CDP (Creative Design Practices) lecture 6-12-2012

Micah Hrechovscik CDP lecture 6-12-2012 from Cdp Hku on Vimeo.

What is a game? A page of definitions...

In the process of preparing for a lecture on game studies I remembered I had assembled these definitions for my research. Maybe they will come in handy for some else...

Johan Huizinga
A voluntary activity or occupation within certain fixed limits of time and place, according to rules freely accepted but absolutely binding, having its aim in itself and accompanied by a feeling of tension, joy and the consciousness that it is different from ordinary life.
(Huizinga 1938)

Roger Caillois
An activity that is free:  in which playing is not obligatory; Separate: circumscribed within limits of time and space, defined and fixed in advance.

Uncertain: the course of which cannot be determined, nor the result attained beforehand, and some latitude for innovations being left to the player’s initiative.

Unproductive: creating neither goods, nor wealth, nor new elements of any kind.

Governed by rules: under conventions that suspend ordinary laws and for the moment establish new legislation, which alone counts.

Make-believe: accompanied by a special awareness of a second reality or of a free unreality, as against real life.
(Caillois 1961)

Greg Costikyan
A game is a form of art in which participants; termed players, make decisions in order to manage resources through game tokens in the pursuit of a goal.
(Costikyan 1994)

Stephen Sniderman
A game is a play activity that consists of an object (a goal or goals that the players are trying to accomplish) and constraints on the players’ behavior (what they must do and/or what they may not do in attempting to achieve the game’s object).
(Sniderman 1999)

Bernard Suits
To play a game is to engage in activity directed towards bringing about a specific state of affairs , using only means permitted by rules, where the rules prohibit more efficient in favor of less efficient means, and where such rules are accepted just because they make possible such activity.
(1978 cited Juul 2003)

Elliott Avedon & Brian Sutton-Smith
At its most elementary level we can define game as an exercise of voluntary control systems in which there is an opposition between forces, confined by a procedure and rules in order to produce a disequilibria outcome.
(1971 cited Juul 2003)

Chris Crawford
Games are conflicts in which the players directly interact in such a way as to foil each other’s goals.
(Crawford 2003)

Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman
A game is a system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules that result in a quantifiable outcome.
(Salen & Zimmerman 2003)

Tracy Fullerton, Chris Swain & Steven Hoffman
A closed, formal system that engages players in structured conflict and resolves its uncertainty in an unequal outcome.
(Fullerton et al. 2004)

Isaac Barry
An object of rule-bound play.
(Barry 2005)

Jesper Juul
A rule based formal system; with variable and quantifiable outcomes; where different outcomes are assigned different values; where the player exerts effort in order to influence the outcome; the player feels emotionally attached to the outcome; and the consequence of the activity are optional and negotiable.
(Juul 2005)

Ernest Adams and Andrew Rollings
A game is a type of play activity, conducted in the context of a pretended reality, in which the participant(s) try to achieve at least one arbitrary, nontrivial goal by acting in accordance with the rules.
(Adams & Rollings 2006)

Jesse Schell
A game is a problem-solving activity, approached with a playful attitude.
(Schell 2008)

The Dutch Game Industry

I was playing around with Pearltrees, which is my favorite way of keeping track of interesting links, and thought I would but together this pearltree based on my consultancy knowledge. The sites that list [1][2][3][4] game studios in the Netherlands are not always kept up-to-date and sometimes list studios that are more tech companies or educational institutions. The current count of  game studios is at 82. The obvious next step will to categorize my pearls so that the pearltree is more usable!

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_gaming_in_the_Netherlands
[2] http://www.gamesindustrie.nl/
[3] http://www.dutchgamesassociation.nl/
[4] http://www.dutchgamegarden.nl/

What is the best game genre?

What are the best rated games ever? What genre are they? I based this research on the top100 games ever from Game Rankings.

1. Action Adventure
2. Shooter
3. RPG
4. Sports
5. Driving
6. Platformer
7. Fighter
8. RTS (Real-time Strategy)
9. TBS (Turn Based Strategy
10. Rythm
11. Puzzle
12. Adventure

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What makes a good game? cubed3.com

What makes a good game? Is gameplay important? Based on 20 of the Best and Worst Nintendo games (GBA, DS, GC, Wii) rated by Cubed3 http://www.cubed3.com

Based on these games and ratings

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Works Cited

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What is a game design tool?

What a Game Design Tool is...

• Game design tools have a utility that affects how the game designer critiques, expresses, and ideates design of the procedural elements and interactive-play for a game.
• Game design tools include a method or specific procedure to implement the tool repetitively.
• Game design tools are usually associated with abstract concepts such as models, rules, patterns, and best practices.

What a Game Design Tool is not...

• Game design tools are not software tools for designing levels or building games.
• Game design tools and methods are not related production, marketing or management.
• Game design tools are more than just a list of concrete examples or a definition of a building block.

Bad Game Design 2: videogamer.com

This is based on the ratings from videogamer.com. This graphs are based on 100 games with the worst overall ratings.

Bad Game Design 1: gametrailers.com

This is based on the ratings from gametrailers.com. Other review sites either give an overall rating or are extremely biased in their reviews(i.e. IGN). These graphs are based on 78 games with the worst overall ratings.

It is often taken for fact that it is difficult to create good game-play, but this is just an assumption- here is the proof.

QUESTION:
Is game-play(game design) really the weak link in game development?

CONCLUSIONS:

• It is conclusive that game-play is the hardest to impress the player-reviewer with tan story and graphics
  
• A good story is easier to achieve than good graphics and game-play
• In the cases where game-play is rated better than story or graphics, the difference in the ratings is less by at least 1+ rating point than vis versa.
  

Game Design Tool Template

Tools for Game Design:

• anything used as a means of accomplishing a task or purpose
• Something regarded as necessary to the carrying out of one’s occupation or profession
• Something used in the performance of an operation
• an implement used in the practice of a vocation
• 道具 (road/ way + tool)

Game Design Tool:
Name: Indicate the name of the design tool
Methods: Indicate which methods or sources support this tool.
Application: Where is this tool implemented in the game design process.
Result: Which part of the design cycle does this support.