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Quest 1 - Becoming a Critic (2) Maplestory

MapleStory is an online multiplayer game (MMORPG) where each player chooses a class and creates their own customizable character, with a certain set of skills. Players can interact with other players as well as the environment. There are multiple features such as pets, guilds, crafting and PvP. Since this game is a free world game, players are able to explore and discover the world, while developing their character.

Procedures, Rules, Objectives and Outcomes

This game is a free world game which allows the player plenty of freedom throughout the world. Players have ways to develop their character depending on their preference. There are multiple goals for the player such as completing quests, acquiring achievements, and the ultimate goal – leveling up. Certain quests provide special equipment or items for the player which will aid the player on the journey throughout the game. Certain quests are also required in order for the player to complete their job advancements, or unlock new areas of the world. Although the storyline behind the quests are interesting, the goals of the quests are similar, which leads to very repetitive gameplay. In addition, there are also achievements which come in the form of medals and titles for the character. This is a great feature to the game because players will feel a sense of self-accomplishment and it encourages them to play more (the lusory attitude), while also helping them to level up.

Players

MapleStory is an MMO, which means there are thousands of players with whom you can interact with in game. This allows for a community to be built in the game and friendships between players. The multiplayer component of the game also allows players to work together in a co-op environment or even compete with each other (in PvP). Players can help each other complete quests, fight bosses, complete party quests, or even form a guild and do guild quests together. This is a great system to the game because players can build friendships within the community and overcome obstacles together to achieve higher goals. On the flip side, there is also a PvP system for players to compete with each other and see which player has the best skill. Although the PvP system allows for competition, it is also a mode that is built for pure fun and entertainment.

The PvP system is actually really great in MapleStory because there are rewards for participating in PvP matches. Players get points based on how well they did in their matches and can use these points to obtain new items. The party quest system, on the other hand, is a alright, but it is not the best. Party quests should be completed with the cooperation and teamwork of every player, but there are certain party quests which do not require you to have a party at all (which defeats the purpose of a party quest). Higher level players may also pair themselves with lower level players to complete party quests faster and obtain rewards.

Story and Characters

There are several different classes in MapleStory which are available to choose from. The different classes have a different background story by they were all connected by one common goal, which was to defeat the villain known as the “Black Mage”, which had caused havoc hundreds of years ago. The variety of classes the player may choose from is a plus to the game, it can accommodate different player styles. Unfortunately, with the addition of the newer classes, the older classes are becoming weaker, and players will feel pressured to create a new character of that class. Some of the newer classes also do not quite fit within the story (as they don’t share the goal of defeating the Black Mage).

Resources

There are a variety of items that a player can obtain in Maplestory, and the player even has different inventories for each category of items. This is great because it allows the player to carry more items, or if their inventory is full, they have the option to expand their inventory (with a certain price of course) or place their items in the storage (which only has 4 slots). Some of the resources players may find are herbs and ores which are used in crafting consumables and equipment. Players may also find scrolls or other similar enchantment items to upgrade their equipment for better stats and added power. With the completion of quests, or defeating mobs, players can obtain Mesos (MapleStory currency) which can purchase items such as potions, equipment, quest items, or even items from other players.

Conflict, Challenges and Boundaries

One of the many frustrating events in MapleStory is losing EXP when you die. Players may be completing quests by fighting mobs or just exploring until they bump into mobs, and then realize the mobs are stronger (or higher level) and players die. Losing EXP when you start out the game is not that bad because very little EXP is required to level, which means you do not lose as much EXP; but when you get to higher levels, dying will cause you a bigger setback on EXP. Fortunately, there are also solutions to this problem. You may buy an item from the cash shop (which costs real money), which will allow you to not lose EXP for a certain number of deaths, or you may also create a party with other players and help each other to overcome obstacles. Working together with other players is an excellent way to overcome obstacles because the different job classes can work together (example, warrior and a cleric, warrior and deal damage while cleric heals warrior).

The Game

This game is very repayable because the outcomes are always different. There are constant updates to the game which adds new classes, content, items, and world. This will make players curious and excited about the new updates and continue playing the game because new updates have been added. Another reason the game is fun is because of the social function of the game. The MapleStory community is very interactive because players can become friends with other player and form alliances. Guilds provide the player with access to help from other players as well as guild bonuses (such as items and buffs). There are also multiple ways for the player to make their character stronger and there is no limit to how strong your character can get. The colourful sprites and user interface not only adds to the aesthetic appeal of the game, but it also makes the game more fun and easy to play. Overall, this game is an excellent game that can continue to be successful for some time while still continuously making improvements.

