game tuning workshop is this thing on?. game tuning workshop game design and tuning workshop...
TRANSCRIPT
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Game Tuning Workshop
Is this thing on?
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Game Tuning Workshop
Game Design and Tuning Workshop
Orientation
Marc “MAHK” LeBlanc
GDC 2004
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Game Tuning Workshop
Orientation Overview
Part I: Workshop Format
Part II: Outline Our Formal Approach
Part III: Formal Approach in Detail
Part IV: Tuning
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Game Tuning Workshop
Part I: Introduction
In this part we will:
• Explain the workshop high concept.
• Describe the format.
• Introduce the faculty.
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Game Tuning Workshop
About The Worshop
• This is the fourth year.
• Hands-on
• Focused on tuning.
• Grounded in a formal approach to game design.
• Intended to be open-ended.
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Game Tuning Workshop
Things You Won’t Learn Here
• How to get a job as a game designer.
• How to write a design document.
• Where game ideas “come from.”
• How to get your game funded.
• How to use a level editor.
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Game Tuning Workshop
In Other Words...
• It’s not about the Business.(Getting a job, pitching a game, getting funded)
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Game Tuning Workshop
In Other Words...
• It’s not about the Business.(Getting a job, pitching a game, getting funded)
• It’s not about the Profession.(Writing documents, tracking bugs, using tools)
![Page 9: Game Tuning Workshop Is this thing on?. Game Tuning Workshop Game Design and Tuning Workshop Orientation Marc “MAHK” LeBlanc GDC 2004](https://reader035.vdocuments.mx/reader035/viewer/2022062315/5697bf921a28abf838c8f3c3/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Game Tuning Workshop
In Other Words...
• It’s not about the Business.(Getting a job, pitching a game, getting funded)
• It’s not about the Profession.(Writing documents, tracking bugs, using tools)
• It’s about the Craft.(Making games that are fun)
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Game Tuning Workshop
What You’ll be Doing
• Playing games.
• Analyzing games.
• Critiquing games.
• Modifying games.
• Refining games.
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Game Tuning Workshop
A Few Ground Rules
• Please attend the whole thing.
• Collaborate, Share, and Encourage.
• Save the “meta-discussion” for the very end.
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Game Tuning Workshop
Workshop Format
• Small-group activities. Main Exercises (3) Electives (choose 1 from 3 each day)
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Game Tuning Workshop
Introducing the Faculty
• Myself
• Jonathan Hamel
• Robin Hunicke
• Frank Lantz
• Andrew Leker
• Steve Librande
• Art Min
• Harvey Smith
• Tim Stellmach
• Bernie Yee
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Game Tuning Workshop
Part II: A Formal Approach
In this section, we present
• A formal framework for game design.
• A view of the designer-player relationship
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Game Tuning Workshop
Game Design “Frameworks”
• Paradigms for organizing our understanding.
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Game Tuning Workshop
Game Design “Frameworks”
• Paradigms for organizing our understanding.
• Example Frameworks: The 400 Project Design Patterns
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Game Tuning Workshop
Game Design “Frameworks”
• Paradigms for organizing our understanding.
• Example Frameworks: The 400 Project Design Patterns
• Separate from the process.
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Game Tuning Workshop
Our Framework
• Grounded in a formal approach.
• Organized around the designer-player relationship.
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Game Tuning Workshop
The Designer-Player Relationship
Designer
Player
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Game Tuning Workshop
The Designer-Player Relationship
Designer
Player
Game
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Game Tuning Workshop
The Designer-Player Relationship
Designer
Player
GameCreates Consumes
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Game Tuning Workshop
The Designer-Player Relationship
Designer
Player
GameCreates Consumes
Book
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Game Tuning Workshop
The Designer-Player Relationship
Designer
Player
GameCreates Consumes
BookMovie
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Game Tuning Workshop
Definitions
• Mechanics: The rules and concepts that formally specify the game-as-system.
• Dynamics: The run-time behavior of the game-as-system.
