System Dynamics

This is our 4th lecture for Game Design and Production 2 and so far it is swell.

Basic system elements

The following elements guide interaction quality in games. They help make the game more interactive friendly.

Objects

Objects are the basic building blocks in a game. They are the items you will see or a described setting in a game. Examples, of objects include: 

• game pieces
• in-game concepts
• players
• player representations
• areas/terrain

Each of these examples are what the user will see and use to go about playing the game. In a board game, players need pieces in order to move around on the board. In a digital game, players will sometimes need to find objects in order to move unto the next level. All of these are key features in any game to include some sort of interaction between the players and the game.

Properties

Properties describe the qualities or attributes of the objects. Professor Nacke used the board game chess as an example in the PowerPoint. For each chess piece there is an attribute that defines what kind of task it can do on the board. For example, the horse can only move in the form of an 'L' shape whereas the soldiers can only move forward. This is what properties can do. Your objects must contain attributes to differentiate from other objects. If all the objects in a game can do the same thing it would be boring. 

Behaviors

Behaviors are just potential actions in a given state. For example, in chess, if a soldier goes to the other end of the board, the player can choose to switch into any other object available in the game. In Candy Crush, if you pair up 4 or more of the same colour objects they will turn into a unique object with very different and better attributes than the regular coloured objects. All of these behaviours in the examples I just described are limited of course because they are more predictable by the players. The more behaviours you include in your game the less predictable it becomes. However, to me, it is always fun to include these small behaviour roles in your game objects because it simply makes it more fun. In addition, I hope to incorporate special behaviours with the objects in our GDW game project this year.

Relationships

Relationships are like the opportunities you can get within a game. They are determined by chance or by rule sets. I think its like rolling a set of dice to determine where to go next, or spinning a digital wheel to find out how much coins you will receive. Relationships are VERY IMPORTANT in a game. If you do not have relationships then you just have a group of objects that does nothing. I remember Professor Nacke speaking about this in class. He was asking if a stack of blank cards will still be referred to as a game. I remember a student was saying yes it was but, when the prof further explained that having a stack of blank cards means it has no relationship he quickly changed his mind and agreed. Having no relationship in a game is just a collection of white paper if you ask me.

Each of these elements are a great benefit to the game dynamics. They help players look forward to the game because of things like objects, behaviours, properties, and relationships. These features truly impact the decision of the players and it makes the game more intriguing as well.

Dramatic Elements

This was our second online lecture we have had so far in our class. Sadly, I missed it because of technological issues. However, I will briefly explained what I gained from it.

When I think of dramatic elements, I think about what are the key things that make up the best part in a video game. It just so happens that the following elements are essential when it comes to game development.

Challenge

In games, players have to experience some type of accomplishment. Players always feel good about themselves when they know they have completed something. Whether it'll be winning a race, gaining the most points, or finding a secret treasure, players will see it as a great accomplishment in a board game or a video game. The challenge has to be enjoyable as well. Challenges arise but only if it interests the targeted players will it truly be enjoyable. Challenge can also be determined based on the skill set of the players. If everyone gets the same amount of money at the end of a monopoly game, there will not be much room for enjoyment as well as accomplishment. The flow of the game will be predicted and boring. Players always enjoy a game the most when the ability of each character differs from everyone else.

Flow

Flow is the continuation of the game from the beginning to its end. It defines how clearly the player interacts with the game and vice verse. It's about the game giving out information such as goals, feedback, story, and rules, with clarity and understanding. Also, flow, is affected by challenge. If the challenge is low the flow of the game will run faster and more efficient. However, if the challenge is high the flow will be much more difficult.

Premise

Premise represents the things that make the game playable for the user. Things like the place, time, the protagonist, the antagonists, and a list of objectives are all examples of what the players will need to see in order to start playing the game.

Character

When you think of a character, you think about what the character looks like. You think about what they wear or how they look, speak, and most importantly, their strengths and their weaknesses. Character as a dramatic element, is the physical actions in the player. This is where drama is told through the actions of the players.