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Reverse Scrowdriver Quest (2)

Game Chosen: Tic Tac Toe

Rules: - The game is played on a 3x3 board/grid - The players decides on who is “X” and who is “O”, “X” makes their move first - Each players take turns and decide which box they want to place their letter in - Players may place their letter anywhere they want, as long as the box is free - You may only place 1 letter per turn - The objective of the game is to make a row of 3 with your letter before the other player , the row may be diagonal, vertical, or horizontal, as long as there are 3 letters - If no one accomplishes this goal, it becomes a Cat’s game and this results in a draw - The game ends when a player creates a row of their letters or until the board is filled

Tic Tac Toe is a two player game where the goal is to place the letters on the grid and create a row (whether horizontal, vertical, or diagonal). The opposing player shares the same goal, but with their own letter and must try to achieve this goal before the other player, meaning they must also block the other player from succeeding. If both players fail to create a row of their letters by the time the board is filled up, then it becomes a cat’s game and results in a draw. The players may place their letters on any square that does not already have a letter in it, and try to create a strategy to get 3 in a row.

Mechanic Changed:

- Original: Players may place their letter anywhere they want, as long as the box is free

- NEW MECHANIC: Before the player is allowed to place their piece in their selected box, they must complete a mini game. If they win the mini game, they will be able to place their piece on that square, if not; their opponent can place their piece on that square.

The mechanic I chose to change is the ability to place your piece freely anywhere on the grid, without any contesting. This mechanic changes the way each player can move; players will now have to battle for the right to place their piece in each box. Table 1 (below), is an example of some mini-games that could be played to determine if you are allowed to place your piece on the square. Whichever square the player picks to place their piece in, is what mini-game they must win to place their piece successfully. This adds more challenge to the game and a more unpredictable outcome. The likelihood of the game ending in a draw will be far less, because the element of chance has been added.

How This Affects the Game:

By changing this mechanic, it affects the way each player can move (the movement of the players). Players can no longer move freely as they wish, but they must also consider the mini-game that has to be played. This means that there is a constant risk versus reward factor involved and also creates interesting decisions. Players must decide if they want to play it safe and choose a square where their opponent cannot achieve a row in, or if they want to try to prevent them from getting 3 in a row by beating them in the mini-game. Whichever choice the player makes affects the outcome of the game. By changing this mechanic, the movements of the players are restricted because they must consider the risk involved in choosing that square; it is a gamble whether or not the player will succeed in placing their piece down.

With the change of this mechanic, it also makes the game more re-playable. In the original tic-tac-toe, players can easily identify the pattern and the game will most likely end in a draw; whereas in this new version of tic-tac-toe, there is a more unpredictable outcome, because of the addition of chance into the game. There is no guarantee that the square the player wants to place their piece in will be secured. The players must take a gamble and attempt to win in the mini-game in order to fully succeed in placing their piece on the desired square.

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BLOG QUEST 3: Skill Chain Diagram for Minesweepers (click for larger view)

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Feedback Loops and Game Mechanics (OCT 28 LEC)

In games there are two types of feedback:

Positive Feedback Loops

Positive feedback loops will amplify an effect. The players that win will continuously gain reward after reward, therefore their chance of winning will always increase. With each victory, the effect gets stronger. Although this is beneficial for the person who wins, it can destabilize the game. The game would not be balanced, and the players who lose will eventually get bored of losing all the time. Since the winner’s get more advantages, they can win easier, which also leads to the game ending faster. Another effect of positive feedback loops is that there must be careful attention paid in the early game. Since the player who wins gains an advantage, that advantage will keep stacking up and it will increasingly multiply its effect. A similar effect will happen for the loser, but instead of winning they will keep on losing.

Negative Feedback Loops

Negative feedback loops will reduce an effect. If the player who wins still continues to win, then the advantage they gain each time will be increasingly less effective. For example, as you are getting stronger, it may be harder for you to defend yourself or collect any resources, while for the less skilled player/loser, they may be weaker, but they will be able to collect more resources. Negative feedback loops make the game last longer, and also exaggerates on the late game as opposed to the early. As the game continues, the strength of the advantages from the early game will be less effective. Negative feedback loops are needed in games because they help to make the game more balanced while also making it harder for the same incidence to happen again.

