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Structure of Games

Chapter 2

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What are different types of games?

Do all games share the same exact structure?

Games Board Games Video Games

Playground gamesStreet gamesDaring gamesGuessing gamesSinging games

Chess Backgammon Card gamesDice gamesMiniature gamesPencil-and-paper gamesTabletop games

Alternate reality gamesArcade gamesCasual gamesComputer gamesConsole gamesHandheld gamesMobile gamesOnline games

+They must share something in order to be called a game

+Quick Review

Playcentric - focuses on involving the player in your design process.

By continually keeping the player experience in mind testing the gameplay through every phase of development.

How do we judge whether or not something is a game?

+Players – voluntarily participate in & consumes the entertainment (game)

are active make decisions are invested are potential winners voluntarily accept the rules & constraints of a game

Acceptance of the rules of a game, is both psychological and emotional for players, which must be consider as part of the playcentric process of game design.

+Objectives - specific goals for players

In life we set our own objectives and work diligently to achieve them

In games - the objective is a key element without it the experience loses much of its structure the need to work toward the objective measures our

involvement in the game.

+Procedures - actions or methods of play allowed by the rules

guide player behavior

create interactions that would never take place outside the game.

they must be followed

confirms that these procedures are an important because they set games apart from behaviors and experiences.

+Rules - limit player behavior and prohibit reactive events

Examples: Video game - If nails are for nail guns; you can’t use nails

in the thunderbolt Card game – Go Fish: If you have hearts when you are

asked for one, you must give it up

+Rules (continued)

Must you follow the rules?

Will the other players force you to follow the rules?

Why bother?

The concept of rules & procedures imply authority.. But where does the authority come from?

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Authority of the rule is:

The unspoken agreement to submit to the experience of playing the game If you do not follow rules then you are not playing the game

Respected players understand that they are a KEY structural element

of the game; without them games would not function.

+Resources

can be use to further our goal

they can combined to make new products or items can be bought & sold in various types of markets.

These items/objects (resources) are made: valuable because they can help players achieve their goal but are made scarce in the system by the designers.

+Conflict

Procedures and rules tend to deter players from accomplishing their goals Example – Go Fish

you cannot ask everyone at the same time to give you their hearts;

you must ask each player one at a time therefore, risking you might not get a card and lose your turn.

The relationship between objectives of the player & rules and procedures limit and guide behavior

Which creates another element to the game:

Confl ict

+Boundaries - rules and goals that players apply only within the game and not in “real life”

 Magic Circle – the physical and/or conceptual space in which a game takes place it is a temporary world where the rules of the game apply, rather than the rules of the real world.

+Outcomes

are uncertain either you win or lose

 The outcome of a game differs from the objective all players can achieve the objective Only one player can win the game.

The uncertainty of the outcome is important to the playcentric process it is a key motivator for the player If a player can anticipate the outcome of a game they will

stop playing

+ Formal Elements

special equipment, digital environments complex resource structures character definitions these make up the essence (spirit, soul of

games, core, heart, fundamental nature) of games

They are important for the game designer to understand: they provide structure/form can help the designer make choices in their design process understand problems that arise in their playtesting process.

+Engaging the Player

Why does one game capture the imagination of players and another one falls flat? Some players like the challenges Most players need something to draw them in

allowing them to connect emotionally with the experience.

+Let us not forget:

Games are a form of entertainment; Which moves us both intellectually and emotionally.

The sense of engagement comes from different things for different players

Not all games require elaborate means to create it. 

+Challenges - creating tension and/or frustration.

Increased challenges heighten the tension and cause frustration

If the challenge remains level or flat players think they have conquered the game and stop playing OR move on to another game

There must be a balance the amount of challenge is key to keep the player engaged

with the game

+Play – engage with game system BUT play itself is not a game

Eric Zimmerman and Katie Salen define play as: free movement within a more rigid structure.

Which provide: opportunities for players to use imagination, fantasy,

inspiration & social skills free form types of interaction to achieve objectives within

the game space to play within the game to engage the challenges it offers.

+Play can be

Serious – Chess

Charges & aggressive – Call of Duty

Fantasy – World of Witchcraft

To engaging player in your game : Play should be appealing AND designed for a bit of free play within a rigid game

structure

+Puzzles vs Games

Games are rules based systems the goal is for one player to win

Puzzles are also rule based systems the goals is to find a solution; not to beat an opponent

+What is a puzzle?

Dictionary definition – a toy or other contrivance designed to amuse by presenting difficulties to be solved by ingenuity or a patient effort

Puzzles are: fun & have a right answer a form of play – they allow you to suspend the rules of

everyday life & give us permission to do things that are not practical

tricky –Rubik's cube easy they disappoint hard they are discouraging

+Four types of play

Range from the most to the least interactive

Game - Winning

Puzzle - Goal

Toy –No Goal

Story – No Interaction

+Premise - The basic way a game creates engagement

Base-level effect of the premise: Is to make it easier for players to scrutinize/review their

choices Is a powerful tool for involving players emotionally in the

interaction of the formal elements

What is the premise of Monopoly?

Why was it so successful in the 1930?

+Classwork – Premise – Exercise 2.7

What are the premises for the games Risk, Clue, Pit, and Guitar Hero?

If you don’t know these games, pick games that you are more familiar with.

+Characters

Can be tools of engagement

video games characters can be: vessels for player participation allows players to experience situations and conflicts

through the disguise of a mask they create and direct

What is your favorite video game character?

+Story

Stories are different the premise because they are narrative unfold with games can engage players emotionally

+The Sum of Parts

Wrapping it up: All the parts that we identified rely on each other Games are systems Systems are groups of interrelated elements that work

together to form a complex whole

“The whole is greater than the sum of the parts”

Who said this quote?

Aristotle

+In conclusion:

A game is: closed formal system that engages players in structured conflict resolves its uncertainty in an unequal outcome

What is in store for future game designers? the realm of possibilities is infinite good game designers will evolve their game past even their

wildest dreams they need to push the envelope and transport players to places

they didn’t imagine possible