Chapter 2.2
Game Design
Part 2
Game Theory
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Decision under certainty
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Risky decisions
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Players know the outcome of any decision
Probabilities of nature are known
Decision under uncertainty
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Probabilities of nature are unknown
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Interface
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Typical perspectives:
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First-person
Over-the-shoulder (OTS)
Overhead (top-down)
Side
Isometric
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Interface
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General categories of audio
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Music
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Powerful tool for establishing mood and theme
Sound effects
Dialog
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Interface
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Controls
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Physical input devices
Control inputs
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User manipulations of the controls
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They are not strategies
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Example: a sequence of buttons to perform a combo
Strategies involve deciding when to perform
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Interface
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Control table (a.k.a. Key Map)
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Show input, action, and context
Action
Control
Context
Left
all
Right
all
Forward
all
Backward
all
Sprint
all
Pass
Offense
Lob
Offense
Shoot
Offense
Steal
Defense
Block
Defense
Hit
Defense
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Interface
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HUD (Head-Up Display)
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Displays during play
Shows and other information difficult to present
directly in the game environment
Examples
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Scores
Resource levels
Mini Map
Chat
Alerts
Level
>need backup!!!
>No
>...
2
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HCI and Cognitive Ergonomics
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HCI – Human-Computer Interaction
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Study of…
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Communication between users and computers
How people design, build, and use interfaces
Better support for cooperative work
Cognitive Ergonomics
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Analyzes the cognitive representations and
processes involved with performing tasks
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Design of Everyday Things
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Norman’s five principles of design
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Visibility
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Mappings
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The perceived uses of an object
Constraints
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Understandable relationships between controls and
actions
Affordances
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Making the parts visible
Prevent the user from doing things they shouldn’t
Feedback
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Reporting what has been done and accomplished
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Systems
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System
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A set of interrelated components
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Architecture
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Their function and relationships form a whole
The particular arrangement of system elements
Game systems exist to enable play mechanics
Relationships between components determine
how the system works to produce results
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Systems
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Objects
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Attributes
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Properties determining what objects are
Behaviors
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Pieces of a system
Actions the objects can perform
Relationships
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How the behavior and attributes of objects affect
each other while the system operates
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Systems
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Two general approaches to design
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Special case
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Experiences built one scene/level at a time
Anticipate states while pre-scripting events
Solved by discovering the intentions of the designer
Systemic
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General behaviors are designed
Scenes/Levels are specific configuations
Some events may still be pre-scripted
Solved by understanding the system
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Systems
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Emergent complexity
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Emergence
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Behaviors that cannot be predicted simply
from the rules of a system
Coined by George Henry Lewes in 1873
See: John Conway’s Game of Life
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Systems
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Dynamics
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The behavior of systems over time
Generalizing dynamic behavior is hard
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Dynamics determined by a given
architecture
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Systems
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Cybernetics is the study of communication, control, regulation
A basic cybernetic system has:
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Sensor – detects a condition. Example: Thermometer
Comparator – evaluates the information. Example: Switch
Activator – alters the environment when triggered by the
comparator
Activator
Comparator
Sensor
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Systems
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Feedback
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The portion of a system’s output that is returned into the
system
Feedback Loop
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The path taken by the feedback
Goal
Rate
Action
Information
Level
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Systems
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Positive feedback
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Leads to runaway behavior
Difficult to make use of
Negative feedback
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Leads to goal seeking behaviors
Most common form in systems
goal
Positive Feedback
Negative Feedback
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Systems
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Negative feedback
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Stabilizes the game
Forgives the loser
Prolongs the game
Magnifies late successes
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Positive feedback
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Destabilizes the game
Rewards the winner
Can end the game
Magnifies early successes
Marc Leblanc
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Systems
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System Dynamics
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Created by Jay Forrester 1956, MIT
A discipline for modeling and simulation
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Originally a tool for policy analysis
Applicable to any system
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Constraints
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Platform
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General description of hardware and software
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Personal computer – PC, Mac, etc.
Console – Game Cube, PlayStation, Xbox, etc.
Handheld – DS, Game Boy Advance, PSP, etc.
Mobile device – Cel Phones, NGage, PDA, etc.
