Transcript The Construction of Ludic Spaces

The Construction of Ludic Spaces
a short lecture by
Ernest W. Adams
[email protected]
http://www.designersnotebook.com
+44-1483-237599
a member of the
design group
http://www.ihobo.co.uk
1
Some Disclaimers
I am a designer of commercial computer games.
 I am not an architect.


Most game artists have no architectural training.
I know little about formal architectural theory.
 I will probably use some terminology wrongly.
 I know how game designers design buildings,
and why.
 This will be an extremely pragmatic lecture!

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Human Perception of Architecture
Visual Perception
 Sound
 Touch
 Smell
 Other senses
 Taste will be ignored!

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Visual Perception

Viewing a building:
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120-140º visual angle
Fully stereoscopic
Huge light intensity
range (1016!).
Total darkness possible.
Steady image
250 million receptor
cells in both eyes
Automatically-changing
focus

Viewing a monitor:

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45-60º visual angle
Not stereoscopic
Low light intensity range
(255).
Total darkness impossible.
Flickers at 50-100 Hz
250,000 elements in
ordinary TV picture
Fixed focus
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Sound

Listening to a space:
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Fully 3D
Viewer-created sounds
(footsteps, etc.) audible
Infinite mixing of
ambient sound
Echoes created by
space & materials
Person can speak or
sing at will
Normally no soundtrack

Playing a game:
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Approaching 3D
Player-created sounds
(gunshots, etc.) audible
Ambient sounds limited
by number of channels
Echoes nonexistent or
simulated inaccurately
Player cannot usually
speak or sing
Musical soundtrack to
enhance atmosphere
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Touch
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Feeling a building:
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Texture of materials
Hardness of flooring
Ambient air temperature
Reflected heat
Air currents
Humidity
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Playing a game:
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Extremely limited
Vibration from handheld
game controllers
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Associated with game
events, not with spaces
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Smell

Smelling a space:
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Construction materials
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Playing a game:
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Non-existent!
Wood, concrete, stone
Decorative plants
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Earth, flowers, etc.
Relation to function

Toilets, laboratories,
kitchens, machinery.
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Other Senses in Games
No feeling of gravity pressing feet to floor
 (And no feeling of zero-G in space, either!)
 Movement and climbing are not tiring.
 We can create some claustrophobia, but…
 … no agoraphobia
 We can create worlds with bizarre physics,
demonstrated visually.
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The Costs of Architecture
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In buildings:
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Design costs
Land costs
Infrastructure materials
Decorative materials
Construction labor
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In games:
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Design costs, but less
No land costs
NO materials costs

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We can build the Vatican
out of solid platinum!
No construction labor
(design IS construction).
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The Costs in Games

In 3D games the primary cost is detail
3D spaces are constructed from polygons
 There is a limited number of polygons available
 3D buildings in games tend to look rather sparse
 Curves are expensive, straight lines are cheap
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In 2D games the primary cost is variety
More architecture requires more artist time
 More images require more disk space
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A Sparse Hotel Lobby
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A Cheap Boulder
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A Cheap Boulder
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The Rules are Different in Games

Normal engineering considerations do not apply
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Normal habitability considerations do not apply
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Toilets, fire safety, fresh air, temperature control
Scale is irrelevant - a thing is as big as we say it is.
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mass, strength, volume
We can put a palace in a matchbox.
We can build spaces that are physically impossible.
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Infinitely-long staircases, Escher rooms.
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The Functions of Real Buildings
To protect people/goods/animals from the weather
 To organize human activity efficiently
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To conceal and protect goods/animals from theft
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Toilets and private houses
To protect people from other people
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Warehouses, barns, shops, storage facilities
To offer personal privacy
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Factories, theaters, offices, sports arenas
Fortifications, military installations, prisons
To impress, commemorate or simply decorate
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Civic monuments and religious buildings
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Real-World Functions in Games?
Weather is irrelevant; normally it is only cosmetic
 Organizing human activity is useful in multi-player
games. Buildings not necessary, but a metaphor.
 Theft may or may not be possible; if possible,
buildings offer a convenient metaphor for protection
 Privacy is normally irrelevant
 Military protection is a very common game function
 Impressiveness and decoration are also common
 Buildings in games mimic the real world when
necessary. There are no buildings in chess.
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Outdoor Spaces are Problematic
It is hard to make sweeping vistas or panoramas,
because of screen resolution and size limitations.
 Players can often move fast, so it is difficult to
create meaningfully large spaces.
 Natural objects (trees, etc.) require far more detail
than man-made objects. Games avoid them, which
makes many games feel sterile.
 Aerial perspectives reduce the impressiveness of
any structure or space.
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The Great Pyramid isn’t a big deal from 5000 feet up.
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The Primary Function of Ludic Space

The primary function of a ludic space is to
support the gameplay.
Ludic space is NOT analogous to real buildings
and spaces, but to movie sets.
 The function of a movie set is:
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a) To create context by mimicking the real world
 b) More importantly, to support the narrative
 Movie sets often diverge from the real world for
narrative purposes.
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They can make NY seem cleaner, or dirtier, than it really is.
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So What Is Gameplay?

