1
Gameplay Carlos Martinho
3 Essen 2011 20-23 oct
4 Why are we not playing Diablo III yet?
5 Why are we not playing Diablo III yet?
6 Inventory issues?
7 Gameplay tweaking while in beta?
8 The importance of listening...
9 Deciding as a team...
10 The importance of art in gameplay?
11 Gamification
Jesse Schell on Gamification 12
13 Inverse Gamification and the search for Authenticity
14 Facebook Games
15 Outline Defining play Defining gameplay Defining challenges: Pure challenges - archetypes of gameplay Applied challenges - archetypes into action Final remarks
defining Play
17 essence of Play Play is biologically hardwired in us: we instinctively start playing when bored or frustrated, as a child or as an adult. We are affectively rewarded for acquiring and using knowledge that allows us to anticipate our environment: that is fun. We stop playing when we perceive there is no further utility in doing so.
18 no universal definition Play is the aimless expenditure of exuberant energy. - Schiller Play refers to those activities which are accompanied by a state of comparative pleasure, exhilaration, power, and the feeling of self-initiative. - Gilmore Play is free movement within a more rigid structure. - Salen and Zimmerman Play is whatever is done spontaneously and for its own sake. - Santayana Play is manipulation that indulges curiosity. - Schell
19 a working definition... Play is an activity (1), voluntarily initiated (3), associated with the (conscious or unconscious) expectation of an affective reward (2), which is realized under some constraints (4). - Martinho.
20 A Space to Play Martinho, 2011 endogenous constraints (goals, rules) roleplaying games improv tag make believe computer roleplaying games FANTASY PLAY FREE PLAY hide & seek dance-based videogames GAME PLAY TOY PLAY cosplay videogames boardgames miniature games sandbox games action figures exogenous constraints (physical/virtual artifacts)
21 footprint of Play During a same videogame the player will experience different types of play, that together constitute the footprint of play. Skylanders, Spyro Adventure
defining Gameplay a.k.a. Playability
23 essence of Gameplay The most important aspect of the game - Game Designer. Extremely difficult to define. There is no single entity we can point to and say: there, that s gameplay!. Usually defined with indications (positive signs that implies the existence of gameplay) and contraindications (negative signs that imply that gameplay does not exists), resulting from the individual experience of each designer.
24 no universal definition A series of interesting choices. - Meier, 2000. The degree and nature of the interactivity that the game includes, i.e., how the player is able to interact with the game-world and how that game-world reacts to the choices the player makes. - Rouse, 2001. One or more causally linked series of challenges in a simulated environment. - Rollins&Adams, 2003. A cyclic process in which two active agents (the player and the videogame) alternatively (and metaphorically) listen think and speak. - Crawford, 2003.
25 no universal definition The experience of a game set into motion through the participation of players. - Salen and Zimmerman, 2004. Interaction that entertains. - Dini, 2004. Players trying to overcome challenges. - Juul, 2005. The challenges and actions that a game offers: challenges for the player to overcome and actions that let her overcome them. Adams, 2010 The experience (ehrfahrung) of a game system by an active, epistemic agent. (ITU, 2010)
26 the issue Gameplay has been used to define both: the qualitative aspects of the interaction between a game and a player, e.g. this game has a great gameplay. the game elements that promote the quality of the interaction, e.g. the gameplay is the typical gameplay for the genre.
27 a dual working definition... Gameplay is the qualia emerging from the elements of the interaction between the player and the game. - Martinho. Dennett defined some properties of qualia, e.g.: não pode ser comunicada ou percepcionada sem ser através da própria experiência; é privada, consequentemente comparações de qualia entre pessoas são impossíveis; ter a experiência de um quale é conhecer tudo sobre este quale.
Player Interaction Game Interaction changes both the state of the game and the state of the player.
