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LUDIC VISUALS the Visualizations of Game Mechanics

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LUDIC VISUALS the Visualizations of Game Mechanics LUDIC VISUALS The Visualizations of Game Mechanics Laura Laakso Master’s Thesis Master of Arts in New Media New Media: Game Design and Production Department of Media School of Arts, Design and Architecture Aalto University 2019 P.O. BOX 31000, 00076 AALTO www.aalto.fi Master of Arts thesis abstract Author Laura Laakso Title of thesis Ludic Visuals: The Visualizations of Game Mechanics Advisor Laura Valojärvi Supervisor Miikka Junnila Department Department of Media Degree program New Media: Game Design and Production Year 2019 Number of pages 167 Language English BSTRACT A There is a lot of systemic information in games, but its visual expression has been a relatively under-researched phenomenon. Earlier research tends to pair the visual presentation of games together with the game narrative. However, game mechanics can also be expressed visually. In this thesis, game mechanics are the parts that form the game system such as the rules, the events, and the pieces of a game. This thesis studies how game mechanics are visualized. My research hypothesis suggests that there are components that consist of both game- mechanical and visual aspects. I have named them ludic visuals. This research identifies and explores the presence of ludic visuals in games from the perspective of what is available for a player. This thesis is largely based on previous game research and various theories of perception and experiencing. The experience of being inside a gameworld is deemed similar to the experience of being inside the real world, which made it possible to approach ludic visuals as functional parts of gameworlds. With the means of thematic analysis, this research examines ludic visuals in various games based on both theory and my own experience with games. The research suggests that ludic visuals consist of three aspects that also were the main themes of the thematic analysis: ludological elements are the features that are related to game mechanics, visual attributes define the visible appearance, and experiential dimensions address the impact that ludic visuals have on game experiences. The analysis showed that exactly the same ludological elements can be visualized in various ways, and the same visual attributes can be used to express different game mechanics. However, the research also discovered that ludic visuals are intrinsically subjective because their definition is ultimately based on subjective views about how they are experienced. Based on the results of the analysis, ludovisual principles were defined as guidelines for considering ludovisuality. Elegance was proposed as a quality for the excellence of ludovisual solutions. This thesis presents a new approach and vocabulary to discuss the visualization of game mechanics. Ludic visuals are present in practically all visual games even though they have not been identified in this manner before. Being able to recognize ludovisual components can help with making more informed decisions while designing them. Therefore, better ludovisual understanding can lead to a more comprehensive academic discourse in the field of game design, and also to more efficient game development as a whole. Keywords ludic visual, ludovisuality, visualizing game mechanics, artificial ecological reality, visual game design, gameworld interface, interaction visualization, visualization, game design, visual design PL 11000, 00076 AALTO www.aalto.fi Taiteen maisterin opinnäytteen tiivistelmä TeKijä Laura Laakso Työn nimi Ludovisuaalit: Pelimekaniikkojen visualisoinnit Ohjaaja Laura Valojärvi Valvoja Miikka Junnila Laitos Median laitos Koulutusohjelma New Media: Game Design and Production Vuosi 2019 Sivumäärä 167 Kieli Englanti BSTRAKTI A Systeemistä informaatiota on peleissä paljon, mutta sen visuaaliselle ilmaisulle ei juurikaan ole esitetty yhtenäisiä lähestymistapoja. Aiemmat tutkimukset yhdistävät pelien visuaalisen ilmaisun usein pelien tarinankerrontaan, mutta tarinoiden lisäksi myös pelimekaniikkoja voidaan ilmaista visuaalisin keinoin. Pelimekaniikoilla tarkoitetaan tässä tutkimuksessa niitä osia, joista pelisysteemit koostuvat kuten pelin säännöt, pelin tapahtumat ja pelinappulat. Tutkielmani tarkastelee, kuinka pelimekaniikkoja visualisoidaan. Tutkimuksen alussa hypoteesini ehdotti, että on olemassa pelimekaniikoista ja visuaalisista ominaisuuksista koostuvia komponentteja. Olen nimennyt ne ludovisuaaleiksi (engl. ludic visuals). Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan ludovisuaalien ilmentymistä pelaajan näkökulmasta. Tutkimus pohjautui suurilta osin aiempaan pelitutkimukseen sekä eri teorioihin havaitsemisesta ja kokemisesta. Pelimaailmojen kokeminen rinnastettiin todellisen maailman kokemiseen, minkä kautta myös ludovisuaaleja voitiin tarkastella pelimaailmojen toiminnallisina osasina. Eri pelien ludovisuaaleja tutkittiin sekä näiden teorioiden että tekijän pelikokemusten pohjalta temaattisessa analyysissa. Tutkimus havaitsi ludovisuaalien koostuvan kolmesta aspektista, jotka nousivat myös temaattisen analyysin pääteemoiksi: ludologiset elementit ovat pelimekaniikkoihin liittyviä seikkoja, visuaaliset ominaisuudet määrittelevät näkyvän ilmiasun ja kokemukselliset ulottuvuudet käsittelevät ludovisuaalien vaikutusta pelikokemukseen kokonaisuudessaan. Analyysi nosti esille, että samoja pelimekaniikkoja voidaan ilmaista monilla eri visuaalisilla keinoilla ja että samoja visuaalisia keinoja voidaan myös käyttää eri mekaniikkojen ilmaisuun. Tutkimus kuitenkin myös havaitsi, että ludovisuaalit ovat itsessään subjektiivisia, sillä niiden määritys perustuu ennen kaikkea näkemyksiin niiden kokemisesta. Lopuksi tutkimustulosten perusteella ludovisuaalisuuden huomioimiseen esitettiin ludovisuaalisuuden periaatteet. Ludovisuaalisten ratkaisujen taidokkuudelle ehdotettiin käsitettä ludovisuaalinen eleganssi. Tämä tutkielma esittää uuden lähestymistavan ja sanaston pelimekaniikkojen visualisoinnille. Ludovisuaalien todettiin olevan läsnä lähes kaikissa visuaalisissa peleissä, vaikka niitä ei ole aiemmin tunnistettu tällä tavoin. Ludovisuaalisten piirteiden tunnistaminen voi kuitenkin auttaa tekemään tietoisempia valintoja niiden suunnittelussa. Parempi ymmärrys ludovisuaaleista voi siis johtaa paitsi kattavampaan akateemiseen keskusteluun pelisuunnittelusta, myös kokonaisuudessaan tehokkaampaan pelinkehitykseen. Avainsanat ludovisuaali, ludovisuaalisuus, pelimekaniikkojen visualisointi, keinotekoinen ekologinen todellisuus, visuaalinen pelisuunnittelu, pelimaailmakäyttöliittymä, vuorovaikutuksen visualisointi, visualisointi, pelisuunnittelu, visuaalinen suunnittelu TABLE OF CONTENTS vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ............................................................................................................. iii Abstrakti ............................................................................................................. v Table of Contents .............................................................................................. vii List of Figures .................................................................................................... ix 1. Introduction................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Topic and Context .................................................................................... 2 1.2. Focus ....................................................................................................... 8 1.3. Relevance .............................................................................................. 10 1.4. Thesis Statement .................................................................................... 11 1.5. Overview ............................................................................................... 12 2. Methodology ................................................................................................ 13 2.1. Starting to Research Ludic Visuals ......................................................... 14 2.2. Gathering Ludovisual Data ..................................................................... 16 2.3. Thematic Analysis.................................................................................. 18 2.4. Ludovisual Status ................................................................................... 20 3. Theoretical Foundation ............................................................................... 23 3.1. Ludic Visuals and Ludology ................................................................... 24 3.2. Ludic Visuals and Visual Research ......................................................... 26 3.3. Ludic Visuals and Game Experience ...................................................... 28 4. Theme I: Ludological Elements .................................................................. 31 4.1. About Ludological Elements of Ludic Visuals ........................................ 33 4.2. Visualizing the Feel of Holistic Elements ............................................... 36 4.3. Displaying the States of Structural Elements........................................... 42 4.4. Presenting the Directives of Boundary Elements..................................... 51 4.5. Showing Visual Feedback for Temporal Elements .................................. 57 5. Theme II: Visual Attributes ........................................................................ 63 5.1. About Visual Attributes of Ludic Visuals ............................................... 65 5.2. Ludic Visuals as Depictions ..................................................................
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