Game Design: Interactivity ( Computer Game ) Jehee Lee Seoul National University

Interactivity Interactivity is the most important factor of games –“Fun factor” might be equally important, but difficult to formalize Computers gave gaming a big boost –The real power of computers lies in its interactivity

What is interactivity The essence of interactivity can be observed in conversation –Listen –Think –Speak back A cyclic process in which two active agents alternately (and metaphorically) listen, think, and speak.

How Do We Measure Interactivity ? Good experience with conversation requires –Listen well A conversation with people who do not listen to what you are saying –Think well A conversation with people who listen well, but cannot understand the context –Speak well A conversation with people who listen and think well, but cannot express themselves

Interactivity in Games How much of what the player might desire to say/do does the game permit the player to actually say/do ? How well does the game think/process about the player’s inputs ? How well does the game express its reactions ?

Styles of Conversation Rugby style –There is no turns. Everybody speaks simultaneously Basketball style –There is a token; One person speaks at a time –The token is passed or intercepted frequently Baseball style –There is a token; One person speaks at a time –The token is turning around and rarely intercepted.

Degrees of Interactivity Speed –Is fast turnaround better than slow turnaround ? –Eg) Shooting games versus Board games –Eg) VisiCalc versus Mainframe spreadsheet –Eg) BASIC versus compliers Depth –The overall quality of an interaction depends on its depth as well as its speed –“Deeper” means “Penetrating closer to what makes you human” –Hand-eye coordinate, puzzle-solving, spatial reasoning, social reasoning

Degrees of Interactivity Choice –Interactivity depends on the choices available to the user The “richness” of choices –Functional significance of each choice Some games offer the player the opportunity to wander all over a huge region—but nothing interesting happens in the huge region –Perceived completeness The number of choices in relation to the number of possibilities the user can imagine

Low-Interactivity Games Little Computer People –A small family moving around their dollhouse in the course of their daily activities –The player watch them –The sims is similar, but offers more interactivity VCR games –Myst, The 7 th guest –It is like watching movie occasionally pushing buttons to make decisions –Good visual and sound, but weak game play

Low-Interactivity Games Games for young children are usually less interactive Low-interactivity games usually requires less decision-makings and workload than high- interactivity games The player’s workload is not proportional to the quantity of decision-making –The workload of learning the rules is substantial –Eg) minimal-interactivity murder mystery game

Creativity The industry have reached a peak of creativity in game design during 80s and 90s Nowadays, game design is a coldly mechanical process requiring little in the way of creativity

Tightly defined genres First-person shooter –The player blast bad guts as he navigates a complex 3D environment –He collects weapons and ammunition, sometimes solve puzzles Platform games –Space Panic in 1981, Apple Panic, Donkey Kong –A series of “Mario” games are still selling and successful

Tightly defined genres Role-playing games –Dungeons & Dragons in the mid-1970’s –Moria, Wizardry, Ultima I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, so on Only small changes have been made for the decades

Where Does Creativity Come From? How can “ordinary” people be creative ? –We don’t want to talk about a few geniuses One idea is just as good as another (?) Creativity is serious business –You don’t attain high levels of creativity by random daydreaming

Association and Analogy Our minds are associative –Many concepts in our minds are associated like a web –New ideas are generated by combining old ideas in novel ways –This combining process is not a simple additive one New ideas are often attained by observing analogical patterns in the web of associations

How to “Get Creative” Reading –Stuff your head full of concepts and all their associations –More concepts and associations yield better possibilities Wondering –An exercise in tightening up the web of associations

Brainstorm What is a brainstorm ? –Drive the problem deep into your subconscious –Spend days and nights –The solution will leap out at you Great geniuses described their brainstorm experiences –A phase of intense emotional involvement –A quiescent period –The entire solution leaps upon them with suddenness