CSE1GDTGame Design Theory

Paul Taylor 2010

About me: Paul TaylorI’m a lecturer in Games Design and DevelopmentCurrently Studying my PhD in processes for game design

I have been working on games design and development since 2003

Contact Details:Email: p.taylor@latrobe.edu.auRoom: BG 221Ph: 0400 014 159Course Content (hosted on the GT Website):http://homepage.cs.latrobe.edu.au/gtlab

Course Structure (Formal View)• Lectures 2hrs/Week (13 Weeks)• Labs 2hrs/Week

– 5% of your overall mark• Tutorials 1hr/Week

– 5% of your overall mark• Assignment

– 20% of your overall mark– Due on Friday the 22nd October 2010

• Exam– 70% of your overall mark– 3 Hours (50% hurdle)– It will be fun

• Consultation Times– Email me to arrange, I’m Super-Busy

Course Structure (Informal View)All the things we want to achieve:• Be able to create game concepts when given specific constraints• Comprehend and apply the concept of Game Flow to game designs.• Be able to apply OO Programming to create a completed Game in XNA.• Be able to apply the theory of challenges and difficulty to designing games• The ability to generate, evaluate and critique creative ideas and concepts• Understand the different game elements, and be able to analyse the effects

of the relationships between these elements• Develop the facility to move concepts between riddles, puzzles, and games• Understand the fractured relationship between art and technology• Be able to apply a professional level of creativity• Understand the historical background of both entertainment and video

games

Books

• There is 1 book for this semester– You WILL learn to LOVE it

• Seriously if you enjoy design, you will never throw this book out.

http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/design-books/14-9.jpg

THE Book

• The Art of Game Design – Jesse Schell– Has been called the Game Design Bible– It is not the holy grail, it is pretty darn close

– The things that interest us:• This book covers Games Design and thus inherently

covers level design.• The Lenses in this book are a great tool when used

properly. (this, you will learn)

How to pass with minimal effort• Show up to ALL the Lectures• Show up to ALL the Tutorials• Show up to ALL the Labs– Seriously, if you sit in every lecture, tutorial and

lab you will NOT need to review for the exam, you will already be able to pass it.

GDT is in constant Flux

• This is the 2nd year that GDT has run

• A lot of changes are still happening– Your feedback will help shape things

• Once it is all sorted, something new will emerge.....

You don’t need to take notes....

• You’ll get more out of involving yourself in the lecture

Once more unto the breach

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/269700.html

What is a game?

What would you describe a game as?

What is a Game?

For the following definitions, what game do you know of that would fulfil ALL the criteria?

What is a Game?

David Parlett (Game Historian)“An informal game is merely undirected play. Or

‘playing around,’ as when children or puppies play rough and tumble.”

A formal game has a means and an endsEnds: a contest to achieve an objectiveMeans: The rules controlling how you are able

to win

What is a Game?

Clark C. Abt (Wrote a book ‘Serious Games’)

An activity among two or more independent decision makers seeking to achieve their objectives in some limiting context.

What is a Game?

Johann Huizinga (Anthropologist, studied Play, read “Homo Ludens”)

A free activity standing outside of ordinary life, not serious, but absorbing the player intensely and utterly.

It has no material interest, and no profit can be gained from it.

It proceeds within its own proper boundaries of time and space according to fixed rules and in an orderly manner.

What is a Game?

Bernard Suits (Philosopher, published “Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia”)

“To play a game is to engage in activity directed towards bringing about a specific state of affairs, using only means permitted by rules, where the rules prohibit more efficient in favour of less efficient means, and where such rules are accepted just because they make possible such activity.”

Additionally he offers:“playing a game is the voluntary effort to overcome

unnecessary obstacles.”

What is a Game?

Chris Crawford (Video game veteran, published the first text on Game Design)

• Representation – Closed system that subjectively represents a subset of reality

• Interaction – Let the player generate causes and observe effects

• Conflict – Goals and Obstacles• Safety – Artificial danger and harm

What is a Game?

Greg Costikyan (Game Designer and writer)“A game is a form of art in which participants,

termed players, make decisions in order to manage resources through game tokens in the pursuit of a goal.”

What is a Game?

Elliot Avedon and Brian Sutton-Smith(published “The Study of Games”)

“Games are an exercise of voluntary control systems, in which there is a contest between powers, confined by rules in order to produce a disequilibrial outcome.

What is a Game?

Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman (published ”rules of play”)

Utilise a group of ideas:• System – Interacting elements to create a complex

whole• Players – People who interact with the game• Artificial – Not real• Conflict – Contest of powers• Rules – Provide structure• Quantifiable Outcome – Win or lose!

What is a Game?

Roger Caillois (French Sociologist, published “Man, Play and Games”)

Describes Play as:• Free• Separate• Uncertain• Unproductive• Governed by rules• Make-believe

What is a Game?

Jesse Schell (Game Designer and Professor at CMU Entertainment Technology Centre)

“A game is a problem-solving activity, approached with a playful attitude”

What is a Game?

Our definition:• It is something that involves play (obviously)• It has a goal (user or designer created)• ....• ....

Why so many definitions?

• There is NO clear definition

• Each definition you analyse will extend your skill set– Why would someone say that?– What do they mean?– What do they think they mean?

What is this game?

What is a game designer?

• Design• Prototyping• Development

What is Play?

Basic Game LEVEL Elements

• A Concept• An Environment• A Beginning• At least one Goal• At least one Challenge• An End (or more)• Reward (s)• Failure Plan (s)

Levels of importance....

Designers read compulsively

They do!

For example:Lau-Tzu“When the best leader's work is done the

people say, ‘We did it ourselves!’ ”

The Assignment

• Educational games (sort-of)• What educational games do you know of?

• The games will support kids learning science

• Why Educational Games?– It’s very hard to ‘design’ Tetris– Unconstrained design is NOT challenging!

Our Goals

• The games will be initially developed for Years 3 and 4.

• The games MUST be fun– This is where educational games usually fail

miserably (or epically)• There will be no rule books, kids should be

able to learn through playing• We aim to primarily reinforce / teach science

concepts to students

We WILL use the best games

• Your games could be used in Quantum Victoria, Charles La Trobe College

• We have the intention of publishing these games further, out to schools, on Xbox Live, and free to be downloaded online.

• Portfolio work == Critical to game industry interviews thus Published work == priceless

The Hardware

• Touch screen interactive boards– http://www.teamboard.com.au/

• XNA– C# Wrapper for Games Development

• Windows PC (Direct X 9.0c +)– Mouse + Keyboard (Preferably just the mouse)

• Xbox 360– Xbox Controller

Web Sites to LOVE

• Gamasutrahttp://www.gamasutra.com/

• Game Career Guidehttp://www.gamecareerguide.com/

http://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/871/game_design_challenge_.php

• Game Developer Magazine http://www.gdmag.com/

References

• Rules of Play – Salen and Zimmerman• The Art of Computer Game Design: Reflections

of a master game designer – Chris Crawford• The Art of Game Design – Jesse Schell

• If you love games (or play), all of this semester will be a load of fun.

The End