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Game Tuning Workshop
The Designer-Player Relationship
Designer
Player
GameCreates Consumes
BookMovie
Painting
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Game Tuning Workshop
The Designer-Player Relationship
Designer
Player
GameCreates Consumes
BookMovie
Painting
Chair
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Game Tuning Workshop
The Designer-Player Relationship
Designer
Player
GameCreates Consumes
BookMovie
Painting
ChairCar
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Game Tuning Workshop
The Designer-Player Relationship
Designer
Player
GameCreates Consumes
BookMovie
Painting
ChairCar
Pizza
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Game Tuning Workshop
The Designer-Player Relationship
Designer
Player
GameCreates Consumes
The difference is the way that games are consumed.
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Game Tuning Workshop
An Extreme Opposite Example:A Theatrical Play
The “design team” knows:
• Script
• Lighting
• Acoustics
• Seating
• Intermissions
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Game Tuning Workshop
Games, on the Contrary
The designer doesn’t know:
• When will the player play? How often? For how long?
• Where? With Whom?
And most importantly...
• What will happen during the game?
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Game Tuning Workshop
Obligatory Editorial
This lack of predictability is the essence of play. It should be embraced, not eschewed.
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Game Tuning Workshop
A Formal Model of“Game Consumption”
Rules “Fun”System
Behavior
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Game Tuning Workshop
The Player-Designer Relationship, Revisited
Designer
Player
Rules “Fun”System
Behavior
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Game Tuning Workshop
The MDA Framework
Mechanics AestheticsDynamics
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Game Tuning Workshop
Definitions
• Mechanics: The rules and concepts that formally specify the game-as-system.
![Page 37: Game Tuning Workshop Is this thing on?. Game Tuning Workshop Game Design and Tuning Workshop Orientation Marc “MAHK” LeBlanc GDC 2004](https://reader035.vdocuments.mx/reader035/viewer/2022062315/5697bf921a28abf838c8f3c3/html5/thumbnails/37.jpg)
Game Tuning Workshop
Definitions
• Mechanics: The rules and concepts that formally specify the game-as-system.
• Dynamics: The run-time behavior of the game-as-system.
• Aesthetics: The desirable emotional responses evoked by the game dynamics.
![Page 38: Game Tuning Workshop Is this thing on?. Game Tuning Workshop Game Design and Tuning Workshop Orientation Marc “MAHK” LeBlanc GDC 2004](https://reader035.vdocuments.mx/reader035/viewer/2022062315/5697bf921a28abf838c8f3c3/html5/thumbnails/38.jpg)
Game Tuning Workshop
Three “Views” of Games
Mechanics AestheticsDynamics
But they are causally linked.
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Game Tuning Workshop
The Building Blocks: Formal Models
• No Grand Unified Theory
• Instead, lots of little models
• Models can be formulas or abstractions.
• We can think of models as “lenses.”
• Discovering new models is an ongoing process.
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Game Tuning Workshop
MDA is a “Taxonomy” for Models
• Knowledge of Aesthetics
• Knowledge of Dynamics
• Knowledge of Mechanics
• Knowledge of the interactions between them.
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Game Tuning Workshop
Properties of Good Models
We want our models to be:
• Formal (i.e. well-defined).
• Abstract (i.e. widely applicable).
• Proven (i.e. known to work).
On any given game, we expect to use several different abstractions, not one big one.
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Game Tuning Workshop
Part III: MDA in detail
In this part, we discuss Aesthetics, Dynamics and Mechanics in detail.
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Game Tuning Workshop
The Player’s Perspective
Mechanics AestheticsDynamics
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Game Tuning Workshop
The Designer’s Perspective
Mechanics AestheticsDynamics
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Game Tuning Workshop
Understanding Aesthetics
We need to get past words like “fun” and “gameplay.”
• What kinds of “fun” are there?
• How will we know a particular kind of “fun” when we see it?
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Game Tuning Workshop
Eight Kinds of “Fun”
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Game Tuning Workshop
Eight Kinds of "Fun"
1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure
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Game Tuning Workshop
Eight Kinds of "Fun"
1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure
2. FantasyGame as make-believe
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Game Tuning Workshop
Eight Kinds of "Fun"
1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure
2. FantasyGame as make-believe
3. NarrativeGame as drama
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Game Tuning Workshop
Eight Kinds of "Fun"
1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure
2. FantasyGame as make-believe
3. NarrativeGame as drama
4. ChallengeGame as obstacle course
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Game Tuning Workshop
Eight Kinds of "Fun"
1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure
2. FantasyGame as make-believe
3. NarrativeGame as drama
4. ChallengeGame as obstacle course
5. FellowshipGame as social framework
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Game Tuning Workshop
Eight Kinds of "Fun"
1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure
2. FantasyGame as make-believe
3. NarrativeGame as drama
4. ChallengeGame as obstacle course
5. FellowshipGame as social framework
6. DiscoveryGame as uncharted territory
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Game Tuning Workshop
Eight Kinds of "Fun"
1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure
2. FantasyGame as make-believe
3. NarrativeGame as drama
4. ChallengeGame as obstacle course
5. FellowshipGame as social framework
6. DiscoveryGame as uncharted territory
7. ExpressionGame as self-discovery
![Page 54: Game Tuning Workshop Is this thing on?. Game Tuning Workshop Game Design and Tuning Workshop Orientation Marc “MAHK” LeBlanc GDC 2004](https://reader035.vdocuments.mx/reader035/viewer/2022062315/5697bf921a28abf838c8f3c3/html5/thumbnails/54.jpg)
Game Tuning Workshop
Eight Kinds of "Fun"
1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure
2. FantasyGame as make-believe
3. NarrativeGame as drama
4. ChallengeGame as obstacle course
5. FellowshipGame as social framework
6. DiscoveryGame as uncharted territory
7. ExpressionGame as self-discovery
8. SubmissionGame as pastime
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Game Tuning Workshop
Clarifying Our Aesthetics
• Charades is “fun.”
• Quake is “fun.”
• Final Fantasy is “fun.”
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Game Tuning Workshop
Clarifying Our Aesthetics
• Charades: Fellowship, Expression, Challenge
• Quake: Challenge, Sensation, Competition, Fantasy
• Final Fantasy: Fantasy, Narrative, Expression, Discovery, Challenge, Masochism
• Each game pursues multiple aesthetics.
• Again, there is no Game Unified Theory.
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Game Tuning Workshop
Clarifying Our Goals
• As designers, we can choose certain aesthetics as goals for our game design.
• We need more than a one-word definition of our goals.
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Game Tuning Workshop
What is an “Aesthetic Model?”
• A rigorous definition of an aesthetic goal.
• States criteria for success and failure.
• Serves as an “aesthetic compass.”
Some examples…
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Game Tuning Workshop
Goal: Competition
Model: A game is competitive if players are emotionally invested in defeating each other.
Success: Players are adversaries. Players want to win.
Failure: A player feels that he can’t win. A player can’t measure his progress.
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Game Tuning Workshop
Goal: Realistic Flight Simulation
Model: Flight dynamics match user expectations.
Success: Match a mathematical formula, or, Pass our “realism checklist,”
Failure: Counter-intuitive system behavior.
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Game Tuning Workshop
Goal: Drama
Model: A game is dramatic if:• Its central conflict creates dramatic tension.• The dramatic tension builds towards a climax.
Dra
ma
tic
Te
nsi
on
Narrative Time
Conflict Resolution
Climax
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Game Tuning Workshop
Goal: Drama
Success: A sense of uncertainty A sense of inevitability Tension increases towards a climax
Failure: The conflict’s outcome is obvious (no uncertainty). No sense of forward progress (no inevitability). Player doesn’t care how the conflict resolves.
On to Dynamics...
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Game Tuning Workshop
Understanding Dynamics
• What about the game’s behavior can we predict before we go to playtest?
• How can we explain the behavior that we observe?
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Game Tuning Workshop
Formalizing Game Dynamics
RulesInput Output
State(Player)
(Graphics/Sound)
The “State Machine” Model
Examples: Chess, Quake
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Game Tuning Workshop
Models of Game Dynamics
• Again, no Grand Unified Theory
• Instead, a collection of many Dynamic Models.
• Dynamics models are analytical in nature.
