DOCSLIB.ORG

Master's Thesis: Visualizing Storytelling in Games

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Master's Thesis: Visualizing Storytelling in Games Chronicle Developing a visualisation of emergent narratives in grand strategy games EDVARD RUTSTRO¨ M JONAS WICKERSTRO¨ M Master's Thesis in Interaction Design Department of Applied Information Technology Chalmers University of Technology Gothenburg, Sweden 2013 Master's Thesis 2013:091 The Authors grants to Chalmers University of Technology and University of Gothen- burg the non-exclusive right to publish the Work electronically and in a non-commercial purpose make it accessible on the Internet. The Authors warrants that they are the authors to the Work, and warrants that the Work does not contain text, pictures or other material that violates copyright law. The Authors shall, when transferring the rights of the Work to a third party (for example a publisher or a company), acknowledge the third party about this agreement. If the Authors has signed a copyright agreement with a third party regarding the Work, the Authors warrants hereby that they have obtained any necessary permission from this third party to let Chalmers University of Technology and University of Gothenburg store the Work electronically and make it accessible on the Internet. Chronicle Developing a Visualisation of Emergent Narratives in Grand Strategy Games c EDVARD RUTSTROM,¨ June 2013. c JONAS WICKERSTROM,¨ June 2013. Examiner: OLOF TORGERSSON Department of Applied Information Technology Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96, G¨oteborg, Sweden Telephone +46 (0)31-772 1000 Gothenburg, Sweden June 2013 Abstract Many games of high complexity give rise to emergent narratives, where the events of the game are retold as a story. The goal of this thesis was to investigate ways to support the player in discovering their own emergent stories in grand strategy games. Grand strategy games are games of high complexity, and player communities based on these games are very focused on sharing stories spawned from the games. The focus of this thesis has been on collecting these stories and showing them, not creating new stories by changing the gameplay rules. The area was explored by developing a digital prototype that was tested on users. The prototype is a chronicle for the game Crusader Kings II, which collects events that happen in the game and show them as icons and flags on a timeline. The development leading up to the prototype and final concept included literary studies, interviews, questionnaires, persona development, and paper prototyping. The aim of this thesis was to give users an easy way to see their story more clearly. By using the familiar concept of a timeline, users can see what they have accomplished, and get a reminder when they return to a game after a long time. Acknowledgements This master thesis was conducted at Paradox Development Studio, a game development studio in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2013. It was done as part of the master program In- teraction Design and Technologies at Chalmers University of Technology. Many thanks goes out to our supervisor, Staffan Bj¨ork at the Interactive Institute in Gothenburg, Sweden. He was the still rock in a stream of crazy design ideas, sharpening our disso- luted minds to the task. The writers of this report would like to thank all the users who participated in user tests and interviews throughout the development process. Spe- cial thanks to Fredrik Zetterman, Olof Bj¨ork, and the rest of Paradox Interactive and Paradox Development Studio, for encouragement and help throughout the development process. Thanks also goes out to our opponents Philip Wallin and Christopher Pavlic for reading and helping us to improve this work. Edvard Rutstr¨om & Jonas Wickerstr¨om, Gothenburg June 2013 Glossary AAR After Action Report. LP Let's Play. E-sport An electronic sport, the competitive play of video games. GUI Graphical User Interface. Clausewitz II The game engine used in Crusader Kings II. Includes a graphics engine, a sound engine, a network engine, a GUI engine, etc. Game session The period of time that spans from when you start playing a game, and ends when you end that game. In Crusader Kings II, this period of time might stretch over months. Play session A game session contains at least one play session, which is the period of time when a player sits down and plays the game in one instance. Paidia Unstructured and spontaneous activities. Ludus Structured activities with explicit rules. Ludology The study of games and play. Narratology The study of narrative and narrative structure. Contents 1 Introduction1 1.1 Sharing Game Stories.............................1 1.2 Purpose and Research Question........................2 1.3 Delimitations..................................3 1.4 Stakeholders...................................4 1.5 Report structure................................4 2 Background5 2.1 Grand Strategy Games.............................5 2.2 Paradox Development Studio.........................5 2.2.1 Paradox Plaza Forums.........................6 2.3 After Action Reports and Let's Plays.....................6 2.4 Previous work..................................6 2.4.1 Relevant games.............................7 2.4.2 Other Relevant Products....................... 