Game Design Workshop

Taller de Diseo de Juegos

Jonathan Hamel
@jhameltime

Welcome Back!

Designer

Mechanics

Dynamics

Aesthetics

Player

MDA in SiSSYFIGHT

Turns + hit points + actions

Competition,
Random Attacks

Scourge

Equality
Cooperation,
Team Attacks

BETRAYAL

Definitions

Mechanics: The rules and concepts that formally

specify the game-as-system.

Dynamics: The run-time behavior of the game-assystem.

Aesthetics: The desirable emotional responses evoked

by the game dynamics.

Iterative Design Process

Playtest

Follow the fun

Fail fast
Modify

Analyze

TODAY

A deeper dive on the components of MDA

An exercise about making players care about NPC

Schedule

1400 1800 again today

Game Design Workshop

MDA in Detail

Credit to Mahk LeBlanc (Riot)

Games as Feedback Loops

State

Alter

Measure

Decide

Two Kinds of Feedback Mechanics

Negative: We give the losing player a bonus (blue shell)

Positive: We give the winning player a bonus (speed boost)

Resulting dynamics: Stabilizing force vs. Snowball effect

Dynamics & Aesthetics

Where does Drama come from?

Conflict creates dramatic tension

Tension builds towards a climax

Tension is a Function of Uncertainty

A game is as tense as it is close

Tension = f(closeness)

So These Are Related!

Feedback systems can govern closeness,

therefore tension.

Thus they can be a useful tool for influencing drama

So These Are Related!

Feedback systems can govern closeness,

therefore tension.

Dynamics

Thus they can be a useful tool for influencing drama

So These Are Related!

Feedback systems can govern closeness,

therefore tension.

Dynamics

Aesthetics

Thus they can be a useful tool for influencing drama

Important Distinction

Feedback mechanics are a useful tool

for influencing drama
in a competitive environment.

NOT your racing game is bad if it doesnt have a

feedback system.

The Problem of Applicability

Not all tools are hammers.

Not all problems are nails.
We need a language for describing problems.
Solutions are not value statements.

Understanding Aesthetics

We need to get past words like fun and gameplay.

What kinds of fun are there?

How will we know a particular kind of fun when we see

it?

Eight Kinds of Fun

Sensation
Challenge
Association
Narrative
Fantasy
Expression
Discovery
Submission

game as sense pleasure

as obstacle course
as social framework
as unfolding story

as permission to pretend
as soapbox
as uncharted territory

as mindless pastime

Aesthetics

Clarifying Our Goals

An aesthetic vocabularly helps us describe the design

problems we want to solve.

We need more than a one-word description of our

goals.

Formulating an Aesthetic Model

For each aesthetic goal:
Write a formal definition
List criteria for success
List modes of failure

Serves as an aesthetic compass

These are often reusable
Some examples

Goal: Competition

Definition: A game is competitive if players are emotionally

invested in defeating each other.
Success:

Players are adversaries.

Players want to win.

Failure:

A player feels that he cant win.

A player cant measure his progress.

Goal: Drama
Definition:
A game is dramatic if its central conflict creates
dramatic tension.

Goal: Drama

Success:
A sense of uncertainty
A sense of inevitability
Tension increases towards a climax
Failure:
The conflicts outcome is obvious (no uncertainty)
No sense of forward progress (no inevitability)
Player doesnt care how the conflict resolves.

Goal: Pirate Fantasy

Definition: A pirate fantasy conforms to the genre

conventions of pirate movies, and permits the player to
engage in certain kinds of anti-social pirate behavior.

Goal: Pirate Fantasy

Success:

Empowerment
Independence
Greed
Treachery
Prey upon Weak

Failure:

Vulnerability
Compassion
Generosity

Aesthetic Models are a Vital Tool

Its hard to solve problems we cant describe.

To ourselves
To each other in a collaborative environment

Understanding Dynamics

Behavior is separate from rules.

The same behavior can emerge from many different

rules.

We can create Dynamic Models

Dynamics

Dynamic Models Help Us

Explain the behavior we observe

Predict behavior before it happens

Feedback System is One Example

Negative feedback loop

(Stabilizing force)

State

Alter

Positive feedback loop

(Snowball effect)

Measure

Decide

The Science of Probability

This is a model of 2d6:

Chance in 36

6 Die7 roll8

9 10 11 12

The Science of Psychology

The player is part of the system, too!

Psychology is the science of understanding and
predicting behavior

The Science of Psychology

Operant conditioning

Behavioral economics

Variable schedules of reward produce persistence

Cognitive load consumes the same part of the brain people
use to make sound judgements

Empathy theory

Expressions of vulnerability can encourage empathy

Understanding Mechanics

Knowledge of Mechanics is encyclopedic

Play lots of games

Understanding Mechanics

Cards

Shooters

Ammunition, Spawn Points, Health

Golf

Shuffling, Trick-Taking, Bidding

Sand Traps, Water Hazards

Basketball

Passing, 24 second shot clock

(90*60)/(112*2)

It's not so much about this

Mechanics

Dynamics

Aesthetics

This is where design happens

Game Design Workshop

River Xcape

Credit to Jeb Havens (Google)

Overview
RivrXcape simulates the plight of ten people
escaping across a raging river.

Playtest

RivrXcape(tm) - The Basic Game Rules

Ten people are caught
in a section of raging
river between two
deadly waterfalls.
They must get to safety
before they are swept
over the edge.
The goal is to get as
many as possible to the
river bank on the right.

