13
CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Review and Post-Mortems CMPUT 250 Fall 2007 Thursday, October 11 CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review Today’s Lecture: Review ! Project Management ! Game Development Cycle ! Game Design ! Narrative ! History and Technology CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review Today’s Lecture: Post Mortems ! Post Mortems ! What are they? Why do we care? ! Example: Katamari Damacy ! Example: Mask of Mephist ! Ante-Mortems: Design Issues ! Example: Trial of Rolgan ! Example: Heart of Gold CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review Project Management ! People, Planning, Problem Solving ! Tools of Project Planning ! Meetings: Plan, Inform, Prepare, Structure & Control, and Summarize & Record ! Task Queue ! Repository

TodayÕs Lecture: Review TodayÕs Lecture: Post …ugweb.cs.ualberta.ca/~c250/F07/schedule/lectures/Lecture...CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review Sample Midterm Question!Name

  • Upload
    others

  • View
    2

  • Download
    0

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: TodayÕs Lecture: Review TodayÕs Lecture: Post …ugweb.cs.ualberta.ca/~c250/F07/schedule/lectures/Lecture...CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review Sample Midterm Question!Name

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007

Review and Post-Mortems

CMPUT 250

Fall 2007

Thursday, October 11

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Today’s Lecture: Review

! Project Management

! Game Development Cycle

! Game Design

! Narrative

! History and Technology

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Today’s Lecture: Post Mortems

! Post Mortems

! What are they? Why do we care?

! Example: Katamari Damacy

! Example: Mask of Mephist

! Ante-Mortems: Design Issues

! Example: Trial of Rolgan

! Example: Heart of Gold

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Project Management

! People, Planning, Problem Solving

! Tools of Project Planning

! Meetings: Plan, Inform, Prepare, Structure &

Control, and Summarize & Record

! Task Queue

! Repository

Page 2: TodayÕs Lecture: Review TodayÕs Lecture: Post …ugweb.cs.ualberta.ca/~c250/F07/schedule/lectures/Lecture...CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review Sample Midterm Question!Name

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Problem Solving

! Fractal Spiral Model of Problem Solving

! Strategy: “Why are we doing this?”

! Analyze: “What are we going to do?”

! Design: “How are we going to do it?”

! Implement: “Do it.”

! Test: “Did we do what we intended?”

! Deploy: “Release it.”

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Sample Midterm Question

! Describe two benefits of maintaining a task

queue.

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Game Development Cycle

! Idea

! Concept Document

! Design Document

! Prototype

! Post-Prototype

! Production

! Post-Production

! Testing

! Retail

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Sample Midterm Question

! Give two reasons why a design document

is important to be written and kept up to

date as the project progresses?

Page 3: TodayÕs Lecture: Review TodayÕs Lecture: Post …ugweb.cs.ualberta.ca/~c250/F07/schedule/lectures/Lecture...CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review Sample Midterm Question!Name

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Natural Funativity(Noah Falstein)

! An “evolutionary” explanation of fun, play,

and games: those who play survive

Reading

Assignment

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Game Structure(Also in Lecture on Narrative)

! Classic Structure: Convexity

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Game Structure(Also in Lecture on Narrative)

! Classic Structure: Series of Convexities

AA A A A

B

BB B

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Flow

Too Easy (Boring)

Too Hard (Frustrating)

Increasing Time (and Player Skill)

Incr

easi

ng

Dif

ficu

lty

Ideal Game Difficulty Progression

Page 4: TodayÕs Lecture: Review TodayÕs Lecture: Post …ugweb.cs.ualberta.ca/~c250/F07/schedule/lectures/Lecture...CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review Sample Midterm Question!Name

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Structure & Flow

A A A AB

BB B

Ideal Game Difficulty Progression

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Sample Midterm Question

! Choose a well-known game that exploits the

“ideal game difficulty progression”.

Identify in the game what corresponds to

the slopes and plateaus in this progression.

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

MDA(Hunicke, LeBlanc, Zubek)

Mechanics AestheticsDynamics! !Designer Player

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

1. Sensation

Game as sense-pleasure

2. Fantasy

Game as make-believe

3. Narrative

Game as drama

4. Challenge

Game as obstacle course

Eight Kinds of "Fun"

5. Fellowship

Game as social framework

6. Discovery

Game as uncharted territory

7. Expression

Game as self-discovery

8. Submission

Game as pastime

Page 5: TodayÕs Lecture: Review TodayÕs Lecture: Post …ugweb.cs.ualberta.ca/~c250/F07/schedule/lectures/Lecture...CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review Sample Midterm Question!Name

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Sample Midterm Question

! Name four of the eight kinds of fun. For

each, name a well-known game (computer,

board, folk, children’s) that particularly

emphasizes this kind of fun and describe in

one sentence why?

