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.