Analyzing Games chapters 2-3,5 in the book

[email protected] Reasons to analyze games

 Common structures  Deeper understanding of what games are

 Identify differences  What works and what doesn’t work

 Prove hypothesis  Find or isolate problems

 Learn how a game works  How it affects people  How one can reproduce the effects, i.e. design games Exercise: Quake and Go Fish

Common structures? Differences? Breakout session! Quake and Go Fish

 Comparison to understand what games consist of  Identify formal and dramatic elements  Book uses this to “find” a definition  Closed, formal system  Engages players in structured conflict  Resolves in an unequal outcome Quake and Go Fish, cont.

 Formal elements  Dramatic elements  Players  Challenge  Objectives  Play  Procedures  Premise  Rules  Character  Resources  Story  Conflict  Boundaries  Outcome Ways of studying games, cont. Ways of studying games, cont.

Games Ways of studying games, cont.

Gamers Ways of studying games, cont.

Gaming Focus for this course

Gaming

Specifically gameplay, i.e. rule constructs, gameplay Games mechanisms Systems Systems: basic concepts

 “Set of interacting or interdependent entities”  System  Objects  Properties  Behaviors  Relationships  Open and closed systems  Economies  Exchange of something (e.g. objects)  Agents of exchange  Methods of exchange (actions) Systems: basic concepts

 State machine  State  Initial  End  Goal  Events (or rules)  update the state  can be initiated by actions from players or previous events Games as emergent systems

 Types of systems  Fixed  Periodic  Complex  Chaotic  Emergent systems generate unpredictable patterns of complexity  1+1=3 (the sum is more than the parts)  Coupled and Context-dependent  (Orthogonal Unit Differentiation)  Players can create emergence  Bluffing in Poker  Second-order effect  as gameplay Example: Game of Life

 Rules to apply per turn  'populated‘ spaces  Neighbors <= 1 -> remove  Neighbors >= 4 -> remove  'empty‘ spaces  Neighbors = 3 -> add

 Turing equivalent Games as cybernetic systems

 “the science of communication and control theory that is concerned especially with the comparative study of automatic control systems”  Components  A sensor  which provides input to  A comparator  which directs a  An activator  that changes the environment detected by the sensor  Negative feedback loop  Bring the sensor value to a stable value  Positive feedback loop  Bring sensor value to an extreme value Games as cybernetic systems, cont.  Uses in games  Negative feedback  Balancing Effects  Prolongs the game  Magnifies late successes  Positive feedback  Destabilizes the game  Shortens the game  Magnifies early successes  Feedback loops can be emergent features  Feedback system take control away from players  Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment Example: SimWars SimWar

-Production

-Offense

-Defense Cost : 5

50/50

Cost : 1 Cost : 2

Short term Long term Risk - Reward

High Low Types of Rules

From Rules of Play Additional distinctions  Operational Rules  “Rules of Play”  Instantiation Level  Written rules in traditional games  Game rules  Constitutive Rules  Gaming rules  Underlying formal structures  Consequences and emergent features  Explicitly changed rules  Implicit Rules  House Rules  Good sportsmanship  Let other player “take back” a move  Explain options and consequences Rules of Play example: Tic-Tac- Toe Rules of Play example: Tic-Tac- Toe  Operational Rules  X starts; alternate placing one symbol on free space; wins if three-in-a-row; draw if no free spaces  Constitutive Rules  Unwinnable if both players play optimally  Implicit Rules  Not tell other player constitutive rules? No Thanks! (pay attention – this game is part of assignment 2) Tools for analyzing games

[email protected] Design Languages J. Rheinfrank & S. Evenson in Bringing Design to Software (Ed. T. Winograd)

 Purpose and Use  Allows designers to embed meaning into artifacts  Allow artifacts to express meaning to people  Related to the concept of affordances  Allow artifacts to be assimilated into peoples’ lives  Components  Collection of elements  Principles of organization  How the elements relate and interact with each other  Qualifying situations  When is it suitable to use components

 Gameplay design  Deals with an abstract and emergent feature – interaction  Needs to deal with both the interaction itself and that which enables the interaction  Elements can help explain system parts more efficiently Gameplay Mechanics Sicart, M. Defining Game Mechanics. Game Studies, volume 8, issue 2, December 2008. ISSN:1604-7982. http://gamestudies.org/0802/articles/sicart

 Often called game mechanics…  Everyday concept for discussing gameplay  E.g. roll and move, co-op, turn-taking, cards, catch-up, roleplaying, worker placement, victory points, …  This is not how we use mechanics in this course!  Mixes different types of concepts  Components, actions, goals, compounds of these  One definition (Sicart 2008):  “methods invoked by agents, designed for interaction with the game state”  This is how we use mechanics in this course!  Best formalize as verbs: climb, draw card, double jump Gameplay Design Patterns Björk, S., Lundgren, S. & Holopainen, j. Game Design Patterns. DiGRA '03 - Proceedings of the 2003 DiGRA International Conference: Level Up, 2003, Volume: 2. ISBN / ISNN: ISSN 2342-9666. http://www.digra.org/digital-library/publications/game-design-patterns/

