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Formal Elements - Players. Section C: Game design culture and play. Recognize social game interaction. Engagement Activity. Introduction to formal elements: Gin rummy. SOCIAL GAME FORMATS.
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Section C: Game design culture and play Recognize social game interaction
Engagement Activity Introduction to formal elements: Gin rummy
SOCIAL GAME FORMATS Many games are played with more than one player. These games have a social aspect that allows players to interact with other player. • Online multiplayer • players connect home PC’s to the Internet. • played by thousands of players at the same • Crazy Arcade
SOCIAL GAME FORMATS Online multiplayer (cont) • usually run 24/7 • subscription-based system - players play a monthly fee • encourage players to form groups to solve problems • these relationships formed are strong incentives for continuing the game
SOCIAL GAME FORMATS 2. MMOGs, MMORPGs , MMORTSs and MMOFPs. • biggest issues related is how to balance social interaction with immersion. • benefits -meet new people from everywhere • problem -is player misbehavior. • The Internet allows player anonymity resulting in rude, cheating, or fraudulent behavior.
SOCIAL GAME FORMATS 2. MMOGs, MMORPGs , MMORTSs and MMOFPs. • Puzzle Pirates -MMOPG. • game master (GM) -player that acts as an organizer, arbitrator, or rules official. • MMOG -massively multiplayer online games. • MMORPG -massively multiplayer online role-playing games.
SOCIAL GAME FORMATS 2. MMOGs, MMORPGs , MMORTSs and MMOFPs. • MMOFPS stands for massively multiplayer online first-person shooters games. • MMORTS stands for massively multiplayer online real-time strategy games.
The Game Community • develops any time players get together to play a game. • continually changes - may be as small as two players playing a dance game or as large as an internet poker community. • developers control the boundaries with the game rules and roles.
The Game Community • evolves depending on the player’s personality, the interactions between the players, and the larger social context of the game. • more like a convention where players drop in and out instead of a sports team where the players are constant.
The Game Community closed and open systems. • closed environment - -no outside exchange with the environment. • open when the community of players continually changes. • The play can be both open and closed. • A closed play game would be bounded.
The Game Community closed and open systems. • The community starts as the game begins and disappears as the game concludes. • The rules of the game have a big influence on the outcome. • The open play game has a group of players across several games and many different game sessions
The Game Community Metagames • games beyond the basic game, interplay that arises outside the rules • tactics that uses features that lie outside the intended game use or that exploit errors in programming
The Game Community Metagames • Ex: A player discovers - when a weapon is fired at the ground, jumping power are increased • the increased power allows them to overcome obstacles normally were not reachable. • this was not the intended purpose of the game..
The Game Community Audiences • game developers must consider the target audience. • to understand the makeup of the audience, researchers study demographics of a population.
The Game Community Audiences • Demographics include relevant economic as well as social statistics about the population. • Age, gender, and income, are used to separate the audience into target groups called markets.
The Game Community Audiences • Besides demographics, players of the game have special classifications. • Player interest for playing a specific game falls into categories such as explorers, collectors, competitors, jokers, storytellers, and so forth.
The Game Community Industry has divided players into 2 groups: • Hard Core Players • play games over AND OVER AGAIN • many long sessions and have frequent discussions • knowledgeable about the gaming industry and usually possess all of the latest games. • have desires to extend existing games creatively. • have a higher frustration level than casual players • engage in competition with themselves, the game, and others • Casual players. These are the rest of the game players who are not hard-core
The Game Community Disabilities • one area that has a niche in the game market. • can add accessibility options • Research has discovered that playing sports or fighting games helps distract children suffering from chronic pain (The Edmonton Journal, Feb 13th 2006).
The Game Community Disabilities • being used for cancer treatment, weight control, and improved motor coordination. • Dance Dance Revolution has helped many children lose weight and gain motor development. • Adding these accessibility features can increase sales as well as improved PR
Players • Games designed for players. Without players, games have no reason to exist. • When designing a game that you need to consider • How many players does the game require? • How many total players does the game support? • Do various players have different roles? • Do players compete, cooperate, or both?
Virtual Reality The simulation of reality through technology. Many reasons VR has become popular in games. • Lessen Dangers associated with the real experience - flight simulation for combat helicopter pilots. • provide a training environment where mistakes are less permanent and costly - management of nuclear power stations or s chemical plants.
Virtual Reality • History-can provide a useful and exciting way of teaching history, in a school or a museum. • Ethics- users might have the freedom to commit rape and murder within the VR environment. • In the near future, it may be technically possible to construct VR in such a way that almost every possibility of the user's imagination can be fulfilled. • Will designers or society place arbitrary limits on what is possible within VR? VR can also heighten the experience and pleasure in a virtual world not possible in the real world VR thus proposes exciting, intriguing, but dangerous possibilities.
Formal Elements Players
Number of Players • A game designed for one player is different than a game designed for two, four, or 10,000 players. • A game designed for a specific number of players has different considerations than a game designed for a variable number of players.
Roles of Players • Most games have uniform roles for all players in the game. • Some games have more than one role for players to choose between. In Mastermind, one player chooses to be the code-breaker, while the other chooses to be the code-maker. • Role Playing Games (RPG’s) have a variety of roles for players to choose between.
Player Interaction Patterns • When you design a game, what will be the interaction between a player, the game system and any other players? • There are seven major player patterns:
1. Single Player vs Game • Most common pattern for digital gaming(use Cards) • Includes puzzles and other game structures to create conflict. (solitaire)
2. Multiple Individual Players vs Game • Multiple players compete against the game in the company of each other. • Action is not directed at each other. • No interaction between players is required. • Essentially, this pattern is a single-player game played in the company of others. (Race)
3. Player vs Player • A game where two players directly compete. • Classic structure for strategy games and good for competitive players. • One-on-one makes competition a personal contest. • The intense competition marks this pattern for focused, head-to-head play. (war)
4. Unilateral Competition • Two or more players compete against one player. • Examples include tag and dodge ball. • Interesting model for combining cooperative and competitive gameplay.
5. Multilateral Competition • Game structure in which three or more players directly compete. • This pattern is what people think of when they think of multiplayer games. • Board games are multilateral for between three – six players usually. (Hearts-Spades)
6. Cooperative Play • Two or more players cooperate against the game system. (Farmville) • Often found in children’s board games.
7. Team Competition • Game structure in which two or more groups compete. • Includes soccer, basketball and charades. • This game structure can provide fun for fans of the teams as well as the players. (Spades)
Activities: • Play games with each type of player interaction. See handout.