COMP150 Game Design
LESSON #3: Alternative Realities
and Introduction to Unity
TODAY:
1. How Homework #1 was Evaluated.
2. Discussing the Reading: McGonogal & Schell
3. Game Design through Alternatives to Misery
4. Introduction to Unity3D engine
Game Evaluation
Game Evaluation
• CLARITY: Are the instructions and board concise
and easy to understand?
• INNOVATION: What is new and exciting in the
gameplay to stimulate interest in new challenges?
• IMMERSION: Is the story compelling (setting,
action framing, art and music)?
• FLOW: Does the player feel constantly
productive, able to act and have those actions
matter (advance their agenda) every turn?
• FIERO: Multiple big victory moments for players?
hw1 Game: HIVE-MIND
Lots of opportunity to act. Easy to surround, easy to
escape. Multiple moves per turn = satisfying agency.
hw1 Game: Breach
Tabletop Tower Defense. Asymmetrical play.
Excellent progression– both sides strengthen on
roughly equivalent curves. Multiple moves per turn
mitigate bad rolls for good flow.
hw1 Game: Shellfish
Dice numbers do not denote progress– only
similarity or difference matters, so every move
has an equal impact on the game
The First Reading:
Art of Game Design: a Book of Lenses
by Jesse Schell (pp40-74)
The First Reading:
Art of Game Design: a Book of Lenses
by Jesse Schell (pp40-74)
LENSES:
• (p43) Lense #7: Elemental Tetrad:
»Mechanics
»Story
»Aesthetics
»Technology
(Focus revision on these four paths)
The First Reading:
Art of Game Design: a Book of Lenses
by Jesse Schell (pp40-74)
LENSES:
• (p43) Lense #7: Elemental Tetrad:
»Mechanics, Story, Aesthetics, Technology
• (p53) Lense #9: Unification:
»All elements work to support a Theme
QUESTION:
What makes for a compelling Theme?
QUESTION:
What makes for a compelling Theme?
• Wish Fulfillment
• Universal or Personal Truths
The First Reading:
Art of Game Design: a Book of Lenses
by Jesse Schell (pp40-74)
LENSES:
• (p43) Lense #7: Elemental Tetrad:
»Mechanics, Story, Aesthetics, Technology
• (p53) Lense #9: Unification:
»All elements work to support a Theme
• (p59) Lense #11: Infinite Inspiration:
»Get inspiration for games from
everything EXCEPT games
The Second Reading:
Reality is Broken (pp119-215)
by Jane McGonigal
The Second Reading:
Reality is Broken (pp119-215)
by Jane McGonigal
• “A good game can change the way you see
yourself and what you are capable of, forever”
(p214)
• Reality does not satisfy human needs as well as
games, but if it did, our real lives would be better.
• Games can be used to alleviate human suffering.
• Intrinsic rewards motivate engagement and feel
more rewarding than extrinsic rewards.
Reality is Broken by Jane McGonigal
• p114: Four Essential Human Cravings:
• More Satisfying Work
• Better Hope for Success
• Stronger Social Connectivity
• Being a Part of Something Bigger
• + reliable source of Flow and Fiero
• p126: To make something fun, make it:
• Goal Oriented
• Feedback Rich
• Obstacle Intensive
• Happiness Hacks: Avoid embarrassment by focusing
on a challenging goal.
