VDP2016 - Lecture 04 Thinking likea-gamedesigner
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The document outlines a lecture by Professor Pier Luca Lanzi on game design and includes an exercise centered around the card game Bartok, along with various definitions of a game by notable game designers. It emphasizes critical questions for game analysis, the impact of rule modifications, and the importance of playtesting in game design. The document serves as a guide for understanding core principles and methodologies for effective game creation.
VDP2016 - Lecture 04 Thinking likea-gamedesigner
- 1. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi Thinking Like a Game Designer Video game Design and Programming
- 2. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi The slides for this lecture are taken from the companion material of our textbook: Jeremy Gibson Bond. Introduction to Game Design, Prototyping, and Development. Addison- Wesley 2014 (http://book.prototools.net/)
- 3. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi Bartok an exercise in game design 3
- 4. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi Bartok: A Game Design Exercise • Bartok is a classic card game, similar to the commercial game Uno • Three to five players • Standard deck of playing cards • Break into groups of 3-5 players each • Remove the Jokers from the deck • Shuffle the cards 4
- 5. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi Bartok: A Game Design Exercise • Objective §Be the first person to run out of cards • Standard Rules §Deal 5 cards to each player, the remaining cards become a draw pile §Flip over the top card of the draw pile to start a discard pile §The person to the left of the dealer plays first, and play proceeds clockwise §Each player must play a card onto the discard pile that matches the suit or number of the top card of the discard pile. §If she can’t, she must draw a card. 5
- 6. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi The player can choose to play any one of the cards highlighted with blue borders (7C, JC, 2H, 2S). 6
- 7. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi Analyzing Bartok: Asking the Right Questions • Is the game of the appropriate difficulty? • Is the outcome of the game based more on strategy or chance? • Does the game have meaningful, interesting decisions? • Is the game interesting when it's not your turn? 7
- 8. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi Bartok: Modifying the Rules • Choose one of these rules and add it to the game §Rule 1: If a player plays a 2, the person to her left must draw two cards instead of playing. §Rule 2: If any player has a card that matches the number and color (red or black) of the top card, she may announce "Match card!" and play it out of turn. Play then continues with the player to the left of the one who just played the out-of- turn card. This can lead to players having their turns skipped. §Rule 3: A player must announce “Last card” when she has only one card left. If someone else calls it first, she must draw two cards (bringing her total number of cards to three). 8
- 9. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi And now playtest …
- 10. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi But watch out for playtesting flukes • A strange shuffle or other external force can cause one playtest of the game to be very different from others • You must playtest several times to ensure that you experience an average playtest and not a fluke • However, you must also note any flukes that happen because they can also happen to players 10
- 11. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi Bartok: Asking the Right Questions • How did the single rule change the game? • Have the answers to your questions changed? §Is the game of the appropriate difficulty? §Is the outcome of the game based more on strategy or chance? §Does the game have meaningful, interesting decisions? §Is the game interesting when it's not your turn? • Discuss the changes to these answers for each of the three rules • Changing a single rule can have a drastic affect on the feel of the game! 11
- 12. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi Bartok: Making Your Own Rules • Now, how do you want the game to feel? • Try designing a rule to make the game feel more like this specific emotion • Change only one rule at a time • Test with the new rule and see how it feels • You don't need to complete an entire game if the rule really doesn't feel right 12
- 13. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi definition of game 13
- 14. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi Definition of Game "A game is the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles" – Bernard Suits, The Grasshopper (1978) "A game is a series of interesting decisions" – Sid Meier "A game is a closed, formal system that engages players in a structured conflict and resolves its uncertainty in an unequal outcome" – Tracy Fullerton, Game Design Workshop (2008) "A game is a problem-solving activity, approached with a playful attitude" – Jesse Schell, The Art of Game Design (2008) "A game is a system of rules in which agents compete by making ambiguous, endogenously meaningful decisions” - Keith Burgun, Game Design Theory (2013) 14
- 15. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi Bernard Suits's Definition "A game is the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles" – Bernard Suits, The Grasshopper (1978) • Attempt to create a definition that encompassed all kinds of games (Sports, Board Games, Make Believe) • Accurate definition of game, but doesn't teaching designers how to make good games • Referred to make believe as "open games" §A game with the sole goal of continuance of the game §However, some open games have other goals 15
- 16. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi Sid Meier's Definition "A game is a series of interesting decisions" – Sid Meier • States very little about what the word game means, but states a lot about his personal beliefs about what makes a good game • What makes a decision interesting? §The player has multiple valid options from which to choose §Each option has both positive and negative potential consequences §The outcome of each option is predictable but not guaranteed • Second designer's goal: interesting decisions 16
- 17. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi Tracy Fullerton's Definition "A game is a closed, formal system that engages players in a structured conflict and resolves its uncertainty in an unequal outcome" – Tracy Fullerton, Game Design Workshop (2008) • Not just a definition of game, but also a list of elements that designers can modify §Formal elements §Conflict structure §Uncertainty §Unequal outcome 17
- 18. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi Jesse Schell's Definition "A game is a problem-solving activity, approached with a playful attitude" – Jesse Schell, The Art of Game Design (2008) • The playful attitude of the player defines a game §Two runners are in a race §One is running a normal race §The other is aware that there is a bomb at the finish line that she must defuse §Only one of the two is playing a game! • Third designer's goal: lusory attitude §From the Latin word for play, training, & sport, Ludus §Games should encourage the lusory attitude of players 18
- 19. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi Keith Burgun's Definition "A game is a system of rules in which agents compete by making ambiguous, endogenously meaningful decisions" – Keith Burgun, Game Design Theory (2013) • Specific terms §Ambiguous: predictable but uncertain §Endogenously Meaningful: meaningful in the game system • Intentionally limited §Much more restricted definition than Suits or Schell §Omits play activities like make believe and competitions of skill (including sports) • Burgun attempts to restrict the definition to make it easier to understand the bounds of the field 19
- 20. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi The Nebulous Nature of Definitions • Humans have several needs that are met by games • Structured conflict §Chess players don't want to engage in any cerebral activity, they want to experience the specific challenge of chess • The experience of being someone else §Games, make believe, and even stage plays allow people the chance to experience being someone else • Excitement §Most popular media is about excitement in one form or another §Interactive media allow players to actually take part in the excitement §Players have agency in the media that they experience 20
- 21. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi Why Are Definitions Important? • Definitions help you understand what people expect §Especially true if you're working in a specific genre or for a specific audience. §Understanding how your audience defines the term will help you to craft better games for them. • Definitions can lead you to understand not only the core of the defined concept but also the periphery. §Games that fit the definition perfectly, and those on the edge §The peripheries are where new genres can be created • Definitions can help you speak eloquently with others in the field. §You should also read the source material for all of these definitions to expand your understanding of game design 21
- 22. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi http://www.facebook.com/polimigamecollective https://twitter.com/@POLIMIGC http://www.youtube.com/PierLucaLanzi http://www.polimigamecollective.org