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Thinking About Games

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Title: Thinking About Games


1
Thinking About Games
2
What is a Game?
  • Work consists of whatever a body is
  • obliged to do, and Play consists of
  • whatever a body is not obliged to do.
  • - Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

3
What is a Game?
  • There are many ways to define the term game.
    Game researchers still debate even this simple
    point ...
  • Were going to look at a few and see what we can
    learn.
  • After all, if we cant figure out what a game is,
    how can we possibly design one?

4
What is a Game?
  • A textbook definition, adapted from Adams
  • A game is a type of play activity, conducted in
    the context of a pretended reality, in which the
    participant(s) try to achieve at least one
    arbitrary, nontrivial goal acting in accordance
    with rules.
  • Its kind of dry, but gives us a few things to
    think about

5
Essential Elements of a Game
  • Based on this definition, all games have four
    essential elements
  • Play
  • Pretending
  • Goals
  • Rules
  • This is regardless of the type of game, and the
    way the game is played.

6
Play
  • Some forms of entertainment are presentational,
    like books and film.
  • They entertain you.
  • They do not change over time.
  • Play, on the other hand, is an interactive and
    participatory form of entertainment.
  • You, in essence, entertain yourself.
  • You actively modify the experience and change the
    course of the game through playing it.
  • Not all play is for entertainment, just as not
    all books or films are for entertainment.

7
Play
  • Play must ultimately include some freedom for the
    player.
  • This includes the freedom of choosing what to do
    and how to go about doing it.
  • Without this freedom, the outcome is
    predetermined, and you are not really playing a
    game.
  • Ultimately though, freedom is restricted by the
    rules of the game, as we will see.

8
Pretending
  • Pretending creates an alternate reality, at least
    in our minds, in which the game is played.
  • This alternate reality attempts to recreate or
    simulate some elements of reality, and allows
    fantasy to fill in the rest.

9
Pretending
  • The type and amount of pretending varies from
    game to game.
  • The player can pretend that
  • A new world replaces the old one.
  • The player is a different person.
  • The outcomes of actions are different.
  • Artificial significance is attached to various
    situations and events.

10
Goals
  • A game must have a goal, and it can have more
    than one.
  • Some type of challenge prevents the player from
    trivially achieving the goal(s)
  • Other players (including any computer agents)
  • Elements of game reality (the game environment)
  • Time (in the case of races, etc.)
  • The players own self (in the case of puzzles,
    etc.)

11
Goals
  • The goal of a game is defined by its rules.
  • This commonly takes many forms
  • A victory condition something to be achieved in
    order to win the game.
  • A loss condition something to avoid to not
    lose the game.
  • A termination condition something that causes
    the game to end (can be necessary when victory or
    loss does not end the game).

12
Rules
  • Rules are definitions and instructions that
    dictate how the game is played.
  • They should be unambiguous and without conflicts
    between them.
  • Some will be explicit, while others will be
    implicit.
  • There can be many types of rules
  • Obligations what you must do
  • Permissions what you can do
  • Prohibitions what you must not do

13
Another Definition
  • Schell takes a different approach, starting with
    an incredibly simple definition
  • A game is something you play
  • While spot on, this definition isnt overly
    useful on its own.
  • Recognizing this, Schell examined several
    definitions from top game researchers, and
    identified a collection of common qualities for
    games

14
Qualities of Games
  • Schell identified 10 qualities in total
  • Games are entered willfully
  • Games have goals
  • Games have conflict
  • Games have rules
  • Games can be won and lost
  • Games are interactive
  • Games have challenge
  • Games can create their own internal value
  • Games engage players
  • Games are closed, formal systems

15
Going Further
  • Is this definition of a game too complex though?
    Arent they simpler than this?
  • Schell went back to things, re-examined
    definitions, and talked to players.
  • When asked why they play games, a common answer
    emerged again and again
  • Players liked solving the problemspresented by
    their games.

16
Solving Problems?
  • People tend to think of problems as something
    negative.
  • Still though, it is hard to come up with a game
    that does not, at some point, boil down to
    problem solving.
  • After all, any game with a goal basically has
    presented you with a problem to solve
  • Games are more than just problem solving though.
    Often, solving problems are work and not for play
    or fun

17
Solving Problems?
  • In the end, Schell settled on this definition
  • A game is a problem-solving activity, approached
    with a playful attitude.
  • This playful attitude usually implies that the
    player comes with a sense of curiosity, looking
    for fun, entertainment, and surprise.
  • While simple, this definition is both useful and
    insightful to us as game designers.

