This Is Timely

Extra Credits - Aesthetics of Play

This is a pretty brilliant analysis of game genres and aesthetics, and something I've been thinking a lot about recently.

Also, I totally beat the Extra Credits team to the punch on this one.

Cheers,

Danny

Hours Of Behind-The-Scenes Game Talk

I've been following this blog: tiny Build Games.  tiny Build released one of my favorite launch trailers of all time for their game No Time to Explain.  Also, No Time to Explain is awesome.  Also, their new game looks fucking rad.  I love the blog, but I think I love their most recent post most.

Check it out!  Seriously.  If you're looking for enough quality game dev related content to last until 2013, stop searching.  I found it for you.  Well, tiny Build found it for you.  Here are some of the videos they link to:

• Portal 2 Post-Mortem
• How Fruit Ninja Happened
• Extended Interview With Gabe Newell
• How Bioshock Infinite Got Started
• David Jaffe's PAX Keynote
• Making Crash Bandicoot
• Building The Bastion
• Robert Khoo Talks About Running Penny Arcade
• Super Metroid Analysis
• AND SO MUCH MORE!!

I'm not linking to any of this awesome content directly.  Be kind, go to tiny Build.  Watch.  Watch everything.

Cheers,

Danny

MDA

Back in July, out of the sunshine, in front of my computer, I read a paper.  Apparently, while reading, I was taking notes.  If you stopped by today looking for some free advice, affix your eyes to this next bit: Write things down!

I don't enjoy assuming, but I do it lots, so let's assume you, dear reader, and I share a process.  Specifically, a reading process.  Here's your cycle:

• Finish reading something you think is important.
• Mentally reflect on the piece's supposed importance for a moment - two moments if that's how long it takes your browser to load up the four to nine Web pages you've already managed to navigate to since you finished reading the important thing.
• Read something else.
• Forget all that came before the current thing.
• Repeat.

So many interesting thoughts get lost this way!  Not this time though.  I read a paper I found useful, took some notes, and managed to find those notes months later before someone tossed them into a recycling bin.  Cool.

With only a bit more ado, here are some interesting things:

MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research
Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc, Robert Zubek

First off, MDA stands for mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics.  Mechanics describes the particular components of the game, at the level of data representation and algorithms.  Dynamics describes the run-time behavior of the mechanics acting on the player inputs and each others' outputs over time.  Aesthetics describes the desirable emotional responses evoked in the player, when he/she interacts with the game system.  MDA is a formal approach to understanding games - one which attempts to bridge the gap between game design and development, game criticism, and technical game research.

Games are consumable goods.  Inevitably, games are purchased, used and eventually cast away.  Unlike other entertainment products however, the ways in which games are consumed is largely unpredictable - the events and outcomes that occur during gameplay are unknown at the time a game's development is finished.

Partly due to their unpredictable nature, the authors argue that games more represent artifacts, things not viewed as inherent elements but as products of human conception, than media.  To help convince yourself of this, think back to any story you've ever told about a game you played.  These kinds of stories are seldom about the polygons and algorithms the game presents you, the player, but rather about how you interpret this content in the moment and later relive and reshape the experience inside your own head.  As such, the behaviors of a game, rather than the media, represent a game's content.

Interesting, interesting.

The authors had a lot more to say, specifically about productive ways to discuss the aesthetics of a game.  Remember, aesthetics refer to an emotional response from the player while engaged in a game.  It's a great read.  Click the paper title above for a PDF download.

There's more I want to say.  I'll WRITE some more things down in a future post.  Also, Raph Koster talked positively about this framework during the talk he gave to the Omaha Game Developers Association.  I remember his mention of MDA because I WROTE it down.  I'm serious about how important I think the writing process is.

Carry a trustworthy pen with you always.

Cheers,

Danny

Things You've Learned

I listen to a lot of podcasts.  Walking - /Filmcast.  Homework - Idle Thumbs.  Cooking - Latest in Paleo.  Working - Rebel FM.  It's a long list.  You can tell a lot about a person solely from the podcasts they subscribe to.  I always seem to have earbuds in.  If there isn't anybody around for me to talk to, I'd rather not sit in silence.

