Narrative / Simulation

Robin Burke

GAM 224

Outline

Rules Papers Narrative Simulation

Rules Papers

Good news all graded

Bad news Ave score

• section 601: B-• section 602: C+

Rewrites• section 601: 9• section 602: 10

main reasons• no use of "rules" schemas• no references

Rewrites will be due 5/25 anybody can rewrite grade may go up or down! late penalty still in effect

Hints for writing analytic papers1. Think like a defense attorney

central claim persuasive evidence evidence supports to the claim

2. Don't ramble 5 pages is short every sentence should be linked to your argument if not, get rid of it or find the connection

3. Minimize game description give enough description to orient the reader

don't assume the reader has played the game thereafter only include details if you're going to use

them in your argument

Confusion about "rules"

Every response in a video game is governed by rules "This happens in the game, but it isn't part of the

rules." Rules are not limited to player instructions

"There is no rule about where the player can and can't go."

Rules can result in random outcomes "There is no rule about how much damage an attack

will cause." Rules may not be created with our schemas in mind

"The game incorporates uncertainty as its main schema."

How to use the analytic schemas Give specific examples

and show how the schema applies• different from asserting it

make your argument about specific gameplay aspects• not the game as a whole

Not "Asteroids has emergent play because there are lots of different

ways to play" Better

"The controls of the ship and the physics of Asteroids are very simple, but the addition of the asteroid obstacles creates emergent complexity because the player only has inertial control. Moving to avoid one asteroid creates a trajectory that may bring the ship into the path of another. It is impossible to simply "stop": a complex thrust-rotation combination must be performed and even then, it is very difficult to reduce the velocity to exactly zero."

Key idea: Systems

Systems of emergence, uncertainty, information, etc.

Paper must show how specific rules fit into the schema how these aspects of the game work together as a system

Not just Information A is public Information B is unknown

But also the relationship between A and B how aspects of B come to be known the information economy

• what it costs a player to learn about B

Schema-specific problems

Emergencecomplex rule sets emergent

complexity Cybernetics

negative impact on a player or character negative feedback

the player can't be the one doing the adjustment

Mechanics

Cite your game on first mention subsequence citations not necessary

Cite sources using the Chicago style as in the handout don't make something up

Abbreviate after 1st citation 1st citation

• Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman, Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press). Ch. 21

2nd citation (3rd citation, etc.)• Salen and Zimmerman, Ch. 20

Note page numbers recommended but not required most instructors will require page numbers for quotes

Paragraphs should not be more than ½ a page usually less topic sentence + supporting material

Narrative Play

Narrative is a basic form of human experience any event can be turned into a narrative fundamental mental representation

Any game-playing experience can be turned into a story emergent narrative

The game may also include crafted narrative elements embedded narrative

Dramatic structure

Emergent narrative is a function of dramatic structure how does the player experience change over

time? Fundamental idea

tension-release Constant tension

exhausting overwhelming

Example

Asteroids

Dramatic structure in Asteroids Start: assessment, slow-moving menace Response: planful response, select

destruction Mid-point: intensely reactive, chaotic,

"pebble storm", saucers End-game: skillful and focused, chasing,

more saucers Pause before next wave

Interactive storytelling

Early theorists thought of games as a new narrative form"interactive storytelling"

According to this theory, the playerwould become a characterwould interact with the virtual world of

the authorwould generate a unique personal story

• "ergodic literature"

The problem

A story is a communicative act authoring a story means having something to

say making form, content and structure work

together to convey it the more elaborate the form the more

expressive potential But the audience does not alter the form,

content or structure might alter details of performance some experiments but none really successful

Games and stories

To make a game story-like we have to prevent the player from changing

its form, content or structure guarantees the designed payoff but gives the player nothing to do

To make a story game-like we have to allow its content to be generated

by the user's choices which means the author is no longer free to

tell his/her story user might miss expensive game content

Various compromises

Abstractionno need for storyemotional impact is lacking

Story as normative actionplayer must learn correct sequence of

actions to follow the correct storyconstraining

The standard compromise

The "string of pearls" story A segmented story

A main character (the player) A number of pre-defined narrative events A pre-determined conclusion

In between narrative "pearls" game actions ideally actions and narrative are coherent

In some cases multiple possible conclusions multiple characters to play

Why is this the standard?

Games ≠ Stories

But most games will have a narrative component What is this story? What is the mechanism by which the story is

told? What is the relationship between the game's

action and its narrative element?• How do the "pearls" relate to "string"?

Does the story work?

Benefits of game narrative

Adds drama to the player's actions "If I don't get there in time, the world will be

destroyed" Lends weight to the player's choices

"I better decide carefully. I don't want the Vizier to kill the princess."

Provides a rationale behind the structure of the game world "That's why the world is full of nasty aliens"

Helps the user understand what to do and how to do it "Because I'm made of paper, I can turn into a paper

airplane."

Maxims of game narrative

Being shown is better than being toldlet the environment / setting tell the

story Doing is better than being shown

let the dynamics of the world reveal important facts

Utility of Cutscenes

Surveillance shows the player what is ahead

Catapult thrusts the player into a new situation

Mood establish the emotional or narrative significance of a

location Consequences

vivid depiction of outcomes Rhythm

break in the action Reward

a treat only available through success

Example

Kingdom Hearts

Narrative Systems

Backstory what is the larger "world" and context?

Player's role who is the player's character?

Player's goals how do the player's goals tie into the story?

Narrative space what is the "physical" space in which the story

unfolds? Mechanics

how do the core mechanics of the game tie into the narrative?

Character

Any game will have at least one character the player

Sometimes the player will be represented on the screen the avatar

Often there will be other characters as well non-player characters

A multiplayer game will have avatars for other players

Character design

Characters are very powerful a good character is worth $$$

• Bugs Bunny• Lara Croft

But the more simple the character the more the player can bring to it

Many game characters have no personality Mario Master Chief "Kid" (GTA III)

Character design 2

Character is a unityappearancevoicebehaviorreactions of others

Generating believable characters is an art

Character design 3

Multiple charactersoften a game needs many charactersHow to distinguish between them?How to distinguish between different

classes of enemy? If there are distinctions the user needs

to make (friend vs foe)the game must provide the information

necessary to do so

Character customizability

Ability to give the avatar a custom appearanceCrucial for on-line multi-playerHow important in other contexts?

Custom details can be symbols of game achievements

Plot

Game plots are almost always very simple rescue the princess battle the monsters save the universe from the evil mastermind rule the world

Common plot elements betrayal approval of older mentor magical aid acquisition of magic and strength

Hero tales

Hero tales are often tales of heroism simple in structure involve magical aid involve betrayal lack detailed characterization can be retold

Examples Theseus and the Minotaur Aladdin and the Lamp The Goose-Girl

Psychology of the hero tale

Coming of age The hero tale represents the transition from a youthful

inward-focused perspective to a mature engagement with the world.

Recognition of evil Mature engagement with the world requires the recognition

of evil and the resolve to confront it. Interdependence

The hero needs the help and (sometimes) the approval of others.

Archetypal characters The characters are drawn from a standard set of

archetypes. "The Misfit"

The transition from being different/outcast to being part of society.

Psychology, cont'd

What is the psychological function of the hero myth?Template for the issues of maturationA way to externalize difficult emotional

issues• tension between comfort/safety of home

and excitement/danger of the world• tension between growing physical and

intellectual capacities and practical powerlessness.

Consequences

Hero tale plots have most intense appeal to adolescents

and children also, good fit with technological limitations

Adults (theoretically) have tolerance for more

complex plots but complex plots difficult to create

Also plot is only one component of the game game needs to be engaging for other

reasons

Simulation

Games simulate real-world activitiessports gamesracing games

Central ideamapping between the game and the

real-world activity

Simulation II

Games also simulate fantasy and fictional activitiesany RPGmost FPS

Central ideamapping between the game and...

Mapping

The mapping will be incomplete the game may leave out inconvenient or

boring parts the game may include improbable situations

for gameplay reasons The mapping will be inexact

the game may exaggerate the physics for effect or gameplay

the game may (will) abstract from physical reality for practical reasons

Basic fact

All physics is simplificationcomplex multi-body physical

simulations are too slowreality is chaoticlimits to what can be rendered

graphically

Example: Halo

What happens when a grenade explodes?do we simulate the ignition and rapid

oxidation of explosives, pressure waves, metal shear and shrapnel trajectories?

do we simulate concussion injuries, soft tissue damage, and bone trauma?

Game physics

Physics = the evolution of the game statewe want the player to feel as though

there is a real world in the gamethe game state must be complexits evolution must seem naturalthe player's control over it should

seem natural

Natural?

Games are profoundly unnatural Aliens? Psychic powers? Controlling a

civilization over centuries? As in fiction

"willing suspension of disbelief" natural within the game world context

Game physics may have nothing to do with Newton's

physics

Scripting

When there is a fixed stereotyped response to an action in the gamewe say it is "scripted"

As opposed to "simulated"

Example

Designer decides what should happen when a grenade explodesx amount of damage to all units within

certain radiusx/2 damage within a larger radiusleaves a certain "stencil" on the floor

or wall Simplifying the actual physics

Example

Locked door in ZeldaIf player ties to go through locked door

with key in inventory, the door opens and key is used up

SimplificationsDoors are logical, not physical barriers

• Cannot be battered down, blown up, removed from hinges

• Locks cannot be picked

Advantages of scripting

Much, much fasterto apply a simple rule than to run a

physical simulation Easy to write, understand and modify

Disadvantages of scripting

Limits player creativityPlayers will try things that "should"

work• based on extensive physical intuition

Will be disappointed if they don't Game will need many scripts

predicting their interactions can be difficult

complex debugging problem

Simulation

Will still be a simplification Represent the quantities of interest

represent the forces that act on themcreate physical laws for the game

worldevolve the game state according to

these laws

Benefits of simulation

More player optionsDesigner doesn't have to anticipate

every way to do something Physical laws reusable

Do not have script every objectCan build (or buy) generic physics

engine

Disadvantages of simulation

Speedextensive simulation may make the

game too slow Memory

game state may become much larger Testing

difficult to test all possibilities

Design decision

How much to simulate? Where player creativity is important Where realism is important Where a simple enough model can be built

What level of detail is required? depends on the constraints of the game always a computational cost

Example

Script when player enters room, guards converge and attack

Simulation #1 when player takes a step, sound is heard over certain radius if guard is within radius and in room, guard will converge and attack

Simulation #2 when player takes a step, volume of sound is calculated based on

level of stealth, floor material, etc. sound is propagated through room and attenuated based on room

contents guards receive sound signal and if loud enough to reach attention,

they will move in the apparent direction of sound Simulation #3

same as #2, but in 3 dimensions, through floors, etc.

The role of simulation

"Immersive fallacy" the best game is one in which the player

feels that they are totally immersed in a simulated world

emphasizes only a certain aspect of the game experience

Counter-examples More detail is not necessarily better

• Katamari Damacy Need for ironic distance

• GTA

Wednesday

Game design activity