8 Study Guide for Chapter 8 Test! Wednesday, 3/26/14

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Know the following vocabulary words: Copycat game Copyrighted Original creation Copy protection Consumer Bias Unbiased Walkthroughs Artistry Plot Reward Reverse Engineering Substitute Product Critics Know the key game elements (pages )

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Chapter 8: Reverse Engineering Is the process of deconstructing an existing game to understand how it works! definition Deconstructing an existing game Find out how it works/Take it apart! Understand the USP of competition Leads to copycat game designcopycat game Competition may design a substitute productsubstitute product

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Reverse Engineering A copycat game may not be made by a competing company

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Copycat Games Reverse-engineered games have similar characters and characteristics Cannot use the same character Copyrighted character design Mario is copyrighted by Nintendo Mario cannot be used by other companies Permission needed from Nintendo to reuse Nintendo can use Mario however it wants

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Copycat Games Similar gameplay Gameplay cannot be copyrighted Game programming code is copyrighted Substitute product to the original Satisfies the same need or want Entertains in the same way Does not need to be a copycat game; may just be in the same genre

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Question #1 Think about one of your favorite games. What substitute games have been made that play similar to it?

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Copyright Legal protection Intellectual property is protectedIntellectual property Cannot use without permission Games protected by copyright Characters are copyrighted Game code is copyrighted Burning a DVD or disc copy is illegal

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Copyright Intellectual property, such as games and videos, are protected by copyrights

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Why Copyright? Games are expensive to produce Developmental costs Marketing costs Copyright protects the company’s investment By protecting the company, copyright also protects employee jobs

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Why Copyright? Copyrights protect game manufacturers

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Copyright Violations Pay fines Pay damages Amount the company lost due to your actions Pay attorney fees Pay punitive damages Extra amount to punish Jail time

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Copy Protection Copy protection prevents unauthorized copiesCopy protection Unusual disc size Unique disc format Embedded copy-resistant code Online activation codes Software key

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Copy Protection Software keys are a common form of copy protection for games

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Question #2 Think about a time when you or someone you know watched a copied movie, played a copied game, or downloaded and listened to a copied song. Each of these copies violates a copyright. What would you say to the police if you were caught?

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Critics A critic evaluates a game and reports both good and bad aspects fo the game.

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Game Evaluation Evaluations may be unbiased or may contain biasunbiasedbias Bias is an intentional slant on evaluation of key elements Positive bias Negative bias

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Positive Bias Overstated positive key features Understated negative key features Examples: Manufacture’s website Review on game cover

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Negative Bias Overstated negative key features Understated positive key features Examples: Competitor’s website TV commercial comparison by competitor Blog by unhappy former employee

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Unbiased Not influenced by outside opinions Properly weighs positive and negative key elements

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Games need rules! Quality of Rules: How well the rules are explained and enforced Will the player understand: Game purpose What they are supposed to do How to overcome obstacles Game objectives Fan sites often have walkthroughs to helpwalkthroughs

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Don’t forget about: User Interface Navigation Perfomance Gameplay See page !

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Question #3 Think about a game you played that had glitches, flaws, or even froze. Think about how frustrating that was. How likely were you to say good things to your friends about the game?

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Artistry Visual appeal and design of the game Colors contrast and complement well Mood and theme are appropriate Setting and background are appropriate Characters and avatar are visually appealing This poorly designed game art shows flaws when the player moves

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Longevity in Design and Structure How long the game will be sellable Can the game be made into a series? Will there be a long-term market? Are there many substitute games? Does the game use new technologies? Is the game seasonal or a fad? Is the game a substitute product?

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Player Interactions What the player is doing Do the player interactions fit the theme? What interactions are required (shooting, jumping, battling, conversational, etc.)? Is a linear sequence needed?linear sequence What interactions are expected in sequence? Many games feature a linear sequence

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Plot The main storyline of the game Do player actions fit the game story? Is there a well-developed backstory?backstory Do we care about the characters? Is the story fully told during the game? Does the storyline add to immersion?

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Reward Something positive provided to the player for completing a task Is adequate reward given for each risk? Do high-risk moves provide higher reward? Are rewards unique? Are tasks trivial or meaningless? Are rewards linear to allow the player to overcome a final challenge?

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Summarizing the Evaluation Critics will typically summarize their findings using the star rating system.Critics will typically summarize their findings using the star rating system. Point-rating system Summarizes evaluation into a single number Scoring a 5 is a perfect score Five-star rating system

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Test! Chapter 8 test is Wednesday, March 26 th ! For today (see your worksheet) Make sure I see your Spiko Game before you leave. Research Project: Cereals Save the Grade Assignment