Every game designer should understand Orthogonal Design

Summary

In this insightful video, the concept of 'orthogonal' game design is explored as a fundamental principle for game and level designers. The speaker illustrates how orthogonality in enemy and player abilities, as seen in games like Doom, Dishonored, and Left 4 Dead, leads to diverse gameplay experiences. Using examples from combat and non-combat games, the talk emphasizes how orthogonal design enriches player interactions and enables level designers to craft compelling scenarios. The video concludes with a recommendation for the indie game Tactical Breach Wizards, highlighting its orthogonal design elements.

Takeaways

• 🎮 The concept of 'orthogonal' design in game mechanics is crucial for game and level designers, enhancing the variety and depth of gameplay.
• 🚗 Orthogonal design involves creating elements that are fundamentally different from each other, rather than variations in numbers or scale.
• 🔫 In 'Doom', enemy design is orthogonal, offering different types of enemies that require distinct strategies, enriching the combat experience.
• 🧙‍♂️ 'Dishonored' exemplifies orthogonal player abilities with powers like Blink, Bend Time, and Possession, which offer unique gameplay possibilities.
• 📚 The idea of 'Informed Simplicity' from '101 Things I Learned at Architecture School' parallels the elegance of orthogonal game design, suggesting that a few well-designed elements can create a vast array of experiences.
• 🧟‍♂️ 'Left 4 Dead' uses orthogonal enemy design to ensure a dynamic and varied gameplay experience, with special zombies each having distinct roles and challenges.
• 🧙‍♀️ 'Tactical Breach Wizards' features orthogonal character abilities, allowing for a wide range of tactical combinations and scenarios in a squad-based game.
• 📸 'Alba: A Wildlife Adventure', despite being a non-combat game, benefits from orthogonal design through its mechanics like fixing things, taking photos, and interacting with the community.
• 🛠 Orthogonal game design is not limited to combat games; it can be applied to any game genre to create a more engaging and varied player experience.
• 💡 The video emphasizes the importance of game designers understanding and applying orthogonal design to create games with fewer mechanics but more depth and replayability.

Q & A

What is the concept of 'orthogonal' in game design?

The concept of 'orthogonal' in game design refers to the idea of creating elements such as enemy types, weapons, player abilities, and game mechanics that are fundamentally different from each other, rather than varying only in numbers or degrees. This approach leads to a more diverse and interesting gameplay experience.

Why is orthogonal design important for level designers?

Orthogonal design is important for level designers because it allows for the creation of a wide variety of interesting and unique situations within the game. It enables designers to craft levels that challenge players in different ways, enhancing replayability and player engagement.

Can you provide an example of orthogonal design in vehicle mechanics?

An example of orthogonal design in vehicle mechanics is having a car, a helicopter, and a boat, each designed for different environments (ground, air, sea) and offering unique capabilities. This contrasts with having three cars that only differ in speed, durability, or seating capacity.

How does orthogonal enemy design contribute to the gameplay of 'Doom'?

In 'Doom', orthogonal enemy design contributes to gameplay by offering a variety of enemy types that require different strategies to defeat. For instance, some enemies fire bullets instantly, others launch projectiles, and melee enemies require close proximity to attack, thus creating dynamic combat scenarios.

What are some orthogonal player abilities in 'Dishonored'?

In 'Dishonored', some orthogonal player abilities include Blink, which allows teleportation; Bend Time, which manipulates time; Possession, which lets the player take control of other characters; and Dark Vision, which enables seeing through walls. These abilities are fundamentally different and can be combined in various ways to solve in-game challenges.

How does 'Left 4 Dead' utilize orthogonal enemy design?

'Left 4 Dead' utilizes orthogonal enemy design by featuring special zombies like the Hunter, Smoker, Witch, and Tank, each with distinct behaviors and attack patterns. This design ensures that each encounter feels different, maintaining the game's replayability and dynamic gameplay.

What is the significance of orthogonal design in tactics games?

In tactics games, orthogonal design is significant because it allows for a diverse range of strategic options and outcomes. By having units with unique abilities, players can approach scenarios in various ways, leading to a richer and more engaging experience.

How does the game 'Alba: A Wildlife Adventure' incorporate orthogonal design?