13 3 Theory 16 3.1 Game design theory.............................. 16 3.1.1 Stories in games............................ 16 3.1.2 Emergent narratives.......................... 18 3.1.3 Supporting emergent narratives.................... 19 3.2 Information visualisation............................ 21 3.2.1 Historical Visualisations........................ 21 3.2.2 Visualisations of temporal data.................... 22 4 Methodology 25 4.1 Questionnaires................................. 25 4.2 Personas..................................... 25 4.3 Paper Prototype................................ 26 4.4 Paper prototype interview........................... 26 i CONTENTS 4.5 Digital Prototype................................ 26 4.6 Observation with Think-Aloud........................ 26 5 Project Plan 27 5.1 Preliminary Study............................... 27 5.2 Implementation................................. 28 5.3 Report writing................................. 28 6 Process 29 6.1 Prestudy..................................... 29 6.1.1 Initial work............................... 29 6.1.2 Surveys................................. 30 6.2 Concept Development............................. 32 6.2.1 Initial time at Paradox Interactive.................. 32 6.2.2 Continued prestudy.......................... 33 6.2.3 Second survey.............................. 35 6.2.4 Forming design goals.......................... 36 6.2.5 Concepts................................ 38 6.3 Deciding on one Concept........................... 50 6.3.1 Continued Work on the Concept................... 50 6.3.2 Paper Prototype............................ 51 6.3.3 Initial work on the Digital Prototype................. 53 6.3.4 Interview process............................ 54 6.3.5 Discarding two concepts........................ 56 6.4 Refining the timeline concept......................... 58 6.4.1 Collecting data............................. 58 6.4.2 Working on the design concept.................... 59 6.4.3 Digital prototype............................ 65 6.5 Preparing for the first User Test....................... 67 6.5.1 Design Work.............................. 67 6.5.2 User Test and fourth Interview.................... 69 6.5.3 Developing the Digital Prototype................... 70 6.6 Polishing.................................... 71 6.6.1 Finalizing the concept......................... 71 6.6.2 Further work on the digital prototype................ 76 6.7 Final User testing................................ 77 6.7.1 Final design work........................... 77 6.7.2 Final work on digital prototype.................... 77 6.7.3 User tests................................ 78 7 Results 81 7.1 Final Digital Prototype............................ 81 7.1.1 Logging................................. 81 7.1.2 Layout.................................. 82 ii CONTENTS 7.1.3 Navigation............................... 83 7.1.4 Visualization.............................. 83 7.1.5 Different kinds of flags......................... 84 7.1.6 Notes.................................. 85 7.1.7 Integration with game interface.................... 86 7.1.8 Filtering and highlighting....................... 86 7.2 Concept..................................... 87 7.2.1 Logging................................. 87 7.2.2 Layout.................................. 87 7.2.3 Navigation............................... 88 7.2.4 Visualization.............................. 88 7.2.5 Different kinds of flags......................... 90 7.2.6 Integration with game interface.................... 91 7.2.7 Notes.................................. 91 7.2.8 Filtering................................. 91 7.2.9 Features not present in prototype.................. 92 8 Discussion 93 8.1 Results...................................... 93 8.1.1 Reviewing design goals......................... 93 8.1.2 Concept discussion........................... 95 8.1.3 Feedback from users.......................... 98 8.2 Method..................................... 98 8.2.1 Evaluating methods used....................... 98 8.2.2 Alternative methods......................... 100 8.3 Generalising the Design............................ 100 8.4 Future Work.................................. 101 9 Conclusions 102 Bibliography 107 iii 1 Introduction Stories have always been an integral part of human society. They are intriguing and exciting ways of transferring information from
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Development and Validation of the Game User Experience Satisfaction Scale (Guess)
