Serious Games GAME ELEMENTS CRITIQUES AND RESEARCH AESTHETICS

AESTHETICS � Style and skill, not beauty � Harmony � coherence � and consistency

ACTIONS (EMERGENT PLAY) � Operative and resultant � Number of actions � What you

ACTIONS (EMERGENT PLAY): THE VERBS � Two types: � Operative (movements) � Resultant (intents):

HOW TO IMPROVE EMERGENT PLAY �Add more actions �Let actions act on more objects

SKILL � Types �Physical (sports, controllers) �Mental (problem solving) �Social (reading opponents, psyching opponents)

CHANCE: LITTLE BIT OF PROBABILITY � � � Probability = looked for possible outcomes

CHANCE: HOW IT PLAYS � Probability � Skill of understanding chance � Human element

RULES Foundational (abstraction) Operational (how you play) Conceptual Written Behavioral (how you act) Unwritten

RULES � Different for Different Modes � Full game � Within game � Minimize

GOAL � Simply stated and understood � Between � Must a tag line and

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Serious Games GAME ELEMENTS

CRITIQUES AND RESEARCH

AESTHETICS

AESTHETICS � Style and skill, not beauty � Harmony � coherence � and consistency Harmony isn’t something that you can fake. … It’s a sensual, intuitive experience. It’s something you feel. … it doesn’t come from design committees , , , And it never happens by accident or by luck. … Games with harmony emerge from a fundamental note of clear intention. Brian Moriarty

EMERGENT PLAY

ACTIONS (EMERGENT PLAY) � Operative and resultant � Number of actions � What you can act on � Ways to reach a goal � Number of objects � Side effects: changing constraints

ACTIONS (EMERGENT PLAY): THE VERBS � Two types: � Operative (movements) � Resultant (intents): capture strategy � Interesting games are defined by resultant actions KEYS: � Probably the key to innovative games � How to make the player feel they have unlimited options with limited actions

HOW TO IMPROVE EMERGENT PLAY �Add more actions �Let actions act on more objects �Multiple ways to reach a goal �Avoid �Many dominant strategies subjects (active objects) �Side effects changing constraints

SKILL AND CHANCE

SKILL � Types �Physical (sports, controllers) �Mental (problem solving) �Social (reading opponents, psyching opponents) � Goal is improvement � Real vs. virtual �Balance!

CHANCE: LITTLE BIT OF PROBABILITY � � � Probability = looked for possible outcomes OR = add probabilities AND = multiply probabilities Probability distributions Expected values

CHANCE: HOW IT PLAYS � Probability � Skill of understanding chance � Human element � NOT just expected value � Risks and regrets

RULES AND GOALS

RULES Foundational (abstraction) Operational (how you play) Conceptual Written Behavioral (how you act) Unwritten Sniderman

RULES � Different for Different Modes � Full game � Within game � Minimize time spent there or lose the bigger game � Enforcement � Players � Referees � Computer (architecture)

GOAL � Simply stated and understood � Between � Must a tag line and a tweet! be � Concrete � Achievable � Rewarding (both in gaining and seeking) � Choices: � Series or single � Short or long term � But if more than one, MUST be related