Systemic Level Design

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Systemic Level Design

• Harvey Smith
• witchboy_at_ionstorm.com

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Lecture Overview

• Intro, Overview and High Concept
• Special Case LD
• Systemic LD
• Pros of Systemic LD
• Cons of Systemic LD
• Summation

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What if Frank Lloyd Wright Built Doom Levels?

• Not a visual aesthetics or architecture talk.
• Not a level design chokepoint or flow talk.

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What Todays Talk Is

• Related to LD content creation tasks and tools.
• Advocates gameplay implementation
• According to (systemic) global patterns
• Instead of (special case) localized patterns

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Intro Ion Storm (Austin)

• An EIDOS Studio
• Studio Head The GREAT Warren Spector
• Titles to date Deus Ex (PC and PS2)
• In development Deus Ex 2, Thief 3
• Focus on Immersive Simulations

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Intro Harvey Smith

• Deus Ex 2 (Project Director)
• Deus Ex (Lead Designer)
• FireTeam (Lead Designer)
• Technosaur (Project Director/Designer)
• CyberMage (Associate Producer)
• Ultima VIII CD (Tester/Design Assist)
• System Shock (Lead Tester)
• Super Wing Commander 3DO (Tester)

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Deus Ex Goals

• Spy fiction
• Realistic environments
• Immersive environments
• Genre mix
• Player-driven experience

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Deus Ex Where We Ended Up

• Conspiracy Theory
• Globe-hopping, Real World Locations
• Immersive Sim Shooter Hybrid
• Multiple Solutions to Problems

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Deus Ex Systemic/Special Case Hybrid

• Multiple Solutions (Player Expression)
• Player-expression via game systems, emergence and
  simulation (Systemic).
• Player-expression via LD-driven puzzles and
  situations (Special Case).

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High Concept

• Level designers can establish gameplay
  systemically or on a special case basis.
• Systemic implementation enables
• More intentional, less scripted play
• Decreases the learning curve
• Makes bug fixing easier

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Special Case Level Design Definition

• Special case level design is the creation of
  gameplay out of the notions of a particular
  designer, as needed for a specific, localized
  occurrence in the game.
• Special case level design has limited awareness
  of global game patterns.

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Special Case Level Design

• All about the ideas of a given level designer
• What is consistent
• What is fun (and rewarding)
• Consistency is possible, but improbable
• Requires vigilant manual effort
• Single cardboard box in DX contained something
  useful

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Special Case Planning

• ExampleTeam discusses
• Fictional setting of a given level
• Look and feel
• Placement of units (monsters or characters),
  weapons, tools or resources
• Specific puzzles or scripted sequences
• Discussed, but implementation is not detailed
• Not practical
• Different designers, different styles/techniques

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Special Case Tools Content Creation

• Properties and parameters for many game elements
  reside on a per instance basis
• Objects with tweaked parameters
• Unique moving geometry (movers)
• Special triggers
• All cobbled together by each LD individually

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Special Case Tools Content Creation

• Examples
• Generic (highly configurable) triggers
• Moving geometry (generic movers)
• Different LDs create visually identical
  crushing block puzzles that function
  differently, with subtle variations.
• Many editors have hybrid tools
• DX1 trip lasers had default properties, but could
  be tweaked, causing problems.

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Special Case Bug Fixing

• Testing finds problems and often each instance of
  a gameplay element must be visited and
  reconfigured manually
• Each scripted scene
• All triggers controlling specific state changes
• All unique movers
• Et cetera

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Special Case Bug Fixing

• ExamplePlaytest determines that crushing blast
  doors add fun.
• Because each door was set up manually, each door
  must be visited individually
• Takes time
• Likely to introduce bugs

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Systemic Level Design Definition

• Systemic level design is the creation of gameplay
  out of combinations of existing game elements
  with globally defined, consistent characteristics
  and behaviors.
• Systemic level design has an awareness of global
  game patterns.

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Systemic Planning

• Team discusses
• Same stuff as in Special Case planning (fiction,
  look and feel, game element placement, specific
  sequences)
• Rules governing behaviors of game elements
• Specific methods for implementing types of
  situations (according to agreed upon patterns)

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Systemic Planning

• ExampleTeam plans 3 door classes
• Light doors easily destroyed and do not inflict
  damage
• Medium doors only destroyed by explosives and
  inflict light damage
• Heavy doors cannot be destroyed and inflict heavy
  damage

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Systemic Tools Content Creation

• Game element properties and parameters reside at
  a higher level, rather than on a per instance
  basis.
• Tools for adding game elements are streamlined,
  calling upon archetypes, rather than specific
  instances of any given game element.