    THE DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE GAME USER EXPERIENCE SATISFACTION SCALE (GUESS) A Dissertation by Mikki Hoang Phan Master of Arts, Wichita State University, 2012 Bachelor of Arts, Wichita State University, 2008 Submitted to the Department of Psychology and the faculty of the Graduate School of Wichita State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2015 © Copyright 2015 by Mikki Phan All Rights Reserved THE DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE GAME USER EXPERIENCE SATISFACTION SCALE (GUESS) The following faculty members have examined the final copy of this dissertation for form and content, and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy with a major in Psychology. _____________________________________ Barbara S. Chaparro, Committee Chair _____________________________________ Joseph Keebler, Committee Member _____________________________________ Jibo He, Committee Member _____________________________________ Darwin Dorr, Committee Member _____________________________________ Jodie Hertzog, Committee Member Accepted for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences _____________________________________ Ronald Matson, Dean Accepted for the Graduate School _____________________________________ Abu S. Masud, Interim Dean iii DEDICATION To my parents for their love and support, and all that they have sacrificed so that my siblings and I can have a better future iv Video games open worlds. — Jon-Paul Dyson v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Althea Gibson once said, “No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you.” Thus, completing this long and winding Ph.D. journey would not have been possible without a village of support and help. While words could not adequately sum up how thankful I am, I would like to start off by thanking my dissertation chair and advisor, Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • 278Th Soldiers Train Iraqis St O R Y a N D P H O T O B Y Sgt
    The Expeditionary Times Proudly serving the finest Expeditionary service members throughout Iraq Vol. 4 Issue 2 May 26, 2010 http://www.hood.army.mil/13sce/ Worldwide Force protection officer works to improve training Page 4 UFC Sgt. Josh Kimberly a cavalry scout with B Troop, Regimental Support Squadron, 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), and Columbia, Tenn., native observes an Iraqi Army military policeman demonstrate procedures for conducting a personnel search at Contingency Operating Base Taji, Iraq. 278th Soldiers train Iraqis STORY AND PHOTO BY Sgt. Josh Kimberly and Pfc. Eric White, we draw down and have less Soldiers here from U.S. SGT . DAVID A. SCOTT cavalry scouts with B Troop, Regimental Support and coalition forces, then the Iraqi Army will take EXP E DITIONARY TIM E S STAFF Squadron, 278th ACR, 13th ESC, both Columbia, an even greater role in the security at those check- Tenn., natives were the primary instructors. The points and those ECPs. So this serves both of those CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE TAJI, day’s training at the Iraqi Army compound located purposes.” Iraq– Every Sunday, members at COB Taji lasted nearly an hour, with an inter- 278th continued page 10 Pro-athletes of the 278th Armored Cavalry preter to assist both the students and the instruc- host clinic for Regiment, 13th Sustainment tors. Command (Expeditionary) Kimberly, who served with the 278th during Soldiers train their counterparts on its previous deployment to Iraq in 2004, took the essentials of force protec- the lead explaining the tasks to the squad of 10 tion, because soon the 278th Iraqis.
    [Show full text]
  • The Appendix Table the Most of Examinees Are Playing Strategies
    The appendix table The most of examinees are playing strategies (RTS and History), Fantasy Role Play (FRP), simulations, adventures, RPG adventures, race, shooter, and some of them also play memory games. 1. Table: The results from questionnaire which came to life in practice between pupils from high schools in Petnica Science Center, Valjevo, and undergraduate students from first to third year and on the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade’s, Department of History, section for Medieval National studies. What do you think about education throw games? 17,65% Bad material for studying, with lot of mistakes and misleads; and with no or little validity of historical data. 82,35% It could be useful, for firsthand experience, the idea is not bad, one must think about that time, the strategies are good because you can see and think in the same time, one can easily put himself in a particular time, it could be good if you could have adequate program for learning, it is possible to use games like supplement, but not like a main source of information. Did you learn The realistic outlook of army units, about military formations and their something strategy, few things about architecture, ideology systems, about Hellenisms from the states, and also Islamic in medieval period, about medieval Spain, about games and treaties and conquests in period 1936–1948, about functioning Rome’s from which administration, Fredric I Barbarossa, about struggles in medieval England, ones? relationships between Poland and Lithuania, some maps are very good, the history of aviation in the First World War.
