lafs game mechanics - social mechanics

SOCIAL MECHANICSLevel 5

David MullichGame MechanicsThe Los Angeles Film School

Social Interaction and Games

Games are social in nature.

Even single-player ones.

Social Interaction

When two or more players have two-way communication between each other.

Social Interaction Design Considerations What reasons do players have for

communicating with each other? What is the communication channel

between players? What is the pace of the game?

Non-Combat Gaming

Extra Credits: How to make social mechanics fun

What Was The Main Message Of This Video?

COMPETITION

Competition

The struggle between players or against the game system to achieve a goal where the performance of the players can be measured at least relatively.

Forms Of Competition Enemies Incompatible Goals Preventing Goals Rewards

Direct vs. Indirect Competition

Direct Overcome King of the Hill

Indirect Races without Interference Last Man Standing

Why Designers Use CompetitionEncourages: Conflict Tension Social Status

Discourages: Cooperation Alliances Experimenting

Competition Design Considerations Is the competition direct or indirect? Are the players’ goals symmetric,

asymmetric, or unknown? What is the outcome of the competition?

Balancing CompetitionMore Competition Symmetric Goals Tiebreakers

Less Competition Asymmetric Goals Mutual Goals Unknown Goals Shared Rewards Collaborative Actions Alliances Cooperation

Conflict

One or more parties, often players or players against the game system, have goals that cannot be satisfied together.

Sources of Conflict Transfer of Control Interferable Goals Preventing Goals Enemies Competition Betrayal Combat Player Elimination Overcome Goals

Why Designers Use ConflictEncourages: Emotional Immersion Tension Attention Swapping Tournaments

Discourages: Cooperation Collaborative Actions Mutual Goals

Conflict Design Considerations In which situations does conflict appear? How severe is the conflict? Does the conflict exist outside of the

game?

Balancing ConflictIncreased by: Symmetric Goals Symmetric Information Individual Rewards

Reduced by: Shared Rewards Mutual Goals Lives, Spawning Ability Losses/Decreases Penalties for Player Killers

Player Killing

When players can intentionally or unintentionally remove players from the game for at least a period of time.

Why Designers Use Player KillingMain Uses: Player Elimination (but with Respawning) Team Elimination Score Keeping

Encourages: Tension Risk/Reward Decisions Social Status

Affects: Ownership Team Balance Team Play

Player Killing Design Considerations What penalties does a player incur for

being killed? When and were does the player respawn

after being killed? Can players kill members of their own

team? Are players rewarded for killing other

players?

Betrayal

One or several players that have an agreement with other players intentionally fail to do as agreed or otherwise hinder the fulfillment of the agreement.

Betrayal Elements Cooperation Between Players Commitment To A Goal Incentive For Breaking Commitment

Where Betrayal Can Occur Mutual Goals Collaborative Actions Player-Decided Rewards

Why Designers Use BetrayalPromotes: Emotional Immersion Surprise Role-Reversal Tension Leap Of Faith

Balances: Anticipation Negotiation Trading Alliances Narrative Structure

Betrayal Design Considerations What collaborative actions have a delayed

effect? What are players’ perceived chance of individual

rewards for betraying another player? Do players have asymmetric information about

other player’s actions? Can bluffing be used to conceal betrayal? Do players have uncommitted alliances or stable

ones?

Balancing Betrayal

Encouraging Rewards For Betrayal

Discouraging Penalties For Betrayal

COLLABORATION

Cooperation

Player cooperate; i.e., coordinate their actions and share resources, in order to reach goals or subgoals of the game.

Ways To Achieve Cooperation Team Play Mutual Goals With Shared Results Shared Rewards Collaborative Actions

Why Designers Use CollaborationEncourages: Social Interaction Alliances Betrayal Constructive Play

Reduces: Competition Tension

Collaboration Design Considerations What mutual goals do players have? What rewards do players share? What resources do players share?

Balancing Cooperation

Encouraged By: Competency Areas

Discouraged By: Competition Conflict Betrayal

Team Play

Players in a group or team coordinate their actions, abilities and roles in order to reach a common goal.

Ways To Use Team Play Avatars In Multiplayer Games Units in Single Player Games

Why Designers Use Team Play

Encourages: Social Interaction Cooperation Collaborative Actions Constructive Play

Discourages: Betrayal

Team Play Design Considerations What is the mutual goal and its rewards? What are the shared resources? Do teams form at the beginning of the play

session, or dynamically during gameplay? Does team play occur between players or is

it simulated through units? How does each team member feel

important and significant?

Balancing Team Play Encouraged By: Asymmetric Abilities Privileged Abilities Social Organizations Alliances Role-Playing

Discouraged By: Betrayals Individual Rewards Individual Penalties

Alliances

A group of players who have agreed to obey particular and specific rules of conduct toward each other and who, usually, have a shared agenda.

Why Designers Use Alliances

Encourages: Team Play Social Organizations

Discourages: Competition

Alliances Design Considerations What are players’ mutual goals or common

enemies? What are the rules of conduct that players

can agree to?

Balancing AlliancesEncouraged By: Interferable Goals Player-Decided Results Shared Rewards Shared Penalties

Discouraged By: Shared Resources Individual Penalties Betrayals

GROUP ACTIVITIES

Constructive Play

Based on putting game elements together to construct new kinds of game element configurations, which might have different emergent characteristics.

Why Designers Use Constructive PlayEncourages: Cognitive Immersion Sensory-Motor Immersion Experimenting Player-Constructed Worlds

Constructive Play Design Considerations How complex are the possible

constructions? Do the relationships between game

elements create dynamic systems?

