Presentation Transcript

1. Presented at the University of Winnipeg, Canada Just E.T.C for Business, Education, and Technology Solutions

   Fundamentals of Game DesignGame Play

   sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net Sayed Ahmed BSc. Eng. in CSc. & Eng. (BUET) MSc. in CSc. (U of Manitoba) http://sayed.justetc.net http://www.justETC.net
2. Topics Definition of Gameplay How we make games fun Some things that you need to be aware of Principles you need to observe Important ideas related to gameplay Hierarchy of challenges The concepts of skill, stress, and difficulty Types of challenges that games offer How you might present them Mistakes you should avoid How to adjust their difficulty sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
3. Topics Actions Common types of actions found in games When and how to save a game Summary sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
4. Making game fun Through gameplay Through story Execution matters more than innovation Avoid things that reduces fun Aspects of game development that contribute to fun Avoiding elementary errors Tuning & polishing Imaginative variations on the Game’s Premise True design innovation sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
5. Aspects contributing to fun Avoiding elementary errors Avoid bad programming, bad music and sound, bad art, bad user interfaces, and bad game design Tuning & polishing Pay attention to details, get everything perfect Imaginative variations on the Game’s Premise Take basic elements of the game and construct enjoyable experience Level designers may help True design innovation 5% of fun, game’s original idea and subsequent decisions sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
6. Finding the Fun Factor Game play comes first Get a feature right or leave it out Design around the player Know your target audience Abstract or automate parts of the simulation that are not fun Be true to your vision Strive for harmony, elegance, and beauty sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
7. Finding the Fun Factor Game play comes first Fun things to do Get a feature right or leave it out Don’t ship games with broken feature Better leave that feature Design around the player Examine every decision from the player’s point of view If you lose sight of the player, you lose fun Know your target audience Hard to make games that appeal to mass market Find a niche, and know what they want, and what they think is fun sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
8. Finding the Fun Factor Abstract or automate parts of the simulation that are not fun Racing games – casual gamer -Changing a tire is not fun (provide abstraction) Hardcore racing fan – may be changing tire is fun Be true to your vision Be stick to your original idea and goal If you are making sailing simulation – don’t add power boats Strive for harmony, elegance, and beauty Absence of Aesthetic qualities diminish the fun to some extent sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
9. Handling and presenting challenges Hierarchy of challenges How the hierarchy affects the players’ experience and what that means for game design Informing the player about challenges Atomic, highest level, and the intermediate challenges Simultaneous atomic challenges Skill, stress, and absolute difficulty Intrinsic skill, Stress, Absolute Difficulty sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
10. Hierarchy of Challenges Atomic challenges Sub missions Missions Ultimate goal Lowest level challenges are called atomic challenges Atomic challenges make up sub-missions, sub-missions make up missions and missions make up the ultimate goal Design your game Create the hierarchy Decide what challenges the player will face sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
11. Informing the player about challenges Explicit challenges Implicit challenges In general, games give explicit instructions on Topmost level : victory condition, may be for each level Bottommost level Leave intermediate levels for her discovery Tutorial levels How to meet those atomic challenges In story telling games You may want to keep the outcome a surprise Detective stories sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
12. Intermediate challenges Keep these to be explored by the player Provide multiple ways of victory sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
13. Simultaneous Atomic Challenges As a designer, you should Design the hierarchy of challenges Decide how many of them the player will face at once Vertically up Bottom More simultaneous atomic challenges with time pressure The more stressful will be the game The more different levels of challenge, he will have to think at once The game becomes more complex and mentally challenging Example: Simcity, action games sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
14. Skill, stress, Absolute difficulty Intrinsic skills Unlimited amount of time Stress When the challenge includes time pressure Quick reflex, quick mind Tetris – stressful Physical stress Moderate them Time to rest Some player like this Absolute Difficulty Complex skills required Tremendous time pressure sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
15. Commonly used challenges Physical coordination challenges Speed and reaction time Accuracy and precision Intuitive understanding of Physics Timing and rhythm Combination moves Logic and Mathematical Challenges Formal logic puzzles Mathematical Challenges Races and time pressure Factual knowledge challenges Memory challenges sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
16. Commonly used challenges Pattern recognition challenges Exploration challenges Spatial awareness challenges Locked doors Traps Mazes and illogical spaces Teleporters Finding hidden objects Conflict Strategy Tactics sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
17. Commonly used challenges Logistics Survival and reduction of enemy forces Defending vulnerable items or units Stealth Economic challenges Accumulating resources Achieving Balance Caring for living things sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
