Elements to games

‘Game design is the process of designing the content, background and rules of a
game. A document which describes a game's design used during development
may also be called a design document. Professional game designers specialize in
certain types of games, such as board games, card games or video games.’
Games design. What is it? Many people think that a game is just made by one group of people but their is so much more to it. It usually starts with an idea or concept that is worked on, analysed and repeated till the flaws are supposed to be ironed out to make a game realistic and fun. Everything is stated before continueing with the idea. A document stating everything such as concept, gameplay, features, setting, story and so on. Different genres will require different mechanics and a different concept to make it beliveable but those are the areas that a games designer will think about to begin with. For example Call of duty is not the same as Silent Hill. The camera is possitioned differently, the movement is different, the lighting and effects are different so these need to be taken into account before writing a game otherwise games would be just recycled concepts with different back stories and that wouldn't be any point in even making a game.
One aspect is so important and that's gameplay, after all you do want to play it right? Gameplay is how the character moves, the levels of difficulty, interaction and anything else that involves the players interaction. Take Final Fantasy for example, you move a character, move to a seperate screen for combat and is turn based giving the player a choice of actions to kill something.
Games designers will often play games, what a great job! But this is to keep up to date with the leading market to create the next best game that will wipe out the competition. Until something better comes along. A never ending race to a never ending finish line but how would you know what works and what the concumer wants? By playing the next best thing and trying to top it. You have to remember that these are companies out to make money and if they are in the dark about games then it wont sell and the people that make them money wont buy their product.
But one problem that games designers face is funding. They have a certain budget they have to stick to and create a game within the budget. The bigger the budget, the more content it would have. This shows the reasons why some games had so much potential but never utalized it because of being limited and obviously some companies just waste some of the budget to rush their ideas out. Some companies will design a game soley based on the game itself but the rarely happens meaning that some areas need to be taken out or ends up being stretched over more than one game but this is a big risk in the game market.
"... A game designer is a particular kind of designer, much like a graphic designer, industrial designer, or architect. A game designer is not necessarily a programmer, visual designer, or project manager, although sometimes he or she can also play these roles in the creation of a game. A game designer might work alone or as part of a larger team. A game designer might create card games, social games, video games, or any other kind of game. The focus of a game designer is designing game play, conceiving and designing rules and structures that result in an experience for players."
Written above is a previous analysis about what a games designer is and this isn't what you call a minor role but then again everyone on the team has a major role. The team usuall consist of a Lead designer, game machanics/systems designer, level/environment designer and a writer as simply working on the concept to make it work in the gaming world. Usually they will have games testers to see if the idea functions correctly to be finished.
As a gamer, my importance is on gameplay because thats where the fun and enjoyment come from. If the elements aren't there then I will rage or just be bored out of my mind. Graphics are ok, nice to have something pretty but pretty doesn't make a game, it makes an interactive movie and games like that are the dullest I've ever played which I've mentioned before. As long as it looks like what its supposed to be then I'm happy. Getting to gameplay, the reasons I play silent hill, call of duty and command and conquer are they are so much fun to play and keep me coming back for more.