Notes/Response

Week 1

GDW Foreword / Preface / Introduction / p1 - 28

The magic at work in games is about finding the hidden connections between things, 

How is it possible that the simple rules of chess and go continue to evolve new strategies and styles of play, even after centuries and centuries of human study

Need for innovative game designers to realize the potential for play in all of these new platforms and places

Understanding why do I play games is the first step to becoming a game designer

Game is long lasting to the culture of human entertainment is not due to the medium or any technology but to the experience of the players. 

Playtests need to happen early in the design process

It’s not locking things in place, it’s giving birth and parenting 

When a game designer looks at the world,  he often sees things in terms of challenges, structures, and play. 

Find inspiration from childhood 

Set player experience goal

This book is to teach us the different aspects and process of game design, those topics include inspiration; conceptualize; prototyping...etc. 

GDW p165 - 181 Conceptualize 

Great ideas come from great input into your mind and senses

Note down ideas from everyday-life

Go for a lot of ideas 

Experimental games are to do something new with games or to make a game design discovery: try out new ideas; playtest new mechanics; testing preconceptions about what games are and how human beings play. 

Edit / cut an idea if one doesn’t feel passionate about it - stretch yourself artistically

I was pretty conservative in designing games as I will only stick to couple ideas. But after reading this chapter, I find out that generating more ideas will create more creative gameplay and perhaps result in better gaming experience. Experimental game is a great practice to do! It lets a game designer to try out new ideas; new mechanics; and new medium of games. 

GDW p197 - 202...etc Prototyping 

Prototyping is the creation of a working model of your idea that allows you to test its feasibility and make improvements of it 

Digital and physical prototypes 

Feeling of moving through a 3D space is only one component of an engaging game experience 

Visual analysis of core actions:

Isolate the core gameplay mechanisms and build out from there

The core gameplay mechanism can be defined as the actions that a player repeats most often while striving to achieve the game’s overall goal

The more complex it is does not equal to the better play experience 

•• Monopoly: Players buy and improve properties

with the goal of charging rent to other players

who land on them in the course of play.

•• Super Mario Bros.: A player controls Mario

(or Luigi), making him walk, run, and jump, while

avoiding traps, overcoming obstacles, and gathering

treasure.

Prototyping is a very important part of game design, it sets the "skeleton" for the game. I think the graph was made really clear and can also be a reference for my game design prototypes in the future, so I kept it in my notes. The graph will help organize these three areas: environment; actions; and rewards, and only with clear and organized information will help us create interesting gameplays. 

GDW p403 - 406 Team Structure 

This chapter teaches me about different roles and responsibilities while working with a team. Keeping effective communication is essential in teamwork, and meetings need to be conducted to ensure productivity and direction. Every person should contribute his specialized task to the teamwork. I think our class is pretty good at this task.

Week 2

GDW p29 - 36 The structure of Games

In comparison, those two games are not very similar: Quake is a 3D action shooting game; go fish is a card game. 

Components of a game: 

Players, active participants; 

Quake: a lone player working against the system; 

Gofish: requires a group of at least three players challenging each other;

To accept the rules of games; need to consider the psychologic and emotional states of players 

Objectives:

Go fish: make the most books;

Quake: stay alive and advance to the next more complex levels;

Read a book; watch a film; there’s no clear distinction

In games, our desire to work toward the objective (goals), is a measure of our involvement (rank) in the game. 

Procedures: 

The actions or methods of play allowed by the rules: guide and constrain player’s behavior; creating interactions that would probably never take place outside the authority of the game. 

Rules: 

Rules stem from an agreement by the players to submit themselves to the experience

Resources: 

Cards of each rank; weapons; power-ups; 

Designed to help players to achieve their goals.

Resources are items made valuable and scarcity.

Balance the game plays.

Conflict: 

The player needs to work and resolve conflicts, which are designed to increase the complexity and entertainment of the games.

Boundaries: 

The arena, table, stage, temple are all considered as playground in games, and they are set within a range in a specific boundary. 

Outcome:

The outcome of a game differs from the objective: win/lose; achieve specific statistics. 

Players invest their emotion in that uncertainty of outcome

Measurable unequal outcome 

Go beyond these elements and explore the new form of interactivity that lies at the edge of what we call games. 

Players Objectives Procedures Rules Resources Conflict Boundaries Outcome

GDW working with formal elements p 55 - 90

Perform actions that we could never consider in a real-world setting (killing betrayal) 

Perform actions that we think we are capable of but never had the chance to face

Player experience goal will have to correlate with the structure that will support this goal 

“There’s a lot of potential in the other patterns that is rarely taken advantage of, and I offer these ideas to you in the hopes that they can inspire you to look at new combinations and possibilities of player interactions to use in your designs”

Pattern:

Single-player versus game: (pac-man, solitaire)

Player vs player (chess)

Multiple individual players vs game (roulette)

Multilateral competition (each other) (poker, monopoly) 

Unilateral competition (multiple against one player) (dodge ball) 

Team competition (basketball, soccer)

Cooperative play 

The objective of the game sets its tone

Capture: the concept of capture or killing the opponent's forces is one that is deeply ingrained in games today

Chase: catch an opponent or an elude one (need for speed) 

Race: reach a goal (physically or conceptually) (car games(chase): chase opponents, race: a single lap within specific seconds)

Allignment: puzzle-like in that they involve solving spatial or organizational problems (logic, calculations)

Rescue or Escape: get a defined unit or units to safety. (super mario bros - rescue princess)

Forbidden act: get the competition to break the rules by laughing, talking, letting go, making the wrong move, or otherwise doing something they shouldn’t. 

Construction: build maintain or manage objects (minecraft)

Exploration: explore game areas (find treasure along, combat along the way)

Solution: solve a problem (text adventures) 

Outwit: gain and use knowledge in a way that defeats others. (gaining in game or sometimes outside game knowledge) 

Mix those objectives!!!!

Procedures: who does what, where, when, and how

Procedures are affected by physical constraints. Be sensitive and find creative and elegant solutions so that the procedures are intuitive to access and easy to remember. 

Rules: define game objects and allowable actions for the player. 

Too many rules might make it difficult for the players to manage their understanding of the game. 

Rules restrict actions

Rules can trigger effect (boost...etc)

Rules need to be clear as they can be intuitively grasped 

More rules = more demand for the player to comprehend

Resources are assets that can be used to accomplish certain goals. (chips in poker, properties in monop, gold in league)

R needs to be both utility and scarcity. 

Playtesting is a good way to find a set of balanced resources

(lives, units, health, currency, actions, power-ups, inventory, special terrain, time)

Conflicts:

Conflict emerges from the players trying to accomplish the objective. 

Creating rules, procedures and situations.

(obstacles, opponents (moba), dilemmas) 

Boundaries:

Try to play football without boundaries?

Craft player experience

Outcome: 

win/lose

Ranking system

What outcome is satisfying? 

GDW p85 Sidebar:

It is important to blend one’s emotions into the game to feel immersive within the environment. Emotions should tie to the mechanics!

GDW Game as Systems p127 - p131 p155 - p156

A system can be complex as a government and as simple as a stapler. Elements of a system interact to produce the desired goal.

The goal of the system is to entertain the participants. 

Games: produce a structured conflict and provide an entertaining process to resolve that conflict

A game system is fair when it gives all players an equal opportunity to achieve the game goals. 

GDW Designer Perspective p160 - 162

Prototype - playtest - redesign loop 

Play a lot/deeply/attention

Simplicity 

Take something in a game you like and combine it with something new 

Do not make games that you wouldn’t play

Week 3

GDW Chapter 8: Digital prototyping p.258 - 260

Other information such as points/progress/status/communication/choices/special opportunities to take action that a player need to know. Better to be extremely understandable. 

Avoid making clone of existing games (ask yourself: what’s special about this idea?)

Never design the interface first, let the game evolve from the necessities 

Visual interfaces are symbols to help us navigate the arcane universe

What metaphor would best communicate? 

GDW Chapter 8: Digital Prototyping

The complexity became hard for game designer to keep a complete image of all the elements or systems of gameplay. 

Build a paper physical prototype and test the ideas by getting feedbacks

Software prototyping can be used to understand the elements of your game

GDW Chapter 8: Prototyping for game feel

Good game feel: controlling the game is intrinsically pleasurable 

Every interaction I have with the game will have this pleasurable control over the character

(input, response, context(constrains), polish, metaphor, rules)

Input: difference between a button and a computer mouse click; Xbox 360 joy stick = Geometry wars

(natural mapping = no explanation needed) 

Response: allowing a combination of buttons 

Context: context needs to fit the controls (level design) Balance the movement and speed

The act of the game should create something aesthetically beautiful 

Week 4

GDW Chapter 4: Working with Dramatic Elements (pages 97—102) 

Dramatic techniques are used to explain and enhance the more abstract elements of the formal system

Challenge needs to suit the audience of the game 

Enjoyment of a game:

Confront to task we have a chance of completing 

Frustration and boredom

Balance out ability and challenge 

The flow experience makes you forget about the real world. Immersive 

“People become so involved in what they’re doing that the activity becomes spontaneous, almost automatic; they stop being aware of themselves as separate from the actions they are performing.”

What skills does your target audience have?

What skill level are they at? 

How can you give your players clear. Focused goals, meaningful choices, and discernible feedback?

GDW Chapter 8: Digital Prototyping (pages 235—269) 

Prototyping aesthetics/kinesthetics 

Give understanding to ultimately control the elements of your game 

Input/Response/Context/Conclusion

Overhead view

Side View

Isometric view (league of legends)

First person view

Third person view

consistency/feedback

Week 6

GDW Chapter 11: Fun and Accessibility (pages 341—346) 

Games are voluntary activities, activities that require player’s attention

Fun appeals to the emotions

The flow diagram

Let the player to set their own goal

Important to feel a sense of accomplishment

Choices need to have consequences

Create choices that go against personal ethics 

“Nothing is so thrilling as venturing into water and see what you find

Collection; simulation; social interaction; exploration and discovery; self expression;

Week 7

GDW Chapter 9: Playtesting 

Playtesting: players perform during the entire design process

Think about the key answer that you want to ask your playtester about

During the playtest, one shouldn’t assist the person to navigate or play the game 

Week 11

GDW Chapter 7: Prototyping your original game idea (pages 210—232) 

When designing the whole game, it is recommended to isolate the core game mechanics and build out from there. 

What is the core mechanism? - it is the action that the player repeats the most to achieve the overall objective. Games are repetitive by nature!!!!

More complex design doesn’t equal to better experience

Examples: 

• WarCraft III: Players build and move units on a map in real time with the intent of engaging opposing units in combat and destroying them. 

• Monopoly: Players buy and improve properties with the goal of charging rent to other players who land on them in the course of play. 

• Diablo III: Players battle monsters, seek treasure, and explore dungeons in an attempt to amass wealth and become more powerful. 

• Super Mario Bros.: A player controls Mario (or Luigi), making him walk, run, and jump, while avoiding traps, overcoming obstacles, and gathering treasure.

Structure: 

It is about constructing a skeletal structure that can support the rich and varied feature set that will be your finished game. 

Features are attributes that make a game richer, like adding more weapons or new vehicles or a nifty way to navigate the space.

Rules are modifications to the game mechanics that change how the game functions, such as winning conditions, conflict resolution.

You can add rules without adding features, but you can never add a feature without changing or adding rules. For example, if you added a new type of laser gun to your game, the rules would dictate how this gun could be used, what damage it would do, and how it would relate to all aspects of the game.

Adding 1 single feature could result in 10 new rules. 

Beginning game designers typically add too much. The art of game design often involves paring a bunch of feature ideas down to a small, important set.

Test out new rules/features individually

Make sure that the core actions have significant impact for the player and that each is there for an appropriate reason. 

a prototype gives you the freedom to experiment—and through experimentation comes innovation.

Week 12

GDW Chapter 4: Working with dramatic elements 

What kind of skills does your audience have?

How can you give your player a clear goal; meaningful choices; and visible feedback?

