Game play Today Practical assignments Deadline

Today
Game play
Arno Kamphuis
Game Design 2010-2011
• The focus of a game
• The ingredients of a game
• Different types of analysis of games
• Rules
• Different types
• Mechanics
• Context
• Meaningful-play
• But first...
Practical assignments
Deadline
• Deadline first assignment was last week
• All other deadlines have been extended
• Deadline for assignment 7 will be extended as well
Next assignments
• First, come up with five concepts (ass. 2)
• Second, select the ’best’ concept
• Finally, elaborate on this concept (ass. 3)
The Five Concepts
• Come up with five different concepts
• Try to base them all on the research
• You need to make them different
• They do NOT need to be all Adventure or all RPG
• Describe them in a very simple fashion
Executive Summary
Executive Summary
• Concept Title
• Player Experience
• Game mechanics
• Play mechanics
• Story & Theme
• Visual Style
• References
At most 250 words per concept!
Concept Selection
• Try to formulate a set of criteria you think are
important for you
• Based on these criteria rank the concepts
• Select the ’best’ concept
• You may want to use ideas from the other concepts
Concept Development
• You need to elaborate on the best concept
• Maybe try to make a (paper) prototype
• Based on the experiences write down more details
• But do this with thought!
Concept Document
Concept Document
• Similar to the executive summary
• More toward a real game design
• More elaborate:
• Rules
• Setting
• Goal
• etc...
At most 1500 words!
Remarks
Deadline
• Remember: you still have to learn about the aspects
of game design
• So, this concept is NOT set in stone
• That is the reason for the design document to be at
the end
• Documents exist to be changed!
Monday October 4, 2010 at 17h00
The focus of a game
Questions?
The focus of a game
• Game play
• Materials, moves, rules, balance, winning,...
The focus of a game
• Game play
• Materials, moves, rules, balance, winning,...
• Simulation
• Internal mechanics of the virtual world, physics, AI,...
• Story
• Setting, storyline, immersion, dramatic effect,
motivation,...
The focus of a game
• Game play
• Materials, moves, rules, balance, winning,...
• Simulation
• Internal mechanics of the virtual world, physics, AI,...
The focus of a game
The focus of a game
The focus of a game
The focus of a game
The ingredients of a game
• Traditional games were close to corners
• Tendency to move to the center
• Is this desirable?
• Realistic simulation might interfere with game play
• Game play requires user control; Stories require
designer control
The ingredients of a game
The ingredients of a game
• Core mechanics
• The rules
• Core mechanics
• The rules
• Storytelling and narrative
• Storyline
• Dramatic effect
• Motivation
• Involvement
The ingredients of a game
The ingredients of a game
• Core mechanics
• The rules
• Storytelling and narrative
• Storyline
• Dramatic effect
• Motivation
• Involvement
• Interactivity
• How players perceive the world and how they act
within it
Example: Shooting game
How to analyze a design?
• Core Mechanics
• What is the effect of shooting?
• Interactivity
• How do you shoot?
• What does the target look like?
• How do you see the effect?
• Storytelling
• Why do you shoot?
• Changing any of these has huge effects
How to analyze a design?
• Rules: formal
• The moves you can make
• Play: experimental
• The excitement, immersion, pleasure
• Culture: contextual
• Status as a player
• Role of the game in your life and society
Rules
Rules
• Rules limit player actions
• Rules are explicit and unambiguous
• Rules are shared by all players
• Rules are fixed
• Although they can change according to fixed rules
• Rules are binding
• Rules are repeatable
Constitutive rules
• Define the mechanics, game logic
• Examples:
• How fast can a unit move
• Who wins a battle between two units
• How many points do you get for certain actions and
how many do you need for certain goals
• Winning condition
Types of Rules
Three types of rules
• Constitutive rules
• the rules that make up the game
• Operational rules
• rules of play/interactivity
• Implicit rules
• rules of etiquette, good sportsmanship etc.
Constitutive rules
• Normally hidden
• Discovering them can be part of the game play
• You should facilitate this process
• In board games
• Constitutive rules are normally known to players
• Sometimes only to a game master
• Constitutive rules must be relatively simple
• In computer games
• Constitutive rules can be hidden
• Constitutive rules can be very complex
• Feedback is important
Operational rules
• How to play the game
• What equipment can be used
• Allowed moves, actions in particular situations
• Can be simple or very complex
• What you find in the instruction booklet
Implicit rules
• Rules that are not written down
• Limited time to make a move
• You should not stop
• You should not distract the opponent
• Become more explicit when game gets more
important
• For example soccer
• In particular important with multiple player
• Less an issue in computer games
Example: Pacman
Example: Pacman
• Constitutive rules
• Begin situation (level design, number of monsters, etc.)
• Behavior of the ghosts (speed, moves, etc.)
• How you score points
• How long a pill works
• How often which bonus items appear
• When you win
• ...
• Operational rules
• How you move your Pacman
• Implicit rules
• Not really
Example: Chess
Example: Chess
• Constitutive rules
• Begin situation
• (Who starts)
• When you win or when there is a draw
• Maximum number of moves
• Operational rules
• What moves you can make
• How you make the move
• How to give up or reach a draw
• Implicit rules
• How to behave (no talking, etc.)
• Explicit in championships
• The amount of time you have
• Constitutive when more advanced
What to remember!
• Rules create the game play
• A wrong set of rules destroys a game
• Rules must create balance in a game
• Rules must be worked out in detail before creating
the game
• The same constitutive rules can have different sets of
operational rules and the other way round
(mechanics)
• Leads to rather different game play
Mechanics
Mechanics
Mechanics
• Tic-Tac-Toe
• Players alternately place a stone of their color on an
empty field.
• The first to make a row of three of his color wins.
• 3 to 15
• Players alternately choose a number between 1 and 9.
• A number can be chosen only once.
• The first to have three numbers that add up to 15
wins.
Mechanics
• Constitutive rules are the same
• Operational rules are different
Materials
Materials
• Board, dice, pieces, ...
• In computer games
• Way the units look
• Landscape
• Mini-maps, status information
• 3D or isometric
• Interface
• Influences the experience and the playability
• Example: make your own units clearly visible
External context
• Target group, age
• Male - Female
• Cultural background
Internal context
• Background
• Storyline
• Game setting
External context
• Social situation
• Location where the
game is played
• Game hall
• Living room
(consoles)
• Private room
• In the train
• ...
Meaningful play
Next time
• Rules should be elegant and make sense in the
internal context of the game
• The relation between actions (following operational
rules) and the outcome (following constitutive rules)
should be reasonable
• The rules should make sense in the external (cultural)
context in which the game is played
• This results in a situation in which players can
concentrate on the experience rather than the logic of
the game
Challenges and rewards
Chapter 7 of the book