videogame design and programming - 03 the structure of games

Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi

The Structure of Games��Videogame Design and Programming


The Structure ��of Games


video game = video + game

what does “video” stand for?

“board game”

“card game”


Similarities and Differences

•  Players § Both descriptions describe experiences designed for players §  In contrast, music is a form of entertainment that does not

require an active participation by the consumers § To become a player, one must voluntarily accept the rules

and constraints of a game (the lusory attitude)

•  Objectives § Both descriptions lay out specific goals for the players § Watching a movie is a form of entertainment with no goal §  In games, objectives are a key element without which the

experience loses its structure § Our need to work toward the objective is a measure of

our involvement

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•  Procedures § Both descriptions give detailed instructions on what the player can do to

achieve the objectives § They guide player behavior and creating interactions that would never take

place outside the authority of the game •  Rules

§ Both descriptions spend a great deal of time explaining exactly what objectives the game consists and what the player can and cannot do

§ Clarify what happens in various situations that might arise § Define game objects and concepts, limit the player behavior §  Imply authority and yet there is no person named in either description

with whom to associate that authority

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•  Resources § Certain objects hold a rather high value for the players in reaching their

objectives § Finding and managing resources is a key part of many games § They are valuable for the scarcity and their utility

•  Conflict § Procedures and rules tend to deter players from accomplish goals directly

(think about golf) § The relationship between the objectives, the rules, the procedures limiting/

guiding behavior create conflict § Players work to resolve conflict in their own favor

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Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRryeImj4pc

Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAOplz5ri5k



•  Boundaries § Rules and goals apply only within the game, not in “real life” § Playing experience is somehow set apart from other experiences by

boundaries, and this is another distinctive element of the structure of games

•  Outcome §  In both games, the outcome needs to be uncertain § The uncertainty of the outcome is important for the players, if they can

anticipate the outcome, they won’t play § Movies, concerts, books can remain entertaining even when the outcome

is already known

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Colleen Lachowicz is a social worker, foster parent and passionate democrat who’s running for State Senate in Maine. She’s also an orc assassin rogue named Santiaga within the massive multiplayer online role playing game World of Warcraft (WoW) – a fact that her Republican opponents say makes her unfit to be in office. In a recent mailer sent out by Maine GOP communications director David Sorensen, Lachowicz is condemned for “living a time-consuming double life as a member of the World of Warcraft community.” “Her character’s impressive Level 85 distinction – the highest that can be achieved in the massive online role playing game,” he wrote. “Studies have found that the average World of Warcraft gamer is 28 and spends 22.7 hours per week playing.” “In Colleen’s online fantasy world, she gets away with crude, vicious and violent comments like the ones below,” reads the website’s header. “Maine needs a State Senator that lives in the real world, not in Colleen’s fantasy world.” Dozens of screencapped messages from forums and website comments populate the website’s blog. These messages were written by Lachowiz in discussion of the game over a span of at least seven years.


Formal Elements

the elements that all games share, that make up the essence of games

the developers goal is to go beyond the basic elements of games, by exploring new forms of interactivity, etc.

yet, it is important to understand the role of formal

elements in traditional game systems


Engaging the Player

•  The formal elements provide structure to the experience of games, but what gives these elements meaning for the players?

• What makes one game capture the imagination of players and another one fall flat?

• What allows players to emotionally connect with a game?

•  The sense of engagement comes from different things for different players, and not all the games require elaborate means to creat it

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Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9YaFY8S75M


Engaging the Player

•  Challenge § The conflict challenges the player and create tension as well as creates

varying level of achievement or frustration §  Increasing the challenge as the game goes on increase the tension, but too

much challenge causes frustration •  Premise

§ Overarching premise gives context to the formal elements and creates engagement (monopoly)

§ The premise of World of Warcraft is that players are characters in a rich fantasy world with archetypical quests

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Engaging the Player

•  Character § Agents through which stories are told ��

with whom players can empathize

•  Story § Some games engage players emotionally ��

by using the power of the story within ��or surrounding their formal elements

§ How story can be integrated into ��gameplay is an ongoing debate

§ How much story is too much?��Or too little?

§ Should the gameplay change the story?

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYr5J877tsU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LwQDF-iBN0


Games are systems and systems, by definition, are groups of interrelated elements

These elements work together

to form a complex whole

“whole is greater than the sum of its part”

Game designers have to look at a game system not only as separate elements but also as a whole in play


“Game: a system in which players engage in

an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome”

Rules of Play

videogame design and programming - 03 the structure of games

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