Ambient role playing games: towards a grammar of endlessness Mark Eyles Roger Eglin Advanced Games Research Group Department of Creative Technologies - Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries

If the seminal 1976 ambient music album Music for Airports became a 21st century ambient role playing game, what would it play like?

Overview Games Computer role playing games Computer technology Ambient intelligence Pervasive games Ambient music Ambient games Ambient Quest Ambient games future

What is a computer game? An interactive entertainment played against, or with the aid of, computer generated characters or tokens in a computer generated environment. A single player game has a series of interesting obstacles to overcome in order to gain rewards. A multiplayer game has a series of interesting obstacles to overcome at the expense and/or with the help of other players to gain rewards.

Computer game properties: Commitment to play Learning curve Play time Civilization 2 vs. Tetris vs. Hangman

Computer game properties: Location and movement Fixed (Console, PC, Set top box) Mobile (Mobile phone, Nintendo DS) Require movement –In one location (Football, Eye Toy) –In many locations (Alternate Reality Game)

Computer game properties: Commitment and movement

Pervasive games Pervasive games are defined as games that extend ‘gaming experiences out into the physical world’ –(Waern, 2006) I will return to pervasive games later and argue that ambient games are a type of pervasive game

Role playing games To suggest a definition of computer role playing games: –Look at the history of RPGs –Look at the game play in RPGs –These two approaches then inform a definition of role playing games

History of role playing games Pen and paper and computer role playing games formalise the playful role playing of childrens’ make believe worlds by adding a set of rules This formalisation of role playing allows details to be shared, so that the game can be shared and seen to be played fairly according to an agreed set of rules A key component of role playing games is stories

Story telling Spoken Pictures –Cave paintings Written –Gilgamesh (around 2000 BC) Moving images –Cinema (from the 1880s) Interactive –Colossal Cave Adventure (1975ish)

Table top war-gaming 1 Kriegspiel –19th century –Lieutenant Johann von Reisswitz based on a design of his father Baron von Reisswitz –Players move tokens representing troops around a map, under the guidance of an umpire –Assured Prussian victories

Table top war-gaming 2 Little Wars – A set of table top war-gaming rules –H. G. Wells –Commenting on Kriegspiel: ‘as it is played by the British Army, is a very dull and unsatisfactory exercise, lacking in realism, in stir and the unexpected, obsessed by the umpire at every turn, and of very doubtful value in waking up the imagination, which should be its chief function’. (Wells, 1913)

Fantasy literature J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Hobbit, 1937 The Lord of the Rings trilogy, 1954 to 1955

War-gaming + Fantasy Chainmail –First table top role playing game,1971 –Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren Dungeons and Dragons –Tactical Studies Rules (TSR), 1974 –Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson

Evolution of computer role playing games Start with text adventures ‘Advent’ or ‘Adventure’, written by William Crowther ‘around 1975 give or take a year’ Expanded by Don Woods to Colossal Cave Adventure in 1976

Evolution of computer role playing games Zork, 1978, released by Infocom 1980

Evolution of computer role playing games Add role playing –Richard Garriott’s 1979 Apple II game Akalabeth

Evolution of computer role playing games Character attributes –Ultima 1, 1980, developed by Richard Garriott, published by Origin Systems Inc.

Evolution of computer role playing games Influence of paper based role playing Dungeons and Dragons (paper) Ultima I (computer) Strength Intelligence Wisdom DexterityAgility ConstitutionStamina Charisma

Evolution of computer role playing games Control a party of characters Race and character class mechanisms –Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, 1981, Sir Tech Software

Evolution of computer role playing games Advances in technology… –Improvements in graphics –Increasing sophistication and complexity –Addition of 3D graphics to Multi User Dungeons …but retaining core RPG mechanisms

Evolution of computer role playing games Expansion into other milieu: MilieuExample game FantasyBaldur’s Gate Science fictionStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Post-apocalypticFallout HorrorVampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines SuperheroCity of Heroes CyberpunkDeus Ex

