IAT210W03
IAT 210 – Week 3
Summer 2014
What’s in a Game?
From Sid Meier
A game is a series of interesting and meaningful choices in pursuit of
a clear and compelling goal.
From Bernard Suits
A game is the voluntary effort to overcome unnecessary
obstacles.
From Chris Crawford
A game is comprised of representation, interaction,
conflict and safety.
From Clark C. Abt
A game is an activity among two or
more decision makers seeking to achieve their objectives in some limiting context.
From Greg Costikyan
A game is a form of art in which
players make decisions in order to manage resources in the pursuit of a goal.
From Brian Sutton-Smith
A game is the exercise of voluntary control systems in which there is a contest of power, confined by
rules, to produce a disequilibrial outcome. From David Parlett
A formal game has a two-fold structure
based on ends (a winning condition) and means (rules by which you may win).
Games and Mechanics
If a game is made up of those two key elements, then mechanics are designed to make such constraints:
•
•
•
•
concrete interesting repeatable fun! Mechanics and Goals
Determines the methods
Assigns the difficulty level
Incorporates the game’s flavor
May be logical or illogical as required
Basic Mechanics
Objects
Attributes
Actions
Objects
These refer to the characters, props, tokens or other physical components of a game.
May be thought of as the nouns of mechanical analysis
Can be simple or complex, concrete or abstract Will have one or more attributes
The Game of Risk
The Game of Risk
The Game of Risk
The Game of Risk
Attributes
These are categories of information about each object and the current state of that information
May be thought of as the adjectives of mechanical analysis Can be static or dynamic
The degree of transparency has a huge impact on gameplay The design needs to focus on how and when states change. Attributes
Example: in World of Warcraft,
Summer 2014
What’s in a Game?
From Sid Meier
A game is a series of interesting and meaningful choices in pursuit of
a clear and compelling goal.
From Bernard Suits
A game is the voluntary effort to overcome unnecessary
obstacles.
From Chris Crawford
A game is comprised of representation, interaction,
conflict and safety.
From Clark C. Abt
A game is an activity among two or
more decision makers seeking to achieve their objectives in some limiting context.
From Greg Costikyan
A game is a form of art in which
players make decisions in order to manage resources in the pursuit of a goal.
From Brian Sutton-Smith
A game is the exercise of voluntary control systems in which there is a contest of power, confined by
rules, to produce a disequilibrial outcome. From David Parlett
A formal game has a two-fold structure
based on ends (a winning condition) and means (rules by which you may win).
Games and Mechanics
If a game is made up of those two key elements, then mechanics are designed to make such constraints:
•
•
•
•
concrete interesting repeatable fun! Mechanics and Goals
Determines the methods
Assigns the difficulty level
Incorporates the game’s flavor
May be logical or illogical as required
Basic Mechanics
Objects
Attributes
Actions
Objects
These refer to the characters, props, tokens or other physical components of a game.
May be thought of as the nouns of mechanical analysis
Can be simple or complex, concrete or abstract Will have one or more attributes
The Game of Risk
The Game of Risk
The Game of Risk
The Game of Risk
Attributes
These are categories of information about each object and the current state of that information
May be thought of as the adjectives of mechanical analysis Can be static or dynamic
The degree of transparency has a huge impact on gameplay The design needs to focus on how and when states change. Attributes
Example: in World of Warcraft,