    [Show full text]
  • Navigating the Videogame
    From above, from below: navigating the videogame A thesis presented by Daniel Golding 228306 to The School of Culture and Communication in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in the field of Cultural Studies in the School of Culture and Communication The University of Melbourne Supervisor: Dr. Fran Martin October 2008 ABSTRACT The study of videogames is still evolving. While many theorists have accurately described aspects of the medium, this thesis seeks to move the study of videogames away from previously formal approaches and towards a holistic method of engagement with the experience of playing videogames. Therefore, I propose that videogames are best conceptualised as navigable, spatial texts. This approach, based on Michel de Certeau’s concept of strategies and tactics, illuminates both the textual structure of videogames and the immediate experience of playing them. I also regard videogame space as paramount. My close analysis of Portal (Valve Corporation, 2007) demonstrates that a designer can choose to communicate rules and fiction, and attempt to influence the behaviour of players through strategies of space. Therefore, I aim to plot the relationship between designer and player through the power structures of the videogame, as conceived through this new lens. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv CHAPTER ONE: Introduction 1 AN EVOLVING FIELD 2 LUDOLOGY AND NARRATOLOGY 3 DEFINITIONS, AND THE NAVIGABLE TEXT 6 PLAYER EXPERIENCE AND VIDEOGAME SPACE 11 MARGINS OF DISCUSSION 13 CHAPTER TWO: The videogame from above: the designer as strategist 18 PSYCHOGEOGRAPHY 18 PORTAL AND THE STRATEGIES OF DESIGN 20 STRUCTURES OF POWER 27 RAILS 29 CHAPTER THREE: The videogame from below: the player as tactician 34 THE PLAYER AS NAVIGATOR 36 THE PLAYER AS SUBJECT 38 THE PLAYER AS BRICOLEUR 40 THE PLAYER AS GUERRILLA 43 CHAPTER FOUR: Conclusion 48 BIBLIOGRAPHY 50 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Year-End Report and Quarterly Report October - December 2020-01-01 - 2020-12-31
    YEAR-END REPORT AND QUARTERLY REPORT OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2020-01-01 - 2020-12-31 YEAR-END REPORT AND QUARTERLY REPORT OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2020-01-01 - 2020-12-31 *Please note that this is a translation for information purposes only - in case of any discrepancies between this version and the Swedish, the Swedish version shall prevail. Paradox Interactive AB (publ) • Org.nr: 556667-4759 • Magnus Ladulåsgatan 4, 118 66 Stockholm • www.paradoxinteractive.com 1 YEAR-END REPORT AND QUARTERLY REPORT OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2020-01-01 - 2020-12-31 YEAR-END REPORT AND QUARTERLY REPORT OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2020-01-01 - 2020-12-31 FOURTH QUARTER 2020 IMPORTANT EVENTS IN THE FOURTH QUARTER 2020 • Revenues amounted to MSEK 433.7 (MSEK 381.3), an increase by 14 % • The new game Empire of Sin, developed by Romero Games, was released compared to the same period last year. December 1, 2020. • Operating profit amounted to MSEK 79.5 (MSEK 163.5), a decrease by 51 %. • Two expansions were released during the period; Star Kings for Age of • Profit after financial items amounted to MSEK 78.6 (MSEK 156.7), and profit Wonders: Planetfall, and Battle for the Bosporus for Hearts of Iron IV. after tax amounted to MSEK 59.5 (MSEK 130.5). • The Group’s employees continue to work from home to reduce the spread of • Cash flow from operating activities amounted to MSEK 387.1 (MSEK 265.4), and Covid-19. cash flow from investing activities amounted to MSEK -207.3 (MSEK -135.4). • By the end of the period cash amounted to MSEK 767.6 (MSEK 554.2).
