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Chapter 4 – World Design

Chapter 4 – World Design. “You know, when you start designing your virtual world, that it will have players. These are the people for whom you are designing your world.” Designing Virtual Worlds. Yes, but…. Business Influences Technical Influences Gameplay

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Chapter 4 – World Design

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  1. Chapter 4 – World Design “You know, when you start designing your virtual world, that it will have players. These are the people for whom you are designing your world.” Designing Virtual Worlds

  2. Yes, but… • Business Influences • Technical Influences • Gameplay • Chapter 4 about Gameplay, but first two never unimportant.

  3. EDCT793 Corporation says… • We’re assigned to design a game set in the US “wild west.” • Call it: “Teresa’s World.” • Make it run on Windows PCs. • Make it popular & profitable. • This is our class exercise…

  4. Ethos / Culture • What is it? • “the distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature, or guiding beliefs of a person, group, or institution” • Merriam-Webster • Comes essentially from players, although designers can influence. • Consider GTA. • Consider Phil’s kids with Legos.

  5. Designing Teresa’s World… • What do we want our ethos to be?

  6. Unending or Circular? • Circular worlds • Will look more-or-less the same next week, next month, next year. • Players can have different experiences in different places, but world is stable. • Unending worlds • Whole world evolves as players play – players can change the world.

  7. Designing Teresa’s World… • Is our world to be circular or unending?

  8. Hand On or Hands Off? • Are employees of the software company going to participate in the ongoing game? • As players… • As undercover players… • As referees… • As gods…

  9. Designing Teresa’s World… • Will our employees enter the world? How?

  10. Character Categories • Will players acquire meaningful characteristics by membership in groups? • For instance: • Gender • Species, often called Race • Profession • Nationality • Alignment

  11. Designing Teresa’s World… • Categories of characters? • Yes/No? • What categories? What differences?

  12. Scale: Intimate or Grand? • Size of the world, in comparison to individuals. • Look & feel • Travel • Number of players

  13. Designing Teresa’s World… • Scale: Intimate or grand?

  14. Economic Model: Open or Closed • Closed: Game assumes fixed prices of goods. • No inflation. NPCs never learn or adapt. • Open: Game allows prices to vary depending on player activity. • Currency can inflate. NPCs learn. • Consider price of eggs in gold-rush California…

  15. Designing Teresa’s World… • Economic Model?

  16. Then - Just do it… • Geography • Consistency • Nodes & Coordinates • Terrain • Movement • Scale • Settlements

  17. Just do it… • Population • NPCs • Categories • Intelligence

  18. Just do it… • Physics • Naïve or “Real World” Physics • Max Dresden: “Physical Intuition is the physics you have learned but cannot articulate.” • Time • Multiple scales • Ultraphysics

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