Week 5 Reading Notes - Tools for Creating Dramatic Game Dynamics (WIP)

• Games getting better stories, similar to those of feature films.

• Game designers are always looking for ways to incorporate the tools and techniques of storytelling into their games.

• Games have always told stories, even in ancient Egyptian times, they had a game called 'Senet', which told the story of the passage through the underworld to the land of the dead.

• Other works of fictional media use games as the narrative device (eg boxing, bike races), in which case the story no longer relies on the metaphor of the game, but on the events of the game itself. The game becomes dramatic.

• This also works the other way, games which are dramatic tend to be more fun and immersive. The problem is Game Designers can't create drama, they can only create the circumstances which lead to drama.

• To create certain elements of a game like drama, we have to use the MDA framework. We want to control how the player feels (aesthetics) by changing what happens in the game (dynamics), which is done by creating our game world and how it works (mechanics).

• Our task as game designers is to work backwards by deciding how we want a player to feel, then working backwards through dynamics and then creating the game mechanics.

• To create drama, we need to ask the following questions:
• How does drama function as an aesthetic of play?
• What kind of game dynamics can evoke drama?
• From what kinds of mechanics do those dynamics emerge?

• First you must see what drama is, will you know it when you see it?

• Drama is only one aesthetic of the game, there are many elements which all give different kinds of fun.

• The picture below visualises the dramatic arc, the rising and falling action of a well-told story. We can't actually measure how dramatic a game is and plot it on this charge, there is no concrete method to do this. Dramatic tension, however, is our level of emotional investment in the story's conflict. Dramatic tension can increase and decrease, which is the main reason this diagram works.

• The dramatic arc is not something which is instantly noticeable to the audience, you cant say "Wow, what a nice dramatic arc this film has!", but instead the individual moments and the emotions they provoke stay with us.

• In theatres or in books, the creator had complete control over the narrative so they can hand-craft the narrative arc; it becomes a lot more challenging for a Game Designer as the narrative emerges from events in the game, and isn't scripted fully by us.

• Dramatic tension all comes from comes from conflict, but in a game the conflict comes from the contest which the game is built around. There are many sorts of contests which challenge the player in different ways.

• Tension emerges from contest through uncertainty and inevitability, it relies on these two factors in combination, neither is sufficient by itself.

• Magic: The Gathering is a good example of this, it begins with neither player knowing who will win, and as more resources are limited and more cards come into play, it means either player can drastically change the outcome in one move. By the end of it, a player will have a power play, where they will come out with a clear advantage and rush to win, or die trying. The climax of the game is when the outcome of the contest becomes known, we can think of the time between the climax and the end f the game as denouement, the recess of resolving tension created within the game.

• To make our games dramatically uncertain, we need to make sure the outcome of the contest remains unknown. Force allows us to manipulate the tension in the game, and illusion allows us to manipulate the players perception to make the outcome look closer than it is.

• The game state the complete status of the game at a particular moment

• The scoring function is the sensor of the cybernetic feedback system

• Negative feedback is a source of dramatic uncertainty when the scores are tied or very close, as the player is uncertain of the outcome. This means negative feedback systems are a powerful tool for creating dramatic tension

• Positive feedback systems are useful for eliminating uncertainty towards the end of a game, ringing about the climax and creating a sense of finality and closure. Negative feedback can make the game move very slowly, so positive feedback can then be used to break the equilibrium and move the game forwards.

• Pseudo-feedback is a type of mechanism that creates game dynamics that appear as if the game were being driven by a negative feedback system, but there is no actual cybernetic feedback system present, just the perception of one.

• Escalation describes a game mechanic in which the score changes faster and faster over the course of the game, so there are more points at stake at the end of the game than at the start of the game.

• Hidden energy in a game is something that makes sure the result of the game isn't actually clear until its used up by every player. A good example would be a 'turbo boost' in a racing game, which only allows each player a certain amount throughout the whole race. Player 1 could use his all up at the start and create the illusion of positive feedback, but then Player 2 may use all of his at the end and close the gap between the two racers.