In 'Alba: A Wildlife Adventure', orthogonal design is incorporated through mechanics like fixing things to open navigation options, using a camera to take photos, and engaging in conversations with characters. These distinct mechanics allow for a variety of gameplay experiences without relying on combat.

What is the 'Informed Simplicity' concept from '101 Things I Learned at Architecture School', and how does it relate to orthogonal game design?

The 'Informed Simplicity' concept from '101 Things I Learned at Architecture School' refers to creating a variety of outcomes or designs using a limited set of simple, yet powerful elements. In orthogonal game design, this concept is reflected in the use of a few, distinct mechanics that can be combined in numerous ways to create a rich gameplay experience.

Why is it beneficial for game designers to focus on creating fewer but more brilliant mechanics?

Focusing on creating fewer but more brilliant mechanics is beneficial for game designers because it allows for a more streamlined and intuitive gameplay experience. It also enables players to engage with deeper strategic possibilities, leading to a more satisfying and memorable game.

Outlines

00:00

🎮 Orthogonal Design in Game Mechanics

The speaker introduces the concept of 'orthogonal' design in game mechanics, emphasizing its importance in game and level design. They highlight its application in various aspects of game design such as enemy and weapon design, and player abilities. The speaker uses examples from classic games like Doom, Left 4 Dead, Dishonored, and the indie game Tactical Breach Wizards to illustrate the concept. They also discuss how orthogonal design can be applied to non-combat games, using Alba: A Wildlife Adventure as an example. The explanation includes a comparison between non-orthogonal (numerical differences) and orthogonal (fundamental differences) design in vehicles, showcasing how orthogonal design leads to more varied gameplay.

05:05

📚 Simplicity and Complexity in Game Design

The speaker discusses the parallels between game design and architectural principles, specifically referring to the book '101 Things I Learned at Architecture School'. They focus on the concept of 'Informed Simplicity', which they relate to orthogonal game design. Using a diagram from the book, they explain how a few simple but orthogonal elements can create a wide range of possibilities, as seen in the powers from Dishonored. The speaker argues that this approach allows for the creation of rich and interesting games with minimal mechanics, which is ideal for level designers to craft engaging experiences. They also touch upon the importance of having fewer, well-designed mechanics over a multitude of less impactful ones.

10:06

🔮 Orthogonality in Various Game Genres

In this section, the speaker explores the application of orthogonal design in different game genres, starting with Left 4 Dead's enemy design. They emphasize how the game's special zombies, each with unique abilities, contribute to a dynamic and varied gameplay experience. The speaker then discusses Tactical Breach Wizards, highlighting how the game's squad-based mechanics and enemy design create interesting tactical scenarios. They mention other tactics games like Advance Wars, Into the Breach, and XCOM, noting the varying degrees of orthogonality in their designs. Lastly, they return to Alba: A Wildlife Adventure, demonstrating that even non-combat games can benefit from orthogonal design through diverse player abilities that enhance quest and level design.

Keywords

💡Orthogonal

Orthogonal, in the context of game design, refers to elements that are fundamentally different from each other, offering unique characteristics and interactions rather than mere variations in degree. It is central to the video's theme as it discusses how orthogonal design enhances gameplay by providing diverse options and strategies. For instance, the video contrasts non-orthogonal cars that differ only in speed and robustness with an orthogonal set including a car, helicopter, and boat, each suited for different environments and玩法.

💡Game Mechanics

Game mechanics are the rules, challenges, and procedures that define how a game operates and how players interact with it. The video emphasizes the importance of orthogonal game mechanics in creating engaging and varied gameplay experiences. It uses examples like the different enemy types in 'Doom' to illustrate how orthogonal mechanics can lead to a rich set of strategic options for players.

💡Level Design

Level design involves creating the structure, layout, and challenges within a game's playable spaces. The video discusses how orthogonal design aids level designers in crafting interesting and varied scenarios. It mentions that with orthogonal enemies in 'Doom', level designers can create a multitude of combat situations, showcasing the impact of orthogonal design on level design.

💡Doom

'Doom' is a classic first-person shooter game used in the video as a prime example of orthogonal enemy design. The game features enemies with distinct attack types, such as bullet shooters, projectile launchers, and melee attackers, each requiring different player strategies. This example illustrates how orthogonal design can lead to dynamic and varied gameplay.

