CSE1GDT from Ideas to Designs

Paul Taylor 2010

April 14, 2000....

http://www.mygaming.co.za/news/files.php?file=daikatana_bitch_214145160.jpg

Expectations...

• 40 Million Dollars later it sold...

• 200,000 Copies

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:G4-Zr60TjkWgdM:http://www.deafgamers.com/daikatana1.jpg&t=1

Daikatana

• On the Nintendo 64 one could NOT use the Daikatana!!!

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/2q00/daikatana/daik5.jpg

The Adventures of Toastie

(Toastie is the cat from last week)Art style• Perhaps modelling clay....

http://group-ssjp.wikispaces.com/file/view/w%26g.jpg/137706741/w%26g.jpg

Girls vs Boys

• What do you know about the differences in play?

• What games do kids play at school?

Girls vs Boys

• Competition vs Cooperation

• Social Interaction?

• As of 2008

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3529/academic_expansion__how_rare_.php

Rare use 90% Graduates

Designing DifficultyPart 1 - Challenges

Challenge Hierarchies

Atomic Challenges

http://www.planetization.org/atomic-bomb.jpg

Overall Challenges

• Typically just one!

http://blog.iqmatrix.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/goal-setting.jpg

Intermediate Challenges

• These ones are the ‘meat’ of your game

http://www.djibnet.com/photo/95137658-stuck-in-the-middle-with-you.jpg

Applied to Toastie’s Adventure...

http://www.designersnotebook.com/Lectures/Rethinking/rethinking.htm

Stress and Absolute Difficulty

• When players must perform multiple Atomic Challenges at once stress is introduced into the gameplay– It is up to you to decide whether you want stress,

and how much!• The number of types of challenge a player

must address will also affect game complexity

Designing DifficultyPart 2 – Three Curves of Doom

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR_ZK7nzV-56HDA3o2tQwuSag7cuq0FPGYIq18g3Vcn8NIfils&t=1&usg=__KhduWkcfEUdJ9hRieaYRJzZ-V6g=

#1 - Absolute Difficulty

• Intrinsic Skill required and Stressfulness of the challenge put together.– Difficulty levels can be used to give players a

choice of stress and the skill they possess• Stress is also related to the players skill

– Lower skill will provide a higher stress on the player

• Skill vs Difficulty

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTpfa1ZUXKHlfAr6Ku8-xH9xiIbwjL8rSe0B60oRUPcbyv11G0&t=1&usg=__7abfFgNdSj0v6yqGttP8bRPWSZ0=

#2 - Relative Difficulty

• Difficulty is relative to Power

• How does the player’s power affect the difficulty of the game?

• Cheats?

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQZv83c9etk-9PFtfL2jly9fzlnpdUGcdRKxEOYw3s-hQvmqZ4&t=1&usg=__DxzJwTb0nDQSTloWRMRGi3tG2a0=

• Does it move?

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSi0MCut-l4rbS-RDjD_7ztvxV-znyeCUqjTVKbxx2Xb8uDOaU&t=1&usg=__YQhf1_I4GB47gF5ibFU7gdRdINA=

http://media.ebaumsworld.com/picture/SomeAsshole/DepthPerception.png

#3 - Perceived Difficulty

• What does the player’s skill do to difficulty?• How can you be sure the players’ skills are

increasing?– We want to avoid this!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MjO6vUg9oFk/S9kWIECKbdI/AAAAAAAAAug/fmjL8TcE5TI/s1600/Rage%20Quit%20C.jpg

Impaired Players

• For some target groups the perceived difficulty should remain fairly constant

• Such as......?

http://images.mmosite.com/news/2009/06/17/perception/perception02.jpg

Now for some challenges

This is NOT the definitive challenge list

It will get you started thinking (I hope)

Common Challenge Types

• Physical Coordination– Time Pressure– Speed and Reaction– Intuitive Physics– Timing and Rhythm– Combination Moves

• Logic and Mathematical Challenges– Formal Logic Puzzles– Mathematical Challenges

• Races and Time-Pressure• Factual Knowledge• Memory Challenges• Pattern Recognition Challenges

• Exploration Challenges– Spatial Awareness Challenges– Locked Doors– Traps– Mazes and Illogical Spaces– Teleporters

• Conflict– Strategy– Logistics– Survival and Reduction of Enemy Forces– Defending Vulnerable Items or Units– Stealth

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ilQ6ifxIjEXB0M:http://www.goodbyegamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/RageQuit-Reptar-KICK-THIS-NUB-OR-IM-LEAVING.jpg&t=1

• Economic Challenges– Accumulating Resources– Achieving Balance– Caring for Living Things

• Conceptual Reasoning and Lateral Thinking Puzzles– Conceptual Reasoning– Lateral Thinking

Interlude

Inadvertent Challenges

• We want to avoid these.....

• What are they?

• Now we need a context for the most common type.....

Context: Player Actions

• The combination of the player (user) interface and the players actions– Actions should only be able to do atomic

challenges– The Defeat Boss button is not a terribly exciting

idea

– Now for one of the most common types of inadvertent challenge....

The dangers of poor interfaces

What happens when the player can not perform the atomic challenges properly?

GTA IV

Halo 3

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Halo_3_control_scheme.jpg

Which is better? Duh!

Defining and Grouping Actions

– Actions for Gameplay– Actions for Fun (Unstructured Play)– Actions for Customisation– Actions for Socialisation (Multiplayer games)– Story Participation Actions– Interface customisation Actions (Game Settings)

Disclaimer

• That was not a complete list of Actions, but gives you an idea of what to consider

• You don’t always have to have the action players want. Sometimes they want something that doesn’t support the experience you are trying to create– Ghost Recon FPS mode / Fallout 3– Resident Evil 5 Run & Gun / Machete

The EndReferences• Adams and Rollings on Game Design

Gamer Score:• http://

media.giantbomb.com/uploads/1/19026/1196170-080313_super.jpg

Choose Your Own Adventure Books ++http://

apple.slashdot.org/story/10/08/18/0257252/Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-On-Your-iPhone