CS 450 Modelling and
Simulation
Dr. X
Topics
• Simulation Vs Games
• Analog Vs Digital
• General Algorithmic Design
What is a game?
The problem with reality…
All Games are Simulations
Simulations vs Games
Digital vs Non-Digital Simulations and Games
Digital
Simulations and
Games (ALL)
Board & Card
Games
Analog
Simulation
Games
Analog RolePlaying Games
Live Action RolePlay (including
cosplay)
Model of
Painstakingly and
Many details taken for granted and never made explicit
Original System precisely defined
Rule
Enforcement
hard-coded
uses ‘honor
system’
on the fly
Rule Structures Pre-determined Negotiable
Roles
accurate
placement into
context
Imagined,
personally
mediated
Determined by game rules
Imagined,
personally
mediated
Digital vs Non-Digital Simulations and Games
Environment
Environment
Resolution
Game Objects
Digital
Analog
Board & Card
Analog RoleSimulations and
Simulation
Games
Playing Games
Games (ALL)
Games
Dynamic – same Static –
Combined static physical artifacts
for all players
unchanging
(boards & pieces) AND imagined
static
dynamic
relatively static relatively static
physical
can be
either inert or mechanical
autonomous
Game Interaction
consistent across
(what people can
all instantiations consistent only if the rules are followed
do with / to the
of the game
game)
Participants
there need only
be one human All participants are human
participant
Live Action RolePlay (including
cosplay)
Imagined:
personalized
Individually
mediated
imagined ( can
include props)
each
instantiation can
be different
First things first… algorithms!
Flowchart Ingredients
A bad algorithm
A better one
Let’s use some inputs
and outputs
References
• The Guide to Computer Simulations and Games, By Katrin Becker and
J.R.Parker, Wiley (Chapter 3, 4)
CS 450
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