1 / 13

The Affordances of Katamari Damacy

The Affordances of Katamari Damacy. How the design of an innovative Japanese game captivated the world. Outline. Introduction See the game Discuss the Game Design Takeaways – summary Bonus: Thoughts on Educational Uses of KD Credits Questions and Answers.

kirsi
Download Presentation

The Affordances of Katamari Damacy

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Affordances of Katamari Damacy How the design of an innovative Japanese game captivated the world.

  2. Outline • Introduction • See the game • Discuss the Game • Design Takeaways – summary • Bonus: Thoughts on Educational Uses of KD • Credits • Questions and Answers pronounced: ka - ta – ma - ry da – ma- she

  3. About me IBM Center for Advanced Learning Shaba Games intern, discovering the “special sauce” Learning should be “nutritious and delicious”. Speaker Angel Inokon (an-gel e-no-kon) Now: • Stanford University • Learning, Design and Technology. School of Education Before: Soon: My motivation: Nice picture. She doesn’t look like that now though.

  4. See the game • Two releases on PlayStation 2 and third on its way for the PSP • Watch video • Trailer • Gameplay • Japanese Commercial Release: September 2005 (US) Release: March and September 2004 (US) Developer: Namco Genre: Action Designer: Keita Takahashi Platform: PS2 Rating: E

  5. Poll: What are the fundamental properties of a ball?

  6. Design Principle #1: Affordances what’s different? Properties of a ball: • Rolls • Round • Bounce • Comes in different sizes and colors • Bounce • Uniform interface • Push • Resilient • Throw • Weight - light or heavy Special Katamari property - Sticky! Make use and function obvious.

  7. Design Principle #2: Simple mappings • Only need two thumbs • Student project: rigged a rotating fan to play If you’ve got two opposable thumbs, you can play.

  8. Design Principle #3: Visibility and Feedback • Clear progress indicators • Time display • Objects you roll make a sound • Text labels with icons • Katamari grows as you collect • Camera recedes as you grow Games are fun when they are juicy.

  9. Design Principle #4: Constraints • Can’t roll up an object bigger than you • Levels are subtly sectioned so you can’t get stuck • Camera constrains what you can see • Obstacles become targets Constrain challenges to keep things fun.

  10. Perspective from game designers Very satisfying progress. Any obstacle for the player soon becomes a target. You constantly get to "turn the tables" on your adversaries. Instead of killing your enemies, they join you. The game taps into visceral notions of growth. It allows for safe mayhem with a low penalty for mistakes. Jeb HavensLead Game Designer Cyberlore Studios The holy grail of game design is simplicity and addictiveness. It's like Tetris -- without any manual or explanation you can play it within five minutes. Scott Kim Puzzle Game Designer Scott Kim Erin Hoffman Writer and Game Designer 1st Playable Productions Tip: Reference people smarter than you.

  11. Design Takeaways • Principle 1: Affordances – appearance should indicate function • Principle 2: Simple Mappings – simple looking doesn’t mean simple to use. Simplify game controls using single function tools • Principle 3: Visibility and Feedback – gamers need lots of information. Make it consistent and juicy. • Principle 4: Constraints – prevent users from making errors that could decrease immersion. Balance challenge by constraining the environment

  12. Bonus: Katamari in the Classroom? What can students learn from the game: • Language: English, Japanese, Korean • Math: metrics, measurements, ratios, proportions • Design thinking • Genre information – how to play similar games • Spirituality • Strategy • Game development (see Cloud example, partner with EA) Go read James Gee.

  13. Special thanks to: Shelley Goldman Deanne Gonzalez-Perez Halsted Larsson Jeb Havens Scott Kim Erin Hoffman Learningtimes support Thank you Question and Answer Angel Inokon http://ldt.stanford.edu/~inokon inokon@stanford.edu

More Related