18
What is Game Design?
  • Essentially, game design is the act of deciding
    what a game should be.
  • Because its all about decision making, special
    software or equipment is not needed. You only
    need to be able to record and communicate your
    decisions.
  • You dont need to be a programmer, or an artist,
    or a writer. Those backgrounds can help you make
    better decisions, or make them faster, but are
    not strictly essential.

19
What is Game Design?
  • Designing a game involves hundreds or thousands
    of decisions.
  • Design almost always continues throughout the
    development of the game, from its start to its
    finish.
  • While it is common for a game to have dedicated
    designers, most people involved in development
    make decisions at some point in time, and so are
    also designers.

20
Skills for Game Design
  • Interestingly, most skills and disciplines can
    be useful and applied to the design of a video
    game.
  • This includes (from Schell)
  • Animation, anthropology, architecture,
    brainstorming, business, cinematography,
    communication, creative writing, economics,
    engineering, history, management, mathematics,
    music, psychology, public speaking, sound design,
    technical writing,visual arts,

21
Skills for Game Design
  • What is the most important skill though?
  • Creativity?
  • Critical thinking?
  • Logic?
  • Communication?
  • These are all important, but most people believe
    something else to be even moreimportant

22
Listening
  • Not simply hearing, but listening deep
    listening in a way that involves appreciating,
    understanding, and empathy.
  • Schell identifies five different kinds of
    listening that are essential to the design of
    video games

23
Listening
  • To your team Collectively, they have the skills
    and experience needed to make the game.
  • To your audience If they arent satisfied with
    your game, you have failed. To know how to
    satisfy them, you have to listen to them.
  • To your game Like a mechanic that can tell what
    is wrong with a car by listening to its engine
    run, a good designer will know what is wrong with
    their game by listening to it run.
  • To your client If you do not listen to the one
    paying to support development, they will go to
    someone who will. If not now, eventually
  • To your self This is how you tap into your own
    creativity. You must be able to do this

24
Why do People Play Games?
  • There are a lot of generally accepted reasons why
    people play games
  • Mastery
  • Escapism
  • Competition
  • Knowledge
  • Social interaction
  • Physical seclusion
  • Addiction
  • And others

25
Why do People Play Games?
  • Mastery.
  • Most players play to overcome the problems
    presented to them by the game.
  • Some players are motivated further to master the
    game itself, wanting to completely dominate every
    aspect of it.
  • This is also to prove ones self by overcoming
    challenges presented within the game, for a sense
    of accomplishment, satisfaction, or
    acknowledgement.

26
Why do People Play Games?
  • Escapism.
  • Players often say that they play games to escape
    or withdraw from the challenges or stresses of
    the real world.
  • In essence, games can be a participatory means of
    escape.
  • They can also provide fantasy fulfillment and
    exploration, allowing the player to go places and
    do things they couldnt do otherwise.

27
Why do People Play Games?
  • Competition.
  • Simply put, some players enjoy the thrill of
    competing against other players.
  • Other players in this case are typically human
    (to provide sufficient challenge) but could be
    driven by artificial intelligence instead.
  • This is only a natural extension of the same kind
    of competitive spirit found in sports, only now
    in a virtual space instead.

28
Why do People Play Games?
  • Knowledge.
  • Many of our earliest learning experiences as
    children come in the form of games.
  • Many examples of this can be found in the animal
    kingdom as well.
  • What is learned depends greatly on the particular
    game in question.
  • Learning could be either conscious or
    subconscious, explicit or implicit.
  • Some researchers theorize that all games involve
    learning, in one way or another.

29
Why do People Play Games?
  • Social interaction
  • Multiplayer games allow for unique socializing
    and interactions among people that are difficult
    to find elsewhere.
  • This can occur both within the same room, and
    remotely through a network.
  • This experience can also occur with only two
    people, or thousands, as is the case with
    Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games.

30
Why do People Play Games?
  • Physical seclusion
  • While this might seem to be the opposite of
    social interaction, it need not be.
  • For example, in an MMO game, you can have many
    players in the same virtual place, with each in
    their own private physical space.
  • Some people do play single player games for this
    reason, but others play multiplayer games to have
    an interactive experience, just in a secluded
    environment.

31
Why do People Play Games?
  • Addiction.
  • Some players indicate they are motivated by an
    addiction a tendency to focus on one activity at
    the expense of others.
  • Most game developers argue they want their games
    to be addictive, in that the players are given
    such a compelling experience that they do not
    want to stop playing.
  • However, one must also consider the social and
    ethical ramifications when this gets carried too
    far. (More on this later.)

