Fun Robin Burke GAM 224 Outline Admin Fun

Fun Robin Burke GAM 224

Outline Admin ¢ Fun / Pleasure ¢ Types of Pleasure l Flow l Managing Difficulty l ¢ Meaning l Systems of meaning

Admin ¢ Play paper handout l ¢ Due 5/16 Rewrites l Due 5/25

Play Paper ¢ Schemas l l l ¢ Experience Pleasure Meaning Narrative Simulation Social Play Thesis should say both l l what schemas preview your findings

Fun ¢ Important, but vague concept What makes the player want to play? l What makes the player want to keep playing? l ¢ Not always the same thing for a given game

Experience vs Pleasure ¢ Experience l ¢ what players do (most) to play Fun l the pleasurable quality of those experiences

Example ¢ Soccer l Perception • trajectory of ball • trajectory of players l Analysis • negative space l Decision • points of attack / defense l Execution • positioning, dribbling, passing, shooting, blocking, tackling

Where is the fun? ¢ Being right (cognitive) l ¢ Being skillful (sensation) l ¢ correct physical execution Being competitive (contest) l l ¢ correctly identifying a weakness and exploiting it winning individual confrontations winning the game Being collaborative (social) l communicating well with team members

Typologies of pleasure ¢ Fun is a vague concept we want to talk about the pyschological rewards of playing l "pleasure" l ¢ Various ways to analyze these rewards

Le. Blanc ¢ Sensation l ¢ Fantasy l ¢ we discover new things and places Expression l ¢ we can build relationships with other people Discovery l ¢ we can confront and overcome challenges Fellowship l ¢ the game has interesting characters and compelling drama Challenge l ¢ the game lets us play make-believe Narrative l ¢ the game engages the senses we express ourselves Submission l we follow blindly

Caillois ¢ Agon l ¢ Alea l ¢ chance Mimicry l ¢ competitive struggle make-believe Ilinx l physical sensation

Soccer, revisited ¢ Sensation l ¢ Fantasy l ¢ l l learning new techniques Expression l ¢ the comradeship of the team Discovery l ¢ meeting the physical demands of running, blocking and kicking meeting the cognitive demands of offensive and defensive play Fellowship l ¢ the story of the game dramatic moments – the highlight reel Challenge l ¢ imagining yourself as Pele, David Beckham or Freddie Adu Narrative l ¢ the feel of the field, the sounds and sights of the players in action developing a style of play Submission l the rituals of the game • the kickoff, the corner kick, etc.

Asteroids ¢ Sensation l ¢ Fantasy l ¢ l not much Expression l ¢ not much Discovery l ¢ the demands of maneuvering and clearing asteroids the increasing challenge of higher game levels Fellowship l ¢ individual dramatic moments Challenge l ¢ imagining yourself commanding a space ship Narrative l ¢ black and white vector drawings not much Submission l not much

FFTA ¢ Sensation l l l ¢ Fantasy l ¢ l l unfolding of different locations in the game world acquisition of new items and new powers Expression l ¢ not much Discovery l ¢ the demands of managing battles under increasing constraint the demands of managing clan development Fellowship l ¢ the unfolding of plot elements leading to the desired return to real life Challenge l ¢ imagining yourself as a mage or warrior Narrative l ¢ tiny screen annoying music cute drawings not much Submission l l the stylized forms of battle the imposition of rules

Thunderstorm ¢ Sensation l l ¢ Fantasy l ¢ l not much Expression l ¢ sharing the game activity Discovery l ¢ not much Fellowship l ¢ increased tension with fewer dice the destruction of houses Challenge l ¢ not much Narrative l ¢ simple drawings throwing the dice not much Submission l the acceptance of random outcome

Sources of pleasure ¢ Games l ¢ differ in where the pleasure arises Video games l emphasize particular types of challenge • cognitive • hand-eye coordination l l ¢ emphasize fantasy emphasize narrative Because l these capitalize on the advantages of the computer

