“Simulating Mechanics to Study Emergence in Games” – Joris Dormans Juney Dijkstra Method Engineering 2012/2013

Origin & History  “Simulating Mechanics to Study Emergence in Games”  Joris Dormans PhD in Game Design at the University of Amsterdam  Why? Doug Church’s call for “formal abstract design tools” on Gamasutra (1999).  What? Analyse game design concepts and remove serious flaws (e.g. dominant strategies).

Related Literature  Literature study on available theory and tools  Juul (2002) structures of emergence vs. structures of progression  Goal: Emergent gameplay, interesting level progression.  Hunicke, LeBlanc and Zubek (2004), Salen and Zimmerman (2004) feedback structures are key elements in determining the dynamic behaviour of games

Related Literature  Adams and Rollings (2007) ‘internal economy’, used to model activity, interaction and communication within the different elements of the game  Petri nets alternative modelling technique suited for game machines  Machinations automated, interactive model of a game design concept

Machinations Framework  Identification Phase

Machinations Framework  Identification Phase  Model Phase

Machinations Framework  Identification Phase  Model Phase  Analysis Phase

Process-Deliverable Diagram

Example