Games Testing

For this weeks reading we learned all about testing games and the importance of it as well as learning about criticism. Criticism can come in many forms, some can handle and accept it while others have problems taking constructive criticism.

This article explores criticism in all its forms and gives helpful advice on how to take it. Criticism can be very helpful and useful to those who accept it and use it to improve in their lives. Constructive criticism helps us to show each other where our strong points are and where we could improve. It's highly important to focus on being valid and giving unbiased feedback. It's also important not to let your personal opinion get in the way of the feedback. This article also makes a good point by stating three key things to include when giving feedback. These three things are to make your criticism clear, relevant and understandable. The article then ends by providing a list of tips for carrying out good criticism.

The other article named Level 11:Testing talked about the idea of play testing. It's always vital to be able to play test your own game while also allowing others to be able to play test it. From this we'll be able to know if our game is fully functional and provides us with useful information. This information will be very beneficial to our game.

Overall I found these articles to be very helpful and informative as they taught me a lot about giving and receiving criticism and also game testing and it's importance.

Testing
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Links:
Game tester
TestBytes
Games Criticism

Game Stories

For this week's reading we were given two articles called "Into the woods: A practical guide to the Hero's Journey" and "What every game developer needs to know about Story". Both of these articles sparked my interest and both were very informative about the topic of the Hero's story. The article that I enjoyed the most was the first one which explored Joseph Campbell's work. 

In this article we explored and dissected the journey that the hero of the story has to go through in order to fulfill a myth. Firstly the question is what practical use is the hero's journey to us as storytellers and game writers? It's important because myths are important, they're how we teach each other how to behave and who we are. Myths are also used to guide actions, The Cry for Myth by Rollo May is used here as an example. This example shows that there's an adaptive advantage to myths. It also goes into the theory of "kin selection" which states that evolutionary fitness gives genes the ability to promote survival and copies of itself. 

Successful tribes were tribes that found ways to encourage everyone to act for the good of the tribe instead of themselves individually. In this article the author also explained what would happen if a myth was taken away from a man. The man would become depressed and mentally ill. Storytelling and literature are the main medias used to tell different myths. Literature proves that there is in fact order in the universe. 

Joseph Campbell also summarized a list of elements of a good myth which included establishing the hero's world, the call to adventure, gaining the hero's prize and finally returning it to the community. Next we learned how to use the hero's journey to build stories which was explained in a number of steps. The first step is to pick a theme and myth which leads to the next step of creating the hero which would be someone who can embody that premise. The third step shows us some characteristics on how to create a good villain. Some of these characteristics include traits similar to the hero, he maybe an outlaw, clever and resourceful, cruel and not forgiving. Step four tells us to show the hero's normal world, the player must see the hero's world that he's trying to save. The fifth step is to disrupt the hero's world, this can be done by taking him out of his normal world and forcing him into action. Next is to enter the mythological woods for the trail of trials. Each level should show the incremental growth. Step seven is to confront the evil one or fight the bad guy. The eight step is to acquire the prize which is the thing worth fighting to acquire. The final step is the hero's return in this part he will return the prize to the community. 

The next part of the article discusses the three act structure and the game designers journey. The designer must pick myths that people would believe and put those myths into the game. The myths that are created have the power to change lives. Finally, the designer must take the hero's journey themselves. 

Links:

Movie Outline

Dan Harmon

Piper

Hero's 

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Game Fun

For this weeks reading we read Kinds of fun, Kinds of Players by Richard Bartle and MDA Framework by Robert Zubeck and co. I found these articles to be very interesting and informative as they provided insight into MUD's and MDA's.

Kinds of Fun, Kinds of Players was a great article to read. It began by questioning the players who suit MUDs and the 4 approaches to playing MUDs. The MUD's preface states that most MUDs go right back to Trubshaw's game that was released in 1978. MUDs can be of considerable value in game applications and non-game applications. They're treated as if they're games and it's suggested that we think of them in that way. The real question that stands is are they games? Are they pastimes? Are they entertainments? Are they sports? Or are they simple a combination of all four of these elements?

The article goes on to tell us that MUDs have caused a heated debate and sparked the question of What do people want out of a MUD? While 15 people took a major part in the debate 15 more simply just gave their comments and thoughts now and again. Most of these were shown to be active wizzes. Although it's estimated that they'd probably prefer game-like aspects over social-aspects, this debate was well received and obtained mostly positive results. Some aspects of MUDs that people enjoyed include the game's exploration, imposition upon others, achievement within game context and socializing aspects.
The interest graph was presented next. In this graph the axis represented the players interest. Achievers were interested in carrying out actions like acting on the world while explorers were interested in having the game surprise them by interacting with the world. Socializers were interested in interacting with other players meanwhile killers were simply proud of their fighting and combat skills.

A stable MUD is described as being inclusive of all 4 principles of style of the player in equilibrium. The balance between the multiple types remains the same. We also learned that the point of balance here can vary hugely and it's solely dependent on the individual admins. Putting emphasis on the players is regarded as easy, this can be done by providing the players with a lot of communication commands and not much else. Emphasizing the world can be done simply by tilting the game towards the world rather than it's inhabitants. An emphasis on interaction can go a long way and can be done by restricting players freedom when choosing different courses of actions which is the mechanism to implement it. As for acting, if the graph is redrawn it becomes boring.

Next the article discusses how to emphasis the player over the world which can be carried out by adding in more communications facilities and decreasing the size of the world. You can emphasis the world over the player by having lots of mobiles and granting building privileges to many. To emphasis interacting over acting, one can have only a shallow level/class system and lower the rewards for achievements. Acting can be emphasized over interacting by providing a game manual and including auto-log facilities.

Next we learn about player interactions. Firstly we learn about achievers vs achievers. Achievers see other achievers as competition to be beaten and will often cite bad luck as reasons for not being as far advanced as their competitors, Despite this achievers will more often than not co-operate with each other in order to perform a collective goal.
Achievers and explorers are next. Achievers tend to regard explorers as losers . Overall the number of explorers has only a marginal effect on the population of the achievers. Achievers' attitude towards socialisers is poor as they barely tolerate them. They often regard them as contempt, pity and irritation, flame wars break out often enough from this. Finally we reach achievers thoughts on killers. They don't like the killers however they understand that they're there for a reason which is to make achievements meaningful.

The next article that I read was MDA Framework by Robert Zubeck. As I've read this article before I was familiar with how MDA's work and what they are however this is a good article that goes into depth about MDA framework. Each component of MDA framework is thought of as a "lens" or a "view" of the game. Mechanics give rise to the dynamic system behaviors according to the designers. The article also discusses the aesthetics of MDA's in games and provides examples such as charades which includes components such as fellowship and expression while Quake contains components such as challenge and sensation. Dynamic models work to create aesthetic experiences for both the game and the gamer. An example of this is the aspect of challenge which is composed and created by time pressure and opponent play.

Mechanics are various actions, behaviours and control provided to the game player within the game context. MDA is summed up as a formal, iterative approach to both design and tuning.

Overall I enjoyed these articles and learned more about these subjects within the gaming world.
I look forward to keeping these in mind as I create my own game.

Links:
MUDs
MDA framework
Achaea

MUD
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Game Decisions

This weeks article talks all about cozy games, what they are, how they work and what they involve. The article begins by defining the word coziness. Coziness is defined as how strongly a game evokes the fantasy of safety, abundance and softness. Safety is a huge factor involved in cozy games. Safety is the absence of danger such as a threat or risk within a game. There's no impending loss and all activities in the game should be voluntary and not forced. 

Abundance is another key feature in cozy games. This refers to low level Maslow needs that are being met or fulfilled such as food or shelter. It also involves the appreciation of beauty by the player playing the game. Softness is the final key factor within cozy games. This refers to the strong aesthetic signals sent out by the game that tells players that they're in a stress free environment. The stimulus of a cozy game is always gentle and comforting. Cozy games grasp the player and introduces them to the intimacy of space and emotion. Softer stimuli involves humanity, authenticity and sincerity. 

The article then goes on to discuss the contributing factors that make a cozy game cozy. Fulfilling the players needs is important. The player sees the first game play as a form of safe practice while they see the second game play as a means of satisfying unmet needs. Cozy games also promote connectedness and self-reflection. The article then proceeds by talking about cozy negating factors which consist of responsibility, intense stimulus, unpleasant distractions and extrinsic rewards. An example of negating coziness is receiving a notification while playing a game. The experience is ruined by the loud noise which is an intense stimuli and it's also non-consensual.

Cozy adjacent is the next part of the article which involves themes and aesthetics. Some of the factors listed here are Cute and Home. The cute aesthetic also can involve threatening and needy things that can be cute without coziness. Home aesthetics talks about how home environments are often stressful or full of responsibility which negates the coziness. 

