Welcome to the more dramatic continuation of elements in games!
This blog is going to cover what we learned in class regarding the dramatic elements in games. So, the list of dramatic elements I have for you includes: Challenge, Play, Premise, Character, and Story. Allow me to go into more detail on each.
First up is Challenge. There right away needs to be a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment when it comes to challenge. This can be determined by the abilities of a specific player. Most importantly, there needs to be a good balance between the player's skill of the game and the difficulty of the challenge in the game. So if the player has little skill of the game, the challenges shouldn't be difficult. Likewise, if the challenge is very difficult, the player must be very skilled at the game by the time you introduce difficult challenges. If the challenge is too low when the player is skilled it will cause boredom and when it's reversed where the challenge is too high while the player isn't very skilled it can cause the player anxiety, both of which are not enjoyable for the player.
Next dramatic element in games is Play. According to Roger Caillois, the French Sociologist, there are four types of play and they are: Agon, Alea, Mimicry, and Ilinx. Agon interprets to competitive play such as fencing or wrestling. Alea is less competitive and instead chance based play such as Roulette. Mimicry is actually make believe play which can relate to theater. Lastly, there is Ilinx, which is actually Vertigo Play. Vertigo can be related to mountain climbing or skiing.
I know Player Types isn't in the list of dramatic elements in games, but allow me to quickly list the player types. So the 9 player types discussed in class are: explorer, collector, achiever, joker, artist, director, storyteller, performer, and craftsman.
Back to the dramatic elements, we have Premise. This sets the time period of the game, the place the game is located, the main characters and their backstory, the objective the main character needs to complete based on the other factors of the premise, as well as some action that is propelling the story forward. An example of a good premise is the one for the new Gears of War Judgement game, "Baird, Cole, Garron, and Sofia — the four members of Gears of War: Judgment’s Kilo Squad — have been charged for treason because they didn’t follow orders, stole equipment, and their actions could end up killing millions of people they swore to protect."
Up next we have Character. The drama of the events in the game can be depicted through the player's actions. The player's empathy propels their movement toward a resolution. This mirrors the audiences's fears and desires. The Protagonist or main character always has an Antagonist or main opponent. There are difference ways to characterize the methods of a character such as: wants, needs, hopes, and fears.
Lastly on our dramatic elements of games list, we have Story. The story is an uncertain outcome that fosters engagement of the player. Often stories for games will have a backstory covering the setting and the main conflict the player will encounter in the gameplay. Most times in game, the player's choice will affect the games outcome. This is done by having branching story lines. My favorite example of this is Dead Rising and how the player's choices will affect the ending of the game and how far you can actually get into the game. A story can also emerge from gameplay. Now a story needs meaningful conflict which draws the players into the game emotionally and builds tension about the outcome. Game's story also needs a dramatic conflict which is game conflict essentially and this form of conflict must escalate for the dramatic conflict to be effective.
This is all for this topic covered in class on dramatic game elements. Next week be prepared to see either another blog on course material covered in class or a blog based on emotional contagion.
Monday, 23 September 2013
The Elements of Games
Hey guys,
I had a nice week off from blogging but now it's time to get back to the good ol' grind. This week in class we went over the topic of different elements that can be found in a game. To introduce these elements, we have the eight discussed in class being: Players, Objectives, Procedures, Rules, Resources, Conflict, Boundaries, and Outcome. Allow me to go into some detail on each of these unique elements.
First let's go over the Player. Games are designed based on the player interaction. The player has options on how they want to be active in the game whether it be partaking in certain game events, consuming objects, investing or potentially winning some sort of objective. The number of players vary or can be fixed based on the game and this can cause different experiences. There are different roles of the player as they can play as a team or go solo in certain games. The player's role can also be reflective in their play style. For example, if a player is very supportive, they would play as a healer in a team based game such as Team Fortress.
The next element is Objectives. Now objectives can be specific goals for the player element such as gathering experience like in more RPG games or staying alive like Left 4 Dead. There are ten different types of objectives a game could have and they are: Capture, Chase, Race, Alignment, Rescue or Escape, Forbidden Act, Construction, Exploration, Solution, and Outwit.
Procedures is our next element in a game. These procedures can be actions or methods of play allowed by the game's rules. This would include things such as controls or input, interaction between other players or NPC's, and limitations.
Continuing through the list we have Rules as our next element in games. This sounds similar to procedures but the rules element focuses on the exact objects and concepts in the game. These are essentially the building blocks of the game's system. It defines what the player can and cannot do giving him or her their limits and reactive events. These rules define the objects and conditions in the game along with restricting actions and determining effects.
