DOCSLIB.ORG

Can They Improve Game Design Practice? Katharine Neil

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Can They Improve Game Design Practice? Katharine Neil Game Design Tools : Can They Improve Game Design Practice? Katharine Neil To cite this version: Katharine Neil. Game Design Tools : Can They Improve Game Design Practice?. Signal and Image processing. Conservatoire national des arts et metiers - CNAM, 2015. English. <NNT : 2015CNAM1025>. <tel-01344638> HAL Id: tel-01344638 https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01344638 Submitted on 12 Jul 2016 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destin´eeau d´ep^otet `ala diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publi´esou non, lished or not. The documents may come from ´emanant des ´etablissements d'enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche fran¸caisou ´etrangers,des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou priv´es. Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers Ecole Doctorale Informatique, Télécommunications et Electronique Groupe ILJ - Equipe MIM - Laboratoire CEDRIC THESE présentée par : Katharine NEIL soutenue le : 18 Décembre 2015 pour obtenir le grade de : Docteur du Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers Discipline/ Spécialité : Informatique / Multimédia Game Design Tools: Can They Improve Game Design Practice? These dirigee par: NATKIN Stéphane Professeur, CEDRIC, Cnam, Paris SWALWELL Melanie Professeur (Associate Professor), Flinders University, Australie DE VRIES Denise Maitre de conférences (Senior Lecturer), Flinders University, Australie Rapporteurs: ESTRAILLIER Pascal Professeur, Université de La Rochelle CHAMPION Erik Professeur, Curtin University, Australie Examinateur: LE PRADO Cécile Maitre de conférences, CEDRIC, Cnam, Paris ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to thank my supervisors Professor Stephane Natkin, Dr Melanie Swalwell and Dr Denise De Vries for their guidance and support, as well as their patience in the face of the linguistic, geographical and administrative challenges posed by my cotutelle candidature. In addition, I am grateful for the comraderie of the students and staff of the ILJ team at the Cnam, who have been very welcoming to me and always forthcoming with stimulating discussions and advice. I am grateful to my friends Marion Tillous and Xavier Brisbois for correcting my terrible French, and to Christian McCrea for taking the time to read and give me feedback on my work. Finally, I would like to thank the creators of game design tools (particularly those of you who patiently responded to my questions, including Joris Dormans, Mark Nelson, Adam Smith and Antonios Liapis). I will not have understood your tools as well as you do yourselves, and despite my best efforts I can't guarantee that I've done your work justice. But please know that I believe in you and what you’re doing. You are the bold ones, taking on one of the most difficult and important, yet little known and frequently misunderstood, challenges in games research. Game designers need you, whether they know it yet or not. i TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................... i Table of contents .................................................................................................................................. i List of figures ....................................................................................................................................... iii List of tables ........................................................................................................................................ vi Abstract ............................................................................................................................................. viii Résumé ................................................................................................................................................. x 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 2. The process and activities of game design ................................................................................... 5 3. Game design as a design practice ............................................................................................... 26 4. Game design tools ...................................................................................................................... 52 5. Research questions and method ................................................................................................ 84 6. Overview of case studies .......................................................................................................... 104 7. Observation & analysis part 1: The form of representation .................................................... 121 8. Observation & analysis part 2: The act of representing ........................................................... 145 9. Observation and analysis part 3: Integrating game design tools into practice ........................ 182 10. Progressimo: A progression design tool ............................................................................... 206 11. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 221 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................... 226 Ludography ...................................................................................................................................... 240 Appendix .......................................................................................................................................... 241 Résumé étendu en français ............................................................................................................. 259 ii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Newkirk's design process model showing a gradual shift from analysis to synthesis (Dubberly 2004) ................................................................................................................................. 31 Figure 2: Design morphology showing alternating periods of convergence and divergence, within a broader trend towards convergence (Dubberly 2004) ...................................................................... 32 Figure 3: Flow diagram showing relationships between analysis, synthesis, and divergence and convergence (Dubberly 2004) ............................................................................................................ 35 Figure 4: An example diagram built by Koster using his own notation ............................................. 62 Figure 5: A sub-system of a game modelled in Petri nets by Araújo and Roque (2009) ................... 64 Figure 6: Bura’s diagram of the card game Blackjack using his own diagramming method (Bura 2006) .................................................................................................................................................. 64 Figure 7: BIPED tool (A.M. Smith, M.J. Nelson, & M. Mateas, 2010) ................................................ 66 Figure 8: A Machinations diagram showing the trade and travel system from the game Elite. ....... 67 Figure 9: Tanagra a “reactive level editor”. ....................................................................................... 