Instructors: Magy Seif El-Nasr, Eric Yang Teaching Assistant: Ai Nakatani

Class Overview Learn by doing (design, develop, test, prototype cycle) Learn about tools Learn to Critique other’s work Developing a game Lab assignments Blogs (individual assignment)

What would you learn? Why games work, Game design principles (what?) Interaction models Balance Feedback Motivation Immersion Design and Development cycle (how?) Tools: rendering engines, game engines, prototyping tools

Books Tracy Fullerton’s Book: Game Design Workshop: Designing, Prototyping, and Playtesting. 2004

Structure Lectures: more on how-tos rather than theory (that is IAT 312) Labs Lab tutorial Lab assignment Presentations Quick Be prepared Send us presentations before class (MUST)

Schedule Course webpage: Fall07/index.html Tentative at: Fall07/schedule.html This is where you go for DUES and UPDATES

Grading Project Group of 5 (individual grade: weekly assessment, and attendance) 45% on deliverables 5% Concept presentation (individual) 15% paper prototype, testing doc, and presentation 15% prototype, testing doc, and presentation 10% final game, testing doc, and presentation 20% labs 30% critiques (on ur blogs) 5% weekly assessment

IMPORTANT All deadline are to be submitted before the class, i.e. Monday midnight Send all assignments, presentations, and documentations by to with subject [IAT-410], all s without this subject will be ignored. Note about LABS, no necessary (check marked)

1. Setup blog for this class and me the link (easy?) DUE Monday 9/10, 11:59p 2. Game Concept – Presented and Voted on DUE Monday 9/17, 11:59p Presented in labs, 9/18 3. No labs or lecture next week, get ready for the concept competition

How to present your game idea?

How do you design a good game? Do a lot of research Have a good team Test, test, test Prototypes (small, use all tools possible) You can use some of the frameworks around: MDA framework (this week’s labs) Game balance, fit to an old model (e.g. rock, paper, scissors) Read Tracy’s book (chapters 1-5) There are several other good books and papers I can recommend

Let’s see if you know the games I play …

Game Trivia

Outside Resources: Fogg Conceptual Designs (handout)

Concept Document Use the template supplied by Fogg 1. Title Page Title Visual to situate your game, genre Design Challenge: what is new about your game 2. Overview Genre, if one exists discuss aesthetics of your game (use MDA to refer to a list of aesthetics)

Concept Document 3. User Description Who is the audience? Age? Gamers? 4. Storyboard of experience : discuss gameplay What is the player doing? GamePlay point out the features of your game show the mechanics that will achieve the aesthetics you pointed out earlier Discuss underlying systems of your game

Concept Document 5. Prototyping: nothing there 6. Features/Functionality More details on the game system More details on the aesthetics More details on the mechanics of the game 7. Justification of the Design Is it based an already accepted system? Or new (can argue for originality)? Basically: why should we give you money to build this game?

Concept Document 8. User Testing: nothing there 9. Shortcomings List problems of the design List Risks 10. Expansion What are the alternative designs you are thinking of trying? 11. Next Steps 12. Summary

MDA framework Slides are Marc’s slides, used at GDC 2005 Marc is a great guy, look up his game Oasis (Warning: very very addictive), but a MUST play

The Designer-Player Relationship  Designer  Player

The Designer-Player Relationship  Designer  Player Game

The Designer-Player Relationship  Designer  Player CreatesConsumes Game

The Designer-Player Relationship  Designer  Player Book CreatesConsumes Game

The Designer-Player Relationship  Designer  Player Book Movie CreatesConsumes Game

The Designer-Player Relationship  Designer  Player Book Movie Painting CreatesConsumes Game

The Designer-Player Relationship  Designer  Player Book Movie Painting Chair CreatesConsumes Game

The Designer-Player Relationship  Designer  Player Book Movie Painting Chair Car CreatesConsumes Game

The Designer-Player Relationship  Designer  Player Book Movie Painting Chair Car Pizza Game CreatesConsumes

The Designer-Player Relationship  Designer  Player The difference is the way that games are consumed. Game CreatesConsumes

An Extreme Opposite Example: A Theatrical Play The “design team” knows: Script Lighting Acoustics Seating Intermissions

Games, on the Contrary The designer doesn’t know: When will the player play? How often? For how long? Where? With Whom? And most importantly... What will happen during the game?

Obligatory Editorial This lack of predictability is the essence of play. It should be embraced, not eschewed.

Games as Software Code

Games as Software Code Process

Games as Software Code Requirements Process

Games as Software Rules CodeRequirementsProcess

Games as Software Rules Activity CodeRequirementsProcess

Games as Software Rules “Fun” Activity CodeRequirementsProcess

A Design Vocabulary Rules“Fun” Activity CodeRequirementsProcess

Code RequirementsProcess Rules “Fun” Activity A Design Vocabulary Mechanics

Requirements Process “Fun” Game A Design Vocabulary Mechanics Dynamics

A Design Vocabulary Mechanics Aesthetics Dynamics

The MDA Framework MechanicsAestheticsDynamics

Definitions Mechanics: The rules and concepts that formally specify the game-as-system. Dynamics: The run-time behavior of the game-as-system. Aesthetics: The desirable emotional responses evoked by the game dynamics.

