Structure of Games

1. Structure of Games Chapter 2

2. What are different types of games? Do all games share the same exact structure?

3. They must share something in order to be called a game

4. Quick Review Playcentric- focuses on involving the player in your design process. • By continually • keeping the player experience in mind • testing the gameplay through every phase of development. • How do we judge whether or not something is a game?

5. Players – voluntarily participate in & consumes the entertainment (game) • are active • make decisions • are invested • are potential winners • voluntarily accept the rules & constraints of a game • Acceptance of the rules of a game, is both psychological and emotional for players, which must be consider as part of the playcentric process of game design.

6. Objectives- specific goals for players • In life we set our own objectives and work diligently to achieve them • In games - the objective is a key element • without it the experience loses much of its structure • the need to work toward the objective measures our involvement in the game.

7. Procedures - actions or methods of play allowed by the rules • guide player behavior • create interactions that would never take place outside the game. • they must be followed • confirms that these procedures are an important because they set games apart from behaviors and experiences.

8. Rules- limit player behavior and prohibit reactive events • Examples: • Video game - If nails are for nail guns; you can’t use nails in the thunderbolt • Card game – Go Fish: If you have hearts when you are asked for one, you must give it up

9. Rules (continued) • Must you follow the rules? • Will the other players force you to follow the rules? • Why bother? • The concept of rules & procedures imply authority.. • But where does the authority come from?

10. Authority of the rule is: • The unspoken agreement to submit to the experience of playing the game • If you do not follow rules then you are not playing the game • Respected • players understand that they are a KEY structural element of the game; • without them games would not function.

11. Resources • can be use to further our goal • they can combined to • make new products or items • can be bought & sold in various types of markets. • These items/objects (resources) are made: • valuable because they can help players achieve their goal • but are made scarce in the system by the designers.

12. Conflict • Procedures and rules tend to deter players from accomplishing their goals • Example – Go Fish • you cannot ask everyone at the same time to give you their hearts; • you must ask each player one at a time • therefore, risking you might not get a card and lose your turn. • The relationship between • objectives of the player & rules and procedures • limit and guide behavior • Which creates another element to the game: Conflict

13. Boundaries- rules and goals that players apply only within the game and not in “real life” • Magic Circle – the physical and/or conceptual space in which • a game takes place • it is a temporary world where the rules of the game apply, • rather than the rules of the real world.

14. Outcomes • are uncertain • either you win or lose •  The outcome of a game differs from the objective • all players can achieve the objective • Only one player can win the game. • The uncertainty of the outcome is important to the playcentric process • it is a key motivator for the player • If a player can anticipate the outcome of a game they will stop playing

15. Formal Elements • special equipment, • digital environments • complex resource structures • character definitions these make up the essence (spirit, soul of games, core, heart, fundamental nature) of games • They are important for the game designer to understand: • they provide structure/form • can help the designer make choices in their design process • understand problems that arise in their playtesting process.

16. Engaging the Player • Why does one game capture the imagination of players and another one falls flat? • Some players like the challenges • Most players need something to draw them in • allowing them to connect emotionally with the experience.

17. Let us not forget: • Games are a form of entertainment; • Which moves us both intellectually and emotionally. • The sense of engagement comes from different things for different players • Not all games require elaborate means to create it.

18. Challenges - creating tension and/or frustration. • Increased challenges heighten the tension and cause frustration • If the challenge remains level or flat players • think they have conquered the game and stop playing OR • move on to another game • There must be a balance • the amount of challenge is key to keep the player engaged with the game

19. Play – engage with game system • BUT play itself is not a game • Eric Zimmerman and Katie Salen define play as: • free movement within a more rigid structure. • Which provide: • opportunities for players to use imagination, fantasy, inspiration & social skills • free form types of interaction to achieve objectives within the game space • to play within the game • to engage the challenges it offers.

20. Play can be • Serious – Chess • Charges & aggressive – Call of Duty • Fantasy – World of Witchcraft • To engaging player in your game : • Play should be appealing • AND designed for a bit of free play within a rigid game structure

21. Puzzles vs Games • Games are • rules based systems • the goal is for one player to win • Puzzles are • also rule based systems • the goals is to find a solution; not to beat an opponent

22. What is a puzzle? • Dictionary definition – a toy or other contrivance designed to amuse by presenting difficulties to be solved by ingenuity or a patient effort • Puzzles are: • fun & have a right answer • a form of play – they allow you to suspend the rules of everyday life & give us permission to do things that are not practical • tricky –Rubik's cube • easy they disappoint • hard they are discouraging

23. Four types of play • Range from the most to the least interactive Game - Winning Puzzle - Goal Toy –No Goal Story – No Interaction

24. Premise - The basic way a game creates engagement • Base-level effect of the premise: • Is to make it easier for players to scrutinize/review their choices • Is a powerful tool for involving players emotionally in the interaction of the formal elements • What is the premise of Monopoly? • Why was it so successful in the 1930?

25. Classwork – Premise – Exercise 2.7 • What are the premises for the games Risk, Clue, Pit, and Guitar Hero? • If you don’t know these games, pick games that you are more familiar with.

26. Characters • Can be tools of engagement • video games characters can be: • vessels for player participation • allows players to experience situations and conflicts through the disguise of a mask they create and direct • What is your favorite video game character?

27. Story • Stories • are different the premise because they are narrative • unfold with games • can engage players emotionally

28. The Sum of Parts • Wrapping it up: • All the parts that we identified rely on each other • Games are systems • Systems are groups of interrelated elements that work together to form a complex whole “The whole is greater than the sum of the parts” Who said this quote? Aristotle

29. In conclusion: • A game is: • closed formal system that • engages players in structured conflict • resolves its uncertainty in an unequal outcome • What is in store for future game designers? • the realm of possibilities is infinite • good game designers will evolve their game past even their wildest dreams • they need to push the envelope and transport players to places they didn’t imagine possible