Final Exam Review

1. Final Exam Review Prof. Q

2. Gamification on Mechanics • Achievements are a virtual or physical representation of having accomplished something. • Appointment Dynamics are game dynamics in which at a predetermined times/place a user must log-in or participate in game, for positive effect. • Behavioral Momentum is the tendency of players to keep doing what they have been doing. • Blissful Productivity - The idea that playing in a game makes you happier working hard, than you would be relaxing. • Bonuses are a reward after having completed a series of challenges or core functions. • Cascading Information Theory - The theory that information should be released in the minimum possible snippets to gain the appropriate level of understanding at each point.

3. Gamification on Mechanics II • Combos are used often in games to reward skill through doing a combination of things. • Community Collaboration - The game dynamic wherein an entire community is rallied to work together to solve a riddle, a problem or a challenge. • Countdown - The dynamic in which players are only given a certain amount of time to do something. • Also called Exploration, players love to discover something, to be surprised. This also can be seen in the Game Feature, Discovery. • Epic Meaning - Players will be highly motivated if they believe they are working to achieve something great, something awe-inspiring, something bigger than themselves. • Free Lunch - A dynamic in which a player feels that they are getting something for free due to someone else having done work

4. Gamification on Mechanics III • Infinite Gameplay- Games that do not have an explicit end. • Levels are a system, or "ramp", by which players are rewarded an increasing value for a cumulation of points. • Loss Aversion - people's tendency to strongly prefer avoiding losses to acquiring gains. • Lottery - A game dynamic in which the winner is determined solely by chance. • Ownership is a powerful Game Dynamic that creates Loyalty. • Points are a running numerical value given for any single action or combination of actions.

5. Gamification on Mechanics IV • Progression - A dynamic in which success is granularly displayed and measured through the process of completing itemized tasks. • Quests - Also known as Challenges. Challenges usually implies a time limit or competition whereas Quests are meant to be a journey of obstacles. • Reward Schedules - The timeframe and delivery mechanisms through which rewards (points, prizes, level ups) are delivered. • Status - The rank or level of a player. Players are often motivated by trying to reach a higher level or status. • Urgent Optimism - Extreme self motivation. The desire to act immediately to tackle an obstacle combined with the belief that we have a reasonable hope of success. • Virality - A game element that requires multiple people to play (or that can be played better with multiple people).

6. Narrative vs. Mechanics • Gameplaywill never smoothly be part of a narrative and there is an inherent conflict between the two. Gameplaywants to give the player a challenge and sets up goals that needs to be overcome. A narrative wants to move things forward and is often highly dependent upon time and space. • VS • Narrative can be seen as an involving experience that immerses, inspires, enchants and artistically resonates with the player. It don’t necessarily mean plot or the normal conventions of drama, but rather use a holistic understanding of the idea of narrative itself. • VS • Narrative as content that exists as a part of the fantastical layer of the game, enhancing and informing the mechanical aspects.

7. Interactivity in games

8. Types of Immersion • Tactical immersion • Tactical immersion is experienced when performing tactile operations that involve skill. • Strategic immersion • Strategic immersion is more cerebral, and is associated with mental challenge. • Narrative immersion • Narrative immersion occurs when players become invested in a story, and is similar to what is experienced while reading a book or watching a movie. • Spatial immersion • Spatial immersion occurs when a player feels the simulated world is perceptually convincing. The player feels that he or she is really "there" and that a simulated world looks and feels "real". • Full Immersion • When all the previous levels of immersion have been achieved.

9. Procedural Rhetoric The art of persuasion through rule-based representations and interactions rather than the spoken word, writing, images, or moving pictures. – Ian Bogost

10. Mechanics as Simulation and Argument Game mechanics provide a space that simulates real life mechanics. The game is painted over with visuals depending on the argument the designer wants to make. The game’s mechanics force the player to come to (1) see the text in a certain way, (2) see the real life mechanic being simulated in the game space in a certain way, or (3) perform some sort of action.

11. Narrative and Mechanics and Argument Mechanics simulate or make a satire of a real world mechanic or behavior. The purpose is to put the player in an uncomfortable place. The narrative provides a deeper understanding and fills in the blank that mechanics don’t cover. The game forces the player to come to (1) see the text in a certain way, (2) see the real life mechanic being simulated in the game space in a certain way, or (3) perform some sort of action.

12. Panopticon

13. Ideological and RepressiveState Apparatus • Society makes the individual in its own image. • Today, individuals are self-conscious, responsible agent whose actions can be explained by his or her beliefs and thoughts. • This is acquired within the structure of established social practices.

14. Behavior and Interaction • Id - the set of uncoordinated instinctual trends (desires). • “It is the dark, inaccessible part of our personality.” • Superego - plays the critical and moralizing role. • “The superego reflects the internalization of cultural rules, solely taught by parents applying their guidance and influence.” • Ego - the organized, realistic part that mediates between the desires of the id and the super-ego.