Reality is Broken by Jane McGonigal
FIXES FOR REALITY
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•
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•
•
•
•
•
•
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•
•
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#01: “Unnecessary Obstacles”
(p22)
#02: “Emotional Activation”
(p38)
#03: “More Satisfying Work”
(p54)
#04: “Better Hope For Success”
(p68)
#05: “Stronger Social Connectivity”
(p82)
#06: “Epic Scope (connect to bigger)”
(p98)
#07: “Wholehearted Participation”
(p124)
#08: “Meaningful Rewards When We Need Them Most” (p148)
#09: “More Fun With Strangers”
(p172)
#10: “Happiness Hacks”
(p189)
#11: “A Sustainable Engagement Economy”
(p244)
#12: “More Epic Wins”
(p252)
#13: “10k Hours Collaboration”
(p277)
#14: “Massively Multiplayer Foresight”
(p302)
DISCUSS: Your Favorite ARGs From Reality is Broken
ARGs: REINVENTING REALITY (pp119-215)
• Chore Wars (cleaning, p120)
• Quest to Learn (school, p127-132)
• Superbetter (recovery p133-142)
• PlusOneMe (boosts p147-148)
• Jetset/Day in the Cloud (flying pp150-156)
• Nike+ (running pp158-163)
• Foursquare (social engagement pp164)
• Comfort of Strangers (social engagement p168)
• Ghost of a Chance (museum, p173)
• Bounce (elderly, p177)
HAPPINESS HACKS:
• Cruel2BKind (Jen Ratio, p192)
• Tombstone Hold’em (cemeteries p197)
• Top Secret Dance Off (public dancing pp207-214)
DESIGN METHOD #4:
ALTERNATIVES TO MISERY
Process for making an Alternate Reality Game:
1. Identify a source of misery.
2. List the mechanics of the misery
3. List real-world solutions for the misery. These
are likely behaviors that people would want to
do if they were not embarrassed, too busy,
thoughtless, afraid, or otherwise focused.
4. Focus on one tangible behavioral solution at a
time, and consider game mechanics that could
encourage that behavior. Iterate: what can
make those mechanics more meaningful, and
more specific to the behavioral solution desired?
ARG EXAMPLE #1: McGonigal’s
“Tombstone Hold ‘Em”
“Tombstone Hold ‘Em” ARG Process:
1. Identify Misery: Western culture has lost touch with
it own mortality, leading to anxiety and loss of lifefocus.
2. List the Misery Mechanics: People avoid cemeteries,
avoid thinking about the departed and their own
limited lifetimes. Graveyards seen as creepy, taboo,
isolating, sources of pain and fear.
3. List real-world solutions: Encourage death-bed
roleplay, create social events in cemeteries.
4. Build a Game around one tangible solution: Social
game in cemeteries where the gravestones
themselves are critical game elements.
Texas Hold’em Basics: Sit at a Table
• The Hole: Each player gets two cards (face down)
• The Flop: Dealer deals 3 cards to the center of
the table face up.
• The Turn: Dealer adds a 4th card to the Flop.
• The River: Dealer adds a 5th card to the Flop.
• Hands/Betting: Between each of the above
stages the players place bets based on the poker
hand they can create between their Hole cards
and the cards in the center (runs, pairs, etc).
Tombstone Hold ‘Em: In a Cemetery
Flop/Run/River happens First
Tombstone Hold ‘Em: In a Cemetery
• START WITH THE RIVER: All players gather in one
location in the cemetery and the dealer puts out
all five communal cards.
• PLAYERS WORK IN PAIRS TO FIND THEIR HOLE
CARDS: Search cemetery for two “cards” to get
the best possible hand
• stone shapes = suit: round=hearts, cross=clubs,
point=spades, flat=diamonds.
• dates/#names = card number/face: last number
on a date = card number, multiple names on a
stone = Jack, Queen, etc.
Tombstone Hold ‘Em: In a Cemetery
Find your own Hole cards– recruit among departed
Tombstone Hold ‘Em
TIME’S UP: Everyone runs back to the start and declares their
hand. Only best claim needs to prove it at the site.
RESULTS: Engage positively/socially with space and
those laid to rest there. Leave with sense of peace.
ARG EXAMPLE #2: “The Wastronauts”
Parenting and Games Blog:
Yaya Play Parentzine
“The Wastronauts” ARG Process:
1. Identify Misery: Bedtime ritual emotionally
exhausting and physically taxing.
2. List the Misery Mechanics: Child delays
between each of the four bathroom tasks, has
meltdowns and end-of-day out-of-control
behavior.
3. List real-world solutions: Distracting songs and
activities, different body positions, read stories
offer incentives and consequences.
4. Build a Game around one tangible solution:
Invent hero narratives around a fantasy crisis.
“The Wastronauts” Narrative
• The bathroom is not a bathroom. It is a
power and control station for MoonDoggie
Base. Each bathroom task is part of fixing an
air leak, building a sonic defense tower against
invading alien predators, building a shield
against a storm of solar flares.
“The Wastronauts”
“The Wastronauts”
“The Wastronauts”
“The Wastronauts”
“The Wastronauts”
• Translate each task into part of a larger narrative that
supports her desire to take care of her stuffies.
• Tasks she knows how to do so she feels happily
productive and fully engaged.
• Make it optional.
• Make each task a bit more challenging than it needs to
be so each completed task is an accomplishment.
• Make the goal clear, add a ticking clock.
• End with intrinsic reward: saving-the-day speech.
• RESULT: Happy, engaged bedtimes, even improvements
in timing.
GAME DESIGN EXERCISE: ALTERNATIVE REALITY GAMES
PLEASE NOTE:
• There is potential for this week’s assignment to enter
into subjects which may be larger than your classmates
have reasonable capacity in this course to engage.
• Please be considerate and aware of your teammates
and the larger class in choosing your topics and be
aware of the possibility of “trigger” topics.
• That said, I ask and trust you to communicate honestly
with your teammates in setting appropriate boundaries
this week in discussing sources of human misery, and
please do not hesitate to contact your teacher with any
questions or concerns.
GAME DESIGN EXERCISE: ALTERNATIVE REALITY GAMES
• 1. TEAMS: Choose NEW teams of three. Everyone needs paper and
pen to list Miseries/Solutions.
• 2. MISERY IN PRIVATE: Take 5 minutes alone and in silence to list
personal and social miseries. What makes you or people you know
afraid in their daily lives? What unavoidable tasks make them
unhappy, depressed, full of worry or shame? Both smaller and
bigger sources are welcome.
• 3. MISERY IN COMPANY: Discuss your list with your new
teammates, taking notes on paper.
• 4. MECHANICS OF MISERY: Choose a misery you find particularly
interesting or deplorable. Identify the mechanics of the misery–
how does it make people miserable? How does it affect their lives
in larger ways?
• 5. SOLUTIONS: Choose 1 mechanic of misery and consider
behavioral solutions, if only the people involved were not so
embarrassed, in pain, isolated, or otherwise feeling incapable of
feeling otherwise.
• 6. GAMES: Brainstorm game ideas – paper or participatory – to
engage 1 of those solutions by adding GOALS, CHALLENGING
OBSTACLES, and RICH FEEDBACK
Due Next Week:
• HOMEWORK #3: With your new team, meet outside of
class to revise/discuss the ARG designs from class and
discuss more possibilities for paper or physical games.
Try playing the games! EACH TEAM WILL TYPE AND
SUBMIT 1-3 ARG CONCEPT/S: Description of suffering,
gameplay rules, board image if applicable, photos of
initial setup and key moments, and notes related to
the reading.
• ALSO Read 50 pages more of EITHER Schell or
McGonigal’s books, your choice. Note “Lenses” or
“Fixes” you find & apply them in your design write-up.
Take a 15 minute break
• If you have a laptop, please stay here.
• If you do not, please meet in room 122.
• The last hour of class will be an introduction
to the Unity 3D interface. Materials have been
emailed to you.
• Please return to this room for a final message.
INTRODUCTION TO UNITY3D
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Unity3D Interface
Terrain Creation, Textures, Trees
3rd-Person Controller
Introduction to C# Scripting
Sounds
Have a Spectacular Week!
And don’t forget to email us with questions:
Instructor: JASON WISER
[email protected]
Available an hour after class and daily email.
TA: MIKE SHAH
[email protected]
Lab hours: Wednesdays 4:30-5:45