1. CSCE 590E Spring 2007 Game Design II By Jijun Tang

2. Announcements Please bring laptops on next Wednesday, and install Adobe Flash 8.0 professional trial version before the class Please start implementing the small game now  Mine sweeper, solitaire, tank game, etc  With key capture, mouse capture, loading bitmaps, etc

3. Models A model of the player – game Seven Stages of Action

4. Resources/Economies Resources  Things used by agents to reach goals  To be meaningful, they must be … Useful – provide some value Limited – in total or rate of supply Economies  Systems of supply, distribution, consumption  Questions regarding game economies: What resources exist? How and when will resources be used? How and when will resources be supplied? What are their limits?

5. Interface Typical perspectives:  First-person  Over-the-shoulder (OTS)  Overhead (top-down)  Side  Isometric

6. First person

7. OTS

8. Overhead and Side

9. Isometric

10. HCI Human-Computer Interaction Goal: improve the interaction between users and computers by making  computers more user-friendly  More receptive to the user's needs. It is the study of …  Communication between users and computers  How people design, build, and use interfaces  Better support for cooperative work

11. Cognitive Ergonomics Ergonomics: fitting the system to the human Cognition: desire to know Cognitive ergonomics:  studies cognition in work settings  in order to optimize human well-being and system performance It is especially important in the design of complex, high-tech, or automated systems.

12. Design of Everyday Things Norman ’ s five principles of design  Visibility Making the parts visible  Mappings Understandable relationships between controls and actions  Affordances The perceived uses of an object  Constraints Prevent the user from doing things they shouldn ’ t  Feedback Reporting what has been done and accomplished

13. Systems A set of entities comprising a whole where each component interacts with or is related to at least one other component Game systems exist to enable play mechanics Relationships between components determine how the system works to produce results

14. System Components Objects  Pieces of a system Attributes  Properties determining what objects are Behaviors  Actions the objects can perform Relationships  How the behavior and attributes of objects affect each other while the system operates

15. Systems Two general approaches to design  Special case Experiences built one scene/level at a time Anticipate states while pre-scripting events Solved by discovering the intentions of the designer  Systemic General behaviors are designed Scenes/Levels are specific configurations Some events may still be pre-scripted Solved by understanding the system

16. Systems Emergent complexity  Emergence is the development of complex organized systems  Emergent complexity: Behaviors that cannot be predicted simply from the rules of a system Dynamics  The behavior of systems over time  Dynamics determined by a given architecture  Generalizing dynamic behavior is hard

17. System Dynamics Is an approach to understanding the behavior of complex systems over time Created by Jay Forrester 1956, MIT A discipline for modeling and simulation Originally a tool for policy analysis, but applicable to any system

18. Cybernetics Study of communication, control, and regulation Model

19. Cybernetic System A basic cybernetic system has:  Sensor – detects a condition Thermometer  Comparator – evaluates the information Switch  Activator – alters the environment when triggered by the comparator

20. Systems

21. Feedback:  information about the internal or external changes of system that make the system adjust its output  The portion of a system ’ s output that is returned into the system Feedback Loop  The path taken by the feedback

22. Positive Feedback Amplify changes Leads to runaway behavior Difficult to make use of From Bob Craig

23. Negative feedback Counteracts changes Leads to goal seeking behaviors Most common form in systems From Bob Craig

24. Feedbacks in a Game Negative feedback  Stabilizes the game  Forgives the loser  Prolongs the game  Magnifies late successes Positive feedback  Destabilizes the game  Rewards the winner  Can end the game  Magnifies early successes

25. Platforms Platform: General description of hardware and software  Personal computer – PC, Mac, etc.  Console – Game Cube, PlayStation, Xbox, etc.  Handheld – DS, Game Boy Advance, PSP, etc.  Mobile device – Cel Phones, NGage, PDA, etc.  Arcade – custom vending games (e.g. Time Crisis) PC Games compared to other platforms:  PC Games are developed and used in the same platform, other platforms may require proprietary development kits.  Console games are popular because consoles are used in a “lean-back” position, while PC is used in a “sit-forward

26. Game Saves Save triggers:  automatically saved at certain points  Disadvantage: Player has little control Save-anywhere  Allow the player to save the state at any point in the game  Disadvantage: System needs to save many different variables, also may make it too easy for the player Save points:  Save only the accumulated points  Disadvantage: Rather limited Coded text saves to save a bit space Do you really want user to save?