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Narrative

! Traditional Concepts

! Characters

! Plot

! Scene

! Voice

! Genre

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Interactivity

! Continuum

! External/Internal, Exploratory/Ontological

! Branching in Narrative

! Sequential

! Sequential with cul-de-sacs

! Branching with a forced path

! Bottlenecking (a.k.a. convexities)

! Exploratorium

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Sample Midterm Question

! Name two games that use a different voice,

and describe how they’re different.

Page 6: TodayÕs Lecture: Review TodayÕs Lecture: Post …ugweb.cs.ualberta.ca/~c250/F07/schedule/lectures/Lecture...CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review Sample Midterm Question!Name

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

History and Technology

! State vs. Dynamics

! CPU: processor speed

! Storage: amount, speed, read-only, volatile

! Vector Graphics

! Raster Graphics

! Pixels and the image buffer

! Framerate

! Colours

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

History and Technology

! 2D Hardware Support

! Sprites

! Layers

! Collision detection

! History

! Early arcade games: special-purpose hardware,microprocessors, vector graphics

! Crash of 1983

! Revival

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

History and Technology

! 3D Graphics

! Scene: Representing the “world”

! Triangles, Meshes, Objects

! Clipping, Culling, Partitioning

! Rendering: Drawing the scene

! Back to front

! Lighting, Textures, Bump Maps

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Sample Midterm Questions

! What were two uses for hardware supported

layers in early 2D video games?

! Name two reasons for the crash of the home

video game industry in 1983.

Page 7: TodayÕs Lecture: Review TodayÕs Lecture: Post …ugweb.cs.ualberta.ca/~c250/F07/schedule/lectures/Lecture...CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review Sample Midterm Question!Name

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Questions?

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Post Mortems

! A critical examination of the game design

process and the resulting final product.

! What went right?

! What went wrong?

! By the designers!

! They know their design goals.

! They know the process and decisions that went

into their game.

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Why Post Mortems?

! The process is good for the designers.

! Critically analyze the design process.

! Identify mistakes to be avoided in the future.

! Can also benefit other designers.

! Inside track on their design goals and process.

! Learn from others mistakes.

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Katamari Damacy

Page 8: TodayÕs Lecture: Review TodayÕs Lecture: Post …ugweb.cs.ualberta.ca/~c250/F07/schedule/lectures/Lecture...CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review Sample Midterm Question!Name

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Katamari DamacyKeita Takahashi (GDM; Dec ‘04)

! “Current games suffer from a distinct lack of originality,

and this sparked my desire to create something totally

unique.”

! “…I’ve always wanted to create something different that

can only be done in a game. If you are going to play a

game that resembles a movie, you should just watch a

movie, and if you are going to play a game that shows

realistic cars, wouldn’t it be more fun to drive a real car?”

! “Games these days are also really complicated. There are

lots of buttons and there are lots of items to keep track of.

I’m just tired of all those complications.”

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Katamari DamacyDesign Goals

! Unique

! Only be done in a game

! Simple… nothing complicated

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Katamari DamacyWhat Went Right?

! Researching scale

! No powerups

! Controlling the rolling

! Peaceful, easy feeling

! Audible excellence

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Katamari DamacyWhat Went Wrong?

! Tipping the scale

! Falling apart

! The camera and the

queasy

! Not getting oblong

! Time limits

Page 9: TodayÕs Lecture: Review TodayÕs Lecture: Post …ugweb.cs.ualberta.ca/~c250/F07/schedule/lectures/Lecture...CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review Sample Midterm Question!Name

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Mask of Mephist

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Mask of MephistTeam Hanzo’s Design Document

! “… in mankind’s last moments you must chooseyour fate – whether to walk in the Light... or stalkin the Shadow.”

! “The story driving the game will involve a lostidentity, coupled with an inner struggle of goodversus evil. The two themes will interplay in aninteresting fashion, as losing your memory blursthe already fine line between good and evil.”

! “Only through evil acts (which bring about theflashbacks) can he learn of his good nature.”

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Mask of MephistDesign Goals

! Choice between good and evil

! Lost identity

! Blurring of good and evil

! Evil acts bring about good

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Mask of MephistWhat Went Right?

! Plotting and pacing

! Numerous good

versus evil decisions

! Flashbacks

Page 10: TodayÕs Lecture: Review TodayÕs Lecture: Post …ugweb.cs.ualberta.ca/~c250/F07/schedule/lectures/Lecture...CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review Sample Midterm Question!Name

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Mask of MephistWhat Went Wrong?

