3GB3 C HAPTER 4: G AME W ORLDS D EFINITION : W HAT IS A GAME WORLD ? - PDF document

3GB3 – C HAPTER 4: G AME W ORLDS D EFINITION : W HAT IS A GAME WORLD ? “ Artificial universe, imaginary place in which events of the game occur ” - Football (Game, “magic circle”, no gameworld ) - Chess (Is a ‘game world’, but not really important) - Monopoly (Has a ‘game world’, concept is key to gameplay) - W HAT IS A GAME WORLD TO US ? Sound, art, animation, music, audio effects - ex: Zork – text adventure game world - ex: Dwarf Fortress – ASCII interface - ex: Fallout – Game world is key to enjoyment - W HAT IS A GAME WORLD FOR ? Entertainment in games has many sources - o Gameplay is paramount! o Social interaction, novelty o Game world also important ex: CHESS vs FALLOUT - o In a different game world, Fallout is a different game (Oblivion) ENTERTAIN - o World to explore o Backstory to discover  ex: Fallout, Monkey Island, Final Fantasy SELL THE GAME - o Buy the fantasy the game offers (instead of mechanics) o For those not familiar with game (BioShock) A BSTRACT P LAY Mastering core mechanics -> Ignore game world - o ex: Counter Stike, StarCraft Initial introduction to the game is about the world - o ex: BioShock

D IMENSIONS : Physical Emotional - - Temporal Ethical - - Environmental “Realism” (quality, not a dimension) - - D ESIGNING A G AME W ORLD : ASK FOR IDEAS FIRST - o Drawing pictures first? o Only a starting point, don ’ t overdevelop! o Game world must support the core mechanic Characterize the world in terms of dimensions - P HYSICAL D IMENSION World occurs in a simulated space - Player moves as avatar in this space - ex: Zork (text adventure) still has a ‘ physical space ’ - S PATIAL D IMENSIONALITY ( OF GAMEPLAY ) 2D - o Side scrollers ex: Mario o Overhead ex: Diablo o Can still use 3D graphics for 2D gameplay ex: DukeNukem: Manhattan, SimCity 2.5 D - o World consists of 2D “ layers ” o ex: StarCraft  Flight layer  “ Hieght ” terrain (visual only, practically just 2D with dead areas o ex: Battletoads? Ninja Turtles? 3D - o ‘ Inside ’ the space instead of ‘ watching ’ the space o Excellent for game relying on exploration 4D - o Implemented as an ‘ alternate version ’ of the 3D world o ex: Soul Reaver, Prey, LOTR (Frodo w/ ring on) Making a Decision (what does the dimension contribute) - o ex: Zelda (old vs new) o ex: Prince of Persia (old vs new) o ex: Worms vs Worms 3D

S CALE Absolute Size - Relative Size of objects - Abstract Game World - o Shapes and sizes made to fit gameplay ex: Tetris Verisimilitude - o Requires high accuracy ex: Flight Sim, Racing, Sports First Person - o Makes sense to scale world to fit player o Exception: Keys Objects (ammo, health) Isometric - o Real-World Scale doesn ’ t quite work o ex: StarCraft – Long range weapons  Practically tech should be accurate and insane distances  Cannot fit this realistically into a battlefield  Thus utilize RELATIVELY longer range o ex: StarCraft - Building Size  Scale correct means too small to see Outdoor-Indoor Distortion - o Don ’ t want to take 20 mins to cross a town Time Distortion - o ex: StarCraft Aircraft  Again, solution is ‘ relatively ’ faster B OUNDARIES Game worlds must have an ‘ edge ’ (non-infinite memory) - Attempt to preserve immersion - Natural to gameplay - o ex: Racing, Football, Arenas Indoor Settings - o Indoor locations naturally a finite space Outdoor Settings - o Island ex: Morrowind, Mario64 o Impassable terrain ex: Mountains, etc o World-Wrap ex: Civilization, Spore Unrestricted edges - o “ Leaving the area of engagement ” ex: StarFox o Simply stick @ ‘ invisible wall ’ ex: Ocean boundaries o Inhibiting mechanic ex: Morrowind, Boderlands

T EMPORAL D IMENSION Turn Based - o Game is idle when nothing happens o Turn-structure determines passage of time (if applicable) ex: Civ Theatrical Time Passage - o Implemented for atmosphere/realism o Generally feels artificial ex: ??? Functional - o Time passage affects game world/processes o ex: Morrowind, Baldur ’ s Gate, WarCraft3 V ARIABLE T IME Game time is NOT Real time - Time ‘ jumps ’ like a movie to preserve gameplay - o ex: RTS soldiers don ’ t sleep at night  Bad simulation, better gameplay ex: The Sims - o Speed up time while all asleep o Reduce time available in day to add ‘ pressure ’ to get things done A NOMALOUS T IME Time scale is different between simultaneous activities - ex: Warcraft 3 - o Time to chop wood similar to time to create a building No disruption because very separate activities - P LAYER -A DJUSTABLE Sports Games - o Cannot change time/play because reduces reality o Adjust total time of game periods/quarters Flight Simulations - o Long periods of doing nothing o Set to ‘ 8x speed ’ to prevent boredom Pokemon Emulators - o Reduce boring walking-time