    [Show full text]
  • Investigating the Effect of Pace Mechanic on Player Motivation And
    Investigating the Effect of Pace Mechanic on Player Motivation and Experience by Hala Anwar A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfillment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Applied Science (MASc) in Management Sciences Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2016 © Hala Anwar 2016 AUTHOR'S DECLARATION I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. Hala Anwar ii Abstract Games have long been employed to motivate people towards positive behavioral change. Numerous studies, for example, have found people who were previously disinterested in a task can be enticed to spend hours gathering information, developing strategies, and solving complex problems through video games. While the effect of factors such as generational influence or genre appeal have previously been researched extensively in serious games, an aspect in the design of games that remains unexplored through scientific inquiry is the pace mechanic—how time passes in a game. Time could be continuous as in the real world (real-time) or it could be segmented into phases (turn- based). Pace mechanic is fiercely debated by many strategy game fans, where real-time games are widely considered to be more engaging, and the slower pace of turn-based games has been attributed to the development of mastery. In this thesis, I present the results of an exploratory mixed-methods user study to evaluate whether pace mechanic and type of game alter the player experience and are contributing factors to how quickly participants feel competent at a game.
    [Show full text]
  • Publisher Version (Open Access)
    EUROCENTRIC VALUES AT PLAY MODDING THE COLONIAL FROM THE INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVE RHETT LOBAN AND THOMAS APPERLEY Indigenous people and cultures are rarely included in digital games, and if they are it is often in a rather thoughtless manner. The indigenous peoples and cultures of many parts of the world have been portrayed in digital games in several ways that show little respect or understanding of the important issues these populations face. For example, in the Australian-made Ty the Tasmanian Tiger (Electronic Arts, 2002), Australian Aboriginal people are completely absent, replaced by anthropomorphized indigenous animals some of whom wear traditional face paint, while the plot involves rescuing other animals from the “dreamtime.” So while a secularized white settler version of Aboriginal culture is a core part of the game, the people are absent. The controversial mobile game Survival Island 3: Australia Story (NIL Entertainment, 2015), was removed from the Google Play and Apple stores in January 2016, largely because of an online petition that was concerned the game encouraged violence against indigenous Australians. The game portrayed Aboriginal people as “savages” who contributed to the difficulty of surviving in the Australian outback. Other games have appropriated indigenous iconography and culture, like Mark of Kri (Sony Computer Entertainment, 2002) which used traditional Māori (the indigenous people of Aotearoa/New Zealand) facial tattoo or Tā moko on characters in the game. These examples are disappointing, and seem to represent a common 1 occurrence in commercial non-indigenous media. However, there have also recently been a number of critically acclaimed commercial gaming projects which deal with indigenous culture and issues from an indigenous perspective, for example the game Never Alone/Kisima Inŋitchuŋa (E-Line Media, 2014), made by Upper One Games in partnership with 2 Alaska’s Cook Inlet Tribal Council.
    [Show full text]
  • Embrace the Unexpected: Yet Another Family Conversation
    © 2016 TSJLD & Authors ThaiSim Journal: TSJLD Vol. 1, No.1 (Jan-Jun 2016), 38 – 50 Learning Development (TSJLD) ISSN 2158-5539 http://www.thaisim.org/sgld/ Embrace the unexpected: Yet another family conversation Elizabeth Tipton Eastern Washington University, USA James Murff ArenaNet, USA Abstract This paper summarizes a long conversation between an educational game design mother and her entertainment game tester son that began with a discussion about bugs in video games. Along the way, it led to some interesting observations on emergent behavior and metagaming. Finally, this dialog wandered into experiences with emergent gameplay in the design and implementation of pedagogical simulations and games. The importance of good debriefing in the classroom was also underscored. Keywords: bugs; debriefing; designer-player interaction; emergent behavior, intentional emergent gameplay, metagaming, player agency Introduction: Working definitions of Gaming Simulation Four years ago, the authors made public during panel discussions at ABSEL and ISAGA their conversation on improving educational game design through an understanding of the problems commonly seen in during the testing and consumption of entertainment games. Those dialogues have continued to this day. What follows began over dinner one day when the topic was bugs in video games. 38 Embrace the unexpected: Yet another family conversation Tipton & Murff Bugs Bugs, harmless or otherwise, are a common part of software development. You can't predict every single outcome of a particular scenario, especially when the system is extremely complex. While test cases and extensive QA can help, games always ship with glitches ranging from the hilarious-but-harmless to the game- breaking. Some games ship with so many bugs that they are unplayable, but thoroughly entertaining to watch from the perspective of a horrible disaster playing out.