 Originally an concept developed for Architecture but applied to many fields…  A way to describe components on all levels within the design language  Support understanding existing designs  Offers possible explanations to why these design choices have been made  Codify unintentional features so they can be intentional choices in later designs  Support making design choices  What is required to make a pattern emerge  What consequences do a pattern have?  Not only problem solving http://virt10.itu.chalmers.se/index.php/Main_Page Game Design Pattern Examples

 Power-Ups  Boss Monster  Paper-Rock-Scissor  Cut Scenes

 Role Reversal  Parallel Lives  Orthogonal Unit Differentiation  Social Interaction Game Design Pattern - Format

 Name  Introduction  One line description  Short stand-alone description  Examples  Using the Pattern  Consequences  Relations  Instantiates – Instantiated by  Modulates – Modulated by  Possibly Conflicting with

 Minimal requirements: name, definition, relations Examples of relations between

GDPs Surprises Luck

Analysis Paralysis Limited Foresight

Randomness Fixed Distributions

Drawing Stacks Cards Dice

D4 D6 D8 D10 D12 D20 Mechanics & Patterns - what is the difference?!?  Basically, two things  Relations  Sicart talk about the need to trace relationships but does not argue for documenting these  Provides specific ones found in specific games  Patterns includes more abstract phenomena  Not only verbs  Observable features and experiences  For example, Surprises and Spectacular Failure Enjoyment Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics http://algorithmancy.8kindsoffun.com/

Marc LeBlanc (Ultima Underworld II, System Shock, Flight Unlimited, Terra Nova, Thief I-II, Deus Ex, NFL 2K2, NBA 2K2, Oasis, Field Commander) MDA - overview

 Games are state machines  Games are programs

Code Rules Mechanics

Processes Game Sessions Dynamics

Requirements “Fun” Aesthetics MDA – Comments about aesthetics

 “We need to understand the emotional requirements of our software”  Fun, challenge, sense of achievement, sorrow, frustration

 Regarding requirements  “With productivity software, the user brings his goals to the application”  “With games, the application brings goals to the user”  Regarding goals  “As designers, we can choose certain aesthetics as goals for our game design”  Aesthetics of gameplay?  “As with other software, our process is driven by requirements, not features” MDA - Eight Kinds of "Fun"

1. Sensation 5. Fellowship Game as sense-pleasure Game as social framework 2. Fantasy 6. Discovery Game as make-believe Game as uncharted territory 3. Narrative 7. Expression Game as drama Game as self-discovery 4. Challenge 8. Submission Game as obstacle course Game as pastime

What are your two or three favorites? Mentimeter: Examples of relations between

GDPs Surprises (A) Luck (A)

Analysis Paralysis (D) Limited Foresight (D)

Randomness (D) Fixed Distributions (D)

Drawing Stacks (M) Cards (M) Dice (M)

D4 D6 D8 D10 D12 D20 Assignment 2 Game Analysis using Machinations and i*

Some necessary parts introduced in the next lecture… Analyze No Thanks & Catan

 You should answer the following questions for these two games:  What design structures are used to keep players engaged with the game, both regarding interest and regarding actively doing actions?  What design structures are used to make the games typically end near the stated time (given players that know the rules)?  What design structures are used to make players interact with each other, or at least have a feeling that they have been playing a game together?  What design structures exist to make players feel that they are achieving something while they are playing? Analyze No Thanks & Catan

 Requirements of the text:  Have descriptions of the games and their gameplay making use of game mechanics and gameplay design patterns (core gameplay should be covered, the whole games cannot be covered) and relate these to the MDA model  Have clear explicit use of game mechanics and gameplay design patterns (i.e. marked with italics, bold, or SMALL CAPS; explain marking style)  Patterns and mechanics you have identified should be defined, others should have references  Models of both games in i* that showing how players' goals work towards winning states as well as can work against each other (use the creative leaf software and take screenshots)  Models of both games in Machinations showing how the game progresses towards an end game state and what feedback loops you can identify (use the machination software and take screenshots)  Have a discussion what you could not capture due to limitations in the tools Requirements

 Number of people: 2  Form groups yourself

 Deadline: Monday 20201124 21:59  Length: maximum of 8 pages

 Learning objectives  Describe gameplay of two games using academic concepts  Model games with various tools to provide different types of analysis  Argue how players goals can affect actions and the goals of other players  Argue how games can be designed to end after a certain number of moves with a good probability  Show a critical perspective towards the concepts, frameworks, and tools Hints

 Introduce mechanics and patterns you will be using to answer the questions as early as possible and re-use them later  So perhaps already in the descriptions of the overall gameplay  Answer each question for both games at the same time  So go through the questions one and one, not the game one and one  Your models should help you answer your questions  So refer to them when answering the questions  Show that you can use mechanics, patterns, and the MDA model fluently by using them consistently throughout the text  This may include having them as parts in the models...  Look for feedback loops  Iterate…  You can’t get all these things in place in the first try…  And you should start working on this before the lecture introducing Machinations and i*! Most Important Hints

 Sign up for Machinations!  https://my.machinations.io/  Participate in exercise 2  Will introduce Catan  Will let you practice on identifying patterns Thank you! Worked example (part 1/3)