E NVIRONMENTAL D IMENSION Appearance & Atmosphere - What ’ s in the space defined by the physical dimension - C ULTURAL C ONTEXT Culture of the people in the game-world - o Beliefs, attitudes, morality, back-story o Reflected by manmade objects, character actions Often influences art style & interface - o ex: Starcraft: Zerg vs Terran interface o ex: Prototype: Web of Intrigue Includes Backstory - o Often relevant to establish character motivations ex: Call of Duty o Must serve the game  ex: Elder Scrolls V: DragonShouts Sometimes culture comes naturally ex: SimCity = Western Architecture - Sometimes it needs to be designed ex: Elder Scrolls - P HYSICAL S URROUNDINGS Artistic Phase - Design game objects: Jewlery, Cups, Magic Items, Clothing, etc … - o ex: BioShock -- Distinctive art style o ex: Fallout 3 -- PipBoy 3000 What to include? - o Objects  Religious society likely to have temples  Warlike societies have war-vehicles, weapons o Natural World  Birds, animals  Plants  Weather/Climate effects  Prevents the feel of a ‘ sterile ’ world o Indoor  Light sources ex: BioShock  Purpose of areas ex: Dead Space & Bathrooms o Sounds & Sights Provides an important tone/mood - o ex: Dead Space, Mario (light harted), Splinter Cell LEVEL OF DETAIL - o Realism desired, technical limitations, time constraints  ex: Sports games and stadium fans

o ex: Monkey Island  “ Should ” be able to pick up or interact with everything  Practically only interact with items of gameplay importance o ex: God Games  Black & White: Male, Female, Children  ActRaiser: ‘ Citizens ’ o “ Include as much detail as you can UNTIL it harms gameplay ”  ex: Starcraft (not 10 ’ 000s of unit) DEFINING A STYLE - o Style of things IN the world  ex: BioShock – architecture, retro, etc  ex: Fallout - barren, decaying, etc o Style of how you VIEW the world  ex: Fallout vs Enslaved  ex: Cell Shading OVERUSED SETTINGS - o Movie-inspired o Sci-Fi, Fantasy, D&D  ex: Red Dead Redemption, BioShock  Under-used setting, well executed  ex: Interstate ’ 76 o Try to make YOUR version unique  ex: Mass Effect  Backstory supports look & feel of game  Interplay between races  Humanities role in the galaxy INSPIRATION - o Take pictures, keep clippings, portfolio of interesting ideas/themes

E MOTIONAL D IMENSION Games are now like movies - o Emotions of NPCs o Emotions of the Player Multiplayer Emotions from social interaction - Single player Emotions from story & gameplay - I NFLUENCING P LAYER ’ S F EELINGS Risk/Reward - o Natural response to completing a challenge o Augment this response  Achievements (XBOX)  Loot (WoW) o Beware Frustation  Difficult levels  Making something “ close-contest ” is exciting Greed, Power & Control - o MMORPGs (amass loot) o Construction/Management Sims (amass wealth) o Black & White (be God) Suspense, surprise & fear - o Survival horror ex: Dead Space, Resident Evil, Silent Hill Love, grief, shame, jealousy, anger - o Character/NPC interactions  Identify with a character  Put something important at stake NOTE: Don ’ t Overdo It! - o “ Save the world ” is hard to identify with o Fate of People instead of Fate of the World L IMITATIONS OF “ FUN ” Design for ENTERTAINMENT, not “ fun ” - o Movie with sad ending can still be enjoyed Understand that most gamers want FUN however - Don ’ t put creative agenda before player enjoyment - D ON ’ T USE F ORMULA -E MOTIONS Cliché - Easy to recognize - Find a skilled writer/novelist -

E THICAL D IMENSION Game designer sets the moral code for that world - o What actions let you ‘ win ’ the game  ex: Call of Duty -> Kill people o What actions should you ‘ avoid ’  ex: Left4Dead -> Bad team behavior Game world ethics are different than real-world ethics - o Killing, theft, etc … M ORAL D ECISION M AKING Implicit moral code - o Our team vs Their team Explicit moral choices - o BioShock (save or harvest) o Usually reward ‘ good ’ over ‘ bad ’ Tough moral choices - o Fallout 3 (no right decision) o Mass Effect Evil Main Character - o Fallout 3 -> Game world responds with consequences RISK OF REWARING EVIL BEHAVIORS - o ex: Custer ’ s Revenge (goal to rape a Native American Woman) o ex: FarCry 2 Explain ethical dimensions early - V IOLENCE IN G AMES Inherent to majority of games - ISSUE: - o Graphic, gross violence o Game world resembles real world  ex: GTA vs Left4Dead (non-human) Violence should server gameplay -