💡Dishonored

'Dishonored' is highlighted as an example of orthogonal player abilities, where powers like Blink, Bend Time, and Possession offer unique gameplay options. The video explains how these abilities, being orthogonal, allow for a vast array of player choices and strategies, emphasizing the game's design as a model of orthogonal game design.

💡Tactical Breach Wizards

This is an indie tactics game mentioned in the video, noted for its orthogonal character and enemy design. The game's mechanics are designed to be orthogonally different, providing a wide range of tactical options and situations for players. The video uses it to demonstrate how orthogonal design can be applied in non-combat games to create interesting gameplay dynamics.

💡Alba: A Wildlife Adventure

Although not a combat game, 'Alba: A Wildlife Adventure' is used in the video to show that orthogonal design principles apply beyond action games. The game's mechanics, such as fixing things, taking photos, and interacting with characters, are orthogonal, allowing for a variety of non-violent gameplay experiences. This example broadens the concept's scope, showing its relevance to different game genres.

💡Immersive Sims

Immersive Sims is a genre of games known for their open-ended gameplay and player freedom. The video touches on how immersive Sims, like 'Dishonored', often employ orthogonal design to provide players with a multitude of ways to approach objectives, enhancing the genre's signature player agency and emergent gameplay.

💡Left 4 Dead

'Left 4 Dead' is cited as an example of orthogonal enemy design in a cooperative first-person shooter context. The game features special zombies with unique abilities, each requiring different tactics from the players. The video uses this to illustrate how orthogonal design can keep gameplay fresh and challenging, even in a game designed for extended play.

💡Informed Simplicity

Informed Simplicity is a concept from '101 Things I Learned in Architecture School' that resonates with orthogonal game design. It refers to achieving complexity through simplicity, using a few well-designed, orthogonal elements to create a wide range of possibilities. The video connects this concept to the power of orthogonal design in games, where a few distinct mechanics can lead to rich and varied gameplay experiences.

Highlights

The concept of 'orthogonal' in game design is crucial for creating varied gameplay experiences.

Orthogonality should be a fundamental part of game design education.

Orthogonality applies to enemy design, weapon mechanics, and player abilities.

Classic games like Doom, Left 4 Dead, and Dishonored exemplify orthogonal design.

Tactical Breach Wizards, an upcoming indie game, showcases orthogonal design in its mechanics.

Alba: A Wildlife Adventure demonstrates orthogonal design in a non-combat game context.

Orthogonal vehicle design provides distinct gameplay options compared to numerical differences.

Doom's enemy design is praised for its orthogonality, creating varied combat scenarios.

Level design benefits from orthogonal enemy design, allowing for more interesting scenarios.

Dishonored's player abilities are highly orthogonal, offering diverse gameplay strategies.

Orthogonal design is linked to the concept of 'Informed Simplicity' in architecture and design.

Left 4 Dead's special zombies exemplify orthogonal enemy design, ensuring dynamic gameplay.

Tactical Breach Wizards features orthogonal character abilities, enriching level design possibilities.

Orthogonal design in tactics games like XCOM and Advance Wars enhances strategic depth.

Alba: A Wildlife Adventure uses orthogonal mechanics to create engaging non-combat gameplay.

Orthogonal game design is essential for all game designers to understand and apply.

The video concludes with a call to action for game designers to embrace orthogonal design.

Transcripts

Hey - I want to talk about a game design  concept that I think every game designer  

and level designer should know. I think it's a  term that should be taught on all game design  

courses, and it's often at the heart of  a lot of games that you probably love.

The concept I'm talking about is the idea  of things being "orthogonal" - and this can  

be applied to things like enemy design,  weapon design, and player abilities,  

and game mechanics in general. I'm going to  talk about some classic examples of it to me,  

including Doom, Left 4 Dead, Dishonored  and immersive sims in general - and Tactical  

Breach Wizards, which is a new indie  tactics game that I recently worked on,  

that is coming out really soon. (It's  really good by the way - you should buy it).

And in case it sounds like this only  applies to games with combat in,  

I'm also going to talk about it through  the lens of Alba: A Wildlife Adventure,  

which is a very cute, wholesome game I worked on,  which has no combat or violence in whatsoever.