Positive feedback loops in games help enhance an effect in the game, while negative feedback loops will reduce the effect of something in the game. There needs to be a bit of both in order for the game to be balanced. If there was only positive feedback loops, then the game would become one-sided. The winner’s would keep winning, and the losers would keep losing. The winners will benefit greatly from the positive feedback loop and keep gaining advantages, while the losers stay in the same position. This means that there needs to be negative feedback loops to help balance out the game.

When you are eliminating feedback loops, you must pay attention to the Sensor, Comparator, and Activator. The sensor monitors the game state, which means you must see what effects the feedback loops have on the game. There may certain effects or interactions that affect certain objects in the game, and it is important to determine whether the feedback loop would play an important role on the object. The comparator decides whether to take action or not, which means that there is a certain value associated with each object. The compactor leads to the modification of the state of the game, so it has an effect on the game/object.

With feedback loops, they may also affect the simple mechanics and create complex dynamics. There may be mechanics added to the game if the publisher wants more mechanics or different one. If the game lacks mechanics, then there also needs to be more mechanics added, this may make the game harder or it may make the game fairer for each player. Game mechanics may also be removed if the ratings show that the mechanic is not needed or the players feel that it is troublesome or unnecessary. Sometimes there is also not enough time for the mechanic to be added to the game completely, because there is a certain deadline for the game to be completed. There are milestones that need to be reached when creating the game, and if there is not enough time to complete the game, then the mechanic may be removed. It may be better to remove a mechanic instead of leaving a half-complete mechanic in the game.

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Understanding Strategic Skill (Oct 21 LEC)

Now the last blog post I did was about Chance and Probability and how it affects the game as well as the players. This blog post will explain what factors we must consider when adding chance in games.

Reasons we should add chance are because it helps to:

Add strategies and tactics

Since the players know that there will be a random component in the game, they will try to decide how they should proceed in the game. The players will think about that possibilities of what could happen in the game and prepare for the “what if this happens” or “what if that happens”. They will try to develop uses or how to counter play with what they will receive from the chance factor in the game.

Increases replay value of game and makes game unpredictable

As mentioned in the last blog post, chance makes the game more random and unpredictable which means that there is no pattern that the player can identify, in order to finish the game faster. Chance makes the game feel different each time it is played and players will always be surprised at the different possibilities and outcomes.

Create fun through learning and mastery

Chance can have a positive or negative influence in the game. It makes the game more suspenseful and mysterious, which makes the game fun for the player. Once the player learns how to deal with the different possibilities and occurrences, they will start to learn what they can and cannot do, which helps in mastering the game. Since chance makes the game feel different, and the more the player plays the game, they will gain more knowledge and experience about the game and start to become better at it.

Strategic Skill:

Strategic skill is when the player makes a decision and the outcome of that decision is shown immediately. After the outcome is known, the player will think to themselves “now what?”. After each action and outcome, the player needs to decide what they will do next. This leads to more decision making and sometimes can make the game seem more real. It makes the player feel like they are in the “Magic Circle”, which is when they player role-plays and feels like they are actually in the game. When it comes to matchmaking in games, although players receive a random opponent, the skill levels between the two should be similar. If one player is much more skilled than the other, then it can make the game boring and unsatisfying. It is better to match players with other players around the same skill level, so that the teams are more balanced, and so that the players will be entertained. It is always more satisfying to win a close game than to just win against an opponent who is much weaker than you.

Trade Offs:

When it comes to chance, sometimes there are also sacrifices you must make. There is always something that you must trade in order to gain something greater, but it may also affect you in a negative way. Some things that are used for chance to gain something greater are:

Purchases

Limited-use Abilities

Explicit Choices

Limited actions

Trading and negotiations

Auctions

If there is more than one player playing the game, then all the players must be alert and entertained in the game. The game should not confuse players or make other players feel bored when one player is taking their turn. It should also be fair for all players; certain roles/characters should not be able to have a huge advantage to the others, and the same the other way around. If there are handicaps, they should be fair for both players and not give a big enough advantage so that the one person is guaranteed the win.

