Computer Game Development
By Jijun Tang
Google Group
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http://groups.google.com/group/csce552
Please check and ask for membership
Will serve as the main way of
communication
Presentations
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First presentation:
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Friday 09/07/2012
Start 10 minutes earlier
Each group has 5 minutes to present
To present
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Group info: name, logo, etc
Game ideas
Game design issues
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5-7 slides
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Tennis for two (1958)
Spacewar (1961)
Light Gun and Odyssey
Pong and Arcade
Computer Space
Cartridge-based Console (1977)
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Atari 2600, 1977
Able to support many games
NES (90% market)
NES
Mario
Game
boy
contra
Wii
Playstation I
Final Fantasy
Grand Theft Auto
MS Games
Types
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Adventure (text-based/graphical)
Action (shooting, combat sim)
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First-person shooting
Combat sim
Action adventure
Platformer (Mario)
Fighting
Real-time strategy (RTS)
Survival Horror
Types
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Role Playing Game (RPG)
Stealth
Simulation
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SimCity
Flight Simulator
Train Simulator
Racing
Sports
Types
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Rhythm
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Puzzle
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Dance Dance Revolution
Tetris
Education
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Typing
NSF funds many such games
Languages
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Assembly
C/C++
VB
Java
Flash
Script
ESA
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Entertainment Software Association
www.theesa.com
Sales
From ESA
Comparison
2005
2009
2010
Ave age: 33
Ave age: 35
Ave age: 34 (30)
Game buyer: 40
Game buyer: 39
Game buyer: 40 (35)
Women: 38%
Women: 40%
Women: 40% (47%)
Online: 44%
Online: ?
Men online: 58
Women online 42%
Women online 43%
Women online 42%
Head of household
67%
Head of household
68%
Head of household
67%
Who and what
From ESA
Genre info
From ESA
Online game
From ESA
How to Interpret the Data
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Pro-data:
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Do as data suggests
Why: the failure of targeting pre-teen female
market
Anti-data:
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Explore un-charted territory
Target older audience on Xbox?
Real Time Strategy on Xbox?
Shooting game for moms?
ESRB
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Entertainment Software Rating Board
Self-regulated rating board
From ESA
Why Rating? Example: Conker
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Animated Violence, Mature Sexual
Themes, Strong Language
Age 17+
Seven different worlds with 60+ subchapters to explore
Massive multiplayer mode
Easy to confuse parents and buy for
young kids
Conker Screens
New Conker on Xbox
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w5neFPat1w
Controversial Games
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Sega’s Night Trap (1992)
DOOM
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School shooting----Doom?
Grand Theft Auto
Teaching how to hi-jack?
Hot Coffee Mod
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Hidden sexual mini-game in Grand Auto
Theft San Andreas
Can be unlocked by changing one bit in the
main.scm file
Who created the scene?
Re-rating and recall, lost $300M, numerous
lawsuits.
Who’s responsibility? Rockstar? Modifier?
End users?
The Mini-Game
Game and Violence
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Study from National Institute on Media and the
Family
Concerns
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Children are more likely to imitate the actions of a
character with whom they identify. In violent video games
the player is often required to take the point of view of the
shooter or perpetrator.
Video games by their very nature require active
participation rather than passive observation.
Repetition increases learning. Video games involve a
great deal of repetition. If the games are violent, then the
effect is a behavioral rehearsal for violent activity.
Rewards increase learning, and video games are based
on a reward system.
Concerns Warranted?
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Exposure to violent games increases
physiological arousal
Exposure to violent games increases
aggressive thoughts
Exposure to violent games increases
aggressive emotions
Exposure to violent games increases
aggressive actions
Exposure to violent games decreases
positive prosocial (i.e., helping) actions
Evidence against Linking
Games and Violence
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Violent crime, particularly among the young, has
decreased dramatically since the early 1990s, while
video games have steadily increased in popularity and
use.
Many games with violent content sold in the U.S. -- and
some with far more violence -- are also sold in foreign
markets. However, the level of violent crime in these
foreign markets is considerably lower than that in the
U.S
Numerous authorities have examined the scientific
record and found that it does not establish any causal
link between violent programming and violent behavior.
The above are claims from theesa.com
Results on 9th Grader
By David Walsh
Parents Controling Kids
CSCE 552 Fall 2012
Understanding Fun
What is Fun?
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Game is all about fun
Dictionary: Enjoyment, a source of
amusement
It is important to consider underlying
reasons
Funativity – thinking about fun in terms
of measurable cause and effect
Why fun?
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It’s deep in our evolution root, and we must
look to our ancestors (200 yrs of tech
advancement haven’t changed our instinct)
Cats, dogs, etc play to learn basic survival
skills (physical and social)
Games are organized play
Human entertainment is also at its heart
about learning how to survive
Social rules are also critical to us
Surviving
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Life is all either work, rest, or fun
To survive, we must work
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Our ancestors were those who survive
The survive skills are passed down
Who is more likely to survive?
People working too hard?
People resting too much?
We must play to gain skills
Learning is fun
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Fun is about practicing or learning new
survival skills in a relatively safe
setting
People who didn’t enjoy that practice
were less likely to survive to become
our ancestors
Hunting and Gathering
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Basic skills are hunting and gathering
Current popular games reflect this
It’s a good start point to design games
Shooters, wargames = hunting
Powerups, resources = gathering
Sims, MMO = social, tribal interaction
Gathering and hunting
Natural Funativity Theory
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All funs are derived from practicing survival
and social skills
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Key skills relate to early human context
Often in modern guise: play chess, football,
dance, etc
Three overlapping categories
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Physical
Social
Mental
Physical Fun
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Sports
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Exploration
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Enhance our strength, stamina, coordination
skills
Winning is also a mental fun
Knowledge of surrounding areas
Explore unknown
Hand/eye coordination and tool use are
often parts of fun activities – crafts
Physical aspect to gathering “stuff”
Wii Sports
Social Fun
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Storytelling is a social activity
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First virtual reality
Learn important lessons from others
Gossip, sharing info
Flirting
Showing off
Social funs
Mental Fun
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Humans have large brains
Abstract reasoning practice
Pattern matching and generation
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Music
Art
Puzzles
Gathering also has mental aspect,
categorizing and identifying patterns
Gambling
Casino/Online Gambling
Multipurpose Fun
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Many fun activities have physical,
social and mental aspects in
combination
Games that mix these aspects tend to
be very popular
Incorporate ways to practice these
skills to increase the popularity of
games