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COMP 585/185: Serious Games

Introduction. COMP 585/185: Serious Games. Who’s in the class? Class structure Introduction to content Team and concept brainstorming. Today’s agenda. CLASS STRUCTURE. Game Development Teams Any platform: RYI, engine, Flash, Mod Game Critique Paper Critique Designs. assignments.

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COMP 585/185: Serious Games

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  1. Introduction COMP 585/185: Serious Games

  2. Who’s in the class? Class structure Introduction to content Team and concept brainstorming Today’s agenda

  3. CLASS STRUCTURE

  4. Game Development • Teams • Any platform: RYI, engine, Flash, Mod • Game Critique • Paper Critique • Designs assignments

  5. Critiques

  6. Critiques • Definition: A critical review or commentary, especially one dealing with works of art or literature. • Should include • Context • Elements • Effectiveness Critiques vs. reviews

  7. coverage • Background • Type of game • Synopsis • When • Platform • Purpose • Evaluations • Design Issues • Cohesiveness • Game mechanics • Effectiveness • Feedback • Narrative • Social • World • Characters • Audio • Graphics

  8. KatamariDamacy • Biographical and New Critical Analysis • Part 1 • Marxist, Structural, and Jungian Analysis • Part 2 • Feminist, Psychoanalytical and Post-Colonial Analysis • Part 3 Stanci on Critiques (more than I expect)

  9. The business of games

  10. 2009 US revenue $19.7B ($21.4B ‘08) • Software $10.5B • Hardware $9.2B • Movies: $10B • Subscribers • World of Warcraft: 12.5M subscriptions • Second Life: 1B hrs Sept 2009 Games ARE Serious Business

  11. MMOGs

  12. Online gamers • middle income ($35,000-$75,000) • age 25-44 • Casual gamers • 76% female • 71% 40 or older (47% 50 or older) • 46% college graduates (14% adv degree) • 53% income $50,000 or more • 67% married (53% at least one child ) Who is a Gamer?

  13. 44%: card, puzzle, arcade, word games 25%: family-oriented games 19%: RPGs, MMOGs CAVEAT: lots of contradictory stats Most Popular Genres

  14. What is a game?

  15. Computer games Board games Card games Parlor games Sports games Miniatures games Role-playing games Alternative reality games Types of Games

  16. Games… are an activity have rules have conflict have goals involve decision making are artificial are safe are outside ordinary life provide no material gain are voluntary have uncertain outcome are a representation are make believe are inefficient have closed systems are a form of art

  17. Play • “work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and … play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.” Adventures of Tom Sawyer • Pretend • The Magic Circle (Huizinga) • Goal • Challenges • Win, Loss, Termination • Rules • Meanings, gameplay, sequence of play, goals, metarules What is a game?

  18. TOY PUZZLE GAME PLAY GOAL RULES

  19. What’s the difference? • Games: restrictive rules, limit-testing strategies • Toys: fantasy and free play. • Children • captivated by versatility of toys • Adults • lose interest in toys • Create games around toys • tactics, strategies, results Games vs. Toys (Schiesel 2008)

  20. Serious games are • games with a serious purpose beyond entertainment • built for serious purpose • used for serious purpose

  21. What is a serious purpose? • Education • Training • Social change • Health education • Pain control • Rehabilitation • Business • Art Learning!

  22. Game elements

  23. Gameplay: • Challenges • Risk/rewards • Creative expressive play • Storytelling • Novelty • Learning • Immersion • Socializing KEY ELEMENTS

  24. Challenges Actions Fairness Symmetry Competition/cooperation GAMeplay

  25. Style and skill, not beauty • Harmony • coherence and consistency • Harmony isn’t something that you can fake. … It’s a sensual, intuitive experience. It’s something you feel. … it doesn’t come from design committees ,,, And it never happens by accident or by luck. … Games with harmony emerge from a fundamental note of clear intention. Brian Moriarty aesthetics

  26. Reach emotion, not just adrenaline • Key in all well-crafted entertainment • More specifically • Add to entertainment value • Wider audience • Keep interest • Marketing why stories in computer Games?

  27. Are these the first interactive stories? • NO. Audience participation! • What does the player want? • New experience • New place • New person • New activity • Recommendation: learn good storytelling rules stories in computer Games

  28. genre Considerations • Arcade games • Strategy games • First person shooter • RPG, adventure • Length • Characters • Realism • Emotional richness How much story do you need?

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