3GB3 CHAPTER 4: GAME WORLDS

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Alfred Howard
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1 3GB3 CHAPTER 4: GAME WORLDS DEFINITION: WHAT IS A GAME WORLD? - Artificial universe, imaginary place in which events of the game occur - Football (Game, magic circle, no gameworld) - Chess (Is a game world, but not really important) - Monopoly (Has a game world, concept is key to gameplay) WHAT IS A GAME WORLD TO US? - Sound, art, animation, music, audio effects - ex: Zork text adventure game world - ex: Dwarf Fortress ASCII interface - ex: Fallout Game world is key to enjoyment WHAT IS A GAME WORLD FOR? - Entertainment in games has many sources o Gameplay is paramount! o Social interaction, novelty o Game world also important - ex: CHESS vs FALLOUT o In a different game world, Fallout is a different game (Oblivion) - ENTERTAIN o World to explore o Backstory to discover ex: Fallout, Monkey Island, Final Fantasy - SELL THE GAME o Buy the fantasy the game offers (instead of mechanics) o For those not familiar with game (BioShock) ABSTRACT PLAY - Mastering core mechanics -> Ignore game world o ex: Counter Stike, StarCraft - Initial introduction to the game is about the world o ex: BioShock

2 DIMENSIONS: - Physical - Temporal - Environmental - Emotional - Ethical - Realism (quality, not a dimension) DESIGNING A GAME WORLD: - ASK FOR IDEAS FIRST o Drawing pictures first? o Only a starting point, don t overdevelop! o Game world must support the core mechanic - Characterize the world in terms of dimensions PHYSICAL DIMENSION - World occurs in a simulated space - Player moves as avatar in this space - ex: Zork (text adventure) still has a physical space SPATIAL DIMENSIONALITY (OF GAMEPLAY) - 2D o Side scrollers ex: Mario o Overhead ex: Diablo o Can still use 3D graphics for 2D gameplay ex: DukeNukem: Manhattan, SimCity D o World consists of 2D layers o ex: StarCraft Flight layer Hieght terrain (visual only, practically just 2D with dead areas o ex: Battletoads? Ninja Turtles? - 3D o Inside the space instead of watching the space o Excellent for game relying on exploration - 4D o Implemented as an alternate version of the 3D world o ex: Soul Reaver, Prey, LOTR (Frodo w/ ring on) - Making a Decision (what does the dimension contribute) o ex: Zelda (old vs new) o ex: Prince of Persia (old vs new) o ex: Worms vs Worms 3D

3 SCALE - Absolute Size - Relative Size of objects - Abstract Game World o Shapes and sizes made to fit gameplay ex: Tetris - Verisimilitude o Requires high accuracy ex: Flight Sim, Racing, Sports - First Person o Makes sense to scale world to fit player o Exception: Keys Objects (ammo, health) - Isometric o Real-World Scale doesn t quite work o ex: StarCraft Long range weapons Practically tech should be accurate and insane distances Cannot fit this realistically into a battlefield Thus utilize RELATIVELY longer range o ex: StarCraft - Building Size Scale correct means too small to see - Outdoor-Indoor Distortion o Don t want to take 20 mins to cross a town - Time Distortion o ex: StarCraft Aircraft Again, solution is relatively faster BOUNDARIES - Game worlds must have an edge (non-infinite memory) - Attempt to preserve immersion - Natural to gameplay o ex: Racing, Football, Arenas - Indoor Settings o Indoor locations naturally a finite space - Outdoor Settings o Island ex: Morrowind, Mario64 o Impassable terrain ex: Mountains, etc o World-Wrap ex: Civilization, Spore - Unrestricted edges o Leaving the area of engagement ex: StarFox o Simply invisible wall ex: Ocean boundaries o Inhibiting mechanic ex: Morrowind, Boderlands

4 TEMPORAL DIMENSION - Turn Based o Game is idle when nothing happens o Turn-structure determines passage of time (if applicable) ex: Civ - Theatrical Time Passage o Implemented for atmosphere/realism o Generally feels artificial ex:??? - Functional o Time passage affects game world/processes o ex: Morrowind, Baldur s Gate, WarCraft3 VARIABLE TIME - Game time is NOT Real time - Time jumps like a movie to preserve gameplay o ex: RTS soldiers don t sleep at night Bad simulation, better gameplay - ex: The Sims o Speed up time while all asleep o Reduce time available in day to add pressure to get things done ANOMALOUS TIME - Time scale is different between simultaneous activities - ex: Warcraft 3 o Time to chop wood similar to time to create a building - No disruption because very separate activities PLAYER-ADJUSTABLE - Sports Games o Cannot change time/play because reduces reality o Adjust total time of game periods/quarters - Flight Simulations o Long periods of doing nothing o Set to 8x speed to prevent boredom - Pokemon Emulators o Reduce boring walking-time

