Working with System Dynamics

1. Working with System Dynamics Game Design

2. Game Design Workshop & Jones’ model • Jones’ model can be applied to explain overall design process • Divergence • Conceptualization - • Transformation • Prototyping - • Digital Prototyping - • Playtesting - • Convergence • Functionality, Completeness, and Balance - • Fun and Accessibility

3. Jones’ model applied to Conceptualization • Divergence • Brainstorming • List creation, Idea cards, Shout it out, Stream of consciousness, Randomize it, Research, Extreme measures • Teamstorming • Interaction relabelling, cultural probes • Transformation • Editing & refining • Convergence • Focus on formal elements

4. Conceptualization - Transformation • Guidelines • support interruptability • allow multiple communication channels • consider ambiguity • design for external events • allow modes of play based on social roles • minimize social weight • analyze intended player groups from several perspectives • Design experiments

5. Conceptualization - Convergence

6. a b c d e t f s g r h q i p j o n m l k Conceptualization - Convergence

7. Jones’ model applied to Prototyping • Physical & software prototypes • Divergence • Consider mediums to use • Paper, software, moddable engine • Consider components to use • Transformation • Test mediums • Test components • Convergence • Integrate components into system

8. Prototyping – Divergence • Identify technologies • Identify information structures • Identify interaction structures

9. Prototyping - Transformation

10. Prototyping – Convergence

11. Jones’ model applied to Playtesting • Self-testing, playtesting with confidants, playtesting with target audience • Divergence • Find gameplay problems, emergent features • Freeform, specific tasks, secondary tasks • Transformation • Analyze problems and emergent features • Convergence • Decide to try and keep or remove identified features

12. Playtesting

13. Jones’ model applied to Functionality, Completeness, and Balance • Divergence • Find issues of functionality, internal completeness, balance, fun, and accessibility • Transformation • Explore issues and compare against each other • Convergence • Select issues & solutions to address

14. Functionality, Completeness, and Balance

15. Game Writing Tasks • Game story • Gameworld design • Character design • Backstory • Supportingtexts • Cutscenes / scriptedevents • Dialoguewriting(in cutscenes, inscriptedevents and in-gamedialogues) • Gameartifacts • Asset design

16. Story vs. Narrative • Story: plot – sequence of events, set to motion and driven by charactersin a fictionalspace • Narrative: allmethodsused to communicatethe story to theaudience • In otherwords: • Changesinnarrative do not changethe story • The same story (the same plot) + different spectacle = different narrative • The same narrativemethods (similarspectacles) do not createthe same stories • Thinkgamegenres…

17. Videogamestorytelling – a nice optimistictheory Implicit Narrative Formal Narrative Interactive Narrative Interactive Story

18. Implicit Narrative • EmergentNarrative • A powerfuldevice (ifyoucan master it) • On a certain, levelnarrative (and hencestorytelling) happensdue to cause and effectconnectionscreated by theaudience (reader, moviegoer, player). Thus, storiesaredeveloped by inventingconnectionsbetweenactions / events. • Reader’sresponsetheory (post-structuralism) explainsit SO MUCH BETTER.

19. Implicit Narrative • Interaction of elements within game system to develop events which may be interpreted as story – results that are IMPLICIT to the game system. • In game-space narrative elements are NOT SCRIPTED formally, but happen nonetheless. • How to control prescripted events – well, it’s realtively easy • How to control non-prescripted events??? • Implicit narrative makes the player experience unique (high-level narrative vs. low level narrative)

20. Formal Narrative • Prescriptedmethods • Diegetic: • NPC dialogue • Scriptedevents • Artifacts (textfiles) • Splashscreens, etc. • Cutscenes / cinematics • Nondiegeticelements of thenarrative • ‘Prescripted’ does not meannon-interactive’ – all of thesecan be triggeredinresponse to player action – that’showInteractiveNarrativeiscreated

21. Interactive Narrative • Implicit narrative combined with Formal narrative methods • Player’s actions are ‘echoed’ in the narrative as often as possible • Creates an illusion (?) of Player Agency • E.g. : • responses to player success or failure • responses to other in-game actions

22. Interactive Story • Player actionshaveconsequences upon the STORY, not only upon the NARRATIVE • So – not only HOW the story gets ‘told’ (communicated) isinteractive (responsive to player actions) but also WHAT iscommunicated, onthe PARADIGMATIC LEVEL, isresponsive to player actions • Player Agency no longer an illusion? (well, not quite) • IS IT AT ALL POSSIBLE? IF NOT – WHY? • Budgets (multiplestorylinesneed to be developed – moreonthisinthefuturelectures) • OTHER REASONS?