! First quest forced

! “The only way to learn of his true past is to

temporarily accept his condition as a servant to

Lord Rathos”

! No reason to follow Rathos; no option not to

! Looting bodies to advance

! No blurring… no reason to choose evil

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

<End of Post Mortem>

! But this is a Neverwinter Module…

! … You are all designing Neverwinter Modules.

! How would you fix it?

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Mask of MephistFixing the First Quest

! Solution #1: Give a reason to be evil

! Movie of the queen slaying the previous Mephist

! Start in a battle against good: cue the player that

they’ve already “given in”

! Solution #2: Give (pseudo-)option to be good

! Get past the guards without killing them

! In the conversation with the queen, she eventually

attacks the hero

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Design Issue Presentations… an Ante-Mortem

! Critical analysis during design

! Focus on an issue faced in your design

! Design goal or aesthetic

! Tradeoff between goals

! Consider in the context of your game

! Several solutions for resolving the issue

! Outlines the pros and cons of each solution

Page 11: TodayÕs Lecture: Review TodayÕs Lecture: Post …ugweb.cs.ualberta.ca/~c250/F07/schedule/lectures/Lecture...CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review Sample Midterm Question!Name

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Trial of Rolgan

! Context: Courtroom drama scene

! Player has already gathered information

! Now they question witnesses, cross examine,

raise objections, etc.

! Trial driven by conversations

! Issue: How do we help the player

understand that the trial conversation has

consequences (i.e. determines the verdict)?

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Trial of Rolgan: Solutions

! Tell the player out-of-character

! Hint at it with in-character conversation

! Previous conversation with an observable

consequence (show by example)

! Show the immediate consequence

! Expression of the defendant

! Reaction of the jury

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Trial of Rolgan: Pros and Cons

! Tell the player out-of-character

! Pro: straightforward

! Con: harms immersion, “show don’t tell”

! Hint at it with in-character conversation

! Pro: immersive, straightforward

! Con: not direct (player may not even read it),

“show don’t tell”

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Trial of Rolgan: Pros and Cons

! Previous conversation with an observable

consequence

! Pro: immersive, shown not told

! Con: additional content, does it effect the story?

! Show immediate consequence (e.g.,

defendant’s expression or reaction of jury)

! Pro: immersive, shown not told

! Con: technical challengeTechnical Solution:

Torches

Page 12: TodayÕs Lecture: Review TodayÕs Lecture: Post …ugweb.cs.ualberta.ca/~c250/F07/schedule/lectures/Lecture...CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review Sample Midterm Question!Name

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Heart of Gold

! Context: Murder mystery

! Player is investigating a murder: learning

backstory, questioning witnesses, etc.

! Details need to be revealed as the hero

uncovers the clues to the mystery

! Don’t want the player to misinterpret clues

! Issue: How do we reveal details of what

happened as the player finds the clues?

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Heart of Gold: Solutions

! Cut scene flashbacks

! Real or imagined

! NPCs interpret the evidence

! Sidekick

! Clues come with NPC interpretation

! Thought bubbles

! Play out a flashback

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Heart of Gold: Pros and Cons

! Cut scene flashbacks

! Pros: cinematic, eye candy

! Cons: break in play, removes player deduction

! NPCs interpret the evidence

! Pros: no break in play

! Cons: de-protagonizing (NPCs look smarter

than the hero)

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Heart of Gold: Pros and Cons

! Thought bubbles

! Pros: no break in play, hero does the deduction

! Cons: removes player deduction

! Play out a flashback

! Pros: novel, player could influence the story

! Cons: technically hard, player may get lost

OMGLAZERPEWPEWPEW opted for a combination

of NPC interpretation and interactive flashbacks.

Page 13: TodayÕs Lecture: Review TodayÕs Lecture: Post …ugweb.cs.ualberta.ca/~c250/F07/schedule/lectures/Lecture...CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review Sample Midterm Question!Name

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Design Issue Presentations

! October 23, in class

! 5 minutes + 10 minutes of discussion

! Oral or Powerpoint/PDF

! Groups can email me slides to use my laptop

! Please practice!

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Coming Up…

! Next Week

! Artificial Intelligence: Under the Hood

! M4: Design Issue Presentations (10/23)

! Level Design (10/25)

! Dave Feltham, BioWare

! M5: Prototype/Walkthrough (10/30-11/1)

! Aim for a “skeleton” not a “torso”

CMPUT 250: Fall 2007 Lecture #11: Review

Project Advice

! Constrain the play area

! Don’t hide things unnecessarily

! Do “live animal” testing (early and late)

! You are not your audience

! The player doesn’t know the script

! Difficulty is subjective

! Scripts are programs and can be buggy

! Meaningful choices