Game and Game Design

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Game and Game Design Işık Barış Fidaner

outline • • • • • • •

playtest what is a game? what is fun? how to design a game? what's in a game? innovation in games game jams, comparison, examples

playtest

playtest - tic tac toe • • • • • •

form pairs for playtesting prepare pen & paper tic tac toe: 3x3 grid, connect 3 to win each pair, play three times how many times each of you have won? calculate – #games, #wins, #draws – win percentage, draw percentage for 3x3 game

playtest - tic tac toe • • • • •

now let's try... tic tac toe in 4x4 grid, connect 3 to win each pair, play three times how many times each of you have won? calculate – #games, #wins, #draws – win percentage, draw percentage for 3x3 game

playtest - mastermind • • • • •

now let's try... mastermind. one hides and one guesses each pair, play two times (switching roles) how many times it took for each guesser? calculate – #games, #guesses – average guess steps for 4 digit game

playtest - mastermind • • • • •

and finally, mastermind with a 5 digit code each pair, play two times (switching roles) how many times it took for each guesser? calculate – #games, #guesses – average guess steps for 5 digit game

playtest - fill in the tree • take 1 or 2 cards in front of you • each card shows a node on a tree • you have to fill tree with elements on cards • look at cards and take notes to fill the tree

playtest - fill in the tree A Au B Br C Ce Cer D Fo H Hi Hin Mi Me Med

Met My N P Po Pa S So Sy Te Tec Teg Th

playtest - fill in the tree A

B

A

C

B C

C

E D

E D

playtest - fill in the tree • objective: – look at the cards and complete the tree

• rules: – every player can swap cards with the person on the right or the person on the left – the first player to complete the tree announces – he or she is the winner, the "know-all"

playtest - fill in the tree

playtest - capture the tree • • • •

another game with the same cards you own parts written on the cards you have new objective: capture all cards rules: – compare one card with one card of a neighbor. – winner according to rock-paper-scissors takes all – if draw, element that contains the other takes all – if neither contains the other, it's draw, continue

playtest - capture the tree

rock

rock wins & <-- takes all

scissors

playtest - capture the tree rock

draw!

rock

turn cards upside down... A

B C

D contains C takes all --->

C

E D

playtest - capture the tree • objective: – capture all cards

• rules: – compare one card with one card of a neighbor. – winner according to rock-paper-scissors takes all – if draw, element that contains the other takes all – if neither contains the other, it's draw, continue

• who gets all cards is the winner, the "have-all"

playtest • • • •

tic tac toe mastermind fill in the tree capture the tree

• what is a game, what's in a game • what makes it fun? • how to design a game so that it will be fun?

what is a game?

what is a game? • a digital game usually consists of – structure: rules, systems, elements that make up a game – gameplay: what happens when player experiences the game

• a game divides a player into player and avatar – player moves avatar in gameplay – avatar embodies player in structure

what is a game? player

structure

gameplay

avatar

en g im age me m rsi ent on

what is a game?

what is a game? • a game is – an interlocking between structure and gameplay – though the division between player and avatar

• for what? • fun?

what is fun?

what is fun? • book: – "theory of fun" by raph koster

• fun is related to – how we think – how we learn – how the brain works

what is fun? • we always do – pattern recognition – chunking, iconizing (face recognition) – ignore noise – find order in chaos

• grokking (heinlein) – understand something thoroughly – be one with it, love it

what is fun? • three levels of cognition: – conscious thought, logical, mathematical operations. assign values, use lists. – integrative, associative, intuitive. links things without sense. packages and chunks. indirect, wordless. frequently wrong. source of commonsense, approximates reality. – automatic reactions. reflexes. training of body.

what is fun? • "games are concentrated chunks ready for our brains to chew on. • since they are abstracted and iconic, they are readily absorbed. since they are formal systems, they exclude distracting extra details. • usually, our brains have to do hard work to turn messy reality into something as clear as a game is."

what is fun? • "games are iconified representations of human experience that we can practice with and learn patterns from." • "games that fail to exercise the brain become boring" • "fun is all about our brains feeling good--the release of endorphins into our system" • "with games, learning is the drug"

what is fun? • how a player gets bored: – grok in five minutes. "too easy" – too many permutations, depth. but uninteresting. – no patterns, only noise. "too hard" – unveiling is slow. "too easy, repetitive" – unveils too quickly. "got too hard fast" – master every pattern. exhausted-consumed the fun. "i beat it"

what is fun? • "keep things fun = keep the player learning" • "teaching is boring only if the method of transmission is wrong." • "games are very good teachers." • book by raph koster: "theory of fun"

how to design a game?

how to design a game? • book: – "game design workshop: a playcentric approach to creating innovative games" by tracy fullerton

• designing is an iterative process: – design – test – evaluate – repeat

how to design a game?

