Player-Computer Interaction 

GAME DESIGN

UNIT 3:

Prof. Dr. Eike Langbehn

Department of Media Technology

Faculty of Design, Media and Information

Hamburg University of Applied Sciences

SECTION NAME

EXAMPLES

UNIT 2:

AGENDA

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

1. INTRO

2. REQUIREMENT
ANALYSIS

3. GAME
DESIGN

0. ORGANIZATION

4. GETTING STARTED
WITH GODOT

5. USER
STUDIES

6. ANALYSIS OF
HUMAN FACTORS

7. INTERACTION
DESIGN

8. ADVANCED PROGRAMMING
WITH GODOT

9. EVALUATION
MODELS

10. MARKET
ANALYSIS

11. NARRATIVE
DESIGN

12. GAME ENGINE
ARCHITECTURE

LEARNING outcomes

  • Understanding what game design is
  • Understanding how a game can be defined and which elements it consists of
  • Knowledge of techniques to design a game

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

Game design

What is game design?

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

what is a game?

What is game design?

Mau-mau

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

  • 32 cards; 2-5 players
  • @start 6 cards/player; one card face-up visible for all players; rest of the cards as face-down stack
  • @turn player1 can play one card from his hand if it corresponds to the suit or value of the face-up card
    •  if they are not able to play a card, they draw a card from the stack
  • players take turns, playing a card or drawing one
  • The 7, 8, Jackare significant cards:
    • If a 7 is played, the next player has to draw two cards
    • If a 8 is played, the next player misses his turn
    • A Jack of any suit is the equivalent of a Joker and can be played on any card
  • When a player has only one card left, they must say "Mau"
    • Failure means that player must take a card
  • Player that empties his hand first, wins

Mau-mau

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

Player 1

Player 2

can be played

Mau-mau

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

Player 1

Player 2

can be played

Mau-mau

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

Player 1

Player 2

can be played

Mau-mau

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

Player 1

Player 2

Player 1 is closer to winning

Player 2 has to draw two cards

Definitions

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

A game is a system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome.

  • System
    • Set of parts that interrelate to form a complex
  • Players
    • One or more participants play actively
    • Players interact with the system to experience the play of the game
  • Artifical Setting
    • Boundary between "real-life" in time and space
  • Conflict
    • Contest of powers:
      Solo/multiplayer/cooperation/competition
  • Quantifiable Outcome
    • End: player has won or lost or received numerical score

Salen/Zimmerman (Rules of Play)

  • A closed, formal system
  • Engages players in structured conflict
  • Resolves its uncertainty in an unequal outcome
A rule-based formal system, with variable and quantifiable outcomes, where different outcomes are assigned different values, where the player exerts effort to influence the outcome,the player feels emotionally attached to the outcome, and the real-world consequences are optional and negotiable.  

Tracy Fullerton

Half-real by Jesper Juul (2008)

  • Rules
  • Players
  • Goals (winning/losing)
  • Choices that affect the outcome
  • Consequences of winning/losing are optional

minecraft

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

Source:  ©Minecraft, Mojang Studios/Xbox Games Studios (no CC-License)

cities: skylines

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

Source: ©Cities: Skylines, Paradox Interactive (no CC-License)

poker

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

Playing vs games

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

Play

Game

Game

Play

puzzles vs games

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

Story - no interaction

Toy - no goal

Puzzle - goal

Game - winning

Definition of "game"

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

A game is a series of interesting choices. - Sid meier

Source: ©Sid Meier's Civilization VI, 2K Games (no CC-License)

Definition of "game"

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

As long as it feels like a game, it is a game

McGuire/Jenkins

Game design

What is game design?

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

what is a game?

What is game design?

Game design

What is game design?

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

what is a game?

game structure (schell)

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

  • Technology
    • Limits or enables other elements
  • Mechanics
    • Goals 
    • What players can (not) do
    • Reactions
  • Story
    • Main sequence of events for player
  • Aesthetics
    • Represents look and feel
    • Directly accessible to player

Technology

Aesthetics

Story

Mechanics

Less visible

More visible

game structure (mda)

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

Mechanics

Dynamics

Aesthetics

Developer

Player

  • Game rules (basic actions)
  • Gameplay
  • Consequences of actions shown
  • Emotional response evoked in players through dynamics
  • Fun

game structure (Adams)

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

Core Mechanics

Player

Camera Model                    Interaction Model

Challenges                                Actions

Outputs

Inputs

  • Core Mechanics
    • Symbolic, mathematical models based on general rules
    • Define challenges and actions
  • User Interface
    • Broker between core mechanics and player
    • Camera model: player's view on the game world
    • Interaction model: interpretation of user input and projection

User Interface

Gameplay

game structure (fullerton)

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

player interaction patterns

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

A pattern is the interaction flow between:

  • A player
  • The game
  • Other players (optional

Player vs Player

  • Strictly 2 players competing
  • Good for competitive players
  • Example: Chess, Fighting games

Team Competition

  • Two or more groups of players compete
  • Soccer, Counter Strike
  • Excels at E-Sports

Player vs Game

  • Single player against the game
  • Most widely used pattern
  • Halo, Mario, Tomb Raider

Multiple individual players vs Game

  • Bingo, Roulette
  • Arguably World of Warcraft if Solo Players are considered

Unilateral Competition

  • Two or more players compete against one player
  • Scotland Yard
  • Optional teams
    • not necessarily equal sized

Cooperative play

  • Portal 2 Coop
  • Lego Star Wars

Multilateral competition

  • Two or more players compete directly against one another
  • Quake, Warcraft III etc.

game structure (fullerton)

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

objectives

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

Objective: Capture

  • Take / destroy something of the opponent's (terrain, units, both)

  • Avoid being captured/killed

Objective: allignment

  • Puzzle-like

  • Arrange game pieces in certain spatial configuration
  • Conceptual alignment between categories of pieces

Objective: forbidden act

  • Competition to avoid breaking the rules

    • ​laugh, talk, letting go, wrong move...

