lmu elements of a game discussion
DESCRIPTION
Powerpoint accompanying a guest lecture I did at Loyola Marymount University about creating a learning game.TRANSCRIPT
GAME-BASED LEARNINGLoyola Marymount University Presentation
David Mullich
Game Production Instructor, Los Angeles Film School
March 11, 2014
Career Highlights
Elements of a Game
Theme Rules Resources Conflict Goals Game Loop
Theme
Setting Characters Story
Helps players become engaged Makes game easier to learn Tells a compelling story
Rules
Easily Understood Consistent with
Game Theme
Setup Progression Resolution
Rule Categories Rules Mechanics Systems
Rule Groupings
Complexity
The greater the complexity, the harder it is to learn how to play the game.
The number of rules or the number of elements with which the player interacts.
Depth
The greater the depth, the harder it is master the game.
The ability to find enjoyment in a game as one’s skill improves.
Depth
Tic-Tac-Toe has few decisions, but it also has few rules
Chess has more rules and elements, but it has many interesting decisions
Monopoly has even more rules and elements, but relatively few meaningful decisions
Depth is directly related to the number of interesting decisions the player can make.
Game Mechanics
Avoid unkillable objects Instant death Game repeats until you
die Remember an
increasing number of things
Repeat pattern Forced constant
movement Block puzzles Game keeps getting
harder until you die Uncountable number of
possible paths Big gains for you can be
big gains for your enemy Block path
Information Overload Disinformation Switch modes Push mole down, mole
pops up Cut off one head, two
grow back Bouncing object Gravity Mouse dexterity Spinning plates Teleports Squad Race Chase Collecting Interrupt Action
Squad Scarce Resource Jumping Hidden image/
Where’s Waldo? Timed Protect a target Undirected
exploration Bullet Hell Buy Low, Sell High Brawling Dialog Tree Building Crafting
Resources
Currency Building Materials Energy Health Combat Units Inventory Items
Time Turns Moves Territory Power-Ups Information
Anything the player must gather or protect to help in achieving the game’s goals.
Conflict
Anything that makes achieving the game’s goals difficult. Enemies Puzzles Time Limits Resource Management Hidden Resources or Obstacles Randomness
Difficulty
How easy or hard it is for a player to complete a game objective.
Games should be easy to learn, but hard to master.
Difficult vs. Punishing
Rules should be consistent Players need to be given enough
information to make decisions The player’s choices should be meaningful Players should be able to obtain enough
resources to meet goals
Goals
Achievement milestones that advance progress in a game. Elementary (Minor) Goals Intermediate (Level) Goals Primary (Win/Loss) Goals
Types of Goals
STRATEGIC(Mental)
REFLEX(Physical)
CHANCE(Random)
Examples of Goals
Score Capture/
Destroy Collection Solve Chase/Race/
Escape
Beat the Clock Spatial Alignment Build Explore Advance the Story
What Makes Goals Engaging
Worthy of Obtaining Challenging to Reach Obtainable New Goals Replace
Old Goals
Game Loop
The set of rules that a game follows during each game turn.
All game’s have turns, even if they appear to be continuously be running. This is because most modern video games don’t stop and wait for player input.
Ideas
All games start out as ideas. Some games come from one powerful idea, but most are formed by combining many ideas to create a unique whole. It’s very possible that initial ideas will be (or should be) abandoned, and lots of new ideas will be considered during the process.
Brainstorming
A group creativity technique to find a conclusion to a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members. In games, brainstorming is used to generate a large number of ideas about game's concept, mechanics, setting, characters, etc.
Brainstorming
Osborn’s method of brainstorming has four general rules: Focus on quantity Withhold criticism Welcome unusual ideas Combine and improve
ideasAlex F. Osborn
Break into groups. Receive 3 game mechanics from your speaker. Brainstorm a learning game using at least one of these
mechanics. Present your game concept, including:
Theme (or Learning Topic)ResourcesObstaclesGoals (Both Game Goals and Learning Goals)
Boy Scout Game Examples
Minecraft
Four ways to learn with Minecraft: Build writing skills by having writing a Minecraft blog Encourage reading by crating a structure or scene
from a book Teach Math Literacy by building structures to
demonstrate understanding of mathematical principals such as ratios, integers, quadrants, area and volume.
Practice Digital Citizenship and Online Social Skills Learn Javascript programming by having students
create mods
MinecraftEDU
The official version of the game specifically tailored for teachers and students. It features simplified technical issues such as setting up servers, managing account privileges, configuration scripts, and defining the limits of player space and options.
MinecraftEDU creator Joel Levin says sessions are most productive--and fun--when “teachers to talk to the kids about the meaning, purpose, rules, and how the world for the given project should operate.”
Minecraft Resources
The Minecraft Wiki: the definitive guide to all things Minecraft
Massively Minecraft: an online learning community for kids age 4-16 and their parents.
SimCityEdu
Six missions, all related to the theme of managing energy and environmental issues in an urban setting. Each mission consists of two types of activities: In-game: Modify a pre-built city to meet an objective; Concept maps: Complete a cause-and-effect flowchart that shows
how variables affect outcomes. (This is all done in a web browser; there is no gameplay.)
The developers say it covers 5 Common Core literacy standards for grades 6-8 around identifying and citing textual evidence to support analysis and conclusions, along with Next Generation Science Standards around “Human Impacts on Earth Systems” and “Systems Thinking.”
SimCity Resources
SimCityEdu Lesson Plans