Next the article touches on why we should make cozy games. The benefits of these games are that they attract a better community and increase retention by minimalising churn. Blue Ocean products for unmet player motivations talks about the element of a flight or fight response theory. This theory suggests that when our sympathetic nervous system kicks in due to a received threat, we will run or attack. 

Next we learn the process of how to improve community relations. Here it's suggested that mechanics generate emotions within the player and that emotions attract players. Social norms also spread and the developers reap what they sow. Cozy design principles are the next subject. This discusses how cozy is an adjective which means it's an aesthetic goal that can be applied to any underlying type of game. Coziness is also player dependent. It depends on where the player is coming from before they start the game. Coziness can be encouraged not forced. 

Patterns of cozy aesthetics states that cozy elements are sensory clues that are familiar with the player from previous gaming experiences, intentionally evoke images of safety and softness and that contrast is shared refuge from less pleasant external environments which takes the player away from reality. Some ingredients of cozy aesthetics include abundance and smooth transitions. Abundance refers to elements such as food/drink/warmth that's provided by a kitchen or tavern environment etc. Smooth transitions include gentle gradients between colours or states within the cozy area. 

Cozy visuals are the next topic of discussion in the article. These involve warm toned colours with a gentle colour palette such as oranges or yellows. Warm lighting and low ambiance are also involved. Natural materials are another factor of cozy visuals which include stone, wool, wood and fur etc. 

Cozy audio is also important to include in a cozy game as it sets the mood. Music should be ambient with gentle acoustics, jazz and possibly dynamic. Soothing sounds include waterfalls, rivers, rain, cats purring and gentle fire. Possible cozy locations should be sociable but private, transition spaces without danger and also places that fulfill basic player needs. The article also lists some seasonal coziness elements. Suggested cozy items include hobby/crafty items such as cut flowers and physically comforting items such as blankets. An example used here is Animal Crossing a New Leaf. In this game there are numerous activities such as fishing, decorating and gardening. 

Finishing up the article finally talks about the topic of patterns of cozy characters. These characters should possibly have a soothing voice (Bob Ross is used as a great example here) and appear soft and cuddly such as Totoro. The mechanics of cozy social situations are important. Players should portray politeness, consent and protection from threats. The article also touches on the subject of gifting in games. Some factors to consider here is the persons interaction with the gift, the care delivering the gift and the effort sourcing the gift. A gift may not always be returned if the player sends one so it's important to have respect and be polite either way! 

There's also the challenge of too much coziness. This could include forcing intimacy or having a lack of dissent. 

Overall I found this article to be very informative and interesting. I enjoyed learning more about what cozy games are and what makes them cozy games. I'd recommend this article to anyone looking to create a cozy game similar to that of Animal Crossing. 

Items of interest:

Designing for coziness

Cozy

Games industry

Animal Crossing

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Game GDD

The article "Design Components" by Greg Aleknevicus explored a suggestive set of rules for good design instead of listing a definitive set. He also states that not all of these suggestions are practical for all games.

The article contains a list of possible components for games where they can be applied. Each component contains an example while some contain a "good" and "bad" example which I found to be very useful.

The list of components includes, making tiles smaller than the spaces they're placed upon - This means that they can be either moved or bumped slightly but without disturbing the other spaces.
Use highly contrasting/distinguishable colours for player pieces explores how it's important to consider people with impaired vision or people who have some form of colour blind therefore it's crucial to find what colours work together. It also states how you should never use red and orange as player colours.

It also teaches us to use shape as well as colour to distinguish pieces by adding different graphics and shapes. A good example is 'TransAmerica' which creates a unique shape corresponding to five different colours. Graphics are important to use to help differentiate colours. An example of poor design is 'Schotten-Totten' which placed 9 cards in 6 colours. The suggested superior method is to pair the picture to the suit. This allows colourblind people to distinguish the suits from each other.

Another suggested component is to use different components for different functions. Different forms are easier to separate different functions. An example of this is Monopoly where the money and the property cards are different so it's easier to know that they've two different functions.
It's also vital to make sure that indices/icons are distinct from each other. Icons are great for showing and quickly summarizing important information however if you use a lot of them they'll be indistinguishable from each other. An example of this is Dahon where it's icons for coins are similar to the magical vortex both in colour and shape.

