fundamentals of game design

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CHAPTER 5: CREATIVE AND EXPRESSIVE PLAY A. FONSECA FEBRUARY 2011 Fundamentals of Game Design

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Fundamentals of Game Design. Chapter 5: Creative and Expressive Play a. Fonseca February 2011. Creative and Expressive Play. Self Defining Play Forms of Personal Expression (Avatars) Understanding Attributes Creative Play Constrained Freeform (Sandbox) Storytelling Play - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: Fundamentals of Game Design

CHAPTER 5: CREATIVE AND

EXPRESSIVE PLAY

A . F O N S E C AF E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 1

Fundamentals of Game Design

Page 2: Fundamentals of Game Design

Creative and Expressive Play

Self Defining Play Forms of Personal Expression (Avatars) Understanding Attributes

Creative Play Constrained Freeform (Sandbox)

Storytelling PlayGame Modifications

Level Editors Bots

Page 3: Fundamentals of Game Design

Self Defining Play

Self defining play lets players project their personality into a game.

Avatars Represent the player in a game-world. Examples:

Nintendo Mii The boot in monopoly

Can represent a player’s alter ego. Selecting, customizing, or creating avatars is Self

Defining Play.

Page 4: Fundamentals of Game Design

Self Defining Play

Mii Alter Ego Blood Elf Paladin

Page 5: Fundamentals of Game Design
Page 6: Fundamentals of Game Design

Self Defining Play

Forms of Personality Expression: Avatar Selection

Allow players to choose from a number of pre-defined avatars Usually humanoid characters (fighting games) In driving or flying games, avatars = cars or aircrafts Players awarded with new avatars so choose from as they

progress through the game (secret characters)

Avatar Customization Allow players to customize their avatars by selecting

interchangeable features Skills, weapons, clothing, etc… Racing games: car paint, new tires, etc…

Page 7: Fundamentals of Game Design

Self Defining Play

Avatar Construction Gives the player the most freedom Player can construct his avatar from the ground up from

a set of available options. Takes Character Customization to a whole other level. Games like Lord of the Rings Online and Elder Scrolls IV:

Oblivion offer avatar construction. Choose gender and skin colour, as well the avatar’s

strength, dexterity, intelligence, etc…

*All of these customizable avatar qualities are called Attributes

Page 8: Fundamentals of Game Design

Self Defining Play

Attributes An attribute is any quality that helps to describe

something else. Hair colour is an attribute of a person Max airspeed is an attribute of an aircraft

Two types of Attributes : Functional Attributes Cosmetic/Aesthetic Attributes

Page 9: Fundamentals of Game Design

Self Defining Play

Functional Attributes Influence the game play through interactions with the core

mechanics. Can be further divided into two subcategories:

Status Attributes gives the current status of the character . changes frequently. ex. the current airspeed of an aircraft.

Characterization Attributes Define the fundamental aspects of a character. Changes slowly. ex. the maximum airspeed of an aircraft.

Page 10: Fundamentals of Game Design

Self Defining Play

Characterization Attributes (Continued) In RPG games, an avatar’s strength, dexterity and intelligence are

examples of characterization attributes.

Each affect the character’s ability to perform actions in the game• More str = more damage to monsters• More dex = high evasion rate

Players are usually given points to allocate between these stats

How they choose to distribute points determines the character’s strengths and weaknesses, which in turn determines that character’s play style.

When players allocate points to stats, they are defining themselves in a creative way.• a player who likes brute force should allocate more points to str.

Page 11: Fundamentals of Game Design

Self Defining Play

Problems can arise from allowing players to assign value into their functional attributes… Some players will setup attributes in the best possible

configuration, making the game too easy. Bad for developers

Players who exploit these functional attributes can introduce bugs/glitches.

Page 12: Fundamentals of Game Design

Self Defining Play

Ways to approach this problem: 1. Give players a fixed number of points to assign

amongst all their attributes. Allows players to make interesting choices without

unbalancing the game

2. include a set of default or recommended settings Players can get into the game quick Good for new players who don’t understand how these

attributes affect game play.

Page 13: Fundamentals of Game Design

Self Defining Play

3. Allow players to earn the right to set their attributes, by playing through the game. ex: Levelling Up in MMORPGs.

Players are rewarded with more points to distribute among their stats as they play the game and level up their avatar.

There is most likely a level cap to prevent players from getting too overpowered.

