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Reminder: Game Design Analysis Reminder: Game Design Analysis

Reminder: Game Design Analysis - PowerPoint Presentation

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Reminder: Game Design Analysis - PPT Presentation

Deadline written document November 18 th in class PRINTED next Monday Deadline PowerPoint presentation November 18 th until 6AM EST time has to be emailed to instructor ID: 412775

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Slide1

Reminder: Game Design Analysis

Deadline

written document:

November 18

th

in class

,

PRINTED! (

next Monday

)

Deadline PowerPoint presentation:

November

18

th

until 6AM

(EST time) has to be e-mailed to

instructor (

next Monday

)Slide2

Create Your Game Project

Due date: Monday December 2

nd

Will be open: invite friends!

The project is to be presented at

at

4:00PM

on December

2

nd

; invite your friends!Slide3

Games as Narrative Play

(Ch. 26)

Prof. Hector Munoz-AvilaSlide4

Introduction

Typical examples of narratives in games

Interesting story (no pun intended) From

Complex.com

Excellent games with different approaches to storylines:

Linear:

half life

Branching while linear, multiple endings:

Blade runner

Nonlinear, one ending:

Elder Scrolls

Nonlinear, multiple endings: ?

Games

 Culture: Games’ stories made into movies

Silent Hill

Doom

Resident EvilSlide5

Linear Storyline

Story arc is a sequence of pre-defined events

Example

in Half life:

Gordon travels deep in the Mesa facility

Gordon gets acquainted with surroundings

Gordon performs an experiment that goes wrong

…Slide6

Branching-while Linear Storyline

Branching because player makes choices that change storyline

Linear because player is basically

following the same story arc (with slight changes depending on choices made)

Example in Blade Runner:

Ray McCoy is a new member in the Blade Runner office

Ray McCoy choose between helping or pursuing

Dektora

RayMcCoy

escapes with

Dektora

There are 13 possible endings and the game can be longer or shorter depending on the player’s choices

Different

cutscenes

are shown depending on path:

one

and

twoSlide7

Nonlinear, one ending

Story arc is formed by events following a variety of game choices

Nonlinear because

story arc changes based on player’s choices.

As a result subplots

are interleaved

e.g., going

back and forth between completing the mage’s and

thieve’s

guilds storylines

But in the end, player converges to the

same pointSlide8

Key Questions

Viewing games as a narrative space

Where do narratives in a game reside?

How to design games as narrative experiences?

What kinds of narratives experiences does digital games allow?

think of restrictive medium: cell phone game vs. latest PC

Role (if any) of narrative in designing meaningful playSlide9

Controversy about Narratives as Games

Two camps:

Narratives is just a backstory to the game mechanics

Story is told in an opening cinematic that players’ basically forget

Don’t really add utility to game design

Example

(Titan Quest)

Games are narrative mediums (“interactive narratives”)

It is just that some stories are bad

As demonstrated by epic storylines

Example

(Mass Effect series)

Your opinion?Slide10

Common Trends

(by

Jesper

Juul

)

We use narratives for everything

So

of course, games and narratives are related

(Certainly holds when I am preparing lectures)

Most games feature narrative introductions and backstories

Games do share some traits with narratives

We will expand on thisSlide11

Elements to Understand Narratives

(J. Hills Miller)

Situation:

Initial state

Changing state (the linking of which form the “plot”)

Character(s):

The usual person elements

But can be personification:

Earth

(the 2007 movie)

Form:

Patterns of events

Repetition (e.g., conceptual theme)Slide12

Earth

(The 2007 Movie)

Situation:

Newly born animals

Fight for survival story

Characters:

The 3 families

Earth

Form:

ConservationSlide13

Chess

Situation:

Opening moves

Middle of the game

The End Game

Characters:

Pieces and what they represent

Form:

Stylized representation of war as defined by the operational rules:

Chessboard

Turn basedSlide14

Starcraft

(

Campaing

)

Situation:

Human’s colonies under attack by aliens

Final defeat of the “The

Overmind

Characters:

Raynor

,

Tychus

,

Mengsk

, Kerrigan

Form:

Real-time strategy

Difference between the factions in strategies and gameplay

Video

scenes telling the storySlide15

Structures of Narrative Play

Embedded: Experience narrative as a defined story told interactively

Emergent: narrative arises while playingSlide16

Embedded Narrative

Predefined: already crafted before player plays the game

Classical examples:

Storyline in Half-life

Storyline in

Starcraft

Storyline in Blade Runner

Frequently

cutscenes

are used to tell the story arc

Frequently linear storyline or branching-while-linearSlide17

Emergent Narrative

Emerges from a set of rules

But it is not “pre-scripted”

Unlike branching–while-linear, player’s choices may lead to unexpected (or at least non-tried-before) storylines

Player interactions are context-dependent

Story arcs change dynamically

In most games emergent narratives occur at the micro-level

E.g., how I choose to complete a mission(*) in an

RTS

game, might be very different of

how

someone

else’s completes it

Easy to see that this is the case: imagine the same observer narrating what is happening.

The two accounts will be

differentSlide18

Combining Embedded and Emergent Narratives

Most games combine embedded and emergent narratives

Embedded narratives are used at the macro-level

In most games emergent narratives occur at the micro-level

E.g., how I choose to complete a mission(*) in an

RTS

game, might be very different of

how

someone

else’s completes it

Easy to see that this is the case: imagine the same observer narrating what is happening.

The two accounts will be

differentSlide19

Narrative Goals

The goal of the game serves two purposes:

Judge progress (meaningful play)

Understanding the narrative context

Examples of final goals in games?

In linear storylines, the point to achieve the goal is pre-determined (e.g., after completed the

storyarc

in a linear narrative)

In other games that point is subject to the player’s choices

Earth 2140Slide20

Narrative Subgoals

The story arc is frequently stated as a sequence of goals for the player to achieve

Creates a narrative coherence

The book mentions The Sims example:

Getting ready for a date

Getting a date

Sharing activities

Well combined story and gameplay enhances meaningful playSlide21

Elements We Studied can Enhance Narratives

Complexity and Emergence in Games

Information theory in Games

Games as Information Systems

Games as Cybernetic Systems

Games as Game Theory Systems

Games as Systems of ConflictSlide22

Research Topic: Automated Generation of Narratives

Recall guest lecture about AI and specifically about planning:

Planning: generate a sequence of steps to achieve some goal

The basic premise is to define a narrative goal and thus the sequence of steps become the narrative arc

Planning techniques guarantees that a consistent story is generated

Including work by our invited speaker, R. Michael Young, early this semesterSlide23

Generating Diverse Stories

(Alexandra

Coman

)

NPC:

Minotaur

Goal:

Exit Labyrinth

ND Actions:

walk cautiously

pre: not

fallen

AND not

thread broken

eff

:

free

OR

fallen

OR

none OR

thread found

follow thread

re

:

thread found

and not

thread broken

eff

:

free

OR

fallen

pull thread

pre:

thread found

eff

:

thread broken

OR

fallen

fly

pre: not fallen eff: free OR fallenrise pre: fallen eff: not fallen walk without fear pre: not fallen AND thread broken eff: free OR none

ND Actions:walk cautiously pre: not fallen AND not thread broken eff: free OR fallen OR none OR thread foundfollow thread pre: thread found and not thread broken eff: free OR fallenpull thread pre: thread found eff: thread broken OR fallenfly pre: not fallen eff: free OR fallenrise pre: fallen eff: not fallen walk without fear pre: not fallen AND thread broken eff: free OR none

ND Actions (II):pull thread pre: thread found eff: thread broken OR fallenfly pre: not fallen eff: free OR fallenrise pre: fallen eff: not fallen walk without fear pre: not fallen AND thread broken eff: free OR none

ND Actions (I):walk cautiously pre: not fallen AND not thread broken eff: free OR fallen OR none OR thread foundfollow thread pre: thread found and not thread broken eff: free OR fallenSlide24