Story

Story describes what is going on at a particular time of the game. It lets the character know how or what to react to in a peculiar setting or situation. Story can also be the back story of the main character or even the antagonist. It just gives the player a sense of his or her whereabouts. You can also give players the chance to choose to develop their own story through game play.

Dramatic elements are just a way to enhance your game by including certain variables to make your game better to play as well as increase game play.

Structure of Games

Lecture 2

Last week, we learned about what makes a game a game. Professor Nacke thoroughly explained more in depth the concepts about games in general.

Structure of Games

A game structure includes: Players, Objectives, Procedures, Rules, Resources, Conflict, Challenge, Character, Story, Dramatic element, etc... I am not going to talk about all of these elements but I will talk about the ones that stood out to me the most during the lecture.

Players

Firstly, a game must have players. No matter what kind of game it is whether it is a board game or a video game. Players are an essential part of a game. Without players, the game cannot be played. Its like a car with no wheels. Players are the ones who get involved in the game activity. They are the ones who actually get the game started. the game can't play itself. Sometimes, depending on the game, different roles (e.g. teams, individual, defined actions, play styles) are available for players to choose from. Games where you have a variety of roles with different kinds of actions to face your opponent with or simply just to win the game.

Objectives, Conflicts, Challenge

Secondly, objectives, conflict, and challenge are also in important in games. The reason why I put those two together is because I think they are connected in a way. Objectives always have to be in a game. Examples of some objectives are race, exploration, capture, rescue, escape, etc... The players must always have an objective otherwise they will be doing nothing exciting in the game. If you have a game where the player has the freedom to do what they want, it just a bogus game in my opinion. It might be fun if it were a cool video game like Sims or Need for Speed where the players can just look around and enjoy the 3D graphics yet, there is still no goal to achieve. Young children will definitely get bored of the game and move onto playing something else. The reason why people have so much interest in certain games is because of the objectives; the goals given to the players that they must achieve in order to move on to the next level. And what better to incorporate objectives in a game without including conflict? Sure games can have objectives. Anyone can easily get as many points as possible without having any problems if there is no conflict. conflict is like the events that distract, disrupt, or block the players from getting what they want so easily. A simple but very good example would be the board game Snakes and Ladders.
Each player wants to get to the finish line first but, there will always be a time when they will slide down the snake preventing them from achieving their goal of winning. To me conflict adds more fun to the game and it allows players to try again and again until they finish the game (unless they are sore losers). Adding objectives and conflict together brings forth a challenge for the players. Challenge allows players to think about how the game is structured and causes them not to repeat the same mistakes they made before. 

Rules

Thirdly, rules are a definite necessity  in a game. Rules are like the things the players can or cannot do during the game. In my opinion, they are the restricting actions that form fairness among players in the game. It would be unfair if a player decides to roll a dice three times in a board game and pick the highest number to play.

Conclusion

All in all, the structure of games is like the essential core that depicts how it should or should not be. It has to properly engage its players, have interesting objectives and challenges, and have a well explained document of rules. When you have a good structured game you will have no problem engaging players and allowing them to have fun.

First Blog

Game Production 2!!! BRING IT ON!!!

Well its that time of the year again. Game Design & Production 2 has begun.

For this year, we have a chance to get 3,800 XP. That's a lot of XP, but you know what, I'm ready for the challenge.

In second year, we only had to write blogs in order to gain XP. Apparently, this is not the case this year. Professor Nacke updated the XP qualifications. Not only do we have to write blogs for XP, we have to tweet about the class and our accomplishments in our game, we have to participate in class through in-class discussion, and there will be in-class quizzes. What better way to encourage 3rd year game development students to fully engage themselves in this class other than through social media. Using Twitter will become a habit for most us this year for sure and it is also a great practice to develop since we will need to use social media in the real world.

This class is like an actual game itself. We the students, are the characters living in a virtual world (like Sims) and are pursuing an excellent mark in Game Design 2 by completing various tasks and assignments. Very interesting.

 I am definitely going to aim for the full 3800 XP. So bring it on Game Design & Prod 2!!!