Decisions and Game Pacing:

In many games, players are required to make multiple different decisions, which may be beneficial or not beneficial to them. The player has to take a chance when making their decisions because they will never know what the outcome is until after they’ve made their decision. The decisions may play a long or short term effect, or there may even be more decisions that need to be made. Whatever choice the player makes, it will affect how the game will progress and whether or not the game will end faster or slower. The decision that the player makes can be a right or wrong decision, or it can even be a wrong decision but by adjusting to the situation, the player turns the bad decision into a good one. These decisions can make the game last longer, be harder or even try to prevent the player from reaching their goal, but with each decision, the player takes a risk.

When you evaluate a game, the decisions that are made can be very helpful in finding out if your game is a good one or not. When a player makes a decision, we should check to see what the player thinks about the decision they’ve made and why they made that decision. For example, did they pick that choice because of their emotional feelings? Was because they actually cared about which choice they made? Or were they preparing their plan by choosing that decision? Is it possible that there is more than one way to approach the situation? If the player is in the “Magic Circle” then that means they will think carefully and care about which decisions they make. This makes the game seem more realistic and make the game more appealing to the player.

Balancing

One of the many things is an important part in game design is the fine tuning of the game. This includes

Difficulty Levels

Dynamic Difficulty Adjustments

Difficulty Curves

Playtesting

In order to have the right levels, a lot of testing and adjustments are needed. The levels should gradually increase in difficulty, not the other way around, because then players would find the first few levels too difficult and get bored of the later levels (since it is much simpler). The difficulty gap between each level should also not be too overwhelming because players will lose motivation to continue the game.

There are also a number of mechanics (called Twitch Mechanics) that should be paid attention to:

Speed

Timing

Precision

Avoidance

Time Pressure

All these mechanics are connected to each other. For example, if a game had lots of time pressure, then the player would need precision, good timing and speed in order to overcome the level. For each obstacle, there should be an reasonable balance between all these mechanics.

For every game, there is a target market. Depending on the target market, the amount of chance and luck in a game should be adjusted to fit the target market, as well as the mechanics and difficulty levels. If the audience is for a group of young children then the game should not have extremely difficult levels that require the players to be extremely precise and speedy.

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Skill, Chance, Balance (Oct 9 LEC)

Chance is an element that is commonly found in many different games. The randomness found in games help to make the game unique and unpredictable. Chance allows for a variety of luck and skill. To make a good game, they should not be based solely on chance, but require some skill to play as well, with the exception children’s games and gambling. When chance and probability is added, it would also help to balance out the game for any players who are new or inexperienced with games.

There are a few reasons we should add chance, such as:

- Solvability

Chance can either make the problem harder or easier to solve. For example, you may roll a die and it can give you buff or debuff, that affects your puzzle/obstacle. The randomness makes the game harder to play, unpredictable, and reduces boredom. This stops the player from identifying any patterns that occur in the game and to stop them from mastering the game too easily.

A good example of this is Bejeweled. In Bejeweled, you must swap any adjacent tiles and match at least 3 of the same jewel in order to eliminate them. In order to pass the level, you must reach a certain amount of points by swapping the jewels. After any jewels are eliminated, the jewels shift down and random jewels are added to fill the empty space. This makes it harder to solve because you don’t know what jewels to expect will come and you may end up not being able to make a move (which ends the game).

- Social Aspects

Finding other people to play games with you is easy and allows people who are new to games a chance to win. This makes the game more appealing to a larger audience, age group, and can also attract huge groups such as families.

“Sorry!” is a great example of this.This game is based mostly off of luck, but does require some skill. The random factor is the cards, which will tell you how many spaces you can move or if there is a special effect with that card. This makes the game fun because some of the cards not only affect you, but another player as well.

- Emotional

Chance is random and mysterious; it can create tension and excitement while playing the game and you will never know what to expect.

For example in Maplestory. You can upgrade your items by using scrolls on them, but there is a limited amount of upgrade slots on each item. The success rates vary from scroll to scroll; if you want better upgrades, the lower the success rate and vice versa. Depending on the scroll you use, it will either fail and take away an upgrade slot, or destroy your item. If you want better upgrades, the success rate is lower, therefore the player must decide whether they want to sacrifice their item for this upgrade or not. This can create tension for the player, especially if they have a rare item that they want to upgrade or if they have a perfectly upgraded weapon which can be destroyed by one upgrade attempt from the scroll.

