DE4106: Expanded Practitioner Research - Game Designer Questionnaire: Peter Field

Peter Field is quickly becoming a veteran Game Design of the modern Industry. Having first worked at Ninja Theory on 'Enslaved' he then moved to Naughty Dog where he worked as a Level Designer on 'Uncharted 3' and 'The Last of Us'. Currently he is designing games at Media Molecule. Peter has provided a few guest lectures at UCLan and Futureworks respectively and I was pleased when he agreed to help me out by providing his own responses to my Game Designer Questionnaire. He is certainly the Game Designer who has helped to develop the most high profile AAA games that has participated so far and I believe his wealth of experience will greatly help to enhance and inform the project as it develops.


Reflective thoughts:

Peter believes that "it is difficult to know what constitutes as an exploration game as exploration is a core mechanic in a lot of traditional games..." (Field, 2014). He goes on to suggest that I should refine my terminology to suggest that Exploration games do not employ traditional skill-based challenges (Field, 2014). I believe this is a good suggestion and more clearly defines the type of traditional challenges I am referring to in my practice. Peter also reflects the thoughts of the other practitioners I have interviewed when he states that a clear narrative and  context for the actions is important when creating atmosphere. (Field, 2014).

Peter and I disagree somewhat when he states that designers should "design a game before assigning it a genre" (Field, 2014). While I understand and accept the merits of this approach, I believe that a guided genre-defining design model will help to set out either rigid or flexible constraints that will promote creativity, rather than hinder it. This belief was echoed by Arthur Parsons of TT Games when he delivered a lecture on working within established IPs. (Parsons, 2013).

Finally Peter states that while almost all games have a win-state, the most widely recognised Exploration game, Minecraft originally didn't have a win-state, and that it worked perfectly well without one. This is interesting, and I believe is something I can explore within the prototypes that are eventually designed using the guidelines of the model.

Questionnaire for Game Designers

Considering a new Design Model for the ‘Exploration’ Game Genre

Joe Shorrocks

MA Game Design

UCLan

Rationale of study: To design a completely new design model for the emerging genre of video game experience currently known as an “Exploration” game. This is a game that is centred on the emotional experiences of the player, rather than necessarily presenting the player with challenges to overcome. Recognisable titles that have been loosely included in this emerging genre are Journey, and Flower (ThatGameCompany), and The Unfinished Swan (Giant Sparrow). Other titles that explore this genre to a lesser extent are Katamari Damacy (Namco) and the upcoming title The Witness (Number None, Inc.). Journey, Flower and The Unfinished Swan have all received critical acclaim and have all sold well upon commercial release. This supports the claim that there is a demand for this type of game. However, despite their success, each game experienced unique development challenges and problems due to the nature of what they were trying to achieve. I believe that this is because the developers were constrained to traditional game design fundamentals – specifically challenge-driven designs- which are not completely appropriate for, or perhaps even compatible with, this genre. This suggests that a new design model is required, that will help future developers fulfill the potential of this genre without the difficulties experienced by the developers mentioned above.

The following questions are designed to help shape the development of this model.

Q1.  Have you played any existing titles that you would consider to be within the Exploration genre?

A1. Yes, I have played all the games mentioned above. Also Dear Esther & Minecraft might be included in this list.

Its hard to know what constitutes as an exploration game as exploration is a core mechanic in a lot of traditional games such as Metroid & Castlevania, but I think you are specifically looking at games that don’t have traditional skill based challenges. Some games like Dear Esther & the Stanley Parrable don’t have skill based challenges and are entirely narrative focused but don’t encourage exploration as they are so linear and there are no rewards for deviating from the main path.

Q2.  If yes, what were your opinions on those titles in regards to what you believe the designers were trying to achieve? Were they successful?

A2. I think designers (whether mechanics, level designers or script writers) are always trying to create a specific feeling. I think games that were particularly successful in this regard include Flower, Journey and Minecraft. Journey is probably the most traditional of these three and possibly employs the most traditional methods to create the atmosphere it wanted to. It has the clearest narrative and context for the action (super important when creating atmosphere) but it did have a very unconventional multiplayer component which definitely elevated the playing experience above that of a more traditional adventure game.

Q3.  What aspects do you believe are important when designing an Exploration title?

A3. A reason to explore is very important. Ether One rewards exploration with narrative snippets which works super well. Minecraft rewards exploration with rare recorcess which works exceptionally well.