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Systemic Tools Content Creation

• ExampleDoor behavior (3 classes) stored in
  object property tree
• Not entered for each of 500 doors by hand
• Information entered and managed centrally
• LDs select proper door and drop into place
• New door types are added when needed
• All doors inherit properties from archetypes

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Systemic Bug fixing

• Playtest determines that a given gameplay element
  behaves inappropriately.
• A change is made to the object property tree
  storing the behaviors of the game element
  archetype.

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Systemic Bug fixing

• ExamplePlaytest complains that medium doors are
  not always destroyed by grenades
• Medium door strength is lowered globally

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Systemic Advantages

• Consistency
• Emergent Gameplay
• Efficiency

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Consistency Breakdown

• Consistency
• Plan Formulation
• Intuitive Behavior
• Learning Curve
• Emergent Gameplay
• Efficiency

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Consistency Plan Formulation

• Consistency rewards strategic plan formulation.
• Once the behaviors of game elements can be
  predicted, the player is empowered to make
  assumptions.
• Success or failure are understood.
• Player feels a sense of agency.

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Consistency Plan Formulation

• ExampleLDs set up blast doors w/ different
  properties
• Crush, Move Speed, Sound Volume
• After encountering first blast door, player makes
  assumptions about second blast door.
• Plans fail.
• Player feels like he is uncovering an arbitrary
  path set out for him by the designer.

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Consistency Intuitive Behavior

• If game elements are implemented with systemic
  consistency
• The player is more likely to develop an intuitive
  understanding of game elements.
• Variations of game elements are likely to be
  understood even if the player is encountering
  them for the first time.

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Consistency Intuitive Behavior

• Systemically implemented fire damage model
• If campfire burns player-character once, it is
  likely to burn him twice.
• If player encounters a second form of fire (like
  a fire barrel), it is likely to behave
  intuitively
• Burns player-character
• Burns cat
• Burns dog

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Consistency Learning Curve

• If the behaviors of game elements stay
  consistent
• Player spends less time learning the game
• Player spends more time playing the game

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Emergent Gameplay

• Consistency
• Emergent Gameplay
• Special Case Per instance basis
• Systemic Class-to-class basis
• Efficiency

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Emergence

• Emergent gameplay can arise from the interaction
  of simple rules, making the whole of the game
  experience greater than its parts, allowing for
  second order consequences.

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Emergence

• DX1 Monsters were more systemic than characters
• Monsters were dropped in place
• Characters properties were tweaked
• Urban context Run when shots fired
• Warzone context Crouch when shots fired
• DX1 Monsters provided more comprehensible, useful
  emergence

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Emergence Example 01

• Players discovered deeper layer of interaction
  than we had planned
• Locked Containers Opened w/ resources.
• MiB Unit Explodes upon death.
• Emergent Strategy Players used MiBs to open
  locked containers.
• Good surprise Oh, wow, of course.
• Bad surprise What the hell?!?

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Emergence Example 02

• Transform Convert organic into mech.
• Command Bolt Steal enemy mech.
• Player can upgrade then steal enemy organic units.

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Efficiency

• Consistency
• Emergent Gameplay
• Efficiency

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Efficiency

• Systemic Level Design
• Plan-and-drop efficiency
• Global bug fixes
• Designers spend less time on tedious map-monkey
  tasks and more on gameplay

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Efficiency

• ExampleA change made to TripLaser_red in the
  global object hierarchy changes all red trip
  lasers.
• Worth noting Part of the DX1 problem was the
  lack of a LD tools support programmer.

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Systemic Disadvantages

• Need for Shoehorning
• Introduction of Uncertainty
• Designer Perception
• Loss of power
• Consistency is boring

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Shoehorning

• Twisting an idea to make it work with core
  gameplay systems. A restriction on creative
  impulse in exchange for the benefits of systemic
  level design.
• Sometimes needed to meet creative vision
• Sometimes needed for player expectation

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Special Case Squad Mate Example

• Designers (and testers) wanted a squad mate for
  cell break
• Idea made total sense, in context
• DX1 lacked Squad Mate AI
• We hacked it in anyway with a bunch of manually
  placed triggers

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Ladies and GentlemenMiguel

• It met expectation and provided color
• It broke often and was lame
• Special case tools are powerful (maybe in a bad
  way)

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Systemic Arrow/Pyre Example

• Designer takes abstract idea and warps it to work
  with some of the core game systems
• Planting spots become pyres
• Seeds become water arrows
• Stealth is employed
• Core context/fiction is employed

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Uncertainty

• Systemic LD is more likely to allow for emergent
  events within the game.
• Emergent behaviors are often too subtle (or too
  numerous in permutation) for the team to
  effectively predict, introducing uncertainty.

