Geimzain (Designing games. A guide to engineering experiences) - Part III
This post continues the review of the book, which has already had two posts: 1 and 2. We will continue to talk about the second part of the book.The art of making a game"
Head. 4. Narrative. This is about the tools used in games to create stories and how they differ from movies or books. (About the stories themselves. told):
- Stories set by the script These are cut scenes that are similar to the approach from movies and books.
- Peace narratives For example, these are the winding streets of the old city or the corridors of a gloomy castle, documents on a computer screen, advertising on a building or voice recordings from an answering machine. But the world has to be logical for the players to believe in it. It should not be boring, but it should follow its own rules and be consistent within them.
- An emergent story It is generated during the game as a result of the interaction of game mechanics and players. This is both a narrative tool and a story generation technology. In the first case, the designer has control, and in the second, there is no control.) To create emergent stories, apophenia helps, labeling the game, using abstractions, keeping records of what is happening in the game or creating game stories from them. (right inside).
- Organizing history Players need structure to understand the narrative: levels, missions, gradual unlocking of abilities. And the structures are different: linear, branching, ...
- The problem of agency The ability to make decisions and take well-calculated steps that affect the game world. To do this, the player must be compatible in his motivation and motivation of the game character:) In the end, the author describes the narrative tools in Fallout 3.
Head. 5. Decisions It’s about the decisions players have to make in games and how that shapes their interactive experiences. For example, in poker, players need to choose call, fold, raise on each trading street and all the variability of the game is formed from these simple options. Understanding such decisions is key in game design, as they are the only emotional trigger that is unique to gaming. Other forms of entertainment evoke emotion through spectacle, music, or an interesting story, and only games can do so through a decision. Therefore, the design of the solution is game design in its pure form.
Next, the author analyzes individual factors:
- Feeling the future Most emotional triggers are described as a result of what is happening in the present. But decisions in games are not directly related to the present, but involve a choice of several options in the future. So emotions are about the future, and we need to consider predictability, predetermined decisions.
- Balance of information The player must provide information to the extent that it will be sufficient for him to make a decision, while everything will be clear to him, but not yet absolutely obvious. There are two extremes: information starvation and redundancy of information, between which it is necessary to find a balance, for example, hiding some information. Here's poker again:)
- Problematic source of information - the uncertainty of the plot and the fact that good tasks should be based on the non-obvious use of mechanics, which themselves work in an obvious way. You also need to consider the meta-information about the game that players get from the real world outside the game.
- Solution and flow. The flow state is the foundation of a good gaming experience. And in order to stay in the flow, solutions must be of the right level, not too complex and not too simple. To do this, the term decision volume is used - the amount of thought process spent to make a decision. The size of the decision depends on the skill of the player. As a result, game designers try to avoid interrupting the flow when the player’s mind is not busy. This is often achieved through a variety of solutions.
In the end, the author talks about making decisions in the CS game. (Counter Strike). Continuation in next post
#Design #GameDesign #SystemDesign #SystemThinking #Management #SelfDevelopment