spilbar shareplay aalborg 08.11.2012 games as experience engines nikolaj hyldig r&d director...
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SpilBar ShareplayAalborg08.11.2012
Games as Experience Engines
Nikolaj HyldigR&D Director
OpenStory Group
• MA Communication & Digital Media, AAU• ½ PhD Interaction Design & Games, AAU• Ericsson Research & Innovation Lab• OpenStory Group
SpilBar ShareplayAalborg08.11.2012
• Evolutionary Psychology
• Survival necessitates expedient behaviour
Evolution: Expedient behaviour
SpilBar ShareplayAalborg08.11.2012
• Evolutionary Psychology
• Survival necessitates expedient behaviour
– Goal & Resource oriented
– Learning from experience
Evolution: Expedient behaviour
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• Games as models of the world
– Rules– Goals– Resources– Obstacles– Frame
Games as tools for learning expedient behaviour
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• Evolutionary Psychology
• Survival necessitates expedient behaviour
– Goal & Resource oriented
– Learning from experience
– 3rd person perspective
Evolution: Expedient behaviour
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• We automatically project ourselves into fictional worlds
Presence
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• We automatically project ourselves into fictional worlds
• Requires optimal challenge
Presence
SpilBar ShareplayAalborg08.11.2012
• We automatically project ourselves into fictional worlds
• Requires optimal challenge
– Game mechanics provideoptimal challenge
– Access to game mechanicsneed to be optimal
• Ie: challenge from the game,not from interacting with it
Presence
SpilBar ShareplayAalborg08.11.2012
Qualities of good games
SpilBar ShareplayAalborg08.11.2012
• Core Mechanics: the singular interactions with the game– ‘walk’, ‘pick up’, ‘aim’, ‘shoot’
• Core mechanics need to be fun!
• Corresponds to good Interaction Design!– Content of the game should challenge the player– It should not be challenging to interact with the content
• Example: walking– Realistic: tapping two buttons alternatively, one for each foot– Problem: effort without any meaningful impact on the game world– Bigger problem: it does not match the experience of walking – our
natural mental focus is on navigating environment, not on moving feet– Better solution (simpler): map walking to analogue stick, emphasizing
directional navigation of environment– Running however does take a bit of effort, implemented in GTA as the
need to tap a button in order to accelerate to maintain running speed
• Clear goals
– Specific
– Measurable
– Actionable
– Realistic
– Short & longterm
Qualities of good games
SpilBar ShareplayAalborg08.11.2012
• Clear goal progress
– Present goal– Tell why it matters– Tell where to go (actionable next steps, to get the player going)– Tell how to achieve it (actionable next steps)– Give proof of completion [feedback]– Give reward
Qualities of good games
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• Meaningful reward system
– Meaningful within thefictional world
– Comparable to thechallenge overcome
Qualities of good games
SpilBar ShareplayAalborg08.11.2012
• Clear status
– Progress
– Spatial
– Skills
– Items
Qualities of good games
SpilBar ShareplayAalborg08.11.2012
• Excessive feedback: instant, continuous, meaningful
– Numerical
– Graphical
– Auditory
• Procedural feedback
Qualities of good games
SpilBar ShareplayAalborg08.11.2012
• Marc LeBlanc: Mechanics – Dynamics – Aesthetics
• 8 Qualities (8 kinds of fun)– Sensation: Game as sense-pleasure– Fantasy: Game as make-believe– Narrative: Game as unfolding story– Challenge: Game as obstacle course – Fellowship: Game as social framework– Discovery: Game as uncharted territory– Expression: Game as soap box– Submission: Game as mindless pastime
Qualities of good games
SpilBar ShareplayAalborg08.11.2012
• World of Warcraft
– Sensation: Game as sense-pleasure
The graphics of WoW present the player with detailed exotic locations
– Fantasy: Game as make-believeWoW offers a rich alternative universe
to imagine walking around in and interacting with
– Narrative: Game as unfolding storyThe gameplay in WoW is placed in a
detailed narrative frame, giving deeper meaning to the actions of the player
– Challenge: Game as obstacle course
WoW is filled with challenges serving as opportunities for the player to exercise his creative problemsolving skills
Qualities of good games
SpilBar ShareplayAalborg08.11.2012
• World of Warcraft
– Fellowship: Game as social frameworkThe Multiplayer aspect of WoW makes it a
highly social game, where the toughest challenges can only be overcome by teaming up with other players
– Discovery: Game as uncharted territory
The vast gameworld in WoW offers an abundance of opportunities for exploring diverse and exotic locations
– Expression: Game as soap boxThe possibility to endlessly customise the
player character forms the basis for expression of identity
– Submission: Game as mindless pastime
The repetition of “grind” and constant supply of new challenges makes WoW a game it is easy to lose oneself in
Qualities of good games
SpilBar ShareplayAalborg08.11.2012
• Desirable states, Professor Steven Reiss – Acceptance, the need for approval– Curiosity, the need to learn– Eating, the need for food– Family, the need to raise children– Honor, loyalty to the traditional values of one's group– Idealism, the need for social justice– Independence, the need for individuality– Order, the need for organized, stable, predictable environments– Physical activity, the need for exercise– Power, the need for influence of will– Romance, the need for sex– Saving, the need to collect– Social contact, the need for friends (peer relationships)– Status, the need for social standing/importance– Tranquility, the need to be safe– Vengeance, the need to strike back/to win
Qualities of good games
SpilBar ShareplayAalborg08.11.2012
• Aesthetic qualities, Abraham Maslow
– Wholeness (unity)– Perfection (balance and harmony)– Completion (ending)– Justice (fairness)– Richness (complexity)– Simplicity ( essence)– Liveliness (spontaneity)– Beauty (rightness of form)– Goodness (benevolence)– Uniqueness (individuality)– Playfulness (ease)– Truth (reality)– Autonomy (self-sufficiency)– Meaningfulness (values)
Qualities of good games
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• Emotion/motivation system (EMS) guides behaviour:Joy Condition: reaching goal, Motivation: keep doing itAnger Condition: intentional hindrance, Motivation: remove
hindranceFear Condition: Goal threatened, Motivation: avoid threatSorrow Condition: loss of goal, Motivation: apathy
Emotional Experience
SpilBar ShareplayAalborg08.11.2012
• Emotion/motivation system (EMS) guides behaviour:Joy Condition: reaching goal, Motivation: keep doing itAnger Condition: intentional hindrance, Motivation: remove
hindranceFear Condition: Goal threatened, Motivation: avoid threatSorrow Condition: loss of goal, Motivation: apathy
• Experience of emotion: 3 dimensions– The situation– Physical arousal– Urge to act
Emotional Experience
SpilBar ShareplayAalborg08.11.2012
• Emotion/motivation system (EMS) guides behaviour:Joy Condition: reaching goal, Motivation: keep doing itAnger Condition: intentional hindrance, Motivation: remove
hindranceFear Condition: Goal threatened, Motivation: avoid threatSorrow Condition: loss of goal, Motivation: apathy
• Experience of emotion: 3 dimensions– The situation– Physical arousal– Urge to act
• Emotional intensity– Urgency– Difficulty– Seriousness
Emotional Experience
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• Tool for learning through the experience of others
• Goal-oriented structure
Stories
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• Stories are focused on people: breadth of emotion
• Games are personal: intensity of emotion
• Video games: merging stories and games, but…
Stories & Games
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• Game world of resources
• Goals, plans, actions
• Emotion process
• Scenarios enable personal influence
OpenStory Group
SpilBar ShareplayAalborg08.11.2012