Page 14: Fundamentals of Game Design

Self Defining Play

Other game genres have player-adjustable functional attributes too! (not just RPGs) In FPS games, choosing a different weapon changes your

character’s attributes. Character will have greater aim if the player chooses a sniper

rifle.

The perks system in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Lets players set function attributes called ‘perks’ to make their

character run faster, take more hits, or reload more quickly. Offers more character customization to the FPS genre. Allows for more unique and personalized styles of game play,

specific to the player.

Page 15: Fundamentals of Game Design

Self Defining Play

Cosmetic Attributes Don’t have any effect on the player’s ability to perform

actions or overcome challenges. Things like:

Paint on a car Hair colour of an avatar Decals or insignias Guild symbols

Mainly used as a way of expressing oneself in the game world.

Makes games more fun at a low implementation cost. Don’t need to be tested or balanced as thoroughly as

Functional Attributes.

Page 16: Fundamentals of Game Design

Creative Play

Games that offer creative play allow players to… Design/build things. Save their creations. Share their creations.

Computerized creative play falls into 2 categories: Constrained Creative Play Freeform Creative Play

Page 17: Fundamentals of Game Design

Creative Play

Constrained Creative Play Players can only create within artificial constraints

imposed by rules. Provides a structure for the players creativity.

Play Limited by an Economy Ex: In Sim City, players have to start small and earn money

before they can construct huge cities. Similar to RTS games like Star Craft, where players have to

gather resources to be able to tech up and produce units. In this case, economy limits the players ability to wage

wars whereas in creativity games, economy limits the player’s ability to create.

Page 18: Fundamentals of Game Design

Creative Play

Creating to Physical Standards Players are offered all the tools and resources, but they

have to create something that meets certain requirements.

ex: Spore Players can create their creatures however they like.

• However, the creature needs to have a backbone and it need to be land animal

• Players can’t create creatures with exoskeletons (insects) or creatures with no skeletons at all (like an octopus).

ex: Roller Coaster Tycoon Players construct roller coasters in a theme park.

• But the roller coasters must be designed so that they don’t crash or make the riders sick.

Page 19: Fundamentals of Game Design

Creative Play

Creating to Aesthetic Standards Hard to do because it is hard to test aesthetic quality. Some options to test aesthetic quality include:

Testing against a fixed set of rules. Create a system of trends that the player can research. Allow the public to vote online

Page 20: Fundamentals of Game Design

Freeform Creative Play

Sandbox gamesFew or no rules limit what the player can do

within the confines of the game world.Allows players to use all the facilities it offers

without any restrictions on time or resources. Although play is still constrained to the set of actions

the UI offers, and the machine’s physical limitations.These games usually don’t have an end goal.

Page 21: Fundamentals of Game Design

Storytelling Play

Games that offer storytelling play… Let players create their own stories using the features

provided by the game. Allow them to export and distribute stories online. ex: The Movies by Lionhead Studios

Provides players with actors, sets, and camera control which they can use to create movies.

Lets players export their creation as a video file so they can edit it using outside software like Adobe Premier

Requires a lot of time and effort.

Page 22: Fundamentals of Game Design

Storytelling Play

A more simpler approach to storytelling play… The Sims

Players could take screen caps of their characters and add captions to these shots.

They could then arrange the screen caps into story boards and upload them online.

Telling stories this way requires less complex software, and players don’t have to know how to edit video.

Page 23: Fundamentals of Game Design

Game Modification

Extremely popular with the hardcore gamer community.

By providing the player with mod-tools, your giving them the utmost freedom with your game.

Good Business People will get bored of your game Allowing players to build mods that use your game

engine will make more people buy your game (to play other people’s mods, and create their own mods).

ex: Counter Strike, Day of Defeat, and Team Fortress Classic are all mods of Half Life.

Page 24: Fundamentals of Game Design

Game Modification

Level Editors Allows players to construct their own levels for a

game. Some even allow players to rebuild the entire game

Generally, a good level editor lets players construct new landscapes, place challenges in it, and write scripts that the game engine can operate.

ex: Star Craft II’s Map Editor

Page 25: Fundamentals of Game Design

Game Modification

Bots Not the ones people use to farm gold in MMOs Bots are programmable AI opponents.

Players can create tougher, more smarter opponents that the default game opponents.

Players can use bots as sparring partners for practice.