23. So how is game story delivered? Narrative delivery Game structure Progress structure Stucture of the story itself (plot) Player Agency

24. Narrative delivery • Text • Dialogue • Staticimages • Camera cases • CutScenes (in-engine/ scriptedor FMV) • Scriptedevents

25. Game structure • Well, things are (or should be) getting interesting here • How to structure the game to actualy deliver a story? • Well, it seems to be relatively simple with strictly linear games • Well – it isn’t! • Just one example: how to control the pacing of the game to deliver the story?

26. Progress structure • How and in what conditions major developments in the game story are ‘allowed’ • Four major models: • Linear • Continous • Domain • Contigous

27. Linear progress structure • Linear series of game levels • Story is parallel to gameplay • Narrative delivery of choice: • Cutscenes between the levels (reward) • Mission briefings, • In game texts, etc.

28. Continous Progress Structure • Gameprogressislinear • Yet no conceptualbreaksbetweengameareas • ‘A single journey’ • Reversemovementallowed! • Usually no cutscenes (why?) • Narartivematerialpresented ‘live’ – possiblyinprescripted form (scriptedevents) • Playersoften do not need to ‘participate’ inthenarrative (thinkHalf-Life) • Or intriggeredevents • Playersneed to participateinthenarrative, and canonlyselect to skip its parts

29. Domain Progress Structure A central hub, from which the player ‘operates’ Upon completion of a task new domains are open Players may chose to revisit domains This means that narrative material must be presented selectively, but certainly (no need to present redundant narrative material to the player who has previously completed the level). Also – if revisits are expected – alteranative versions of dialogue are also expected from the writer

30. Working with System Dynamics • How do the elements of games fit together to form systems? • How can designers work with system properties to balance the dynamic nature of their games?

31. Systems • Tend to work towards a goal • May produce predictable or widely varying, unpredictable results • Can be simple, complex, or something in between

32. Games as Systems • Interaction of formal and dramatic elements forms a game’s underlying system • Goal is to entertain participant • Achieve goal by creating structured conflict and providing entertaining process for players to resolve conflict • Formal elements, when set in motion, creates a dynamic experience in which players engage

33. System Dynamics • Elements of system do not work in isolation • Test: removal of element must alter system • System is greater than the sum of its parts • Put in motion • Why is Tic Tac Toe so lame? • How would changes to properties and relationships affect Warcraft II?

34. 1. Sensation Game as sense-pleasure 2. Fantasy Game as make-believe 3. Narrative Game as drama 4. Challenge Game as obstacle course 5. Fellowship Game as social framework 6. Discovery Game as uncharted territory 7. Expression Game as self-discovery 8. Submission Game as pastime MDA - Eight Kinds of "Fun"

35. Game Design Pattern Examples • Power-Ups • Boss Monster • Paper-Rock-Scissor • Cut Scenes • Role Reversal • Parallel Lives • Orthogonal Unit Differentiation • Social Interaction

36. Game Design Pattern - Format • Name • Introduction • One line description • Short stand-alone description • Examples • Using the Pattern • Consequences • Relations • Instantiates – Instantiated by • Modulates – Modulated by • Possibly Conflicting with

37. Advantages of Design Patterns • Allow definitions of “fuzzy” concepts • Allow network of relations between the concepts • Allow perspectives for both analysis and design • Allow different levels of abstraction • Do not require specific methods • Specific or own collection of design patterns can be created • Describe games from a systems (or structural) perspective

38. Disadvantages of Design Patterns • “Fuzzy” concepts • Large collection • Learning curve • Usability threshold • Developed only for gameplay design • Not all design disciplines needed to make a game • Does not describe games from the players’ perspective • Is this bad?

