1. SE320: Introduction to Computer Games
Week 4
Gazihan Alankus
11/9/2018

2. Reminders Always look for assignments in the last slide! Website
Google “Gazihan Alankus”
Google group ( list)
28 out of 30 people are registered
Did you not confirm registration?
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3. We’ll Create Games This is the most important thing here!
You presented your ideas
Groups have been assigned
..\groupassgn.xlsx
Figure out Çağrı’s situation
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4. Groups If you want to change, you have to figure out a solution
Ask people to switch, ask people whether they want you, etc.
If people withdraw the class, or things do not work out, we can figure out solutions.
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5. Projects (this week)
Meet with your group this week! Let me know when. me after the meeting and tell me what happened.
Talk about the game idea.
Make any major change in direction you want
Start small, decide on the minimum core mechanics
Start paper prototyping (we’ll learn it today)
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6. Projects (rest of semester)
Nobody is the team leader. I am your team leader.
You are equals. Listen to each other. Take initiative and run with it.
Avoid conflicts and respect each other.
Resolve with voting + coin toss. me with issues.
Set up a weekly meeting time and let me know when it is
Every group member me a summary of what you did after every meeting (graded)
Create Dropbox accounts. Create a shared folder with your game’s name. Share it with me. Use it to store everything about the game. (graded)
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7. Near Future This week: Lecture (Oct 18) Next week: Lecture (Oct 25)
Paper prototyping and playtesting
Next week: Lecture (Oct 25)
Core mechanics and gameplay
The week after: Group presentations! (Nov 1)
A prototype of the core game mechanics
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8. Group Presentations: November 1st (Graded)
A prototype of the core game mechanics (15 mins)
I prefer paper
We should understand how your game will be played
Presentation
You can use video of your users playing with prototype
Or demonstrate it here live on camera
Early implementations are also welcome (as addition)
Work hard and nail down how the game will work
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9. TODO List for You Meet this week
me afterwards and report (everyone individually, not 1 for group)
Talk about the game idea, make any major changes
Start working on your prototype. You’ll present on November 1
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10. Paper Prototyping and Playtesting
Why prototype?
Prototype how?
Prototype when?
Why playtest?
Playtest how?
Playtest when?
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11. Prototyping
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12. What is a Prototype?
Remember playing with your toys when you were 6 years old?
Toys + imagination = loads of fun!
Let’s play cars!
Shared imagination
Make your friend experience a car race
He can step into your imagination and contribute
Any other board game
Same idea
Create a low-fidelity interactive experience that enables you to share imagination with others
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13. Why Prototype? Communicate Decide Demonstrate
Make them experience rather than convince
Decide
You are stateful!
Decisions about the game are better made when playing. Not when staring at Microsoft Word.
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14. Communicate “A picture is worth a thousand words” -Napoleon
You are not a painter. You are designing interactive entertainment!
“A one-minute user experience is worth a thousand pictures!” -Gazihan
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15. Decide: Humans are Stateful
You are a completely different person when you are in different situations!
Cool store with banging music
Staring at your credit card bill
Lying on the beach
Having an exam
In the new home you’ll buy
Staring at your mortgage bill
Understanding that certain states are better for certain decisions changes your life for the better!
Playing your game
Typing in Microsoft Word
Leads to better decisions about your game
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16. Decide Play -> Better decisions
How can you play with it before creating it?
PROTOTYPE!
Prototypes allow you to simulate playing the game you want to create, so that you can make better decisions without playing the actual game
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17. Examples http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iori3sjLBdU [local]
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18. Prototype how? Don’t worry about how it looks
Not only paper. Can use plastic props, too.
Create your main game elements
Enough detail for core mechanics
Enough detail for whatever you want to demonstrate
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19. Example
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20. Prototype how? Do not make it detailed (no menu bars, dialogs, etc.)
Give a feel of the main experience
Have a “monitor” frame that you can force focus and attach things to
Can roll dice for success/failure or other decisions
Can convert real-time to turn-based
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21. Using Prototypes Ask clear questions Forget Quality
Is our core gameplay fun?
How often should there be monsters?
How high should it jump?
What kind of power-up can we add?
Forget Quality
Do just enough work to get the idea across
Quick and dirty
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22. Using Prototypes Don’t get attached Parallelize them
Plan to throw one or two away
Throwing away is not easy. Force yourself at least once.
The whole point of prototypes is to feel free!
Forget about it and create a new one with a different idea, rather than trying to force things to work together
Parallelize them
Keep more than one working prototype when you have multiple really good options
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23. When to Use Paper Prototypes
Create them early on
Keep them around
Put them on the table when you are thinking, play with them
Communicate with each other using the paper prototype
Demonstrate with it in your presentation (video is OK, too)
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24. Waterfalls are Dangerous!
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25. Spirals Are Better
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26. Customer Development is Even Better
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27. Prototypes: Summary Give yourself the freedom to change
Have your quick and dirty prototype iteratively evolve towards your final game
Make sure your prototype is playable
Think of code as a prototype, too
Don’t strive for perfection, just make it work (for this class)
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28. Playtesting
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29. Playtesting Humans are stateful!
Usually you may never switch to the state of your players…
You know your game too well
Maybe you are not in your target audience
You need to try to look through the eyes of your potential users
Observe them play
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30. Different Kinds of Testing
Focus groups
What target group thinks
QA testing
Finding bugs
Usability testing
Is it intuitive and easy to use
Playtesting
Is it creating the expected experience?
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31. Playtesting Is Not Easy!
You are attached to what you create
You are trying to see why it is bad
You are getting other people to tell you why it is bad…
Can be an awkward social situation
Let go of your fears, focus on making your game better
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32. Playtesting
Why
Who
Where
What
How
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33. Playtesting: Why? Answer a question Prepare other questions
Main question: Is our game fun?
Prepare other questions
Are people ever bored, confused, frustrated?
What strategies do people use?
Is there an easy hack to beat the game?
Which parts are the most/least fun?
Is puzzle A too hard?
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34. Playtesting: Who? Need people!
Developers
Friends
Expert gamers
Tissue testers
Find people that don’t care if they hurt your feelings!
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35. Playtesting: Where? Location matters
Your turf
Public place
Their turf
Internet
Try to shoot for public/their turf and get them comfortable. No tests over the internet for this class.
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36. Playtesting: What? Design to answer the questions we had in “why?”.
You will see many other surprises!
Be ready
Ask and try to understand why
The best things usually come out as surprises during playtesting
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37. Playtesting: How? Should you be there? Yes for our project
Sometimes no
Spore Research_ Outtakes.mp4
Spore Research: Outtakes - YouTube
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38. Playtesting: How? What do you tell them? Introduce them to the game
Try not to mislead
“Your goal is this” – can be a bad idea
Improve what you say after each test
Turn it into a tutorial later!
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39. Playtesting: How? Where do you look? Other data
Watch their faces to see emotions
Invaluable data that you cannot get any other way!
Multiple video cameras, split screen face/screen
Other data
Take notes of everything you think was important or out of ordinary
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40. Playtesting: How? Questions vs. Disturbing Delicate balance
Sometimes you shouldn’t let go of the opportunity
Try not to ruin the gameplay
Think-aloud protocol
Great way to know what they think
Not for everyone, encourage but don’t push
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41. Playtesting: How? Collecting data afterwards Surveys Interviews
Prepare some questions, have an open conversation
Interview them privately
Make it clear that they won’t hurt your feelings
Don’t test their memory
Don’t expect them to tell you what to do
Ask more than you need
Resist the urge to defend!
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42. Playtesting Summary Get prepared Find people Watch them play
Ask questions or let them talk
Interview later
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43. Assignments Due this Friday Oct 21: Due Nov 1:
Set up weekly meeting time and let me know when it is
Every group member me after the meeting
Create Dropbox accounts. Share a folder with you game’s name with your friends and with me
Due Nov 1:
Create paper prototype
Develop the idea enough for playtesting
Playtest it with two people and videotape it
Upload videos to Dropbox
Improve the idea
Create 15 min presentation, feel free to use parts of videos
11/9/2018