Anyway, I recently went on a podcast downloading spree.  Doing so, I felt like I imagine I would if everything at Toys R Us were free - me with a cart running down the aisles grabbing four of everything, second guessing myself on the way out the door, dumping the cart, filling it again exclusively with Nerf guns and LEGOs, shooting Nerf darts at cars on my drive home.  When my download queue emptied, I ended up with a library full of guided conversations about game development and unguided conversations about current happenings in the game industry.  I was grabbing blind, but I may have pulled out a winner: The Game Engine.  Tagline: A podcast about game development by developers, for developers.  I haven't dug too deep yet, so I have no idea which studios these guys work for, but from listening to the episode, it's obvious at least a few of the hosts/guests are indie developers.

I caught up with the cast on its one year anniversary.  Here, the five developers each shared three things they've learned over the past six months about making games.  Some of the things that were said hit me harder than I thought any of it could, so I'm going to sling it back into the ether in hopes that it connects with someone else.

In an indie game studio, change is the only constant.  Be prepared to wear a lot of hats.

Game development is like steering a car crash.

Make games for yourself.

Remember why you do what you love and pick your path wisely.

Choose values, not goals.  Choose directions, not objectives.

It is vitally important to teach yourself how to switch between your left and right brains, between regimentation and stream of consciousness.

Being young is the opportunity to drop everything and hold on to the one thing you want.

Values are discovered through process of elimination.  These values are the last things you will let go of when everything else is gone.

As a young person, you don't know your limits, so don't impose limits on yourself for what you want.

Maintaining a presence is a lot of work.  Realize what energy you have, and what in your life subtracts from this energy.

For the curious, here are some other podcasts I frequent:

• Another Castle
• Brainy Gamer
• Double Fine Action Cast
• The Game Developer's Radio
• Gamewave
• Giant Bombcast
• IndieGames.com Podcast
• The Infinite Ammo Podcast (I wrote something about Infinite Ammo in August)
• A Life Well Wasted
• The Pixar Podcast
• Pixel Junk Radio
• Retronauts

Moment of irrelevance: No idea why, but I can't help but imagine all who podcast sipping something from a mug while recording.  I like to imagine these mugs are filled with hot chocolate.  Hot chocolate seems like an exemplary beverage to build a conversation around.

Relevant: I'm young and trying to find that one thing I want.  Maybe game development is it.

Cheers,

Danny

Raph Koster

Here are my scribbles from Raph's talk Saturday night.  Personally, I feel the talk started a bit slow.  There was a lot of conversation about text-based MUDs (Multi-User Dungeon - had to look that one up afterwards) and other things that were either above or before me.  Once Raph got going though, the man practically exuded insight.

Without further ado (trouble or difficulty - had to look that one up too) and with sparse context, here's a haphazard and mostly nonsensical list of some genuinely interesting thoughts from an experienced (legendary, actually) game designer:

• systems vs. story
• chess as a sandbox game - "explore the world"
• static storytelling (i.e. interactive movies)
• Raph studied English in college
• Who is Chris Crawford?
• MDA (mechanics, dynamics, aesthetics) framework
• "Rules of Play" - Eric Zimmerman
• "Chemistry of Game Design" - Dan Cook
• "Game Grammar" - Raph Koster
• formalism of game design
• Playdom - Raph's company
• formalism in game design as notation, akin to music notation
• verbs, objects, currency - game grammar; Raph creates this game grammar before he creates any prototypes
• curiosity - first common trait of the most bad ass game designers Raph knows
• both brained (meaning left- and right-brained) - second bad ass game designer trait
• Raph thinks we should reduce the role of narrative in games
• you've made it as a game designer when you can see nothing but the play of math underneath your game but at the same time, come to your game, forget how it all works, and see just the surface
• a classic liberal arts education is beneficial to aspiring game designers (take physics AND poetry)
• games driven by systems over narrative
• games designed to be replayed are more systems-driven
• Raph's favorite game of all time is Mule for the Atari 800 - "the most elegant multiplayer design ever"
• Raph still plays Joust on every available platform
• Raph advocates formalism in games
• when designing games, Raph focuses on creating the experience of the game before the systems of the game
• metaphor and mechanic
• What is the game about?  What is the surface experience of the game as well as the mechanical experience of the game?
• Clint Hocking
• ludonarrative dissonance (Bioshock has it)
• Harmonix's Rock Band vs. Amplitude (related to ludonarrative dissonance)
• beat matching on a plastic guitar made "no ludonarrative dissonance"

Some of the things I wrote down will never again make sense outside of the moment my pen hit the notebook.  Still, there are plenty of items here begging for investigation.  Rest assured that any and all sleuthing born from this talk will make its way onto this blog.

