Fundamentals of Game Design, 2 nd Edition by Ernest Adams Chapter 16: Sports Games

Chapter 16 Sports Games2 © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. 2 Objectives Know the definition of athletic sports games and be familiar with the types of challenges that these types of sports games offer Understand the challenges of meeting players’ expectations about a real-world game in a video game implementation

Chapter 16 Sports Games3 © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. 3 Objectives (Cont.) Know the basics of adapting a physical sports game mechanic to a virtual world Understand the design complexities for physics, AI, and player skill ratings required for a sports game Use flowcharting to help define AI states within a sports game

Chapter 16 Sports Games4 © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. 4 Objectives (Cont.) Know the issues involved in licensing sports organizations, teams, and players, including the use of names and images Understand mapping known physical game play mechanics to computer-human interface devices

Chapter 16 Sports Games5 © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. What Are Sports Games? A sports game simulates some aspect of a real or imaginary athletic sport, whether it is playing in matches, managing a team or career, or both Match play makes use of physical and strategic challenges The management challenges are chiefly economic

Chapter 16 Sports Games6 © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Game Features Game structure  Main gameplay mode is match play  Outside of match play, game’s modes relate to other aspects of the sport  Pause the game for coaching tasks Player roles  Athlete is most common role—player follows the action rather than a single athlete in team sports  Player may also take role of coach or manager

Chapter 16 Sports Games7 © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Game Features (Cont.) Gameplay and rules  Challenges and actions match the sport Athlete—Physical challenges Coach—Strategic challenges  Rules might have to be relaxed because controlling athletes onscreen does not correspond exactly to real-life sports experiences  Need to decide what to do about athlete mistakes outside of player control Allow players to set referee parameters

Chapter 16 Sports Games8 © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Game Features (Cont.) Competition modes  All competition modes are allowed  Sports games are more popular on consoles to permit multiplayer competition  One mode should include computer versus itself so players can watch a match

Chapter 16 Sports Games9 © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Game Features (Cont.) Victory and loss conditions  Match real sport’s victory and loss conditions  Modes Season mode Exhibition mode Sudden death Round robin Tournament mode Franchise mode

Chapter 16 Sports Games10 © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Game Features (Cont.) Opportunities for creative play  Team creation—players create their own teams  Strategy design—players can create their own strategies  Playing field design—players can edit the shape of the playing field if sport allows this option

Chapter 16 Sports Games11 © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Game Features (Cont.) Inventing a sport is a risky option that is hard to sell Weather  Weather can invoke special rules  Weather affects the game Instant replay is an essential feature  Include all usual video forward/reverse features  Allow player to move camera around  Allow locking the camera to an athlete or the ball

Chapter 16 Sports Games12 © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Core Mechanics Physics for sports games  Physics engine determines the behavior of moving bodies in the match  Physics should not be perfectly realistic because Player does not have precise control Player is not a professional athlete

Chapter 16 Sports Games13 © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Core Mechanics (Cont.) Rating the athletes  Developing ratings is a big task  Ratings provide data for the physics engine to simulate the athletes accurately  Common ratings are provided for all athletes— speed, agility, weight, etc.  Specialized ratings apply to specific positions— passing strength, passing accuracy, etc.

Chapter 16 Sports Games14 © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Core Mechanics (Cont.) Athlete AI design  Define the state space Play in a match is broken into states defined by rules and strategy (e.g., fly ball, foul ball, grounder, strikeout) Create a flowchart to map the game’s states  Set collective and individual goals in each state Individual goals are what each athlete tries to achieve in the course of playing his position Collective goal is what the team is trying to achieve as a whole; the collective goal determines individual goals

Chapter 16 Sports Games15 © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Core Mechanics (Cont.) Injuries  Injuries introduce some chance  Allow players to turn off injuries Arcade mode versus simulation mode  Arcade mode increases action and decreases realism; produces higher scores  Simulation mode increases realism but probably decreases action

Chapter 16 Sports Games16 © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Core Mechanics (Cont.) Simulating matches automatically  Computer plays out matches and records results  To fake results quickly, roll dice to generate game scores Scores must be restricted to a credible range Doesn’t generate other statistics  Allowing a home field advantage is not recommended

Chapter 16 Sports Games17 © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. The Game World Setting  Accurate copies of real stadiums and arenas  Weather significantly affects games played outdoors  Crowd noises contribute to setting

Chapter 16 Sports Games18 © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. The Game World (Cont.) Licenses, trademarks, and publicity rights  Team and league trademarks In America, the league holds the license to use the team and league names, logos, uniform designs, etc. A variety of governing bodies manage individual sports Events are owned by the organization producing them Stadiums are now asserting trademark rights too  Personal publicity rights owned by the athlete or an organization

Chapter 16 Sports Games19 © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. The Game World (Cont.) Audio commentary  Needed to feel like you’re watching the match on television  Play-by-play and color commentary  Note the events that should trigger a specific comment

Chapter 16 Sports Games20 © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. The Presentation Layer Interaction model  Player usually controls an avatar  Which athlete is being controlled can change as the play progresses (in team sports) Camera models  Don’t use first-person; players watch the athletes  Overhead—individual sports  End view or side view—team sports  Picture-in-picture—sports with more than one focal point, e.g. baseball or cricket

Chapter 16 Sports Games21 © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. The Presentation Layer (Cont.) User interface design  Input Devices Motion-sensitive (e.g. Wii controller) best for sports In team games, let the player press a button to switch control to the most appropriate defending athlete  Displays User interface can change every second, depending on conditions in the match Each state requires a set of options Mark the controlled athlete with a label Use overlays rather than pull-down menus

Chapter 16 Sports Games22 © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. Summary You should now understand  How to identify a sports game  How to describe the player’s expectations for a sports game  How to adapt a sport for a video game  How to rate players  How to flowchart states in a match  How to license teams and players  How to create a user interface for a sports game