Canvas-Oriented Formalization of the Game Design Processes

Abstract

The article proposes an canvas-oriented approach to game design. It justifies the applying of a dynamic cycle of interconnected canvases into creative game design, for the purpose of documenting the progress and results of the creative process, stimulating it while canvases simultaneously are both clues and guides in game development. The author's definition of game design сanvasation as a process of creation of a visual abstract structure that generalizes the case goal (the task containing the accumulated experience) for achieving it and creating a unique creative product is given. Projects «Canvas of Player Psychotypes & Aethteticts», «Canvas of Player's needs in Control, Information and Action», «Canvas of Game Mechanics & Dynamics», «Canvas of Narrative», «Canvas of the Game World», «Canvas of Game Level» «Canvas of Ethical Dilemma» are resented. Canvases structure the game development process, reduce the time taken to generate game designer ideas and to contrive game mechanic and dynamics. Canvases are an additional road map toward making creative decisions in game design. They can be a convenient basis for automating the process of latter, a paper prototype of the game and the game design as a quest process provided that each canvas is a location with quest tasks, the variability of which depends on the potential and attitude of the leader and team. Subsequently, it is planned to develop algorithm for routing the components of the canvases also will be developed, allowing to automate the process of filling out sections of the Game Design Document.