Grind Quest: Information Structures

Information, it is crucial to the creation and playing of games. With it players form their plans and strategies and make their decisions. How this information is given to the player as well as how much of it is given greatly effects how a player acts within game. There are four main types of information structures: open, hidden, mixed, and dynamic; each giving a different feel to games. Traditionally, when one thinks of board games one thinks of chess or checkers. These games are a great example of open information structures as all the information is laid bare for the players, there is nothing hidden to anyone. While games such as, guess who and charades, which consistently keep information from the players can be though of as using hidden information structures as these type of games require the players to guess, deceive, and/or bluff their way through the game. Though most games, especially video games, use some sort of mixture of open and hidden information structures, giving the players some information (such as info on their own resources) while consistently keeping the rest hidden (such as info on their opponent's resources). Dynamic information structures on the other hand change throughout the game, revealing information one moment then hiding it the next. A good example of this is the Age of Empires game where a player can reveal portions of the map by moving units to that location but when those units leave the area is shrouded in darkness once again.

Far Cry 3 is a first person shooter that allows you to explore and traverse a sweeping landscape as you battle the bandits and hunt exotic game. This uses a mixed information structure as it reveals all the information required for the player to finish the game but keeps some information hidden from them such as secret stash locations.

Minecraft is an adventure/building game where you explore the world and gather resources to construct whatever you can imagine. Minecraft uses a open information system as all the information that player needs to play the game is made known to them. This includes the information the player gets form wikis as it would be a mess to put all the information regarding materials and crafts into the game, especially because of the widespread use of mods which can add new materials and crafts to the game. So having a common place that can clearly display any information the player could want and still be easily updated is perfectly justifiable. The specific locations of materials within the game world does not count as hidden information because making something hidden is intentional and the locations is the materials is intentional since they are randomly generated at the creation of the world. It would be like rolling a D20 and it landing on 20 and you saying that you meant to do that.

Uncharted is and action/ adventure game where you take control of the treasure hunter Nathan Drake on his hunt for the the lost city of gold. The game uses a mixed information structure as the information that the player makes use of changes throughout the game as they have a shootout with enemies, then climb an ancient statue, then solve a mysterious puzzle.

Madden NFL 13 is a sports game where you take control of a football team as they face off against another team, either computer controlled or player controlled. This game uses a open information structure as all the information of what is happening in the game is given to the player. This is much like chess in that, despite not know opponent strategies or future moves, both players are fully aware of the positions and movements of their opponent's pieces as well as their own.

Lemmings is a 2D puzzle game where the player must use the skills of their lemmings to create a safe path that leads the lemmings to the end of the level. This game uses an open information structure as there is nothing hidden from the player. All information regarding the skills of their lemmings is given to them and the player is able to survey the entire level so that they are able to plan their actions ahead of time.

Scrabble is a board game that requires the players to form words from the randomly letters they are given in order to obtain points. The game uses a open information system as all the letters that you have, as well as the letters your opponents have can be made known to you and all the words formed on the board can be seen by all players.

Mastermind is a board game that requires the player to guess a sequence of colours. Mastermind uses a hidden information structure because it consistently keeps some information (the colour sequence) hidden from the player forcing them to guess the colour sequence.

Clue is a board game that requires the player to find the murderer of a, well, murder. This uses a hidden information structure as the information regarding who committed the murder and with what weapon is hidden from the player until the end of the game.


http://www.gamingcounter.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Far-Cry-3-wallpaper.jpg
http://assets1.ignimgs.com/vid/thumbnails/user/2013/09/03/minecraft.jpg
http://www.konsolekingz.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/LOGOVAR_16.jpg
http://ps3hits.ru/wp-content/gallery/uncharted-drakes-fortune/uncharted_drakes_fortune_1080p_008.jpg
http://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/filepicker/qzNpSWhQiIhcBbkPMsAv_scrabble.jpg
http://siriusbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Lemmings.jpg
http://www.tnelson.demon.co.uk/mastermind/images/mastermind14.jpg
http://www.misanthropista.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Clue1.jpg