    [Show full text]
  • Hoi3 Manual.Pdf
    TABLE OF CONTENTS INSTALLATION 6 DIPLOMACY 34 System Requirements 6 D1.0 Faction 34 D2.0 Cores 34 WELCOME 7 D3.0 Threat (Belligerence) & Neutrality 35 Historical Context 7 D4.0 Diplomatic Relations 35 D5.0 Alignment Drift 35 GAME SCREEN, MAPS & INTERFACES 10 D6.0 Diplomatic Actions 36 A 1.0 Startup Options & Startup Screen 10 D7.0 Alliances 37 A2.0 Main Screen Interface 12 D8.0 Trade Agreements 37 A3.0 Main Map 14 D9.0 Expeditionary Forces 37 A4.0 Mapmodes 16 A5.0 Interfaces 18 TECHNOLOGY & RESEARCH 39 How the HOI 3 World Works 23 E1.0 Technology Concept in HOI 3 39 A6.0 Terrain 24 E2.0 Theory vs. Practical 39 A7.0 Weather 24 E3.0 Decay of Knowledge 39 A8.0 Time of Day 26 E4.0 Research 39 A9.0 Resources 26 E5.0 Technology Upgrades 41 E6.0 Licensing Technology 41 ECONOMICS 27 E7.0 Technology Espionage 41 B1.0 Industrial Capacity (IC) 27 B2.0 Demand for Resources 27 POLITICS & GOVERNMENT 42 B3.0 Resources & Trade 27 F1.0 Governments 42 B4.0 Debt 27 F2.0 Internal Politics 43 B5.0 Special Comintern Rule 27 F3.0 Events, Decisions and Laws 43 B6.0 Oil & Fuel 28 F4.0 Mobilization 44 B7.0 Money 28 F5.0 National Unity 44 B8.0 Consumer Goods 28 F6.0 Governments in Exile 45 B9.0 War Exhaustion (WE) 28 F7.0 Occupation Governments & Policies 45 B10.0 Mobilization 28 F8.0 Liberating Countries 46 F9.0 Puppet States 46 PRODUCTION 30 F10.0 Partisans & Rebels 46 C1.0 Manpower 30 F11.0 War Exhaustion 46 C2.0 Unit Production Interfaces 30 F12.0 Surrender, Peace & Annexation 46 C3.0 Carrier Air Groups (CAGs) 32 C4.0 Reserve Divisions 32 INTELLIGENCE & DETECTION
    [Show full text]
  • Game Developer Index 2012 Swedish Games Industry’S Reports 2013 Table of Contents
    GAME DEVELOPER INDEX 2012 SWEDISH GAMES INDUSTRY’S REPORTS 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 WORDLIST 3 PREFACE 4 TURNOVER AND PROFIT 5 NUMBER OF COMPANIES 7 NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 7 GENDER DISTRIBUTION 7 TURNOVER PER COMPANY 7 EMPLOYEES PER COMPANY 8 BIGGEST PLAYERS 8 DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS 8 OUTSOURCING/CONSULTING 9 SPECIALISED SUBCONTRACTORS 9 DLC 10 GAME DEVELOPER MAP 11 LOCATION OF COMPANIES 12 YEAR OF REGISTRY 12 GAME SALES 13 AVERAGE REVIEW SCORES 14 REVENUES OF FREE-TO-PLAY 15 EXAMPLE 15 CPM 16 eCPM 16 NEW SERVICES, NEW PIRACY TARGETS 16 VALUE CHAIN 17 DIGITAL MIDDLEMEN 18 OUTLOOK 18 SWEDISH AAA IN TOP SHAPE 19 CONSOLES 20 PUBISHERS 20 GLOBAL 20 CONCLUSION 22 METHODOLOGY 22 Cover: Mad Max (in development), Avalanche Studios 1 | Game Developer Index 2012 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Game Developer Index maps, reports and analyzes the Swedish game devel- opers’ annual operations and international trends by consolidating their respective annual company accounts. Swedish game development is an export industry and operates in a highly globalized market. In just a few decades the Swedish gaming industry has grown from a hobby for enthusiasts into a global industry with cultural and economic importance. The Game Developer Index 2012 compiles Swedish company accounts for the most recently reported fiscal year. The report highlights: • Swedish game developers’ turnover grew by 60 percent to 414 million euro in 2012. A 215% increase from 2010 to 2012. • Most game developer companies (~60 percent) are profitable and the industry reported a combined profit for the fourth consecutive year. • Job creation and employment is up by 30 percent.
    [Show full text]
  • C:\Documents and Settings\Amir\.Texmacs\System\Tmp
    Strategy Games Refer ence: Andrew R ollings and Ernest Adam s Design, Chapter 10 on Game 1 Intr o duction The origin of strategy games is ro oted in their close cousins, b oar d games. Com puter strategy games have diversied into two main for ms: classical turn-based strategy games ! ! real-time strategy ga mes Real-time strategy gam es ar rived on the scene after turn-based strategy ga mes. 2 Themes Conquest (e .g., Age of Ki ngs). Engage in conict with one or m ore fo es. Exploration (e.g. , Sid Meie r's Col onizati on). Explore a new wor ld. Tr ade (e .g., the Tyco on seri es of games). More of ten than not, a strategy gam e blends these thr ee activ ities. The ex tent to which any par ticula r activ ity is do minant over the other determ ines the over all avor of the gam e. owever, the three activities are usua lly mutually H inter dep endent. 3 Conquest: StarC raft Star Craft uses co nquest as its primary m echanism . Explo ration and trade do feature in the gam e, but only as an enabler for the player to conq uer m ore ectively. e The player must explore the ar ea to b e conq uered and set up resour ce-pro cessing plants to allow reso urces to b e traded fo r weap ons and units. 4 Exploration: Sid Meier's C olonization Sid Meier 's C olonization is primar ily ab out ex plo- ration.
    [Show full text]
  • Postmortem: Arrowhead Game Studios' Magicka
    gamasutra.com http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/134840/postmortem_arrowhead_game_.php?print=1 Postmortem: Arrowhead Game Studios' Magicka By Johan Pilestedt [In this candid and thoughtful postmortem, Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Johan Pilestedt describes the haphazard "process" behind the Sweden-based development of the PC game Magicka, showing how lack of experience can lead to pitfalls, even when you have the best advice.] As I enter the office, I notice the couch in front of the TV is still out of place from the video interviews we did last week. On the wall hangs a spoof Magicka poster, and in a glass display near to the door is our first big award -- the "Swedish Game Awards 2008" trophy, and beside it is Extra Credit's "Most Unbelievable Awesome Fun" award. Programmer Peter Lindgren and CFO Robin Cederholm are discussing their weekends -- it's Monday at Arrowhead Game Studios and I can't help but think how we got to this point, much like Frodo and Sam must've wondered as they returned to the Shire after their long journey. After three and a half years, it is difficult to finally be able to look back at what happened during that last year in college without feeling a darkness stirring inside. Behind our first title, Magicka, hides a story of bravery, pain, personal crisis, and most of all, passion. I will, in the following pages, take you through what we as the developers of this light-hearted game have been through, as well as the rights and wrongs made along the way.
    [Show full text]