Transcript The Last Mile - Marc LeBlanc

Is this thing on?
The Last Mile of Game Design
Marc LeBlanc
April 2004
“Programming is the last mile of
game design.”
- Jonathan Blow
Introduction: The Alien
Archeologist
“I have two artifacts from Earth to present to
the Academy.”
Artifact #1: A Game
Artifact #2: A Computing Device
Games are State Machines
Input
Rules
(Player)
Output
State
(Graphics/
Sound)
• All games are computer games.
• Game design transcends media.
The Punch Line:
Game design is programming.
Part I: Games as Software
This is Not a Programming Talk
Topics I Won’t Discuss:
• Graphics & Sound
• Real-Time Simulation
–
–
–
–
Physics
AI
Network
Object Database
• The Console Environment
Games vs. Other Software
What makes a “program” a “game?”
• Fun!
• That is, games serve an emotional purpose,
not a pragmatic one.
• This isn’t a definition.
Games as Software
Code
Games as Software
Code
Process
Games as Software
Code
Process
Requirements
Games as Software
Code
Rules
Process
Requirements
Games as Software
Code
Process
Rules
Game
“Session”
Requirements
Games as Software
Code
Process
Requirements
Rules
Game
“Session”
“Fun”
A Design Vocabulary
Code
Process
Requirements
Rules
Game
“Session”
“Fun”
A Design Vocabulary
Code
Mechanics
Rules
Process
Requirements
Game
“Session”
“Fun”
A Design Vocabulary
Mechanics
Process
Dynamics
Game
Requirements
“Fun”
A Design Vocabulary
Mechanics
Dynamics
Aesthetics
Definitions
• Mechanics: The rules and concepts that
formally specify the game-as-system.
• Dynamics: The run-time behavior of the
game-as-system.
• Aesthetics: The desirable emotional
responses evoked by the game dynamics.
The Designer and The Player

