The Holy Grail Of Multiplayer (Andrew Yoder).pdf
- 1. The Holy Grail of Multiplayer Level Design Levels for Competitive and Casual Play Andrew Yoder Level Designer, Hi-Rez Studios
- 2. About me ● Unreal Tournament Modder ● Hi-Rez Studios Level Designer
- 3. Definitions ● Competitive - professional tournaments ● Casual - recreational play
- 4. Definitions ● Competitive - professional tournaments ● Casual - recreational play But also: ● The motivations of competitive play ● The motivations of casual play
- 5. Definitions continued ● Competitive - professional tournaments ● Casual - recreational play The Holy Grail - a way to serve both
- 6. Greatest Multiplayer Maps of All Time?
- 8. DM17 “Longest Yard” Quake 3: Arena
- 10. Properties of G.O.A.T. maps
- 11. Properties of G.O.A.T. maps ● Big, Open Environments
- 12. Properties of G.O.A.T. maps ● Big, Open Environments ● Iconic themes
- 13. Properties of G.O.A.T. maps ● Big, Open Environments ● Iconic themes ● Sandbox of play
- 14. Properties of G.O.A.T. maps ● Big, Open Environments ● Iconic themes ● Sandbox of play ● Conflict through simplicity
- 15. Properties of G.O.A.T. maps ● Big, Open Environments ● Iconic themes ● Sandbox of play ● Conflict through simplicity ● Not played competitively?
- 18. “Lost World” Quake 3 Arena
- 20. Properties of competitive maps ● Big, Open Environments ● Iconic themes ● Sandbox of play ● Conflict through simplicity ● Not played competitively?
- 21. Properties of competitive maps ● Big, Open Environments complex interior spaces ● Iconic themes ● Sandbox of play ● Conflict through simplicity ● Not played competitively?
- 22. Properties of competitive maps ● Big, Open Environments complex interior spaces ● Iconic themes clean, minimalist themes ● Sandbox of play ● Conflict through simplicity ● Not played competitively?
- 23. Properties of competitive maps ● Big, Open Environments complex interior spaces ● Iconic themes clean, minimalist themes ● Sandbox of play focus on core mechanics ● Conflict through simplicity ● Not played competitively?
- 24. Properties of competitive maps ● Big, Open Environments complex interior spaces ● Iconic themes clean, minimalist themes ● Sandbox of play focus on core mechanics ● Conflict through simplicity item-based tactics ● Not played competitively?
- 25. Properties of competitive maps ● Big, Open Environments complex interior spaces ● Iconic themes clean, minimalist themes ● Sandbox of play focus on core mechanics ● Conflict through simplicity item-based tactics ● Not played competitively? Not played casually?
- 26. What’s going on here?!
- 27. casual competitive Overlap of Audiences* Fighting games
- 28. casual comp. *Varies per game! Overlap of Audiences*
- 29. Not just digital games
- 30. Layers of Skill (in an FPS) 1. Mechanics 2. Tactics 3. Strategy Parallel skills
- 31. Psychological Models ● Self-Determination Theory ● Competence ● Autonomy ● Relatedness
- 32. ● Self-Determination Theory ● Competence → mastery ● Autonomy → choice ● Relatedness → teamwork Psychological Models
- 33. Ways to support casual play
- 34. Ways to support casual play ● Rebounds and chaos
- 35. Ways to support casual play ● Rebounds and chaos ● Easy to learn
- 36. Ways to support casual play ● Rebounds and chaos ● Easy to learn ● Limited tactics
- 37. Ways to support casual play ● Rebounds and chaos ● Easy to learn ● Limited tactics ● Sandbox play
- 38. Ways to support casual play ● Rebounds and chaos ● Easy to learn ● Limited tactics ● Sandbox play ● Single-scan arenas
- 39. Ways to support competitive play
- 40. Ways to support competitive play ● Multiple valid options
- 41. Ways to support competitive play ● Multiple valid options ● Resilient options
- 42. Ways to support competitive play ● Multiple valid options ● Resilient options ● Multi-scan arenas
- 43. Holy Grail maps
- 47. Properties of Holy Grail maps
- 48. Properties of Holy Grail maps ● Intermediate complexity
- 49. Properties of Holy Grail maps ● Intermediate complexity ● Readability-focused environment art
- 50. Properties of Holy Grail maps ● Intermediate complexity ● Readability-focused environment art ● ???