Sid Meier defined gameplay as “A series of
interesting choices.”
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The rules define the gameplay, specifically:

The challenges the player(s) must face before
they can achieve victory PLUS
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The actions they are allowed to make in order to
overcome those challenges.
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Types of Challenges - 1

Physical challenges
Speed and reaction time (twitch games)
 Accuracy and precision (steering and shooting)
 Timing
 Learning special moves (fighting games)
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Races - achieving something first
 Puzzles
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Should be based on a hidden principle
 Trial-and-error solution is a sign of bad design
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Types of Challenges - 2
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Exploration Challenges
Locked doors and traps
 Mazes and illogical spaces
 Teleporters
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Conflict
Strategy, tactics, and logistics (logistics rarely seen)
 Survival & reduction of enemy forces
 Defending vulnerable items or units
 Stealth
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Types of Challenges - 3
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Economic Challenges
Accumulating wealth or points
 Achieving balance or stability in a system
 Caring for living things within a system
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Conceptual Challenges
Understanding something new
 Deduction, observation, interpretation
 Detective games offer conceptual challenges
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How Space Creates Challenges
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Constraint
Limits the movement of the player’s avatar
 Limits the influence of weapons
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Concealment
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Obstacles or Tests of Skill
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Hides players from one another
Players must pass around obstacles, avoid traps
Exploration
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Players must learn the shape of the space.
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Designing a Ventilation Shaft
Text reads:
Shutters that open
and close. Must jump
down when open and
fan is on. When
closed you plummet
and shutters are
electrified. Have 2
sets of fan/shutter.
Must land on ledge
above fan. Blades will
kill you.
Equipment room with
ducts and access
doors to labs.
Image copyright by and courtesy of Peter Lok.
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This is Architectural Idiocy!
This building consists of an equipment room
and a ventilation shaft. The remainder is
undefined. It does not exist in the game.
 The fans apparently blow OUT, not in (if they
are not on when you jump, you plummet).
 The shutters are electrified. (Why?!)
 Two fans may be needed to move the air, but
why two sets of shutters?
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… but Sensible Game Design.
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Constraint
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Obstacles and Tests of Skill
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The player starts on the roof and the only way in
is through the ventilation shaft.
Must land on the ledge and avoid fan blades and
electrified shutters.
Exploration
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The player does not know what lies below the
bottom of the shaft until he gets there.
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Another Example
Note the strange
and wasteful
design of this
building complex.
This space is
designed to be
explored, not
used.
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A Combat Space
This space consists
of an oddly-shaped
valley with a 2-story
building at one end.
The green line is an
underground tunnel.
The building is
architecturally fairly
rational, but the
structure of the valley
is optimized for
combat challenges.
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Analysis of Sniping Areas
Notice that the
red team
(defending the
building) can
cover much but
not all of the
valley, while
the blue team
can cover
much but not
all of the
building.
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Guard Positions
Two of the entry points
() for the building can
be guarded by snipers
in protected positions
() , but the third
cannot be: an excellent
example of game
balance. Gropius,
however, was not
consulted!
Unguarded position.
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Secondary Function of Ludic Space

The secondary function of ludic space is to
inform and entertain in its own right.
Familiar locations offer cues to a space’s function
and likely events there.
 Allusions and homages carry symbolic meaning.
 New worlds require new architectures.
 Surrealism warns the player not to rely on logic.
 Atmosphere carries an emotional message.
 Comedic effects offer pure amusement value.
 Clichés set a scene rapidly.
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Familiarity
A hotel room is a
space we fully
understand.
Gabriel Knight is
waiting for the
maid to finish her
work and leave
so he can search
the room.
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Allusion
Grim Fandango
borrows from the
Mexican tradition
of the “Day of the
Dead.” This
building is the
Department of
Death. Note the
combination of
Aztec and Art
Deco elements.
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Allusion
Soul Reaver is
about a vampire
who eats souls,
so a cathedral
has powerful
connotations.
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New Architectures for New Worlds
This one aerialperspective view in
Planescape:
Torment includes a
wide variety of
buildings in many
styles, from tents
to large edifices.
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Surrealism
Myst had a
strong surreal
element that
contributed
greatly to its
sense of
mystery. It
also warned
the player that
things would
not be as they
seemed.
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Atmosphere
A dangerous
city street in
The Longest
Journey,
reminiscent of
New York.
The rose
window of the
cathedral,
mostly hidden
on the right,
suggests a
place of
sanctuary
nearby.
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Comedic Effect
Note the Disneyesque bulging
walls and off-kilter
windows in
Escape from
Monkey Island.
This isn’t so much
a building as an
architectural joke.
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Architectural Clichés
Many games, like
other types of
popular culture,
rely on cultural
clichés and
stereotypes to set
a scene quickly.
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The Construction of Ludic Spaces
a short lecture by
Ernest W. Adams
[email protected]
http://www.designersnotebook.com
+44-1483-237599
a member of the
design group
http://www.ihobo.co.uk
40