32
Why do People Play Games?
  • Other reasons
  • A form of therapy. Games can provide a safe
    means to relax or relieve stress.
  • A form of exercise. Games can provide both
    mental and physical exercise.
  • A safe way to thumb ones nose at society and
    overcome social restrictions. Examples
  • You can do things in a game that you cannot or
    should not do in reality.
  • You can assume a role unacceptable by society or
    engage in unacceptable activity.

33
Why do People Play Games?
  • Why not? They are fun after all

34
Who Plays Games?
  • To understand how to make better games, it is
    good to consider the different types of players
    that play games.
  • Not all players are the same.
  • Not all players experience the samegame in the
    same way.
  • Not all players play for the same reasons.
  • We are going to examine geographics,
    psychographics, and demographics.

35
Who Plays Games?Geographics
  • Geographics relate to players locations.
  • A players country can affect their attitude
    towards games or particular types of games or
    gameplay.
  • In some cases, even the particular region within
    a country can have similar effects.
  • Geographic effects must be taken into account
    when developing and marketing games for them to
    be successful.

36
Who Plays Games?Geographics
  • Examples of geographics issues
  • Dominant hardware infrastructure.
  • Consoles vs. computers?
  • Wired vs. wireless connectivity?
  • Dominant platform.
  • Tolerance to certain types of content.
  • Violence, sex, and so on.
  • Use of licenses and licensed properties.
  • Genre and gameplay adoption
  • And many, many others.

37
Who Plays Games?Psychographics
  • Psychographics consists of peoples values,
    attitudes, perceptions, lifestyles, and ways of
    thinking.
  • This can affect attitudes towards games, game
    genres, and types of gameplay as well, in a wide
    variety of ways.
  • Consequently, psychographics must also be
    considered in developing a game.
  • There are several ways to look at this

38
Who Plays Games?Bartles Suits
  • In 1996, Richard Bartle wrote a seminal article
    on the types of players who play multi-user
    dungeons (MUDs) or virtual worlds.
  • These games were typically Dungeons andDragons
    like games consisting of numerous people playing
    online at the same time.
  • Early MUDs were text-based, but newer ones are
    graphical. (Some claim that MUDs led to the
    development of games like Everquest and WoW.)
  • The same player classifications extend easily to
    other kinds of video games, and games in general
    as well.

39
Who Plays Games?Bartles Suits
Enjoying Acting
Killers
Achievers
WorldOriented
Player Oriented
Socializers
Explorers
Enjoy Interacting
40
Who Plays Games?Bartles Suits
  • How are virtual worlds seen?
  • Achievers see them as games. Their aim is to
    improve, advance, and ultimately win.
  • Explorers see them more as pastimes, with rewards
    coming from discovery and furthering
    understanding.
  • Socializers see them as entertainment and
    opportunities to communicate with others.
  • Killers see them as sport, in the same way that
    hunting and fishing are sports.

41
Who Plays Games?Bartles Suits
  • Bartle made several interesting observations
    based on this classification scheme
  • A game requires a healthy balance of the
    different types of players to be successful.
    (The exact balance depends heavily upon the game,
    however.)
  • In many cases, games will reach an equilibrium of
    player types on their own. This may or may not
    be a good thing!
  • The design of a game greatly affects player
    types simple tuning of a game can shift the
    balance of types for better (or worse).
  • As players mature, they often change types or
    adapt their roles in the game somewhat.

42
Who Plays Games?Bartles Suits
  • More achievers
  • Slightly fewer socializers
  • More killers
  • Fewer achievers
  • Slightly fewer socializers
  • Fewer killers
  • More explorers
  • More explorers
  • Slightly fewer killers
  • Fewer explorers
  • Slightly more killers
  • More socializers
  • More socializers
  • More killers
  • Fewer socializers
  • Fewer socializers
  • Fewer killers
  • More killers
  • Fewer achievers
  • Slightly fewer explorers
  • Far fewer socializers
  • Fewer killers
  • More achievers
  • Far more socializers

43
Who Plays Games?Bartles Suits
  • Based on these observations Bartle deduced four
    stable configurations
  • Killers and achievers in equilibrium, with hardly
    any socializers or explorers.
  • Socializers in dominance, with everyone else only
    having bit parts.
  • A balance between all four types, with enough
    explorers to keep killers in check.
  • An empty virtual world.
  • The third configuration is likely the best
    prospect for a worlds longevity, with the first
    and second tending towards the fourth.

