Week 5 Bibliography Task (Zotero)

For this week’s blog task we downloaded a bit of software called Zotero for Mozilla Firefox and we had to compile a short bibliography to be presented according to the Harvard System:

·         Contain 2 book items

·         Contain 2  contributions to books

·         Contain 2 journal articles (not book reviews)

Braithwaite, B. & Schreiber, I. (2008) Challenges For Games Designers Charles River Media pp. 69-99 (chapters 5 & 6).

Koster, R. (2005) Theory of Fun for Game Design., Paraglyph Press.

LeBlanc, M (2006) “Tools for Creating Dramatic Game Dynamics” In Salen, K.,The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology. MIT Press, pp. 439-459.

Perron, B, and Mark J. P. Wolf. (2008) Video Game Theory Reader Two. Taylor & Francis.

Leblanc M.The game Designer Reader, in Zimmerman and Salan MIT Press 2006

Murray, H. J. R. (1952) A History of Board Games Other Than Chess. pp. 19-23. 

Week 4 Readings MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research

The reading was a paper that talks MDA framework which is Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics. MDA is a formal approach to understanding games which attempts to close the gap between game design and development, game criticism and technical game research.

MDA: Games are created by designers/teams of developers, and consume by players. They are then purchased and eventually cast away.  The MDA framework formalizes the consumption of games by breaking them into their distinct components. Rules – System - Fun and establishing their design counterparts Mechanics – Aesthetics – Dynamics.

Mechanics describes the particular components of the game at the level of data representation and algorithms.

Dynamics describes the run time behaviour of the mechanics acting on player inputs and each other’ outputs over time.

Aesthetics describes the desirable emotional responses evoked in the player, when she interacts with the game system.

For the player the order that MDA is Aesthetics, Dynamics and Mechanics where as for the designers it’s the other way around Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics.

Aesthetics: Is what makes a game fun! Talking about games and play is hard because the vocabulary used is relatively limited. In describing aesthetics of a game you want to stay away from works like Fun and gameplay and use a more directed use of vocabulary. This can include yet not limited to:

1.       Sensation:

2.       Fantasy

3.       Narrative

4.       Challenge

5.       Fellowship

6.       Discovery

7.       Expression

8.       Submission

Dynamics:  It’s the behaviour of the game as a system -- what happens when you play? How can we predict what happens when you play and how can we explain what happened when you played? Game dynamics is about predicting and explaining. A lot of racing games have a system like this, like a speed boost for the guy who's losing. The player is part of the system too, so some of our understanding of game dynamics has to be an understanding of human dynamics.

Mechanics:  Mechanics are the various actions, behaviours and control mechanisms afforded to the player within a game context. Together with the games content (levels, assets and so on) the mechanics support overall gameplay dynamics.

MDA in Action:

•          Spawn points in a mod are a Mechanic. You, the designer, creates them.

•          Players behave tactically – dynamically, they camp by them in some cases to kill characters as soon as they spawn

•          Aesthetic – most likely would be frustration with the game.

•          You, the designer, can only change this indirectly by perhaps having random spawn points.

Jesse Schell: In the beginning, There is the Designer

In the Beginning, There is the Designer

The question we were asked to answer was, “ What advice does Schell to the would be games designers?”

                Our task was set to read chapter one of Jesse Schell’s book The Art of Games Design: A Book of Lenses. This chapter tells me is a motivational chapter to spur you on, for example from the notes that I took when reading it a question was, how do you become a game designer? “Design games, Start now! Don’t wait! Don’t even finish this conversation! Just start designing! Go! NOW! Here she encourages the reader by making them want to start designing and she later one added “The only way to become a games designer is by designing games”. Schell also said that novice’s designers will think they have little experience so there skills will be narrow and when a seasoned designer they will think that gave lost the touch, but she goes on to say “Never think possibility or impossibility”.  Another thing that Schell says is that “ You will fail many many times, but they will help you succeed, because each failure brings you a step closer to a phenomenal game”, here Schell is saying that everyone fails and makes their mistakes but from learning from your mistakes they won’t happen again and in the end your game will be “phenomenal”.

Schell lists many different skills a game designer has, they are:

1.       Animation

2.       Anthropology

3.       Architecture

4.       Brainstorming

5.       Business

6.       Cinematography

7.       Communication

8.       Creative Writing

9.       Economics

10.   Engineering

11.   History

12.   Management

13.   Mathematics

14.   Music

15.   Psychology

16.   Public Speaking

17.   Sound design

18.   Technical Writing

19.   Visual Arts

From when I went down the list reading the skills of a game designer I paused and thought WOW that’s a lot to master, but Schell goes on to say “No one can possibly master all these skills but the more of the skills you are good with the better”, which made me feel a bit better but also at the same time determined to try and get as many of the skills under my belt. Schell then goes on to talk about what she believes is the most important skill a game designer must have, she says some say its “Creativity, Critical Thinking, Logic and also Communication”,  she disagrees with these being the most important but does also add that they are indeed important but by no means the most important skill’s. The most important skill for a game designer is “Listening”. “Games designers must listen to many things. These can be grouped into five major categories: Team. Audience, Game, Client and Self.”

