Gameplay – Modes and Mechanics

Gameplay elements define how a player moves throughout the game world and how they interact with objects and the environment. The gameplay concept includes the sort of emotions that are evoked within the player and the variety of rules and mechanics which are used to immerse them.

 

Interaction Models

It is important to consider how the character will be controller and represented within a game. Interaction models display how the player will interact within the game world and determines what they will be controlling as well as the way in which they do it. One type of interaction model is an avatar interaction model. This is when the player controls a single main character and decides how they move through the game world. On the other hand, there is the omnipresence model. This is when the player controls a host of characters or the game world itself, meaning that they have an almost godlike presence within that world. An example of a game that makes use of the omnipresence interaction model is Halo Wars. Halo Wars is a real-time strategy game where you build and control armies with a bird’s eye view of the battlefield.

 

Single vs. Multiplayer

Single player game modes allows the player to work by themselves against AI, with the help of NPCs and objects within the game world. This game mode was particularly important in the early development of games and is still a major component in more modern games.There are two types of multiplayer game modes, co-operative or competitive. In co-operative multiplayer, you work with a group of people in order to complete an objective as a team, often against one or more AI opponents. Playing in co-op modes allow players to assist each other in a variety of ways such as healing or providing cover fire and can operate either locally or via over a network. On the other hand, in competitive modes, you work against other people in order to be the best. Due to it’s nature, competitive gaming has promoted the growth of eSports, and we now see young gamers competing for large prize pools in championships all over the world. Halo: Combat Evolved was one of the first competitive games to host a National Championship in 2004, which went onto the MLG Washington Championship in 2005, where Halo 2 was being played for a prize pool of $5,000.

Narrative Design

Narrative design determines how the player will be subjected to the game story. Narrative design can be carried out either in the game itself or via cutscenes which can emerge depending on the player’s progression. Different games present narrative in different ways but the main similarity that all games share is that there must be a conflict, without struggle, the player just has to make a decision, with no barriers or challenge along the way. Narrative is often linked to the visual style of a game and can be presented in a graphical, textual or auditory manner.

Feedback

Feedback is given to the player as they progress through the game based on their performance during certain tasks. This is linked to the HUD, as well as the narrative design of the game. Bother graphical and auditory narrative can be used to provide the player with feedback.

 

Protagonist and Antagonist

The protagonist is the leading character or one of the major characters in a game whereas the antagonist is one who is hostile or against the protagonist. The main character is portrayed in such a way that the player ends up relating to them, or feeling sympathetic towards them due to the situations that they are in. Lara Croft is an iconic character in games as she was one of the first strong female protagonists to appear in a game. Generally, the protagonist and antagonists have goals which directly oppose each other. However, the villain in a game does not necessarily have to be a singular man. It could be a group of people, nature (weather), aliens, an institution or even the character themselves. This opens up the option for the development of side characters as their lives can be directly affected by a protagonists actions.

 

 

Setting

The setting determines where the game takes place and how the player interacts with the game environment – this is known as the physical setting. There is a variety of features that contributes to settings within a game.

Temporal

The word temporal relates to time. Temporal setting needs to be considered when designing a game so that it relates well enough to the set time period. For example, if you were playing a game set in the early 1800s, you would not expect to hear modern day music being played on a radio as this would display a poor temporal setting.

Emotional

The emotional setting is used to immerse the player in the game and make them feel attached to the character as well as the game play itself. Designers need to be sure that they create the correct atmosphere so that the game evokes emotion within the player.

Environmental

Environmental setting must also be considered when designing a game. It is vital that the atmosphere created by the weather and environment enhances the game play experience. For example, if something saddening occurs, you would not expect the sun to be beaming as this would display poor environmental setting.

Whichever attributes you choose to use in your game setting, you must make sure that they are age appropriate and do not contain any features which may offend certain cultures. Assassin’s Creed is a game series which chooses game setting very carefully, considering not only the objects which feature in the game world, but also the sort of characters that are present.

 

Goals, Challenges and Rewards

Goals within a game are the main objectives that the player must complete in order to progress. Furthermore, games often contain optional objectives that can be completed in order to gain further rewards, these are known as challenges. For example, in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, one of the mission goals is to escort the president through the level. However, as well as this main objective, the player also has the option to look for enemy intel in order to gain more insight into the story line and unlock achievements for themselves. Other games may use more simple main objectives such as collecting a certain number of coins in order to progress to the next stage of the game.

When a player completes these goals and challenges which have been set, they are often rewarded with an item that will help them during their game play. For example, if the player chooses to help Tingle fuse all of the Kinstone pieces in The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, not only they will receive a trophy, but they will also unlock previously unopened parts of the map – such as caves or chest locations. Similarly, completing the main storyline rewards them with extra life making it a lot easier to succeed later on in the game.

 

Player Actions

There are two different things we consider when discussing player actions – the things that the game character can do, and the way in which the player themselves can control the character and the game world. Simple one button moves are required from basic movement throughout the game whereas complex combinations can be learnt throughout and used optionally to improve the way in which the character performs in the game. Controls and mechanics are often introduced slowly during a game so that the player is able to master these skills and feel some sort of progression within the game character.