44
Who Plays Games?Bartles Suits
  • The paper itself is a fascinating read
  • Richard Bartle, Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades
    Players Who Suit MUDs. Journal of MUD Research,
    Volume 1, Issue 1. June 1996. Available online
    athttp//www.mud.co.uk/richard/hcds.htm
  • Or, you can check out Bartles book Designing
    Virtual Worlds, published by New Riders. (Its
    in the Western library.)

45
Who Plays Games?Four Keys to More Emotion
  • In 2004, XEODesign released a report entitled
    Why We Play Games.
  • In this report, they discuss their findings from
    a field study of gamers on their experiences and
    emotions during gameplay.
  • In the end they found four pathways or keys to
    more emotion in a game without story.
  • Each key corresponds closely to a type of player.
  • Interestingly enough, they found that the most
    successful and best selling games possessed
    gameplay catering to at least three of the keys.

46
Who Plays Games? Four Keys to More Emotion
  • Hard fun.
  • Emotions are drawn from meaningful challenges,
    strategies, and puzzles.
  • This caters to players who play to overcome
    obstacles in their way to derive a feeling of
    accomplishment.
  • By providing challenges to the player, the player
    experiences a satisfying level of frustration
    balanced by a sense of triumph over adversity.

47
Who Plays Games? Four Keys to More Emotion
  • Easy fun.
  • Other players focus on the sheer enjoyment of
    experiencing the game activities.
  • In this case, there is less focus on achieving
    and success.
  • Instead, the game immerses the player in a world
    that inspires curiosity, awe, wonder, and a
    desire to explore the world and all that it has
    to offer.

48
Who Plays Games? Four Keys to More Emotion
  • Altered states.
  • Players using this key play to change from one
    mental state to another. For example, to relieve
    stress, avoid boredom, clear their minds, and so
    on.
  • In this case, suitable interactions and gameplay
    elements are required in thegame world external
    to the player tocreate the altered state
    internal to theplayer.

49
Who Plays Games? Four Keys to More Emotion
  • The People Factor.
  • In this case, the game creates opportunities for
    player competition, cooperation, performance, and
    spectacle.
  • In this case, enjoyment is derived from playing
    with or against others.
  • Players using this key see games as mechanisms
    for social interaction.

50
Who Plays Games? Four Keys to More Emotion
  • There are quite a few similarities to their
    findings and Bartles observations, although
    there are some differences too.
  • An abstract of this report, as well as the
    complete document can be found athttp//www.xeo
    design.com

51
Who Plays Games? Casual versus Hard-Core
  • A common way of classifying players is to lump
    them into one of two categories casual or
    hard-core.
  • This was studied in more detail by Ernest Adams,
    followed by Scott Kim, and then again by Adams
    and Barry Ip.
  • In their latest work, Ip and Adams identify 15
    factors for classifying players as casual or
    hard-core, and develop methods for computing a
    players gamer dedication to produce a scale
    of classification instead of simply two
    categories.

52
Who Plays Games? Casual versus Hard-Core
  • Hard-core gamers are (taken from Kim)
  • Technologically savvy.
  • Have the latest high-end computers/consoles.
  • Willingness to pay (also by Adams).
  • Prefer violent/action games.
  • Prefer games that have depth and complexity.
  • Play games over many long sessions (also by
    Adams).

53
Who Plays Games? Casual versus Hard-Core
  • Hard-core gamers (taken from Adams)
  • Hunger for gaming-related information.
  • Discuss games with friends/bulletin boards.
  • Play for the exhilaration of defeating (or
    completing) the game.
  • Are much more tolerant of frustration.
  • Tend to be engaged in competition with him or
    herself, the game, and other players.

54
Who Plays Games? Casual versus Hard-Core
  • Other factors by Ip and Adams
  • Age at which first started playing games.
  • Comparative knowledge of the industry.
  • Indications of early adoption behaviour.
  • Desire to modify or extend games in a creative
    way.

55
Who Plays Games? Casual versus Hard-Core
  • Based on these factors, Ip and Adams compute a
    gamer dedication score.

56
Who Plays Games? Casual versus Hard-Core
  • Ip and Adams are continuing their work.
  • Looking into formal studies to validate their
    methods and analyses.
  • Using gamer dedication as a metric to improve
    games (or game marketing).
  • More details can be found athttp//www.gamasutr
    a.com/features/20020605/ip_pfv.htm

57
Who Plays Games?VALS Psychotypes
  • The Values, Attitudes, and Lifestyles Survey
    (VALS) was developed by the Stanford Research
    Institute.
  • VALS analyses the consumer market into eight
    segments associated with different motivations
    (ideals, achievement, and self expression) as
    well as access to resources.
  • See http//www.sric-bi.com/VALS to test yourself!

