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Game Tuning Workshop

Is this thing on?

Game Tuning Workshop

Game Design and Tuning Workshop

Orientation

Marc “MAHK” LeBlanc

GDC 2004

Game Tuning Workshop

Orientation Overview

Part I: Workshop Format

Part II: Outline Our Formal Approach

Part III: Formal Approach in Detail

Part IV: Tuning

Game Tuning Workshop

Part I: Introduction

In this part we will:

• Explain the workshop high concept.

• Describe the format.

• Introduce the faculty.

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About The Worshop

• This is the fourth year.

• Hands-on

• Focused on tuning.

• Grounded in a formal approach to game design.

• Intended to be open-ended.

Game Tuning Workshop

Things You Won’t Learn Here

• How to get a job as a game designer.

• How to write a design document.

• Where game ideas “come from.”

• How to get your game funded.

• How to use a level editor.

Game Tuning Workshop

In Other Words...

• It’s not about the Business.(Getting a job, pitching a game, getting funded)

Game Tuning Workshop

In Other Words...

• It’s not about the Business.(Getting a job, pitching a game, getting funded)

• It’s not about the Profession.(Writing documents, tracking bugs, using tools)

Game Tuning Workshop

In Other Words...

• It’s not about the Business.(Getting a job, pitching a game, getting funded)

• It’s not about the Profession.(Writing documents, tracking bugs, using tools)

• It’s about the Craft.(Making games that are fun)

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What You’ll be Doing

• Playing games.

• Analyzing games.

• Critiquing games.

• Modifying games.

• Refining games.

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A Few Ground Rules

• Please attend the whole thing.

• Collaborate, Share, and Encourage.

• Save the “meta-discussion” for the very end.

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Workshop Format

• Small-group activities. Main Exercises (3) Electives (choose 1 from 3 each day)

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Introducing the Faculty

• Myself

• Jonathan Hamel

• Robin Hunicke

• Frank Lantz

• Andrew Leker

• Steve Librande

• Art Min

• Harvey Smith

• Tim Stellmach

• Bernie Yee

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Part II: A Formal Approach

In this section, we present

• A formal framework for game design.

• A view of the designer-player relationship

Game Tuning Workshop

Game Design “Frameworks”

• Paradigms for organizing our understanding.

Game Tuning Workshop

Game Design “Frameworks”

• Paradigms for organizing our understanding.

• Example Frameworks: The 400 Project Design Patterns

Game Tuning Workshop

Game Design “Frameworks”

• Paradigms for organizing our understanding.

• Example Frameworks: The 400 Project Design Patterns

• Separate from the process.

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Our Framework

• Grounded in a formal approach.

• Organized around the designer-player relationship.

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The Designer-Player Relationship

Designer

Player

Game Tuning Workshop

The Designer-Player Relationship

Designer

Player

Game

Game Tuning Workshop

The Designer-Player Relationship

Designer

Player

GameCreates Consumes

Game Tuning Workshop

The Designer-Player Relationship

Designer

Player

GameCreates Consumes

Book

Game Tuning Workshop

The Designer-Player Relationship

Designer

Player

GameCreates Consumes

BookMovie

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Definitions

• Mechanics: The rules and concepts that formally specify the game-as-system.

• Dynamics: The run-time behavior of the game-as-system.

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The Designer-Player Relationship

Designer

Player

GameCreates Consumes

BookMovie

Painting

Game Tuning Workshop

The Designer-Player Relationship

Designer

Player

GameCreates Consumes

BookMovie

Painting

Chair

Game Tuning Workshop

The Designer-Player Relationship

Designer

Player

GameCreates Consumes

BookMovie

Painting

ChairCar

Game Tuning Workshop

The Designer-Player Relationship

Designer

Player

GameCreates Consumes

BookMovie

Painting

ChairCar

Pizza

Game Tuning Workshop

The Designer-Player Relationship

Designer

Player

GameCreates Consumes

The difference is the way that games are consumed.

Game Tuning Workshop

An Extreme Opposite Example:A Theatrical Play

The “design team” knows:

• Script

• Lighting

• Acoustics

• Seating

• Intermissions

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Games, on the Contrary

The designer doesn’t know:

• When will the player play? How often? For how long?

• Where? With Whom?

And most importantly...

• What will happen during the game?

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Obligatory Editorial

This lack of predictability is the essence of play. It should be embraced, not eschewed.

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A Formal Model of“Game Consumption”

Rules “Fun”System

Behavior

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The Player-Designer Relationship, Revisited

Designer

Player

Rules “Fun”System

Behavior

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The MDA Framework

Mechanics AestheticsDynamics

Game Tuning Workshop

Definitions

• Mechanics: The rules and concepts that formally specify the game-as-system.

Game Tuning Workshop

Definitions

• Mechanics: The rules and concepts that formally specify the game-as-system.

• Dynamics: The run-time behavior of the game-as-system.

• Aesthetics: The desirable emotional responses evoked by the game dynamics.

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Three “Views” of Games

Mechanics AestheticsDynamics

But they are causally linked.

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The Building Blocks: Formal Models

• No Grand Unified Theory

• Instead, lots of little models

• Models can be formulas or abstractions.

• We can think of models as “lenses.”

• Discovering new models is an ongoing process.

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MDA is a “Taxonomy” for Models

• Knowledge of Aesthetics

• Knowledge of Dynamics

• Knowledge of Mechanics

• Knowledge of the interactions between them.

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Properties of Good Models

We want our models to be:

• Formal (i.e. well-defined).

• Abstract (i.e. widely applicable).

• Proven (i.e. known to work).

On any given game, we expect to use several different abstractions, not one big one.

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Part III: MDA in detail

In this part, we discuss Aesthetics, Dynamics and Mechanics in detail.

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The Player’s Perspective

Mechanics AestheticsDynamics

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The Designer’s Perspective

Mechanics AestheticsDynamics

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Understanding Aesthetics

We need to get past words like “fun” and “gameplay.”

• What kinds of “fun” are there?

• How will we know a particular kind of “fun” when we see it?

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Eight Kinds of “Fun”

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Eight Kinds of "Fun"

1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure

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Eight Kinds of "Fun"

1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure

2. FantasyGame as make-believe

Game Tuning Workshop

Eight Kinds of "Fun"

1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure

2. FantasyGame as make-believe

3. NarrativeGame as drama

Game Tuning Workshop

Eight Kinds of "Fun"

1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure

2. FantasyGame as make-believe

3. NarrativeGame as drama

4. ChallengeGame as obstacle course

Game Tuning Workshop

Eight Kinds of "Fun"

1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure

2. FantasyGame as make-believe

3. NarrativeGame as drama

4. ChallengeGame as obstacle course

5. FellowshipGame as social framework

Game Tuning Workshop

Eight Kinds of "Fun"

1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure

2. FantasyGame as make-believe

3. NarrativeGame as drama

4. ChallengeGame as obstacle course

5. FellowshipGame as social framework

6. DiscoveryGame as uncharted territory

Game Tuning Workshop

Eight Kinds of "Fun"

1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure

2. FantasyGame as make-believe

3. NarrativeGame as drama

4. ChallengeGame as obstacle course

5. FellowshipGame as social framework

6. DiscoveryGame as uncharted territory

7. ExpressionGame as self-discovery

Game Tuning Workshop

Eight Kinds of "Fun"

1. SensationGame as sense-pleasure

2. FantasyGame as make-believe

3. NarrativeGame as drama

4. ChallengeGame as obstacle course

5. FellowshipGame as social framework

6. DiscoveryGame as uncharted territory

7. ExpressionGame as self-discovery

8. SubmissionGame as pastime

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Clarifying Our Aesthetics

• Charades is “fun.”

• Quake is “fun.”

• Final Fantasy is “fun.”

Game Tuning Workshop

Clarifying Our Aesthetics

• Charades: Fellowship, Expression, Challenge

• Quake: Challenge, Sensation, Competition, Fantasy

• Final Fantasy: Fantasy, Narrative, Expression, Discovery, Challenge, Masochism

• Each game pursues multiple aesthetics.

• Again, there is no Game Unified Theory.

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Clarifying Our Goals

• As designers, we can choose certain aesthetics as goals for our game design.

• We need more than a one-word definition of our goals.

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What is an “Aesthetic Model?”

• A rigorous definition of an aesthetic goal.

• States criteria for success and failure.

• Serves as an “aesthetic compass.”

Some examples…

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Goal: Competition

Model: A game is competitive if players are emotionally invested in defeating each other.

Success: Players are adversaries. Players want to win.

Failure: A player feels that he can’t win. A player can’t measure his progress.

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Goal: Realistic Flight Simulation

Model: Flight dynamics match user expectations.

Success: Match a mathematical formula, or, Pass our “realism checklist,”

Failure: Counter-intuitive system behavior.

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Goal: Drama

Model: A game is dramatic if:• Its central conflict creates dramatic tension.• The dramatic tension builds towards a climax.

Dra

ma

tic

Te

nsi

on

Narrative Time

Conflict Resolution

Climax

Game Tuning Workshop

Goal: Drama

Success: A sense of uncertainty A sense of inevitability Tension increases towards a climax

Failure: The conflict’s outcome is obvious (no uncertainty). No sense of forward progress (no inevitability). Player doesn’t care how the conflict resolves.

On to Dynamics...

Game Tuning Workshop

Understanding Dynamics

• What about the game’s behavior can we predict before we go to playtest?

• How can we explain the behavior that we observe?

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Formalizing Game Dynamics

RulesInput Output

State(Player)

(Graphics/Sound)

The “State Machine” Model

Examples: Chess, Quake

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Models of Game Dynamics

• Again, no Grand Unified Theory

• Instead, a collection of many Dynamic Models.

• Dynamics models are analytical in nature.

Some examples…

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Example: Random Variable

This is a model of 2d6:

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Chance

in 3

6

Die roll

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Example: Feedback SystemA feedback system monitors and regulates its own state.

Room

Too Cold

Too Hot

An Ideal Thermostat

Thermometer

Controller

Cooler

Heater

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Example: Operant Conditioning

• The player is part of the system, too!

• Psychology gives us models to explain and predict the player’s behavior.

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Where Models Come From

• Analysis of existing games.

• Other Fields: Math, Psychology, Engineering…

• Our own experience.

On to Mechanics...

Game Tuning Workshop

Understanding Mechanics

• There’s a vast library of common game mechanics.

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Examples

• Cards: Shuffling, Trick-Taking, Bidding

• Shooters: Ammunition, Spawn Points

• Golf: Sand Traps, Water Hazards

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Mechanics vs. Dynamics

• There’s a grey area. Some behaviors are direct consequences of rules. Others are indirect. “Dynamics” usually means the latter.

Game Tuning Workshop

Mechanics vs. Dynamics

• There’s a grey area. Some behaviors are direct consequences of rules. Others are indirect. “Dynamics” usually means the latter.

• Dynamics and Mechanics are different views of games.

Game Tuning Workshop

Mechanics vs. Dynamics

• There’s a grey area. Some behaviors are direct consequences of rules. Others are indirect. “Dynamics” usually means the latter.

• Dynamics and Mechanics are different views of games.

• Dynamics emerge from Mechanics.

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Interaction Models

• How do specific dynamics emerge from specific mechanics?

• How do specific dynamics evoke specific aesthetics?

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Example: Time Pressure

• “Time pressure” is a dynamic.

• It can create dramatic tension.

• Various mechanics create time pressure: Simple time limit “Pace” monster Depleting resource

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Moving Forward…

Let’s hope the future brings us:

• A rich aesthetic vocabulary.

• A eclectic library of game mechanics.

• A catalog of formal models: Aesthetic, Dynamic, Interaction

In other words,

“Formal Abstract Design Tools.”

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Part IV: Tuning

In this part we will:

• Define tuning.

• Present a formal approach.

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What we mean by “Tuning:”

Tuning is an iterative process.

Test Analyze

Revise

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We’re not limited to:

• Parameter tweaking

• “Fiddling with knobs”

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MDA in the Tuning Process

Aesthetic Models help us:• Articulate our goals. • Point out our game’s flaws.• Measure our progress.

Dynamic Models help us:• Pinpoint our problems.

Both kinds help us:• Evaluate possible revisions.

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Learning From the Tuning Process

Between iterations, we re-evaluate:

• Our goals.

• Our models

• Our assumptions.

Sometimes we need to revise our own thinking as well.

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The Tuning Process

Before we start:• Know our aesthetic goals.

While we iterate:• Aesthetic and dynamics models guide our way.

Between Iterations• Learn from the process.

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Time for Coffee...

After the break, go to the classroom that matches the color of your poker chip:

Blue C1

Red C3

White C4

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Part V: Some Common Themes

Here are some themes you’ll see throughout the workshop.

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Theme: Dynamics and Fantasy

• Our game dynamics have meaning within our game’s core fantasy.

• That meaning may or may not be compatible.

• In order to remain faithful to our subject matter, dynamics and fantasy must be in alignment.

Game Tuning Workshop

© Steve Jackson Gameswww.sjgames.com

Game Tuning Workshop

Theme: State Space and Design Flexibility

• The state space of a game is the set of possible states the system can be in.

• The larger the state space, the easier it is to make changes.

• As we modify our design, we can expect the state space to grow.