Arcade – custom vending games (e.g. Time Crisis)
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Constraints
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Game Saves
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Save triggers
Save-anywhere
Save points
Coded text saves
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Audiences
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Target audience
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Demographics
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Group of expected consumers
Study of relevant economic and social
statistics about a given population
Demographic variables
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The relevant factors
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Audiences
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Market
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Demographic segmentation of consumers
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Market segments
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Smaller sub-segment of the market; more tightly defined
Demographic profile
 Typical consumer attributes in a market
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Audiences
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Heavy Users
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Hardcore gamer
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Those of the numeric minority of potential users responsible
for majority of sales of any product
“80/20 rule”
Game industry term for heavy video game users
Casual gamer
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Game industry term for all other gamers
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Audiences
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Typical assumptions of the hardcore:
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Play games over long sessions
Discuss games frequently and at length
Knowledgeable about the industry
Higher threshold for frustration
Desire to modify or extend games creatively
Have the latest game systems
Engage in competition with themselves, the game, and
others
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Audiences
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Why We Play Games – Nicole Lazzaro
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Internal experience
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Hard fun
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Challenge of strategy and problem solving
Easy fun
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Enjoyment from visceral activities
Intrigue and curiosity – exploration and adventure
Social experience
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Stimulating social faculties – competition, teamwork,
bonding, and recognition
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Iterating
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Waterfall method
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Development methodology
Design and production are broken into phases
Iterative development
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Practice of producing things incrementally
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Refining and re-refining the product
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Iterating
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Prototypes
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Physical prototypes
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Early working models of the product
Used to test ideas and techniques
Non-electronic models; physical materials
Software prototypes
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Used regularly during iterative development
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Iterating
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Software testing
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Tester
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Person trained in methods of evaluation
Bug
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Process of verifying performance and reliability of a software
product
Discrepancy between expected and actual behavior
Problem/Bug report
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Description of the behavior of the discrepancy
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Iterating
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Focus test
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Testing session using play-testers
Testers represent the target audience
Lots of feedback at one time
Data can be compromised by group think
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Iterating
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Tuning
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Developing solutions by adjusting systems
Iterations are faster
Changes are less dramatic
Balance
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Equilibrium in a relationship
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Player relationships, mechanics, systems, etc.
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Iterating
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Intransitive relationships
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Multiple elements offer weaknesses and strengths relative to
each other as a whole
Balanced as a group
Example: Rock-Paper-Scissors (RPS)
Heavy
Infantry
Archers
Cavalry
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Creativity
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Ability to create
Ability to produce an idea, action, or
object considered new and valuable
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Creativity
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Classic approach - Graham Wallace
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Preparation
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Incubation
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Sudden illumination – Eureka!
Evaluation
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Mulling things over
Insight
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Background research and comprehension
Validating revealed insights
Elaboration
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Transforming the idea into substance
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Creativity
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Brainstorming
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Generating ideas without discrimination
Evaluation after elaboration
Can be unfocused
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Creativity
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Six Thinking Hats
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White Hat – neutral and objective
Red Hat – intuition, gut reaction
Black Hat – gloomy, naysayer
Yellow Hat – Pollyannaish, optimistic
Green Hat – growth and creativity
Blue Hat – process and control
Symbolize perspective worn by people involved in the
creative endeavor
Edward de Bono
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Inspiration
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Board games
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Team competition
Temporal systems
Martial arts
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Serialized stories
Music
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Continuity techniques
Television
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Fantasy and agency
Sports
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Dynamic narratives
Books
Film
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Resource management
Paper RPGs
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Spatial relationships
Card games
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Discipline in action
Children
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Invention
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Communication
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Treatment
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A brief, general description of the game and the
fundamental concepts
May include:
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Concept statement
Goals and objectives
Core mechanics and systems
Competitive analysis
Licensing and IP information
Target platform and audience
Scope
Key features
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Communication
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Associative diagram
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Drawing that helps manage and organize information visually
Mind Map
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A style of associative diagram
Key words and figures are placed on branches
weapon
fighting
range
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Psychology
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Working Memory
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Holds roughly 7 ± 2 items at one time
while other cognitive operations on them
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Psychology
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Attention
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Method of enhancing perceptions relative
to other stimuli in the same environment
How we focus on important things
Limited capacity
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Psychology
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Classical conditioning
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Reaction to stimulus is conditioned by pairing with another
stimulus that elicits the desired response naturally
Before conditioning
Conditioning
After conditioning
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Psychology
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Unconditioned stimulus – Meat
Unconditioned response – Salivation over meat
Conditioned stimulus – Tone
Conditioned response – Salivation over tone
Before conditioning
Conditioning
After conditioning
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Psychology
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Operant conditioning
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Learning by encouraging or discouraging
Operant
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A response; the action in question
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Example: pressing a button
Reinforcement contingency
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Consistent relationship between the
operant and a result in the environment
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Psychology
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Reinforcers
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Increase the probability an action will be repeated
Positive reinforcement
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Positive stimulus that reinforces the behavior
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Negative reinforcement
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The removal or prevention of a negative stimulus
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Ex. Use umbrella and be dry
Ex. Use umbrella and keep from getting wet
Punishment
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Reduces the likelihood of a behavior with a stimulus
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Ex. Being burned by a hot stove
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