Found ABSTRACT People in all known cultures play games and to- (1) An analytical contribution to understan- at day digital gaming is an important leisure activity ding gameplay was done in the gameplay design ion FoundationS oF GAmeplAy for hundreds of millions of people. At the same patterns work. The patterns are described as an time game design has developed into a profession approach to both analyse existing games and aid of its own. There are several practical game design in designing new games. The patterns describe S o guidelines and text books but they rarely manage recurrent gameplay structures and also analyse F to connect their findings into relevant areas of these structures from the design material point G research such as psychology and design research. of view. A Understanding game design, both as an activity (2) A theoretical study of basis for gameplay ex- mepl and as an end result of that activity, in a more periences was conducted through review of rele- profound way could alleviate this problem. vant models and theories in neuroaesthetics, cog- The main goals of this thesis are to understand nitive and social psychology and game research. A y in a more profound way how to design games and The framework offered in the thesis explains why based on that understanding develop frameworks certain gameplay structures are more recurrent Jussi Holopainen and methods for aiding game design. By exten- based on defining gameplay as caricatures of in- ding knowledge about game design can not only tentional behaviour. improve the quality of the end-products but also (3) The game design patterns approach and re- expand the potential design space even in unpre- search through design projects have contributed dictable ways. to the analysis of game design as an activity and Game design contains many sub-areas. Cha- practical guidelines for concrete design work in racter, story, and environment design are integral more specific areas of game design. parts of the current game development projects. The goals of this thesis are ambitious and many The aim of this thesis, however, is to have a critical questions are left unanswered. Using the patterns and exploratory look at structures of gameplay approach in conjunction with game design and as design material. Gameplay is the interaction ideation methods is still in its infancy. The con- between the game rules, challenges, elements, and cept of gameplay as caricatures of intentional be- players. In one sense gameplay defines the game. haviour should be explored further, especially in The focus of the thesis is mainly analytical, alt- conjunction with other theories and frameworks hough parts of the results are based on practical relevant for understanding gameplay experience research through design activities. The thesis con- such as user engagement, immersion, and pre- tributes to game research in three interralated sence. Empirical experiments validating or falsify- ways: ing this view on gameplay would be valuable as further contributions to game research. Holopainen Jussi Blekinge Institute of Technology Doctoral Dissertation Series No. 2011:02 2011:02 ISSN 1653-2090 School of Computing 2011:02 ISBN: 978-91-7295-196-9 Foundations of Gameplay Jussi Holopainen Blekinge Institute of Technology Doctoral Dissertation Series No 2011:02 Foundations of Gameplay Jussi Holopainen School of Computing Blekinge Institute of Technology SWEDEN © 2011 Jussi Holopainen School of Computing Publisher: Blekinge Institute of Technology Printed by Printfabriken, Karlskrona, Sweden 2011 ISBN: 978-91-7295-196-9 Blekinge Institute of Technology Doctoral Dissertation Series ISSN 1653-2090 urn:nbn:se:bth-00484 Dedicated to my family: Eira, Eino, Yrjö, Petra, Ville, Terhi, and Hilla Emilia. ABSTRACT People in all known cultures play games and today digital gaming is an important leisure activity for hundreds of millions of people. At the same time game design has developed into a profession of its own. There are several practical game design guidelines and text books but they rarely manage to connect their findings into relevant areas of research such as psychology and design research. Understanding game design, both as an activity and as an end result of that activity, in a more profound way could alleviate this problem. The main goals of this thesis are to understand in a more pro- found way how to design games and based on that understanding develop frameworks and methods for aiding game design. By extend- ing knowledge about game design can not only improve the quality of the end-products but also expand the potential design space even in unpredictable ways. Game design contains many sub-areas. Character, story, and environment design are integral parts of the current game development projects. The aim of this thesis, however, is to have a critical and ex- ploratory look at structures of gameplay as design material. Gameplay is the interaction between the game rules, challenges, elements, and players.In one sense gameplay defines the game. The focus of the thesis is mainly analytical, although parts of the results are based on practical research through design activities. The thesis contributes to game research in three interralated ways: (1) An analytical contribution to understanding gameplay was done in the gameplay design patterns work. The patterns are described as an approach to both analyse existing games and aid in designing new games. The patterns describe recurrent gameplay structures and also analyse these structures from the design material point of view. (2) A theoretical study of basis for gameplay experiences was conducted through review of relevant models and theories in neu- roaesthetics, cognitive and social psychology and game research. The framework offered in the thesis explains why certain gameplay struc- tures are more recurrent based on defining gameplay as caricatures of intentional behaviour. (3) The game design patterns approach and research through design projects have contributed to the analysis of game design as an activity and practical guidelines for concrete design work in more specific areas of game design. The goals of this thesis are ambitious and many questions are left unanswered. Using the patterns approach in conjunction with game design and ideation methods is still in its infancy. The concept of game- play as caricatures of intentional behaviour should be explored further, especially in conjunction with other theories and frameworks relevant for understanding gameplay experience such as user engagement, im- mersion, and presence. Empirical experiments validating or falsifying vii this view on gameplay would be valuable as further contributions to game research. viii PUBLICATIONS Publications included in this thesis I Björk, S. and Holopainen, J. (2005) Patterns in Game Design, Charles River Media, 2005. II Björk, S. and Holopainen, J. (2005) "Games and Design Patterns" in The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology, MIT Press, 2005. III Holopainen, J., Björk, S., Kuittinen, J. (2007) "Teaching Game- play Design Patterns". Proceedings of ISAGA 2007, July 2007, Nijmegen, Netherlands. Won the Best Paper Award of the confer- ence. IV Holopainen, J., Björk, S. (2008) "Gameplay Design Patterns for Mo- tivation". Proceedings of ISAGA 2008, July 2008, Kaunas, Lithua- nia. V Holopainen, J., Meyers, S. (2000) "Neuropsychology and Game Design". Paper at Consciousness Reframed III, 2000, Newport, UK. Available at http://stephan.com/NeuroBio.html. VI Holopainen, J. (2008) "Play, Games, and Fun" in Extending Expe- riences, University of Lapland, 2008. VII Holopainen, J. and Järvinen, A. (2005) "Ludology for Game De- velopers" in Introduction to Game Development, Charles River Media, 2005. VIII Ollila, E.M.I, Suomela, R., Holopainen, J. (2008) "Using prototypes in early pervasive game development", Computers in Entertain- ment, Volume 6, Issue 2 (April/June 2008). IX Holopainen, J., Waern, A. (2009) “Designing Pervasive Games for Mobile Phones” in Pervasive Games: Theory and Design, Morgan Kaufmann, 2009. X Kuittinen, J., Holopainen, J. (2009) "Some Notes on the Nature of Game Design", DIGRA 2009 Conference, September 2009, London, UK. Other publications not included in the thesis 1 Björk, S., Holopainen, J., Ljungstrand, P., and Mandryk, R. (2002b). Special issue on ubiquitous games. Personal Ubiquitous Comput., 6(5- 6):358–361. 2 Björk, S., Holopainen, J., Ljungstrand, P., and Akesson, K.-P. (2002a). Designing ubiquitous computing games - a report from a workshop exploring ubiquitous computing entertainment. Per- sonal Ubiquitous Comput., 6(5-6):443 – 458. 3 Paavilainen, J., Korhonen, H., Saarenpää, H., and Holopainen, J. (2009). Player perception of context information utilization in pervasive mobile games. In Barry, A., Helen, K., and Tanya, K., editors, Breaking New Ground: Innovation in Games, Play, Prac- tice and Theory: Proceedings of the 2009 Digital Games Research Association Conference, London. Brunel University. ix 4 Björk, S. and Holopainen, J. (2003). Describing games: An interaction- centric structural framework. In Marinka, C. and Joost, R., editors, Level Up Conference Proceedings: Proceedings of the 2003 Digital Games Research Association Conference, page CD Rom, Utrecht. University of Utrecht. 5 Björk, S., Lundgren, S., and Holopainen, J. (2003). Game design patterns. In Marinka, C. and Joost, R., editors, Level Up Confer- ence Proceedings: Proceedings of the 2003 Digital Games Research Association Conference, pages 180–193, Utrecht. University