RivrXcape(tm) Each Turn

Phase 1: Rapids (Roll 2d6)

First, check for sixes. If you roll any

sixes, push EVERY Meeple down one
space and then immediately re-roll the
sixes. Repeat this until neither die
shows a six.
Then, for each of the two dice, push
all the Meeples in that column down
one space.
Any Meeple that falls off the bottom of
the board is dead. :-(dd

Phase 2: Move Towards Safety!

You can now make up to X total moves, where X is equal to the final die roll total from Step 1.
Each move consists of moving one Meeple one space horizontally or vertically.
Each Meeple can only make a maximum of two moves in a turn.
Meeples cannot move into or through other Meeples' spaces.
A Meeple that moves onto one of the two brown river bank spaces is safe. :-)

Play until ~15:00

Try to complete three full games

Write down how many people survive each game

General Observations About RivrXcape?

Analyze

Whats fun about RivrXcape?

Can we get more specific than fun/not fun?

How did you feel when you played?

Challenge: Tactics, Problem Solving

Drama: Narrative Arc, Forward Pressure
Responsibility: Oh no! moments

Exercise Goals

Make the player care about the individual people

Each time you play, count how many survive
Tune the game so about half of them die each time

Half the people die, but the player

should just care a lot more
Modify

The GRUVI Model: Why Do We Care?

Getting players to emotionally attach

to virtual agents

Grateful
Relatable
Useful
Vulnerable
Investment (-ful)

Credit: Jeb Havens, Google/YouTube

Grateful
The player feels directly responsible for the agents happiness

Thankful Reactions

Attributes Happiness

The agents attribute any happy moment or action to the player

Humble

The agents clearly express their thanks to the player for actions taken

The agents show respect for the players ultimate authority, as they know that they could
never survive without you

Proactive

The agents go out of their way to try to show appreciation to the player, even unprompted

Relatable
The player can project his or her own mind and thoughts onto the agents

Transparent

Emotional

The agents are happy and playful at times, and sad and downtrodden at other times

Social

The agents give clear and frequent feedback, and the player can easily see current status

The agents interact socially with others of their kind

Predictable

The agents make fairly simple choices, for reasons that are clear to the player

Useful
The player derives important benefit from the agents

Powerful

Renewable

The agents will continue to work as long as they are kept alive and happy

Adaptable

The agents have especially powerful (often unique) actions, such as skilled or efficient use of
resources, or the creation of especially cool structures or events

The agents can learn, or otherwise have their behavior modified by the player to respond to new
conditions

Resilient

The agents will actively try to keep themselves alive and avoid danger (rather than simply running
down like an automaton)

Vulnerable
The player sees that the agents need him or her to survive

Mortal

Short Sighted

The agents wont make optimal decisions on their own

Hunted

The agents can die

The agents have some form of enemies they need protection from (predators, disease, monsters,
environment, etc.)

Periodically Fragile

The agents are especially fragile at certain times or in certain situations (when sick, as a baby, in
winter, at night, during a life-stage metamorphosis, etc.)

Investment (-ful)
The player can spend a lot of time and energy on the agents

Sacrifice

Future Potential

The agents take a while to be especially useful, focusing the player on the agents longer-term
future

Support Structure

The agents have a significant cost to create, nurture, and grow

The agents have recurring needs that require the player to mold the surrounding environment
(both natural and economic systems) to meet on a regular basis

Multiple Cycles

The agents operate and grow according to longer-term cycles that the player must adapt their
upkeep to (age, seasons, day/night, reproductive, etc.)

The GRUVI Model: Why We Care

Relatable
Grateful
- Thankful Reactions
- Attributes Happiness
- Humble
- Proactive

- Transparent
- Emotional
- Predictable
- Social

Useful
- Powerful
- Renewable
- Adaptable
- Resilient

Virtual Agents

Vulnerable

Investment

- Mortal
- Short Sighted
- Hunted
- Periodically Fragile

- Sacrifice
- Future Potential
- Support Structure
- Multiple Cycles

Beta Test at 5:15 pm

Make sure your rules are written down.

Beta Test

Send 4 team members to 2 other tables as beta testers

2 people stay behind to teach the rules
Test until 5:30

Discussion

Lets compare solutions.

What different approaches did we take?

5:50

Game Design Workshop

Closing

MDA in SiSSYFIGHT

Turns + hit points + actions

Competition,
Random Attacks

Scourge

Equality
Cooperation,
Team Attacks

BETRAYAL

MDA in Context

The game industry is full of both aesthetic models and

prescriptive aesthetic lenses

Marc LeBlanc

Sensation
Challenge
Fellowship
Narrative
Fantasy
Expression
Discovery
Submission

game as sense pleasure

as obstacle course
as social framework
as unfolding story

as permission to pretend
as soapbox
as uncharted territory

as mindless pastime

 or my version

Sensation
Challenge
Association
Narrative
Fantasy
Expression
Discovery
Submission

game as sense pleasure

as obstacle course
as social framework
as unfolding story

as permission to pretend
as soapbox
as uncharted territory

as mindless pastime

Nicole Lazzaro

Jason VandenBerghe

Novelty
Challenge
Stimulation
Harmony
Threat

Jamie Madigan, et al.

(Immersyve)

This is where design happens

Takeaways

Game mechanics create dynamics when set in motion

Game dynamics have emergent aesthetics
The designer can choose those aesthetics
Through iteration we refine both the aesthetics and the
clarity with which they emerge from the game

Takeaways

Aesthetic models are reusable

Dynamic models come from science
Knowledge of mechanics is encyclopedic

Thanks

Slides and materials will be posted for download

@jhameltime