Iterating a RTS (Real Time Strategy) Game

On Friday we were put into a group of six, and then we worked together to iterate a very basic RTS board game into a more complex and interesting game. Below are the iterations we went through to get to our final stage:

Iteration 1:

Moved to turn-based gameplay

Iteration 2:

Added turn/fire card, limiting the turn to 60o when they use this so as not to give it too much power over the other cards.

Iteration 3:

You can't use 'fire' or 'turn/fire' on your first turn

Iteration 4:

Added move/fire card, but limited the movement to one hex before firing

Iteration 5:

With the 'move' card, you roll a dice and move the number shown, this adds an element of chance to our game, mixing both chance and skill.

Iteration 6:

Roll the dice to see who goes first at the start of the game, then move round clockwise

Iteration 7:

Added clear arrows to the pieces to show which direction they are facing

Iteration 8:

Every player has a set spawn point, where they can't fire or be fired at

Iteration 9:

Giving each player 2 more pieces, giving them a total of 3 in their armies

Iteration 10:

Added lines along each row of hexes, adding more clarity to the players' actions

Iteration 11:

Removing 'no shooting on first go' rule, as it is no longer necessary




Final Game:

I felt that our final game was a huge success for multiple reasons. The fact that we added an element of chance to the game made it seem a lot more fun by allowing players to feel 'lucky', and even allowed less skilled players to compete with the more experienced RTS players. By giving each player three members of their 'army' instead of just the one, it meant that even when a player had a piece eliminated they could continue playing; this keeps a constant interest in the game even if somebody is losing: nobody is out completely unless they lose all three pieces. By extending the limitations of movement with the move/fire and turn/fire cards, we allowed players more choices and added a new layer of skill to the game.

One iteration I would have liked to make it to add some sort of reward for reaching specific hexes in the middle of the board, as this would add more depth to the game and give each player other goals aside from killing everybody else.

Week 4 Reading Notes - MDA (formal approach to Games Design)

Hunicke et al (2004) describe games as 'systems that build behaviour via interaction'

From your reading of the article, how does this system work and what kinds of controls does the games designer have at their disposal?

MDA framework:

Mechanics: The components of the game, data representation, play location, dice, rules of the game. When playing a digital game, the player will never need to understand these mechanics, they can play the game and never see what happens behind the scenes. However, when they are playing a board game, they have to understand the rules and mechanics or they won't be able to get the game in motion.

Dynamics: What happens when you interact with the game, such as how the rules might interact with each other -> choices. How the board interacts with the player. For example, you can choose how much money you want to put in during a round of Texas hold em poker, you can play how you like.

Aesthetics: It's what the player sees in most cases, but in gaming it means what the player sees and how they feel whilst playing the game. Emotional responses to their interactions (Emotional Interactions during gameplay). Games can make us feel a vast majority of strong emotions, sometimes for the better and for a lot of the time for worst.

My Thoughts:

I think this formal approach is a very good start for Games Designers, and I think if implemented correctly, can really help one understand how the players are interacting with their game. 

Working from the bottom and then up, it allows the designer to ask "I want my players to feel scared, what should I do?", and then from there, they can work on the dynamics needed to create a sense of fear in their game, followed by the mechanics to create these dynamics.

Caillois’s Terminology

Caillois names and defines four categories of games: agôn , alea, mimicry, and Ilinx. Finally he explains the differences between paidia and ludus.


Paidia


 “physical or mental activity which has no immediate useful objective, nor defined objective, and whose only reason to be is based in the pleasure experienced by the player”. A simple game of catch is a perfect example of this, because although players can implement their own 'rules', such as 'the person who drops the ball loses', the basic concept behind it has no limitations.




Ludus


“activity organised under a system of rules that defines a victory or a defeat, a gain or a loss”, a good example of this would be chess, where the only way to win is to follow a large list of set rules and mechanics.




Agôn - Competition


Games with elements of compeition in them could be referred to as Agôn, these games include genres any fighting games such as Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat, as it pins two players against eachother.




Alea - Chance / Randomness


Games which have elements of chance in them could be reffered to as Alea, these games include most board games and a lot of puzzle games such as slot machines because the outcome is always random.




Mimicry - Simulation games


Simulation games can be referred to as Mimicry, as they mimic real-life events and situations. Simulation is an extremely broad genre because it includes typhoon games where you run your own businesses / armies, but also any game which involves an element of roleplay. Games like Roller Coaster Tycoon and Age of Empires would fit into the description nicely.




