©THESTAR EXAM SOLUTIONS 2024/2025
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Fundamentals of Game Design Lecture Final
Exam Study Guide
If you are not a programmer, your most critical (and perhaps daunting) task to get your game
developed is: - Answers✔communicate your idea perfectly to a team of specialists required to
turn that idea into a finished videogame.
One advantage of developing board games over video games is the instant gratification of
developing and playtesting a prototype in a relatively short period of time. True or False? -
Answers✔True
A well-written academic review of a video game should be void of: - Answers✔hyperbole
How the player interacts with the game and how the player receives information and feedback
from a games is known as: - Answers✔User Interface
Survival is a core dynamic that involves surviving and thriving in a game world. True or False? -
Answers✔True
The rules of a game are known as: - Answers✔Mechanics
Aesthetics refers to how a game looks. True or False? - Answers✔False
All games must contain an avatar, or something that represents himself or herself. True or False?
- Answers✔False
This is the pattern of play that comes from rules of the game being set in motion by the players. -
Answers✔Dynamics
Using IP in game design mitigates risk. True or False? - Answers✔True
When you buy a board game, what you take home and play is the original concept precisely as it
was in the designer's head. This is known as ________ design. - Answers✔lossless
Design counterparts to a game's components of rules > system > fun are: - Answers✔mechanics
> dynamics > aesthetics
The designer's perspective of game design, with regard to MDA, is the inverse of the player's
perspective. True or False? - Answers✔True
Play testing and tuning is a one-step process. True or False? - Answers✔False
, ©THESTAR EXAM SOLUTIONS 2024/2025
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
One of the highest honors a board game can be awarded is the: - Answers✔Spiel des Jahres
More board games are sold per capita in Germany than anywhere else on earth. True or False? -
Answers✔True
In its first year to market, "The Settlers of Catan" sold how many copies? - Answers✔400,000
Violence is taboo in Germany's gaming culture. True or False? - Answers✔True
High-level technology is a requisite to make an "immersive" game. True or False? -
Answers✔False
Advantage(s) of paper prototype include: - Answers✔it is inexpensive, it can reduce final
production costs, and helps developers validate the idea as being good
According to the Diablo II article, the Diablo II team was consisted three main teams: -
Answers✔programming, character art, and background art
Bottom-up game design is based on taking an existing board game and developing a video game
from it. True or False? - Answers✔False
The author of the "Bottom Up Game Design" article thought this would be a good simulation
game: - Answers✔traffic control
Any process that you, as a game designer find fascinating should inherently translate into a fun
and exciting game. True or False? - Answers✔False
What is a puzzle? - Answers✔it's fun and has a right answer
All puzzles have a goal: to find the solution. True or False? - Answers✔True
Action is a genre of puzzle games. True or False? - Answers✔True
Mastermind is an example of what type of puzzle: - Answers✔Logic
The process of designing and developing an electronic jigsaw puzzle is much the same as as
creating an analog jigsaw puzzle. True or False? - Answers✔False
A puzzle is: - Answers✔a toy, a series of non-combat events that a player must complete to
progress play, a problem, and a contrivance designed to amuse
Playtesting your own puzzles gives accurate and informational results. True or False? -
Answers✔False
A classification of video game genres was first published by Chris Crawford in: -
Answers✔1984
First-person shooters are typically played from the antagonist's viewpoint. True or False? -
Answers✔False
, ©THESTAR EXAM SOLUTIONS 2024/2025
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
This genre is know for casting players as an "adventurer" who specializes in specific skill set
while progressing through a pre-determined storyline. - Answers✔RPG
This type of game is characterized by a player having a top-down perspective of the game world,
in which many aspects fall under their power, and there is direct competition with other forces. -
Answers✔Strategy
What is Game Design? - Answers✔Process of creating the content and rules of a game and when
it is good, it creates goals the player is motivated to reach and gives rules that the player must
follow as he/she makes meaningful decisions in pursuit of those goals
What is a Game? - Answers✔an activity with rules, it is a form of play that often has conflict but
not always, , either with other players, with the game system itself, or with randomness/fate/luck
What is a Video Game? - Answers✔a game that uses a digital video screen of some kind
What is a core dynamic of a game? - Answers✔the single thing gameplay is about - the single
play experience the designer is trying to convey
What are some core dynamics of games? - Answers✔territorial acquisition, prediction, spatial
reasoning, survival, destruction, building, collection, chasing or evading, trading, race to the end
Territorial Acquisition - Answers✔things are usually "zero-sum," meaning there's only so much
to go around, and when it's gone. it's gone
Prediction - Answers✔doing the right thing or being in the right place at the right time, the
players have room to guess what will happen, are rewarded for predicting the possible outcome
of a game before it continues to the next round, and most times, the player's prediction involves
luck or consideration of odds
Spatial Reasoning - Answers✔makes the player think not only of the piece they're putting in, but
also the piece they may put in, or the piece they may desperately need to put in before the whole
pile goes to pot and involves the manipulation of objects, either in the mind or on the playing
surface
Survival - Answers✔the player uses whatever he/she has to survive
Destruction - Answers✔the flip side of the survival dynamic, or the companion side if it's a
player versus player (PvP) game, is the wreck-everything-in-sight dynamic
Building - Answers✔involves players being required to build something
Collection - Answers✔games that involve pattern-matching, collecting items/resources
determining the winner, or matching similar objects together
Chasing or Evading - Answers✔games that involve running away from enemies or avoiding
them
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Fundamentals of Game Design Lecture Final
Exam Study Guide
If you are not a programmer, your most critical (and perhaps daunting) task to get your game
developed is: - Answers✔communicate your idea perfectly to a team of specialists required to
turn that idea into a finished videogame.