You can watch the entire talk here or here.

I included a bunch of Raph-related links at the end of a previous post.  Go there if you want to be transported to other nooks of the Web sprinkled with Koster.

Cheers,

Danny

Some Inspiration

http://www.doitmotherfucker.com/

Cheers,

Danny

Follow This!

TowerFall is an in-development indie game about towers and archery.  Its development is being documented on this Tumblr account.  It looks awesome!  The first post was only a month ago, so jump in now while there's still room on the ground floor!

One of the developers working on TowerFall is Alec Holowka (Aquaria, The Winnitron).

I wanted to mention Alec because his Infinite Ammo podcast has been my favorite podcast of the summer hands down.  Each episode features a conversation with a different all-star indie developer.  I'm not sure if Alec knows each of his guests on a personal level, but it certainly feels that way - every conversation feels like close friends talking about something they mutually love.  The episodes are long (one clocked in at almost three and a half hours!), but I've never been bored listening to them.  Highly recommended.

He hasn't posted a new episode since March, but here's the list of the guests featured on the 15 existing episodes to keep you busy:

• Adam Saltsman (Fathom, Canabalt, Flixel),
• Edmund McMillen (Super Meat Boy, The Binding of Isaac),
• Jeff Lindsay (Hacker Dojo, SuperHappyDevHouse),
• Chevy Ray (SkullPogo, Beacon),
• Kyle Pulver (Offspring Fling!, Snapshot),
• Matt Thorson (Give Up, Robot 2),
• Derek Yu (Aquaria, Spelunky, TIGSource),
• John Graham (Overgrowth, The Humble Indie Bundle),
• Andy Moore (SteamBirds, The Game Developer's Radio),
• Chris Van Yperen,
• Tom Grochowiak,
• Colin Northway (Fantastic Contraption, Incredipede),
• Steve Swink (Scale),
• Erin Robinson (Gravity Ghost), and
• Corey Nolan (Growing).

Look at all those links!  Stay busy my friends.

Cheers,

Danny

Why Study Games?

Periodically, starting tomorrow, I'm going to dedicate posts to specific games.  These posts will be my attempt to analyze games critically.  If I think a game's neat, what about it makes it neat?  If I find a game frustrating, what would I change to alleviate that frustration?  I won't be reviewing games.  I don't want to talk about graphics or the length of the game or anything else that might appear on the back of a game box.  These posts will intentionally not be exhaustive.  I want to focus on the single best and worst elements of the games as I see them.  My hope is that some of the observations I make during these critiques will resurface and positively influence my own games during their development.

Why this is beneficial:

One piece of advice Ian Schreiber (of Game Design Concepts and Challenges for Game Designers) gives for generating new game ideas is play more games.

Play lots of games! But… play as a designer and not just a player. Don’t just play for enjoyment. Instead, play critically. Ask yourself what choices were made by the designer of the game, and why you think those choices were made, and whether or not they work.

In his article Formal Abstract Design Tools, Doug Church argues that having a consistent design vocabulary, or way of discussing games, is paramount for game design to truly evolve and progress.

So we need a design vocabulary, a set of tools underlying game design practice. There is no correct or official method to identify them. One easy way to start looking is to take a good game and describe concretely some of the things that work well. Then, from concrete examples of real game elements, we can attempt to abstract and formalize a few key aspects and maybe find ourselves a few tools.

The first game I want to poke, prod, open up, and take a look inside is Dear Esther.  Come back tomorrow to find out what secrets she shared.