Balancing Constructive Play

Encouraged By: Player-Decided Results

Player-Decided Results

Players are responsible for deciding at least some of the results of player actions, and their decisions are not necessarily based on the rules of the game.

Examples of Player-Decided Results Player-Decided Distribution Of Resources,

Rewards or Penalties Voting To Kick Out A Player Negotiations Story-Telling Player-Constructed Worlds

Why Designers Use Player-Decided ResultsEncourages: Empowerment Limited Planning Player Balance Betrayal Secret Alliances

Not Useful With: Team Balance

Player-Decided Results Design Considerations What results do players decide? How do players decide the results? Can players form alliances?

Role-Playing

Players having characters with somewhat fleshed-out personalities. The play is centered on making decisions on how the characters would react in staged imaginary situations.

Why Designers Use Role-PlayingEncourages: Social Interaction Emotional Immersion Story Telling Alternative Reality

Affects: Team Play Narrative Structures

Role-Playing Design Considerations What control do players have over their

characters? How to characters affect the game world?

Balancing Role-Playing

Encouraged By: Character Creative Control Character Development Player-Constructed Worlds

What Makes Us Role-Play?

Extra Credits: Why game worlds feel real

What Was The Main Message Of This Video?

SOCIAL INTERACTION MECHANICS

Negotiation

A situation where the players confer with each other in order to reach an agreement or settlement.

Examples of Negotiations Collaborate Actions Players Exchanging Resources Deciding When To Use Asymmetric Abilities Deciding When To Use Shared Resources Player-Decided Results Deciding On Handicaps For Balancing

Why Designers Use NegotiationsEncourages: Social Interaction Transfer of Control Alliances Game Mastery Engagement During Downtime

Balances: Players

Negotiation Design Considerations

Are negotiations strictly extra-game actions?

How are negotiations initiated? How does bargaining occur? How are agreements reached? Can third parties interrupt the negotiation? How are agreement breaches handled?

Trading

Players exchange a resource, whether it is information, actions, or game elements, between each other or the game system.

Trading Phases

1. Initiating a trade by making an OFFER2. BARGAINING (Optional)3. Resolving the EXCHANCE OF

RESOURCES

Special Forms Ransom Gifts

Why Designers Use TradingEncourages: Social Interaction Cooperation Freedom Of Choice Transfer Of Control Alternate Strategies For Progression Avoiding Strategies For Blocking Player Progression

Balances: Resources

Trading Design Considerations What resources can be traded? What is the incentive for trading? What are the exact mechanisms for

initiating, bargaining, and resolving a trade?

Balancing TradingEncouraged By: Asymmetric Resource Distribution

Discouraged By: Symmetric Resource Distribution

Made More Complex By: Time Limits Bluffing Betrayal Delivery

Bidding

Players invest resources, usually some kind of currency, for an uncertain outcome in order to get a reward of some kind.

Special Cases Of Bidding Auctions Voting

Why Designers Use Bidding

Encourages: Competition For Resources Player-Defined Goals Transfer Of Control Of Resources Conversion Of Resources Trade-Offs Alternate Strategy To Combat

Bidding Design Considerations Are player bids known to other players? What order do players bid in? Can players negotiate during bidding? Can players be eliminated during bidding? How does bidding end? How is outcome determined?

Balancing Bidding

More Complex: Negotiation Betting Bluffing

Bluffing

Players have a possibility to convey false information to other players in order to benefit from their situation.

Why Designers Use Bluffing

Encourages: Social Skills To Random Situations Makes Trading, Betting, Bidding More

Complex Risk/Reward Emotional Immersion Betrayal Tension

Bluffing Design Considerations What asymmetric information can be the

basis for bluffing? How is false information indirectly

communicated from one player to another? What are the rewards and penalties for

bluffing?

Social Dilemma

Players tend to compete against each other even though cooperation would be best for all involved.

Why Designers Use Social DilemmasEncourages: Emotional Immersion Betrayal Tension Risk/Reward Decisions Social Organizations

Balances: Alliances

Social Dilemma Design Considerations What are the shared penalties for

cooperating? What are the individual rewards for

betrayal?

MORE GOALS

Eliminate

Remove a game element from its location in the game space.

Examples Of Elimination Remove An Element That Hinders Player

Actions Remove A Threat To The Player’s Goals Removal Is A Goal Itself

Why Designers Use Elimination Goals Turn Player Into A Consumer Of Game Elements Prevent Opponent’s Survive Or Evade Goals Speed Up And Simplify End Game

Encourages: Conflict Tension High-Level Closures

Eliminate Design Considerations

What game element is eliminated? How is the elimination achieved? Is the elimination permanent?

Rescue

The goal of freeing someone or something that is guarded.

Why Designers Use Rescue Goals Prevents Guard Goals Narrative Structure

Encourages: Conflict

Rescue Design Considerations What/who must be rescued? What obstacles must be overcome? Does the hostage need to be moved to a

safe area? Do the players have other goals besides

rescuing?

Choose one of the following games to play:

Boomtown (3-5p, 30m) *Cartagena the Escape (2-5p, 30m) Colossal Arena (2-5p, 40-60m) For Sale (3-6p, 20-30m) Forbidden Island (2-4p, 30m)

Money (3-5p, 20-30m) *Pandemic (2-4p, 45m) *Quo Vadis (3-5p, 45m) Space Alert (1-5p, 30m) |The Downfall of Pompeii (2-4p, 45)

Group Quest

Design an analog game prototype using mechanics supporting one of the following goals: Eliminate Rescue

Research and use the LMS to report on games using group activities discussed in class.