Blog Quest 2:Design Your Game Item Part 2

Amnesia:The Dark Descent is a survival horror game developed by Frictional Games and released on September 8th, 2010 for the PC. The game begins as you wake on a the stone floor of a mysterious castle, you don't know where you are or, more importantly, who you are. Explore the deeper levels of the castle by solving daunting puzzles on your quest to uncover the mystery behind the dark castle in which you are trapped and, perhaps, find out who you are. All the while avoiding the horrible monsters that hunt you.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent relies heavily on mechanics regarding light as all the items that you can collect, aside from puzzle items, relates to either providing you light through the use of tinderboxes or your lantern, or maintaining the light that you have through the consumption of lamp oil. The game usually requires the player to navigate through darkened areas using lit objects or their lantern to aid them. Though the light you create can also hinder you as it makes you more visible to the monsters in the area. This mechanic forces the player to choose between seeing what they are doing and monsters being able to see them or being hidden from monsters and potentially going insane in the darkness.

Within the game there are only two ways to deal with the monsters that roam the halls of the dark castle, to run or to hide. This creates a sense of helplessness within the player which maintains or even heightens the sense for fear and anxiety that the player feels while playing the game. Though I think the addition of another item, string, can add some new mechanics for the developers to play with and subject the players to new levels of hell and horror.

The string could be unraveled over a distance and then pulled or re-raveled again from a distant spot (like from a hiding place). Players can then pile on items in the world, such as books and bottles, onto the string so that when it is pulled/ re-raveled the pile topples over creating a loud noise. This would allow developers to create situations where the player must distract the monster in order to progress. So despite this item allowing the player to take a more proactive role in their goal to avoid the monsters it maintains the sense of fear and anxiety already prevalent in the game as players will be forced out their hiding spots and into open where they could be seen by the monsters. The string can also give the player a sense of hopelessness and despair as the pile of items on top of the string must be assembled by hand so the player runs the risk of toppling the pile themselves, making a loud noise, and therefore drawing the monster to their location. This combined with the mechanics surrounding the need for light can create some truly terrifying situations.

Imagine piling a few these on top of string, without making a single sound, in complete darkness, just avoid a monster a few meters away. You sweating bullets yet?

Sources
http://amnesia.wikia.com/wiki/Amnesia:_The_Dark_Descent
http://valvearg.com/w/images/9/93/Amnesia_Title.jpg
http://www.nag.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Amnesia03.jpg
http://s284355199.websitehome.co.uk/wordpress2/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Ryan-Amnesia.jpg

Grind Quest: Skills, Goal, and Feedback

Zelda: Twilight Princess

Zelda Twilight Princess is an Action/Adventure game where players take the role of Link as he travels throughout the land of Hyrule where players explore ancient temples, battle ferocious monsters and meet great challenges. Link is aided by the magical being Midna, a member of the Twili tribe, and together you will quest to save the land and princess Zelda from the evil Ganondorf.

 Zelda: Twilight Princess was released on November 19th 2006 in North America for the Wii and GameCube consoles. Although the GameCube version played like its predecessors where the player actions of the game were input via button push and joystic wiggling. The Wii version took advantage of the motion control capabilities of the console allow the player to input many of the actions of the game in similar if not exact movements of real life. So if the player swings the Wiimote as if to swing a sword then Link will swing his sword in game.

Feedback within the game include:
Receiving damage
Dealing damage
Swinging sword in various directions
Blocking with shield
aiming with bow
charging arrow shot
firing bow
arrow hitting something
solving a puzzle
receiving treasure from a chest

Overall, The feedback allows the player to use a range of movements to input the various commands of the game. This can put some physical strain on the player making hte ultimate goal of defeating Ganondorf that much more daunting.

Zelda: Twilight Princess, through its various controls and mechanics requires skills such as:

hand eye coordination
Resource management
Problem Solving
spacial awareness
memorization


FTL: Faster Than Light

FTL is a rogue style game where the you take control of a spaceship crew on a courier mission to deliver vital information regarding hte Rebel Army to the Federation Government. The Rebel Army, desperate to get this information back is constantly hunting you as you traverse through several systems on your way to Federation space. Along the way you will encounter different situations that will force you to make decisions that will drastically change how your journey unfolds.

Faster Than Light was released on Friday 14th, 2012 for the PC and uses the main control apparatus for PCs, the mouse and keyboard. This allows the game to use the common control mechanics that most games use.