I think the other important thing is to create believable environments that are enjoyable to explore. Side paths that loop back on themselves to reduce backtracking and frustrating dead ends, visible goals like the mountain in Journey.

Q4.  Do you believe there are any fundamental constraints when designing games within this genre?

A4. No, It is probably better to design a game before assigning it a genre. Mixing aspects from other genres can be super successful (RPG levelling in CoD 4 Modern warfare revolutionised FPS multiplayer)

Just go with your gut and do whatever feels good to you. Then prototype it, try it out and be very honest with yourself when it doesn’t work, then fix it. There isn’t really a rulebook. J

Q5.  Do you believe the Exploration genre is limited in terms of a particular demographic, or is this genre potentially universally appealing?

A5. I think exploration is used in almost every existing genre; even racing games have hidden shortcuts and secret paths. I’m not sure if it’s universally appealing but I don’t think it will alienate people.

The problem this kind of game faces is telling the player what the point of the game is. Dear Esther wants to tell a story, Flower wants to make you feel like you are flying and Minecraft wants you to explore and build stuff. Exploration is an ingredient in all of these games but it is not always the reason for playing them. Only Minecraft asks you to explore as the main reason for playing the game.

Q6.  How important do you believe traditional fundamentals such as providing challenges to the player are for an experience of this nature? Are there any alternative approaches, or goals that you could present to the player instead?

A6. Providing a challenge is definitely a sure fire way of keeping a player engaged but I think this is partially to do with that path being so well trodden. We have been making games in that way for a long time and there are a lot of strong examples to copy and learn from. But I don’t think it is the only way, in fact I don’t think there are rules when designing a game.

Nearly all games in the list above have a win state, even things like The Stanley Parrable and Dear Esther have a win state even if it is walk through this door. Minecraft doesn’t have a win state (well it does now but it worked perfectly well before that was added J) and I think it is also the purest example of exploration in a game which is probably no coincidence. 

DE4106: Expanded Practitioner Research - Game Designer Questionnaire: Stephen Morris

Stephen is an innovative Game Designer who likes to think outside the box when designing games, especially when it comes to using new and interesting input/control methods and making games truly social experiences. Stephen is the Technical Director at Greenfly Studios and is always incredibly busy, so I am especially grateful to him for taking the time to fill in my Game Designer questionnaire below.

Reflective thoughts:

Within his own research and practice, Stephen has played a number of titles which he believes fits within the Exploration genre. Games such as Minecraft and Proteus keep being mentioned by various practitioners, however Stephen has suggested I play Timeframe as it takes an interesting approach to designing within this genre. Stephen explains that it encourages players explore by playing through the game multiple times, rather than being able to explore everything during a single play-through. This is an interesting approach, as it encompasses a game loop in a much larger context. It would also (perhaps) make the game more appealing from a marketing standpoint (ie. "Over 60 hours of gameplay!"). It is a title I will definitely aim to obtain and experience for myself.

Stephen's response to my question on targeted player demographics is an interesting one, as he uses existing examples titles and provides his own thoughts as to who finds them appealing. Some exploration games are purposefully targeted towards more mature audiences. Could this be because of the themes that are explored through the narrative, or because the designers believe that younger audiences would find it harder to engage with games that do not include traditional challenge-driven, and therefore far more guided, experiences?

Questionnaire for Game Designers

Considering a new Design Model for the ‘Exploration’ Game Genre

Joe Shorrocks

MA Game Design

UCLan

Rationale of study: To design a completely new design model for the emerging genre of video game experience currently known as an “Exploration” game. This is a game that is centred on the emotional experiences of the player, rather than necessarily presenting the player with challenges to overcome. Recognisable titles that have been loosely included in this emerging genre are Journey, and Flower (ThatGameCompany), and The Unfinished Swan (Giant Sparrow). Other titles that explore this genre to a lesser extent are Katamari Damacy (Namco) and the upcoming title The Witness (Number None, Inc.). Journey, Flower and The Unfinished Swan have all received critical acclaim and have all sold well upon commercial release. This supports the claim that there is a demand for this type of game. However, despite their success, each game experienced unique development challenges and problems due to the nature of what they were trying to achieve. I believe that this is because the developers were constrained to traditional game design fundamentals – specifically challenge-driven designs- which are not completely appropriate for, or perhaps even compatible with, this genre. This suggests that a new design model is required, that will help future developers fulfill the potential of this genre without the difficulties experienced by the developers mentioned above.