Role playing gameplay mechanisms Role playing game mechanisms have remained very similar –Compare Ultima, 1980, with Oblivion, 2006

Role playing gameplay mechanisms  Races  Classes  Attributes  Skills  Experience points and experience levels  Combat  Resource management  Puzzles  Story and Quests  Exploration Mechanisms commonly found in RPGs:

Role playing gameplay mechanisms - Race The race selected affects the abilities and attributes available to the player’s character For example in Morrowind: Argonian Breton Dark Elf Wood Elf High Elf Imperial Khajiit Redguard Nord Orc

Role playing gameplay mechanisms - Class Classes determine which profession the player’s character is able to pursue For example in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Scout Soldier Scoundrel Jedi Guardian Jedi Consular Jedi Sentinel

Role playing gameplay mechanisms - Attributes Attributes give the abilities of a character These core elements define what the character is capable of

Role playing gameplay mechanisms - Attributes

Role playing gameplay mechanisms - Skills Skills are learned abilities that improve through use in the game –For example in Deus Ex: Computer Electronics Environmental Training Lockpicking Medicine Swimming Weapons: Demolition Weapons: Heavy Weapons: Low-Tech Weapons: Pistol Weapons: Rifle

Role playing gameplay mechanisms - Experience Experience is normally measured in experience points that are earned by completing game objectives When target numbers of experience points are achieved players are able to increase the attributes of their characters (‘Level up’)

Role playing gameplay mechanisms – Story and quests Role playing games normally contain long and involved stories delivered in a series of quests

Role playing gameplay mechanisms - Combat Real time ‘twitch’ combat –Deus Ex Strategic ‘dice roll’ combat –Baldur’s Gate Or sometimes a combination –Morrowind

Role playing gameplay mechanisms - Combat Melee Range Traps

Role playing gameplay mechanisms – Resource management Role playing games typically contain many items During games players make strategic choices about what they are going to need and what they can carry –See example on next slide (Diablo)

Role playing gameplay mechanisms – Resource management

Role playing gameplay mechanisms - Puzzles Typical purposes of puzzles include: –Unlocking locations –Revealing plot –Gaining items –Defeating enemies –Helping non-player character ‘friends’ Puzzles frequently involve ‘using’ objects –The word ‘use’ is a catchall for activating or implementing or in some other way applying the particular properties of an object

Role playing gameplay mechanisms - Exploration Players search the game world to discover useful items and clues Environments may contain hidden objects and characters used to reveal story elements Exploration also facilitates visual (and auditory) rewards for players

Role playing gameplay mechanisms

RPG mechanisms in other game genres

Core features of RPGs Choice of player races Choice of player classes Player attributes Player skill development Experience points and levels

Suggested definition of computer role playing games In computer role-playing games players control one or more characters that gain ‘experience’ through the completion of game objectives. The ‘experience’ is manifested as player moderated changes in player character attributes (‘strength’, ‘intelligence’ and ‘luck’ for example) which allow the player character to evolve over the duration of the game. Additional player character customization is facilitated through modification of character differentia such as race and class when initiating a player character ready for play and by game-play educed character modification during play, such as development and improvement of a skill by repeated use of that skill, or the spending of ‘skill points’ gained when levelling up. The player character descriptors (attributes, differentia and game-play educed modifications) affect the in-game interactions between the player character, non-player characters and items in the game environment. The environment, objects, characters and interactions are effected in a virtual environment.