- Variety

Because chance is random, it makes the game feel more different each time you play it, therefore increasing the number of people that will replay the game.

The card game Crazy Eights is one example of this. Your goal is always the same; you try to get rid of all the cards in your hand before you opponents do, but when you start the game, there is no way to predict which cards you will get. The cards you receive are different for each game; it makes the game unpredictable, fun, it feels different each game and is addicting.

- Decisions

Decisions force the player to make choices and think about how they will continue about the game. It allows the player to think about the risks they will have to experience and how they will be rewarded.

As I mentioned earlier, Maplestory is also an example of this. You must decide whether you want to upgrade your items to increase your character’s potential or not. There is a risk and reward, and the player must think carefully because they may not be able to find the item again.

Possible Disadvantages:

Although chance allows for variation in games, it also has a down side. Some players may feel that the game is unfair; skilled players may be beaten by players who are not as skilled because of their luck. For players who enjoy competition, they may not enjoy the game as much because they want to win based on pure skill and strategy. It is also harder to create strategies to outplay the other players because chance makes the game more random and unpredictable. It would also be a bad idea to add chance if there are very few outcomes, because it is possible to predict the outcome, thus nullifying the purpose of adding chance. Some of the ways you can include chance in a game is by adding dice, spinners, coin flips and hidden information. Chance is added when the players cannot predict the outcome, which is randomly generated by the system.

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Reverse Scrodriver Quest 1

[GAME CHOSEN:] Pacman

[RULES:] - Pacman makes his way throughout the maze while avoiding the Ghosts - There is a “Power Pellet” in each corner of the maze which allows Pacman to eat the Ghosts - You complete the game by eating all the dots - The game is over when you lose all your lives or complete all the levels - Fruits that appear in the middle of the maze grant bonus points

In this game, you play as a character named Pacman. Your goal is to eat all the Pac Dots in the maze to complete the level. His enemies are the Ghosts who will chase you around the maze until you make contact with them, which will cause you to lose a life. Pacman can be granted a small buff when he eats the “Power Pellets” (larger dots in the maze), which allows him to eat and eliminate the Ghosts for a set amount of time. The Ghosts will eventually respawn to chase you around the map again. Bonus points can be awarded by eating the Ghosts and collecting the fruits that appear in the middle of the maze. There is a onetime bonus where you are granted an extra life when you reach 10,000 points.

[MECHANIC CHANGED:] Original: Pacman eats all the dots to complete the level, while avoiding Ghosts - NEW MECHANIC: Instead of Pacman, the Ghosts will be eating all the dots - Pacman must eat the all the Ghosts to pass the level - Ghosts do not revive

The mechanic I chose to change is Pacman’s goal, which was to eat all the dots and avoid the Ghosts. Now, instead of Pacman eating the dots, Pacman will have to eat the Ghosts to complete the level. The Ghosts will be running around eating the Pac dots in the maze, and you will need to prevent them from eating all of them. Since Pacman and the Ghosts’ roles are switched, the Ghosts will not be revived after being eaten by Pacman, but Pacman will still have a certain number of lives.

[HOW THIS AFFECTS THE GAME:]

By changing this mechanic, it has changed the game into a timed chasing game. Pacman will no longer be running AWAY from the Ghosts, but instead be CHASING them. They have their roles reversed and their goals have switched. This means that Pacman is no longer the one being chased but is the chaser. In the original Pacman, it is like a game of tag because you can chase them and they can also chase you, but when this mechanic is changed, Pacman is the only one who is “it” and the Ghosts cannot tag him back. While the Ghosts are eating the Pac dots, this places a time limit on each level because Pacman has to prevent the Ghosts from completing their goal. Due to this new change, Pacman has less time to go around the map to collect any bonuses (the fruits) and requires more precision to play when navigating around the maze. Not only will this mechanic add more precision to the game, but it will also add time pressure and speed. The player will have to complete the levels knowing that they only have a limited amount of time for each level and that they need to move quickly throughout the maze. If this mechanic is changed, players may also develop strategies, such as which Ghosts they will target first, or how to cover certain areas of the map faster in order to prevent the Ghosts from eating all the Pac dots.

Another effect that this mechanic will have on the game is the way that points are scored. In the original Pacman, you gain points by eating the dots, Ghosts, and collecting bonus fruits. If you reverse the roles of Pacman and the Ghosts, then there are two different ways that we could calculate the score:

At the end of each level, points are awarded based on how many dots are not eaten and the number of bonus fruits collected.

Start with the max number of points you can receive in a level, and as dots are eaten, subtract points. If the fruit bonuses are eaten, you gain points.

Although both methods work, there are advantages and disadvantages to both of these. For example in the first method, you would not be able to see your points until the end of the level, because that is the only time the points are updated. In the second method, you would be able to see your points constantly updating and decreasing, which may make it harder to keep track of your points and focus on the game at the same time. It will also be harder for Pacman to lose lives; since the Ghosts cannot tag Pacman, the only way for Pacman to lose lives is if the Ghosts finish eating all the dots.

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Quest 1 - Becoming a Critic (1)

Game Chosen: Guess Who

Guess who is a 2 player game where the aim is to correctly guess your opponent’s character before they can figure out yours. You must take turns to ask questions and make deductions about whether or not your opponent has a certain character.

Procedures, Rules, Objectives and Outcome

The goal of this game is to correctly guess which character your opponent’s card is. In order to do this, the players must take turns asking questions about the traits that their character has (such as eye colour, hair length, etc).

While setting up the game, the players pick a random card from the pile, which will give them their character. The players take turns asking each other questions about their character, until they have eliminated enough characters to guess correctly. The characters that the player thinks does not belong to the opposing player can be placed face down on their own board. This game is a race to see which player can correctly guess who the character is first.

Players

Guess Who is only a 2 player game. There is one board for each player, and the 2 players continuously question each other to figure out which character they each have. The players affect each other because they must compete with each other and guess each other’s characters.

If there were more players, then it can make guessing which character each person has easier, and also make it hard to decide which player you will target.The number of players in this game allows the game to be finished in a timely matter, while keeping the game board at a decent size.

Story and Characters

There is no story behind this game. The goal is to just guess correctly and win.

There are a variety of characters in this game. They have many different traits, some of which are very distinct and some which are not. The characters play an important role in this game since the players must guess which character the other player has. The players must pay attention to the traits of each character and ask questions accordingly, to deduct and eliminate which characters are or are not the character that the other player has.

If the game was designed differently, it may have been similar to a card-matching game; where you try to guess the correct answer.

Resources

In this game you have the game board and the pile of cards with a specific character on it. Each player takes one random card from the character card pile and that will be their character for the game. This card helps to prevent the player from cheating, as there is proof of which character the player has and they cannot change it.

The board used in this game helps to keep track of which characters are or are not the character your opponent has. The board and card works together when the player notices any common traits or similarities between the characters and asking the most effective questions in order to eliminate and conclude which character the opponent has.

Conflict, Challenges and Boundaries

One of the difficulties of this game is that it feels like a race; the first one to guess correctly wins. You must find out your opponent’s character before they find out yours. You must also think of the appropriate questions to ask in order for them to be the most effective.

The Game

The game is replayable until a certain point in time. After playing the game too much, it can get boring. Eventually you will get bored of asking the same questions since there are only so many traits that the characters have.

Because of the repetitive questions, this game is best suited for children around the ages of 8. During this age, children learn about different colours, shapes, and objects around them, so this game would help to reinforce their learning. This game would also be appealing to children because they like guessing.

The game is fun because there is a randomness factor to it. The character you get will vary and the outcome is always different. The game is unpredictable because of the character you get and the different questions you ask based on that character you received. There is also a small chance factor in the game. The chance factor is when you get your character and the question does not apply to you, or if your character has uncommon traits.

Overall, the game is a fun game when it isn’t played too much. The randomness and chance factors allow for different possibilities and outcomes, which make the game unique. It is best suited for young children because it helps to reinforce their learning and help them to identify different things.

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The Gaming Community (Oct 7 LEC)

This lecture was about the roles that games can take on in our social lives. Games can influence our social lives in various ways; we can meet new people, make new friends, as well as discover other interests.

There are quite a few reasons we play games with others, the reasons being

- Competition

Like in sports, many people like challenges and competing. Competition is interesting because the outcome of the competition is always unknown, which makes the game a bit more interesting.

