GAME STUDIES // EXERCISE
Ang Shin Er / 0355231
Bachelor Of Design (Hons) In Creative Media / Taylor's University
Game Studies //Exercise
LECTURES
01 : Game Studies Introduction
Games are the technology for change, healing and education.
As in the account of Herodotus, in the land Tyrsenia, the Lydians went through famine and the remedy to distract them were dice and knucklebones and ball
"The first Olympic games were held in 776 BC in honor of Zeus. A healthy body and a competitive spirit were a large part of Greek education"
Physical games were equally important; athletics and physical fitness played an integral role in the lives of Egyptians of any age. Sports were a part of the king's coronation, celebrations of military victories, religious ceremonies, and festivals, while games were obviously a popular pastime judging from the number of board games found and how frequently they appear in the artwork.
Senet, in fact, is shown being played by people and the gods in the afterlife and it is thought that the game mirrored one's journey through life toward eternity.
| Snakes and Ladders
Snakes and Ladders is the simplified, modern version of the ancient Indian game of Gyan Chaupar. Translated as the game of knowledge, it is meant to inspire players to introspect rather than compete with each other. There are many versions of the game: Hindu (Advaitic or Tantric), Buddhist, Jain, Islamic and Sufi, each packing in its own philosophical lessons. The aim of any Gyan Chaupar is to lead its player from the lowest to the highest plane of existence.
Why Games Mattered?
- Celebration
- Distraction and escapism
- Strategy and Education
02: Games Principles, framework + Playful Experiences
| 2 schools of thought on gaming directions/purpose
- Ludology: competitive play/challenge
- Narratology: Story-driven play
| Ludology
The Essence of competitive play
- Play to win
- Play to gain
- Play to understand/learn
- Play to stay alive
- Not dependent on a complex narrative
- Challenge the rules
| Narratology
Play as part of a Story/narrative
- Play to achieve story's conclusion
- Play to develop character
- Play as part of story simulation
- Play to fulfill quests
- dependent on a main story
| Specific Principles for Gameplay to keep in mind during the iterative design process
- Play & Challenge experiences
- Rewards and achievements!
- Act of rebellion (making mistakes is okay and breaking rules)
- multisensory
- motivation
- engaging
- appealing
- replay able
- social
| Game Studies
- R- Research by playing
- I- Iteration Design
- P- Prototype
| Prototyping via Iteration Design
Process:
- Design a prototype
- Playtest your prototype
- Analyze what happened
- Then, back to step 1 - modifying your game to create a new prototype
Playtesting :
- Stop brainstorming and start prototyping.
- Embrace failure.
- Be critical.
- More experimental? More iteration.
- Keep it ugly.
| Iterative Design vs Design Thinking
| Prototype Development
| Towards Three-Dimensional Technology
The increase of available memory and computing power is reflected in how 8-bit gaming technology was replaced first by 16-bit and then by 32, 64 and 128-bit systems. Home computing devices capable of real-time three-dimensional graphics became widely available in the 1990s.
| 8-Bit Era
8-bit graphics refers low-resolution visuals (256 colors max) and sound bytes due to hardware constraints low-resolution graphics,
| 16-Bit Era
| 32-Bit / 64-Bit Era
| 128-Bit Era
| Current Era
| Now
| Consoles and the PC
- Games-dedicated video gaming consoles and multipurpose home computers (like the Commodore 64) competed in homes during the 1980s. IBM PC was released in 1981.
- The original PC was lacking in sound and graphics, but the open PC architecture provided opportunities for manufacturers of add-on cards. The PC was became an important gaming platform during the 1990s.
| Play dimension: Strategy & management
Civilization (Microprose, 1991) by Sid Meier.
- A turn-based strategy game, Civilization involves taking the role of controlling a civilization, building cities, developing new technologies and competing with other civilizations.
- Historically-themed, extensive game (years 4000 BC - 2100 available for gameplay).
- Long game sessions usually break into several smaller play sessions, with breaks in between.
| Ideology in a Game
Civilization has been a highly popular and influential game.
- It has also been criticised, e.g. for simplifying complex historical processes into a ‘toy version’ history, with organically-developing miniature civilizations.
- Ideological critique has pointed out that to succeed in the game, the player has to adopt principles of Western industrialised society.
- Civilization would thus implicitly teach Western, imperialistic values and lifestyles.
| Play dimension: Action shooter
Doom (id Software, 1993)
- Combined free movement in a three-dimensional environment and fast, shooter style action successfully.
- With its multiple followers (‘Doom clones’), it started the First Person Shooter (FPS) genre.
- An important factor in the game’s success was its atmosphere, derived from horror and science fiction film conventions.
- The shareware distribution model contributed to Doom spreading quickly among the computer gamer communities.
DOOM Game Art
- Doom Aesthetics
- With its graphical violence, futuristic industrial environment and techno soundtrack, Doom represented a shift towards more adult-oriented popular culture in game design.
- Demonic adversaries, fast-paced shooting action and labyrinthine spaces define much of the Doom aesthetics.
| Components of Gameplay Immersion
Three main components:
- Sensory immersion in the sounds and interactive images of virtual space
- Challenge-based immersion in the actions of play (sometimes close to an optimal, 'flow' experience)
- Imaginative immersion in the world of fiction in a game (this immersion can be created e.g. by text alone)
Together, these different components contribute to games having considerable immersive potential.
| Gameplay Experience Model
Game – player interaction and the three components of immersion in play (the SCI model, Ermi & Mäyrä, 2005).
| Play dimension: Point of View (immersion)
The first person view
- does not focus our attention as much on the game character
- Doom has very transparent interface: the player focus is strongly on the task and a feeling of immersion in virtual space is created.
| Influences on Game Cultures
With Doom and followers such as Quake, Unreal and Halo, FPS games found their audience and also developed into new sub-genres (e.g. ‘tactical shooter’, ‘MMOFPS’).
- Practicing ‘speedruns’ means rushing through a game or level as fast as possible.
- Recording speedrun style game events gave birth to ‘machinima’, movies created using game engines.
- Doom-influenced ‘modding’ (user-created game modifications) becoming popular.
| Play dimension: Personalization (modding)
- ‘Castle Smurfenstein’ modified Castle Wolfenstein to show opponents as Smurfs instead of Nazi characters (1983).
- ‘Capture the Flag’ style of team play became popular as part of ‘Team Fortress’ (1996), a multiplayer mod for Quake.
- Counter-Strike was originally developed as a ‘total conversion’ mod of Half-Life (Valve, 1998) by Minh ‘Gooseman’ Le and Jess ‘Cliffe’ Cliffe.
- Counter-Strike is also an example of a game with its own dedicated ‘CS culture’, including professional CS teams and LAN tournaments.
- Number of mods can also be used as to estimate the popularity of certain games.
- Gary’s mod & Steam workshop!
| Controversy Continued
The violent, adult-oriented themes of FPS style games continue to evoke debate.
- FPS action has become part of ‘family games’, like those in the Harry Potter franchise (produced by Electronic Arts).
- Popular contemporary games like Grand Theft Auto V and its follow-ups often feature FPS style of gameplay, but combine it with quests familiar from adventure games.
- Grand Theft Auto III - V has created controversy with its violent and sexual content.
| Game Violence Debate
Violent games (as well as cinema, comics or rock music) have been blamed for violence. But it has been hard to demonstrate a clear, cause-and-effect relationship between media violence and real violence.
Contemporary research is most often interested in particular contexts for media use, and looks for e.g. games’ positive ‘effects’ as well as possible detrimental consequences of digital play. Debate around violent games continues and many countries have introduced games-related legislation.
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INSTRUCTIONS
| TASK 1: Personal Gaming History
Do you remember the first video game you played as a child? Go down that memory lane, and revisit the best memorable games you played as you were growing up. Review the best parts of the games that makes you a fan, as well as the parts where you think the game could use some improvements.
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| TASK 2 : What makes ‘this game’ playful?
Now that you had fun going down memory lane, choose one of your most favourite game. The one that made you a loyal fan, and play it again and again. Based on the Playful Iterative Design framework, review the game’s components - DESIGN, PLAY, and ANALYZE - as in how do they all come together to create playful experiences for this particular game.
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| TASK 3 : Re-mediating the non-digital?
Identify a non-digital game that has been converted into a digital version. Discuss on:
A brief explanation of the gameplay
Differences and similarities of play dimension (real life vs on screen):
- Tip! Pick a game with either real-time or turn-based action; describe its core game mechanics and explain how the player experiences them temporally during both play dimensions.
Benefits and disadvantages of three-dimensional:
- Tip! Find a game that has appeared in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional versions; compare, and give grounds for whether three-dimensional is beneficial or not in games.
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| TASK 4 : The world’s evolution in “this game”
Identify a video game series or franchise that revolves around the same world (i.e: The Sims, God of War, Civilization, Guild Wars, Super Mario Bros) and discuss how each game’s iteration affect the world’s evolution.
Brief description of the chosen game
Differences and similarity of the world building throughout the series/franchise
- TIP! Pick a game that revolves around the same world and lore. From here you can easily track the evolution of the worlds as the game progresses throughout the series/franchise.
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REFLECTION
The series of lectures and exercises explored the significance of games in our experience, revealing their innate inclination towards play and their profound impact on our lives. The study of various forms of games, from ancient board games to modern digital experiences, provided a holistic understanding of the multifaceted nature of games. The broader perspective allowed for a more innovative board game project. Game design is crucial, balancing challenge and reward, fostering engagement and immersion. By studying existing games, we identified mechanics, themes, and elements that resonated with us, allowing us to refine our board game to provide a rich and captivating experience for players. This knowledge will be applied to our final project, aiming to captivate and delight players
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