One advantage of developing board games over video games is the instant gratification of
developing and playtesting a prototype in a relatively short period of time. True or False? -
Answers✔True
A well-written academic review of a video game should be void of: - Answers✔hyperbole
How the player interacts with the game and how the player receives information and feedback
from a games is known as: - Answers✔User Interface
Survival is a core dynamic that involves surviving and thriving in a game world. True or False? -
Answers✔True
The rules of a game are known as: - Answers✔Mechanics
Aesthetics refers to how a game looks. True or False? - Answers✔False
All games must contain an avatar, or something that represents himself or herself. True or False?
- Answers✔False
This is the pattern of play that comes from rules of the game being set in motion by the players. -
Answers✔Dynamics
Using IP in game design mitigates risk. True or False? - Answers✔True
When you buy a board game, what you take home and play is the original concept precisely as it
was in the designer's head. This is known as ________ design. - Answers✔lossless
Design counterparts to a game's components of rules > system > fun are: - Answers✔mechanics
> dynamics > aesthetics
The designer's perspective of game design, with regard to MDA, is the inverse of the player's
perspective. True or False? - Answers✔True
Play testing and tuning is a one-step process. True or False? - Answers✔False
, ©THESTAR EXAM SOLUTIONS 2024/2025
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
One of the highest honors a board game can be awarded is the: - Answers✔Spiel des Jahres
More board games are sold per capita in Germany than anywhere else on earth. True or False? -
Answers✔True
In its first year to market, "The Settlers of Catan" sold how many copies? - Answers✔400,000
Violence is taboo in Germany's gaming culture. True or False? - Answers✔True
High-level technology is a requisite to make an "immersive" game. True or False? -
Answers✔False
Advantage(s) of paper prototype include: - Answers✔it is inexpensive, it can reduce final
production costs, and helps developers validate the idea as being good
According to the Diablo II article, the Diablo II team was consisted three main teams: -
Answers✔programming, character art, and background art
Bottom-up game design is based on taking an existing board game and developing a video game
from it. True or False? - Answers✔False
The author of the "Bottom Up Game Design" article thought this would be a good simulation
game: - Answers✔traffic control
Any process that you, as a game designer find fascinating should inherently translate into a fun
and exciting game. True or False? - Answers✔False
What is a puzzle? - Answers✔it's fun and has a right answer
All puzzles have a goal: to find the solution. True or False? - Answers✔True
Action is a genre of puzzle games. True or False? - Answers✔True
Mastermind is an example of what type of puzzle: - Answers✔Logic
The process of designing and developing an electronic jigsaw puzzle is much the same as as
creating an analog jigsaw puzzle. True or False? - Answers✔False
A puzzle is: - Answers✔a toy, a series of non-combat events that a player must complete to
progress play, a problem, and a contrivance designed to amuse
Playtesting your own puzzles gives accurate and informational results. True or False? -
Answers✔False
A classification of video game genres was first published by Chris Crawford in: -
Answers✔1984
First-person shooters are typically played from the antagonist's viewpoint. True or False? -
Answers✔False
, ©THESTAR EXAM SOLUTIONS 2024/2025
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
This genre is know for casting players as an "adventurer" who specializes in specific skill set
while progressing through a pre-determined storyline. - Answers✔RPG
This type of game is characterized by a player having a top-down perspective of the game world,
in which many aspects fall under their power, and there is direct competition with other forces. -
Answers✔Strategy
What is Game Design? - Answers✔Process of creating the content and rules of a game and when
it is good, it creates goals the player is motivated to reach and gives rules that the player must
follow as he/she makes meaningful decisions in pursuit of those goals
What is a Game? - Answers✔an activity with rules, it is a form of play that often has conflict but
not always, , either with other players, with the game system itself, or with randomness/fate/luck
What is a Video Game? - Answers✔a game that uses a digital video screen of some kind
What is a core dynamic of a game? - Answers✔the single thing gameplay is about - the single
play experience the designer is trying to convey
What are some core dynamics of games? - Answers✔territorial acquisition, prediction, spatial
reasoning, survival, destruction, building, collection, chasing or evading, trading, race to the end
Territorial Acquisition - Answers✔things are usually "zero-sum," meaning there's only so much
to go around, and when it's gone. it's gone
Prediction - Answers✔doing the right thing or being in the right place at the right time, the
players have room to guess what will happen, are rewarded for predicting the possible outcome
of a game before it continues to the next round, and most times, the player's prediction involves
luck or consideration of odds
Spatial Reasoning - Answers✔makes the player think not only of the piece they're putting in, but
also the piece they may put in, or the piece they may desperately need to put in before the whole
pile goes to pot and involves the manipulation of objects, either in the mind or on the playing
surface
Survival - Answers✔the player uses whatever he/she has to survive
Destruction - Answers✔the flip side of the survival dynamic, or the companion side if it's a
player versus player (PvP) game, is the wreck-everything-in-sight dynamic
Building - Answers✔involves players being required to build something
Collection - Answers✔games that involve pattern-matching, collecting items/resources
determining the winner, or matching similar objects together
Chasing or Evading - Answers✔games that involve running away from enemies or avoiding
them