Competition is fair and balanced, meaning you will climb to the top and face worthy opponents. This competition in games also means inventing strategies to outsmart your opponent, and problem-solving. The

Some games are actually considered a sport (eSports). In fact, the eSports scene is emerging. There are professional teams that compete against one and another to prove they are the best, as well as win prizes. Because of the rise of eSports, many people are also interested in spectating the games.

Some examples of eSports includes: League of Legends, DotA, Starcraft

- Collaboration

Collaboration allows players to work together to solve problems. It also allows each player to take on different roles and work together in a teamwork environment. Each player can have different skills and combine their strengths and weaknesses to work together effectively. Collaboration may also help the players play a more leadership role and make calls/decisions about how to progress further in the game.

Examples of games include: Artemis, League of Legends, Team Fortress 2

- Meeting Up

Games allow players to build stronger friendships and identify any common interests. It allows people to have something to do without having to talk to each other (because sometimes you run out of topics to talk about). It allows everyone to have fun and enjoy it, while spending time together with their friends.

- And exploration.

Games such as sandbox games and ones that include exploration can help relieve stress and give players some breathing room. It allows the player to be someone else and free to explore the world, without having to worry about anything that is required to do.

Examples of games: MapleStory, Minecraft, LaTale

Games also have something called “communities”. Communities help complete a social need; it makes the player feels like they are part of something. The players feel like they are included in a group and are of importance. While they are part of this community, they can also make new friends and it keeps them interested in the game longer (since their friends are still playing). Due to the connections with this community, it makes the player feel like they should continue playing and interacting with others, which leads to more hours of play.

There are 4 different community types:

Membership

Influence

Integration

Shared Emotional Connection

And there are also different community types such as

- Fans

The people who are interested in the game but don’t necessarily have to play it.

- Players

Frequently plays the game

- Designers

We also learned about Kim’s 7 Rules for Co-op Game Design which includes:

Compete with your system

Shared goals and outcomes

Inter-dependant roles

Co-op rituals and social gestures

Shared resources and access

Non-zero stats and spotlights

User-generated content strategies

Co-op games are games where you work together with other players and characters to compete with the system. The players have a common goal and work together to achieve this goal. Each player may have a different skillset/role, and help accompany each other with their unique skills, while using shared resources. The strategies to pass each level vary, since players develop their own strategies to achieve their goal.

#i1330 #UOITGameDev

Prototyping (Sept 30 Lec)

During this lecture, we learned about Iterative Design and Prototyping, which play an important role in the development of games. It helps to increase the quality of the game and determine any problems that may occur when playing the game.

In Iterative Design, there are 2 important rules: 1. Don't write your rules down until after finishing prototype - If you write down your rules and then playtest the game, you may find that there are many rules that need to be changed in order to better the game and will need to change all the rules you just wrote down! In order to save time, you should playtest the game first, finalize the rules and THEN write it down, as opposed to writing the rules twice. 2. Remove mechanics that cause problems! - Instead of covering up a problem with a band-aid, you should try to eliminate the problem. If you just try to cover up a problem, it may cause even more problems, and lead to any endless cycle of problems!

Playtesting games also allow you to spot any strengths and weaknesses in the game. After playtesting, we can revise the game and make any adjustments. This iterative design and prototyping phase can last many cycles, until the game mechanics are fully functional and the game polished and finalized.

Inspiration/Mood Boards & Design Alternatives

Since there are many kinds of games, sometimes it can be hard to create an original game. Each game should have something unique about it (whether it be the graphics, gameplay, mechanics, etc), so that it is not just another variation of a game. Creating a game is much like writing a song; there are only so few notes that can be used, but it is how you arrange them that makes the song unique.

Mood boards and Techboxes are 2 different tools that can be used in order to gain inspiration. In these tools, there is a variety of different colours, textures, designs, patterns, etc, that may seem random, but give the look and feel of a design. Because these tools seem random, they help to stimulate the creative part of our minds so that we can "break out of the box" and create more unique and creative games.

Prototyping means exploring and visualizing alternative solutions A prototype can be a miniature model, but there are many different types of prototypes. The prototype should be able to let you test out ideas, interact with it, visualize and explore issues, and help to choose between alternatives. When making a prototype, you can choose which areas you want your prototype to focus on such as the weight, size, mechanics & gameplay, content, screen layout, and the graphics look and feel design.