Designer
Mechanics
Dynamics
Aesthetics

Player
The Player’s Perspective
Mechanics
Dynamics
Aesthetics
The Designer’s Perspective
Mechanics
Dynamics
Aesthetics
MDA is a “Taxonomy” of Design
Knowledge
•
•
•
•
Knowledge of Aesthetics
Knowledge of Dynamics
Knowledge of Mechanics
Knowledge of the interactions between
them.
Part II: Aesthetics Explored
“Requirements Analysis”
for Games
• We need to understand the emotional
requirements of our software.
Requirements Analysis…
Scenario: The customer wants to cancel an
order and get a refund.
Actions:
– Log onto website.
– Navigate to “pending orders” page.
– Click “cancel” button next to order.
…for Games?
Scenario: The player wants to blow stuff up.
Actions:
– Find rocket launcher.
– Find victims.
– Kick major booty.
What’s the Difference?
• With productivity software, the user brings
his goals to the application.
• With games, the application brings goals to
the user.
• Software eschews emergent behavior.
• Games embrace it.
We Need an Aesthetic Lexicon
We need to get past words like “fun” and
“gameplay.”
• What kinds of “fun” are there?
• How will we know a particular kind of “fun”
when we see it?
Eight Kinds of "Fun"
1. Sensation
Game as sense-pleasure
2. Fantasy
Game as make-believe
3. Narrative
Game as drama
4. Challenge
Game as obstacle course
Eight Kinds of "Fun"
1. Sensation
Game as sense-pleasure
2. Fantasy
Game as make-believe
3. Narrative
Game as drama
4. Challenge
Game as obstacle course
5. Fellowship
Game as social framework
6. Discovery
Game as uncharted territory
7. Expression
Game as self-discovery
8. Submission
Game as pastime
Clarifying Our Aesthetics
• Charades is “fun.”
• Quake is “fun.”
• Final Fantasy is “fun.”
Clarifying Our Aesthetics
• Charades: Fellowship, Expression, Challenge
• Quake: Challenge, Sensation, Competition,
Fantasy
• Final Fantasy: Fantasy, Narrative, Expression,
Discovery, Challenge, Masochism
Each game pursues multiple aesthetics.
No Grand Unified Theory.
Clarifying Our Goals
• As designers, we can choose certain
aesthetics as goals for our game design.
• As with other software, our process is
driven by requirements, not features.
Part IV: Let’s Play!
“Talking about music is like dancing
about architecture.”
- unknown
Rules for Three Musketeers
• Players take turns moving one of
their pieces. No diagonal moves.
• Musketeers move by capturing a
nearby enemy.
• Cardinal’s men move to a nearby
empty space.
• Cardinal wins if the Musketeers are
in the same row or column.
• Musketeers win if they cannot
move.
Starting Board
Discussion Questions
What’s a good strategy for the Musketeers?
For the Cardinal?
Discussion Questions
What are the aesthetics of Three Musketeers?
In other words, what’s “fun” about it?
Discussion Questions
When does the “dramatic climax” of the game
occur?
Discussion Questions
Can we prove that the game halts?
Discussion Questions
1. What is the maximum number of choices
the musketeer player can have on his turn?
2. How many first moves are there?
Discussion Questions
1. What is the maximum number of choices
the musketeer player can have on his turn?
2. How many first moves are there?
Discussion Questions
1. What is the maximum number of choices
the musketeer player can have on his turn?
2. How many first moves are there?
3. How many last moves are there?
Discussion Questions
Choices
What does this graph look like?
Time
Choices
Discussion Questions
Time
Part V: The Dramatic Arc
Climax
Falling
Action
Rising
Action
Time
The Dramatic Arc Pervades
Game Aesthetics
•
•
•
•
•
Narrative: Conflict/Resolution
Challenge: Obstacle/Triumph
Discovery: Novelty/Mastery
Submission: Toil/Reward, Chaos/Order
Competition: Equality/Supremacy
So Games are Stories, Right?
So Games are Stories, Right?
• Rather, Play and Narrative intersect.
So Games are Stories, Right?
• Rather, Play and Narrative intersect.
• The Dramatic Arc is the point of
intersection.
So Games are Stories, Right?
• Rather, Play and Narrative intersect.
• The Dramatic Arc is the point of
intersection.
• Drama is more “primal” than narrative.
So Games are Stories, Right?
• Rather, Play and Narrative intersect.
• The Dramatic Arc is the point of
intersection.
• Drama is more “primal” than narrative.
• Games don’t tell stories, they are stories.
Drama in Detail
Drama Requires:
• Dramatic Tension
• Rising and Falling Action
Drama in Detail
Drama Requires:
• Dramatic Tension
– Uncertainty
– Inevitability
• Rising and Falling Action
Dramatic Tension
• Uncertainty: The outcome is ambiguous
• Inevitability: The outcome is imminent.
Drama in Three Musketeers
• Uncertainty: Search tree complexity
• Inevitability: Depletion of the Cardinal’s
men
(consider “pushing” variant)
Other Sources of Uncertainty
• Negative Feedback (“Crash Team Racing”)
• Rising Stakes (“Jeopardy”)
• Limited Information (“Warcraft”)
Other Sources of Inevitability
• Non-reversible processes.
• Non-renewable resources.
• Perception is important.
Denouement in Games
• Games need to resolve their tension.
• Some resolution happens outside the game.
• Many digital games build in post-game
resolution.
Drama as an Aesthetic
Requirement
We can construct an aesthetic “checklist.”
• What is our source of uncertainty?
• What is our source of inevitability?
• Are they working?
Drama as an Aesthetic
Requirement
We can identify possible modes of failure:
• Uncertainty source not strong enough.
• Inevitability hard to perceive.
• Climax comes too early, or too late.
Drama is Just One Example
• Not intended as a “Grand Unified Theory.”
• A single model among many.
That’s All!
•
•
•
•
•
Game design == programming
Mechanics  Dynamics  Aesthetics
Emotional requirements analysis
Three Musketeers
Drama as a play Aesthetic
Questions?
Slides:
www.algorithmancy.org
(www.monkeyjump.com)
Game:
www.oasisgame.com
Email:
[email protected]
© Steve Jackson Games
www.sjgames.com