05-THE WORLD OF A GAME 游戏世界 － 感知与沟通设计

1. 05-THE WORLD OF A GAME游戏世界－感知与沟通设计 潘茂林，panml@mail.sysu.edu.cn 中山大学·软件学院 Ref cornell

2. THE WORLD OF A GAME • Virtual World vs. Real World • Huizinga’s “Magic Cycle” • Engagement vs. Immersion • Setting • Dimensions of the world • Parts of a Digital Game • Game Engine(程序员的世界) • Rules and Mechanics (设计师的世界) • User Interface (艺术家的世界) • Content and Challenges (玩家的世界)

3. HUIZINGA’S “MAGIC CYCLE”魔法圈 • “Magic Cycle” may called “pretend reality” Game Conceptual Entities Scenarios Events Real World Entities Scenarios Events Imagine SocializeMonetize （狼来啦）

4. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE WORLDS

5. 《泰坦尼克号》穿帮镜头 杰克让露丝闭上眼睛站到栏杆上时，这两根柱子又变成断开的了。

6. “XXX”游戏 狗狗 家具 葡萄

7. ENGAGEMENT VS. IMMERSION • Engagement（参与）: • Player is emotionally involved • Invested in outcome of the game • Immersion（沉浸）: • Player loses awareness of self • Intense focus（全神贯注） • Distorted sense of time

8. ENGAGEMENT VS. IMMERSION • Engagement（参与）: • Player is emotionally involved • Invested in outcome of the game • Immersion（沉浸）: • Player loses awareness of self • Intense focus • Distorted sense of time Which Is More Important?

9. HOW DO WE ENGAGE? • Challenge • Should be reasonable, but not boring • Setting/Premise • Gives player a compelling reason for goals • Story • Frames the outcomes of the player actions

10. ENABLING FLOW（能力曲线） • Challenging activity that requires skill • Could be physical, mental, or social • Impossible to someone without skill • Clear goals and feedback • Player knows what must be done • Is given constant feedback on how achieved • Paradox of Control • Outcome is uncertain, but have “control” • Meaningful choice!

11. RISK VS. REWARD

12. CHALLENGE

13. FLOW AND IMMERSION • Psychologists have shown flow leads to • Loss of self-awareness • Effortless action • Distorted sense of time • But does not require a realistic 3D world • Tactical immersion • Challenges require skill with in-game actions • Example: Aiming in a shooter • Strategic immersion • Mental challenges processed outside game actions • Example: Thinking ahead in chess

14. SETTING • Provides a premise or motivation to play • Typically a specification of when, where and why • Cultural Setting: origins and motivation • When and where did it come from? • What were motivations for playing? • How does that relate to our play? • Story Setting: game is an artificial universe • Setting is where this universe resides • Can be a story or just a fictional cultural setting

15. CULTURAL SETTING: CHESS Shogi (Japan) Indian game called Chaturanga Xiangqi (China) Chess (Europe)

16. 象棋的“PREMISE” • 棋盘的第五，第六两横线之间末画竖线的空白地带称为“河界”。在中国象棋的棋盘中间，常有一区空隙，上写有“楚河”、“汉界”字样，这是以下棋比况历史上的“楚汉战争”。 • “楚汉战争”对玩家的价值 • 心理：文人说，我们不是娱乐，是研究战争的技巧！ • 社会：直观可视，易于普及 • 教育：“棋如其人”，棋风 = 人品 • 娱乐： 智力对抗，是高雅的体育运动！

17. Dimensions of Games • Settings have dimensions • Physical • Temporal • Environmental • Emotional • Ethical

18. PHYSICAL DIMENSION • Is your game 2-D or 3-D?（空间） • Even if graphics 3-D, may have 2-D gameplay • Could you have other dimensions (1-D, 4-D)? • 2.5D（卷轴、深度） • What is the scale of objects?（大小） • Is the scale an abstraction or realistic? • How does that affect gameplay? • What are your boundaries?（玩家可以看、玩的东西） • What can the player interact with?

19. PHYSICAL DIMENSION: SCALE 第一人称、第三人称……看到的玩家的视图。例如，建造的物体，大小， 地图啊等等

20. TEMPORAL（时间） DIMENSION • Does time move at a consistent pace? • Are real time games actually real-time? • Can the player adjust time? • Narrative compression • Reduce time for “unimportant details” • Walking across a large map • Training to go up a level • Keeps the player from being bored

21. ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSION • Reflects mood and tone of your game • Includes (possibly fictional) cultural setting • Style of your physical surroundings • Is it photorealistic or illustrative? • Music and environment sounds? • Includes level of detail • How much control do you have over objects? • Realism versus meaningful abstraction

22. EMOTIONAL DIMENSION • Design for player reactions • Player reactions to setting • Player reactions to the story • Player reactions to characters • Dramatic tension! • Well studied in storytelling • Is it different in games?