The cost of fun ¢ Pleasure is not cheap l l l ¢ Top game titles are expensive to produce l ¢ because they try to provide pleasure of all types Focused titles l l ¢ high-quality graphics and sound creative stories and vivid dialog thoroughly tested and balanced gameplay mechanics lots of territory to discover all expensive emphasize a subset are criticized for the things they leave out cheaper to make require perfect execution Classic engineering trade-off l put development effort where the biggest pleasure pay-off lies

Challenge ¢ Most important source of pleasure in video games l ¢ in the post-arcade era Reasons l suits the computer's strengths • easy to make things faster • more intense l suits the aesthetics of the audience • adolescent males

Level of Challenge ¢ "hide and seek"

Difficulty ¢ Too hard l ¢ game can't be enjoyed Too easy game is boring l nothing to learn l

Quantifying difficulty ¢ Analytical # of choices l complexity of decision l • branching factor l ¢ complexity of execution Empirical l Playtesting

Adjusting difficulty ¢ new option l decision-making more complex • as long as dominance avoided ¢ new opponent / environment l ¢ more to learn new constraint l routine patterns can't be applied

Pacing ¢ "Pace" of the game speed at which new challenges are introduced l = speed at which player must master each in order to succeed l

Arcade games ¢ primary challenge l speed and accuracy of response • "button mashing" ¢ difficulty adjustments l l l ¢ number of targets response speed required cost of error usually continuous increase of difficulty until impossible

Example ¢ Wario. Ware

Match skills and opportunities ¢ More opportunities than skills player will flounder l game becomes overwhelming l ¢ More skills than opportunities game is limiting l player feels confined l

Mastery ¢ When the choices and perceptions become "automatic" l ¢ non-deliberative Can only happen when skills are fully learned l perceptions correctly trained l

Path to mastery = repetition ¢ Basic psychology l ¢ repetition of skill increases performance But how to manage repetition? l major concern in game design l

Repetition ¢ Invariant l starting level all over l Drawback • level involves many skills • failure in one means need to repeat all ¢ Decomposition l emphasize new skills as acquired l Problem • must generate more levels ¢ Practice Mode l allow player to practice outside of main game

Flow ¢ "The state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it. " l Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Flow state Loss of sense of time ¢ Intense focus ¢ Responses are fast, continuous and (almost) unconscious ¢ Many examples ¢ athletes, musicians, surgeons, pilots, soldiers l gamers l

What builds flow? Attention invested in realistic goals ¢ Skills match opportunities for action ¢ Skills can be mastered ¢ Learning ¢ acquisition of skills l increased ability to participate l shared community / developed commitment l

Flow as a design goal Present the player with realistic goals ¢ Match skills and affordances ¢ Teach skills ¢ Have those skills increase level of participation ¢ Develop the player's commitment ¢

Realistic goals ¢ Goal is realistic if it can be accomplished by the player l might require acquisition of new skills Player has to adopt the goal and understand that it is possible ¢ Level of challenge ¢

Meaning (from 4/4) Meaning is created by the interpretation of signifiers in context ¢ A game designer ¢ creates a new context l with new meanings l using particular signifiers l

Systems of meaning ¢ Individual signifiers l ¢ System of signifiers l ¢ "hand with red circle" means "disabled" whole set of icons for different status conditions When a new icon appears l players has to try to understand what it might mean

Play of meaning The way in which the game invites the player to use its system of signs ¢ Activities ¢ interpreting signs l learning new signs l looking for signs l sometimes inventing signs l

Play with meaning ¢ ¢ Sometimes games invite play with meaning Signs with conventional meaning are subverted l ¢ dissonance between the conventional meaning and the game's meaning Examples l Spin the Bottle • a kiss signifies? l Grand Theft Auto • carjacking signifies?

Game Metacommunication ¢ ¢ ¢ Meta l (beyond or behind) The communication about the game l as opposed to the communication required in order to play How do we know that we are playing l constant stream of communicative acts required to keep play going l to signal involvement l focus of attention l readiness of participation l game-appropriate demeanor

Monday Narrative ¢ Simulation ¢