The following questions are designed to help shape the development of this model.

Q1.  Have you played any existing titles that you would consider to be within the Exploration genre?

A1.

Outside the above games cited, I’ve played the following titles, each exhibiting differing viewpoints on the Exploration genre

·         Minecraft (Mojang)

·         Proteus (Ed Key)

·         Passage (Jason Rohrer)

·         Timeframe (Random Seed)

·         Gone Home (The Fullbright Company)

Q2.  If yes, what were your opinions on those titles in regards to what you believe the designers were trying to achieve? Were they successful?

A2.

Minecraft:
Markus’ game is the purest form of player expression and exploration – each playthrough is a unique experience and the player-led narrative is cherished and shared.

Timeframe:
This game is poetic in its depiction of the final moments on Earth. After realising the end, repeated playthroughs take on an extra poignancy and the landmarks encourage players to explore the world in the available time to see a different viewpoint.

Q3.  What aspects do you believe are important when designing an Exploration title?

A3.

Underlying Narrative:
Whether it be player-led and designer-led, exploration games need a narrative

Interesting Landmarks:
A subsect of the above, both player- and designer-led narrative need locations that engage and encourage the player to explore the environment.

Q4.  Do you believe there are any fundamental constraints when designing games within this genre?

A4. No response provided.

Q5.  Do you believe the Exploration genre is limited in terms of a particular demographic, or is this genre potentially universally appealing?

A5.

With the success of Minecraft, it is clear that there can be a universal appeal for exploration games but the genre is highly dependent on the viral/word-of-mouth aspect for a universal market. The construction mechanic within Minecraft allows for the players to drive the narrative and the availability of social media expanded its audience.

With titles such as Unfinished Swan, Dear Esther and Gone Home, they are games that seek, and deserve, a mature audience. Although this limits their audience, it is clear that this market is still lucrative (Esther achieving profits after 5 and half hours).

Q6.  How important do you believe traditional fundamentals such as providing challenges to the player are for an experience of this nature? Are there any alternative approaches, or goals that you could present to the player instead?

A6. 

Complex stories could be told by tying multiples clues together over the course of multiple playthroughs. This would encourage, and emphasise, exploration as a key mechanic.

DE4106: Expanded Practitioner Research - Game Designer Questionnaire: Benjamin Hill

Ben Hill is a Game Designer and co-founder of White Paper Games. He has most recently released Ether One, which is a puzzle adventure game that contains narrative elements that I believe would be appropriate inclusions within an Exploration Game. Ben was kind enough to provide his responses to my Project Questionnaire, which you can find at the end of this post.

Reflective thoughts:

Ben has played several games that he would consider to fit within the Exploration genre. Ben believes that the designers of these games attempted to "engage players with emotional and engaging mechanical blocks where players search for the purpose of discovering new information to expand the world that they are in." (Hill, 2014). Ben goes onto explain the various ways in which these titles have attempted to approach this, either through underpinning the player's actions through narrative, or opening up more of the game-world as a reward for the player choosing to explore. I believe that player choice is perhaps one of the most fundamental aspects within the Exploration genre. The player has to choose and want to explore, rather than be forced into it through design. It should be the player engaging with their own instinctive desire to explore, learn and gain emotional gratification through reward for choosing to engage with the game in this way.

Ben believes that there is still scope for introducing challenges to Exploration games but stresses that it is important that we as designers:

"...understand the impetus of the player, what they are going to be trying to achieve. This always results in a challenge even if that challenge is incredibly easy. If we understand this we can they tailor it to a particular experience within a particular genre...Goals in an exploration game can be vague as long as the player understands their purpose within the game world." (Hill, 2014)

I believe Ben's knowledge and experience will continue to help me develop my design model. As I work closely with Ben already, he has expressed an interest to help me test out the practicalities of the design model (once it is completed) by designing game prototypes that attempt to utilise the principles of the model, thereby testing both its validity and accuracy. This, along with my plans to utilise game-jams as an unbiased 'test-bed' should provide a conclusive set of results.