• step 1: brainstorm.

– player experience goals. – find appropriate game concepts and mechanics.

• step 2: physical prototype – playable prototype with pen & paper etc. – test gameplay and report

• step 3: presentation – present with artwork. find funding.

• step 4: software prototypes – computer models of core gameplay. playtest.

how to design a game? • step 5: design documentation – outline every aspect of the "real" game. – an online wiki is better.

• step 6: production – team begins producing real artwork and programming. test as you move along. problems should get smaller with new iterations

• step 7: quality assurance – tune the game for the entire target audience.

what's in a game?

what's in a game? • games share a common structure • they all have – players – procedures – rules – resources – conflict – boundaries

what's in a game? • players – active participation, lusory attitude: voluntarily accept the rules and constraints of the game

• procedures – instructions on procedures to achieve game objectives. actions or methods of play allowed by the rules

• rules – defines game objects and concepts, limit player behavior and proscribe reactive events

what's in a game? • resources – objects that made valueable for a player by their scarcity and utility.

• conflict – between objectives of players and the rules and procedures limiting and guiding behavior

• boundaries – huizinga: "magic circle" – a temporary world where the rules of the game apply, rather than the rules of the ordinary world

what's in a game?

• huizinga on boundaries:

– "All play moves and has its beginning within a playground marked off beforehand either materially or ideally – the arena, the card-table, the magic circle, the temple, the stage, the screen, the court of justice, etc. are all in form and function playgrounds, i.e. forbidden spots, isolated, hedged round, within which special rules obtain. – All are temporary worlds within the ordinary world, dedicated to the performance of an act apart."

• outcome

what's in a game?

– Unlike favorite movies or books, which can remain entertaining even if we already know the ending, games depend on uncertainty of outcome in every play for their dramatic tension.

• formal elements – patterns, elements that combine other elements. – these make up the essence of games. – you need to understand and master traditional structures so that you can experiment with alternatives.

how to engage the player?

how to engage the player? • challenge – conflict. tension. problems to resolve. to be balanced between frustration and boredom.

• play – zimmerman: "free movement within a more rigid structure" – more free-form types of interaction to achieve objectives within the game space – play within the game, as well as to engage the challenges it offers.

how to engage the player? • premise – gives context to the formal elements – make it easier to contextualize choices – powerful tool for involving players emotionally

• character – a way to empathize with the situation and live vicariously through the efforts – entry points to experience situations and conflicts – a mask we create and direct

how to engage the player? • story – a premise need not go anywhere – stories unfold with the game

• dramatic elements – create meaningful game play experiences

how to engage the player? • a game is: – a closed, formal system that – engages players in structured conflict and – resolves its uncertainty in an unequal outcome

working with formal elements

working with formal elements • • • • • • • •

players objectives procedures rules resources conflict boundaries outcome

players • players must voluntarily accept the rules and constraints of the game in order to play • through a strange and wonderful paradox, those restrictive and binding statements that are game rules, when put into motion within the safety of the magic circle, mysteriously create the opportunity for play.

players • invitation to play – usually there is a start button or an entry screen. – the offer is accepted and the game is begun.

• number of players – one or many? specific or variable number?

• roles of players – same or different roles? static or alternating roles? free roleplay?

• player interaction patterns

players

players

objectives • what players are trying to accomplish within the rules of the game • several objectives, changing objectives, partial objectives, miniobjectives • should be challenging but achievable • it affects not only the formal system of the game but also the dramatic aspects • integrates objective into the premise or story

objectives • capture – take or destroy something of the opponent’s

• chase – catch an opponent or elude one, if you are the player being chased.

• race – reach a goal—physical or conceptual—before the other players

objectives • alignment – arrange your game pieces in a certain spatial configuration or create conceptual alignment between categories of pieces

• rescue or escape – get a defined unit or units to safety

• forbidden act – get the competition to break the rules by letting go, making the wrong move, or otherwise doing something they shouldn’t

objectives • construction – build, maintain, or manage objects – might be within a competitive environment – often make use of resource management or trading as a core gameplay element.

