Game Art and Design Unit 3 Lesson 2 Objectives International Technology Education Association

Big Idea Knowledge of the basic skills and components of any field makes one uniquely prepared to perform at a high level in that area.

Game Objectives

Game Objectives A game objective is what a player is trying to achieve in order to win. Consider these questions What are some of the objectives of games you have played? What are the players trying to do? How do you win? These are questions a designer asks about a game objective.

Game Objectives Examples Clue: Be the first player to deduce who, where, and how a murder was committed

Game Objectives Examples Battleship: Be the first player to sink all five of your opponent’s battleships

Game Objectives Examples Connect Four: Be the first player to place four units in a contiguous line on the playing grid

Game Objectives Examples Chess: Checkmate your opponent’s king (cannot move without being captured)

Game Objectives Examples Super Mario Brothers: Rescue Princess Toadstool from the evil Bowser by completing all eight worlds

Game Objectives Examples Civilization: Conquer all other civilizations on the board

Game Objective Categories Capture Chase Race Alignment Rescue or Escape Forbidden Act Construction Exploration Solution Outwit

Game Objective: Capture Take or capture something of the opponent’s while avoiding being captured or killed. Includes games like checkers and chess. Also in this category are real-time strategy games. The concept of capturing (killing) the opponent’s forces in very common in games.

Game Objective: Capture Example includes Quake, SOCOM II, and WarCraft.

Game Objective: Chase Catch or elude an opponent. Chase games can be structured as single-player vs. game, player vs. player, or unilateral competition. Chase games can be determined by speed or physical dexterity Stealth and strategy Logic and deduction

Game Objective: Chase Examples include Fox & Geese, Assassin, and tag

Game Objective: Race Reach a goal – physical or conceptual – before the other players. Examples could be a footrace, a board game like Uncle Wiggly or Parcheesi. Can be determined by physical dexterity. Can also be determined by a mix of strategy and chance – like Backgammon.

Game Objective: Race Examples include Backgammon, Gran Turismo, and Sorry

Game Objective: Alignment Arrange game pieces in a certain configuration or create conceptual alignment between categories of pieces. Often puzzle-like because they require “solving” spatial or organizational problems. Determined by: Logic and calculation Chance opportunity

Game Objective: Alignment Examples include Tic-Tac-Toe, Bejeweled, Solitaire, Connect Four, and Tetris

Game Objective Rescue The objective is a rescue or escape game is to get a defined unit or units to safety. The objective is often combined with other partial objectives.

Game Objective Rescue Examples include Super Mario Brothers, Prince of Persia, and Emergency Rescue.

Game Objective: Forbidden Act The objective in a forbidden act game is to get the competition to “break the rules” by laughing, talking, letting go, making wrong moves, or doing something they shouldn’t. Not often found in digital games. Sometimes involves stamina or flexibility.

Game Objective: Forbidden Act Examples include Twister, Ker Plunk, Pick up Sticks, and Operation

Game Objective: Construction The object in a construction game is to build, maintain, or manage objects. May be directly competitive or indirectly competitive. Games with a construction objective often make use of resource management or trading as a game element.

Game Objective: Construction Examples include Civilization, SimCity, and Mouse Trap

Game Objective: Exploration The object in an exploration game is to explore game areas – usually combined with a competitive objective. Sometimes multiple objectives such as exploration, puzzle solving, and combat intertwine to form multifaceted gameplay.

Game Objective: Exploration Examples include Zelda and EverQuest

Game Objective: Solution The object in a solution game is to solve a problem or puzzle before the competition.

Game Objective: Solution Examples include Sudoku and Clue

Game Objective: Outwit The object in a game of wits is to gain and use knowledge in a way that defeats the other players. Sometimes “extra-game” knowledge comes into gameplay (Jeopardy or Trivial Pursuit). This type of game may provoke interesting social dynamics.

Game Objective: Outwit Examples include Trivial Pursuit, Jeopardy, and Survivor.

Big Idea Knowledge of the basic skills and components of any field makes one uniquely prepared to perform at a high level in that area.

Game Art and Design Unit 3 Lesson 2 Objectives Images student work, photos by Phyllis Jones, and clipart International Technology Education Association