Fundamentals of Game Design, 2 nd Edition by Ernest Adams Chapter 16: Sports Games.

Fundamentals of Game Design, 2nd Edition

by Ernest Adams

Chapter 16: Sports Games

Chapter 16 Sports Games 2© 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. 2

Objectives

Know the definition of athletic sports games and be familiar with the types of challenges that these types of sports games offer

Understand the challenges of meeting players’ expectations about a real-world game in a video game implementation


Objectives (Cont.)

Know the basics of adapting a physical sports game mechanic to a virtual world

Understand the design complexities for physics, AI, and player skill ratings required for a sports game

Use flowcharting to help define AI states within a sports game


Objectives (Cont.)

Know the issues involved in licensing sports organizations, teams, and players, including the use of names and images

Understand mapping known physical game play mechanics to computer-human interface devices

Chapter 16 Sports Games 5© 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.

What Are Sports Games?

A sports game simulates some aspect of a real or imaginary athletic sport, whether it is playing in matches, managing a team or career, or both

Match play makes use of physical and strategic challenges

The management challenges are chiefly economic


Game Features

Game structure Main gameplay mode is match play Outside of match play, game’s modes relate to

other aspects of the sport Pause the game for coaching tasks

Player roles Athlete is most common role—player follows the

action rather than a single athlete in team sports Player may also take role of coach or manager


Game Features (Cont.)

Gameplay and rules Challenges and actions match the sport

Athlete—Physical challenges Coach—Strategic challenges

Rules might have to be relaxed because controlling athletes onscreen does not correspond exactly to real-life sports experiences

Need to decide what to do about athlete mistakes outside of player control Allow players to set referee parameters



Competition modes All competition modes are allowed Sports games are more popular on consoles to

permit multiplayer competition One mode should include computer versus itself

so players can watch a match



Victory and loss conditions Match real sport’s victory and loss conditions Modes

Season mode Exhibition mode Sudden death Round robin Tournament mode Franchise mode



Opportunities for creative play Team creation—players create their own teams Strategy design—players can create their own

strategies Playing field design—players can edit the shape

of the playing field if sport allows this option



Inventing a sport is a risky option that is hard to sell

Weather Weather can invoke special rules Weather affects the game

Instant replay is an essential feature Include all usual video forward/reverse features Allow player to move camera around Allow locking the camera to an athlete or the ball


Core Mechanics

Physics for sports games Physics engine determines the behavior of

moving bodies in the match Physics should not be perfectly realistic because

Player does not have precise control Player is not a professional athlete


Core Mechanics (Cont.)

Rating the athletes Developing ratings is a big task Ratings provide data for the physics engine to

simulate the athletes accurately Common ratings are provided for all athletes—

speed, agility, weight, etc. Specialized ratings apply to specific positions—

passing strength, passing accuracy, etc.



Athlete AI design Define the state space

Play in a match is broken into states defined by rules and strategy (e.g., fly ball, foul ball, grounder, strikeout)

Create a flowchart to map the game’s states Set collective and individual goals in each state

Individual goals are what each athlete tries to achieve in the course of playing his position

Collective goal is what the team is trying to achieve as a whole; the collective goal determines individual goals



Injuries Injuries introduce some chance Allow players to turn off injuries

Arcade mode versus simulation mode Arcade mode increases action and decreases

realism; produces higher scores Simulation mode increases realism but probably

decreases action



Simulating matches automatically Computer plays out matches and records results To fake results quickly, roll dice to generate game

scores Scores must be restricted to a credible range Doesn’t generate other statistics

Allowing a home field advantage is not recommended


The Game World

Setting Accurate copies of real stadiums and arenas Weather significantly affects games played

outdoors Crowd noises contribute to setting


The Game World (Cont.)

Licenses, trademarks, and publicity rights Team and league trademarks

In America, the league holds the license to use the team and league names, logos, uniform designs, etc.

A variety of governing bodies manage individual sports Events are owned by the organization producing them Stadiums are now asserting trademark rights too

Personal publicity rights owned by the athlete or an organization


The Game World (Cont.)

Audio commentary Needed to feel like you’re watching the match on

television Play-by-play and color commentary Note the events that should trigger a specific

comment


The Presentation Layer

Interaction model Player usually controls an avatar Which athlete is being controlled can change as

the play progresses (in team sports) Camera models

Don’t use first-person; players watch the athletes Overhead—individual sports End view or side view—team sports Picture-in-picture—sports with more than one

focal point, e.g. baseball or cricket


The Presentation Layer (Cont.)

User interface design Input Devices

Motion-sensitive (e.g. Wii controller) best for sports In team games, let the player press a button to switch

control to the most appropriate defending athlete Displays

User interface can change every second, depending on conditions in the match

Each state requires a set of options Mark the controlled athlete with a label Use overlays rather than pull-down menus


Summary

You should now understand How to identify a sports game How to describe the player’s expectations for a

sports game How to adapt a sport for a video game How to rate players How to flowchart states in a match How to license teams and players How to create a user interface for a sports game

Fundamentals of Game Design, 2 nd Edition by Ernest Adams Chapter 16: Sports Games.

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