CS 4730 What is a game? CS 4730 – Computer Game Design

CS 4730 What makes a game “a game”? Thoughts? 2

CS 4730 All games have… Goals Rules Feedback Voluntary participation (aka “players”) “Playing a game is the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles.” 3

CS 4730 “I play it for the story” What drives you to play a certain game? Do you play a game solely for the story/lore? Or do you play the game for the mechanics/playstyle? 4

CS 4730 “I play it for the story” Are games a vehicle for telling a story? Or are games about how we empower the player to do things they don’t normally get to do? Is it the author’s voice we care about, or is it the gamers? 5

CS 4730 “I play it for the story” Name a game where the author’s voice is paramount – over that of the player’s. Name a game where the player’s voice is paramount – over that of the author’s. What characteristics do the two types of games have? 6

CS 4730 Beware the Extremes Either extreme is dangerous. Pure story often has poor mechanics, or is simply watching a movie. Why watch a movie holding a controller? Pure mechanics often leads to lack of player motivation and interest. Why use your agency in a world you don’t care about? 7

CS 4730 The World of Balance Games as wish-fulfillment –I want to ________ The Adams Approach –What dream are you satisfying? –What goals does this dream create? –What actions achieve those goals? –What setting does this dream create? –What is the appropriate interface? Use this to define your gameplay in your world 8

CS 4730 Start Dreaming It’s not too early to start thinking about your game! We will be building with MonoGame Think about the scale of a really good Flash game, not Halo 4 Think about building your game around a single idea/mechanic and then riffing on that Example: light/dark, gravity flip, color matching 9

CS 4730 A Critical Eye How can you begin to design games if you don’t know what’s out there? What’s possible? You have probably played some games at some point, but most of us play games in a particular category or style. This is your invitation to branch out. More info can be found on the Quests page and on your Gamer Card. 10

CS 4730 The Written Word Once you’ve played a few games, you’re ready to start dreaming. Do some random drawings Brainstorm Write a short paragraph describing something Pick an existing mechanic and modify it The best ideas come from some weird places! 11

CS 4730 Speaking of Weird… 12

CS 4730 Speaking of Weird… 13

CS 4730 Speaking of Weird… 14

CS 4730 Ludic Structure of Games Players – voluntary participation Objectives - goals Procedures – actions of play, limited by rules Rules – define game parameters Resources – valuable objects defined by rules Conflict – hindrances to objective Boundaries – setting apart the game world Outcome – uncertainty toward ultimate goal 15

CS 4730 Narrative/Engagement in Games Challenge – tension to resolve a problem Play – “free movement within a structure” Premise – context Character – vessel for participation and interest Story – narrative within a context Dramatic Elements – climax of game element 16

CS 4730 Greater than the Sum Games are all of these things, but are also greater than the sum of these parts. We also have to look beyond these definitions to see where innovation is happening in gaming today. 17

CS 4730 A New Challenger Arrives! Goals Rules Feedback Players 18

CS 4730 A New Challenger Arrives! Goals – Objectives, Resources, Outcome Rules – Procedures, Rules, Conflict, Boundaries Feedback – Communicating items above Players – Player Modes and Interactions 19