1. SM2215 Genres Part 1 - Games Mark Green School of Creative Media

2. Overview  Games divided into three types: arcade arcade console console computer computer  each type targets a different group of users  tendency for games to move from one type to another

3. Arcade Games - History  Started with pinball in the 1800s  first use of simple electronics in 1930s  moved to more sophisticated electronics and computers in the 1970s  originally placed in bowling alleys, bars and other entertainment areas  game arcades are relatively recent, last 20 years

4. 1931 Pinball

5. 1940s Pinball

6. Arcade Games  Games companies sell units to distributors  distributors will either have space rented in locations, or sell to smaller operators  distributors rent space from locations, either a fixed rate or a percentage of the revenue  distributors will typically move games every 3 to 6 months

7. Arcade Games

8. Arcade Games - Business  Try to keep cost less than $5000US, some special games can be more expensive  expensive games have a bad reputation, need high volume or high price per game  produce custom hardware that is cheaper and harder to break than consumer products  try to use same hardware in several games

9. Arcade Games - Design  Players pay per game: want to attract players, play often want to attract players, play often want to keep games short want to keep games short  most arcade games are based on physical action, not a lot of thinking or strategy  must be easy and quick to learn, no instruction manual

10. Arcade Games - Design  Hard to come up with new arcade games, very limited genre  Game must be simple, easy to learn, few rules and easy to explain  Mainly based on reflex and manual skills  Most innovation now in racing games, games that require special hardware or playing areas

11. Arcade Games  The main market segment in the 1970s  now a small part of the business: hard to come up with new ideas for games, restricted range of things you can do hard to come up with new ideas for games, restricted range of things you can do competition from games consoles competition from games consoles  provided the original demand for game consoles, got the industry started

12. Consoles  Special purpose device for games only  displays on TV, uses simple controllers for interaction  first consoles appears in early 1970s  early ones had a fixed set of games built into them, no expansion  some attempts at cartridges before microprocessors, but limited range of games

13. Consoles - Pong  Pong was the first console game, one of the first arcade games  ball bounces off paddles on either side of screen  early versions were two player, each player controlled one paddle  later versions allowed you to play against the console

14. Pong

15. Consoles  First real console system was the Atari VCS  based on the 6502 microprocessor, limited amount of electronics in the console  the cartridge held the program for the game  cartridge had between 2K and 4K of memory

16. Atari VCS

17. Consoles  The VCS started the cartridge model that was used until recently  cartridge consists of a few memory chips and other ICs in a plastic container  early systems allowed anyone to make cartridges, later systems had special formats that were closely controlled by console company

18. Consoles  Easy to produce cartridges for Atari systems, many companies started to compete with them  result: Atari went bankrupt, bad management also contributed  later companies learned their lesson from Atari, keep control of the game media

19. Consoles - Business Model  There are several aspects  first, need to have very high volume: reduces cost of individual units reduces cost of individual units large market share means more games, developers interested in your console large market share means more games, developers interested in your console  console companies now aim for millions of units

20. Consoles - Business Model  Most of the profit made from games, not the consoles  consoles are often sold at a loss, widely denied by the industry  console company produces the cartridges, or other game media  game company must sell their games through the console company

21. Consoles - Business Model  Console companies claim they want to maintain quality, but really want to maintain profit  major problem: game companies always feel the console companies want too much  no opportunity for independent distributors  console companies in control, select the game companies

22. Consoles - Business Model  Need a new generation of consoles every 3 to 5 years  people get tired of old games, need to get something new  also about the right time to update the technology, give people a reason to buy new game cartridges

23. Consoles  Consoles controlled most of the game market from late 1970s through most of the 1990s  computers are now common, provide competition for consoles  several challenges for consoles  need to keep up with PCs, but still remain cheap, under $300US

24. Consoles  Limited amount of space for games  move from cartridges to CD to DVD, still hard to compete with PC  network support required for online games, adds more to the cost  will consoles evolve into PCs?