Types of Prototyping There are 3 different types of prototyping:

1. Lo-Fi - Is quick, cheap and easy to change. It is generally made of traditional materials such as paper and cardboard 2. Mid-Fi - Prototype has some simulated functionality and looks more similar to final project. 3. High-Fi - Some working functionality, looks and works most similar to final product.

Lo-fi can be better than Hi-fi prototypes since they are easier to change, concentrates on the bigger picture (the project as a whole), and they are easily disposable. Instead of investing so much money in Hi-fi prototypes, it's better to properly make a Lo-fi prototype first.

Sometimes, while working on the Mid/Hi-fi prototypes, users will feel like they should make it more complete and like the full system, which can result in wasting their resources.

#i1330 #UOITGameDev

Creating a Game (Sep 25 LEC)

I found this lecture to be very intriguing since we learned about internship opportunities. It was something that I was curious about, as well the process in which games were created. Now that I know more about internships and how it works, I feel more motivated to apply for internships, as well as gain the hands on experience of working in a company and creating a a game. I also felt that I learned a lot of useful things which can be applied to creating a game.

This lecture covered things such as the game production process, development strategies, and the duties of the various different designers. I found that the 8-step scale would be useful in developing any game, and could be used while creating our GDW games. During the 8-step scale process, all the steps are interconnected. The tone and content should match the purpose and message. While creating the characters, as well as the aesthetic style of the game, we should still keep in mind about the purpose and message of the game, so that appropriate tone and message is conveyed. Since the game is based off of the message, I feel that it might be a bit more difficult when the message or tone of the game is negative. Although the target market of most games are children or teens, the parents are usually the ones that pay for it, and are less likely to buy the game if it has a negative influence.

We had also learned about all the different duties of each designer/member in the game design groups. I expected the art and programming groups to have more people, but I didn't expect the audio group to have so few members. I thought there would be at least 5 members in the audio group because audio is also an important element in games. I find that the audio in games make you feel more connected to the game; sometimes you feel like you are in the game, and sometimes the background music makes you feel a certain way. On a side note, I found that the audio was quite realistic in the game they created (named Shine), and I am looking forward to the graphics as well as trying the game.

#i1330 #UOITGameDev

Interesting Choice... (Sep 23 Lec)

I found this lecture interesting and very useful because we had just gotten our GDW groups and were just starting to plan out our game. So far, our group had decided it would be an educational kid's game and the player would have to make choices (pick a certain path in the game), but we never really thought or even knew about all the different types of decisions there were, until this lecture.

The thing that stood out to me the most was when we were told that children's games and gambling were exceptions to decision making. While planning the game for the GDW course, we had based the game off making several decisions to move forward in the game, but now that I think about it, it seems like making decisions and choices may be a challenge for children because they may worry and think "what if this is the wrong answer?" Even in children's games, I find that some of these games would have you make a choice but it is a very obvious choice (which is apparently an uninteresting decision), but it also depends on the player, whether it is an obvious decision or not. For example, in a children's game, the choice may be obvious to us, because we have had more experience and understand more of the world, but to children, who know little about the world, the choice may be a trivia to them.

I learned that interesting/good decisions would affect the result of the game. These decisions would be unique, and makes the player think twice before finally choosing their decision. I believe that a great game would also be able to make players feel connected to the game and have certain feelings towards it (whether it be anger, excitement, happiness, sadness or any other emotions). This connection towards the game, leads players to making emotional decisions and may even leaving them wanting more.

#i1330 #UOITGameDev

Designing a Game 1 (Sep 16 LEC)

During this lecture I thought that games are similar to life; - There are rules - You need to make (meaningful) choices - Everyone has a goal and to achieve it, obstacles must be overcome.

Certain mechanics and elements of games can also be found in real life, as well as many games are based on occurrences that have happened in reality. This reminds me of games such as Call of Duty which was based off of war.

Other than the content in games, I found that the designing stage in games was fascinating. I didn't know about all the different roles there were in game design, and if I had to take my pick, it would be a difficult choice. I would probably be stumped on choosing between being a content designer, game writer or UI designer.

#i1330 #UOITGameDev

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