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# The 3D Realms Vault: 1994 Design Tips from Tom Hall - Part 1
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* The 3D Realms Vault: 1994 Design Tips from Tom Hall - Part 1
# The 3D Realms Vault: 1994 Design Tips from Tom Hall - Part 1
Nov. 4, 2014, 10:19 a.m. Frederik Schreiber
![The 3D Realms Vault: 1994 Design Tips from Tom Hall - Part 1][21]
Join us as we dig into the 3D Realms Vault with never-before-seen notes, articles, and material from our 30-year legacy. Our first post covers early design tips from the one and only Tom Hall.
In the early nineties, the legendary game designer worked on classics such as Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D and Doom as the Creative Director of id Software.
In 1993, he joined 3D Realms (then known as “Apogee”) to develop Rise of the Triad and support development of the Duke Nukem series. He had his hands in several Apogee/3D Realms titles then, from Duke Nukem II to Terminal Velocity, Rise of the Triad, Hocus Pocus, and Prey. A complete list of what Tom did would be longer than this document, but a few selected highlights are worth noting. Specifically, the deathmatch design, some laser gfx, and the story from Terminal Velocity. Tom was also responsible for a lot of the "character items" and the story for Duke Nukem II, including the famed merchandise items, which were part of the foundation of the eventual "character" of Duke as we knew him in future titles.
In 1994, there were few rules as to how games were designed. As such, Tom was one of the fathers of today’s design laws and philosophies.
Below is Part 1 of a never-before-seen memo from Tom, in which he shares his game design tips and tricks.
# "These kind of "tricks" also make it very hard on "tech support" which makes them want to "kill" the "designers" with "claw hammers." You can quote me on that."
**\--**Never have treasure you can't get.
**\--**Never have an area the player can get into that they can't get out of. The player should never have to kill themself or quit. The only exception is a puzzle game, where you can get stuck.
**\--** Don't throw all your puzzles/tricks at the player at once. Introduce anew one, let them learn it, let them experience it in combination with allthe previous tricks, then introduce another new one. Later on, add newtwists on the old tricks that allow them to use their knowledge in a different, but somewhat familiar, way.
**\-- **Don't make all areas look the same on a level. The player really needs reference points. The fun of a game is the challenge, not getting lost.
**\--** Never require secret tricks or paths for the solution of a level. Thechallenge should be there because it is challenging to do, not because, forexample, you didn't jump backwards through the third pillar, which, ha ha ha,isn't solid. These kind of "tricks" also make it very hard on "techsupport" which makes them want to "kill" the "designers" with "claw hammers." You can quote me on that.
**\--** Never require trial and error where a learnable or logical solution ispossible. It should be "I need a fuel pack to use that machine. Hey, maybeI can use the cell in my plasma gun." not "oh, I was supposed to throw thepie in the face of the polar bear. Of course. That always happens."
# "oh, I was supposed to throw the pie in the face of the polar bear. Of course. That always happens."
**\--**Don't make the player go all the way to the end, then all the way to the beginning, then all the way to the end again. It's more fun to feel like you are making ground. Have a series of areas to get through, rather thanone big awful area.
**\--** Never draw words in a map, unless they are very hidden. Initials are muchbetter because there are small, rather than spelling out, "Hello" to make alevel. You can hide your initials once, but don't take shortcuts to designlevels. All that room could be used for fun, good design. This also goesfor smiley faces, genitalia, and so on.
\--If you have halfway point markers that the players return to after gettingkilled, make sure the level can be completed from that point. It's okay ifthey can't get to secret areas (like in Super Mario World, where you needthe cape to get to a secret area in the air), but they must be able tocomplete the level.
![][22]
# **GRAPHICS TIPS**
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**\--**The background colors should be muted, and in contrast to the foregroundcharacters. If you can't see the action, you can't enjoy it.
**\--**Keep a constant light source (usually from the upper left or upper right)for the game--not just in the game graphics, but in the menus andendscreens, too.
**\--** Things that act different should be at least a little graphicallydifferent. If you can blow away a pillar, it should be cracked a little,so it looks different from the others. If a bridge piece gives way, itshould be missing a pin or something.
\-- Don't use all your graphics in the first episode. There should be a lotof cool graphics to look forward to. Otherwise, the user feels cheated. "It's just more of the same." (Plus you can put the cool graphics in theteaser screen shots.)
#
# **GAME DESIGN TIPS**
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**\--**Make sure the actors all do different things: walk, fly, shoot, climb,steal, give, etc. Provide as many different acting actors as possible.
\--Here are the most important aspects of a game:
**1\. Playability**\--if the control doesn't feel right, gamers will not play thegame. It should feel natural, it should do everything you'd want to do at anypoint, and it shouldn't be so complex that you can't remember what todo. Also, it should work decently on each type of input device you support.If you're barely supporting something, don't bother.
**2\. Variety**\--if there isn't enough variety, the player will get bored doing the same thing. However, don't go overboard--the player has to learn andappreciate the new things before the next ones are introduced. And thevariety should fit within the theme and setting of the game. Just becauseyou have a great kitchen sink, it doesn't mean it belongs in the game. Saveit for the next one. This could be called "Variety with Coherency." Havinga good story behind a game will provide a rich source of ideas for actorsand settings. The story provides a framework for the game's world to bebuilt on and designed from. It's not really important that the user readsthe story--in fact, long stories are not welcome--but the story is importantfor a) building a coherent world and b) providing a unique wellspring ofideas, producing concepts and actors unlike other games. The former makesthe player feel the game is really "together" and allows another of theirlayers of disbelief to fall away--since the world is "behaving" correctly(even if it is chaos), they allow themselves to get deeper into it. Thelatter is what many designers miss. There's so much you can do with eachsubject, but many designers tend to have a wild idea, then implement itjust like the last game they liked in the genre. You want something new inyour game, so it'll stand out. A story is just a handy tool to make thegame unique and interesting.
# "There's so much you can do with each subject, but many designers tend to have a wild idea, then implement it just like the last game they liked in the genre. You want something new in your game, so it'll stand out."
**3\. Graphics**\--sight is the main sense, and a game must be visually appealing tosucceed. Attention should be paid to all the graphics--in the menus, thefont, and so on. And it should all be coherent in style, a style appropriateto the subject of the game, not just, "Hey, I got this cool font!"Watch out for the "angry fruit salad" problem--using all the colors all overrather than colors that look good together.
**4\. Sound/Music**\--sounds should be pleasant and appropriate, and bear a lot ofrepeat listening. Be wary of voices, because they can be the mostannoying. The music should enhance the game, not try to overwhelmit. It should create the best mood possible for the action to take place in.
**5\. Challenge**\--this must be very carefully balanced. It must be sufficiently tough to make the player want to keep trying, but not too hard so the playergets frustrated quickly. Having different skill levels is helpful, but youstill have to balance the game so it is progressively harder. It should befair.
**6\. Robustness-**-every part of the game should be crashproof, and it the case ofirrecoverable errors, it should exit gracefully, providing as much informationas possible, in a friendly format. This includes cheats, because if a cheatwindow overwrites something, you can never know for sure if a problem iswith the game, or because you cheated and the cheat messed up memory.
And most importantly: we are here to give the player a great time, not tolaugh at them. We can scare them, and put them in a dangerous situation, but we should never take on the attitude, "Well, too bad! You jumped there!Ha ha ha!" There should be a childlike joy in game play, not a childish"I'm better than you" attitude from the designer. Someone with perfectreflexes should be able to finish your game without dying. In a nutshell,never screw the player. You're only screwing yourself out of their money and respect.
Join us next week in Part 2 of the Tom Hall Design Tips!