27. Genres Genre – a category describing generalities of conventions, style, and content

28. Genres Action Adventure Arcade Casual Education Fighting First-person shooter Platform Racing Rhythm Role-Playing (RPG) Simulation Sports Strategy Puzzle Traditional

29. Audiences Target audience  Group of expected consumers  Age, gender income …  What does your audience know?  What does your audience demand? Demographics  Study of relevant economic and social statistics about a given population Demographic variables  The relevant factors

30. Audiences Market  Demographic segmentation of consumers Market segments  Smaller sub-segment of the market; more tightly defined Demographic profile  Typical consumer attributes in a market

31. Audiences Heavy Users  Those of the numeric minority of potential users responsible for majority of sales of any product  80/20 rule: in anything a few (20 percent) are vital and many(80 percent) are trivial. Hardcore gamer  Game industry term for heavy video game users Casual gamer  Game industry term for all other gamers

32. Hardcore Players Typically assumptions of the hardcore:  Play games over long sessions  Discuss games frequently and at length  Knowledgeable about the industry  Higher threshold for frustration  Desire to modify or extend games creatively  Have the latest game systems  Engage in competition with themselves, the game, and others

33. Audiences Why We Play Games – Nicole Lazzaro  Internal experience Enjoyment from visceral activities  Hard fun Challenge of strategy and problem solving  Easy fun Intrigue and curiosity – exploration and adventure  Social experience Stimulating social faculties – competition, teamwork, bonding, and recognition

34. Design Procedure Waterfall method  Development methodology  Design and production are broken into phases Iterative development  Practice of producing things incrementally  Refining and re-refining the product  May iterate many cycles before get it right

35. Waterfall vs. Iterative testing

36. Prototypes  Early working models of the product  Used to test ideas and techniques Physical prototypes  Non-electronic models; physical materials Software prototypes  Used regularly during iterative development

37. Testing Software testing  Process of verifying performance and reliability of a software product Tester  Person trained in methods of evaluation Bug  Discrepancy between expected and actual behavior Problem/Bug report  Description of the behavior of the discrepancy

38. Testing Unit test  written from the developer's perspective  focus on particular methods of the class under test Focus test  Testing session using play-testers  Testers represent the target audience  Lots of feedback at one time  Data can be compromised by group think

39. Balancing Tuning  Developing solutions by adjusting systems  Iterations are faster  Changes are less dramatic Balance:  Equilibrium in a relationship  Player relationships, mechanics, systems, etc.

40. Balancing Intransitive relationships  Multiple elements offer weaknesses and strengths relative to each other as a whole  Balanced as a group  Example: Rock-Paper-Scissors (RPS)

41. Creativity Ability to create Ability to produce an idea, action, or object considered new and valuable

42. Creativity Classic approach - Graham Wallace  Preparation Background research and comprehension  Incubation Mulling things over  Insight Sudden illumination – Eureka!  Evaluation Validating revealed insights  Elaboration Transforming the idea into substance

43. Brainstorming Generating ideas without discrimination Evaluation after elaboration, can be unfocused

44. Creativity Six Thinking Hats  White Hat – neutral and objective  Red Hat – intuition, gut reaction  Black Hat – gloomy, naysayer  Yellow Hat – Pollyannaish, optimistic  Green Hat – growth and creativity  Blue Hat – process and control Symbolize perspective worn by people involved in the creative endeavor

45. Hats

46. Inspiration Board games  Spatial relationships Card games  Resource management Paper RPGs  Dynamic narratives Books  Fantasy and agency Sports  Team competition Film  Continuity techniques Television  Serialized stories Music  Temporal systems Martial arts  Discipline in action Children  Invention

47. Communication Documentation  Methods vary widely  Written, descriptive model of the game Depth varies according to the needs of the game Development documentation  Docgen

48. Communication Treatment  A brief, general description of the game and the fundamental concepts  May include: Concept statement Goals and objectives Core mechanics and systems Competitive analysis Licensing and IP information Target platform and audience Scope Key features

49. Communication Other document types may include:  Preliminary design document  Initial Design Document  Revised Design Document  General Design Document  Expanded Design Document  Technical Design Document  Final Design Document

50. Bug Report and Coding Create bug tickets or bug database, and assign the ticket to each one to fix Write down all bugs you have encountered, including compiling errors, etc. Decide coding conventions Detailed comments in codes

51. Communication Flowcharts  A typical technique for diagramming steps in a process  Most developers are familiar

52. Communication

53. Associative diagram  Drawing that helps manage and organize information visually Mind Map  A style of associative diagram  Key words and figures are placed on branches

54. Psychology Working Memory  Holds roughly 7 ± 2 items at one time while other cognitive operations on them  Each slide should not have more than 6 items Attention  Method of enhancing perceptions relative to other stimuli in the same environment  How we focus on important things  Limited capacity

55. Psychology Classical conditioning  Reaction to stimulus is conditioned by pairing with another stimulus that elicits the desired response naturally

56. Psychology Unconditioned stimulus – Meat Unconditioned response – Salivation over meat Conditioned stimulus – Tone Conditioned response – Salivation over tone

57. Psychology Operant conditioning  Learning by encouraging or discouraging Operant  A response; the action in question Example: pressing a button Reinforcement contingency  Consistent relationship between the operant and a result in the environment

58. Psychology Reinforcers  Increase the probability an action will be repeated Positive reinforcement  Positive stimulus that reinforces the behavior Ex. Use umbrella and be dry Negative reinforcement  The removal or prevention of a negative stimulus Ex. Use umbrella and keep from getting wet Punishment  Reduces the likelihood of a behavior with a stimulus Ex. Being burned by a hot stove

59. Document Templates http://www.ihfsoft.com/designdocumen ts.htm#designdocumenttemplate http://www.ihfsoft.com/designdocumen ts.htm#designdocumenttemplate Click on the “Download from GDD” links You can follow any of them as template