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Prox Mine Uncertainty

• Prox mines behaved according to globally
  consistent rules about relationships between
  classes
• Player could attach/un-attach prox mines
• Prox mines were physical objects
• Player could collide w/ physical objects
• Player didnt detonate his own
• Player could climb walls w/ prox mines

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Prox Mine Climbing
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Special Case Prox Mine

• Prox Mine (red dot) is linked manually to other
  game elements (green dots).
• Prox Mine has no relationship w/ some game
  elements (black dots).

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Systemic Prox Mine

• Prox Mine (red dot) is linked to object class
  (hollow green dot).
• Prox Mine has relationship w/ all game elements
  (green dots).

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Prox Mine Model Comparison
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Designer Perception Loss of Power

• A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little
  minds.
• Ralph Waldo Emerson, Special Case Level
  Designer (and Poet)

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Designer Perception Loss of Power

• LD loses some specific narrative/flow control.
• LD gains
• Tools that can be combined and trusted.
• Power to contextualize the world.
• Power to empower the player.

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Designer Perception Consistency Is Boring

• Consistency is contrary to nature, contrary to
  life.
• Aldous Huxley, Special Case Level Designer (and
  Depressing SF Writer)

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Designer Perception Consistency Is Boring

• Games with emergence are often surprising (in a
  good way).
• Players often perceive open-ended game
  environments as providing more freedom. Anything
  can happen.
• Systemic games encourage the player to experiment.

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Systemic Vs Special Case Player Perception

• Doug Church
• Playing the Game Designer versus Playing the Game

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Playing the Designer

• Often much more frustrating
• Some arbitrary force is foiling the player
• Behaviors change, instance to instance
• Environment inconsistent or incomplete
• Plans often fail for inexplicable reasons
• Surprise What the hell???

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Playing the Game

• Can be particularly satisfying
• Fewer logical breaks in consistency
• Environment feels rational
• Player feels free to experiment
• Player feels less manipulated
• Plans fail or succeed comprehensibly
• Surprise Oh, coolof course
• The system does not careit has no agenda.

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Some Benefits of Special Case LD

• Variation
• Outside Scope of Core Mechanics
• Unique Moments
• Story Advancement

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Systemic and Special Case Examples

• Heart of Darkness
• GTA3
• Platform Games

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Heart of Darkness

• Great Game
• Amazing Art
• Short Play-time
• Simple Interface
• Fun
• Every scene totally special case

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Heart of Darkness

• Constant variation
• Player constantly sees something new
• Any interaction is possible

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Heart of Darkness

• Constant guesswork
• Sometimes up arrow means climb wall
• Sometimes up arrow means jump
• Very narrow range of emergent interaction

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Heart of Darkness

• Fun is still possible
• Heart of Darkness has different (not inferior)
  values

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Grand Theft Auto 3

• Game of the Year
• Sandbox freedom through simulation
• Pedestrian Traffic
• Vehicle Physics
• Dynamic Missions
• Damage Model
• Goal Completion

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Grand Theft Auto 3

• Mostly systemic
• Drive off roof
• Sometimes special case
• Play it our way
• Suffered when Systemic and Special Case contrasted

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GTA3 Cartel Example

• Goal Completion Methodology
• Sniper Rifle Only
• Must Wait For 8-ball
• MISSION FAILED
• Contrasts w/ Goal Completion

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Platform Games

• Games like Mario64, Sonic
• Made up almost entirely of systemic elements
• LDs create gameplay patterns by combining
  elements

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Summation High Concept

• Level designers can establish gameplay
  systemically or on a special case basis.
• Systemic implementation enables
• More intentional, less scripted play
• Decreases the learning curve
• Makes bug fixing easier

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Summation Last Thoughts

• Design object behaviors by type, rather than by
  instance.
• This is central to designing a behavior system
  rather than a set of puzzles.

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Goodbye and Good Luck

• Special Thanks Ion Storm Austin, Marc LeBlanc,
  Warren Spector, Tim Stellmach, Ricardo Bare,
  Brian Sharp, Kent Hudson, Clay Hoffman and Doug
  Church

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Systemic Level DesignHarvey Smith
(witchboy_at_ionstorm.com)
Systemic Level Design