playful design workshop ferrara - uxlx 2014

Playful Design

John Ferrara

An introduction to game experience design for UX practitioners

While you’re waiting to startScreenshot a game you’re playing and tweet it with hashtag #PlayfulDesign

‘Sup

John FerraraCreative director, Megazoid Games

User experience designer

“Let’s Move!” award winner

@PlayfulDesign

PlayfulDesignBook.com

My book

We’ll talk about games

We’ll play some games

We’ll take a break

We’ll make some games

We’ll test our games

Why should UX designers care about games?

part 1

Best possible outcome if you...

Skip college.

Never move out of your parents' house.

Never get married.

Never have any children.

Never travel or take any vacations.

Work indefinitely past 65.

Die alone in a nursing home with lots of

money and no one to leave it to.

Leap Frog Sugar Bugs

Baranowski, et. al.PediatricsFebruary 27, 2012

None produced any difference in physical activity.

The problem is design.Games are hard to design well.Serious games are even harder.

Why should UX designers care about games?

part 1

Reason #1

We’re needed.

2. Game design is a lot like user experience

design

3. Games are a ubiquitous activity

4. Games are innovators in interactivity

5. Technology is bringing games & UX together

Other reasons

Things that games can do in the real world

part 2

Games can teach

Learning by doing

Practice is rolled in with theory.

Ideas are not just illustrated, but experienced.

Failure based learning

Getting it wrong builds a better understanding.

Games are a totally safe “virtual lab”.

Systems thinking

Working with the relationships between moving

parts.

Games are the best medium for this that

exists.

Games can motivate

Human computation

Useful outputs are a byproduct of play.

“Games are algorithms that run on people.”

-- Luis Von Ahn

Reframing

Casting real-life challenges in a different light.

Overlay

Reframing in-the-moment.

A fantasy world is superposed on reality.

Buy the advantage

Intrinsic rewards for external actions.

Players must greatly value the game

experience.

Games can persuade

Games are a form of procedural rhetoricProcedurality makes games unique as a communications medium.

Example

BANNED

ficai tio

A growing backlash

“I don’t do ‘gamification,’ and I’m not prepared to stand up and say I think it works.”

–Jane McGonigal

“Gamification is bullshit.”

–Ian Bogost

Games can achieve great

things in the real world.**If they are well designed experiences.

Elements ofplayer experience

part 3

Immersion

Creativity

Social interaction

Competence

Catharsis

Interaction balance issues

Campaign balance issues

Games should be designed to be games first.

part 4

Paper prototyping video games

They’re fast and cheap

They focus on the fundamentals

You can playtest with them

They help people speak in a common language

Why paper prototypes?

Can you really do a video game on paper?

Stone Librande

Guidelines for paper prototyping

Strip off the aesthetic and usability layers

Work on the underlying gameplay

Guidelines

Don’t be too literal

Work on small things

Make it a real game

Iterate

Strip off the aesthetic and usability layers

Focus on the underlying gameplay

So how might this be done on paper?

Let’s take a closer look at what’s really happening.

The objective is to climb 6 levels without getting hit by a barrel.

Sometimes you jump one barrel (hard).

Sometimes you jump two barrels (harder).

Sometimes there are barrels above you.

Sometimes they fall down a ladder.

Sometimes you get a hammer.

Then you get to bust some ass. :-)But if you ever get hit by a

barrell…

You start over at the

bottom. :-(

JumpmanBros.

Tower cards

Objective:Reach level 6 before your opponent.

Each turn you’ll have a chance to move up one level.

Draw a card. Each gives you 3 options.

(1) Climb up

Move your coin one space up the tower card.

(2) Exit right

Keep your coin where it is on the tower card.

(3) Retreat down

Move your coin one space down the tower card.

Look out for barrels!

To avoid the barrel, you must roll anything other than the numbers that appear above it.

Anything except 4

Two barrels

If there are two barrels, but must roll separately for each one. So above, you’d roll twice.

Roll twice!

This barrel is in front of the ladder. You must roll if you want to climb OR exit right.

Barrels in front of the ladder

This barrel is behind the ladder. You only need to roll if you’re exiting right.