Let's take the example of vehicles. Let's say  there's a game where the player can use vehicles,  

and in the non-orthogonal version of this game,  the player might have three cars they can drive.  

All of them are cars, but one of them is really  fast, one of them isn't as fast as the others but  

is more robust and can take more damage, and  maybe another one only has two seats instead  

of four. So there we have three cars that  are different, but only in terms of numbers.

So instead of this, the orthogonal version of  this might be that instead of just having three  

cars that are slightly different, we could have  a car, a helicopter, and a boat. And as soon as  

you have those three vehicles, we're talking  very different characteristics, right? One of  

these is obviously built for the ground, one of  them is for the sea, one of them is for the air.

You can do very different things with these  vehicles, and they're orthogonally different  

because they're not just a matter of  number changes. There's no amount of  

cars that you can combine together to make  a helicopter, and no amount of helicopters  

will create a boat. And you can imagine  that as a player and a game designer,  

if you have helicopters and boats and cars, you  can do way more things than if you just have  

three cars. And that's the kind of difference  we're talking about with orthogonal design.

Examples - for me the classic one, as often  is the case, is Doom. You might have heard  

Mark Brown talk about this in his GMTK videos. He  talked about Doom and the orthogonal design of the  

enemies. And this boils down to the idea that in  Doom you don't just have enemies that fire bullets  

- you have loads of different types of enemies  that are orthogonally different to each other.

The three main categories of this are: the ones  that fire bullets at you that hit you instantly,  

versus firing projectiles that travel towards  you at a certain speed, and then you have  

melee enemies that have to be right next  to you to attack you. These orthogonally  

different categories of enemies are basically  the bread and butter of all the combat in Doom,  

but they allow for a lot of variation  because of those different characteristics.

All your combat choices vary based on the  circumstances and the composition of these  

different types of enemies, which means that  level designers can create loads of different,  

interesting situations for you to be in -  which is what level designers want to do.

I got into level design by making Doom levels way  back in the day, about 30 years ago... (terrifying)  

- and that taught me the benefit and value of  orthogonal enemy design. Because since then,  

I've tried to make levels for games that have less  orthogonal design, and it's often way harder to  

come up with loads of interesting situations.  Because often when enemies are not orthogonal,  

and they only vary in terms of numbers, they don't  really change the way the player has to play the  

situation, as much as they would if they were  dealing with a combination of orthogonal enemies.

And if the enemies don't change the  way the player has to play the game,  

they're just less interesting, and it's harder to  make lots of interesting situations to encounter  

them in. So orthogonal game design basically helps  level designers do a good job - and that's one  

of the reasons why all game designers  and level designers should know about it.

Now let's talk about Dishonored 1, which I  think is one of the all time great examples  

of orthogonal player abilities. And by this  I mean the powers in that game like Blink,  

and Bend Time, and Possession, and Dark  Vision. These powers are super orthogonal  

and different. Blink is a movement based  power, that basically allows you to teleport,  

whereas Dark Vision allows you to see through  walls, and Possession allows you to possess  

people and effectively become them, and  Bend Time allows you to manipulate time.

And if you can teleport, AND stop time,  AND see through walls, AND change who  

you are - then you can do all kinds of things!  And like I said with the enemy design in Doom,  

the orthogonal nature of the player abilities  in Dishonored is a key part of why you can  

combine them in such interesting  ways, and why there is consequently  

such a huge possibility space for how the  player deals with problems in that game.

I often talk about a book that I love called  "101 Things I Learned at Architecture School",  

and it has loads of things in it that have  interesting parallels to level design - and  

there's even one about simplicity in there,  which has really great parallels to game design,  

and specifically orthogonal game design.  Hmm maybe I can find it, hold on...

There we go. So, you won't be able to see  this very well unless I hold it about here...  

oh that's in focus but it's tiny, haha.  So I'll show you this on the screen :P

Okay so I'm talking about a section  called "Three Levels of Knowing",  

which it describes as Simplicity, Complexity  and finally Informed Simplicity. And basically  

to me, Informed Simplicity is what  orthogonal game design looks like.

If we look at the diagram on the right,  we see how Informed Simplicity allows us  

to create 12 different spaces using only  3 elements combined. And to me those three  

elements could well be Blink, Possession and  Bend Time in Dishonored. Three simple but  

powerful and orthogonal abilities, which  can combine in super interesting ways.