Resources are next on the list of elements in a game. This element can be described as an object with high value for the player to increase their chance of reaching their objective. These resources become valuable by being scarce and by how much they actually help the player with achieving their goals. Different types of resources can be: Lives, Units, Health, Currency, Actions, Inventory, and even Time in some games. Racing games that allow you to run through checkpoints that add time is a great example of how time can be a resource in a game.
Next element we have is Conflict. This can be created when procedures and rules prevent the player from accomplishing goals directly. A few types of conflict that we covered in class were Obstacles, Opponents, and Dilemmas. Allow me to explain how a simple game like Minesweeper can cause conflict in the game. The game has a goal which is to determine where all of the mines are in the field. The Obstacle that is in place is the fact that all of the tiles are unmarked. So in other words, uncertainty would be the Obstacle. Going to a more complex game such as Starcraft, it also has the Obstacle of uncertainty in regards to what your opponent is doing, but there is also the conflict of the opponent itself trying to destroy you. On top of that there are Dilemmas such as resource management and correct counters to build for what the other player is building.
Nearing the end we have Boundaries as our next element in games. This is the limits in which the player is placed in. Where the rules apply only in the game. We also discussed the topic of Huizinga's Magic Circle, which basically refers to how there is a temporary world for the player to live in where game rules apply. Types of virtual worlds that this "magic circle" could include are: first person shooters, online social environments, and MMORPG's.
Finally, at the end of the list of the elements in a game we have Outcome. This is a measurable and unequal outcome. Now a winning condition is different from and objective. Outcomes rely on uncertainty to motivate the player to reach the outcome. There should be satisfying resolutions to maximize emotional investments of players. For example, completing Portal is a satisfying resolution because you feel accomplished and not relived to no longer be playing the game.
The next blog topic will be covering more elements in games but these ones will be more dramatic.
I had a nice week off from blogging but now it's time to get back to the good ol' grind. This week in class we went over the topic of different elements that can be found in a game. To introduce these elements, we have the eight discussed in class being: Players, Objectives, Procedures, Rules, Resources, Conflict, Boundaries, and Outcome. Allow me to go into some detail on each of these unique elements.
First let's go over the Player. Games are designed based on the player interaction. The player has options on how they want to be active in the game whether it be partaking in certain game events, consuming objects, investing or potentially winning some sort of objective. The number of players vary or can be fixed based on the game and this can cause different experiences. There are different roles of the player as they can play as a team or go solo in certain games. The player's role can also be reflective in their play style. For example, if a player is very supportive, they would play as a healer in a team based game such as Team Fortress.
The next element is Objectives. Now objectives can be specific goals for the player element such as gathering experience like in more RPG games or staying alive like Left 4 Dead. There are ten different types of objectives a game could have and they are: Capture, Chase, Race, Alignment, Rescue or Escape, Forbidden Act, Construction, Exploration, Solution, and Outwit.
Procedures is our next element in a game. These procedures can be actions or methods of play allowed by the game's rules. This would include things such as controls or input, interaction between other players or NPC's, and limitations.
Continuing through the list we have Rules as our next element in games. This sounds similar to procedures but the rules element focuses on the exact objects and concepts in the game. These are essentially the building blocks of the game's system. It defines what the player can and cannot do giving him or her their limits and reactive events. These rules define the objects and conditions in the game along with restricting actions and determining effects.
Resources are next on the list of elements in a game. This element can be described as an object with high value for the player to increase their chance of reaching their objective. These resources become valuable by being scarce and by how much they actually help the player with achieving their goals. Different types of resources can be: Lives, Units, Health, Currency, Actions, Inventory, and even Time in some games. Racing games that allow you to run through checkpoints that add time is a great example of how time can be a resource in a game.
Next element we have is Conflict. This can be created when procedures and rules prevent the player from accomplishing goals directly. A few types of conflict that we covered in class were Obstacles, Opponents, and Dilemmas. Allow me to explain how a simple game like Minesweeper can cause conflict in the game. The game has a goal which is to determine where all of the mines are in the field. The Obstacle that is in place is the fact that all of the tiles are unmarked. So in other words, uncertainty would be the Obstacle. Going to a more complex game such as Starcraft, it also has the Obstacle of uncertainty in regards to what your opponent is doing, but there is also the conflict of the opponent itself trying to destroy you. On top of that there are Dilemmas such as resource management and correct counters to build for what the other player is building.
Nearing the end we have Boundaries as our next element in games. This is the limits in which the player is placed in. Where the rules apply only in the game. We also discussed the topic of Huizinga's Magic Circle, which basically refers to how there is a temporary world for the player to live in where game rules apply. Types of virtual worlds that this "magic circle" could include are: first person shooters, online social environments, and MMORPG's.
