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

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

IAT New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull 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 32 nd century In The Sims, the player can select the game speed, specifying the relation between play time and event time.

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

IAT New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull 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 New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull 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 New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull 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 New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull 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 New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull 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 New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull 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 New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull 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 New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull 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 New Media -- Introduction to Game Time - Jesper Jull 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)