The components list also suggests that the starting tiles should be backprinted in different colours so that they can be separated at the conclusion of the playing. Using a legible and distinguishable font is vital within a game. It's better if the font is simple and clear however the 6 and 9's should use a bar/dot to improve their distinction.
It's necessary to create a clean game and avoid any clutter. This component suggests that you shouldn't crowd too much visual information into one small area. If a decoration makes signs or worse difficult to read then the design is classified as an automatic failure.

Next the article talks about the box and what components you should consider when designing the box. You should first list the game name on the side of the box. A buyer should be able to read the title from around 7 feet away so it's vital to have a distinct title that's easy to read. Attracting the attention of the buyer is a must. You should also make sure any photo on the back of the box shows the legal game position. Players are always looking for clues in a game so when they see the photo on the back of the box they're likely going to determine that that's the proper way to play. This can be misleading as the photographer will arrange the photo despite not knowing how the game is played.
Printing the opposite sides of the box horizontally and vertically means that a store owner has the option of displaying the game on it's side or edge. The greater the visibility in the store creates a more definite advantage as the buyer is more likely to see it.

The next part of the article is about cards and how to design them correctly. A component of this is placing index cards on all four corners. This means that having indices on both sides ensures that they'll be visible either way. The designer should place the indices as close to the corners as possible.
Using large indices means balancing the indices have to be small enough that the cards only need a moderate fan to be visible and big enough to be labeled as 'clear'. Each card size depends on how many cards the player will be holding at a time. White borders help hide any imperfections and reduce the chance that the deck will become scratched or damaged. Card replacements should also be available incase one specific card goes missing.

Theme is the next category in the list of suggested components. You should have the theme work with the rules rather than against them. An example of this is the game Fantasy Fright Cave Troll. In this game monsters are placed occasionally on the board and follow certain patterns. Starting out in the centre, they travel from room to room and interact with the player pieces. The Cave Troll is different as he enters anywhere on the board and once he's placed in a room he's unable to move which bans the player from entering that room for the rest of the game.

Another section of the components is the rules. The first suggested step here is to blind test the rules which means that the game is sent to a group of people who are made learn how to play the game just by reading the rules and nothing else. When creating a game the rules are an important and vital aspect therefore you shouldn't intentionally write vague rules. A game that has the player come up with the rules shows that the game wasn't fully developed. You should include a detailed list of components and include many examples. Diligence is necessary to make sure that the examples agree with written rules.

The last part of this article shows some common questions that many games fail to answer. Some examples of these questions include Are fractions rounded up or down? This is stated as obvious yet often missed. Are money/victory points public or private? If they're private it should be stated. What if a player has no legal move? Is that player allowed to pass or is a special action allowed?

To conclude. I enjoyed reading this article and found it very useful with it's suggestions. I'll definitely take these into consideration when creating my own game as I found them to be interesting and clear to read.

Items of interest:
The Art Career Project
WikiBooks
Unity

Gameification
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Games MDA

I started today's post by watching a video on MDA Framework and reading the academic papers by LeBlanc, Hunicke and Zabek. I firstly learned that there's a difference between mechanics and dynamics. Mechanics are more or less the rules/restrictions that each game operates under while dynamics are the "play" of the game when the rules are in full swing. Dynamics and mechanics are different views of games with dynamics emerging from mechanics.

An example of dynamics is Time Pressure which can easily create a sense of dramatic tension. The mechanics that make up time pressure include depleting resources, a simple time limit and a "pace monster".
Aesthetics refer to the players experience of the game instead of focusing on the visual elements.
Models are formulas or abstractions and can also be referred to as "lenses". Formal models have no Grand Unified Theory but have a lot of smaller models instead. MDA for models is the knowledge of the links and interactions between aesthetics, dynamics and mechanics. Some properties of solid good models are formal, abstract and proven. Abstract means refers to this as widely applicable while formal refers to a good model as well-identified.

The next part explored a new meaning of the word "fun" as we are encouraged to think and use this word differently. The authors then go on to introduce us to eight new forms of "fun". The first way was Sensation which in game terms refers to the game as sense - pleasure, the second way is Fantasy which portrays the game as make - believe. The third way is Narrative which is the drama aspect of the game, the next way is Challenge which refers to the game as an obstacle course. The fifth way is Fellowship which refers to the game's social framework. Next is Discovery which refers to the game as uncharted territory. Expression and Submission refer to the game as self - discovery and positive.