Feedback within the game includes:

Intruder warnings

Fire warnings

Equipment  condition indication

Crew health

Crew skills

Power levels

Power distribution

Quest indicator on map screen

Amount of salvage owned

Amount of missiles/drone parts owned

Ship health

Damage taken from different weapons (damage taken from missiles has different animation and sound than damage from lazer)

Enemy crew health

Enemy ship health

Damage done to enemy ship with various weapons

Hows does the feedback

This feedback mostly provides some sort of information either about the crew, the ship or on any external elements such as enemy ships, merchants, or environmental hazards. This gives the player an accurate indication of information so that the player can react accordingly to the events happening in the game. Though the game is designed is such a way that no decision gives the player an overall advantage in the game.

FTL through its mechanics and controls requires skills such as:

Adaptability
Problem Solving
Resource Management

Street Fighter 4

StreetFighter 4 is a 2 and a half D fighting game where you and an opponent chooses from a variety of characters and go head to head to defeat one another. Each character posses their own set moves and statistics (though the states are not shown) that make each selection potentially different.

Feedback within the game includes:

Player health

Opponent health

Player wins

Opponent wins

Player moves

Opponent moves

Player takes damage

Player deals damage

Opponent takes damage

Opponent deals damage

Time limit

Power level indicator

Street Fighter 4 through its mechanics and controls requires skills such as:

Quick Reflexes
Memorization
Adaptability


Other types skills that I could employ that people could enjoy in my games are skills such as deception because usually the main character of games are usually do-gooders and having the main character have the ability to lie and cheat could give an interest turn to a game. Though this skill is probably more suited (for now) for board and card games since videogame NPCs are limited by their code and anonymous online players are harder to read but this could change in the future as technology advances to the point where one can express accurate body and movements as well as more complex AI. Another  type of skill I would like to see in my games would be storytelling as there are very few videogames, if any, that have the player create a great story as a the main goal. This skill exists for many board and card games because, again, they are not limited by code and thrive on person to person interaction. Videogames are not capable of providing an intuitive interface that would allow a player to fluidly create and tell a story on the fly.

Twilight Princess
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Twilight_Princess
http://zelda.wikia.com/wiki/Category:The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Twilight_Princess_characters
http://faqsmedia.ign.com/faqs/image/article/750/750737/twilight.jpg

FTL
http://www.vgreleases.com/pc/ReleaseDate-873186.aspx
http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120618050913/ftl/images/3/33/FTL_Title.png

Street Fighter 4
http://iplaywinner.com/storage/images/StreetFighterIV.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1252664496241

Knowledge Keeper: October 10th

We started off the lecture by discussing the midterm and what it would entail. Dr. Nacke explained that the midterm would involve each student to meet with him for about 10 minutes where he would ask us a series of questions and we would provide answers verbally. This is a very interesting way to run a midterm as it allows for direct connection  between the "test taker" and the "adjudicator" (Dr. Nacke) which would allow an instant notification as to whether one got the question correct or not. Dr. Nacke also explained that if you have not given the answer he is looking for then he will continue to prob you with questions going deeper and deeper into the subject until you give the correct answer or at least show that you understand what he is talking about. This definitely puts emphasizes the need for a deep understanding of the subject matter as it will give you a larger knowledge base to draw from and a higher chance of providing the answer Dr. Nacke is looking for.

The Actual Lecture was about Game Rewards. Firstly we went over some terms such as Agon, meaning competition, and Ilinx, meaning vertigo, as well as the "scale" between Paida and Ludus. Where Paida was purely about play, about making this up, improvising. This term very much reminds me of "Calvinball" from the Calvin and Hobbes comics where Calvin and Hobbes would just start playing a game and the rules would constantly be changed and made up on the spot. There were no goal, no rules, just play. Where as Ludus is about rules, and structure, there is no improvisation. Dr. Nacke discussed how games existed somewhere within that "scale".