Ambient technology This section starts with some assumptions about ambient games that will be made explicit later: –Ambient games are as ‘ignorable as they are interesting’ (Eno, 1978) –Consequently it should be possible for the player to ignore the game, if they wish, while still playing it –The game should physically surround them First we will consider the growth of computer technology and its future

Growth of computer technology

One computer – Many users –Charles Babbage designs a computer 1821 –EDSAC 1 (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator) 1949 the world’s “first complete and fully operational regular electronic digital stored program computer” (Jones, 2001)

Growth of computer technology One computer – One user –1981 IBM introduced the ‘personal computer’ Digital Rainbow

Growth of computer technology Many computers – One user –The current state of play

Growth of computer technology Massively many intelligent computers – One user Tom Cruise in Minority Report (Everyone is a user, not just Tom Cruise) Ambient intelligent environments (the future)

Ambient intelligence There are a number of different technologies that are enabling the development of ambient intelligence: –Interconnectivity –Artificial intelligence –The proliferation of computers These technologies support ambient intelligence, which has: –Ubiquity –Transparency –Intelligence (Aarts et al., 2001)

Ambient intelligence - Ubiquity A massive number of interconnected computers are embedded in the environment ‘It is invisible, everywhere computing that does not live on a personal device of any sort, but is in the woodwork everywhere.’ (Weiser, 1996)

Ambient intelligence - Transparency Transparency indicates that ambient intelligence environments are invisible and in the background (Aarts et al., 2001)

Ambient intelligence - Intelligence Intelligence relates to the interfaces and ways these interconnected computers respond and interact with people through user friendly interfaces.

Ambient intelligence predictions By 2010, when Intel expects that every chip it produces will have an antenna, there will be around 1,000 microprocessors per person Harbor Research predicts that by 2010 worldwide revenues from network-related devices and associated services will be $800bn, around half of which will come from valued-added apps and services. Department for Trade and Industry

Ambient intelligence commercial future “Our vision for 2020 is that we will live in a world of interconnected, smart, distributed, responsive devices and services.”

Ambient intelligence Ambient intelligence environments offer a promising technology for creating pervasive games We will now consider pervasive games and ambient games

Pervasive games Pervasive games are games which extend gaming experiences into the real world –They include locative games in which players move into the real world while playing and their position and actions in the real world affect, and are affected by, events in a virtual world (Waern, 2006)

Pervasive games Location based games, especially using mobile technologies –Example: Uncle Roy All Around You –Street Players use handheld computers to search for Uncle Roy, using the map and incoming messages to move through the city. Online Players cruise through a virtual map of the same area, searching for Street Players to help them find a secret destination.Street PlayersOnline Players

Pervasive games - Augmented reality Overlaying computer information onto the real world –Example: ARQuake at the University of South Australia

Pervasive games - Alternate reality A game in which events occurring online in a game world affect and are affected by game events in the real world –Example: Perplexcity "...an obsession-inspiring genre that blends real-life treasure hunting, interactive storytelling, video games and online community...” (Borland, 2005)

Pervasive games Ambient games are a type of pervasive game The pervasive game examples mentioned vary from ambient games in –The intention of the games (ambient games create moods, they are not treasure hunts) –The commitment the player makes to the game (they do not have to put on back packs of computer equipment) –The level of attention required from the player

Pervasive games, ambient games and ambient intelligence

Ambient music informs ambient games Brian Eno coined the term ‘ambient music’ on his 1978 album Ambient 1: Music for Airports In the sleeve notes of Music for Airports Brian Eno gives a definition of ambient music: –“Ambient Music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting” (Eno, 1978) Ambient music

“I wanted to make a kind of music that would actually reduce your focus on this particular moment in time that you happened to be in and make you settle into time a little bit better.” (Eno, 2003) Think about the ways games might do this while accommodating many levels of attention and intervention

Defining ambient games Progress Quest - a game that requires minimal player intervention ( (Fredricksen, 2004))

Defining ambient games All a player needs to do to play Progress Quest is set the game running The game displays the player’s character’s role playing statistics and lists the completed quests and so on The player need not intervene again as Progress Quest continues to play, all gameplay decisions are made automatically

Defining ambient games Imagine a game similar to Progress Quest, call it Ambient Quest, in which, when the player starts the game, their actions in the real world affect progress in the game world

Defining ambient games The Ambient Quest game world consists of a virtual environment containing quests to complete (achieved by defeating monsters at various locations)

Defining ambient games The player chooses the degree to which they wish to manage events in the game At one extreme the game runs itself, gathering data from the player’s actions in the real world and automatically applying this to the game world At the other extreme the player can determine how the real world data is applied in the game world, micromanaging game interactions. Passive Active

Defining ambient games The player may choose to manipulate their actions in the real world to progress more successfully in Ambient Quest Alternatively they may ignore the consequences of their actions in the real world and play without consciously changing their behaviour Passive Active

Defining ambient games Ambient Quest should be ‘as ignorable as it is interesting’ (Eno, 1978) Players can dip in and out of the game The game is persistent, running in the background, creating a mood, while players are engaged in other activities They may respond to the game by modifying their behaviour to affect their game progress

Defining ambient games Ambient games may be controlled by everyday actions (i.e. not using a dedicated game input device, mouse or keyboard) in everyday, real world environments that have gameplay consequences in a virtual game world These game play environments may be facilitated by ambient intelligent technologies that embed the game transparently in the environment

Defining ambient games Ambient games allow the player to have experiences that range from superficially shallow to profoundly deep The player is able to choose how they focus their attention on the game, and can alter their degree of attention at will As with Music for Airports an ambient game should accommodate many levels of attention, many levels of involvement or intervention, creating a mood in the environment

Defining ambient games The involvement of the player in the game is not determined by the game This is not a ‘push’ technology, but is determined by the player who can choose when to ‘pull’ game experiences from the ambient game

Defining ambient games

A definition of ambient games ‘Ambient games are designed to create a mood in an environment through game interactions with players whose behaviours, mediated by an ambient intelligent environment or similar transparent game interface, create changes in a virtual game world. Ambient games are persistent and are as interesting as they are ignorable, facilitating a wide variation in player determined levels of involvement, from unaware to intensely attentive play. In ambient computer role-playing games player behaviours affect one or more characters that gain ‘experience’, and other character customizations, through the completion of game objectives in a virtual world.’

Ambient Quest – single player ambient game simulation Distance walked by players determines progress in the virtual game world Players may engage more or less with the game by –Altering, or not altering, distance walked –Choosing moves for their avatars or letting the game move them automatically The game is ‘always on’

Ambient Quest – single player ambient game simulation Ambient Quest is designed to create a mood in the playing environment, overlaying a sense fantasy adventure on the real world and giving a hint of other hidden worlds

Future ambient games Imagine a job which involves fairly repetitive actions which are not in themselves especially rewarding. Could an ambient game be designed that ran alongside this work and brought an element of playfulness to the job?

Future ambient games Ambient Shelf Stacking Game –Imagine an ambient game that drew its data from supermarket shelf stacking –Employees belong to different teams that are represented by competing avatars in a virtual world

Future ambient games Co-operative gaming –Ambient Garden Game Imagine an ambient game in which players are together trying to nurture the plants in a virtual garden through their actions in the real world Interpersonal relationships –Ambient Relationships Game Imagine a Sims like game where the players’ real world actions affect relationships of avatars in a Second Life like virtual world

Future ambient games Women playing ambient games –Ambient games offer interesting possibilities for designing games that are tailored to appeal to women (who are not already gamers) –Opportunities for co-operative play –Opportunities for activity based game play (in preference to goal orientated gameplay) –Ambient games do not place importance on achieving high scores or penalising players for errors (Graner Ray, 2004)

Final thoughts Game players may play even when they are not playing! Embed mood and behaviour altering game playing in the world around us Open ended, endless nature of play points towards new mechanisms and ways of playing games that forces us to consider new grammars of play

Final thought ‘It is another world entirely and is enclosed within this one; it is in a sense a universal retreating mirror image of this one, with a peculiar geography … composed of a series of concentric rings, which as one penetrates deeper into the other world, grow larger … each perimeter of this series of concentricities encloses a larger world within’ Little Big by John Crowley (Crowley, 1981) A sense of otherworldliness:

Questions

Ambient role playing games: towards a grammar of endlessness Mark Eyles Advanced Games Research Group Department of Creative Technologies - Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries Roger Eglin