58
58
59
Who Plays Games?Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
  • The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is built
    upon four pairs of traits considered to be
    complementary.
  • All eight traits are present in all people, to
    various degrees.
  • Each person is categorized into one of sixteen
    types depending on their tendencies in the
    pairings of traits, although each person can draw
    upon all eight traits in different situations.

60
Who Plays Games?Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
61
Who Plays Games?Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
  • ISTJ Trustee
  • ISFJ Conservator
  • INFJ Author
  • INTJ Scientist
  • ISTP Artisan
  • ISFP Artist
  • INFP Questor
  • INTP Architect
  • ESTP Promoter
  • ESFP Entertainer
  • ENFP Journalist
  • ENTP Inventor
  • ESTJ Administrator
  • ESFJ Seller
  • ENFJ Pedagogue
  • ENTJ Field Marshall

Conceptual Summaries of the Sixteen Myers-Briggs
Types
62
Who Plays Games?Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
  • Myers-Briggs types can have many implications on
    game design
  • How games are played (E vs. I)
  • Learning and problem solving (S vs. N)
  • Overall motivation (T vs. F)
  • Goal orientation and structure (J vs. P)
  • Challenge versus fun (TJ vs. FP)
  • And so on
  • For a good discussion refer to 21st Century Game
    Design by Bateman and Boon.

63
Who Plays Games? Flow and Optimal Experience
  • Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi conducted
    interesting research into what he called flow
    or optimal experience.
  • The main idea is that in certain mental states we
    feel a complete an energized focus on an
    activity, accompanied by a high level of
    enjoyment and fulfillment in what we do.
  • As such, flow is typically defined as the
    experience of devoting total concentration
    effortlessly upon a task.

64
Who Plays Games? Flow and Optimal Experience
  • Csikszentmihalyi identified seven characteristics
    of the flow experience.
  • The subject undertakes an activity they believe
    they can complete.
  • The subject can focus their concentration
    completely on the activity.
  • The activity has clear goals.
  • The activity has direct feedback.

65
Who Plays Games? Flow and Optimal Experience
  • Characteristics (continued)
  • The subject experiences a sense of effortless
    involvement such that worries and concerns seem
    to vanish.
  • The subject feels that they are in control of the
    activity.
  • Subjective experience of time is altered.
  • Not all characteristics need to be present for
    flow to be experienced, but they are common
    traits of a flow experience.

66
Who Plays Games? Flow and Optimal Experience
  • People that study games recognize these traits as
    common to playing games.
  • Consequently, a state of flow can be correlated
    with a highly enjoyable and immersive gameplay
    experience.
  • As a result, to provide an enjoyable game
    experience, a game should strive to place the
    player in an optimal experience or provide a
    framework that makes it more likely to occur.

67
Who Plays Games? Flow and Optimal Experience
  • A central idea to the psychology of optimal
    experience is the flow channel.
  • When a subject faces challenges for which they
    have insufficient skills, they experience
    anxiety.
  • When a subject faces challenges for which their
    skills are excessive, they experience boredom
    instead.
  • The key to reaching the flow channel where an
    optimal experience is achieved is to balance
    challenge and skill.

68
Who Plays Games? Flow and Optimal Experience
Anxiety
DegreeofChallenge
FlowChannel
Boredom
Degree of Skill
69
Who Plays Games? Flow and Optimal Experience
  • The concept of flow has very important
    implications on good game design.
  • Games must strive to balance the challenge they
    provide to the player playing the game.
  • How can this be done when every player brings
    different skills, experiences, and tolerances to
    the game?
  • How does the game cope and adjust difficulty as
    expected player skill increases, especially when
    the rate of increase varies?

70
Who Plays Games?Demographics
  • The demographics of players include statistic
    information including
  • Gender
  • Age
  • Income level
  • Education level
  • Marital status
  • Ethnicity
  • And so on.

71
Who Plays Games?Demographics
  • Understanding demographics can provide valuable
    information on the target audience and market for
    your game.
  • Also, if you intended to target a game to a
    particular audience, demographic information on
    that audience can help you tune gameplay to meet
    the needs and wants of that audience.

72
Who Plays Games?Demographics
  • Demographics can influence games in many ways
  • Interface design.
  • Story elements such as plot and characters.
  • Pace of action.
  • Target level of difficulty.
  • Multiplayer and online support.
  • Appropriateness of content.
  • And so on.
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