The Designer/Player Relationship, Revisited  Designer  Player MechanicsAestheticsDynamics

The Player’s Perspective MechanicsAestheticsDynamics  Player

The Designer’s Perspective MechanicsAestheticsDynamics  Designer

Three “Views” of Games But they are causally linked MechanicsAestheticsDynamics

The Building Blocks: Formal Models No Grand Unified Theory Instead, lots of little models We can think of models as “lenses” Models can be formulas or abstractions Discovering new models is an ongoing process

MDA is a “Taxonomy” for Models Knowledge of Aesthetics Knowledge of Dynamics Knowledge of Mechanics Knowledge of the interactions between them

Properties of Good Models We want our models to be: Formal (well-defined) Abstract (widely applicable) Proven (known to work) On any given game, we expect to use several different abstractions, not one big one.

Part III: MDA in detail In this part, we discuss Aesthetics, Dynamics and Mechanics in detail.

The Designer’s Perspective MechanicsAestheticsDynamics  Designer

Understanding Aesthetics We need to get past words like “fun” and “gameplay.” What kinds of “fun” are there? How will we know a particular kind of “fun” when we see it?

Eight Kinds of “Fun”

1. Sensation Game as sense-pleasure

Eight Kinds of “Fun” 1. Sensation 2. Fantasy Game as make-believe

Eight Kinds of “Fun” 1. Sensation 2. Fantasy 3. Narrative Game as unfolding story

Eight Kinds of “Fun” 1. Sensation 2. Fantasy 3. Narrative 4. Challenge Game as obstacle course

Eight Kinds of “Fun” 1. Sensation 2. Fantasy 3. Narrative 4. Challenge 5. Fellowship Game as social framework

Eight Kinds of “Fun” 1.Sensation 2.Fantasy 3.Narrative 4.Challenge 5.Fellowship 6.Discovery Game as uncharted territory

Eight Kinds of “Fun” 1. Sensation 2. Fantasy 3. Narrative 4. Challenge 5. Fellowship 6. Discovery 7. Expression Game as self-discovery

Eight Kinds of “Fun” 1. Sensation 2. Fantasy 3. Narrative 4. Challenge 5. Fellowship 6. Discovery 7. Expression 8. Submission Game as mindless pastime

Clarifying Our Aesthetics Charades is “fun”Charades is “fun” Quake is “fun”Quake is “fun” Final Fantasy is “fun”Final Fantasy is “fun”

Clarifying Our Aesthetics Charades isCharades is  Fellowship, Expression, Challenge Quake isQuake is  Challenge, Sensation, Competition, Fantasy Final Fantasy isFinal Fantasy is  Fantasy, Narrative, Expression, Discovery, Challenge, Masochism Each game pursues multiple aesthetics. Again, there is no Game Unified Theory.

Clarifying Our Goals As designers, we can choose certain aesthetics as goals for our game design. We need more than a one-word definition of our goals.

What is an “Aesthetic Model?” A rigorous definition of an aesthetic goal States criteria for success and failure Serves as an “aesthetic compass” Some examples…

Goal: Competition Model: A game is competitive if players are emotionally invested in defeating each other. Success: Players are adversaries. Players want to win. Failure: A player feels that he can’t win. A player can’t measure his progress.

Goal: Realistic Flight Simulation Model: Flight dynamics match user expectations. Success: Match a mathematical formula Pass our “realism checklist” Failure: Counter-intuitive system behavior.

Goal: Drama Model: A game is dramatic if: Its central conflict creates dramatic tension. The dramatic tension builds towards a climax.

Goal: Drama Success: A sense of uncertainty A sense of inevitability Tension increases towards a climax Failure: The conflict’s outcome is obvious (no uncertainty) No sense of forward progress (no inevitability) Player doesn’t care how the conflict resolves On to Dynamics...

Understanding Dynamics What about the game’s behavior can we predict before we go to playtest? How can we explain the behavior that we observe?

Formalizing Game Dynamics Rules Input Output State (Player) (Graphics/ Sound) The “State Machine” Model Examples: Chess, Quake

Models of Game Dynamics Again, no Grand Unified Theory Instead, a collection of many Dynamic Models. Dynamics models are analytical in nature. Some examples…

Example: Random Variable This is a model of 2d6: Chance in 36 Die roll

Example: Feedback System A feedback system monitors and regulates its own state. Room Too Cold Too Hot An Ideal Thermostat Thermometer Controller Cooler Heater

Example: Operant Conditioning The player is part of the system, too! Psychology gives us models to explain and predict the player’s behavior.

Where Models Come From Analysis of existing games Other Fields: Math, Psychology, Engineering… Our own experience On to Mechanics...

Understanding Mechanics There’s a vast library of common game mechanics.

Examples Cards Shuffling, Trick-Taking, Bidding Shooters Ammunition, Spawn Points Golf Sand Traps, Water Hazards

Mechanics vs. Dynamics There’s a grey area Some behaviors are direct consequences of rules. Others are indirect. “Dynamics” usually means the latter.

Mechanics vs. Dynamics There’s a grey area Some behaviors are direct consequences of rules. Others are indirect. “Dynamics” usually means the latter. Dynamics and Mechanics are different views of games.

Mechanics vs. Dynamics There’s a grey area Some behaviors are direct consequences of rules. Others are indirect. “Dynamics” usually means the latter. Dynamics and Mechanics are different views of games. Dynamics emerge from Mechanics.

Interaction Models How do specific dynamics emerge from specific mechanics? How do specific dynamics evoke specific aesthetics?

Example: Time Pressure “Time pressure” is a dynamic. It can create dramatic tension. Various mechanics create time pressure: Simple time limit “Pace” monster Depleting resource

Part IV: Tuning Tuning is an iterative process. Test Analyze Revise

Use of Sissy fight as an example game Play the game Reflect Fiddle with the mechanics to create an aesthetic Play test