The Five Kinds of Listening

        On the topic of the skills of listening Schell talks about the 5 kinds of listening and a reason for them. “You will need to listen to your team since you are making the game together, it is crucial to listen when making decisions. You need to listen to your audience because they are the ones playing the game. Listen to your game you know whats wrong with it by listening to it run. Listen to your client they are the ones paying for the game you need to give them what they want. And your need to listen to YOURSELF!

At the end of that chapter Jesse Schell says that after reading this that your confidence might be fading now because perhaps it might seem a bit daunting to some so she says “Recite your magic words, for down the path we go!”

“I am a game designer,

I am a game designer

I am a game designer

I am a game designer."                                                                                           

Games Britannia Part One: Dicing with Destiny

In Eddies lesson we watch the first part of 3 on Games Britannia, here are the notes I took from watching Dicing with Destiny.

·        Games aren’t just fun they are fundamental

·        Roman Board game found in Colchester Quarry. ”Stanway Game”. The grace contained a board game with the glass counters laid out as if in play, it is believed to be 55 cm bt 40 cm and rectangle with play over a board of 8x12 squares.

·        “Alea Evangelli” – Game could be symbolic about the bible good/evil.

·        “9 Mans Morris” – a version of O’s and X’s can be found anywhere and played everywhere.

·        “Hazard” – Players gamble on the outcome of the throw of the dices and the stakes get higher every time, gambling more on every throw of the dice.

·        “Faro” – Pure game of chance, players put money on cards they want to win then dealer turns cards to see if there are matches and if there is any winning cards.

·        “Guan Chopper” – This if the first version of snakes and ladders which this game influenced the basis of snakes and ladders. The first British version of snakes and ladders the board was circular

·        “Chess” – Originated in the 8^th Century, Chess is a game of war, The chess pieces could possibly represent the army with all different positions in the army represented by different pieces and chess is associated with intelligence 

Week 3 Readings Gamasutra Doug Church - Formal Abstract Design Tools

Doug Church makes the same claim Costikyan did five years before him, but he goes further, both oare concerned about the need of a polished vocabulary. Whereas Costikyan is all about the definition of games. Doug Church thinks about his vocabulary as tools for game designers as he thinks it leads to a better understanding of games.

Doug Church remarks that the plurality of game genres and audience should be a problem for achieving goals. For this reason these tools have to be abstract (FADT) Formal Abstract Design Tools. The tools mentioned in the article were analysed using Mario 64. The remarkable aspect allowing players what to do next.  This aspect called fto go beyond interaction. There is interaction, player input, the game state changes but the game becomes richer. Dough Church named the tool intention to refer to the action plan that players make and if they mess up it will be clear why.

The story tool is a powerful tool. We know that a highly crafted world with detailed scripting will get a detriment to the player choices. Although the balance is point out, Doug Church’s examples of better use of the story tool rely on simplicity saying how RPG’s don’t allow player intentions.  

Week 2 Paidea and Ludus

Paidea:

Paidea is a term for games that have no outcome but are played for pleasure and not meant to be played competitively "Physical or mental activity which has no immediate useful objective, nor defined objective" (modified meaning by Frasca, Newman, p.19-20). The only reason of play is to entertain or to give the player a pleasurable experience.

Ludus:

"Activity organized under a system of rules that defines a victory or a defeat, a gain or a loss" (Frasca 1999, Newman, 2004). A game constrained by rules and a clear win goal.

Different concepts and game styles:

Agon: Competition

Alea: Chance/Randomness

Illinx: Movement

Mimicry: Simulation, make believe, role-play.

Week 2 Readings I Have No Words I Must Design

1. ·         Gameplay is magical
2. ·         Game designers strive to understand gameplay
3. ·         Many different games have been developed over years
4. ·         Game vocabulary is needed to create a game
5. ·         Games are a plastic medium between the process of doing something and having fun
6. ·         All games have puzzle elements
7. ·         Costikyan says that games are not just limited to the platform they are on, every game is different and that they are everywhere
8. ·         The game isn’t good if it’s too easy or too fun
9. ·         The difficulty of a game needs to be balanced
10. ·         Good visuals make a good game
11. ·         To make sense of games you need to understand what a game is

Interaction

·         Every game needs to define its interaction

·         The player has to have some sort of control over a game

·         when the game reacts to the users inactivity it’s a game if it doesn’t that means it’s a puzzle

·         Interactive media is a game

Goals

·         You can create your own goals

·         Goals in a game link to interactivity

·         A game without goals is not a game

·         There must be ovjectives

Struggle

·         In a game there needs to be struggle otherwise it’s not fun

·         It adds completion to the game

·         Struggle creates satisfaction for when it’s completed

·         If the game is too hard they player will not enjoy it and get frustrated

Structure

·         The structure shapes the game

·         Adding rules structures the game

Endogenous

·         Things that are meaningful with in a game

·         Costikyan explains that the games being made create their own meaning. The players figure out what they want to do and how they want to do it, giving it a new meaning every time it is played.