The Point of Points: Part 1
First I want you to read this snippet from a well written game design article:
Points have always been an important part of games. They can serve as a tangible way to measure competition, as in, say, a game of marbles. They can provide incentive and encourage replayability when playing solo.
Most interesting to me when designing and reviewing children’s interactive games, points can provide performance feedback and game clarification. Points can let children know if they are playing the game correctly, if they are improving. Sometimes, especially in the case of new and struggling readers, points can provide information that the text cannot. There’s only one catch: children need to understand the point system. Even a non-reader knows that getting three stars is better than getting one. A complex system and a bottomless pit of numbers, such as those seen in pinball games, may be great for alerting users of their high score, or placing them in a hall of fame, but it may rob children from the implicit language behind points.
So, what’s the point? I recommend, the next time you find yourself designing a points system:
-Making sure that the points provide a clear incentive. The awarding of points should be easily understood and the points themselves should be clearly visible on screen.
-Encouraging replayability. Points should be simple enough for children to understand, while leaving room for the child to strive for improvement.
-Using math for the point system that is age-appropriate. If the game is for preschoolers, one-to-one correspondence, if applicable, will be easiest for children to understand.
-Using the points to provide performance feedback and gameplay clarification. Children should be able to use their points, or lack of points, as cues to what they are doing right, and what they are doing wrong. In the case of new or struggling readers, using points as a secondary means to communicate with the user may scaffold the curriculum.
Read more: http://kidscreen.com/2012/09/17/getting-to-the-point-of-points-in-games/#ixzz28Qpc99Po
Ok, so now that we know points are useful to players. What about the AI? Can it use the sme point system as the player to derive useful information out of the situation? Can we provide it with its own tailor made point system to help it learn how well it is doing, if it is improving, and how beneficial an action may be? I'll talk about that next time.