Barrels behind the ladder

Barrels above the ladder

Barrels above can fall down a ladder onto you.You must roll if you’re climbing the ladder.

Pop quiz: What could you do here?

If you get hit by a barrel...

Go back to

level 1

The hammer card is awesome

1. Draw again right away.2. Any barrels on the bottom level are

smashed.3. You still have to roll if a barrel is above.

Let’s play!Press start

Discussion

In what ways was this similar to the original

In what ways was this different?

What might you change to improve the

experience?

Lessons for design

The central conflict of the game

Basic strategy & tactics

What the obstacles are & how often they

appear

How hard it should be to jump a barrel

What consequences for mistakes are fair

How the stakes change over time

How the game ends

Abstraction vs. representationalism

Gameplay vs. aesthetics

Luck vs. skill

Going deeper

part 5A quick primer on essential game design concepts

Core mechanic

The activities players are engaged in

moment to moment throughout a game.

Move around the

Buy properties

Pay rent

Objectives

Specific conditions that players are either

trying to...

achieve avoidor

Objectives

Longer games have nested objectives.

Constraints

Limits on what the player can and cannot do.

2 types of constraints:

Environmental

Formal

Environmental constraints

Hard limits set by inherent physical

characteristics.

Soft rules that all of the players agree to follow

in order to enable the game experience.

Formal constraints

Conflict

The relationship between objectives and

constraints.

Conflict

The relationship between objectives and

constraints.Games necessarily involve challenge.

Ideal experience in UX design

Ideal experience in game design

Arbitration

Some games have mechanisms that enforce

the rules so people don’t have to.

2 types of arbitration:

Mechanical

Computerized

Mechanical arbitration

Computerized arbitration

It’s okay for you to do anything that the game

doesn’t specifically prohibit.

As a result, the design is vulnerable to

degenerate strategies.

Arbitration limits cheating

Degenerate strategy: Is this cheating?

To reach objectives, players may need to make

choices that can have positive or negative

outcomes.

Uncertainty is fundamental to risk.

Greater risks require greater rewards

You usually don’t directly design the play

experience.

You design the parameters in which play

executes.

The players, objectives, and constraints

interact in complex ways to construct the

experience as you go.

Games as systems

30 minutesUp next: You prototype your own games.

Break time!

A game design game for 5 players

(each played by another person)

10 dragon heads

4 warriors

The game ends when either all dragon heads or warriors have been removed from the board.

(played by 1 person)

If you get anything other than a 1, nothing

happens.

The dragon rolls all 4 dice at once

Fang attack

Kill any 1 warrior next to any dragon head.(Including diagonals.)

Fang attack

Fire attack

Kill any 1 warrior at least 3 spaces from any dragon head.(Including diagonals.)

Fire attack

All dragon heads move 1 space in any direction.All must move in the same direction.

The dragon regrows 1 lost head, which may be placed in any space directly up, down, left, or right from any other head.

Heads may regrow up to a maximum of 10.

So how do the warriors work?

That’s up to you!Make up roles and rules for each warrior

(e.g. elf, fighter, sorceress, etc.)

Write everything down on the character sheets.

Design a system of rules that interact to make

a game experience that’s:

The designer’s objective

Sustained.Challengin

Fair. Enjoyable.

Let’s design!10 minutes.

Then play begins.

SUSTAINED - CHALLENGING - FAIR - ENJOYABLE

Time to play!15 minutes.

Make changes as you go.

SUSTAINED - CHALLENGING - FAIR - ENJOYABLE

Discussion

Did anyone develop a character that worked

What was the biggest problem in your game?

What might you change to get rid of that

problem?

Iteration 2

Start over. Try to improve the experience.

Make new characters with new rules.

You can change the rules for the dragon.

Incorporate at least 2 environmental pieces.

Let’s designagain!

10 minutes.Then play begins.

USE AT LEAST 2 ENVIRONMENTAL PIECES

Time to play!10 minutes.

AT LEAST 2 ENVIRONMENTAL PIECES

Was the game better or worse this time?

Were you able to solve the problems?

Did new problems come up?

What’s the most significant problem now?

Discussion

part 6

Playtesting

What should playtesting evaluate?

UI usability

Control mappings & ergonomics

Balance

Puzzles

Skill level

one more...

The “good-tough” problem

Ask yourself

Are players having a hard time for the right reasons?

Do players see the challenge as engaging or

discouraging?

Is the challenge appropriate for the current level of the

What actions to players take in response to the

challenge?

How do players reflect on the challenge after

surmounting it?

General playtesting guidelines

Recruit selectively.

Test in a cozy space.

Do an observation script.

If your game is long, run long sessions.

Watch. Listen. Chill.

Iteration 3

Carry forward your favorite characters and

rules from iterations 1 & 2, or create new ones

as needed.

Change the rules to promote one of these

effects:Easy: Maximize risk taking among the warriors.

Easy: Maximize the dragon’s aggressiveness.

Medium: Maximize collaboration among the warriors.

Medium: Incentivize the dragon to hold one edge of the

board.

Hard: Incentivize the warriors to betray one another.

Hard: Create a way for the dragon to trick the warriors.

Let’s designagain again!

15 minutes.Then play begins.

ACHIEVE AN EFFECT FROM THE INSTRUCTIONS

TEAM SWAP!!!

10 minutes.

2 players from another team will join your table.Explain your game and conduct playtesting.

Thank you!

Please complete the assessment form.

Connect with me: @PlayfulDesign

A case study

Understand the nutritional attributes of food

Build a knowledge base of food choices

Develop skills to interpret nutrition information

Learn to value healthier food choices

Kids need to:

More than anything, the problem is

cultural.

Challenge to create games that teach

8- to 12- year olds healthier eating habits

Virtual pets. Real nutrition.

Player is responsible for maintaining the health of a virtual petMust shop for the critter's food, cook for it, and feed it

Each day the player must fill the critter's green bars without filling the red bars

A quick demo

Designing persuasive games

1. Define a core message

A persuasive gamemust be designed around

a clear and concise statement

of what you want playersto do or to believe.

2. Tie the message to strategy

Games drive playersto find the most efficient ways

to win.

If the message representsthe ideal strategy,

then the process of playingserves as a proof of its truthfulness.

Tiered system of rewards

Better food choices

Health goes up

Greater productivity, more sports wins, sick less often

Earn more money

Trick out your pad

Social rewards

3. Enable self-directed discovery

Self-directed discovery persuades

by giving peoplea feeling of ownershipof the insight they've

uncovered.

Discovering better food choices

Discovering better food sourcing

Discovering healthy recipes

Players can cook, combining ingredients into prepared meals.

Meals of greater nutritional merit are worth more than their constituent ingredients

Meals can be sold to the restaurant for a profit.

Other players can then purchase them, enabling social learning.

4. Offer meaningful choices

If there is no benefitto making the wrong

choice,then there is

no choice at all.

Effects of high-calorie foods

Advantages:● More energy for sports

games● More energy for workConsequences:● Exceed daily limits faster● Critter starts rejecting

healthier options

5. Keep it real

Video games' capacityto simulate the conditions

of the real worldcan impart credibility

to embedded arguments.

Fitter Critters has real nutrition data for 675 actual food items

...and the daily objectives are based on real consumption guidelines

Pilot Study, November 2011Northbridge Elementary, MARun by University of Massachusetts Medical School100 5th graders, 4 class periods1. Significant increases in positive

attitudes toward nutrition and fitness2. Significant increases in students' self-

efficacy3. Moderate increases in nutrition

knowledge

Balanced gameplay

Often, you don’t directly design the play

experience.

You design the parameters in which play

executes.

The players, objectives, and constraints

interact in complex ways to construct the

experience as you go.

Games as systems

Although some games aren’t systems, e.g...

There are some big design issues here!!

Games execute outside of the designer’s

control.

The real-time interactions between game

elements are complex and hard to predict.

Unintended degenerate strategies can emerge.

Players may not understand a game or they

may struggle with its UI.

Players might not be having any fun.

UI usability

Balance

playful design workshop ferrara - uxlx 2014

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