We then discussed the eight reward forms from Wang and Sun which involved glory, sustenance, access, and facility and how these four characteristics were combined to create the eight reward forms. Though there is one reward form, feedback messages, which is incorporates another characteristic, praise. I think it should incorporate glory. This is because glory can be thought of as the achievement of greatness, or of a title. In other words it is the obtaining of something incorporeal within the game (glory is not represented by an item) but is still worthy of note. This can be seen in the reward forms such as achievement systems or score systems where the player is achieving some sort of number of title but said things have no effect on the game itself. The only different between the reward forms that use glory and the reward forms that use praise is time, or duration. Where feedback messages are instant and short term (them pop up on screen, congratulate you, then disappear) score systems and achievement systems are much more long term and permanent. For example: the leader boards in arcade games.

Dance Dance Revolution keeps updating you on how well you are doing 

We then talked about the four reward characteristics especially the social value of reward and how obtaining rewards is very much a social event in that it allows a player to show off their skills to the other players. We discussed how this related to the game Rock Band and how the game, though sociable, can focus on the competitive nature of people in that it allows a player to compare the skills of other and relish in the schadenfreude of being better than another. 

We also discussed the time required to earn a reward and how it's, as Dr. Nacke put it, like caramelized popcorn in how there are multitude of different flavours (or rewards) given to the player instantly just the for the action of putting the popcorn in their mouth. In other words we came to the conclusion that shorter time spans between rewards are much better than longer ones as the player is more frequently given stimuli through rewards and therefore more compelled to keep playing. 

We then discussed how players used their rewards for advancement, review, sociality, or for cooperative/competitive reasons or for some combination of those four. We also duscussed Schell's reward categories which included such things as praise, prolonged play, and completion. 

We then moved on to discuss conditioning and how players can be made to feel or do things based on the specific conditioning they are put through. Such as when a player feels panicked and afraid when they are chased by a monster while certain music played. The player then feels panic and fear whenever the music is played regardless of whether or not the monster chases them. This is because even though the player fears the monster, the player associates the music to the monster and therefore has been conditioned to fear the music.

We discussed Pavlov and his "Little Albert" experiment where he conditioned a child to fear rats by associating rats with loud noises. But there is some error involved in the study as Dr, Nacke revealed that it the in fact had some sort of brain abnormality and died a few years later when Dr. Pavlov said that the child was perfectly healthy.

 We also discussed operant conditioning and the skinner box where rats were conditioned to react to certain colours of light, one colour for reward (positive reinforcement) one for punishment (negative reinforcement). 

As I have mentioned before in my last knowledge keeper, this information, though can be used for good to produce more enjoyment from games, is dangerous in that it can be (and it probably already is) used for nefarious purposes. Such as compelling a worker, a pencil-pusher, to be content with their current status. To make them forget about their wages, about their working conditions, or about advancement and the bettering of themselves by keeping them constantly fed on stimuli. This reminds me very much of the matrix movies (or at least the first one) in that the world is populated mainly by human beings that don't do anything other than exist to provide power to another being(s) (the machines). They don't resist, they don't strive for anything better, they are not even aware of their situation because they are constantly being conditioned with stimuli. Dr. Nacki also gave the example of the movie Old Boy for the result of conditioning someone for a long period of time and I highly recommend the movie, it is beautifully twisted.

There is a reason why Neo's day job is a pencil pusher

We then talked about rewards and their schedules and how the timing of rewards should not be too short that the reward becomes superfluous but not too long so that the reward becomes not worth the effort. We also discussed reward triggers and the MAO model which involves Motivation, Ability, and Opportunity.

But rewards are not the only reason we play games. As Dr. Nacki said that the most important thing in playing games, is playing with great people, of which I agree wholeheartedly.



https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLlR-aeK7Sz4E7f3EOG_npu6HuRwiYu-Giv_NLrAu993DMs1lTK7Ar8Gwk8wJPsol06wwgdKMDplBDZuIjGowmrgrM1U2QNNUkl3RzQhVBWQa23-YusRpcUVam_tDy27bSZEbxvAvjCk/s1600/calvinball.jpg
http://www.plasticpals.com/http://www.plasticpals.com/wp-content/uploads//2011/07/DDR-screenshot.jpg
http://gurovich.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/tron-28-office-cubicles.jpg
http://cinevenger.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Matrix-A1.jpg

Knowledge Keeper: October 8th

So today in class we discussed the more visual or sensory aspect of games and how what we sense in games affects how a player acts and reacts in game.