Finally, at the end of the list of the elements in a game we have Outcome. This is a measurable and unequal outcome. Now a winning condition is different from and objective. Outcomes rely on uncertainty to motivate the player to reach the outcome. There should be satisfying resolutions to maximize emotional investments of players. For example, completing Portal is a satisfying resolution because you feel accomplished and not relived to no longer be playing the game.
The next blog topic will be covering more elements in games but these ones will be more dramatic.
Tuesday, 10 September 2013
Gamification At It's Finest
Hey guys!
Here we go with another year of game design and production. Last year's course on game design was very exciting and filled with lots of work resulting in plenty of games being produced. If you haven't checked out my first game design blog then I highly recommend you get over there and catch up on all the laughs you missed out on last year. Anyways, let us get started on this new year. I'll explain how game design 2 will be more fun with more laughs and learning than last year!
We all get into our first class on Friday curious to know exactly how this semester's game design will be set up since some of us have heard rumors in regards to big changes for the structure of the course. Sure enough, there were plenty of changes that I was not expecting at all. Our professor had completely 100% gamified our course! Now, all you other students stuck in Computer Science somewhere are all really jealous because you could only wish this could happen to your course. It really does put a lot of life into the course we are taking. It also saves me a lot of time because now I can run my raids with my guild and still get homework done! Let me explain more of this gamification process to you guys.
So this course is a game. It will be a multiplayer role playing game with customization avatars that you need to level up in order to win the game or pass the course. There are three ways to earn experience so you can level up. The first is fighting monsters which are one chance opportunities to level up. That means the tests and presentations for this course will be monsters that I must either defeat alone or with my guild, which I will explain later. The next way to gain xp is by questing which is actually all of the writing assignments and blogs related to this course. We have crafting which is our last way to level up our characters and crafting is really building games either digital or physical. Below is the leveling system for our course.
As you can see there are lots of ways to gain experience in this course. From a glance you can see that you cannot submit any guild xp until each person has reached level 5. At first glance you can also see that there is a lot of blogs so get excited to read all about this course and everything I will be doing for the class. I made up some side information about the ways to make xp such as the max xp that can be made each week, how many quests are actually writing blogs, and how important it is to be in class from all the quests that actually require your presence in class.
Also! For all game dev students reading, there will be secret quests given out on @acagamic so keep an eye out for them.
To wrap up this crazy new course with all of it's gamified ways, each student needs to create an avatar that has three specific skills. So watch out for my avatar,Twolock, for he is a raid leading, crafting, chef that will dominate this new adventurous MMORPG. Stay tuned to learn about the guild that Twolock is in next week.
Here we go with another year of game design and production. Last year's course on game design was very exciting and filled with lots of work resulting in plenty of games being produced. If you haven't checked out my first game design blog then I highly recommend you get over there and catch up on all the laughs you missed out on last year. Anyways, let us get started on this new year. I'll explain how game design 2 will be more fun with more laughs and learning than last year!
We all get into our first class on Friday curious to know exactly how this semester's game design will be set up since some of us have heard rumors in regards to big changes for the structure of the course. Sure enough, there were plenty of changes that I was not expecting at all. Our professor had completely 100% gamified our course! Now, all you other students stuck in Computer Science somewhere are all really jealous because you could only wish this could happen to your course. It really does put a lot of life into the course we are taking. It also saves me a lot of time because now I can run my raids with my guild and still get homework done! Let me explain more of this gamification process to you guys.
So this course is a game. It will be a multiplayer role playing game with customization avatars that you need to level up in order to win the game or pass the course. There are three ways to earn experience so you can level up. The first is fighting monsters which are one chance opportunities to level up. That means the tests and presentations for this course will be monsters that I must either defeat alone or with my guild, which I will explain later. The next way to gain xp is by questing which is actually all of the writing assignments and blogs related to this course. We have crafting which is our last way to level up our characters and crafting is really building games either digital or physical. Below is the leveling system for our course.
There is also a long list of ways to gain the xp needed to succeed in this course. I took all the info from the list and created my own spreadsheet which is organized according to level. This can be seen below.
Also! For all game dev students reading, there will be secret quests given out on @acagamic so keep an eye out for them.
To wrap up this crazy new course with all of it's gamified ways, each student needs to create an avatar that has three specific skills. So watch out for my avatar,Twolock, for he is a raid leading, crafting, chef that will dominate this new adventurous MMORPG. Stay tuned to learn about the guild that Twolock is in next week.
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