Introduction to Game Time Jesper Juul

1. Introduction to Game TimeJesper Juul Brought to you by Veronica Zammitto IAT 810 - New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull

2. A theory of Time in games Most computer games project a game world, the player is engaged in a kind of pretense-play: • Itself Duality • the role in the game all our actions have a double meaning Marjanovic-Shane’s fictive plane IAT 810 - New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull

3. Game timePlay time: the time the player takes to play Event Time: the time taken in the game world • Their relationship is variable between games and game genres: • Action: real time • Strategy: speeding feature • Abstract: no event time • Subjective experience of time: strongly affected by objective time structured by the game. IAT 810 - New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull

4. Abstract Games and The State Machine Abstract games don’t contain play-tense Play time Time in abstract games State Machine: system that can be in different states. It contains input and output functions, and definitions of states. IAT 810 - New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull

5. When playing a game, one is interacting with the state machine that is the game. • The game state is modified Player Game State to play a game is to interact with the Game State IAT 810 - New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull

6. If you cannot influence the game state in any way, you are not playing • Difference between real-time and turn-based: • In turn based: game state only changes when the player takes a turn • In real time: not doing anything also has consequences IAT 810 - New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull

7. Real-Time Games with Worlds • Event time: the time of the events happening in the game world • In most action games, the play time/event time relation is presented as being 1:1 Play Time Event Time Example: Quake 3 IAT 810 - New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull

8. In SimCity, there is still a parallelism but event time goes faster than play time 2 minutes Play Time Event Time 1 year IAT 810 - New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull

9. Mapping • Mapping means that the player’s time and actions are projected into a game world. • The moment of mapping has a basic sense of happening now • Speed the player decides how long a period in play time will map to in event time • Mapping can also be fixated historically. Example: WWII, or in space in the 32nd century • In The Sims, the player can select the game speed, specifying the relation between play time and event time. IAT 810 - New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull

10. Modern Games with Cut Scenes Video WarCraft III – Arthas’ Betray IAT 810 - New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull

11. Modern Games with Cut Scenes • Can be intro sequences and cut scenes • Depict events in the event of time (game world) • They do not by themselves modify the game state (can be skipped, user can’t do anything during them) • Cut scenes disconnect play time from even time • Convention: • play sequences use the full screen • Cur scenes are “letter box” (black bars at top and bottom) This might signifies “cinema:, and indicates the absence of interactivity. IAT 810 - New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull

12. The Chronology of Time in Games Time in games is almost always chronological. Reasons: • Flash-forwards: describing events-to-come means that the player’s actions do not really matter • Flash-backs: it’s possible to describe events that lead to the current event time, but doing an interactive one leads to the time machine problem: player’s actions in the past may suddenly render the present impossible. Play time Cutscenes/mapping Event time IAT 810 - New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull

13. Adventure and Pong: Coherent Time vs Level Time • Now, games are careful to craft the event time as being continuous, creative a believable world. Example: Half-Life Arcade games tend to present several ontologically separate worlds that simple replace one another with no indication of any connection. Example: Pengo • If we think of games as fiction or stories, these kind of abrupt jumps seem unwarranted and esoteric. IAT 810 - New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull

14. Standard Violations of Game Time • Pausing the play time is supposed to pause the event time, bring the game world to a standstill. • Sound: like in Black & White and The Sims, the environmental sounds continue playing when the game is paused. • Speed: In Space Quest, the speed setting makes the avatar moves faster but environment keeps the same speed. Example: acid drops falling from the ceiling. Question: Are this violations useful or should be avoid? IAT 810 - New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull

15. Save Games • Are manipulations of game time. • Allow the player to store the game state at a moment in play time and then later continue playing from that position • Mostly tied to single-player games. Players don’t have the option in MMOLG (persistent world) • Arguments against: • Allow the player to chop up the game time • They decrease the dramatic tension of the game • They make the game easier or too easy (or might avoid frustration of replaying an entire level) • They destroy the player’s sense of immersion • The need for save games is a symptom of design flaws (Chris Crawford) IAT 810 - New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull

16. The Experience of Time • Subjective time: how the player experiences time in games • Experience: a product of both the play time/event time relation and of the tasks and choices presented to the player • Dead time: when having to perform unchallenging activities for the sake of a higher goal. Mundane tasks: fishing IAT 810 - New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull

17. Good game (Rollings and Morris) as a series of interesting choices  for every choice: • there must be no single obviously best option • neither may all options be equally good • The player needs to be able to make some kind of qualified choice within the time allocated to the task • Flow (Csikszentmihalyi) is a mental state of enjoyment shared by people in a variety of situations. It alters the sense of duration. To reach the state of flow, a game must be neither too hard (leads to anxiety) nor too easy (leads to boredom) • Experience of time is tied to: • The play time/event time relation • Challenges provided by the game • Relation between game difficulty and player ability IAT 810 - New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull

18. A History of Game Time • Two directions: • The root of games in play time allows them to define their worlds much more loosely and less coherently • The continued developments in processing power and data storage make it possible to craft event time with increasing detail and precision • One of the biggest changes: the movement from • Arcades: extremely short (real-time) game sessions • Home: games of longer durations, save games, slow games, more varied game time • Computer games add automation and complexity: they can uphold and calculate game rules on their own IAT 810 - New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull

19. Conclusion • Duality: play time / event time • Proposed time model can be used for : • Examining variations in the worlds • Connects to the player’s relation to the game • Thinking about game aesthetics • As a strong genre indicator • Further analysis (manuals, visual and acoustic cues, and gameplay) IAT 810 - New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull