Re-use of content and procedural vs. handcrafted gamedesign
At the excellent weblog Lost Garden I found an article considering handcrafted game elements vs. procedural game design. The topic is about the re-use of content to minimize redundant work and to maximize the meaning of the game elements and therefore the gamers experience. One basic thought is that you have too keep the re-use of game elements as high as possible to reduce unnecessary development steps and to keep the whole process agile. My latest experience of intensive re-use of game elements like maps was the game Metroid Zero Mission on the Game Boy Advanced. It's absolutely a good illustration of the re-use of elements, in this case the game maps.
"The more handcrafted, throwaway content that you have, the less agile your development process will be. This dramatically increases the chance that you will fail to converge upon enjoyable gameplay. It also dramatically increases the chance that you'll fall back on conservative game mechanics because the act of trying something new is too bloody expensive."
Please have a read of the whole article. It's is definately worth the time. It also delivers links to literature and tipps to ask yourself if your content creation is at a meaningful level.
