Download - Raph Koster VP of Creative Design Playdom
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Raph Koster
VP of Creative Design
Playdom
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>About me
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>Games are culture now
>In other words, we spend less time on the things that once shaped our cultures.
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>Art
>More young people see game art than this art.
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>Poetry
>More young people know the stories of games than know the great writers.
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>Music
>More young people every year hear the music of games, rather than the music of their people.
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>As culture changes…
>We in this room are shapers of culture.
>We have a special kind of power.
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>Appearance and topology
>Games are not what they look like on the surface.
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>Appearance and topology
>Games are not what they look like on the surface.
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>Controls
>Games are not their controls.
Input mapping:
The physical action
Input alias:The
suggested mapping
Command:The actual input into the black
boxCmd table:
Map command
to algorithm
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>This is what games are like
Input mapping:
The physical action
Input alias:The suggested
mapping
Command:The actual
input into the black box
Cmd table:Map command
to algorithm
State deltaSignal of last
input received
Info encoding:Information
packets
Client display:Parse packets
into representation
User parsing:Mental model
Total state:Current graph status, given
imperfect information
Model updates:Change state based on
input
Develop response:Opponent’s turn (variable response happens here)
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>Games are largely math problems
>Specifically, most games have NP-hard problems at their heart.
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>“Everything” is math
>But the ways in which art, music, or writing trigger brain neurochemistry are different.
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>Neuroplasticity
>All our experiences change our brains.
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>
How Games Think = How We Think
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>Quantification
>Games invite categorization, quantification, and quantization.
>We used to experience the world in a more analog way.
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>Challenge
>All games feature challenges to solve.
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>Implicit opponent
>Conflict has been a part of much art, but not all.
Intent
Input via tool
Actual model(rules)
Mental model
State change
Feedback
Intent
Input via tool
Mental model
State change
Feedback
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>Process & verbs
>Games are about action.
Precession
Upwards force
Gravity
Lateral force
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>Goals
>Goals are made extremely clear>In many games, there is only one way to
get to them.
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>Failures and retries
>You can keep trying. There is always another match, another life.
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>Neophilia
>Games tell us there is something new around the corner.
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>Systems
>Games are not about understanding the rules (though advanced players may).
>Instead, they are about understanding the system.
Coins
PlaceCrops
XP/level
Decor
PlotsSpace
Harvest
Delete
Fertilize
Land
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>Feedback
>As the systems change, they tell us how.>But we are susceptible to feedback – our
brain has bugs.
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>
So how do games then make us think?
>We now have a generation who grew up with them. We can see.
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>Reductionism
>Games teach us to reduce and simplify, because they quantize.
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>Ability to focus
>Because games provide constant feedback, they undermine certain types of concentration.
>They don’t need to…
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>Collaboration
>They are profoundly collaborative.
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>Following rules
>Younger people entering the workforce seem to expect there to be rules for things that are usually unstated.
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>Cheating
>There is also the notion that there must be a shortcut, “cheat code” or equivalent.
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>Buying past problems
>In the microtransaction marketplace, we have taught people that you can buy your way out of problems.
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>Game probability distribution
>In games, we use a classic rising action curve for difficulty.
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>Game probability distribution
>But the real world does not work this way.
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>Game probability distribution
>In games, we use a classic rising action curve for difficulty.
>But the real world does not work this way.
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>Optimizing our customers
>We treat customers as aggregated data.>This is good business.>But it means that we can run experiments
to see what works, without understanding WHY.
>This can lead to ethically questionable choices.
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>The clockwork world & art
>All of these effects sound like they may be negative.
>But there is still scope for art and beauty.
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>Positive effects
>People have gotten better at seeing the essential things that matter.
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>Systems thinking
>At systems thinking, and seeing the interconnectedness of all things.
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>Teaching tractability
>On the other hand, they also come in believing that every problem can be solved.
>Games never give us impossible problems.>The real world sometimes does.
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>Happiness
>The science of happiness tells us that games are good at the things that make people happy.
GratitudeUsing your strengths
Social connectionGenerosity
Mindfulness: savoring your experiencesStriving for goals
OptimismDon’t reduce the bad – increase the good
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>Game design is mind control
>It can be easy to think of this as just business every day.
>We have a tool of immense power.
>We are makers of joy.