Title: Ambient Quest: An ambient game simulation
1Ambient Quest An ambient game simulation
Advanced Games Research Group Department of
Creative Technologies Faculty of Creative and
Cultural Industries
Emerging Issues in Game Design
2- If the seminal 1976 ambient music album Music for
Airports became a 21st century ambient role
playing game, what would it play like?
3Overview
- Games
- Computer role playing games
- Computer technology
- Ambient intelligence
- Pervasive games
- Ambient music
- Ambient games
- Ambient Quest
- Ambient games future
4What is a computer game?
- An interactive entertainment played against, or
with the aid of, computer generated characters or
tokens in a computer generated environment. - A single player game has a series of interesting
obstacles to overcome in order to gain rewards. - A multiplayer game has a series of interesting
obstacles to overcome at the expense and/or with
the help of other players to gain rewards.
5Computer game properties Commitment to play
- Learning curve
- Play time
- Civilization 2 vs. Tetris vs. Hangman
6Computer game properties Location and movement
- Fixed (Console, PC, Set top box)
- Mobile (Mobile phone, Nintendo DS)
- Require movement
- In one location (Football, Eye Toy)
- In many locations (Alternate Reality Game)
7Computer game properties Commitment and movement
8Role playing games
- To suggest a definition of computer role playing
games - Look at the history of RPGs
- Look at the game play in RPGs
- These two approaches then inform a definition of
role playing games
9History of role playing games
- Pen and paper and computer role playing games
formalise the playful role playing of childrens
make believe worlds by adding a set of rules - This formalisation of role playing allows details
to be shared, so that the game can be shared and
seen to be played fairly according to an agreed
set of rules - A key component of role playing games is stories
10Story telling
Chauvet Pont-d'Arc
Le Voyage dans la lune
- Spoken
- Pictures
- Cave paintings (30,000 years ago)
- Written
- Gilgamesh (around 2000 BC)
- Moving images
- Cinema (from the 1880s)
- Interactive
- Colossal Cave Adventure (1975ish)
11Table top war-gaming 1
- Kriegspiel
- 19th century
- Lieutenant Johann von Reisswitz based on a design
of his father Baron von Reisswitz - Players move tokens representing troops around a
map, under the guidance of an umpire - Assured Prussian victories
12Table top war-gaming 2
- Little Wars
- A set of table top war-gaming rules
- H. G. Wells - 1913.
- Commenting on Kriegspiel
- as it is played by the British Army, is a very
dull and unsatisfactory exercise, lacking in
realism, in stir and the unexpected, obsessed by
the umpire at every turn, and of very doubtful
value in waking up the imagination, which should
be its chief function. (Wells, 1913)
13Fantasy literature
- J.R.R. Tolkeins The Hobbit, 1937
- The Lord of the Rings trilogy, 1954 to 1955
14War-gaming Fantasy
- Chainmail
- First table top role playing game,1971
- Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren
- Dungeons and Dragons
- Tactical Studies Rules (TSR), 1974
- Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson
15Evolution of computer role playing games
- Start with text adventures
- Advent or Adventure, written by William
Crowther around 1975 give or take a year - Expanded by Don Woods to Colossal Cave Adventure
in 1976
16Evolution of computer role playing games
- Zork, 1978, released by Infocom 1980
17Evolution of computer role playing games
- Add role playing
- Richard Garriotts 1979 Apple II game Akalabeth
18Evolution of computer role playing games
- Character attributes
- Ultima 1, 1980, developed by Richard Garriott,
published by Origin Systems Inc.
19Evolution of computer role playing games
- Control a party of characters
- Race and character class mechanisms
- Wizardry Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord,
1981, Sir Tech Software
20Evolution of computer role playing games
- Advances in technology
- Improvements in graphics
- Increasing sophistication and complexity
- Addition of 3D graphics to Multi User Dungeons
but retaining core RPG mechanisms
21Role playing gameplay mechanisms
- Role playing game mechanisms have remained very
similar - Compare Ultima, 1980, with Oblivion, 2006
22Role playing gameplay mechanisms
- Mechanisms commonly found in RPGs
23Role playing gameplay mechanisms
24RPG mechanisms in other game genres
25Core features of RPGs
- Choice of player races
- Choice of player classes
- Player attributes
- Player skill development
- Experience points and levels
26Suggested definition of computer role playing
games
- In computer role-playing games players control
one or more characters that gain experience
through the completion of game objectives. The
experience is manifested as player moderated
changes in player character attributes
(strength, intelligence and luck for
example) which allow the player character to
evolve over the duration of the game. - Additional player character customization is
facilitated through modification of character
differentia such as race and class when
initiating a player character ready for play and
by game-play educed character modification during
play, such as development and improvement of a
skill by repeated use of that skill, or the
spending of skill points gained when levelling
up. - The player character descriptors (attributes,
differentia and game-play educed modifications)
affect the in-game interactions between the
player character, non-player characters and items
in the game environment. The environment,
objects, characters and interactions are effected
in a virtual environment.
27Ambient technology
- This section starts with some assumptions about
ambient games that will be made explicit later - Ambient games are as ignorable as they are
interesting (Eno, 1978) - Consequently it should be possible for the player
to ignore the game, if they wish, while still
playing it - The game should physically surround them
- First we will consider the growth of computer
technology and its future
28Growth of computer technology
29Growth of computer technology
- One computer Many users
- Charles Babbage designs a computer 1821
- EDSAC 1 (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic
Calculator) 1949 the worlds first complete and
fully operational regular electronic digital
stored program computer (Jones, 2001)
30Growth of computer technology
Digital Rainbow 100 1982 http//pc-museum.com/offi
cewing.htm
- One computer One user
- 1981 IBM introduced the personal computer
31Growth of computer technology
- Many computers One user
- The current state of play
32Growth of computer technology
- Ambient intelligent environments (the future)
Tom Cruise in Minority Report http//www.visionnet
.be/parahologram.html
- Massively many intelligent computers One user
(Everyone is a user, not just Tom Cruise)
33Ambient intelligence
- There are a number of different technologies that
are enabling the development of ambient
intelligence - Interconnectivity
- Artificial intelligence
- The proliferation of computers
- These technologies support ambient intelligence,
which has - Ubiquity
- Transparency
- Intelligence
- (Aarts et al., 2001)
34Ambient intelligence - Ubiquity
- A massive number of interconnected computers are
embedded in the environment - It is invisible, everywhere computing that does
not live on a personal device of any sort, but is
in the woodwork everywhere. (Weiser, 1996)
35Ambient intelligence - Transparency
- Transparency indicates that ambient intelligence
environments are invisible and in the background
(Aarts et al., 2001)
36Ambient intelligence - Intelligence
- Intelligence relates to the interfaces and ways
these interconnected computers respond and
interact with people through user friendly
interfaces.
37Ambient intelligence predictions
- By 2010, when Intel expects that every chip it
produces will have an antenna, there will be
around 1,000 microprocessors per person - Harbor Research predicts that by 2010 worldwide
revenues from network-related devices and
associated services will be 800bn, around half
of which will come from valued-added apps and
services. - Department for Trade and Industry
http//www.nextwave.org.uk/docs/markets.htm
38Ambient intelligence
- Ambient intelligence environments offer a
promising technology for creating pervasive games - We will now consider pervasive games and ambient
games
39Pervasive games
- Pervasive games are games which extend gaming
experiences into the real world - They include locative games in which players move
into the real world while playing and their
position and actions in the real world affect,
and are affected by, events in a virtual world - (Waern, 2006)
40Pervasive games
- Location based games, especially using mobile
technologies - Example Uncle Roy All Around You
- Street Players use handheld computers to search
for Uncle Roy, using the map and incoming
messages to move through the city. Â Online
Players cruise through a virtual map of the same
area, searching for Street Players to help them
find a secret destination. - http//www.uncleroyallaroundyou.co.uk/
41Pervasive games - Augmented reality
- Overlaying computer information onto the real
world - Example ARQuake at the University of South
Australia - http//wearables.unisa.edu.au/projects/ARQuake/www
/index.html
42Pervasive games - Alternate reality
- "...an obsession-inspiring genre that blends
real-life treasure hunting, interactive
storytelling, video games and online
community... (Borland, 2005)
- A game in which events occurring online in a game
world affect and are affected by game events in
the real world - Example Perplexcity
- http//www.perplexcity.com/
43Pervasive games
- Ambient games are a type of pervasive game
- The pervasive game examples mentioned vary from
ambient games in - The intention of the games (ambient games create
moods, they are not treasure hunts) - The commitment the player makes to the game (they
do not have to put on back packs of computer
equipment) - The level of attention required from the player
44Pervasive and ambient games
45Ambient music
- Ambient music informs ambient games
- Brian Eno coined the term ambient music on his
1978 album Ambient 1 Music for Airports - In the sleeve notes of Music for Airports Brian
Eno gives a definition of ambient music - Ambient Music must be able to accommodate many
levels of listening attention without enforcing
one in particular it must be as ignorable as it
is interesting (Eno, 1978)
46Ambient music
- I wanted to make a kind of music that would
actually reduce your focus on this particular
moment in time that you happened to be in and
make you settle into time a little bit better.
(Eno, 2003) - Think about the ways games might do this while
accommodating many levels of attention and
intervention
47Defining ambient games
- Progress Quest - a game that requires minimal
player intervention
(www.progressquest.com (Fredricksen, 2004))
48Defining ambient games
- Imagine a game similar to Progress Quest, call it
Ambient Quest, in which, when the player starts
the game, their actions in the real world affect
progress in the game world
49Defining ambient games
- The Ambient Quest game world consists of a
virtual environment containing quests to complete
(achieved by defeating monsters at various
locations)
50Defining ambient games
- The player chooses the degree to which they wish
to manage events in the game - At one extreme the game runs itself, gathering
data from the players actions in the real world
and automatically applying this to the game world - At the other extreme the player can determine how
the real world data is applied in the game world,
micromanaging game interactions.
51Defining ambient games
- Ambient Quest should be as ignorable as it is
interesting (Eno, 1978) - Players can dip in and out of the game
- The game is persistent, running in the
background, creating a mood, while players are
engaged in other activities - They may respond to the game by modifying their
behaviour to affect their game progress
52Defining ambient games
- Ambient games may be controlled by everyday
actions (i.e. not using a dedicated game input
device, mouse or keyboard) in everyday, real
world environments that have gameplay
consequences in a virtual game world - These game play environments may be facilitated
by ambient intelligent technologies that embed
the game transparently in the environment
53Defining ambient games
- Ambient games allow the player to have
experiences that range from superficially shallow
to profoundly deep - The player is able to choose how they focus their
attention on the game, and can alter their degree
of attention at will - As with Music for Airports an ambient game should
accommodate many levels of attention, many levels
of involvement or intervention, creating a mood
in the environment
54Defining ambient games
- The involvement of the player in the game is not
determined by the game - This is not a push technology, but is
determined by the player who can choose when to
pull game experiences from the ambient game
55Defining ambient games
56A definition of ambient role playing games
- Ambient games are designed to create a mood in
an environment through game interactions with
players whose behaviours, mediated by an ambient
intelligent environment or similar transparent
game interface, create changes in a virtual game
world. - Ambient games are persistent and are as
interesting as they are ignorable, facilitating a
wide variation in player determined levels of
involvement, from unaware to intensely attentive
play. - In ambient computer role-playing games player
behaviours affect one or more characters that
gain experience, and other character
customizations, through the completion of game
objectives in a virtual world.
57Ambient Quest single player ambient game
simulation
- Distance walked by players determines progress in
the virtual game world - Players may engage more or less with the game by
- Altering, or not altering, distance walked
- Choosing moves for their avatars or letting the
game move them automatically - The game is always on
58Ambient Quest single player ambient game
simulation
- Ambient Quest is designed to create a mood in the
playing environment, overlaying a sense fantasy
adventure on the real world and giving a hint of
other hidden worlds
59(No Transcript)
60Future ambient games
- Imagine a job which involves fairly repetitive
actions which are not in themselves especially
rewarding. - Could an ambient game be designed that ran
alongside this work and brought an element of
playfulness to the job?
61Future ambient games
- Ambient Shelf Stacking Game
- Imagine an ambient game that drew its data from
supermarket shelf stacking - Employees belong to different teams that are
represented by competing avatars in a virtual
world
62Future ambient games
- Co-operative gaming
- Ambient Garden Game
- Imagine an ambient game in which players are
together trying to nurture the plants in a
virtual garden through their actions in the real
world - Interpersonal relationships
- Ambient Relationships Game
- Imagine a Sims like game where the players real
world actions affect relationships of avatars in
a Second Life like virtual world
63Final thoughts
- Game players may play even when they are not
playing! - Embed mood and behaviour altering game playing in
the world around us - Open ended, endless nature of play points towards
new mechanisms and ways of playing games
64Final thought
A sense of otherworldliness
- It is another world entirely and is enclosed
within this one it is in a sense a universal
retreating mirror image of this one, with a
peculiar geography composed of a series of
concentric rings, which as one penetrates deeper
into the other world, grow larger each
perimeter of this series of concentricities
encloses a larger world within -
- Little Big by John Crowley
- (Crowley, 1981)
65Ambient Quest An ambient game simulation
Questions
Mark Eyles
www.eyles.co.uk
mark_at_eyles.co.uk
Advanced Games Research Group Department of
Creative Technologies Faculty of Creative and
Cultural Industries