68 Figure 10: The Sentient Sketchbook ................................................................................................... 69 Figure 11: A Ludoscope mission diagram ........................................................................................... 70 Figure 12: Annotated screenshot of Articy:Draft .............................................................................. 72 Figure 13: The progression plan component of Refraction's tool’s progression planning interface 74 Figure 14: A screenshot from The Casimir Effect ............................................................................ 107 Figure 15: A screenshot from South Sea Trouble ............................................................................ 112 Figure 16: Screenshot from Loot the Room using placeholder art.................................................. 115 Figure 17: Screenshot of Ultraworm ................................................................................................ 117 Figure 18: Fragment from the narrative plan for The Particle Who Knew Too Much, using Articy:Draft ....................................................................................................................................... 123 Figure 19: Machinations diagram modelling relatively high level, abstract elements as resources .......................................................................................................................................................... 125 Figure 20: A Machinations diagram containing so much detail that readability becomes an issue .......................................................................................................................................................... 131 Figure 21: Model of Ultraworm made in Machinations for the purpose of game balancing ......... 132 Figure 22: A Machinations model of Ultraworm at a higher abstraction level than in Figure 21. .. 133 Figure 23: Refraction’s tool's
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Nine Steps Towards Creating Better Videogames
    BEYOND GAME DESIGN: NINE STEPS TOWARD CREATING BETTER VIDEOGAMES RICHARD BARTLE, CHRIS BATEMAN, NOAH FALSTEIN, MICHELLE HINN, KATHERINE ISBISTER, NICOLE LAZZARO, SHERI GRAINER RAY, AND JOSEPH SAULTER EDITED BY CHRIS BATEMAN Charles River Media A part of Course Technology, Cengage Learning Australia, Brazil, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, United States Beyond Game Design: Nine Steps Toward © 2009 Course Technology, a part of Cengage Learning. Creating Better Videogames ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced, transmitted, stored, or used in any form or by Richard Bartle, Chris Bateman, any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including but not limited to Noah Falstein, Michelle Hinn, photocopying, recording, scanning, digitizing, taping, Web distribution, Katherine Isbister, Nicole Lazzaro, information networks, or information storage and retrieval systems, except Sheri Grainer Ray, and Joseph Saulter as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Edited by Chris Bateman For product information and technology assistance, contact us at Cengage Learning Customer & Sales Support, 1-800-354-9706 Publisher and General Manager, For permission to use material from this text or product, Course Technology PTR: submit all requests online at cengage.com/permissions Further permissions questions can be emailed to Stacy L. Hiquet [email protected] Associate Director of Marketing: Sarah Panella Velcro brand hook-and-loop fasteners are a registered trademark of Velcro USA Inc. Barbie is a registered trademark of Mattel Inc. All references to the Myers-Briggs Content Project Manager: Type Indicator test or MBTI should be understood as references to trademarks of Jessica McNavich the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Trust, owned by Consulting Psychologists Press.
    [Show full text]
  • Analyse Von Casual Games Hinsichtlich Gameplay Und Spielemotionen
    Analyse von Casual Games hinsichtlich Gameplay und Spielemotionen Belegarbeit im Studiengang Medieninformatik Eingereicht von: Sina Jafarzadeh Matrikelnummer: 3208827 eMail Adresse: [email protected] Technische Universität Dresden Fakultät Informatik Institut für Software‐ und Multimediatechnik Professur für Mediengestaltung Betreuer: Prof. Dr.‐Ing. habil. Rainer Groh Betreuender Hochschullehrer: Prof. Dr.‐Ing. habil. Rainer Groh Eingereicht am: 18.12.2009 1 Inhalt I EINLEITUNG ...................................................................................................................... 4 1.1 MOTIVATION UND ZIELSETZUNG ............................................................................................... 4 1.2 AUFBAU DER ARBEIT ............................................................................................................... 5 II DEFINITION DER BEGRIFFE AUS DER WELT DER DIGITALEN SPIELE .................................... 7 2.1 ELEMENTE DES DIGITALEN SPIELS ............................................................................................... 7 2.2 DAS GAMEPLAY ..................................................................................................................... 9 2.3 CASUAL GAMES ................................................................................................................... 10 2.4 ZUSAMMENFASSUNG ............................................................................................................ 11 III DEMOGRAPHIE DER SPIELER ........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Ben Barone Coresights
    Ben Barone Coresights Ben Barone is the cofounder and CEO of Coresights. Coresights is a virtual reality training platform for professionals, students, and athletes to master mind-body training. The platform provides training to help achieve full potential and enhance quality of life. Mr. Barone is also the founding member of CareerDay VR, a social virtual reality platform for students to gain exposure to careers and learn job skills, and the founder of Coretex Performance. Mr. Barone is an alumnus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and of the University of Denver, where he obtained a Master of Arts in Sport and Performance Psychology. Alexia Bedat, Esq. Klaris Law Alexia focuses her practice on content review; media law; privacy; Internet law; advertising; fair use, and virtual and augmented reality technologies. Prior to joining Klaris Law, Alexia worked as a law clerk at BuzzFeed, where she supported the news team. She has also worked with law firms specializing in media law in both London and Paris. Having obtained her law degree from the University of Cambridge in the UK, Alexia moved to New York to pursue her career in the United States and completed an LL.M. at Columbia Law School. There, she focused on First Amendment litigation, advertising, copyright and the right of publicity. At Columbia, Alexia worked as a teaching assistant at both the Law School and Journalism School and did pro bono work at Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. Alexia is a naturalized American, having spent most of her life in Geneva where she spoke French at home.