Cheers,

Danny

Understanding Games

Understanding Games is a series of flash games designed to teach players about games through gameplay.  There are four games in the series.  This post includes the major ideas presented in each of them.  Even after reading through this post, I encourage you to play through the games yourself.

Understanding Games 1

Rules of the game define the possible actions of the players.  Rules are unambiguous, intelligible and apply for all players.

No game can be played without the interaction of the player.

The outcome of a game has to be uncertain, otherwise it loses its appeal.

Computer games simulate or change properties and processes of the real world.

Rules and representation of a game are not independent but interact with each other.

Understanding Games 2

Players require clear and immediate feedback to understand the relationship between action and outcome.

Players require a clear goal so they can perform meaningful actions within the game.

Conflict and competition are essential for the player's motivation.

The challenges of a game should match the skill of the player: Neither too easy (boring), nor too difficult (frustrating).

Understanding Games 3

Many computer games are playable without having to read the manual.  Instead the player learns to play them through trial and error.

The player performs actions within the game world and observes how these actions change the state of the game.

The player forms a hypothesis about the meaning of an object or action on the basis of his or her studies.

The player recognizes and learns fundamental patterns within the game and can apply these to different situations.

Understanding Games 4

The game theme has an impact on how the game appeals to different kinds of people.

The more abstract a game character, the more players will be able to identify with the character.

The controls of a game character can be direct or indirect and have an impact on the relationship between player and character.

Often the player can select between different characters, which facilitate different strategies to play the game.

Cheers,

Danny

A Digital Goldmine

The amount of resources available online about game design and development is remarkable.  Here are three of the most thorough that I've found so far: Pixel Prospector, Ludology University, and Extra Credits.

If I were to do nothing else but read the content hosted on these sites, I'd be busy for a year.

And that's not saying anything about the 40 or so blogs by people living on the front lines of the industry I've bookmarked this past week.

I'll say it again, remarkable.  Through the work they're doing, these people continue to lower the barrier to entry.  That's great news for everyone who aspires to make games.

Cheers,

Danny

Prototyping

I read a phenomenal article about prototyping recently.

The article was written by four grad students at Carnegie Mellon.  In one semester these four students created more than 50 games!

Their rules:

1. Each game must be made in less than seven days.
2. Each game must be made by exactly one person.
3. Each game must be based around a common theme, i.e., "gravity", "vegetation", "swarms", etc.

Their results were truly unbelievable.

A good rapid prototyper would realize that failure is ok!  That's what prototyping is for...
Cut your losses and "learn when to shoot your baby in the crib"
Without a gameplay goal, a prototype is just a toy - not a game.

If reading's not your thing though, I also recently listened to a great podcast about prototyping.  Hearing these guys talk about their prototyping processes made me want to start carrying lots of little dice around with me in my pockets.  You never know when you'll need to test a gameplay mechanic!

In other news: Warioware: D.I.Y. arrived in the mail yesterday.

1-1 update: Writing is hard.

Cheers,

Danny

Three Sample Twine Stories/Games

I'm unsure whether to refer to works created in Twine as stories or games.  They're interactive, so does that automatically suggest a game?  This seems like an topic that would benefit from a bit of pondering in the coming weeks.  What exactly is a game?

Another thought (the one eye flirting with the title of this post): I've been talking about Twine and hypertext stories/games for the past few days, and I realize my descriptions of both have been less-than stellar.  So, I thought it was high-time I slapped some faces with examples of what I'm talking about.  These stories/games (Games!  I'm committing to games!) are not my own.  I happened upon these while clicking thorough the interwebs.  For me, these three games do a great job of showing the diversity of content and emotional responses possible with strictly text-based gameplay.

These games will each only take a few minutes to click through, and they're all worth checking out.  So without further ado, here are the works of some guys and gals that beat me to the Twine party:

First, by Xebedee, the first part of a Medieval tale about romance, cheese, and windows, Kulhwch.

Next, by Skylar Moss, a poetic story of despair, peace, regret, and acceptance (one or even all of them at once), Drowning.

And finally, by Emma Fearon, emotionally impacting reflections on body image and the complexities of familial relationships, Calories.

Enjoy!

Cheers,

Danny