Some examples…
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Game Tuning Workshop
Example: Random Variable
This is a model of 2d6:
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Chance
in 3
6
Die roll
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Game Tuning Workshop
Example: Feedback SystemA feedback system monitors and regulates its own state.
Room
Too Cold
Too Hot
An Ideal Thermostat
Thermometer
Controller
Cooler
Heater
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Game Tuning Workshop
Example: Operant Conditioning
• The player is part of the system, too!
• Psychology gives us models to explain and predict the player’s behavior.
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Game Tuning Workshop
Where Models Come From
• Analysis of existing games.
• Other Fields: Math, Psychology, Engineering…
• Our own experience.
On to Mechanics...
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Game Tuning Workshop
Understanding Mechanics
• There’s a vast library of common game mechanics.
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Game Tuning Workshop
Examples
• Cards: Shuffling, Trick-Taking, Bidding
• Shooters: Ammunition, Spawn Points
• Golf: Sand Traps, Water Hazards
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Game Tuning Workshop
Mechanics vs. Dynamics
• There’s a grey area. Some behaviors are direct consequences of rules. Others are indirect. “Dynamics” usually means the latter.
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Game Tuning Workshop
Mechanics vs. Dynamics
• There’s a grey area. Some behaviors are direct consequences of rules. Others are indirect. “Dynamics” usually means the latter.
• Dynamics and Mechanics are different views of games.
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Game Tuning Workshop
Mechanics vs. Dynamics
• There’s a grey area. Some behaviors are direct consequences of rules. Others are indirect. “Dynamics” usually means the latter.
• Dynamics and Mechanics are different views of games.
• Dynamics emerge from Mechanics.
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Game Tuning Workshop
Interaction Models
• How do specific dynamics emerge from specific mechanics?
• How do specific dynamics evoke specific aesthetics?
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Game Tuning Workshop
Example: Time Pressure
• “Time pressure” is a dynamic.
• It can create dramatic tension.
• Various mechanics create time pressure: Simple time limit “Pace” monster Depleting resource
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Game Tuning Workshop
Moving Forward…
Let’s hope the future brings us:
• A rich aesthetic vocabulary.
• A eclectic library of game mechanics.
• A catalog of formal models: Aesthetic, Dynamic, Interaction
In other words,
“Formal Abstract Design Tools.”
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Game Tuning Workshop
Part IV: Tuning
In this part we will:
• Define tuning.
• Present a formal approach.
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Game Tuning Workshop
What we mean by “Tuning:”
Tuning is an iterative process.
Test Analyze
Revise
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Game Tuning Workshop
We’re not limited to:
• Parameter tweaking
• “Fiddling with knobs”
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Game Tuning Workshop
MDA in the Tuning Process
Aesthetic Models help us:• Articulate our goals. • Point out our game’s flaws.• Measure our progress.
Dynamic Models help us:• Pinpoint our problems.
Both kinds help us:• Evaluate possible revisions.
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Game Tuning Workshop
Learning From the Tuning Process
Between iterations, we re-evaluate:
• Our goals.
• Our models
• Our assumptions.
Sometimes we need to revise our own thinking as well.
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Game Tuning Workshop
The Tuning Process
Before we start:• Know our aesthetic goals.
While we iterate:• Aesthetic and dynamics models guide our way.
Between Iterations• Learn from the process.
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Game Tuning Workshop
Time for Coffee...
After the break, go to the classroom that matches the color of your poker chip:
Blue C1
Red C3
White C4
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Game Tuning Workshop
Part V: Some Common Themes
Here are some themes you’ll see throughout the workshop.
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Game Tuning Workshop
Theme: Dynamics and Fantasy
• Our game dynamics have meaning within our game’s core fantasy.
• That meaning may or may not be compatible.
• In order to remain faithful to our subject matter, dynamics and fantasy must be in alignment.
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Game Tuning Workshop
© Steve Jackson Gameswww.sjgames.com
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Game Tuning Workshop
Theme: State Space and Design Flexibility
• The state space of a game is the set of possible states the system can be in.
• The larger the state space, the easier it is to make changes.
• As we modify our design, we can expect the state space to grow.