ICS 61 Game Systems and Design Midterm Winter, 2015 First Name: Last Name: Mean: 66 (82.5%) Median: 68 (85%) page 1 page 2 page 3 Total 1. (10 points) In Chapter 2 of The Art of Game Design, Schell discusses two perils to introspection. Name one of the perils, explain how it can cause problems for game designers, and summarize Schell s advice regarding this peril. see page 15 5 points: peril & problems 5 points: advice
2. (10 points) The color of an individual pixel on a computer screen is determined by combining values for three different colors. a) What are those colors? 2 points: Red, Green, Blue b) What range of numeric values is used to express the amount of each of these colors? 2 points: 0-255 (0.0-1.0 accepted) c) What numeric values (that is, color combinations) will produce the color yellow? gray? 3 points: 355-255-0 3 points: 128-128-128
3. (10 points) Schell states that, the game is not the experience. What does he mean? Why does this make game design so very hard, according to Schell? see page 11 5 points: meaning 5 points: why so hard
4. (10 points) Consider a Scratch project with a single Arrow sprite, as pictured below left. It has the script shown below right. After you double-click on and run the script, where will the Arrow be? Draw the Arrow in its new position, and indicate with lines how you worked the answer out. 4 points: movement 3 points: arrow rotation 2 points: working out shown 1 point: draw Arrow
5. (10 points) In Chapter 12, there is a section called Mechanic 5: Rules which talks about Parlett s Rule Analysis. This approach identifies several categories of rules: Operational Rules, Foundational Rules, Behavioral Rules, Written Rules, Laws, Official Rules, Advisory Rules, and House Rules. For Pong (the standard arcade version, not your Game 1 version), give an example of an Operational Rule 3 points What the player does to play (operate) the game. Move the paddle up and down by pressing keys. a Foundational Rule 3 points Underlying formal structure of game. Player gets 1 point when the ball hits the other side. a Behavioral Rule 2 points Good sportsmanship, implicit to gameply. Don t interfere with other players. an Advisory Rule 2 points Rules of strategy really tips, not rules Keep paddle towards the middle.
6. (10 points) Suppose you are a game designer and the company president says to you, In our new single player game College Joust the player will have to defeat a series of professors, who all turn out to be the same evil genius. As the game progresses, the professor-ai will learn inductively about how the player performs and behaves. a) Explain what inductively means in this context. 4 points: based on examples, past behavior, observation 1 point: generalization, find patterns, create a theory b) Recall that in lecture four approaches to AI were organized into four quadrants. Which of these quadrants is the best fit for how you will think about designing the AI control for the evil genius professors? Explain why. 3 points: name quadrant (any one accepted) 2 points: good explanation
7. (10 points) Schell describes the rule of the loop. a) Define the rule of the loop. 6 points: The more times you test and improve your design, the better your game will be. b) Give an example of how you have followed this rule in ICS 61. 2 points. c) When does the rule not need to be followed? 2 points.
8. (10 points) Give a brief outline of Schell s view of the future, based on his DICE 2010 talk. for full credit, had to include sensors rewards / gamification