  • Uncommon in video games

Objective: Chase

  • Catch/Elude opponent

    • Single player vs game

    • Player vs player

    • Unilateral competition

Objective: Exploration

  • Exploring areas

  • Find treasure, solve puzzles
  • ...fight along the way

Objective: Construction

  • Build, maintain, manage objects

    • Often (in-)directly competitive
    • Often rely on resource management

Objective: race

  • Reach goal before other players

  • Can be physical or conceptual

Objective: rescue/escape

  • Rescue someone

    • can be race-like

Objective: solution

  • Find an answer/solution

  • Or find a better solution than the competitor

Objective: outwit

  • Gain knowledge

  • Use knowledge to defeat players

  • Example: jeopardy

game structure (fullerton)

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

procedues

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

Who does what, where, when and how?

  • Who can use procedure? One player? Some players? All players?
  • What exactly does the player do?
  • Where does the procedure occur? Specific location?
  • When does it take place? Limited by turn, time, game state?
  • How do players access the procedure? Physical interaction? Input device? Verbal command?
  • Starting action
    • How to put a game into play
  • Progression of action
    • Ongoing procedures after the starting action
  • Special actions
    • Conditions enabling other elements or game states
  • Resolving actions
    • Bring gameplay to a close

Connect Four

  1. Choose a player to go first. Each player picks a color
  2. On each turn, a player drops one colored checker down any of the slots in the top of the grid
  3. Play alternates until one player gets four checkers of one color in a row

Super Mario Bros

  • Select: Button to select the type of game you wish to play
  • Start: Button to start the game - if game is running it will pause/unpause
  • ←: Walk to left ← + B: Run left ← + B + A: Jump higher
  • →: Walk right → + B: Run right → + B + A: Jump higher
  •  ↓: Crouch (if Super Mario)
  • A: Jump: higher jump the longer you press, Swim: swim upwards
  • B: If Fire Mario, throw fireball

game structure (fullerton)

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

rules

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

  • Define game objects
  • Define allowed actions for players
  • Typically defined in rules document in board games
    • Player has to read and understand
    • Players have to work with rules
    • Objects are often limited
  • Often hidden, not explicit in digital games
    • Players often unaware
    • As a result, players build mental model over time
  • Too few/many rules might be confusing or alienating
  • Question to check if a rule is needed:
    • What would happen if that were not stated?
  • Complex rules might be hard to explain, understand, remember, simple rules could be boring

Rules Restricting Actions

  • Prevent unfair advantages
  • Force a certain path of advancement within the game
  • Soccer:
    • Offside rule
  • Go: 
    • Not allowed to recreate previous state
  • Black Desert Online:
    • Need Fishing skill at level Beginner10 to use better fishing rod

rules determining effects

  • Usually used to
    • Give a penalty to player to try harder next time
    • Make game more exciting
    • Provide random change, since they only happen under certain circumstances
  • Any shooter nowadays:
    • If health reaches 0, player has to restart from checkpoint

game structure (fullerton)

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

resources

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

  • Assets that can be used to accomplish a certain goal
  • Player access to resources is key to game balance 

Source: ©Rome: Total War, Creative Assembly (no CC-License)

Source: ©Diablo 3, Blizzard Entertainment (no CC-License)

Source: ©Starcraft 2, Blizzard Entertainment (no CC-License)

 

Source: ©World of Warcraft, Blizzard Entertainment (no CC-License)

 

 

Source: ©Ori and the Blind Forest, Moon Studios (no CC-License)

game structure (fullerton)

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

boundaries

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

  • Important for the invitation to play
    • ​First step in player engagement
    • Can be more compelling than just pressing a button
  • Represents the magic circle
  • Essential for game design
  • Allows leaving the game without "hard feelings"
    • Playing 1-on-1 in Counter Strike and still friends afterwards 

game structure (fullerton)

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

conflict

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

  • "Conflict emerges from the players trying to accomplish the goals of the game within its rules and boundaries"  (Fullerton)
    • Created by rules, procedures, situations that don't allow player to reach goal directly  

Examples

  • Pinball: Prevent ball from escaping the field of play
  • Golf: Avoid lakes and bunkers
  • Quake: Stay alive while others try to kill you
  • WarCraft III: Maintain forces and resources to command and control map objectives 

Obstacles

Opponents

Dilemmas

game structure (fullerton)

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

outcome

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

  • Mostly predefined ending
    • If end condition, then game over
    • Player wins if enough predefined goals have been achieved
  • Zero-Sum games have a winner and a loser
    • Win =+1, Loss =-1 => Sum is always zero
    • Many games are not zero-sum games
  • Ranking systems, statistics and other objectives
  • Represents challenge, motivation
  • Journey can be seen as the reward
  • Has to be demanding
  • Prize must be rewarding

game structure (fullerton)

PLAYER-COMPUTER INTERACTION

UNIT 3: GAME DESIGN

Player-Computer Interaction 

The contents of this Open Educational Resource are licensed under the Creative-Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0)
Attribution: Eike Langbehn, Anh Sang Tran, Peter Wood

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