25. Consoles – Player Participation  Limited writable storage, hard to customize games  PC games allow players to create own content, can be an important part of some games  Consoles are closed, so players can’t create their own content  Lower feeling of ownership and participation in the game

26. Console Wars  Unlike PCs, companies have control over hardware and software  provide more than games: network connection, DVD player, etc  aim to control the living room, delivery of content to the home  major fight between Sony (content company) and Microsoft (computer company)

27. Computer Games  Where it all started, now probably the most popular form  this is the most powerful game platform, can take advantage of all PC hardware  most innovative, the lowest entry barrier to the industry, best entry point for new companies

28. Computer Games - History  First computer game 1961/62, Space War  written for PDP-1 computer, show its capabilities  very simple line graphics, but interesting to play  a two player game, couldn’t play against the computer

29. Space War

30. PDP-1

31. Computer Games - History  Space War started the industry, first arcade games modeled on Space War  most early computer games were produced in universities and research labs  no distribution mechanism, no way to sell them, games were produced purely for fun  most games had limited distribution, until there were computer networks

32. Computer Games - History  People’s Computer Company - founded around 1975, popularize computers for the home, etc  produced Creative Computing, first publication to treat home computing, games and computer art seriously  book of early computer games, all written in Basic, run on most home computers

33. Computer Games - History  Home computers started the industry, started in the late 1970s and grew in the 1980s  problems: most early computers were quite limited most early computers were quite limited too many models, market was too fragmented too many models, market was too fragmented  computer games were a small industry

34. Computer Games - History  The PC changed that, dominated the market and provided a good platform  through the 1980s and at least first half of 1990s the consoles still dominated  by the late 1990s most of the innovation was occurring in PC games  PCs now command a significant part of the market

35. Computer Games  PCs have a number of advantages over consoles: faster hardware evolution, not restricted to 6 year technology cycle faster hardware evolution, not restricted to 6 year technology cycle more storage for games more storage for games network access for multi-player games network access for multi-player games  easier to do certain types of games on PCs

36. Game Genres  A number of game genres have been produced  game industry tends to use very fine classification: games within the same genre compete games within the same genre compete small genres mean more room for games without competition small genres mean more room for games without competition  We use a much coarser classification

37. Action  Started by arcade games, due to limited play time, what they could do best  based on physical action, co-ordination, shooting, etc  early games really had no characters, mainly shooting at objects  not very sophistication graphics, but lots of action

38. Space Invaders

39. Action  With characters question of point of view  in first person don’t really see the character, see game from player’s point of view  gives a sense of immersion in the game  FPS - first person shooter is the best example of this, games such as Doom and Quake are good examples  tend to be violent

40. Action  Some action games use a third person view, Mario series of games is a good example  ability to watch the character  several versions: over the shoulder, get same view as character over the shoulder, get same view as character bird’s eye or remote view, get a complete view of the game area, remote control of the character bird’s eye or remote view, get a complete view of the game area, remote control of the character

41. id Software  The company that defined FPS  produced the DOOM and Quake series of games  produced one of the first 3D games, Wolfenstein 3D  DOOM was one of the first online games, allowed 4 people to play together

42. id Software  The first levels of DOOM were distributed as shareware, had to buy the full game  id allows players to add to their games, produce new levels and objects: source code for games available for free source code for games available for free level design tools available for free level design tools available for free  some players have produced almost complete games on their own

43. id Software  Produced almost a religious following, have many fans, many web sites  more info on id games than any other company  the Quake game engine has been used by over 20 successful games produced by other companies

44. Adventure/RPG  Started as computer game, around 1975  first versions motivated by D&D and similar RPGs  started as text based games, the first one was call adventure, thus the name of the genre  graphical adventure games didn’t appear to about 10 years later

45. Adventure/RPG  The closest games to a narrative or story line  the player is placed in an imaginary world, explores the world, solves puzzles, accumulates treasures  some games involve fighting, but many others don’t, usually a small part of the game

46. Adventure/RPG  RPGs allow the player to play some role  be a character different from real life  a good story and situation is necessary to make this realistic  quite often the games have a lot of written documentation to set the scene or provide background to the story  entry video can serve same purpose

47. Paper Based Games  Role playing and strategy games started before the computer  Military games have been played for a long time  Played on a map, use markers or characters that are shaped like troops, guns, tanks, etc  Sometimes based on real battles

48. Paper Based Games  Players would take turns moving their armies, a set of rules used to determine the winner in each encounter  Role playing games came along a bit later  Still based on paper boards and moving characters around the board – but now you are the character  May not involve fighting, may be exploration

