Week 8 Reading & Writing

So if I was to take a moment and reflect on some of the learning outcomes for this module so far I would have to say I'm impressed with the extra knowledge I've gained, especially in the area of talking about games and how to write about them in a particular manner. The reading tasks each week have been specifically helpful in upping my knowledge in these areas and I do really feel like I'm beginning to understand the mechanics of game creation on a more technical level. 

Some of my favourite research and readings have been understanding the Gaming MDA framework and what it's all about. One post in particular, (Games MDA) was one of my favourite to both research and then write about, and I feel like it was extremely helpful in helping me understand everything a little deeper and get a better perspective on Game genetics. 

Learning about and understanding things like the Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics within gaming were very beneficial and will really help us to go full steam ahead with making the actual game and putting them into play. The 'rules' of the game and the constraints in which it operates, the actual gameplay itself, and even what happens when the game ends etc - are all determined by the mechanics, and it is vital to understand when we construct our own game. We even looked over the effects the dynamics will have on the players themselves - essentially, the player experience of the game or it's Aesthetics.

To date, I have been happy with the level of work involved although, it is getting increasingly difficult to keep to the weekly upload deadlines each week as other modules and their assignments reach closer. I do however appreciate how well laid out the course material is and has been since we started semester 1. I now look forward to focusing on making and completing my game in it's entirety and hopefully it will be something I can be proud of and maybe consider as a portfolio piece. My work on the finished game so far has been somewhat inconsistent - but getting there slowly none the less. I am happy with the type of game I am making and hope it will be fun to play. 

For my image, I have chosen this picture which I uploaded into my Game Design Document as an example as to the type of landscape and feeling I wanted to bring to my game and it's design. It's a screen grab from the computer game 'Resident Evil' which portrays the dark and mystical land that they explore. I thought this would best represent the eerie sense of feelings I want my game to send out when people play it and explore the world and it's surroundings while they look for the hidden items and locate the village before they are rescued. 

Looking forward, I would really like to explore more readings and how-to's about making my game look exactly as how I have envisioned in both my own head and down on paper in my GDD. I will benefit from exploring these I think, as I still have a long way to go before my game looks and plays anywhere near being finished.

Games and the Initial Design Process - GDD

In this weeks reading we are focusing on Gaming and the Initial Design process or stages. The early stages of the Design Process are crucial, this is where you want to have everything planned out so you have the starting point or base for your game. There needs to be a step-by-step guide to allow for bigger projects to run smoothly and lead to an all-round better game in the end. 

The design components can go a long way in how a game is enjoyed but do they really matter? Imagine playing chess with cardboard cutouts, it's still the same game but would it be as enjoyable to play? Things that should be considered: space between players, high contrasting colours/distinguishable characters, legible fonts, avoid clutter/excess components, etc. But what about the rules of the game? Writing clear and to the point rules might seem like an easy task, but it's often the hardest thing to get right. Things that should be considered here include: blind test the rules (when a game is sent to a group of people who need to learn how to play and understand the game on their own without the help of the developer/designer), include a detailed list of components, what happens when the game ends, how many lives does a player have, etc. 

(source: https://mindofgames.wordpress.com/2014/11/05/failing-makes-success/  interesting blog about the experiences of a game designer)

The first thing that needs to happen in Game Design is coming up with a core concept or basic idea for the game. So Core Aesthetics is very important - how should the player feel? How should the play experience be like? Starting with a rule or system is often a good idea, look at everyday life and how or what decisions being made can be interpreted into your game. Technology is also a good consideration within your game. What items could be used to enhance player experience etc. Other important things to consider is also narrative and market research. Combinations of several of these. For example, starting with core aesthetics and narrative at the same time, you can make a game where the story and gameplay are highly integrated.

I have heard a lot about 'designers block' in the past and it is something that is important to consider could happen. Trying something new and random and integrating it into our game is a good way to prevent this from happening. Also keep a collection of all your ideas for games, mechanics, narratives, etc and look back on these to generate some new ideas so designers block doesn't become an issue. 

Games MDA

Today I am going to be discussing Games and their MDA Framework. MDA stands for the Game Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics. So what does each word mean exactly and in what sense does it refer to gaming? 

(image cred: http://gamedevelopertips.com/mechanics-dynamics-aesthetics-game-design-theory-behind-games/ )

Lets start with the Mechanics. These are basically the 'rules' of the game and the constraints in which the game operates. Gameplay, player actions, what happens when the game ends etc - these are all determined by the mechanics. Then we move onto the Dynamics of the game. These refer to the play of the game when a set of rules are set in motion - how players may interact with each other and so on. And finally, Aesthetics. This is the effects the dynamics have on the players themselves - essentially, the player experience of the game. Is the game fun or boring? Does it have some sort of intellectual or emotional engagement, etc. 

