Chapter 2.2 Game Design - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

About This Presentation
Title:

Chapter 2.2 Game Design

Description:

Title: Chapter 2.2 Game Design Last modified by: Blair MacIntyre Created Date: 9/6/2004 4:32:53 AM Document presentation format: On-screen Show Other titles – PowerPoint PPT presentation

Number of Views:111
Avg rating:3.0/5.0
Slides: 22
Provided by: ccGatechE2
Category:

less

Transcript and Presenter's Notes

Title: Chapter 2.2 Game Design


1
Chapter 2.2Game Design
2
Overview
  • This introduction covers
  • Terms
  • Concepts
  • Approach
  • All from a workaday viewpoint

3
The Language of Games
  • Debate continues over high-level views
  • Lack of standard (concrete) definitions
  • Game (Interactions to elicit emotions?)
  • Play (Object of rule-bound play?)
  • Aesthetics (Emotional responses during play?)
  • High-level concepts tricky to articulate

4
The Language of Games
  • Why do we play?
  • What is the nature of games?
  • Not our focus in this class
  • How is a game formed of parts?
  • Thats what we care about here!
  • Computer games are an art form
  • The art of making interactive dynamic models!

5
Games Exist in a Frame
  • The border of a games context
  • Inside the frame is in the game
  • Outside the frame is real life
  • The world of the interactive dynamic model
  • Choices have outcomes in the frame
  • Varying consequences/weights
  • Meaningful choices!

6
A Player-Game Model
  • A model of the player game relationship

7
Play Mechanics
  • Gameplay
  • Feelings of playing a particular game
  • Activities engaged in a particular game
  • (Play/game) Mechanics
  • Specific to game activities
  • What the player does
  • Core Mechanics are the central activities

8
Seven Stages of Action (Don Norman, DOET)
  • Execution
  • Intention to act
  • Sequence of action
  • Execution of action sequence
  • Evaluation
  • Evaluating interpretations
  • Interpreting perceptions
  • Perceiving states

9
Designer and Player Models
  • Systems are built from designer mental models
  • Design models may only anticipate player goals
  • Players build mental models from mechanics
  • Based on interactions

10
Goals and Objectives
  • Objectives and goals can differ
  • Players goals reflect their understanding of the
    game
  • Designers must consider how the game communicates
    with players

11
Aside Resources
  • Things used by agents to reach goals
  • To be meaningful, they must be
  • Useful provide some value
  • Limited in total or rate of supply
  • KEY Needed, but limited!

12
Premise Sets Context for Model
  • The metaphors of action and setting
  • Concrete (e.g., Halo back-story)
  • Activity based (e.g., Madden)
  • Abstract (e.g., Tetris)
  • Directs the player experience
  • Provides a context in which mechanics fit
  • Players map game states to the premise

13
Player Strategy
  • People usually reason with commonsense
  • A view of linear causation cause and effect
  • Complex systems do not behave linearly
  • Players need information to support linear
    strategy
  • Game theory assumes rational players
  • But does not assume perfect knowledge

14
Aside HCI and Cognitive Ergonomics
  • HCI Human-Computer Interaction
  • Study of
  • Communication between users and computers
  • How people design, build, and use interfaces
  • Better support for cooperative work
  • Cognitive Ergonomics
  • Analyzes the cognitive representations and
    processes involved with performing tasks

15
Norman, again (DOET Design of Everyday Things)
  • Normans five principles of design
  • Visibility
  • Making the parts visible
  • Mappings
  • Understandable relationships between controls and
    actions
  • Affordances
  • The perceived uses of an object
  • Constraints
  • Prevent the user from doing things they shouldnt
  • Feedback
  • Reporting what has been done and accomplished

16
Systems Design
  • Two general approaches to design
  • Special case
  • Experiences built one scene/level at a time
  • Anticipate states while pre-scripting events
  • Solved by discovering the intentions of the
    designer
  • Systemic
  • General behaviors are designed
  • Scenes/Levels are specific configurations
  • Some events may still be pre-scripted
  • Solved by understanding the system

17
Systems and Dynamics
  • Generalizing dynamic behavior is hard
  • Dynamics determined by a given architecture
  • Feedback/control loops with player in loop
  • Emergent complexity
  • Behaviors that cannot be predicted simply from
    the rules of a system
  • E.g., John Conways Game of Life

18
Systems and Feedback
  • Negative feedback
  • Stabilizes the game
  • Forgives the loser
  • Prolongs the game
  • Magnifies late successes
  • Positive feedback
  • Destabilizes the game
  • Rewards the winner
  • Can end the game
  • Magnifies early successes

19
Design is all about Working within Constraints!
  • E.g., Platform
  • General description of hardware and software
  • E.g., Game Saves
  • Save triggers
  • Save-anywhere
  • Save points
  • Coded text saves

20
Design to Different Audiences
  • Why We Play Games Nicole Lazzaro
  • Internal experience
  • Enjoyment from visceral activities
  • Hard fun
  • Challenge of strategy and problem solving
  • Easy fun
  • Intrigue and curiosity exploration and
    adventure
  • Social experience
  • Stimulating social faculties competition,
    teamwork, bonding, and recognition

21
Rest of Chapter
  • Creativity Section Brainstorming
  • Generating ideas without discrimination
  • Evaluation after elaboration
  • Can be unfocused
  • Communication and Psychology
  • Useful tidbits
  • Lots of courses, books, etc.
Write a Comment
User Comments (0)
About PowerShow.com