect on the functioning of the main product, but it significantly increases player engagement and the commercial viability of the project. For example, Santa Monica Studio’s God of War contains many puzzles and secrets that force players to explore the world around them.

Plarium Studio creates and publishes the stories of the characters and factions of its flagship RAID: Shadow Legends. This ensures that each character is perceived by players as real, making the investment in their acquisition well worthwhile. At the same time, Riot Games releases powerful cinematics that motivate users to buy new images for their characters in “League of Legends” which is the company’s main revenue stream.

In fact, content designers are the link between developers, animators, product managers and the marketing department, and help create a more marketable product.

Content design is important for any project that plans to reach a large audience, which applies even to casual games. A striking example in this case is Gardenscapes, where the developers turned the simple mechanics of the three-in-a-row series into a fascinating garden setting with a variety of events and side events. Let’s look at how content design is created for games of the most common genres.

• MMORPG

MMORPG games are characterized by a large number of quests and tasks, completing which the user can earn experience, in-game currency and develop his character.

Behind this task there is a huge amount of specialist work, which can include:

• Creating NPC names.
• Developing a quest scenario.
• Writing dialogues and descriptions.
• Placement of secondary characters in locations with which the player will interact.
• Determining the rewards for completing the task in full or in part.

• Games with an open world

Such projects include Skyrim, Assassin’s Creed, Red Dead Redemption 2 and many others. Here, the task of the content designer is to develop side stories that are not connected with the main scenario, tasks for different in-game zones, the behavior of secondary characters and other things.

The main goal of Open World games is to give the user a sense of reality, and to make him believe that this virtual world really exists.

Therefore, different actions must constantly be happening in it in the background.

In Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, for example, every “inhabitant” is doing their own thing: in the markets, buyers argue with sellers, farmers grow crops, ships navigate the trade routes, and sometimes they are even attacked by pirates. Together, this conveys a sense of authenticity and realism to the player, and the content designer works to create each such element.

• Action and Adventure

In such projects, the story is always in the first place, so here the main task of the content designer is to completely immerse the player in the event. For this purpose, secondary missions are created, powerful cut scenes, dialogues and so on are created.

Separately, it is worth highlighting the games of the soulslike series. They are characterized by minimal guidance and disclosure of the story through descriptions of items, scraps of notes, and ambiguous phrases of secondary characters. Therefore, the content designer needs to work out everything so that the player receives timely information needed at each stage of the gameplay, and gradually assembled the story into a coherent puzzle.

AVADA MEDIA specialists will help you to create a game with a deep and fascinating gameplay which will ensure the profitability of the product. Besides content design we are ready to undertake the full implementation of the game project, from the first planning stages up to the publication in the application markets with further support. To learn more – contact us by filling in the feedback form.