core mechanics matt nelson. core mechanics & gameplay core mechanics manage the gameplay:...
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CORE MECHANICS
Matt Nelson
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Core Mechanics & Gameplay
Core Mechanics manage the gameplay: Implement all actions Implement challenges
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Challenges & Core Mechanics
A game's core mechanics (CM) implement the mechanisms by which most challenges operate Also checks if that challenge has been overcome
Level design specifies particular challenge core mechanics provides the pieces to implement it
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Passive vs Active Challenges
Passive:
Do not necessarily need to be instantiated Perhaps an unchanging feature in the landscape
May cause triggers or get rewards for completing particular challenge
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Passive vs Active Challenges
Active:
more complex, designed specifically and carefully:
A puzzle within a dungeon A boss fight
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Pic of AC: Borgia Tower
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Crouching mechanism in most FPS games symbolic posture changes (upright to crouching) camera change may also change other mechanics
aim sway movement speed accuracy character size
Actions & the Core Mechanics
Player's actions that trigger mechanics:
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Binary data Pressing the X button
Boolean – true/false
Analog data Tilting the joystick (or mouse)
Direction Value
Actions & the Core Mechanics
Player's actions that come with data:
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Core Mechanics Design
“Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem.”
(Do not create more entities than necessary)
– Attributed to William of Occam
“It is simple to make something complex, and complex to make it simple.”
- Matt Nelson of McMaster
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What is the point of a game?
Goals of Design
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What is the point of a game?
Goals of Design
TO ENTERTAIN!
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What is the point of a game?
Goals of Design
TO ENTERTAIN!
Strive for simplicity and elegance
Look for patterns, then generalize
Don't try to get everything perfect on paper
Find the right level of detail
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Strive for simplicity and elegance:
Goals of Design
Simple games are easier for players to learn. That gives the game a broader appeal.
Soccer: 1 ball 2 teams Put the ball in the other net No hands
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Look for patterns, then generalize:
Goals of Design
Pokemon's damage multiplier system:DamageMultiplier =weaknessTable(moveType,
pokeType)
Make the common case fast.
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Goals of Design
Weakness table.
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Don't try to get everything perfect on paper:
Goals of Design
Requires iterative refinement Build prototype that implements the Core
Mechanics
Test + adjust
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Find the right level of detail:
Goals of Design
Familiar cases / ordinary scenarios can use less detail.
The first car to complete 500 laps wins.Unambiguous, but simple.
Less familiar cases need more detail.Anything fantasy
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Goals of Design
Pseudo-code works well when designing
Video-game INDUSTRY, not just an art studio.
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Core Mechanics Design
Revisit earlier design work
Look for (and list): Nouns: Likely an entity (class) Verbs: Likely a mechanic
Keywords: If/When/Then/Until/As long as All translate into programming terms. May be needed in creating mechanics
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Core Mechanics Design
What is the player going to do?
Your flowboard of the game's structure
Your list of gameplay modes and your plans for them
General outline of the story you want to tell
Characters
General plan for each level
Victory and loss conditions
Non Gameplay actions
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Core Mechanics Design
What is the player going to do?
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Core Mechanics Design
What is the player going to do?
Build a civilization!
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Core Mechanics Design
What is the player going to do?
Build a civilization!
“A game is a series of interesting choices.”-Sir Meier
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Core Mechanics DesignEconomic/Growth choices Spread out with lots of low level cities?
Large land mass: more resources more to defend
More ability for tech advancements Have fewer but larger cities Smaller land mass
less to defend less ability to defend
More ability for Culture advancements
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Core Mechanics DesignMilitary choices Types of units-Modified Triangle:
Strong at 1 particular thing (counter) Weak at other roles.
Political choices Ally with someone? Sacrifice military strength for economic
advantage? Ravage enemies with less economy/tech, but
military strength?
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Core Mechanics DesignDevelopment choices Where to place new cities:
Near the mountains? Little food- slow growth More ability to produce stuff – higher potential,
but takes much longer to get there. Near the coast?
Less potential to make stuff. Plenty food - quick growth
Your Civ might not be able to deal with a city too large too early.
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Core Mechanics DesignEntities: Each Civilization/Player is its own entity. Within each:
Tech Tree Political standing with other players. Each city Each unit
Mechanics: Combat system City growth rate Production Rate Researching new techs. Then adding to Tech Tree
after completed.)
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Core Mechanics Design
Your flowboard of the game's structure: Mechanic for keeping track of what state the
game is in. Only certain mechanics are available in certain
modes. Ex. Loading a saved game only allowed when
you're in the menu state
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Core Mechanics Design
General outline of the story you want to tell:
If someone died earlier in the game, and the story reflects that - there's a mechanic that decides which ending the player sees
Characters: will likely will be entities.
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Core Mechanics Design
General plan for each level:
You might know what you want to have happen in each level (challenge wise)
Challenges might be either an entity: Boss a mechanic: Puzzle
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Core Mechanics Design
Victory and loss condition: Need to implement a mechanic to check these
conditions
Non Gameplay actions: Mechanic to:
Save the game. Move the camera /dance
WoW had dances. THAT needs a mechanic
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Core Mechanics DesignLIST YOUR ENTITIES AND RESOURCES What does the noun represent?
Resource? Independent Entity? Element of another entity? Something Else?
If it's an entity, is it simple or compound? If it's compound, what are its components
(attributes/other entities)?
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Core Mechanics DesignADD THE MECHANICS
Reread the designs: Look for somehow s
These must be tuned to be precise instructions
Mechanics consist of: Relationships Events Processes Conditions
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Core Mechanics DesignADD THE MECHANICS
Think about resources
Must consider: Sources Drains Converters
Each of these are mechanics that need to be included
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Core Mechanics DesignPic of advanced wars.
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Core Mechanics Design The player somehow gets money
The player somehow builds new units
The player somehow repairs units using money
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Core Mechanics Design The player somehow gets money
The player gets some money from captured cities $1000 per city per turn
The player somehow builds new units Particular cities (factory/airport/seaport) can build
new units The player somehow repairs units using money.
At the start of the turn if a unit is sitting on an appropriate type of city it gets some health back 20% per turn at the cost of 20% of its value to
buy a new one.
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Core Mechanics Design
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Random Numbers
Computed between 0 and 1 then scaled to cover the range needed.
To see if an event occurs, a random number is generated and if it's less than the event's probability, the event happens.
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Pseudo Random Numbers
The random number function takes a value called a “seed” determines the sequence of random numbers the algorithm
produces. Identical seeds mean identical numbers.
If a seed is used twice, the same “random” value will appear
Seed is usually a function of the system clock Usually sufficient enough to keep things random.
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Monte Carlo Simulation
“Sim game” option in sports games. A weak team may beat a strong team
While testing the sim function is run many times Overtime the win/loss record will converge on the
appropriate %.
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Uniform Distribution
1 2 3 4 5 60
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.1
0.12
0.14
0.16
0.18
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Non-Uniform Distribution
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 120
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.1
0.12
0.14
0.16
0.18