Next was a very interesting part of the article where the authors explored the individual aesthetics of different games such as Charades, Quake and Final Fantasy. Each game contained different aesthetics and none were the same as the other. An aesthetic model is described as a rigorous definition of an aesthetic goal which states the criteria for both success and failure.
An example of this is given to us in the article along with more examples of each. Models of game dynamics include once again no Grand Unified Theory but instead a collection of many dynamic models which are analytical in nature.
Finally an example of the feedback system is shown which was very useful to me. I enjoyed reading more about game MDA and found all these articles and video to be very informative.

Links:
Link 1
Link 2
Link 3

Game mechanics
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Game elements

I found the article"Formal Abstract Design Tools" to be very informative and detailed upon reading it. It started out by explaining to us what a modern computer game is made of. A modern computer game connects a technical base with the designers vision for what the players experience. It's important components that are used to form a game include levels, code, art and design.
As we all know over the years the games industry has greatly evolved. Screens have been developed to have better resolution, quality and more colours. Paint and modelling tools are also up to a higher standard now along with faster audio processing and newly developed sound cards.

All games from various companies and genres have evidently been built off past ideas as we develop and learn new techniques and abilities. The aspect of design in video games however has lacked evolution and lags behind the rest of the gaming industry. Design tasks determine the players goals as well as the pacing. It assists the code, levels, putting art, sound and vision in coming together to make the game. Without design we'd just be left with "a CD full of data and no experience" which is why another shared form of language of game design is needed according to this article.

The article also talks about the issue of not having a form of language to communicate innovations and mistakes through which is where a design vocabulary would come in handy. A design vocabulary would improve people's understanding of game creation, allow the discussion of underlying game components and help people better understand how it all balances and fits together. Refinement is the medium in which design evolution occurs.

The article also uses a game example which is the Mario 64 game. In this game the player has a whole world of freedom to do whatever they want. There's a choice of worlds and which world the player wants to explore/work on, each player can decided what they're next move or task will be. As for the design of this game each of the worlds have different goals at the end which provides the player with the element of choice. Although Mario worlds are often predictable with strange goals and objectives, the player has ease of the controls as they're made to be simple. This was the most enjoyable part of the article to me as I grew up playing this game so to read about how the game has been dissected and what the gameplay consists of in professional terms was eye-opening and had me intrigued.

In the next part of the article the author discusses what a story is and defines a game story as being a narrative thread which is continued throughout the entirety of the game. As for tasks each task requires different tools to suit each individual task. The game isn't player controlled however as the designer creates "cool" moments throughout the game. Whatever the player discovers it will impact the combat aspects of a game.

A brief description and summary of a few game genres are also explored in this article. SquareSet games are in short, storybooks. In order for the player to progress in the game they must win each combat aspect as they control the fight themselves. While sports and fighting games are generally tied into 1 by the tools they contain, fighting games have a consistent controller action which is visually shown in the on-screen characters. Sports games on the other hand have the players direct and control themselves while they select an action, watch the response from their chosen action and learn from it's outcome. I thought this part of the article was very interesting as it explained what each of these genres consisted of and how they connected together with their similarities.

Finally the article dives into the aspect of tools. Tools presents the player experience that the designer had set out to create. They do this by means of a vocabulary for analysis. The aspect of game design is better understood by means of tools which also boost the player's feeling of involvement.

This article dives directly into the dept of the world of game design, the evolution of game aspects and is an example of the game design breakdown process. I enjoyed reading this article despite it being fairly lengthy. I found it to be very educational and well explained.

Game elements
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Game Design

From reading all six of these game based articles i can clearly state that each one was lengthy yet informative and interesting. The Essence of Euro-style games article explored what makes a Euro game Euro, their characteristics and why they've become so popular while Pulling the Plug: In Defense of Non-Digital Teaching and Learning explored the reasons why we should use non-electronic games to teach and learn electronic game design. I found this last article to be very educational and informative as I gained some insight into prototyping a game and the nature of non-electronic games.

The article called So You're Going To Make A Game For The Very First Time was probably my favorite as it takes you through the steps required to make a game for the first time and which parts are the most important. This article was very useful as soon I'll have to make a game for one of my modules and I'm a beginner.
The series of understanding games was also helpful and playful as they educated the reader in a more entertaining fashion which grabbed my attention as I've never encountered anything like that before.

Game Design

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