Llinx - Movement


These games have a large emphasis on how you move during the game. Genres such as platforming games or free-roaming games fit into the definition of llinx, as you move around in certain ways to get to the finish. Just Cause 2 and Super Mario Bros. are good examples of this as they require skill in terms of movement to complete them.

Design Methods - Character Bios

Below are the two characters I have come up with, along with a little bit off information about them and a biography describing their origins. The images are made to be viewed a bit bigger, so click them to enlarge please.

Week 3 Reading Notes - 'Formal Abstract Design Tools'

Game designers can discuss a game and say if it’s either fun or not fun, but they rarely describe things any further than that, and game designers must go deeper if they want to make a good game.

Doug Church makes it clear that there are a lot of complicated theories used in Games Design, and for every games designer to have an equal understanding of these theories, there must be a set of standardised terms used to describe them.

He describes these terms as tools, “Formal Abstract Design Tools” (or as he refers to them, FADT). These tools are used to create a framework of a game designer’s vocabulary and they can be used to create games. These tools, however, are not there to be made into a game themselves; they are to be used by the game designer to make a game. After all, they are tools.

“Formal” tools describe terms which are very precise, they have a concrete meaning and it would be easy to use these to explain something to another person, without them misinterpreting it. As an example he uses the term “player rewards”, which works as a formal tool because it’s well defined and explainable. “Abstract” tools are used to describe ideas which are not specific to any genre construct. Doug uses the description, “cool stuff,” as an example, as “cool” is not a precise word and people can interpret it differently.

If you research any game, you will be able to find and pick out specific tools which are used to make the game good, and you can also find ones which make the game seem worse. In this article, Doug uses ‘Super Mario 64’ as an example because it was a very well-made game which appealed to a very wide audience.

The first tool he looks at is ‘Intention: Making an implementable plan of one’s own creation in response to the current situation in the game world and one’s understanding of the game play options,’ by this he means the ability for the player to plan ahead. In Super Mario 64 it is possible for the player to choose their own goals out of a wide range of goals given by the game designers. These goals can all take place on small or large time scales, and have a different effect on the game’s overall outcome.

The second one is ‘Perceivable Consequence: A clear reaction from the game world to the action of the player,’ this basically means that when the player does something wrong, they know why they went wrong and how to prevent it on their next try. If there is an encounter in a game that leaves the player feeling confused as to why it happened, this could be seen as bad game design.

These two simple tools that were found in Super Mario 64 can be used throughout different games as well. Perceived consequence is used often in RPGs, with plot or character development. The Intention tool also comes into play, but it still goes wrong, an example used would be a fork in the road where players must choose a direction. When the player chooses a path, they have an encounter with bandits and you take a penalty for it, but the problem with this is that the player did not know what their decision was changing in the game world, this lack of knowledge may be upsetting to the player.

Though this is done a lot, it is often a sacrifice made to give the designer greater control over the narrative flow. This in itself brings up another abstract tool, “Story: The narrative thread, whether designer-driven or player-driven, that binds events together and derives the player forward toward completion of the game.” So basically, story refers to any narrative thread that is continued throughout the game. Though stories are used to great effect in most adventure games, you will find this design tool is used in all games, even without the player realising it. Doug uses ‘NBA Live’ as an example, because although there is no scripted story created by the designer, the outcome of the game itself is a story the players have created simply by playing the match.

Doug talks about using multiple tools: cooperation, conflict and confusion.  Adventure games don’t usually have much intention or perceivable content, but this is for the benefit of story. By taking control away from the player, it allows game designers to script lots of little moments which are powerful for players, sometimes even more so than the gameplay itself. The more a designer wants to cause particular situations, the less control they can give the players. Each tool must be chosen for each task specifically; you can’t just push in all of the design tools and hope an amazing game will pop out. One good example of these sacrifices is the Final Fantasy series, as they have always been very story-orientated, which takes away the players controls in exchange for gripping and immersive stories; Doug describes SquareSoft games as essentially “storybooks.” So designers must choose which individual tools they want, and focus on them; they can’t just try and add too many tools or all of them will be very underwhelming.

‘Tools as a vocabulary for analysis present a way to focus on what player experience the designer wishes to create’. Games are not books or films, or any other form of media. The tools used in those forms of media are used so that the designer can manipulate the viewers or readers, and make them react exactly the way they want them to. In computer games design, the most important tools we need to remember are ones that allow the player to make their own decisions and explore the vast worlds we create without a great mass of limitations.

Games Britannia [TV] Notes

• In 1996 an archaeological team found a grave from the roman invasio, packed with precious relics, surgical kits, and most interestingly, a board game. The game showed that the ancient Britains were smarter than thought previously. He was likely a Druid, and he perhaps used the board to foresee prophesies of sorts.

• Games allow the players to see something they couldn't otherwise. Whereas the average UK citizen couldn't go around causing havok with a large array of weaponry, in a game like Grand Theft Auto, you can take to the streets of New York City in helicopters and cars, guns blazing. It was the same in the past, children could have learnt that inside a lot of higher class houses, there were billiard rooms.

• Chess, draughts and backgammon are thought to have originated in Northwest India during the Gupta Empire in the 6th century. These games were brought to Britain overseas, and by the year 1000 it had spread throughout the whole of Europe.

• In medieval times, whilst waiting to see the bishop, men carved games and played them in the stones around the church. 9 Men's Norris was the most popular one, carved out numerous times in the stone. It was a game which is similar to Noughts and Crosses, in which two players went head-to-head to get lines of three. It is more complex though, and the ability to hinder your opponent and take their pieces is possible.

• Hazard was also brought from the East, it was a gambling game, thought of as the game of the devil. It was condemned by the church as it was not simply about passing the time, but instead for material goods. Dice were also used as foreseeing the will of god, so of course the Church would be offended that they were used for such a minuscule game.

• In 1823 a trial took place when a man murdered two people after losing a £300 game of Backgammon, after this the Gaming Act was put forwards to regulate gambling for the next century.

• Companies started producing games based on The Game of Goose, a famous middle class board game to teach good virtue to children, starting a new trend of gaming for Britain.

• Guan Chapoor was the inspiration for a snakes and ladders, it was a game based on a quest from a state of nothingness to enlightenment. It wasn't necessarily a fun game, but what it did was teach about enlightenment and the stages needed to get there.

• Howard Staunton hosted a world tournament of chess, using a standardised set of chess with set rules, and marked the first time that the best chess players in Europe would meet in a single event. It took place at the Great Exhibition in London, May 1851, because Staunton thought the Great Exhibition presented a unique opportunity because the difficulties that prevented international participation would be greatly reduced, for example it would be easier for contestants to obtain passports and leave from work.

Group Project - Level Two Concept

For the second level of the game, we decided to make it 'shower' themed, after the first level which was based in the sewers. I decided this one would be best for me to do, so I took the task and broke it down into individual gameplay mechanics, then designed an obstacle / goal for each.


Part One - Introduction

The level starts with an animation of the player climbing out of the sewers via a manhole of sorts, then when they are standing up completely, they then regain control and walk right; if they were to go to the left, there would be a wall.

From the diagram below, you can see that I have chosen a fairly basic theme after looking at real shower prisons, obviously everything looks very simplistic in these drawings, but in the actual product there would be a lot more detail (etc damp spots on the floor, moody lighting, and moss).

Along the top you may notice a thin layer of steam, this would stay throughout the level if possible and you will see the cause of it later on.

Part Two - Monster Showers

The next part of the level involves actual showers, but these are no ordinary showers! They’re monstrous with showerheads covered in teeth reaching far in front, spitting out the poisonous goo (possibly the same from the sewers) at regular intervals for the player to avoid. This would be good because it would avoid having to teach the player a whole new gameplay element, but instead utilizing what they learnt from the previous sewer level. Another possibility for these would, instead of spitting out goo, bite down every few seconds to try and catch the player, although this could be harder to animate and create, it may be more original in contrast to the previous level. 

Part Three - Steam Pipes

The next part I thought of would involve these large pipes which exhale boiling steam. It would not be possible to jump or duck over the steam, instead you have to time your walk so as not to get burnt. Luckily, there are warning signs for when steam is about to come out, it isn't just random.

As you can see below, the pipes first heat up to a glowing red, before bursting with steam. This would give the players some warning first, because I wanted the pipes to move very fast in comparison to the poison drops.

Part Four - Rat Cleaners

For the fourth part of the second level, there are going to be simple NPCs, and like in the other levels of our game, they will be rats. These rats will have different outfits though, they will be wearing janitors clothes. These rats don't physically attack you themselves, instead they push giant bars of soap towards you to jump over, and when you get closer to them you have to slap them to knock them over.

Week 2 Reading Notes - 'I have no words I must design' by Greg Costikyan

I thought the extract we read was very interesting, and during it Costikyan says:- 

'A game is an interactive structure of endogenous meaning that requires players to struggle towards goals' (2004:24) 

Below I have broken down the individual aspects of this quote and I've explained how I understood these terms.

Interactive structure - Not necessarily a digital game, it can be any form of game such as a board game like Monopoly. When something is 'interactive', it literally means the player can interact with it in some way. If it isn't interactive, it isn't a game, but the interaction must have game value. A good example would be a light switch, though it's interactive, it has no game value.


Endogenous - Something which creates value only inside the realms of a game, a games structure creates its own meaning. A good example used was Momopoly money. Monopoly money is endogenous to the game, as it would be worthless anywhere apart from the game Monopoly; you wouldn't be able to use it in a real life context.


Struggle - In order for a game to be fun, there must be complications to overcome. His example was a game based in Britain during WW2, in which your two choices are 'Give up' or 'Go against Hitler and win'. If doing that ends your game, it wasn't fun. There has to be a struggle between the start and finish in order to make the conclusion feel more satisfying for the player. The same thing goes for games such as dungeons and dragons, if the players are getting bored, it means the game master isn't setting a hard enough challenge for them. When a player struggles, they get better at the game, therefore they level up.


Goals - Goals are one of the most important aspect of games. The most important thing for a game designer making an RPG is to set lots of different goals, allowing the player to choose what they want to do and when they want to do it. If you don't give the player any choices, merely telling them to constantly go and kill monsters to level up, the game will lose it's playability very quickly.

Character Interview Roleplay - TF2 Sniper

What is you name? 

Mr Mundy

What is your sex? 

Male

How old are you?

 In 40s

What is your physique? 

Average to slim build, but strong

Do you see yourself as a hero, and antihero or a villain?

Neutral

Do you have any scars? 

My only scar is my job

Do you have any disabilities? 

Nah

What is in your wardrobe? 

Pretty much the same thing every day –

western-esque hat, red shirt and brown vest.

What are you wearing today? 

Same as always

Show me how you walk. 

Never slows down, always in a rush.

What type of person are you deep down? 

Cynical. See the world from a very objective perspective.

Are you happy? 

Yeah, I love what I do.

Are you romantic? 

I don’t have time for romance.

Are you brave or a coward? 

Bit of both, will stay in the shadows as much as possible

Where do you live? 

Australia

What is your home like? 

Dangerous. Risk around every corner, mate :O

What education did you receive? 

The hell's education?!

What is your job? 

I'm not a crazed gunman, I’m an assassin

What is your workplace like? 

Exactly like Australia – dangerous, full of kangaroos. I could die at any second.

What do you do for fun? 

I kill men.

Who are you friends? 

I’ve got no need for friends in my line of work.

Who are your family?  Your parents, siblings, etc? 

My mum and dad in Australia. I don’t get along so well with my dad though, he just doesn't understand my job.

What is your backstory?  What happened before we met? 

In my former life as a tracker of dangerous game in the unforgiving Australian outback, I would spend months by myself. Prolonged isolation taught me a valuable lesson: 'You don't have to rely on other people if you never miss.'

What are your fears? 

Bloody scouts and spies.

What are your weaknesses? 

Usually vulnerable to a knife in the back.

What are your dreams, desires or goals? (Revenge, love, wealth, etc.) 

I'm in it for the money.

How far would you go to achieve you goal?

I’d kill countless men, as long as it puts bread on the table.

Menu Interface Concept(s)

This is the menu concept I'm working on for our game. Considering our theme is based around a man escaping from prison, I felt a depressing, metallic menu was in order. I made it on Photoshop, and for the metal reference image I used: http://thebrokenfilter.com/images/metal.jpg