1 / 24

The Art of Game Design – A Book of Lenses

The Art of Game Design – A Book of Lenses. Chapter 17-18. Mats Wouters. Chapter 17. Stories and Games Take Place in Worlds. Stories and Games Take Place in Worlds. Transmedia world World accessed through different media (film, TV, game…) World is real product

coty
Download Presentation

The Art of Game Design – A Book of Lenses

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Art of Game Design – A Book of Lenses Chapter 17-18 Mats Wouters

  2. Chapter 17 Storiesand Games Take Place in Worlds

  3. StoriesandGames Take Place in Worlds • Transmedia world • World accessed through different media (film, TV, game…) • World is real product • Different media have to be consistent • Binocular effect: mapping a visual model of one medium onto another

  4. StoriesandGames Take Place in Worlds • Properties of Transmedia Worlds • Transmedia Worlds are Powerful • Transmedia Worlds are Long Lived • Transmedia Worlds Evolve Over Time

  5. StoriesandGames Take Place in Worlds • Common Elements: • Rooted in a single medium • Intuitive • Creative individual at their core • Facilitate the telling of many stories • Make sense through any of their gateways • About wish fulfillment

  6. Lens #74: The Lens of the World • How is my world better than the real world? • Can there be multiple gateways to my world? How do they differ? How do theysupport eachother? • Is my world centered on a single story, or could many stories happen here?

  7. Chapter 18 WorldsContain Characters

  8. WorldsContainCharacters Novels Films Games Mental Physical Reality Fantasy Complex Simple • Characters are often defined by their media

  9. WorldsContainCharacters • Avatar • = Character controlled by player • Relationship between player and avatar can be both close and distant • Ideal Form: A character you always wanted to be • Blank Slate: A simple character the player can project themselves onto

  10. Lens #75: The Lens of the Avatar • Is my avatar an ideal form likely to appeal to my players? • Does my avatar have iconic qualities that let a player project themselves intothe character?

  11. WorldsContainCharacters • List Character Functions • Game, as well as story, demands character roles • List • Think clearly • Experiment

  12. Lens #76: The Lens of Character Function • What are the roles I need the characters to fill? • What characters have I already imagined? • Which characters map well to which roles? • Can any characters fill more than one role? • Do I need to change the characters to better fit the roles? • Do I need any new characters?

  13. WorldsContainCharacters • Define and Use Character Traits • List character traits • Can be contradictory • Show through dialogue, animation…

  14. Lens #77: The Lens of Character Traits • What traits define my character? • How do these traits manifest themselves in the words, actions, and appearanceof mycharacter?

  15. WorldsContainCharacters • Use the Interpersonal Circumplex

  16. Lens #78: The Lens of the Interpersonal Circumplex • Are there any gaps in the chart? Why are they there? Would it be better if the gapswerefilled? • Are there “extreme characters ” on the graph? If not, would it be better if therewere? • Are the character’s friends in the same quadrant, or different quadrants? What if that were different?

  17. WorldsContainCharacters • Make a Character Web • Elaborates on Interpersonal Circumplex • Explains character relationships • Adds depth

  18. Lens #79: The Lens of the Character Web • How, specifically, does each character feel about each of the others? • Are there any connections unaccounted for? How can I use those? • Are there too many similar connections? How can they be more different?

  19. WorldsContainCharacters • Use status • Determines who is dominant/ submissive in a conversation • Low status: • Fidgeting • Avoiding eye contact • Touching one’s own face • Being tense • High status: • Being relaxed • Making eye contact • Not moving one’s head

  20. Lens #80: The Lens of Status • What are the relative status levels of the characters in my game? • How can they show appropriate status behaviors? • Conflicts of status are interesting — how are my characters vying for status? • Changes of status are interesting — where do they happen in my game? • How am I giving the player a chance to express status?

  21. WorldsContainCharacters • Use the Power of the Voice • Voice actors can convey strong emotions • Voice acting done after animation -> Actor tries to mimic character -> Subpar voice acting • Voice acting done first -> Stronger emotions • Use the Power of the Face • Human face very much geared towards emotion • Perfect for conveying emotion and personality

  22. WorldsContainCharacters • Powerful Stories Transform Characters • Characters change due to events in stories • Doesn’t work for all games • Far more interesting and powerful

  23. Lens #81: The Lens of Character Transformation • How does each of my characters change throughout the game? • How am I communicating those changes to the player? Can I communicate them more clearly, or more strongly? • Is thereenough change? • Are the changes surprising and interesting? • Are the changes believable?

  24. WorldsContainCharacters • Avoid the Uncanny Valley

More Related