Questionnaire for Game Designers

Considering a new Design Model for the ‘Exploration’ Game Genre

Joe Shorrocks

MA Game Design

UCLan

Rationale of study: To design a completely new design model for the emerging genre of video game experience currently known as an “Exploration” game. This is a game that is centred on the emotional experiences of the player, rather than necessarily presenting the player with challenges to overcome. Recognisable titles that have been loosely included in this emerging genre are Journey, and Flower (ThatGameCompany), and The Unfinished Swan (Giant Sparrow). Other titles that explore this genre to a lesser extent are Katamari Damacy (Namco) and the upcoming title The Witness (Number None, Inc.). Journey, Flower and The Unfinished Swan have all received critical acclaim and have all sold well upon commercial release. This supports the claim that there is a demand for this type of game. However, despite their success, each game experienced unique development challenges and problems due to the nature of what they were trying to achieve. I believe that this is because the developers were constrained to traditional game design fundamentals – specifically challenge-driven designs- which are not completely appropriate for, or perhaps even compatible with, this genre. This suggests that a new design model is required, that will help future developers fulfill the potential of this genre without the difficulties experienced by the developers mentioned above.

The following questions are designed to help shape the development of this model.

Q1.  Have you played any existing titles that you would consider to be within the Exploration genre?

A1.

Yes. I’ve played numerous titles that lean heavily on exploration as an impetus for game progression. Recent titles that come to mind are titles such as Dear Esther, Proteus, Journey and Flower whereas more classic titles such as Zork, Adventure and Myst could also be categorised as using exploration in such a way.

Q2.  If yes, what were your opinions on those titles in regards to what you believe the designers were trying to achieve? Were they successful?

A2.

I think in all of these titles the designers were aiming to engage players with emotional and engaging mechanical blocks where players search for the purpose of discovering new information to expand the world that they are in. In the case of classic games like Zork, Myst and Adventure this is keenly angled towards further engagement with a designed narrative that underpins the world that the player is in. This is done with the goal that the player engages with said world as themselves or as a decided persona that they choose to take on. In the design of Myst for example this was a core design philosophy throughout development with the designers emphasising that you, the player, are discovering and interacting with this world for the first time.

The ideology that the world should be set up in a non-arbitrary way was paramount to player engagement and immersion. The same could be said for the other titles but in a lesser manner. I feel these games were successful in some outputs such as progression via exploration but in general, due to technical limitations and interactions barriers, interactions felt illogical or stunted by certain game tropes such as difficult puzzles for the sake of gating the player. If exploration is the goal, these interactions and gating methods need to feel natural to the player.

More modern titles use some of these ideas but often aim to express and deliver narrative development through the process of exploration with an agenda. Dear Esther for example has minimalist design to allow for players to process vague narrative segments whilst building emotional and interpretable blocks of information that help them engage with the media. In order to do this most of what we would describe as common game functionality was stripped out. Less interaction skills and more thinking skills was the goal, however this separated the player from the world and did not allow them to engage in a natural way.

Journey uses some of these ideologies but refines player interaction to maximise emotional social output. Simplify the objective, goal and interaction of the game and allow other emotional and social factors to form the basis of the experience whilst still giving the player natural and familiar control. This works incredibly well even if some stereotypical archetypes of games make their way into the title.

Q3.  What aspects do you believe are important when designing an Exploration title?

A3.

I think human mapping in interaction is paramount to the way players engage with an environment yet this on its own is not enough to promote well structured exploration titles. In order for these interactions to engage players emotionally (when I say emotionally I mean on many different levels) the underpinning context of the environment, the process of discovery in the environment and the information discovered within the environment all need to be designed as a clear contextual system. Due to the nature of the majority of these titles (Proteus as an exception) the design of the narrative, not just in plot or in character but in context, underpins the success of such areas. In a game such as Proteus this narrative contextual system could be swapped out for a musical contextual system.

Q4.  Do you believe there are any fundamental constraints when designing games within this genre?

A4.

I think current team structure as well as individual team roles are a major constraint on the design of these types of games. A team may comprise of multiple designers on one side of the fence and multiple writers and narrative designers on the other. Firm design integration between these two disciplines needs to work seamlessly if a clear narrative (or other discipline) context is to be reached. Personally I feel it is about a new job set that is clear on design functionality as well as narrative context. These should not be separate and instead should be an integrated whole that is iterated as the game develops.

I also think traditional obstacles and challenges clash with these context driven goals but more importantly the design of player rewards need to be re-thought. Player rewards typically belong in progression; skill set development and visual achievement but in exploration games the reward for a player maybe very different. Story development, contextual connections and emotional engagement can all be rewards, especially if the game has ultimate freedom over the player’s ability to traverse the environment at will.

Q5.  Do you believe the Exploration genre is limited in terms of a particular demographic, or is this genre potentially universally appealing?

A5.

I don’t particularly think the exploration genre is limited to a particular demographic. Many other factors can be changed to a core game play structure such as non-gameplay genres that be targeted at different audiences. Other aspects such as pacing and tempo can be amended to created different, more demanding exploration experiences that still build on the same ideas discussed. In literature or film it is quite possible that an individual loves science-fiction and real-life drama. The same applies to games – game play output is a vessel for engagement and achievement that aims to create a flow. These systems can be applied to a variety of non-game genres to create unique and well thought through experiences as long as the context integrates into the game play system seamlessly.

Q6.  How important do you believe traditional fundamentals such as providing challenges to the player are for an experience of this nature? Are there any alternative approaches, or goals that you could present to the player instead?

A6.

I think there are still key traditional fundamentals that are important to the development of games in this genre. The question is how we apply them and again, in what context. Challenges can be applied to a variety of different vessels that engage with the game system, these could within the digital game structure or they could be personal to the player. It is important that when designing an exploration game that we, as designers, understand the impetus of the player, what they are going to be trying to achieve. This always results in a challenge even if that challenge is incredibly easy. If we understand this we can they tailor it to a particular experience within a particular genre.

Goals in an exploration game can be vague as long as the player understands their purpose within the game world. Games like Myst struggle with this as the player has no purpose… they just exist in the world and explore.

An example of simplified purpose: You play as a botanist who has been tasked at taking on a run-down tropical garden house. The game starts when you first enter the garden house and the player already knows who they are and what their goal is. All that is left is to explore and interact – task and level is designed in a particular manner to help promote certain interactions that allow players to gather and discover information that help them explore further, rebuilding the gardens as they go. Context is used to help build a picture of what this place used to be, why is it run down, who really employed you, how do you take care of certain plants that even as a botanist you are unsure about?

The end goal becomes clear but the journey on how to achieve that is interpretable to the player and is theirs to discover through exploration and context. This is a simple example and is by no means perfect, but it does highlight player trust whilst allowing players to explore freely without traditional game challenges, objectives and goals. 

DE4106: Expanded Practitioner Research - Game Designer Questionnaire: Andrew Jones

Andrew Jones is an experienced Game Designer who currently works for Lucid Games. I'm very grateful that he took the time to fill in the questionnaire I provided him, and I believe his wealth of experience will help direct and define my practice within this project and beyond.

Reflective thoughts:

Andy does not have as much experience in playing Exploration games as the other designers I interviewed. However, I do not see this as a negative thing as it allows me to gain the perspective of how a Game Designer recognises and understands this emergent genre compared to existing genres.

Andy believes that in order to successfully entice the playing into exploring the game-world you have to make it overwhelming appealing (within the context of the narrative). Large open-world games seem to fit the bill here, with Skyrim being the obvious example of a game that achieves this with a good deal of success. Andy also believes that in order to trigger this desire for exploration you must invest the player emotionally into the game-world. Creating a compelling narrative that makes the player want to impact the outcome seems crucial here- or giving the player the freedom to create their own narrative would work just as well, if not more so, as they would immediately feel ownership of it. Replay-ability (or continued play) would also be enhanced here, as the player would be less likely to abandon a game they feel strongly invested in (examples: Eve Online, World of Warcraft, Football Manager).

Other notable comments made include providing just enough feedback to the player so that the player does not feel constrained (and therefore dis-empowered) have been covered in my Research Report.

Andy suggests that Exploration games can include design-driven challenges and still be successful. However, he suggests any designed challenges should be carefully entwined within the existing gameplay to tap into the player's need to overcome challenges within the goals they are presented with (or set themselves). He he stresses that these challenges must not become the player's focus; this should always be on continuing to explore the game-world and continue the narrative.

Questionnaire for Game Designers

Considering a new Design Model for the ‘Exploration’ Game Genre

Joe Shorrocks

MA Game Design

UCLan

Rationale of study: To design a completely new design model for the emerging genre of video game experience currently known as an “Exploration” game. This is a game that is centred on the emotional experiences of the player, rather than necessarily presenting the player with challenges to overcome. Recognisable titles that have been loosely included in this emerging genre are Journey, and Flower (ThatGameCompany), and The Unfinished Swan (Giant Sparrow). Other titles that explore this genre to a lesser extent are Katamari Damacy (Namco) and the upcoming title The Witness (Number None, Inc.). Journey, Flower and The Unfinished Swan have all received critical acclaim and have all sold well upon commercial release. This supports the claim that there is a demand for this type of game. However, despite their success, each game experienced unique development challenges and problems due to the nature of what they were trying to achieve. I believe that this is because the developers were constrained to traditional game design fundamentals – specifically challenge-driven designs- which are not completely appropriate for, or perhaps even compatible with, this genre. This suggests that a new design model is required, that will help future developers fulfill the potential of this genre without the difficulties experienced by the developers mentioned above.

The following questions are designed to help shape the development of this model.

Q1.  Have you played any existing titles that you would consider to be within the Exploration genre?

A1. I wouldn’t say I have played any games which are considered to be within the Exploration genre. I have always wanted to try and experience games such as Flower or Journey but never found time to play these types of games due to other commitments.

Q2.  If yes, what were your opinions on those titles in regards to what you believe the designers were trying to achieve? Were they successful?

A2. N/A

Q3.  What aspects do you believe are important when designing an Exploration title?

A3.  With these types of titles, you need to try and immerse the player into the game world, these types of games thrive on wonder and exploration. These games need to try and tap into the player’s own emotions while they progress through the game via story or gameplay and must try and connect with the player’s sense of curiosity for exploration.  The player should always be able to reach out and explore the gaming world with little or no constraints thus not breaking the illusion of the world.

Feedback to the players will be important with these types of games, you don’t want feedback to spoil the experience of the player, for this, the game world in itself can be used in such a way to help guide the player through the game, through the use of clever level design to offer the player just enough feedback and guidance for them to progress.

Game controls will be another vital aspect of an exploration game, as having a bad control mechanic can have a detrimental effect on the game. In order for the player to experience the game, the controls need to be almost perfect for the type of gameplay, almost feeling natural to the player, the controls need a sense of fluidity, giving the player the sense of freedom to explore.

Q4.  Do you believe there are any fundamental constraints when designing games within this genre?

A4. With exploration games, you need to try and reply upon the player’s curiosity and wonder to progress through the game, they need to connect to the player’s emotions without the need for challenges, motivating them to continue. Too little challenges set within an exploration game however can lead to some players losing interest due to the lack of a challenges presented to them, and oversaturating an exploration game with too many challenges can have a detrimental effect of disconnecting with the player’s emotional state thus breaking the illusion of the gaming world.

Q5.  Do you believe the Exploration genre is limited in terms of a particular demographic, or is this genre potentially universally appealing?

A5. I don’t believe the exploration genre is limited in terms of a particular demographics, I believe the demographics would be determined by the underlying theme of a game. These game themes will most likely appeal to various different demographics. The exploration genre can be used alongside most, if not all types of game themes if designed and used in the correct way.

Q6.  How important do you believe traditional fundamentals such as providing challenges to the player are for an experience of this nature? Are there any alternative approaches, or goals that you could present to the player instead?

A6. Most games from past to present have been developed around the fundamental philosophy of challenge. It is wired into the Human mind to try and improve ourselves in one way or another. Games help us practice and hone our skills, from athletic ability to reaction times.

Most games set a challenge for the player to try and overcome thus completing the challenge, improves the players particular skill.  For exploration games, the challenges need to be presented in such a way, that the player doesn’t feel overwhelmed, the challenges need to feel hidden within the game structure. 

DE4106: How to present a design model

Over the past few weeks, as I have begun to put my research into practice, I have realised that one of the major challenges I will face is how to present the design model so that it is easy for other game designers to follow. The model has to be functional yet concise. There is undoubtedly a lot of information I need to convey to whoever is using the model, and coming from a visual design background I'm convinced that the model itself needs to be graphical in nature. Some possible methods I could utilise to present the model are as follows:

• Flow Chart
• Mind map
• Presentation (Powerpoint slides)
• Article / User-guide

Each has their own merits, and perhaps I will have narrow down my choice based off some personal critical analysis:

Flow chart / Mind Map

Pros

• Good for displaying information in a logical order.

• Good for displaying complex processes.

Cons

• Can become difficult to read and follow if it contains a lot of information / processes that are interdependent on each other.

• Can take up a lot of space on a canvas / display.

• Each process / input / output can only contain a few words - difficult to display a lot of detailed information for each 'node' within the chart.

• No facility for accompanying image for each stage / section / node of the chart. 

• More room for viewer misinterpretation.

 'The Shooter Simulator' Flow Chart (Magnus, 2012)

 Game Design Mind Map (Kumar, 2013)

Presentation (Powerpoint slides)

Pros

• A good way of displaying a lot of information both text based and graphically.

• Ability to spread out concepts over multiple slides so that they are easier for the viewer to 'digest'.

• Scope for additional narration.

• Can contain other media such as audio and video.

• Less room for viewer misinterpretation.

Cons

• No single image / diagram for designers to follow.

• Comment: I am uncertain whether this is really a negative point considering the amount of information I need to convey. However in terms of a providing a overview of the model, this is a shortcoming of the presentation format that I need to consider.

• Slides that are too text-heavy can be difficult for the viewer to digest- especially if narration is present at the same time. Text-heavy slides also do not leave a great deal of space for supporting images.

• On the other hand, slides that are text-sparse require additional narration to convey the detail of the concept(s). Images can help here but do not greatly alleviate the issue.

• Unlike a single image or diagram, presentations require additional software in order to be displayed.

Professional Presentation (Inspector Insight, 2010)

Article / Book / User Guide

Pros

• Can contain a lot of information that is easily categorised / chaptered.
• Can contain a good deal of text and images for illustration purposes.
• Can be obtained, read and followed in-depth and in sequence.

Cons

• No single image / diagram for designers to follow.

• Cannot contain additional media such as audio and video

• Generally takes longer to read through in its entirety

• Comment: Some designers will want a reference model that they can review very quickly whilst they are in the process of designing. A model presented as an article, book or user guide will mean the designer has to actively break away from their practice in order to study it.

 Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design (Rogers, 2010)

DE4106: Game Design Models: Constraints, Game Loops and Basic Process Structure

Game Design Models:Constraints, Game Loops and Basic Structure

Rationale

It is obvious that in order to define my game design model, I will have to place certain constraints that restrict what developers can and not do throughout the entire design process. These constraints will act as boundaries that will help to ensure the principles I set out (and are informed by my research) are followed by the game designer, and prevent them from adding in anything that may diverge from the parameters that help to define an Exploration genre game. In other words, the constraints help to define the ‘rule set’ of the model.

What factors / parameters could have constraints applied within the model?

When designing any game, there are certain factors that must be taken into account. These factors (or parameters) can vary across various genres and even across different media. However, in order to keep my project as concise as possible from the start I will attempt to list those factors that I think are essential for any game. The list will be numbered, so that it is easier to refer to (Schell, 2008):

1. Plot / Theme / Narrative / End-Goal* (Applicable for non-narrative based puzzle games)
2. Setting / Environment
3. Characters
4. Props (static / dynamic)
5. Player Objectives / Goals
6. Game mode(s)
7. Win / Lose Conditions
8. Game play loop
9. Game play mechanics
10. Player Perspective (1^st person / 3^rd person / interchangeable?)
11. Controls              

A note on game loops

Game loops are a sequence of tasks/ events that direct the gameplay within a game. They both dictate and are effected by the gameplay mechanics within a game. The player experiences gameplay loops at all times whilst experiencing the game. There are different types of loops depending on the game type. For example, an interesting article by Michail Katkoff on Gamasutra explores gameplay loops in mid-core game and how they are used to enhance the gameplay experience. Within this article, Katkoff explore the ‘dual loop’ (Fig 1.) and how the meta-game plays a significant yet subtle contribution to the overall gameplay experience (Kotkoff, 2013). Other articles, such as on Valve’s Developer Community web site discuss game loops in level design, where a player is directed back to a location they have visited before. While maintaining the player’s interest or at best, the illusion of free-will where they player believes they have chosen to retrace their steps.  Overall, gameplay loops are used to make levels (or entire games) seem far more in-depth and broader than they actually are. (Valve, 2011)

Game design model- basic process structure

Below is my first attempt at laying out a basic flow chart that represents the basic processes of a video game. I have designed the flow chart to be non-genre specific.

References Katkoff, M., 2013. Gamasutra: Michail Katkoff's Blog - Mid-Core Success Part 1: Core Loops. [Online] Available at: http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/MichailKatkoff/20131024/203142/MidCore_Success_Part_1_Core_Loops.php [Accessed 2nd April 2014]. Schell, J., 2008. The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses. New York: CRC Press. Valve Corporation, 2011. Loops (Level Design) Valve Developer Community. [Online] Available at: https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Loops_(level_design) [Accessed 10th March 2014].