Game Art and Design Unit 3 Lesson 6 Categorize Game Theory International Technology Education Association

Big Idea Knowledge of the basic skills and components of any field makes one uniquely prepared to perform at a high level in that area.

Fun in Games

Categories of Fun: Physical Dancing and movement. The success of the dance category in arcade games shows the basic need to have physical fun. Many games also make good use of hand-eye coordination. Players control joysticks and coordinate keystrokes to achieve a desired result.

Categories of Fun: Physical

Categories of Fun: Social Storytelling taps into the human desire for social interaction. Players can experience social interaction with two-player and multi-player games. Many online games use a team concept where teams can work together to solve a common problem. Example: The Sims.

Categories of Fun: Social

Categories of Fun: Multipurpose These games are a combination of physical, social, and mental fun.

Categories of Fun: Mental Improving our mental skills and intelligence can be fun. These games are based on the ability to perceive and use patterns. The fun comes from the mental challenge. Music games fits into this category since music is a pattern of notes.

Categories of Fun: Mental

Fun in Games: Engagement Activity 3.61: think of an activity that fits into one of the categories of fun. Now think of a game for each category. What is fun? What are some characteristics of having fun? How do you feel when you are having fun? Are all games fun? Do they need to be?

Fun: Satisfaction in Games

Fun in Games: Satisfaction Fun can be accomplished when a player has a feeling of satisfaction. These challenges must be beatable to be fun. Clearing – clear up a situation or set of obstacles such as clearing up blackened areas to reveal what is underneath. Collection – collect something or complete a set. Earning points is an example of a collection.

Fun in Games: Satisfaction Creation – to build something as in building a house in Sim City. Discovery – to experience new worlds, environment, levels, or rules of play, finding a secret passageway, access code, or reveal a hidden treasure. Expectation – waiting for a reward like slot machines or scratch-off lottery tickets. Experience – to do or experience something they could not do in real life (i.e., drive a race car or fly into space).

Fun in Games: Satisfaction Expression – self-discovery and to accept a new identity. Fantasy – use their imagination. Fellowship – be part of a team or league. Goal-completion – to earn a goal and/or points.

Fun in Games: Satisfaction Narrative – experience a drama that unfolds over time. Obstacle – encounter a challenge and overcome it. Sensation – experience new sensations such as flying an airplane or climbing a mountain. Victory – compete alone or as part of a team and overcome an opponent.

Fun: Power in Games Three types of Power a designer can give to a player in a game include: Manipulative power (Tetris) Creative power (Tycoon games, MineCraft) Destructive power (FPS)

Types of Game by Decision

Games by Decision Games of skill are usually single-player games where the outcome of the game is solely a result of player choices. The player is aware of the result of every decision before it is made.

Games by Decision 2. Games of choice are also single player games where the outcome is mostly a product of probability. 3. Games of strategy involve more than one player where competition is the main factor.

Games of Choice Decisions under certainty Decisions under uncertainty Player is aware of the probability to win. For example, rolling a six on a die is a one in six probability or 17%. Decisions under uncertainty The risks or the probability of the outcomes are unknown.

Zero-Sum Games Use competitive behavior between players resulting in only one winner. Each player has a different interest in the game and both cannot win. This is a classic win/lose scenario. Examples include: the childhood game rock, paper, scissors; chess; checkers; and most board games.

Zero-Sum Games One winner +1 and one loser -1 = 0. The sum is 0.

Non-Zero Sum Games Players neither win nor lose but create a situation where all can benefit. One player’s decision in the game does not necessarily affect the other players gain or losses. The Prisoner’s Dilemma is a good example. The sum is not zero – no winner and no loser.

Non-Zero Sum Games

The Decision Tree Decision trees are ways to map out the possible choices involved in a game. The image is the decision tree for the rock, paper, and scissors game.

The Decision Tree: Activity Draw a decision tree for the prisoner's dilemma. Use your Design Journal.

Successful games

What Makes Games Successful? There are four elements to a game’s success related to what players like the best about games. A successful game should contain parts from two or more of the elements: The Player’s experience Challenge and strategy Immersion Social experience

What Makes Games Successful? The Player’s Experience – experience a wide range of emotions. Challenge and Strategy - provide cool looking environments that provide challenge and problem solving.

What Makes Games Successful? 3. Immersion - players enjoy the mystery and adventure by exploration through the game and may lose themselves in the game. 4. Social Experience - experience competition, teamwork, bonding, and recognition from other players.

Designing A Successful Game Basic game rules help define a game. If enough of the rules change, then a new game is created. Rules generally determine the basic play of the game such as turn order, actions of the players, and win conditions.

Designing A Successful Game Player actions could include how to spend resources or move tokens. Winning might occur when a certain number of tokens are obtained, having the greatest number of tokens at the end of the game, or some relationship of game tokens (as in chess's checkmate).

Designing A Successful Game Explicit rules Sometimes called laws, are the formal structure in a game. In non-electric games, rules are written on the instruction page. In electronic games, rules are included in the hardware and the software constraints of the game. It is important that the rules are clear and understandable.

Designing A Successful Game Implicit rules - unwritten, unbinding rules in a game. Usually stated at the beginning of a game. For example, if a player is never found in hide and seek, a new rule is needed. “Only hide in the front yard” could be an implicit new rule. Other implicit rules could include rudeness, damaging the playing pieces, and others agreed on by the players.

Examples of Rules Explicit rules Implicit rules In Monopoly Pass go and collect 200 dollars In Mario Brothers Collect coins get points In Monopoly No hitting In Mario Brothers No destruction of the game

Game Play vs. Play Mechanics Game mechanics are the set of rules that provide an enjoyable game play experience. What a player does when playing the game is called game play. Basically, game play defines what the game is, while game mechanics determine what the game consists of.

Game Play vs. Play Mechanics Game Mechanics: The goal is for the user to enjoy the game and be challenged enough to want to play again. Some game mechanics have been around for a long time while others are new and innovative. Video games have gone from basic simple designs (such as Pong) to extremely complex ones as technology and processing power have improved.

Game Play vs. Play Mechanics Game play of a fighting or shooting game is to hit something without being hit. Other games have puzzles to solve, put a golf ball into a hole, or complete a line of patterns.

Big Idea Knowledge of the basic skills and components of any field makes one uniquely prepared to perform at a high level in that area.

Game Art and Design Unit 3 Lesson 5 Categorize Game Theory Images clipart, Student images, and Photos by Phyllis Jones International Technology Education Association