IMGD 2900Digital Game Design I

Class 8: Monday 11.26

Today’s topics

PlaytestingTypes of rules / players / playThe Mystery of PlayAssignment 10

Playtesting!

Round 1

Beadwalkers vs HambingersColored Blocks vs Pearl Etched SpearsDNA vs Team IshmaelTeam Rocket vs Tempest SerenadeTeam Sauce vs StormridersTeam Subtlety vs Team TsukuruPolygonial vs The Professor

Ask your testers to think out loud.

Shut up and pay attention.

If testers get quiet or hesitate,ask what they’re thinking.

Watch faces, not the screen.

Write down everything,especially questions.

Be alert for surprises.

Post-test questions

What is the goal of the game?Was anything confusing or difficult?

Is there any info that would have been good to know before starting?

What did you like? Dislike?How would you describe this game to

someone who has never played it?

Write down the answers.

Round 2

Beadwalkers vs Pearl Etched SpearsColored Blocks vs Team IshmaelDNA vs Team RocketTeam Sauce vs HambingersTempest Serenade vs Polygonial Team Subtlety vs StormridersTeam Tsukuru vs The Professor

Post-test questions

What is the goal of the game?Was anything confusing or difficult?

Is there any info that would have been good to know before starting?

What did you like? Dislike?How would you describe this game to

someone who has never played it?

Write down the answers.

Today’s vocabulary

What are rules?Characteristics of rulesTypes of rules and playersCategories and styles of playAutotelicLusory attitudeThe Mystery of Play

What are rules?

Rules are the formal structureof a game.

They are one of a game’s defining qualities.

Game = Toy + Rules + Goal

What are rules?

Rules are not the experience of play.

You can change the experience withoutchanging the rules.

Thought experiment(LeBlanc)

Three to Fifteen

1. Two players alternate turns.2. On your turn, pick a number 1 - 9.3. You can’t pick a number already chosen by either player.4. If you pick three 3 numbers that

total 15, you win.5. If no numbers are left, and there’s

no winner, it’s a draw.

Three to Fifteen

How are they the same?How do they differ?

Characteristics of rules

Rules limit player actions.

Characteristics of rules

Rules are complete, explicit and

unambiguous.

Example:The stump at second

Characteristics of rules

Rules are shared byall players.

Characteristics of rules

Rules are fixed.

Even games with changing rules have rules thatcontrol how the rules

can be changed.

Characteristics of rules

Rules are binding andhave authority.

They are meant tobe followed.

Characteristics of rules

Rules are repeatableand portable.

Local variations and ambiguities must

be resolved.

Types of rules

ConstituativeOperational

Implicit

Types of rules

Constituative

The “underlying” rules

In digital games, these are instantiated in code.

Types of rules

Operational

The “written” rules

Instantatiated in I/O and UI. Expressed as affordances.

AffordancesThe opportunities for action

made available byan object or interface.

Norman 1988

Affordances are notthe user interface!

Types of rules

Implicit

The “unwritten” rules

Instantiated in etiquette, history and culture

Types of rules

The formal identity of a game emerges from its

operational andconstituative rules.

This game and not that.

Rules are toys!

All three types of rulesare potential sources

for innovation

Question them!Play with them!

Types of players

Good sportsHardcore

Poor sportsCheaters

Spoilsports

Types of players

Good sports:Cheerfully abide by

all three typesof rules.

Honest, respect authorityof the game.

Types of players

2. Hardcore:Study rules & boundaries,take advantage of exploits

and ambiguities.

Pro athletes, serious gamers.

Types of players

3. Poor sports:Will do anything to win.

Violate the implicit rules.Will not surrender to the

lusory attitude.

Lusory attitudeWillingness of players to accept artificial constraints in order to experience pleasure

Required to enter into the playof a game

Sportsmanship

Types of players

4. Cheaters:Secretly violate or ignore the

operational rules.

Disrespect rules, yet still value the game and want to win.

Types of players

5. Spoilsports:Openly violate or ignore the

authority of rules.

No interest in winning.

Categories of playCallois: Les jeux et les hommes (1961)

AgonAleaMimicryIlinx

Categories of play

Agon

Competitive play

Examples?

Categories of play

Alea

Chance-based play

Examples?

Categories of play

Mimicry

Role-playing, make-believe,simulation

Examples?

Categories of play

Ilinx

Pursuit of sensual imbalance

Examples?

Styles of play

PaidaLudus

Styles of play

Paida

Wild, Improvisational, free-form

Examples?

Styles of play

Ludus

RegulatedFormalizedRulebound

Examples?

Play is autotelic

Autotelic (auto = self, telos = goal)Action undertaken for its own sakePlayfulness

Csikszentmihalyi, Flow

Play = superfluous action

Play is inefficient

“In anything but a game, the gratuitous introduction of unnecessary obstaclesto the achievement of an end is regarded as a decidedly irrationalthing to do, whereas in games it appears to be an absolutelyessential thing to do.” Suits

Play is useless

Why wait for the starting gun?

Why not just cut across the track?

Why save dessert for last?

Into the mystery ...

“To observe the rules of the play structure promises much greater pleasure from the gamethan the gratification ofan immediate impulse.” Vygotsky

The mystery

Pleasure constrained ispleasure enhanced.

Games must be magnetic

Must provide their own usage motivationOtherwise why bother playing?An important motivation is novelty

This is why digital games push the envelope of computer hardware and software

Game designers are sculptors of desire,

architects of seduction.

Games are flowers.

But remember!Insects need nectar.

Nobody needsdigital games.

Assignment 10:Polish your 1- or 2-player game

Refine and polish your prototypeUpdate your journal as you workPost the game on your team Web pageBring your game and journal to class

Objective 1:Refine and polish your prototype

Design requirements

Must meets the definition of a game.Must be designed for exactly one or two players.

If two players, both on the same computer.No custom audio. Use only library sounds.Must run without breaking or errors.Must follow The Rules.Must be entirely self-documenting.Need not conform exactly to your treatment.

Questions to ask yourselves

Is our game easy to understand?What can we do to make it clearer? Tutorial?Is it too easy or too hard? What can we do to fix it?If it's a 2-player game, is it equally easy and fun

for both players?If not, what can we do to balance them?Can we make it more attractive? Tweak the color scheme, improve layout, choose better sounds?Did we see any interesting techniques or ideas

used by other teams that we can steal adapt for our project?

Was another team's project obviously similarto ours? If so, what can we do todistinguish ouuselves?

Add lines like these to the top of your main .js file

// Ultra Boring Adventure II// Team Boring// Joe Lazy (jlazy) and Mary Idle (midle)

(optional)

// Released to the public domain

// Coding help from Mark Goodguy

Objective 2:Update your journal asyou work

Document your creative processIdeas, code fragments, sketchesJournals will be inspected

Objective 3:Post the game on yourteam Web page

Upload all game files to your serverCreate a clearly labeled link that starts

the game when clickedMake sure the link actually worksPost before noon this Thursday 11.29

Objective 4:Bring your game and journalto class

Copy all game files to USB drives.Both team members should bring one!

Questions?

Next class: Thursday 11.29