Gameplay Carlos Martinho, 2011 GAME MODEL Player Interaction Game PROGRESSION MODEL
Player PLAYER BLOCKs intention interpretation Interaction Game events / collisions movement INTENTION EFFECTOR CONTROL METAPHOR MECHANICS (rules) ACTIONS GAME MODEL anticipate react take control feedback anticipate PROGRESSION MODEL INTERPRETATION SENSOR VISUALIZATION METAPHOR FICTION CHALLENGES CONTROL REALIZATION REALIZATION CONTROL affective (events) cognitive (movement) Gameplay Martinho, 2011 challenge action GAME BLOCKs
defining Challenges
32 Genres vs Challenges Good: Game Design traditionally classify games by genre. Better: understand genres as a combination of challenges.
33 Example Diablo meets Monkey Island
34 Challenges Think about yours...
Rule Unless they are particularly well done and appropriate, players generally reject new forms of challenges as inappropriate to the genre in question.
36 Types of Challenges Explicit and Implicit Challenges
explicit intentional and specifically designed.
implicit not specifically designed, an emergent feature of game design.
Pure Challenges Archetypes of Gameplay
40 Logic and Inference Test the ability of the player to assimilate information and use that information to decide upon the best course of action.
logic primarily used in games with perfect information.
inference fills the gap of logic in games with imperfect information.
43 Lateral Thinking Tasks the player to draw on her previous experience and knowledge and combine them in a new and unexpected way.
intrinsic knowledge gained from within the game world.
extrinsic knowledge is gained from outside the game.
46 Memory Challenges Tests the player memory of recent (and not so recent) game events.
explicit memory challenges
implicit memory challenges are present in most games.
49 Intelligence Challenges Rely purely on the intelligence of the player.
intelligence Usually a more intelligent player will do better when playing such games.
51 Knowledge Challenges Rely on the knowledge of the player, intrinsic and extrinsic.
extrinsic knowledge games.
intrinsic In RPGs, knowledge of the game world and story is essential to progress. Starting halfway through the game is harder than if starting from the beginning.
54 Pattern-based Challenges Impressive abilities of the human brain mainly stem from one basic ability: pattern recognition. Can make or break a game...
transe tetris transe.
Waves Given limited processing power and time, patterns are an efficient way to code.
Boss Patterns Bosses tend to behave in patterns.
Pure Pure pattern recognition is needed to progress.
Adaptive Difficulty Pattern the players should not be able to recognize. Blessing or curse?
60 Moral Challenges High-level challenges that operates at universal, cultural, tribal and personal level. Each successive level affects a smaller area. Usually, lower levels have precedence.
61 Moral challenges Universal: concern the good of all in the simulated universe. Generally grandiose and cliché. Cultural: concern the good of loosely affiliated individuals living by roughly the same standards (culture). Tribal: concern the good of closely affiliated individuals (family, party, sports team). Personal: made by an individual with a direct outcome on that individual s own well-being and state of mind.
in Game Players tend to gravitate directly towards total evil or total goodness. The world is usually in between...
63 Moral challenges Moral challenges rely on the player real-world experience to provide their gameplay value. Ask the player to make moral choices, dynamically altering the priorities of the moral levels to force the player to decide between solving a moral dilemma within each level: e.g. the need of the many outweight the needs of the few. Ensure there are repercussions for the choice, but use use cartoon-like nature to undermine the seriousness of the moral decisions involved (players should not feel guilt for days after performing a questionable act!).
64 A christmas with Fable II
65 Spatial-awareness Challenges Test the spatial awareness of the player.
Spatial awareness.
Maps Computer generated.
No Maps The player is left to his own device to find his way around the world.
3D Simulation Rely heavily on spatial awareness challenges.
70 Coordination Challenges Test the ability of the player to perform many simultaneous actions.
Shooting Games Dynamics.
72 Reflex/reaction time Challenges Test the timing abilities of the player.
Timing Overcome an obstacle by coordinating player actions with something else happening on the screen.
Fighting Combos.
75 Physical Challenges Involves real-life physical effort.
Decathlon button mashing
Physical Less rarer nowadays.
Hardware Usually requires special (expensive) hardware.
Applied Challenges Pure challenges applied
Racing Attempt to accomplish something before someone else does. Encourage direct-brute force solution rather than careful strategic thought. With or without conflict.
Puzzles Primarily a mental challenge. Usually a lock. Players usually get all the time they need to solve puzzles. Games as series of puzzles.
