- The player experience
- Games as narrative
- Game design models
Introduction, Stories as Games: -
That games crossover with other mediums e.g. theatre, film and TV.
- Some games become stories
- Climatic struggle... he states that drama is important
- "Sometimes a games drama is its primary motivation for playing"
- A story with an uncertain outcome.
- Story we control
- We (Game Designer) have less control.
- Conflict and tension creates drama, but we can only -nudge- players towards this.
- Nudging to create dramatic circumstances
- Games engage in story but in a different way to what we're used to.
- (Think of games in this structured way)
Control > Climax < Resolution Conclusion
--------Time-----------
- That games crossover with other mediums e.g. theatre film & t.v.
- 'Senet' within the story it's old as shit... as well as 'go'
- Some games become stories
- Climatic Struggle, states that drama is important.
- "Sometimes a games drama is its primary motivation for playing"
Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics:
Mechanics: = Primary rules. But can also refer to the rules of other things
- NBA = Basketball rules but also means the rules of gravity and energy and humans mind and body.
If we think of a game as a system the mechanics are a complete description of that system.
Dynamics: = Behaviour of the game the actual events and phenomena that occur as the game is played.
- When we view a game in terms of its dynamics, we are asking.. "what happens when the game is played".
Aesthetics: = Emotional content
- A games aesthetic emerges from its dynamic how the game behaves determines how it makes the player feel.
The Dramatic Arc: An Aesthetic Model for Drama
We want:
- Drama as an aesthetic objective of our game design to be apart of the games emotion content.
- Yardstick for failing or succeeding in causing drama
"Aesthetic Model"
- Drama is one aesthetic among many games can cause all kings of experiences each is a separate aesthetic pleasure with its own aesthetic model.
Drama as an Aesthetic:
- The dramatic arc is an aesthetic model for stories; it's a statement about how stories convey their emotional content, and a yardstick that we can hold up to a story to see if it succeeds or fails at being dramatic.
(Add more notes on this)
Drama in Games:
Drama is important. Even though we don't have complete control over the narrative... but rather emerges from the events of the game.
- Drama originates from conflict
- Conflict comes from the contents around which the game is built.
Dramatic Tension:
Uncertainty: the sense that the outcome of the contest is still unknown. Any player could win or lose. (Without players become spectators)
- Uncertainty:
-Which way to go.
- The outcome is unknown.
Ways to create uncertainty...
= Force: Actually manipulate the game state directly (Deliberately making a change)
= Illusion: Deliberately manipulating players perception of the the game state, without changing the actual game state (Subtlety) - If you get this in 'your' game, you're playing around with your players... (worth playing around with... go home and learn about this)... (Test all these techniques)
Inevitability: The sense that the contest is moving forward toward resolution. The outcome is imminent. (The outcome of the conflicts seems distant)
"Magic the gathering" - (Dramatic tension of the game is regulated by the game dynamics)
Positive Feedback Loops: - A Denouement
A speed boost for the leader cannot be caught.
Winners get a bonus
Negative Feedback Loops:
This is a technique use in order to draw players together... (rubber band technique)
Losers get advantages so that there will be a chance of a closer finishing end result.
This sometimes doesn't work because it feels unfair to players. (Players might perceive it as being unfair). I think in this is a feature which should be brought upon players subtlety
Forcing players to behave in certain ways... (might work) players might regard it as being unsubtle.
Hidden Energy:
Turbo boost: such as in racing games, e.g. 'Wipeout'. However can be obtained across other platforms.
Fog of War:
You can only strategies over what you can analyse. Fog of war is a common feature within most RTS games as well as others. Good players of video games can use little information from exposing the fog of war and still derive a solid strategy.
Escaoation:
(University Challenge) - Scoring system... (Refer to 'additional notes)
Compresses all the questions at the end... makes the end more dramatic by changing the pase in which he asks questions.
Decelerator:
Gladiators... cargo net by making players look close call ending (illusion) then it flips back round by the zip wire.
Cashing Out:
Where the score is reset to zero... 'Tennis mechanic' where the games are defined through sets.
- Best of three = Cashing out mechanic... (Every advantage that's set out is reset to zero)
Inevitability:
Draw a game to a close...
Ticking clock... their has to be mechanics within a game to remind players that the game is about to come to an end.
For example: (in games)
- Scrabble = The bag of ''letters" gets smaller so it's inevitable that the game is about to end.
- Number of Laps
- Bomberman = Smaller stages
(Areas get emptier, Filling up Boards) - Visual metaphor... doesn't have to have a score or timer.
- Tetris = Nearer the end.
(Quiz games are a good source for looking at game mechanics) - 'Golden Balls' ... at the end (Split or Steal) 'Prisoners dilemma'. Steal ball is more advantageous. P.D... lots of games end with this. Always mathematically better by stealing.