23. ETHICAL DIMENSION • Consequences of player actions? • Are certain actions clearly good or bad? • What are consequences of player hoice? • Desirable, undesirable, or just indifferent? • Example: modern RPGs • Story lines written for “good” and “bad” • Players want to see all the stories • This encourages amoral behavior

24. PARTS OF A DIGITAL GAME • Game Engine • Software, created primarily by programmers • Rules and Mechanics • Created by the designers, with programmer input • User Interface • Coordinated with programmer/artist/HCI specialist • Content and Challenges • Created primarily by designers

25. FEATURES OF GAME ENGINES • Power the graphics and sound • 3D rendering or 2D sprites • Power the character and strategic AI • Typically custom designed for the game • Power the physics interactions • Must support collisions at a bare minimum • Describe the systems • Space of possibilities in game world

26. COMMERCIAL GAME ENGINES • Programmer needs powerful tools for high quantity game! • Do we must do lots programming? • Frameworks and Libraries • XNA 3.0 • 2D graphics • No AI or physics support at all • But external libraries exist (e.g. Box2D) • XNA 4.0 • 2D,3D graphics + physics

27. GAME ENGINES: PHYSICS • Defines physical attributes of the world • There is a gravitational force • Objects may have friction • Ways in which light can reflect • Does not define precise values or effects • The direction or value of gravity • Friction constants for each object • Specific lighting for each material

28. GAME ENGINES: SYSTEMS • Physics is an example of a game system • Specifies the space of possibilities for a game • But not the specific parameters of elements • Typically extra code that you add to the engine • Write functions for the possibilities • But do not code values or when called • Separates programmer from gameplay designer • Programmer creates the system • Gameplay designer fills in parameters

29. GAME ENGINES: SYSTEMS • 自定义游戏编辑器 • 通用游戏编辑器 • 角色扮演游戏编辑器 • 设计游戏编辑器 • ……

30. RULES & MECHANICS • Fills in the values for the system • Parameters (e.g. gravity, damage amounts, etc.) • Types of player abilities/verbs • Types of obstacles/challenges • But does not include specific challenges • Just the list all challenges that could exist • Contents of the pallet for level editor

31. RULES: SUPER MARIO BROS. • Enemies • Goombas die when stomped • Turtles become shells when stomped/bumped • Spinys damage Mario when stomped • Piranha Plants aim fireballs at Mario • Environment • Question block yields coins, a power-up, or star • Mushroom makes Mario small • Fire flower makes Mario big and fiery

32. THE D&D ANALOGY: MECHANICS • Engine + mechanics = core rulebooks • Less information than an adventure module • But enough to create your own adventures • Vary the mechanics for other genres • D&D: high fantasy • Star Wars: space opera • Top Secret: modern spy thriller

33. GAME AI: WHERE DOES IT GO? • Game AI is traditionally placed in mechanics • Characters need rules to make right choices • Tailor AI to give characters personalities • But it is implemented by programmer • Complicated search algorithms • Algorithms should be in game engine • Holy Grail: “AI Photoshop” for designers • Hides all of the hard algorithms

34. INTERFACES • Interface specifies • How player does things (player-to-computer) • How player gets feedback (computer-to-player) • More than engine+mechanics • They just describe what the player can do • Do not specify how it is done • Bad interfaces can kill a game • (三流的规则 + 一流的界面)> (一流的规则 + 三流的界面)

35. THE D&D ANALOGY: INTERFACE • Interface includes: • Character sheets • Pencils • Maps • Dice • Player voices • Alternate interfaces for D&D • LARPing • Play-by-mail

36. INTERFACE TIPS • Must consider input devices in design • For PC, typically have mouse and keyboard • Game controllers have a different “feel” • Consider depth and width of interface • Details are best processed at the center of vision • Peripheral vision mostly detects motion • Strive for “invisible” interface (metaphorically) • Familiarity is better than innovation • Enhance your interface with sounds • 游戏人机交互装备很重要

37. CONTENT AND CHALLENGES • Content is everything else • Gameplay content define the actual game • Goals and victory conditions • Missions and quests • Interactive story choices • Non-gameplay content affects player experience • Graphics and cut scenes • Sound effects and background music • Non-interactive story

38. WHY THE DIVISION? • They are not developed sequentially • Content may requires changes to game engine • Interface is changing until the very end • Intended to organize your design • Engine: decisions to be made early, hard-code • Mechanics: mutable design decisions • Interface: how to shape the user experience • Content: specific gameplay and level-design

39. SUMMARY • Develop a good game • A collaboration team • Goods skill in communication • But they are all interconnected • System/engine limits your possible mechanics • Content is limited by the type of mechanics • Once again: design is iterative