Game Design Principles Part 3 : Interactivity 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 –Eg) Mainframe computers vs personal computers Mainframe computers were more powerful, but personal computers made a bigger impact

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