Chapter 9 - Gameplay

Chapter 9 - Gameplay

Gameplay: Consists of the challenges and actions that a game offers. Challenges for the player to overcome and actions that let her overcome them

What is Gameplay?

The primary goal of a game designer is to provide entertainment

Gameplay is the primary means of entertainment

Without gameplay, an activity may be fun, but it is not a game

Making games fun

“Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety nine percent perspiration”

-Thomas Edison

Execution Matters more than Innovation

Most of what makes a game fun has nothing to do with imagination or creativity

The vast majority of things that make a game not fun result from bad execution rather than a bad idea.

(1) Avoid elementary errors:Bad programming,bad music and sound, bad art, bad user interfaces,and bad game design all ruin theplayers funs

How to make a game fun

(2) Tuning and Polishing:-This means paying attention to detail, getting everything perfect.-This is the difference between a good game and a mediocre one.

How to make a game fun cont..

(3) Imaginative variations on the games premise:-Take the basic elements of the game and construct and enjoyable experience out of them

-Level designers do most of this work


(4) True design innovation:Encompasses the games original idea and subsequent decisions that you make


Innovation by the game designer contributes only a small part of the fun of the game.

This may make it sound like there is not a lot of point in game design…


There is no formula for making your game fun

There are a set of principles to keep in mind as your design and build your game:

Finding the Fun Factor

Gameplay comes first: Create your game to give people fun things to do

Finding the Fun Factor cont…

Get a feature right or leave it out: It is far worse to ship a game with a broken feature than it is to with a missing feature


Design around the player: Examine every decision from the players point of view. Games that lose sight of the player, lose sight of fun


Know your target audience: Different groups of players want different things, know what they want and what they think is fun, and then provide it


Abstract or automate parts of the simulation that aren’t fun: If you model your game on the real world, leave out the parts that aren’t fun


Be true to your vision: Don’t add unnecessary features that will distract you from your original vision.


Strive for harmony, elegance, and beauty: A lack of aesthetic perfection doesn’t take all the fun out of a game, but the absence of these qualities appreciably diminishes it


“When you’re up to your ass in alligators, it’s hard to remember that your original objective was to drain the swamp”

-Unattributed

The Hierarchy of Challenges

Hierarchy of Challenges for Super Mario Bros:

Explicit Challenges: Challenges that are told directly to the player i.e “save the princess”

-Typically the topmost and the bottom most challenges are explicit challenges

Informing the player about challenges

Implicit Challenges: Challenges that the player discovers on their own

- Most intermediate challenges are implicit- If there are no implicit challenges, it doesn’t

feel like a game

Informing the player about challenges cont…

Reward victory no matter how the players achieve it

Design Rule:

Intrinsic skill: The level of skill needed to surmount the challenge if you give the player an unlimited amount of time in which to do it.

Skill, Stress, and Absolute difficulty

Stress: Measures how a player perceives the effect of time pressure on his ability to meet a challenge requiring a given level of intrinsic skill.

Skill, Stress, and Absolute difficulty Cont…

Absolute Difficulty: Refers to the intrinsic skill required and stressfulness put together

Skill, Stress, and Absolute difficulty Cont…

Tests the players physical abilities – most commonly hand-eye coordination

There are different types of physical coordination challenges…

Commonly used Challenges-Physical Coordination Challenges:

Speed and Reaction time: Speed challenges test the players ability to

make rapid inputs on the controls Reaction time challenges test the players

ability to react quickly to events Example: Tetris

Physical Coordination Challenges:

Accuracy and Precision: Accuracy and Precision challenges need not

to take place in a time limit

Example: Wii Sports Archery

Physical Coordination Challenges Cont…

Intuitive understanding of physics In a racing game, players must learn

through experience a cars breaking distance, acceleration rate, etc.

Example: Portal


Timing and Rhythm: Timing and Rhythm challenges test the

players ability to press the right button at the right time

Example – Guitar Hero


Combination moves: Many fighting games require complex

combinations of button presses in order to do a cool move

Example – Street Fighter


Formal logic puzzles: The definition of the puzzle contains, or

explains everything the player needs to solve to puzzle

Example – Minesweeper

Logical and Mathematical Challenges

Avoid trial and errorsolutions

Design Rule

Mathematical challenges:

Include an element of chance

Example - Hearts

Logical and Mathematical Challenges Cont…

Discourages careful strategic thought and instead encourages direct brute-force solution

Increases the stress on a player and changes the feeling of the gameplay considerably

Example - Frogger

Race and Time Pressure Challenges

Direct test of players knowledge of factual information

Usually occurs in trivia and quiz games

Example – Trivial Pursuit

Design Rule: Make it clear when factual knowledge is required

Factual Knowledge Challenges

Tests the players ability to recall things the she has seen or heard in the game

Action and adventure games get you to remember things that will be needed later on

Example - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2kZQMtifOE

Memory Challenges

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2kZQMtifOE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2kZQMtifOE

Documents

Chapter 9 - Gameplay