    [Show full text]
  • Game Design Tools: Can They Improve Game Design Practice?
    Game design tools: can they improve game design practice? by Katharine Neil Thesis Submitted to Flinders University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Screen and Media Faculty of Education, Humanities and Law September 2017 Cotutelle institution: Ecole Doctorale Informatique, Télécommunications et Electronique Groupe ILJ - Equipe MIM - Laboratoire CEDRIC Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to thank my supervisors Professor Stephane Natkin, Dr Melanie Swalwell and Dr Denise De Vries for their guidance and support, as well as their patience in the face of the linguistic, geographical and administrative challenges posed by my cotutelle candidature. In addition, I am grateful for the comraderie of the students and staff of the ILJ team at the Cnam, who have been very welcoming to me and always forthcoming with stimulating discussions and advice. I am grateful to my friends Marion Tillous and Xavier Brisbois for correcting my terrible French, and to Christian McCrea for taking the time to read and give me feedback on my work. Finally, I would like to thank the creators of game design tools (particularly those of you who patiently responded to my questions, including Joris Dormans, Mark Nelson, Adam Smith and Antonios Liapis). I will not have understood your tools as well as you do yourselves, and despite my best efforts I can't guarantee that I've done your work justice. But please know that I believe in you and what you’re doing. You are the bold ones, taking on one of the most difficult and important, yet little known and frequently misunderstood, challenges in games research.
    [Show full text]
  • The Communicator, April 16, 2004
    April 16,2004 to Issue: III WHO WILL YOU VOTE FOR IN THE UPCOMING SGA ELECTIONS? Automotive Crisis Page 10 BCC Scientists H ead to Brookhaven Page 11 Elections will take place from April 26 through May 1, 2004 The CC Afterlife By Vladimir Matos Page 16 "t is your first semester here at should complete all sixty credits ing in hospitals, but there are other Bronx Community College. You required for graduation at BCC places were a nursing graduate with .are sitting in the cafeteria first. At the senior college, you can and A.A.S. degree may find jobs. munchini g away on one of those then concentrate on courses that These institutions include family three-dollar chicken wraps wonder- only pertain to the your major, for health centers, nursing homes, and ing what you are going to do with the most part. Furthering your edu- offices of doctors who are in private the associate's degree you will cation, not just to get a good job but practice. Nursing students should hopefully receive upon graduation. to learn more about your world, already know that graduates are eli- The truth is before your first semes- should be a priority. Students who gible to take the statewide R.N. ter began, you should ^_^_ Licensure exam (NCLEX- have already spoken to an RN) at the cost of approxi- academic advisor to plan mately $350; all students Page 17 out what degree you are required to be Basic would be seeking here at Cardiac Life Support BCC. If you plan well, (BCLS)-certified.
    [Show full text]
  • Game Design Tools: Can They Improve Game Design Practice?
    Game Design Tools : Can They Improve Game Design Practice? Katharine Neil To cite this version: Katharine Neil. Game Design Tools : Can They Improve Game Design Practice?. Signal and Image processing. Conservatoire national des arts et metiers - CNAM; Flinders university of South Australia, 2015. English. NNT : 2015CNAM1025. tel-01344638 HAL Id: tel-01344638 https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01344638 Submitted on 12 Jul 2016 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers Ecole Doctorale Informatique, Télécommunications et Electronique Groupe ILJ - Equipe MIM - Laboratoire CEDRIC THESE présentée par : Katharine NEIL soutenue le : 18 Décembre 2015 pour obtenir le grade de : Docteur du Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers Discipline/ Spécialité : Informatique / Multimédia Game Design Tools: Can They Improve Game Design Practice? These dirigee par: NATKIN Stéphane Professeur, CEDRIC, Cnam, Paris SWALWELL Melanie Professeur (Associate Professor), Flinders University, Australie DE VRIES Denise Maitre
    [Show full text]