• exploration – explore game areas

objectives • solution – solve a problem or puzzle before (or more accurately) than the competition

• outwit – gain and use knowledge in a way that defeats the other players – some involve extra-game knowledge, others ingame knowledge

• mixture of these – several objectives or their combinations

procedures • who does what, where, when, and how? – starting action: how to put a game into play. – progression of action: ongoing procedures after the starting action. – special actions: available conditional to other elements or game state. – resolving actions: bring gameplay to a close.

procedures • system procedures – multifaceted system procedures that work behind the scenes, responding to situations and player actions

• defining procedures – limitations of the environment in which your game will be played. – nondigital : should be easy to remember. – digital : what input/output devices? – by nature, procedures are affected by physical constraints

rules • rules define – game objects – allowable actions by the players

• rules can be – explained in the manual – implicit in the program itself

rules defining objects and concepts • game objects can be based on familiar objects, but they are only abstractions of those objects and still need to be defined in the rules as to their nature in the game • digital games can have objects that are made up of a fairly complex set of variables that define their overall state. • How will players learn the nature of each object in the game?

rules restricting actions • basic delimitations • address potential loopholes in the game systems • rules that keep gameplay from becoming imbalanced in one or more players’ favor

rules determining effects • “if” something happens, there is a rule that “xyz” results. • create variation in gameplay • create excitement and difference when they come into play • can be used to get the gameplay back on track – players are penalized, but not badly

resources • assets (i.e., natural resources, economic resources, human resources) that can be used to accomplish certain goals. • by definition, resources must have both utility and scarcity in the game system • think about resources in a more abstract sense

resources • lives – lose your lives, and you have to start over. – do well, and you earn more lives to work with.

• units – if player represented by more than one objects, there are unit resources to manage, rather than lives. – keep same values, or they can upgrade or evolve, as in real time strategy games. can be finite, or renewable with an associated cost per unit

• health

resources

– it helps to dramatize the loss or near loss of lives and units. – there is some way to increase health – action games place medical kits – role-playing games force players to eat or rest

• currency – to facilitate trade, in-game economy. – there are also barter systems. – need not be limited to a standard banknote system

• actions

resources

– can be a resource if some specific actions can be performed in certain phases – restrict actions that are too powerful. make them into resources

• power-ups – objects that give a boost of some sort to the player. can increase size, power, speed, wealth, or any number of game variables – generally temporary, limited in number, available for only a short time, or useful only in certain game states

resources • inventory – armor, weapons, and other objects found in roleplaying games. these help players to accomplish game objectives and are made scarce by their high price or by the opportunity cost of finding them

• special terrain – the currency of some games (wood, gold) is extracted from special areas of the terrain, so these areas become important primary resources

resources • time – time as a resource – e.g: hot potato, musical chairs. – an inherently dramatic force when used as a resource – time can add an emotional aspect to a game design

conflict • conflict is designed into the game by creating rules, procedures, and situations (such as multiplayer competition) that do not allow players to accomplish their goals directly

conflict • obstacles – can take a physical form, – can also involve mental skills, such as puzzles

• opponents – nonplayer opponents, other players

• dilemmas – dilemma-based choices that players have to make.

boundaries • what separate the game from everything that is not the game • what huizinga calls the “magic circle,” • feeling safe that the game is temporary, that it will end, or that you can leave or quit if you don’t want to play anymore • also emotional: in-game competition does not damage real life relationships

boundaries • a game without boundaries would become a totally different game • interaction with outside elements is an interesting design choice • alternate reality games (ARGs) combine realworld and online interaction for gameplay • designer determines just where and how these boundaries are defined and when, or if, to ever breach them

outcome • must be uncertain to hold the attention of the players • generally resolved in a measurable and unequal outcome • some games don't end (massively multiplayer online worlds) • some games dont have a winner (simulation games)

outcome • zero-sum: winner +1 loser -1 = 0 • non-zero-sum: – overall outcome of a complex, ongoing game world is never equal to zero – a gain by one player does not mean loss by others – subtle gradations of reward and loss – ranking, player statistics, multiple objectives – interesting player dilemmas and complex, interdependent risk/reward scenarios

outcome • By understanding how these elements work together and thinking about new ways of combining these elements, you can invent new types of gameplay for your games • "game design workshop" by tracy fullerton • (keep in mind: http://libgen.info)

innovation in games

games as we know them • AAA games – target audience: "core" gamer, mostly male – genres: sports, war, long games with storyline – 3D characters, graphics, effects, music, hollywood

• “casual” games – target audience : "casual" gamer, mostly female – genres: ball explode, puzzle, etc. takes short time – 2D graphics, abstract, appeals to logic or reflexes