49. Paper Based Games  Dungeon and Dragons (D&D) was the most popular  Loosely based on Lord of the Rings and similar stories  Sophisticated set of rules for generating characters and fighting  Dungeon master created the playing area and refereed the play

50. Paper Based Games  Simulation games also started at this time  A number of games based on finance and stock trading  Many of the great game designers came from the paper game community  A lot of the design ideas, and the mechanics behind the games was worked out during this period

51. Adventure  Adventure started with a page of text, described a field with a small house  used text commands to move to house and then inside  in the house collected important items for the game, then entered the dungeon  I first played this game on December 31, 1977

52. Adventure  On each move presented with several lines of text describing current area  sometimes there would be options for the next move  very simple English commands: move north move north grab sword grab sword Light lamp Light lamp

53. Adventure/RPG  Commercial adventure games started with home computers, couldn’t play on arcade or consoles  early games were text based: textual description of the scene textual description of the scene simple English commands simple English commands  same game engine used for many games, main company was Infocom

54. Adventure/RPG  Later games added graphics, mainly as output, kept text for input  early games had no representation of player character, usually viewed world in first person  graphical games added the possibility of a player character and third person views

55. Simulation  Based on a simulation of something that might occur in the real world  player controls the simulation, change the situation and watch how the characters in the simulation respond  quite often the player isn’t represented in the simulation  fairly sophisticated games

56. SimCity and the Sims  SimCity is often viewed as the start of this genre - 1989  original game by Will Wright, finished in 1985, but no one would publish it  eventually Maxis, a new company produced it  long line of simulation games resulting in the Sims

57. SimCity and the Sims  The Sims took over 10 years to produce  considerable amount of research involved in producing the games, need to produce a realistic simulation  some of the Sim games were not successful, they were too complicated  need to have a goal for the simulation, or something that is fun

58. Simulation  Another major part of this genre is flight simulators  current games as accurate as commercial flight simulators, important selling point  support a range of planes and realistic flight scenarios  large fan base who are very serious about the games

59. Simulation  Flight simulators can be networked for formation flying, also have air control  some games allow custom design of the cockpit, can select and arrange instruments  can also design your own terrain and airports  special devices to simulate air plane controls

60. God Games  A combination of RPG and simulation  The player controls a planet, civilization or creature  The player acts as god and completely controls the lives of his subjects  The characters in the game respond to what the player does, attempt to live with his decisions

61. God Games  A good recent example is Black and White  The player can be either a good god or an evil god, or something in between  The character responds to what the player has provided  The next version of the game will have more intelligent characters, maybe they will be able to go against the god

62. Sports  Sports games first appeared in the console era  the early versions were quite simple, limited control over play and limited graphics  there were also early sports games for computers  many of these were text based, enter a play and read the result

63. Sports  Breaks into two main groups: team sports team sports individual sports individual sports  most common individual sports are golf and racing  individual are easier than team, since the user just needs to control one character

64. Sports  Both golf and racing have produced special hardware  steering wheels and peddles are common for game consoles and PCs  some arcade versions have reproduced the inside of racing cars  golf machines are typically more expensive, using video camera to monitor the swing

65. Sports  Team sports are more difficult, the player must be able to control the team, that is multiple players  early approach was based on coaching, instead of being a player  modern games allow the user to control all of the players on the team

66. Sports  Two problems: selecting the player to control selecting the player to control having the other players do something intelligent having the other players do something intelligent  usually the player with the ball is the one the user is controlling  this works reasonably well for baseball and American football

67. Sports  For games like hockey and soccer more coordination is needed  the ball can move from player to player, and between teams  computer controlled players need to guess what the user controlled player is going to do

68. Sports  Most leagues have registered trade marks, must license from the league  this has many implications for games  need to produce a new version each year, changes in teams, colours, etc  now need to have face images of all the players, must be paid for this

69. Sports  Stadiums must also be faithfully represented  this includes the advertising  must negotiate with all advertisers to be able to include their advertisements in game  must pay for this right  yearly production cycle that lasts for about 11 months

70. Strategy  One of the few genres without time pressure, don’t need to be instantly responding to computer  related to simulation games, but more planning is required, need to think of the strategy and apply it  of all the genres requires the most thought

71. Strategy  Game play and consistency are very important  must have a good model of domain, set of rules that result in fair play  more attention must be paid to details, graphics and sound not as important  appeal more to older players

72. Casual Games  One of the newest genres  Most PC games require a considerable time to learn, and players typically play for several hours at a time  This is called serious gaming – need to make a real commitment to playing  Casual games don’t require this commitment, a game can be finished in less than 5 minutes

73. Casual Games  Casual games are usually easy to learn, very few rules, or familiar games  Each round of the game can be completed in a short period of time, don’t need to spend a lot of time on it  Appeal to people who want a short break, have a few minutes to spare, don’t want to get too involved with the game

74. Casual Games  Becoming a large market, good way to attract people to games  Popular on web sites, can be used to draw people to the site, gain revenue from advertising  Many mobile games are of this type, fit the mobile life style, a few minutes to play while on the MTR or waiting for a friend

75. Mobile Games  Two different platforms: Portable game consoles Portable game consoles Phones and PDAs Phones and PDAs  Game Boy is a good example of a portable game console, has traditional console games, but you can take it with you  Appeals to console game players, mainly serious games  Technology lags behind consoles

76. Mobile Games  Phone based games are typically casual games, but can be much more  Phones are communications devices, can network the games  Either play against other people, or have a central database for game information  Examples: horse racing games, or fish breeding games

77. Why?  Why do people play games? Why are they popular? What makes a good game?  These are interesting questions, but we really don’t know the answers  Since there are many types of games, there are probably many answers  Most people play games for entertainment, challenge or as a hobby

78. Why?  Some things a game should be: Interesting – it must catch people’s interest and hold their interest Interesting – it must catch people’s interest and hold their interest Fair – people won’t play a game where they always lose Fair – people won’t play a game where they always lose Challenging – it can’t be too simple Challenging – it can’t be too simple Interactive – the player must be involved, not just a spectator Interactive – the player must be involved, not just a spectator Social – some games need to be social Social – some games need to be social

79. Game Play  Term used by game designers  Capture the idea that a game must be fun  Deals with the rules and settings for the game, not the visuals and sounds  Without good game play a game is dead, no matter how good the visuals are  Designing game rules is still an art, many ways to go wrong

80. Balance  A game is balanced if all players have an equal chance of winning (or losing)  If a player is strong in one area, they should be weak in another  Game levels shouldn’t be impossible, it should be possible to pass a level with a reasonable amount of work  Skill should be important

81. Social Games  Some games are designed for group play  Many console games can have multiple players, cooperation and competition  In other cases one person plays while the others watch, this is common with children  They may all participate in solving a puzzle or trying to get through a level

82. Game Playing as a Job  Some people make their living from game playing  Competitive leagues for some games, have regular competitions  Often sponsored by computer or games companies  Cash prizes for winners, a top player can make a reasonable living

83. Game Playing as a Job  Other people play online games  Build up a character to a high level and then sell them on eBay  Acquire valuable objects and auction them off for real money  Work a standard 40 hour week, can make an above average living doing this  What happens on the game ends?

84. Online Games  This raises a couple of interesting issues  Many online games have an economy  Players earn cash by doing deeds or jobs, can then use it to buy things  But is this real?  Game items are auctioned regularly on eBay, this can be used to determine the exchange rate

85. Online Games  The currency in online games is as real as most countries currencies  The value of real currencies is determined by their exchange rates, this goes for game currencies as well!  The EverQuest economy is larger than that of some real countries  What does this tell us?

86. Online Games  If there is money, there can be crime as well  Theft is one possibility, and it does occur in some games, there have been law suits over this  What about other crimes, physical crimes like assault and murder  Can they lead to actions in the real world?

87. Online Games  As online games develop social structures, what is the impact on real life  If you get married in an online game, do you need a divorce in the real world  The answer appears to be yes  There have been marriage break downs due to relationships in online games  Do we need a law to keep the game world separate from the real world?

88. Online Games  How do we end an online game, or must it go on for ever  What if the real company running the game goes under?  Is ending the game equivalent to genocide? Some people think it is!  There have been law suits over this, companies forced to keep the game world running

89. Online Games  There is a lot we don’t know about the social structures formed in online games  Could these games have a significant impact on the real world?  Should game designers be aware of this?  Do we need to have laws about game design?