Visual reactions talked about how certain things we see will give cause us to react in certain ways depending on such things as our own sensitivity, our instincts or primal reactions, as well as what society and other structures have taught us. So its like playing God of War and the scenes of Kratos brutally murdering mythical creatures makes us feel savage or primal.

 This makes me think about, at least what think is, a scary subject call associative conditioning which essentially training beings to associate a certain thing with another thing. For example, training a pigeon to push a button in order to receive bird seeds. This is scary because it also works on humans, it makes you think about all things we have been conditioned to feel, to think because of the stimuli we have been given. Call me a conspiracy theorist if you want but its scary none the less. I think this experiment was done by a scientist names Skinner.

We then talked about Alexander's Nameless Quality which are something like characteristics that an architect should strive to include in their buildings or in our case levels. Someone made a comment about "safe" not being mentioned, I think this is because safety can be taken away. A building or level can be beautiful, sublime, transcendent even but put a psychopath with an ax in there and I highly doubt that anyone would consider that place safe.

Dr. Nacke then discussed the 15 Properties of Living such as the levels of scale, boundaries, and positive space. But I had a bit confusion regarding Local Symmetry in that he mentioned relationships and I asked if by relationships he meant something like the relationship between a lock and key? And he agreed. So from that I he explained that Local Symmetry is not just one half matching the other but also covers logical relationships and conditions within the game.

All in all this, this was a very interesting lecture as it deals with the sensory aspect of games and their effect on our psyche.

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110523165949/godofwar/images/e/e8/Cyclops_Berserker_(God_of_War_III).jpg

http://www.skewsme.com/behavior/pigeon.jpg

http://filmgrab.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/54-heres-johnny.png?w=768

Grind Quest: Objective

Ten of my favourite games and their objectives:

Final Fantasy 7 : To stop Sphiroth from destroying the planet with meteor

MidEvil: To stop the evil wizard Zarock and save the land of Gallowmere

uncharted : To stop the evil rich guy from taking the treasure of El Dorado

Bastion: To find the core crystals of the land so the bastion can reset the world

Metroid Prime: to stop the space pirates based on tallow IV

Mike Tyson's Punchout: To become boxing champion of the world

God of War: To seek revenge on Aries the god of war

kingdom Hearts: to find and save kiari

Fallout New Vegas : To regain your memories and find out why you were shot

Bioshock: To kill Fontane

It is striking to see an almost identical objective for many of the games I have listed here. Though this is no surprise since these games and many other games, books and other media draw from the hero's journey narrative. The hero's journey being a pattern or narrative created by Joseph Campbell who analyzed many of the myths and legends that exist throughout the world and found that many of them were similar if not completely identical in their structure. Many games and other media tend to draw from this structure since it seems to make the most sense to us, that it is the most easiest to understand, due to its strong and widespread presence in our cultures.

Looking at my videogames collection, I find that my interests seem to be quite varied as it includes many games from different genres such as horror, adventure, shooter, RPG, and many others. I think this is because I am not necessarily drawn to any one genre but to the games themselves and what they “bring to the table” so to speak. I am interested in the stories they tell, the mechanics they put into play and, overall, the experiences they provide. I think that, above all else, is what I am most interested in, the experience.

That may be why the one genre that I dislike is the sports genre because to me it doesn’t provide a good experience. Some people could argue that you can feel like the players being cheered on by the crowd. But sports games tend to put the camera high up, allowing the player to have full view of the court or field so that they can properly take control of an entire team which does not give me the feeling being the players. Maybe if the game was played from a first person perspective where the player is in control of a single player then maybe it would give a much more compelling experience.

That being said, I can see why I seem to have more action/adventure games than any other genre.

This genre can be defined as, obviously, a combination of both the action and adventure genres combining the high paced, exciting elements of the action genre and the wonder and exploration elements of the adventure genre. Such examples of this genre include the Uncharted series, Metroid Prime, God of War, and Shadow of the Colossus just to name a few. These game sweep you up in their fast paced action as you shoot and explode and rip things apart and once they get you going they draw you deep into the world of the game with their awe inspiring landscapes and stories. Although it can be said that a good number of the games in this genre draw heavily from the Hero’s Journey pattern, it is this great combination of genre that provide the most intuitive and compelling experiences. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth