Engineering Fun in Game Design
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Transcript of Engineering Fun in Game Design
GAME DESIGNENGINEERING FUN IN DESIGN
OVERVIEWToday I want to talk about the basics of game design and structure while applying those principles to modern digital design. This class is theory and methodology, not practice, but we may reference design and programming principles, so rudimentary experience in design or development will be useful.
. . . . . . . . . . . . MICHAEL WILSON@STOPWILSON | WWW.PONYWOLF.COM
PRESENTED BY
. . . . . . . . . . . . INTO A PROCESS?CAN WE TURN FUN
GAMES ARE DESIGNED TO BE ADDICTIVE
Photo used under Creative Commons from Jeff Kubina
GAME MECHANICS• Achievements • Behavioral Momentum • Bonuses • Cascading Information • Combos • Community Collaboration • Countdown • Discovery • Epic Meaning
• Infinite Gameplay • Levels • Loss Aversion • Lottery • Ownership • Points • Progression • Quests • Reward Schedules • Status
via http://gamification.org/wiki/Game_Mechanics
. . . . . . . . . . . . METHODOLOGY?SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH
IT’S A SET OF FEATURES
Progress Bars Achievements
Badges Scoreboards Socialization Competition Challenges
etc.
}METHODOLODY
THAT DON’T EQUATE TO FUN
Progress Bars Achievements
Badges Scoreboards Socialization Competition Challenges
etc.
}= FUN/
SO HOW DO WEMANUFACTURE
FUN?
. . . . . . . . . . . . GAME?WHAT IS A
THERE IS A HIERARCHY OF EXPERIENCE
Experience Toy Puzzle Game
EXPERIENCE
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TOY
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A TOY IS DESIGNED FOR PLAY
PLAY = INTERACTION
INHERENT “RULES” OF A TOY• Interaction • Physical/Environmental Rules • Expectations • Feedback (Light, Sound, etc.) • Discovery • Manipulation • etc. TOY
VISUAL FEEDBACK
SURPRISE,DELIGHT,
RANDOMNESS,POSSIBILITIES
(BUT NO GOAL)
PUZZLE
Photo used under Creative Commons from fdecomite
A PUZZLE IS FUN AND HAS A RIGHT ANSWER
-- SCOTT KIM, PUZZLE MASTER (THE NEXT TETRIS)
IMPLICIT RULES OF A PUZZLE• Puzzles are a form of play. • Puzzles have a goal or objective. • Puzzles are “tricky.” • Puzzles imply needed ingenuity.
PUZZLE
EXPLICIT RULES OF A PUZZLE
A PUZZLE HAS RULES
A PUZZLE IS FUN AND HAS (AT LEAST ONE)
RIGHT ANSWER
SURPRISE,DELIGHT,
RANDOMNESS,POSSIBILITIES
(NOW WITH A PURPOSE)
GAMEPhoto used under Creative Commons from Muffet
A GAME IS A PLAY ACTIVITY WITH RULES THAT INVOLVES CONFLICT
-- INTERNATIONAL GAME DEVELOPERS ASSOCIATION
RULES OF A GAME• Games are an activity. • Games have rules. • Games have conflict. • Games have goals. • Games involve decision making. • Games have an uncertain outcome.
GAMEPortions of text used under Creative Commons from Ian Schreiber
RULES OF A GAME, MAYBE?• Games have Players? • Games have Winners and Losers? • Games are purposely inefficient? • Games have outcomes? • Games involve systems? • Games are...?
GAME
A GAMES ARE STORY MACHINES
STORY
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STORY
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THE PIECES OF OUR STORY MACHINE ARE CALLED MECHANICS
GAME MECHANICS ARE CONSTRUCTS OF RULES
INTENDED TO PRODUCE AN ENJOYABLE GAME OR
GAMEPLAY
WHAT IS A GAME?
Experience Toy Puzzle Game
Lacks Interaction
Explicit Rules
Inherent Rules Outcome
Has Interaction
Objectives
Conflict
. . . . . . . . . . . . FUN!DIALING IN THE
DESIGNING FUN IS ABOUT DESIGNING
BALANCE
BALANCE
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WHAT TO BALANCE?
Risk Luck
Random Completion
…This
Reward
Skill Predictive
Endlessness
That…
vs.
vs.
vs.
vs.
vs.
THESE ARE THE BIG THREE,
BUT THERE ARE MANY OTHERS
RISKVS.
REWARD
RISK
RISK VS. REWARD• Think of RISK and REWARD as a mechanic
to drive MEANING.
RISK = EFFORT
EFFORT + REWARD = MEANING
CHALLENGE & DIFFICULTYAccording to human nature, it is inevitable that a person will learn and gain more skill presented a challenge and a chance to grow—therefore a game must increase in difficulty as the player progresses in order to continue to be challenging
MORE CHALLENGE = MORE EFFORT = MORE RISK
SO, A GAME WITHOUT RISK WILL
INHERENTLY MAKE IT UN-FUN
LUCKVS.
SKILL
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LUCK SKILL
ALL GAMES HAVE SOME LUCK
ALL GAMES HAVE SOME SKILL
SOURCES OF LUCK• Random Number Generators (Dice, Coins,
etc.) • Simultaneous Choices (Rock, Paper,
Scissors) • Hidden Information (Cards, Stock Market) • Environment (Weather, imperfections, etc.)
LUCK
LUCK LEVELS THE PLAYFIELD
LUCK IS INCLUSIVE
SKILL TAKES EFFORT
SOURCES OF SKILL• Physical (Exercise, Practice, etc.) • Intelligence (IQ, Problem Solving, etc.) • Familiarity (Experience, Practice, etc.) • Endurance (Willpower, etc,)
SKILL
SKILL ADDS MEANING
SO, A GAME WITH OUT LUCK WILL INHERENTLY
MAKE IT UNFAIR
MANIPULATING LUCK
WHEN SKILL GETS AN ADVANTAGE, DIAL UP
THE LUCK
RANDOMVS.
PREDICTIVE
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RANDOM PREDICTIVE
RANDOMNESS ISN’TLUCK
PREDICTIONS AREODDS
CHESS IS VERY RANDOM• The Shannon number, named after Claude
Shannon, is an estimated lower bound on the game-tree complexity of chess
• Shanon’s number is estimated at 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (1046.7) games
• More than the estimated number of atoms in the Universe
via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannon_number
Photos used under Creative Commons from Muffet
CHESS IS PREDICTIVE}IN BOOK
IN BOOKIN BOOKIN BOOK
IN BOOK
IN BOOK
IN BOOK IN BOOK
NOVELTY
IN BOOKIN BOOK
IN BOOKIN BOOK
IN BOOKIN BOOKIN BOOK
IN BOOK
IN BOOK
KNOWING THE POSSIBLE OUTCOME MAKES VARIATIONS MORE
EXCITING
WHO WINS?
i i
PREDICTIVE OUTCOMES CREATE UNDERDOGS
PREDICTIVE OUTCOMES CREATE RIVALRIES
WHO IS THE UNDERDOG?
Photo used under Creative Commons from Mike_fleming
SO, A GAME WITH OUT PREDICTIONS WILL
INHERENTLY MAKE IT BORING
. . . . . . . . . . . . TOGETHERBRING IT
ARE YOU CREATING CONFLICT?
ARE YOU CREATING MEANING?
ARE YOU CREATING BALANCE?
Q&A