Welcome to Digital Play Zone!

I’m Winn Liu. Have you ever noticed that whenever you play a game, it will almost always have a central message?

A central message is something that lies beneath the surface of your game; it allows you as a game developer to convey a message or lesson to your audience.

These central messages are an essential part of games, as they let your audience feel a greater sense of immersion and depth in your game and storyline.

So if you’re interested, let's get started!

A central message is an essential tool in a game developer's toolbox. It allows you to implement a greater sense of meaning into your game.

These central messages can be anything, as long as they fit within the theme of your game. It is important to note that when you choose a central message, it should be clear and straight to the point; otherwise, players may get confused about what you are trying to convey.

Here’s an example: in the game Journey, your goal is to climb up to a destination. While you’re climbing, you may find another player to travel alongside. You are not able to communicate in any way except for a single musical note every once in a while.

This unique way of implementing multiplayer in Journey allows players to truly delve into the connection made while they were on this journey.

Integrating your central message through narrative is one of the most direct of the three; even then, you do not want to spell it out to your audience as it can make your message feel overly preachy, thus breaking the sense of immersion.

You can add your message to the plot or one of your characters. Adding your message to a plot can be done by making the goals or world of your story reflect the central message.

You can also use character development to emphasise the central message. Take The Last of Us: through the lens of Joel and Ellie, we get to see the main message of the game—how people deal with loss and grief, and how love can help to overcome it.

Mechanics can be one of the most memorable ways to implement your message. This can be done by having your control relate to the message in some form. Another way would be to remove a mechanic that was previously established when your central message calls for it.

This is by far one of my favourite ways to include a central message, as it can make your world feel way more realistic and add an extra layer of depth to your world. It is also a very good way to encourage replayability.

The art style and colour palettes would be something every player will subconsciously notice. Making the style and colour fit your theme can make your players more immersed.

Simple dialogue, audio cues, and props can also be used to emphasise your story and central message.

I find this one of the most impactful ways to convey your message, as it ties the whole message in a big circle. It lets me as the player reflect and understand the whole point of the message. Being able to directly contribute to a part of the story allows me to connect and resonate with the message.

Telltale Games is very good at making games with lots of choices that have an impact on the whole story. Their games always know how to intertwine character motivation, plot, and the central message seamlessly.

I cannot emphasise enough the importance of playtesting. No matter how much we delve into the theoretical side of game design, we will never know how well they translate to the actual game.

This is where playtesting helps immensely. It allows you to figure out whether your central point and theme are conveyed clearly to the player. And if it isn’t, it can also help you figure out why and where the points aren’t conveyed very clearly.

Playtesting can and should be done as soon as possible. As long as you have something, it's a good idea to playtest it. Playtesting early can prevent a lot of often costly mistakes in your game.

Having a central message can help give your game and story a deeper sense of meaning and depth. Implementing your core message into your narrative, mechanics, and world-building allows your players to feel even more immersed and learn something new from your game.

Having a clear and concise central message from the start is important for your audience to not feel confused by the message you’re trying to convey.

Thank you for reading this blog post; I hope that you have learnt something new from me, and I wish you luck on your next game! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about game design!