Assignment 1 CIS 487 9/29/09 David Elner

Basic Information: TitleGarry’s Mod DeveloperTeam GARRY GenreIndie (Mod)(Sandbox) Price$10 RequirementsSource-engine Game 1.7 Ghz CPU 512 MB RAM DirectX 8 Graphics Card Windows 2000/XP/Vista Mouse, Keyboard, Internet RecommendedPentium Ghz CPU 1 GB RAM DirectX 9 Graphics Card Windows 2000/XP/Vista Mouse, Keyboard, Internet

Installation  Steam – Content Delivery Platform  Automated installation, updates  Game license associated to account  Must own Source Engine game to play Steam –

Overview  “Sandbox” gameplay  Primary focus on physics  Secondary focus on custom content Player-created content

Story & Roles  Story-less gameplay  “Make your own adventure”  Player roles vary greatly: - Architect - Role-player - “God”  Single player and multiplayer (Same gameplay) Player-created comic

Gameplay  Free-form  Provided tools & props  Common types: - Build games - Roleplaying games - Comics & scenes - Physics exploration  No scoring  Boundless! Typical build gameplay Typical scene gameplay

Build Gameplay  Most common form of play  Construct devices, vehicles and structures  Typically single-player oriented  Payoff: In-game interact-able creations Player built catapultPlayer built “Mech”

Scene & Comic Gameplay  Arrange props, ragdolls, and effects  Payoff: Screenshots and Videos Player created scenes

Physics Exploration Gameplay Player created Rube Goldberg device

Content  Most art & sound from Source games (i.e. Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2)  Ability to add custom content: Props, Effects, Sound, Levels Weapons, Tools, Scripts

User Interface  Based largely of FPS interface of HL2  Readily accessible menus via hotkeys  Tools/devices are used like weapons  Strong dependence on mouse/keyboard Various game interfaces

Special Features  Modding APIs and LUA scripting “Sub” mods: Scripted gameplay modules.  Ability to import external content Player created scene with custom model

Documentation & Bugs  Documentation: Available through online Wiki.  Bugs: Physics based Content based Script based Player-created scene

Review: The Good  Open-endness: replayability  Freedom: diversified play  Casual play: little investment Player-created scene

Review: The Bad  Creativity required: variability  Patience required: easier frustration Player-created scene

Review: Comparisons  Little direct comparison to other games Mixed parts of god-games, role-playing, etc. Other physics games story/challenge driven  Versus physics games: GMod is much more diversified (good) GMod doesn’t provide direction (bad?)

Review: Considerations  Target audience Requires strong spatial reasoning Some mature content More appealing to ‘hardcore’ gamers & engineer-oriented players. Ideal gamer: Young gaming adult (14-25) Can be extended to older/casual audiences  Design Mod form: Not as extendable

Review: Summary  Strengths Freedom Customization  Weaknesses Interface Limited audience  Recommendation:  Cost vs. entertainment provided makes for great value!  Improvements:  Persist progress, improve interface

End of review!