MDA is a 'taxonomy' for formal models meaning knowledge of Mechanics, knowledge of Dynamics and knowledge of Aesthetics but also a knowledge of the interactions between them all. So what about game Dynamics? To understand this, we must ask questions like how can we explain the behaviour we are observing? Or can we predict game behaviour before we go to play-test? 

To understand things like Aesthetics, we need to be able to see past wording like 'fun' or 'gameplay'. How will we know a particular type of 'fun' when we see it? Or what makes a certain part of the game 'fun'? They're is many different kinds of 'fun' available to players in the form of things like sensation, fantasy, narrative, discovery and expression. So what about a definition for aesthetic goals or stating criteria for success and failures - these can be called an 'Aesthetic Model'. An example of an 'Aesthetic Model' - Goal Competition. A game where players become competitive because they are emotionally invested in defeating one another. This is a success when players want to win, or a failure if a player feels he/she cannot win. 

There is a vast library of common game mechanics when it comes to understanding Mechanics in general. Some examples: cards - shuffling, bidding, trick taking. Shooters - ammunition, spawn points. Golf - sand traps, water hazards. So what about Mechanics VS Dynamics? Some behaviours are direct consequences of rules, others are indirect. Dynamics and Mechanics are different views of games. Some dynamics for example, time pressure, can create dramatic tension within a game. Various mechanics create time pressure like a simple time limit, or a pace monster or depleting resource. 

Learning About Game Elements

So we have established that there is many different disciplines involved with making a game (design, art, audio, code, objectives, narrative, etc). Game content creation is evolving all the time in order to keep up with technology speeds and so on.

The design is such a crucial aspect of the entire game, because without it, the game would simply be data on a disk with no user experience. It is also important that when it comes to game design, we understand and are able to communicate effectively to others, aspects of gameplay or design that we like or don't like. Once we reach this understanding, evolution across all game genres will accelerate and we effectively have our own shared language. In order to understand and appreciate how elements of a game fit together, we should be dissecting it into all its components - Design evolution often only occurs through refinements.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_64#/media/File:Super_Mario_64_box_cover.jpg

So what tools would be useful for us in order to dissect and analyse game elements and components? We should take a look at the overall game aspects and look for things that we could abstract or form and apply to other genres and titles. Take Mario 64 for example, the idea behind it was to have multiple objectives in many of the 'worlds'. This allowed players to have some sort of idea about what their goals were and how to achieve them in later gameplay, because they had already visited the world earlier on and knew what to do in order to achieve new goals. This allows players to engage in a pretty sophisticated planning process. They have been presented with knowledge of how the world works, how they can move and interact with it, and what obstacles they must overcome.

So looking back on the Mario 64 example, we can now understand what can be derived from one or two specific observations. We see there are many ways in which players are encouraged to form their own goals and act on them. The key is that players know what to expect from the world and thus are made to feel in control of the situation. Another tool observation is known as PERCEIVABLE CONSEQUENCE: A clear reaction from the game world to the action of the player. This tool is often used in RPG games with some sort of character or plot development.

All About Game Design

One of the first things I learnt today from my readings was what exactly a game is classed as. A less analytical definition could describe a game as play activity with rules that involves conflict but this doesn't truly describe how exactly a game should work or be viewed as. 

By any standards a game should have a 'start' and 'end' and an objective throughout with rules on how to get there or how to finish or win the game. Games can be classed as a form of 'art'. There is also several different forms of games. These can be puzzles, adventure games, shooter style, role-playing games, etc and more often than not a game will have to include some type of story or narrative throughout.

Natural instinct of gamers is to play any game as the rules imply but the nature of some games can lead to more sophisticated gaming styles with heavy narrative and role-play, where your character interaction becomes so important in the overall objective of the game. This is particularly interesting where younger gamers are concerned, because they can engross themselves in this 'fantasy world' where you could experiment with individual personalities and actions in which you would most likely not ever come across or explore in real life. Of course where did modern video/computer games stem from? It was actually mainly board games.

When it comes to game design in particular, what exactly does it mean and what parts of the game is it referring to? Game Design is the creation of rules and in-game content. It involves the overall design of the game but not things like marketing, art, animation or programming. These are referred to as 'Game development' and Game Design should only be classed as a small part of the Game Development phase. So who exactly designs games then? These people are known as 'Game Designers' and they cover a broad range of skills and contain qualities that artists, architects, research scientists and educators all have within the industry. 

Computer Space. 1971 (first ever video game) developed by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabne, who later founded Atari.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_Space#/media/File:Computer_Space_flyer.jpg