Exploration Exploration is its own reward. Players must work for they freedom of movement. With and without goals.
83 Conflict To win a game, a player must beat the other players. If he beats them by attacking them directly in some way, the game is about conflict. Challenges of conflict: Scale of the action (individual to whole armies) Speed of the action (allowing all the time, turn-based, or frenetic action) Complexity of the victory conditions (from survival to complex goal/ subgoal missions)
84 Conflict challenges Strategic: are about devising a plan of action taking advantage of the player situation and resources, anticipating his opponents moves, and minimizing his weaknesses. Tactical: involve putting a plan into execution, and responding to unexpected events or conditions. Logistic: are about supporting the field and bringing freshness to the front. Personal: the player controls an avatar who battles directly against one or more opponents, often at very high speeds.
Strategic Chess is a bloodless game of conflict and... a Pure strategy game.
Backgammon Some strategy, but depends a great deal of luck.
Tactical Early tactical games. Tactical games in which no strategy are possible (e.g. small squad moving into unknown territory).
Logistic In RTS, weapon production added a logistical challenge to a combat oriented genre.
Logistic Equipping and balancing the inventory may occupy a significant amount of time.
Personal The challenge is immediate, exciting and visceral.
Survival Survival is about defending oneself, but many games require that the player defend other (usually defenseless) things.
Stealth The ability to move undetected.
93 Economics System in which resources move around, either physically from place to place, or conceptually, from owner to owner. Economic challenges are defined in terms of the flow of resources. The goal is generally to accumulate some resource. To achieve balance in an economy (with different resources) gives a more interesting challenge. Produce too little of a vital resource and the whole economy grinds. Produce too much, and it piles up, taking up space and wasting time and resources that could be better used elsewhere.
Big Consists mainly in economic challenges.
Small Economics focused on a small number of individuals. The unpredictability (vs the complexity) adds both to the challenge and to the charm of the game.
FPS FPS integrate economics (ammunition and health kits).
97 Conceptual challenges Require that the player understands something new. Richest and broader scope of innovation, but usually difficult to design and to code.
Sim city The relation between efficient transportation and economic prosperity must be understood for success.
Mystery Games where the player must understand what is happening.
Gameplay Checklist
101 Gameplay What types of challenges will the game include? Will they challenge the player s physical or mental abilities, or both? Game genres are defined in part by the nature of the challenges they offer. If a genre is sketched in advance, what does that imply for the gameplay? Will cross-genre elements be included, i.e. challenges that are not normally found in your chosen genre?
102 Gameplay Does the game include implicit challenges (those that emerge from the design), as well as explicit challenges (those that are specified)? If the game has a story, how does the story influence the gameplay, and vice versa? Do they operate in tandem or are they effectively separate pieces?
103 Gameplay If the player has an avatar, how does the gameplay influence the avatar s appearance and capabilities? Is the game s collection of challenges a related group, or is it a compilation of unrelated elements? If the latter, does that have any effect on the player s suspension of disbelief?
104 Gameplay Given that not all players enjoy the same kinds of challenges, how does the game s target audience influence the challenges it includes? What challenges will be deliberately excluded? Will the player be required to face more than one challenge at a time? Which ones?
Gameplay Final remarks
106 Gameplay Gameplay is not a singular entity. Gameplay is a combination of many elements, a synergy emerging from the (complex) interaction of different challenges in the correct proportion and style. The Sorites Paradox or Heap Paradox Why one grain of sand makes a difference? Which observer is right?
107 Gameplay Gedanken experiment Look at a game without one element (or part thereof) of gameplay: does it still has gameplay? Continue to remove elements. At some point, the observer will say it has no longer gameplay. The breaking point will be different for different observers. Whose opinion is best? Which elements are required and which are superfluous?
108 Gameplay Sometimes, the addition of an element can be detrimental to the gameplay. We all played game that where almost perfect, apart from one or two annoying flaws: difference between excellent and merely good. Example: Blizzard s Starcraft was tweaked right to the point of release, to ensure that the gameplay and unit/unit balance was as good as possible. Even so, only with the expansion Brood Wars was the balance somehow achieved.
Remember... All design decisions must serve the entertainment value of the game. 109