"independent" games, from what? • independent from large companies – small, nice games finished with little resources

• independent from game genres, above genres – experimental works, new game dynamics

• indep. from "gameness", more than a game – art games, game themed arts

games above a genre • markets force games to have specific genres • a game can introduce mechanics that are outside a genre's standards • game genre: platformer • typical example: mario bros • general features: hit enemy, collect coins, find key, open door

games above a genre • games that are above the platformer genre: • • • •

super karoshi the company of myself closure braid

games above platformer genre – super karoshi: spikes, buttons, doors

– novel game mechanic: we finish a level by dying. we are trying to die.

games above platformer genre – the company of myself: jumping, progressing

– novel game mechanic: when you die, your previous actions are repeated by a shadow of you

games above platformer genre – closure: key, door...

– novel game mechanic: platforms that function under light and disappear in darkness

games above platformer genre – braid: jump, avoid,open doors, collect pieces

– novel game mechanic: playing with time, stopping, making it faster or slower, reversing time

games above a genre • can you think of a game that is above a genre?

games that are more than a game • games that are no longer a game and more than a game at the same time • in a typical game, – we have an avatar, an objective – resources we want to have, – and obstacles and opponents we avoid...

• when this general structure is distrupted, it can become an interactive artwork that makes use of the language of games

games that are more than a game • examples of such "games": • • • • • •

ruben and lullaby pathways judith mirror stage storyteller the adventures of ledo and ix

games that are more than a game – ruben and lullaby:

an iphone game about two lovers arguing we can make them fight, make them agree it rather resembles comics than a game

games that are more than a game – pathways:

we walk on a pathway, make decisions at forkings the resulting events show a life story we discover alternative stories by repeatedly playing

games that are more than a game – judith:

first person adventure, keys, doors, simple graphics dramatic story told by our character, in the foreground game is like a background, a form of artistic language

games that are more than a game – mirror stage:

your avatar is a line segment seen from top. levels consisting of geometric shapes. we proceed in a map, discover, and maintain the story. level

games that are more than a game – storyteller: we drag the persons around the pictures. changes we make on a frame, affects the proceeding frames. it can lead to either a happy or an unhappy ending.

games that are more than a game – the adventures of ledo and ix:

in fact this is not a game, but an animation series with an adventure-game theme. game form is used as an artistic language.

games that are more than a game • can you think of other such games-works?

independent also from • microsoft windows – free software movement – open source linux games

• apple – mobile game without paying 99$ a year

• android (? if necessary) • ....

linux games • urban terror: counter-strike-like linux game

linux games • sauerbraten: quake/unreal-like linux game

linux games • can you think of other linux games?

game jams comparison, examples

what is a game jam? • concentrated, experimental game production • a group of people gathers and makes new games under time and space constraints • two example events – ludum dare 48 – global game jam (ankara)

general features of game jams • a limited time is given for making the game (48 or 24 hours) • a "theme" is announced when this duration begins • after it ends, the games are played, evaluated

comparing game jams • • • • • • •

place theme decision how developers work technical tools relations among developers artwork usage evaluation method

comparing game jams • place – online blog (ludumdare) – physical place (ggj)

comparing game jams • theme decision – with voting (ludumdare) – center announces (ggj)

comparing game jams • how developers work – by themselves (ludumdare) – forming teams (ggj)

comparing game jams • technical tools – mostly open source applications (ludumdare) – proprietary tools provided in the place (ggj)

comparing game jams • relations among developers – posting and sharing among developers (ludumdare) – talking inside a team, deciding, task assigning (ggj)

comparing game jams • artwork usage – all content created from scratch (ludumdare) – can use readymade content if allowed (ggj)

comparing game jams

• evaluation method

– scoring, commenting each other, postmortem written by dev. (ludumdare) – jury, degree, prize (ggj)

game jam type themed games • games whose development i participated in – itchy! – final solution – viralfire – jasmine revolution

• to find games made in game jams: – www.globalgamejam.org – www.ludumdare.com/compo

game jam type themed games • itchy! • we are a bug feeding on a monster's skin • listening to sounds, we escape its hand coming to scratch its back

game jam type themed games • final solution • we are a prisoner sent to gas chamber • we try to find a relative and see her for a last time

game jam type themed games • viralfire • we are a fireball fallen into a human • we avoid protective cells to capture organs

game jam type themed games • jasmine revolution • we are trying to overthrow ben ali by managing tunisian opposition. • (developed outside of any game jam)

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