18. Commonly used challenges Conceptual Reasoning and Lateral Thinking Puzzles Conceptual reasoning Lateral thinking sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
19. Actions Actions for Gameplay Give Limited number of actions To reduce UI To reduce large number of animations Defining your actions Actions that Serve other functions Unstructured play Actions for creation & self expression Actions for socialization Actions to participate in the story Actions to control the game software sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
20. Defining your actions Define the actions that you will implement Think about what the player will do in the game Drive a car Finer details: press accelerator, shift gears The challenges he will face Start with atomic challenges Allowed actions to overcome those challenges for each atomic challenge Think about intermediate and higher level challenges Can those be over comed with the challenges that you have defined Consider actions unrelated to games sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
21. Actions that serve other functions Unstructured Play Include some fun to perform actions that don’t address any challenges Move around, horn beep for car racing Actions for creation and self-expression Customizing the avatar Construction games – creative play than game play Actions for socialization Players of the multiplayer games need to chat Actions to participate in the story Interactive dialogs – take part in the story May not address any challenge Actions to control the game software Adjust the virtual camera Pause and save the game sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
22. Saving the game Save the Game Snapshot of the game world and all the particulars Even customizations made by the player Reasons for Saving a Game Allowing the player to leave the game and return to it later Most important reason Letting the player recover from disastrous mistakes For example, death of the avatar Arcade games – multiple life (sometimes console action games) Role playing and adventure – just reload the game (one life) Encourage the player to explore alternate strategies Strategic games, save, try a different strategy, come back if the strategy does not work sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
23. Immersion and storytelling Consequences for Immersion & storytelling Saving games is not always beneficial to the player’s experience The saving act takes him out of the game world Harms the player’s immersion Harms the illusion that the player inhabits a fantasy world When you allow the player to repeat the past You acknowledge the unreality of the game world sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
24. Ways of saving a game Passwords Save to a file or Save slot Quick-Save Automatic Save & checkpoints sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
25. Ways of saving a game Passwords At the end of a level, give the user a password to start next level He can decide to play the next level at a later time No saving in the middle Save to a file or Save slot Allow saving using the file system Prevents immersion Salvage the immersion by referring the file system as journals and provide appropriate UI – kept in a book Quick-Save Fast games offer quick save Press a button and save – does not harm immersion a lot Single button press to reload as well Disadvantages One slot, can be overcomed by numbered slots sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
26. Ways of saving a game Automatic Save & checkpoints Automatically save the player when the player exits Does not harm the immersion But no way to recover from a recent or past disaster Games save when the player passed a checkpoint May or may not be visible to the player Less disruptive than quick-saving The player may be able to recover a disaster provide that the disaster happened after the most recent checkpoint Worse than quick save: considering player centric [though provides better immersion] You may offer optional checkpoints Saving at will is preferable sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
27. To Save or Not to save Some designers don’t allow to save the game At certain region/point Or don’t allow saving a lot The logic behind this is: The player is winning the game not because of his/her skills but with trial and error It allows the user to avoid undesirable random events It prevents the immersion of the game Other designers argue that Preventing to save adds difficulty not fun To make games harder, you can make the challenges harder The player should not be forced to play the entire game just because he has made a mistake near the end Wastes players’ time and [not good for fun] Causes frustration and boredom Not a player centric game design sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
28. To Save or Not To Save You may not like the saving and reloading But the player does not play (or buy) to make you feel good He may have legitimate reasons to save the game The notion that allowing saving the game makes the game easy – make the player your opponent Not a player centric design If the players’ want, you should allow saving Most players want this Most games now recognize that Players want and sometimes need To cheat by offering cheat codes anyway sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
29. To Save or Not To Save You should not penalize the player just because he has to go the washroom You may think about advantages and disadvantages and decide But do let the player save the game, and preferably whenever and wherever he want Now to save or not to save – leave it to the player But the player has the fundamental right to stop playing without losing whatever he has accomplished sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net
30. Summary Gameplay is the heart of the game’s entertainment With the information that we discussed You will be able to analyze the gameplay of most of the games in the market You will also be able to design games offering similar kinds of challenges and actions sayed@justetc.net Www.JustETC.net