game design - lecture 4

GAME DESIGN :: LD4 – DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT

ANDREA @RESMINI :: HIT, HÖGSKOLAN I BORÅS

Andrea Resmini

HT12 / HÖGSKOLAN I BORÅS, NOV 9 2012

Game Design

LD4. DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT



TODAY'S CLASS

A brief recap from LD3Dramatic elementsPlayer embodimentBreakWorkshop



RECAP: FORMAL ELEMENTSGAME DESIGN :: LECTURE 3 – FORMAL ELEMENTS OF GAMES

For example, resources. But also rules etc



DRAMATIC ELEMENTS

challengeplaycharacterpremisestory



ROLE OF DRAMATIC ELEMENTS

they variously connect a game to its player, emotionally



#1. CHALLENGE

in games it means tasks that are satisfying to completeand require just the right amount of work



CHALLENGE IS PERSONAL

challenge is individualizedand determined by the abilityof the player in relationship to the game itself



CHALLENGE IS DYNAMIC

it is also dynamic and requires that a game adapts constantly to hold the interest of learning or differently skilled players



CHALLENGE IS SUBJECTIVE?

is there then a way to look at challenge that is not definedby individual experience?



THEORY OF FLOWGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT

Gingerbreadhouse.co.uk



SIMILARITIES BETWEEN EXPERIENCES

people describe enjoyable activities in similar ways



CHAL

LEN

GE

ABILITY

FRUSTATION

BOREDOM

FLOW



WHAT IS FLOW?

in flow experiences, action and self-awareness merge and effortless concentration on the task at hand happens



WHEN DO WE HAVE FLOW?

flow happens in goal-directed activities, bounded by rules,which require skills



AND THAT INCLUDES TUG OF WAR ...GAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT



… AND VIDEO GAMESGAME DESIGN :: LECTURE 3 – FORMAL ELEMENTS OF GAMES



LOSS OF SELF-CONSCIOUSNESSGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT

The Ceej: Singing In The Shower



TRANSFORMATION OF TIMEGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT

Bullet time in in Max Payne 3, PS3



EXPERIENCE BECOMES AN ENDGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT

Clement Lefert, tumblr.com



THE PARADOX OF CONTROL

exercising or experiencing a feeling of control largely means that the outcome is unsure, which means a person is not in complete control



GAMES WRESTLE CONTROL AWAY FROM USGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT



#2. PLAYGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT



PLAY REQUIRES ENGAGEMENT

but gameplay can engage players in many different ways



COMPETITIVE PLAYGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT



CHANCE-BASED PLAYGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT

Game of Bingo, http://blog.enclaveatwoodbridgecamapts.com/



MAKE-BELIEVE PLAYGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT

Nottingham.ac.co.uk



VERTIGO PLAYGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT



#4. CHARACTERGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT

Lara Croft, Tomb Raider



WHY ARE CHARACTERS USED IN GAMES?

characters are used for embodiment and storytelling reasons, psychological reasons and symbolic reasons



EMBODIMENTGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT

Player embodiment in Dead Space



STORYTELLINGGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT

Aragorn as a non-player character, War in the North



PSYCHOLOGICAL REASONSGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT

Mirror's Edge



PSYCHOLOGICAL REASONS

a character helps mirror the audience's fears and desires



SYMBOLIC REASONS

Shadow of the Colossus

GAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT



SYMBOLIC REASONS

a character helps representlarger ideas, metaphors, and allegories



PROTAGONIST VS ANTAGONISTGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT

The Avatar and the Guardian, Ultima VII-IX



BOUNDING CHARACTER AND PLAYER

what does a character want or need? what does the player hope or fear?



BALANCING AGENCY AND EMPATHY

a pre-written character the player should simply watch from the outside vs an avatar



EMPATHYGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT

Little Big Planet



AGENCYGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT

Ultima IX, character creation



FREE WILL vs PLAYER CONTROL

THE SIMS MARIO DASTAN AVATAR

?



TYPES OF PLAYERS

we also have different types of players, as we mentioned in LD3. Competitors, explorers, storytellers, achievers, jokers



REMEMBER ACHIEVERS?

Increasing character statistics in Oblivion

GAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT



#4. PREMISEGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT

Worlds of Ultima, Origin Systems



ROLE OF PREMISES

a well-executed premise bounds the formal and dramatic elements in a game and heightens the players' experience of the game itself



PREMISES PREVENT ABSTRACTNESSGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT



PACMAN HAS A PREMISEGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT



#5. STORY

in most simpler games, story is just a souped-up premise and nothing more



SUPER MARIOGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT



TENSION IS UNAVOIDABLE

even with well-written story-driven games there is a constant tension between storyline progress and free development



GAME EVENTS AND THE PLAYER

how can a player shape in-game events or modify their course when a story unfolds?



SHOULD A PLAYER BE ALLOWED TO?GAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT

Mark Hamill in Wing Commander III



osatelegraph.org

SKYRIMGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT



ASSASSIN'S CREEDGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT



PRINCE OF PERSIAGAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT



HOW DO BOARD AND VIDEO GAMES DIFFER?GAME DESIGN :: LD4 -- DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT



USE OF THE STORYLINE

one answer is in the way video games handle conflict and weave it into the storyline



PREMISE AND STORY: JAWSGAME DESIGN :: LD4 – DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT



PREMISE AND STORY: DONKEY KONGGAME DESIGN :: LD4 – DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT



ONE KEY DIFFERENCE ...

Mario's success in freeing his belle from Kong is in the hands of the player, unlike Brody's



… BUT A GENERAL PATTERN

stories follow a general pattern of exposition, climax and resolution called the dramatic arc



NAR

RAT I

VE T

ENSI

ON

RESOLUTIONNARRATIVE TIME

EXPOSITION

CLIMAX



DRAMATIC ARC AND 1H MINI-ARCS

all forms of storytelling make use of the dramatic arc for engagement. Games also deploy shorter, session-based, 1h mini-arcs to keep players going.



PREMISE AND STORY: LORD OF THE RINGSGAME DESIGN :: LD4 – DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT



PREMISE AND STORY: PRINCE OF PERSIAGAME DESIGN :: LD4 – DRAMATIC ELEMENTS AND PLAYER EMBODIMENT

Prince of Persia, Sands of Time



BREAK

Back in 15, right? Thanks.



WORKSHOP

Let's get going



THAT'S ALL FOLKS

This is it for this class. Thanks for following!

game design - lecture 4

Documents

ld4 dramatic elements

player embodiment ld4

player embodiment embodiment

player embodimentchallenge

player embodimentsimilarities

player embodimentplay

player embodimentexperience

player embodimentwhat