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[Josias Jose]

...which would be?

Gamasutra recently talked about it here, and i think it's something interesting to discuss.

So, if you had to pick one game for aspiring devs to study, which would be and why? What makes a game worth of study, and what's most important to study?

(Sorry for not answering my questions, still thinking about it  )

[J-Snake]

So, if you had to pick one game for aspiring devs to study

Why this arbitrary limitation?

[valrus]

So, if you had to pick one game for aspiring devs to study

Why this arbitrary limitation?

What a scenario: instead of us currently making 1,000 homages to about 20 games, a future where developers make 10,000 homages to one game.

To answer the question, though, I'd choose games where the everyday and repeatable "craft" of development (design and otherwise) is apparent, rather than singular works of genius that have never since been replicated.  (I have a feeling this will turn into a "my favorite game and why it's so brilliant" thread.)

If I was starting a curriculum, I might start with Spelunky, as an illustration of those first few questions of game design ("What are my verbs?" "What objects are there?" "How does everything interact with everything else?") and to show what's possible if you take the time to work these questions through.  That's the kind of straightforward craftsmanship that can be applied to any genre and project.

[gwartney21]

So, if you had to pick one game for aspiring devs to study, which would be and why?

If I had to pick one game it would be supper meet boy. The reason for this is because of its simplistic art style that is unique and the over all levee design for the game. In my opinion both of these give it a good place to study how things are done well in how a game should be designed.

[Ninety]

Probably Portal. Great design, narrative/music integration, multiple interpretations/subtext, short and sweet so it's easy to study.

[Boreal]

Super Mario Bros.

shown above is the “tutorial” from shigeru miyamoto and takashi tezuka’s super mario bros. these first two screens (bigger image) teach the player almost every crucial rule of the game. how? let’s take the very first screen: the left half of the image, just mario under an open sky, a flat landscape beneath his feet. this is the first thing a player sees on starting the game. so what does it teach her? the first and highest concept in the game: that mario’s goal is to the right!

how does it teach this? mario is at the left side of the screen, facing right.  the ground is laid out like a little path, an unobstructed horizontal surface crossing the screen from left to right. the big open space – there’s nothing in the sky, yet, to take the focus from the ground – invites mario to explore it. the player moves mario to the right, and the screen begins to scroll, showing more of the world. as the world scrolls toward mario, the player sees what next?

that flashing ? block, but by the time the screen has scrolled far enough for mario to reach it, something else has shown up that demands immediate attention: a little brown mushroom with angry eyebrows, tromping toward the player of its own will. this is the first time-sensitive situation in the game. the goomba is the second actor we’ve seen so far, mario being the first, and this one moves without our say-so, those eyes suggesting it has its own malevolent sentience. and it’s coming from the right side of the screen – opposite of mario’s quest – toward us! if the allows it to touch mario, it is instantly made clear that this mushroom is bad news and its touch fatal.

in order to pass this first little guardian, the player must learn that the A button makes mario jump. the nes pad being as clean and clearly-designed as it is – the A button big and bright and concave, an invitation to touch – it’s not hard to discover the jump button with a little experimentation.[2] there are several possible outcomes of mario’s first attempt to jump the goomba: one is that the mario might fall short and land on its head, in which case the player learns that jumping on enemies lets mario defeat them. another: remember that first ? block, which is now likely overheard. jumping the goomba, mario might bump his head on the block, causing it to stop flashing and a coin pop out. the player learns to activate ? blocks by jumping mario into them from below.

once he’s passed the goomba, mario heads right and discovers lots of blocks in the sky to test his new jump on. there are two clear types of blocks here: the more enticing glowing ? blocks and the brown patchs of brick in between them, if mario jumps into one of those he’ll just bump off. but if mario strikes the leftmost ? block, the player will be treated to the most elaborate spectacle in the game thus far.

a mushroom pops out of the box and into the air; it lands on that long platform and speeds to the right. when it reaches the end of the platform, it bumps into the pipe, turns around, and heads back along the ground toward the mario who just released it. note how long this mushroom’s path to mario is: the player is given the opportunity to observe the mushroom’s behavior before mario interacts with it. and note, second, that unlike mushrooms later in the game that mario must chase down, this mushroom comes to mario: if the player has mario hit the block and do nothing else, mario will still get the mushroom.

finally note that, in the tight space under that floating platform, if mario tries to jump over the speedy mushroom like he did the goomba, he’s likely to bump his head and be knocked back down into the shroom, whereupon the player will learn that it’s a desirable thing to touch after all. but even before the player has interacted with it at all, the mushroom is differentiated from the goomba in a number of ways: while the goomba marches regardless of the player, the mushroom must be evoked: it does not exist until mario activates it by striking the block. it doesn’t have a face or a little walk animation: it’s an object, not a character, and does not have its own intent. and it glides to the right, the same direction as mario, while the goomba marches toward the left, opposing mario.

when the mushroom touches mario – again, much harder to dodge than the goomba, especially for a first-time player – a fanfare plays and mario grows into big mario. now, if mario strikes those bricks – either as an experiment or because he tried to hit the other ? block and missed (the brick patches are in between the ? blocks, after all, and are closer to this twice-tall mario’s head) the bricks are smashed and the player learns another rule. that ? block at the very top beckons mario to jump through the newly-created gaps and the player to understand how mario can change the game world.

the pipe on the right is the final “guardian” of this screen. it’s a roadblock, to make sure mario doesn’t pass up all these blocks in the sky, it keeps the mushroom from leaving the screen to the right and redirects it toward mario, and it makes sure the player can’t leave this screen before she knows that she can make mario jump higher by holding down the jump button. if the player’s been curious and had mario climb up on top of the floating platform to get at that last ? block, it’s trivial for mario to run or jump off it and land on the pipe. blocks of varying heights on the following screens reinforce the lesson: mario can jump at different heights.

what has the player learned so far? that mario is heading right, and he’ll need to jump (A button) to get there; that he can use his jump to either avoid or kill enemies, to collect coins and to make power-ups appear (by hitting blocks), to smash bricks when big to open new passages, and to climb over obstacles. all in the first two screens – probably minutes of play! and without once explicitly telling the player anything.[3] this is good design!

http://auntiepixelante.com/?p=465

[RichSG]

I'd say it kind of depends on what kind of game you want to make.

but in answer to the question, I'd say a good starting point is Doom and this double fine let's play series with John Romero:

[knifeySpoonie]

Probably Portal. Great design, narrative/music integration, multiple interpretations/subtext, short and sweet so it's easy to study.

Good answer... As far as game design goes it's a pretty solid "start with this one game and analyse this"

[eyeliner]

Super Mario Bros.

*snip*

http://auntiepixelante.com/?p=465

I was posting that exact post!

[Superb Joe]

J Snake's Trap Them

[MeshGearFox]

Probably your mom.

[Mittens]

Portal,
It's one of VERY few games where the design of it's gameplay and puzzles is matched by the execution of production and also the level of technical innovation.

It covers so many areas so well that you can discuss for days why any particular decision the developers made is so clever.

Portal is also wonderfully universal, anyone can enjoy it even if you are someone who would never play a puzzle game or someone who would never play a first person shooter etc. 

[jay43k]

I'd pick World of Warcraft.  So many different areas to study.

It's funny to me because it's one game that people adored so much that they actually end up hating it. 

The beginnings, the rise, societal/cultural impacts, gameplay systems.  There's so much to learn from that game.

[MeshGearFox]

MMOS aren't games.

[quan]

Huniepop

[Josias Jose]

So, if you had to pick one game for aspiring devs to study

Why this arbitrary limitation?

So people would think more when having two or more wanted options of which one they would choose and why.

I'd pick World of Warcraft.  So many different areas to study.

It's funny to me because it's one game that people adored so much that they actually end up hating it. 

The beginnings, the rise, societal/cultural impacts, gameplay systems.  There's so much to learn from that game.

The Corrupted Blood incident... 

I would choose Mario Maker, but it's not done yet, so i stick with Spelunky. Not only for analysis of interaction between verbs and objects, but mainly because of the level editor: to be able to analyse the procedurally generated stages of the game and then trying to come with your own is a very good way to learn about the game and test theories and suppositions about it.

[TeeGee]

Mario Galaxy, so they can all end up discouraged and depressed knowing they won't ever get this good at game design. 

[Ammypendent]

Mario Galaxy, so they can all end up discouraged and depressed knowing they won't ever get this good at game design. 

Haha! Mario Galaxy is a great game. I'd say it's the pinnacle of the 3D Mario games (so far) built from the Mario 64 foundation (which was my choice in the article ).

Portal was a close contender for my choice though, as was Super Metroid.

[BudaDude]

Minecraft.

Proof that gameplay is the most important element of a game.

[metagrue]

Never forget your history boys. My pick is E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Never forget or ever repeat it.