- 51. Why call them Holy Grail maps?
- 52. Why call them Holy Grail maps? ● Holy Grail grants eternal youth!
- 53. Why call them Holy Grail maps? ● Holy Grail grants eternal youth! ● Holy Grail isn’t real...
- 54. Why call them Holy Grail maps? ● Holy Grail grants eternal youth! ● Holy Grail isn’t real… ● The ultimate vanilla?
- 55. Paladins (And my quest for the Holy Grail)
- 56. Paladins ● Team FPS ● Classes ● Objectives ● Champions ● F2P
- 57. Paladins history
- 58. Paladins history ● First Person MOBA → Class-based FPS
- 59. Paladins history ● First Person MOBA → Class-based FPS ● High TTK → Medium TTK (time-to-kill)
- 60. Paladins history ● First Person MOBA → Class-based FPS ● High TTK → Medium TTK (time-to-kill) ● Chaotic → Deterministic
- 61. Paladins history ● First Person MOBA → Class-based FPS ● High TTK → Medium TTK (time-to-kill) ● Chaotic → Deterministic ● Sprawling maps → Tight maps
- 65. Principles of a Paladins Level
- 66. Principles of a Paladins Level ● Strategic variety
- 67. Principles of a Paladins Level ● Strategic variety ● Simplicity
- 68. Principles of a Paladins Level ● Strategic variety ● Simplicity ● Centered on core mechanics
- 69. Principles of a Paladins Level ● Strategic variety ● Simplicity ● Centered on core mechanics ● Limit zoning, allow recovery
- 70. Principles of a Paladins Level ● Strategic variety ● Simplicity ● Centered on core mechanics ● Limit zoning, allow recovery ● What you see is what you get
- 71. ● Strategic variety ● Simplicity ● Centered on core mechanics ● Limit zoning, allow recovery ● What you see is what you get Principles of a Paladins Level
- 72. ● The team felt better about the maps ● Metrics were up ● Healthier competitive scene ● But player feedback was neutral/positive Results of these iterations:
- 73. Results of these iterations: casual competitive What we thought we did
- 74. Results of these iterations: casual comp. casual competitive What we thought we did What we actually did?
- 75. What (some) players want
- 76. ● Bigger maps, more variety What (some) players want
- 77. ● Bigger maps, more variety ● Asymmetry What (some) players want
- 78. ● Bigger maps, more variety ● Asymmetry ● Stronger themes What (some) players want
- 79. ● Bigger maps, more variety ● Asymmetry ● Stronger themes ● Map dynamics What (some) players want
- 80. Test Queue
- 81. Test Queue ● Better understand our audience
- 82. Test Queue ● Better understand our audience ● Test specific experiments
- 83. Test Queue ● Better understand our audience ● Test specific experiments ● Reduce risk of creating lukewarm maps, “false grails”
- 84. “Sandbridge”
- 85. “Sandbridge”
- 86. “Sewer”
- 87. “Sewer”
- 89. What’s next?
- 91. The audience check: ● Who all are we designing this for?
- 92. The audience check: ● Who all are we designing this for? ● What are their needs?
- 93. The audience check: ● Who all are we designing this for? ● What are their needs? ● How does our design serve those needs?
- 94. The audience check: ● Who all are we designing this for? ● What are their needs? ● How does our design serve those needs? ● What steps can we take to answer these questions?
- 95. Thanks!
- 96. ● Glued to Games ● Art of Failure ● David Sirlin GDC 2009 ● Matthias Worch GDC 2014 ● Jason Vandenberghe GDC 2013 Further Reading: