Introduction to game genres

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Introduction to game genres game design

• Game critique.
• What is a game really?
• What is game design?
• Game genres.
• The system - a look at what we can do.
• Brainstorm.

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Six game characteristics

• Pre-defined rules (a dynamic system)
• Goals
• Variable outcome associated with the player(s)
• Optional real-world consequences. (You can place
  a bet on the outcome of a game, but you can also
  choose not to.)
• Non-gambling The player influences the outcome.
• In a game with a theme, a game is a
  representation of a fictive world.

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Two gods (acc. to Chris Crawford)

• The storyteller Fly bird, fly. Blow wind, blow.
• The designer of laws of nature Birds can fly
  under certain cirumstances, wind can blow.
  Gravity. All these combine. (Designing gameplay.)

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Interesting choices

• Sid Meier A game is a series of interesting
  choices.
• An interesting choice
• No single choice should be the best.
• The choices should not be equally good.
• The player must be able to make an informed
  choice.

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Monopoly

• Should I build hotels at the first possible time
  even if I use all my money?

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Gameplay is emergent

• The rules of a game do not describe every
  possible game session.
• From the rules interesting patterns and
  strategies emerge on a higher level.
• The strategies in a strategy game or in chess are
  not described in the rules but are appear as a
  consequence of the rules.

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The open world

• Even in rule-based systems, some events can still
  be determined or are at least very likely to
  happen.
• The player is likely to accept the goal put
  forward.
• Players will tend to do certain things.
• Players will search for a good strategy. If the
  good strategy leads to interesting interaction,
  it is a good game.

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Game design is iterative

• You cannot predict all that is going to happen in
  the game.
• People may not share your tastes.
• Make prototype test it fix it test it.

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FUN!

• All the glitz and glitter poured into games these
  days, such as expensive art, animation, real
  actors, or the best musicians, cannot cover up
  for poor gameplay. (Marc Saltzman)
• Not everything is a story!
• Are the choices facing the player interesting
  choices? Are they still interesting the second
  time?
• What are the genre conventions? What does the
  user expect?
• If thinking in terms of storytelling What ties
  this particular story/world to an interactive
  medium?
• The designer has to let go. Game design is to set
  up a system that the players can use as their own.

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What do players want?

• Players want a challenge, to socialize, a
  dynamic solitaire experience, bragging rights,
  emotional experience, fantasize
• Players expect A consistent world, to understand
  the game-worlds bounds, reasonable solutions to
  work, direction, to accomplish a task
  incrementally, to be immersed, to fail, a fair
  chance, to not need to repeat themselves, to not
  get hopelessly stuck, to do - not to watch.
• Holder det?

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Genre

• Like different personalities, different genres
  are distringuished from another by which
  characteristics predominate ... (Dubrow)
• Do genres exist?
• No We can never come up with complete perfect
  distinctions between genres.
• Yes The idea of genre plays an important part in
  both the production and consumption of games (and
  other things).

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Action-adventure (adventures exploration real
time)

• Real-tids adventure.
• Fx Jet Set Willy
• Kort

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Genres in the 1980s
Platform
Adventure
Action
Driving
Action-adventure Gauntlet, Jet Set Willy.
Various Pac-man (maze), Pengo, Qix, Frogger,
Star Wars
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Sim City(Simulation, but no goal)
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Doom - First person shooter(action some
exploration from adventure first person
perspective)
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Sims (Sim city in a social context)
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Real time strategy(board game real-time)
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Genres ca. 2002(That noone agrees about)
Gamespot.com
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Different genres - different pleasures

• action
• RPG
• adventure
• strategy
• simulations
• Sports
• Fighting games
• casual
• puzzle games

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Bruce Shelley on games

• Differentiate and Innovate, Don't Imitate
• Interesting decisions fun.
• Design by Playing.
• Provide a Great First 15 Minutes of Easily
  Accessible Play
• The Player Should Have the Fun, Not the Designer,
  Programmer, or Computer
• Provide Multiple Gaming Experiences within the
  Box.
• Gameplay more important than realism.

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Next time

• Susana Tosca Role-playing in multiplayer
  environments. Vampire The Masquerade.
  Redemption in CGDT Proceedings. København IT
  University. p. 10-18. (Kompendium)
• Simon Egenfeld-Nielsen Computerspillene "I sig
  selv". (Kompendium)
• Richard Rouse chapter 17 The Design Document
• Astinus A History of Role-Playinghttp//ptgptb.o
  rg/0001/history1.html

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Try the system

• diac.it-c.dk/visichat
• Create a user, log in, walk around by clicking,
  right-click on yourself and others.
• This is A tech demo of functionality.
• This is not a complete game.
• This is not representative of what your final
  game is going to look like.

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Conflicts

• Minority report (tech misused). Punished for a
  crime.
• Peasant vs. Emperor
• Three brothers.
• Armageddon world threatened by asteroid.
• Revenge (24 hours)
• Childrens vs. Parents
• Lord of the rings (group of heroes vs.
  overwelming foe complete task)
• Bin Laden vs. US
• Middle east
• Demonstrators vs. police (WTO)
• Rich vs. poor
• Capitalism vs the alternative
• Sports
• Groups fighting for the same thing (such as
  water)
• Jekyll hyde (fight yourself)
• Memory problem (Memento)

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Brainstorm