5 ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSION - Appearance & Atmosphere - What s in the space defined by the physical dimension CULTURAL CONTEXT - Culture of the people in the game-world o Beliefs, attitudes, morality, back-story o Reflected by manmade objects, character actions - Often influences art style & interface o ex: Starcraft: Zerg vs Terran interface o ex: Prototype: Web of Intrigue - Includes Backstory o Often relevant to establish character motivations ex: Call of Duty o Must serve the game ex: Elder Scrolls V: DragonShouts - Sometimes culture comes naturally ex: SimCity = Western Architecture - Sometimes it needs to be designed ex: Elder Scrolls PHYSICAL SURROUNDINGS - Artistic Phase - Design game objects: Jewlery, Cups, Magic Items, Clothing, etc o ex: BioShock -- Distinctive art style o ex: Fallout 3 -- PipBoy What to include? o Objects Religious society likely to have temples Warlike societies have war-vehicles, weapons o Natural World Birds, animals Plants Weather/Climate effects Prevents the feel of a sterile world o Indoor Light sources ex: BioShock Purpose of areas ex: Dead Space & Bathrooms o Sounds & Sights - Provides an important tone/mood o ex: Dead Space, Mario (light harted), Splinter Cell - LEVEL OF DETAIL o Realism desired, technical limitations, time constraints ex: Sports games and stadium fans

6 o ex: Monkey Island Should be able to pick up or interact with everything Practically only interact with items of gameplay importance o ex: God Games Black & White: Male, Female, Children ActRaiser: Citizens o Include as much detail as you can UNTIL it harms gameplay ex: Starcraft (not s of unit) - DEFINING A STYLE o Style of things IN the world ex: BioShock architecture, retro, etc ex: Fallout - barren, decaying, etc o Style of how you VIEW the world ex: Fallout vs Enslaved ex: Cell Shading - OVERUSED SETTINGS o Movie-inspired o Sci-Fi, Fantasy, D&D ex: Red Dead Redemption, BioShock Under-used setting, well executed ex: Interstate 76 o Try to make YOUR version unique ex: Mass Effect Backstory supports look & feel of game Interplay between races Humanities role in the galaxy - INSPIRATION o Take pictures, keep clippings, portfolio of interesting ideas/themes

7 EMOTIONAL DIMENSION - Games are now like movies o Emotions of NPCs o Emotions of the Player - Multiplayer Emotions from social interaction - Single player Emotions from story & gameplay INFLUENCING PLAYER S FEELINGS - Risk/Reward o Natural response to completing a challenge o Augment this response Achievements (XBOX) Loot (WoW) o Beware Frustation Difficult levels Making something close-contest is exciting - Greed, Power & Control o MMORPGs (amass loot) o Construction/Management Sims (amass wealth) o Black & White (be God) - Suspense, surprise & fear o Survival horror ex: Dead Space, Resident Evil, Silent Hill - Love, grief, shame, jealousy, anger o Character/NPC interactions Identify with a character Put something important at stake - NOTE: Don t Overdo It! o Save the world is hard to identify with o Fate of People instead of Fate of the World LIMITATIONS OF FUN - Design for ENTERTAINMENT, not fun o Movie with sad ending can still be enjoyed - Understand that most gamers want FUN however - Don t put creative agenda before player enjoyment DON T USE FORMULA-EMOTIONS - Cliché - Easy to recognize - Find a skilled writer/novelist

8 ETHICAL DIMENSION - Game designer sets the moral code for that world o What actions let you win the game ex: Call of Duty -> Kill people o What actions should you avoid ex: Left4Dead -> Bad team behavior - Game world ethics are different than real-world ethics o Killing, theft, etc MORAL DECISION MAKING - Implicit moral code o Our team vs Their team - Explicit moral choices o BioShock (save or harvest) o Usually reward good over bad - Tough moral choices o Fallout 3 (no right decision) o Mass Effect - Evil Main Character o Fallout 3 -> Game world responds with consequences - RISK OF REWARING EVIL BEHAVIORS o ex: Custer s Revenge (goal to rape a Native American Woman) o ex: FarCry 2 - Explain ethical dimensions early VIOLENCE IN GAMES - Inherent to majority of games - ISSUE: o Graphic, gross violence o Game world resembles real world ex: GTA vs Left4Dead (non-human) - Violence should server gameplay

9 REALISM - Realism differs within a game o ex: Half-Life Accurately reproduce weapons in-game Carry way too many weapons? - Abstract Game o Consider which element of reality you want to include ex: Zelda (food, sleep, day/night, blood) - Simulation o Consider what real elements you can remove ex: NHL 2k? (referee line of sight?) - Every decision needs to: o Serve the entertainment o Server the realism goals

IMGD 1001: Fun and Games

IMGD 1001: Fun and Games Robert W. Lindeman Associate Professor Department of Computer Science Worcester Polytechnic Institute gogo@wpi.edu Outline What is a Game? Genres What Makes a Good Game? 2 What