So this diagram about Informed Simplicity  really speaks to me about the power and the  

elegance of orthogonal game design. Like,  if you get it right, you can have very few  

elements creating a really interesting, rich  possibility space. and that means that you  

can create really interesting and rich games for  players, without having like, 500 mechanics. The  

holy grail of game design is always to have fewer  mechanics, but brilliant mechanics that allow you  

to do loads of interesting things. And again,  this is a really good place to be as a level  

designer - to be on a game where the game design  offers you loads of interesting possibilities.

Example number 3 is Left 4 Dead, which has  brilliantly orthogonal enemy design. And this  

is in the context of a first-person shooter and  a co-op game, that needs to be played basically  

forever. They did this - and maybe could have  only done this - with orthogonal enemy design.

So you have the normal zombies  who are actually quite fast,  

and in large numbers once they've spotted you,  can be quite dangerous. But the real juice of  

the game is in all the special zombies, like the  Hunter, the Smoker, the Witch, and the Tank etc.

All of these enemies are designed to perform very  specific, very orthogonal functions in that game,  

and as a result of them all being so  orthogonal, different combinations of  

all of those enemies create a consistently  different and dynamic feeling experience.

Imagine if they tried to make a Left 4  Dead game that is infinitely replayable,  

with just a load of humans with guns. And  some of the guns do more damage, and some  

of them fire faster, but they're all basically  guys with guns. That would never have worked,  

and it's the orthogonal nature of the enemy design  that makes Left 4 Dead work. It's also partly why  

a lot of Left 4 Dead clones are not as good  as Left 4 Dead - because the enemy designs  

aren't as orthogonal, and the situations they  generate and not as varied and interesting!

Example number 4 is Tactical Breach Wizards  which is a lovely indie tactics game I  

recently worked on. It's squad-based, where  all of the characters your squad are completely,  

orthogonally different, and the enemies you  face are also orthogonally different too,  

with very different abilities. And as  a level designer working on this game,  

there was always so much stuff to do by combining  different combinations of the players' wizards  

and the enemies - hopefully presenting you with  new and interesting situations, all the time.

The lead on the project is Tom Francis  who loves games like immersive sims,  

and Breach Wizards, like his previous  games "Gunpoint" and "Heat Signature",  

draws a lot from that school of orthogonal game  design. I think maybe tactics games in general  

are always about (orthogonal design), because  it's the main way to make them interesting.  

I'm thinking about the classic ones like  Advance Wars, Into the Breach and XCOM.

XCOM is really orthogonal with its enemy design,  but the players units do kinda fall more into the  

category of just being people with different  types of gun. So maybe XCOM is an example of  

a tactics game where the player's abilities are  designed more in terms of number differences,  

and they're less orthogonal - while the enemy  design is more orthogonal. And obviously it  

can work! But Breach Wizards is both, and it's  pretty cool, so I think you should go buy it :P

All right the last example - example number 5,  is Alba: A Wildlife Adventure. I made a video  

about the level and world design work I did  on it. This is obviously not a combat game,  

it's a game about taking photos of animals,  and noting them down in your little book,  

and having conversations with people, and fixing  things for the community. But as you might have  

already noticed from my description of it  there, the player's abilities in this game  

are really orthogonal. If you think about  what these mechanics allow you to do - one  

of them allows you to fix things, which means  that you can open up new navigation options,  

and then you have a camera to take photos of  things and there talking to people and having  

conversations and nodding or shaking your head  to decide if you want to eat an ice cream...

...Important stuff like this :P And so you  can imagine how those mechanics are all very  

different, and as a level designer  or a quest designer on this game,  

it helps you come up with  interesting ideas for quests.

So even Alba, which obviously  has no combat in it whatsoever,  

benefits a lot from orthogonal game design.  And I just thought I'd throw that in there,  

just to make sure that people don't  think this is just a combat game thing.

Ok I think that's all for this video  - I hope it was useful. Like I say,  

I think it's something that all game  designers should know, and that all level  

designers would benefit from if all game  designers knew it. I hope it was useful,  

share it around if you know other people who  might be into it, and cheers for watching. Seeya.