In a game: the procedures and rules act as the structure, and the game play happens within that structure: emergent experience and self expression. 

Gamers play to learn 

Different types of players:

“The Competitor: Plays to best other players, regardless of the game. • The Explorer: Curious about the world, loves to go adventuring; seeks outside boundaries— physical or mental. • The Collector: Acquires items, trophies, or knowledge; likes to create sets, organize history, etc. • The Achiever: Plays for varying levels of achievement; ladders and levels incentivize the achiever. • The Joker: Doesn’t take the game seriously— plays for the fun of playing; there’s a potential for jokers to annoy serious players, but on the other hand, jokers can make the game more social than competitive. • The Artist: Driven by creativity, creation, design. • The Director: Loves to be in charge, direct the play. • The Storyteller: Loves to create or live in worlds of fantasy and imagination. • The Performer: Loves to put on a show for others. • The Craftsman: Wants to build, craft, engineer, or puzzle things out.”

Premise is what connects the players, making the game more immersive. Rather than going into the game and shooting random bots. 

 Players shoot at space invaders to defend their space, rather than shooting at random blocks on the screen

Many game characters these days have rich backstories that help connect the player

If the player stopped interacting with Sonic, the little hedgehog let the player know of his dissatisfaction by crossing his arms and tapping his feet impatiently. The character is designed to move fast and had no time to waste

World building: Immersive design works across platforms to create worlds that are coherent, have an interior logic, history, geography, surface, and metaphor. 

Conflict is at the heart of a good game, 

Meaningful conflict is not only designed to keep players from accomplishing their goals too easily, but it also draws players into the game emotionally by creating a sense of tension as to the outcome.

Dramatic Arc: 

GDW Chapter 7: Experimental gameplay

Explore new game design territory 

Week 13

GDW Chapter 11: Fun and Accessibility

Reaching and exceeding goals, 

Competing against opponents

Setting your own personal goal

Exercising difficult skills

Create interesting choices to make - game is a series of choices leading to consequences

Living out fantasies GTA V is a good example (against ethics but fun) 

Self expression 

Story (like a premise, so people get more engaged and emotionally engaged) 

Rewards and punishment: a game designer often emphasizes the reward while limiting the punishment - each reward should push the player closer to the victory 

“ In many ways, Las Vegas is simply a giant Skinner Box. We might all be just rats in a cage, but there is one type of reward that is very powerful and that cannot be delivered like a pellet, and that is peer recognition. “

Progress - visible progress to the player

Fun killer: 

Stagnation - repetitive game play: nothing new is happening 

Arbitrary events

Avoid predictable paths

Make the game accessible: can a player pick up the game without any instructions?

Week 14

GDW Chapter 10: Functionality Completeness and Balances

Foundation - basic of the game idea is fun 

Someone who knows nothing about the game can sit down and play it

Avoid spawn camping, loopholes, deadends, 

“The idea of completeness can be summed up by the following statement: An internally complete game is one in which the players can operate the game without reaching any point at which either the gameplay or the functionality is compromised.”

Balancing a game is hard - the notion of balance encompass so many different elements, and those elements are dependent on each other 

Spreadsheet to keep track of damage amount...etc

Balancing starting positions, but this doesn’t mean giving all players the same items/resources to start off with 

Balancing the skill level for different users - refine over playtestings

Techniques: modular (break down the game into separate systems)  / spreadsheet (data control) 

/ one change at a time  / playtest / intuition 

Week 15

GDW Chapter 16: Selling yourself and your ideas to the game industry 

Knowing the history of games and knowing how the companies I am speaking to fit in the game industry.  (research about them beforehand)

It's good to specialize in a technical skills other than game design in general. 

Gamasutra.com, Indiegames.com, and GameDev.net.  (online game communities)

Game Developers Conference and South by Southwest. 

 E3, DICE, PAX, IndieCade, the Global Game Jam, Games for Change, Casual Play, and more.  (game conferences) 

pitch your original game ideas to your publisher 

for independent developers like us, it's important to find a channel to publish it and more importantly, to complete our game - most games from independent developers remained unfinished. 

The only way to fail is by not making games at all!!!