39. Design Patterns – Current Status • Large collection • ~300 patterns described and cross-referenced • ~50 new patterns to be incorporated • Patterns for objects in MMOGs • Patterns for gameplay features in MMOGs • Patterns for Pervasive Games • Patterns for Character design • Patterns for Dialogue Systems in Games • Both an approach to gameplay design and a specific collection

40. Activity : Plotting a Story of a Game Select a game with a story you have played all of the way through. Plot the story against the dramatic arc. Then answer the following questions. • How is the exposition handled? • Who is the protagonist? • What is the main conflict and how and when is it introduced? • What does the protagonist do to resolve the conflict? • What causes the tension in the story to raise? • What deciding factor brings the story to a climax? • What happens in the resolution?

41. Activity: Gameplay and Game Story Now take the same game and plot the gameplay (entertainment value of computer game: , including aspects such as user interface and game design) against the dramatic elements. • How is the exposition of gameplay handled? • Are the controls and mechanics clearly explained? • How is the goal stated and integrated with the main conflict of the story? • How does gameplay cause the dramatic tension to raise? • What deciding factor in gameplay brings the game to a climax? • What happens in the resolution? • Do the dramatic elements and gameplay elements help or hinder each other? • How can they be integrated to make the game work from an emotional standpoint?

42. Activity : Alternate Endings • Take the same game you used for the story assignment and come up three changes to the story or gameplay that you believe would make the two better integrated. • Example • Example • Example

43. Types of design goals • Goals related to pre-planned gameplay experiences • Stressing, competing, group effort, etc. • Goals related to the Game system • Be something for players to explore and master • Be a vehicle used to provide engrossment in gameplay or narrative • Be a tool for gamers to create or choose their own gameplay experience • Be a tool for gamers to make their own games • Goal related to Diegetic Presentation or Narratives • Tell a story of character development • Tell a story of player progress • Create a believable/compelling/interesting fictional world • External Goal • Serious Games, persuasive games, training games, advergames, etc.

44. Design goals can be seen as answers to questions • Questions that need to be answered to be able to start design work • Help structure one’s work • What should be changed? • Why should it be changed? • When should the change be completed? • Who are the stakeholders? • (How should it be changed?)

45. Gameplay • Gameplay • Collective strategies to reach end points of game theory • Specific to game activities • “What the player does” • Includes • Utility - A measure of desire associated with an outcome • Payoffs - The utility value for a given outcome • Preference - The bias of players towards utility • Note, gameplay is not everything • Choice of car in GTA is not always about payoff, but about what is fun • No one expects gameplay in movies or plays • Rule 1: It should be fun (entertainment) • Rule 2: It should be interactive (make use of computer, else perhaps use film) • Rule 3: It can have gameplay (but that is choice)

46. Goals (multiple, clear, achievable) • We are a goal-drive species and find psychological reward in completing objectives. • If it takes too long to achieve a goal, player may get bored, so, create many simultaneous goals. • Player should always have at least one clear objective. • One "unbeatable" boss or board, one "impossible" jump or goal can ruin a game.

47. Goal: Competition Model: A game is competitive if players are emotionally invested in defeating each other. Success: • Players are adversaries. • Players want to win. Failure: • A player feels that he can’t win. • A player can’t measure his progress.

48. Goal: Realistic Flight Simulation Model: Flight dynamics match user expectations. Success: • Match a mathematical formula • Pass our “realism checklist” Failure: • Counter-intuitive system behavior.

49. Goal: Drama Model: A game is dramatic if: • Its central conflict createsdramatic tension. • The dramatic tension builds towards a climax.

50. Goal: Drama Success: • A sense of uncertainty • A sense of inevitability • Tension increases towards a climax Failure: • The conflict’s outcome is obvious (no uncertainty) • No sense of forward progress (no inevitability) • Player doesn’t care how the conflict resolves On to Dynamics...