Rules and Mechanics

 Rules and mechanics need to be established early on in the design phase of the game so that the player understands how the character interact with NPCs, environments and objects. As well as this, rules need to e established that have a direct effect on the gameplay itself, for example, if the player picks up a weapon, they should know how to use it straight away. Similarly, the ‘win and loss conditions’ must be considered – will the player die and have to restart if they make a mistake, or will they get three lives so that they get an extra chance upon failure, like you do in Super Mario Bros. – those who make mistakes should be punished and those who succeed should be rewarded for their efforts.

Difficulty and Balance

The difficulty of the game needs to be appropriate so that the game is made neither too easy nor too hard. The best way in which a game developer can do this is by making it so that the game starts off much easier, and gets more difficult as the player learns the mechanics as they improve and progress through the game. A very good feature that games such as Call of Duty include is the option to choose the difficulty at which the game is played. This makes it more versatile for people of different skill levels – the game won’t be too hard for beginners and it won’t be too easy for veteran players.

 

Game Structure

When producing a game idea, designers need to consider the game structure and the way in which each thing relates to another. They often use flowcharts to map out the basic structure of the game and show the ways in which different components interact with one another. For example, designers may map out how the creation of a game lobby will work.

Addiction

Designers often aim to make an addictive game that compels the player to want to return to that game world at the next given opportunity. As a game designer, you should strive to make your game mildly addictive whilst remembering that much of one thing can have an adverse effect on our health and can be classed as dangerously/overly addictive.

Different Perspectives Within Games

I have been focusing on the different perspectives that can be used in games. The way in which the player views the game is a very important factor that should be considered during the design process of a game. There is a collection of perspectives that can be used when designing your game.

 

Two Dimensional

In terms of gaming, two dimensional refers to a game world that appears flat to the viewers, with objects that can only move up and down. Classic examples of 2D games include Pong and Super Mario Bros on the NES. Fez broke these boundaries as it is a two-dimensional game that operates in a 3D world and was one of the first of it’s kind. Simple platform games make use of a side on view to show the character moving through the different levels, this is often known as a scrolling view.

Scrolling

A side-scrolling game is one where the player sees a cross-section of a 2D game world. The character sprite often starts on the side of the screen and moves to the right in order to progress through each level. This style was very popular among platformer games. On the other hand, a vertical scroller is displayed in a 2D fashion where the player starts at the top of the game world and works their way to the bottom or vice versa. In a scroller game, the screen often follows the character so that they remain in or near the center of the screen. However, there are some scrollers that position the camera on screen in correspondence to the character’s movement.

 

Three Dimensional

Whilst 2D games are still played worldwide, 3D games are becoming much more popular. Unlike 2D games, 3D allows game objects to move in three dimensions –  height, width, and depth, just as you would in real life. Sims is effective in being presented as a life simulator in that it uses 3D graphics. Three dimensional games sometimes allow the player to switch between two different views, first person and third person.

First-person

First-person refers to the game play perspective which is displayed from the viewpoint of the character. It works as if you were seeing the game from your own eyes and often gives the player an advantage in terms of first person shooters where the player requires a high level of accuracy when shooting an enemy.

Third-person

Third person perspective refers to that in which the camera is set outside of the characters body. It is different from first-person in that you do not see the game world from the characters point of view, but instead watch over their shoulder as you navigate through the game world. Third person perspective allows for better exploration of the game world as it provides a bigger picture of the characters surroundings.

 

Aerial

Aerial view refers to the game play perspective that displays the character and their surroundings from an overhead view. For this reason, it is also known as top-down perspective or bird’s eye view. The first GTA game displays a prime example of this use of perspective where it was used as the standard viewpoint instead of allowing the player to look in any direction.

 

Context-sensitive

A context-sensitive perspective is one where the camera angle changes depending on the game play and the sorts of actions that are taking place in the game world. The Batman: Arkham series make use of context-sensitive prompts in order to let the player know when they can perform certain actions such as a silent takedown, as a result of this, it is often said that the player feels more immersed in the game play and can connect more with the character.

 

 

Full Motion Video (FMV)

In older games, FMV allowed the player to make a decision based on video footage and then proceed to play another video, based on the decision which they had just made. Dragon’s Lair is one of the first games that used FMV in that the player had to click the correct button at the right time, in order to play the next part of the video and progress through the game.

Visual Style Within Games

Within our class, we have been discussing visual style in games. Visual style focuses on the appearance of the game world, the components within it and how they appear to the player. We can look at three main features when discussing visual style within games: Terrain, Architecture and Objects.

Terrain

The word “terrain” refers to the landscape and surroundings that are visible within a game. A lot of the time, companies do not choose to base game terrain around real-world areas, but rather use their terrain to create and generate fantasy worlds. Even when the real-world is the subject matter for design, it is often the case that an extremely limited area is used. The terrain within a game is important as it helps to promote the mechanics that feature in your game. Examples of terrains include concrete, grass and water, all of these can be combined in different ways to produce a large variety of different landscapes.

In terms of my game, I have thought about the sort of environment and foliage I could incorporate:

• Desert terrain
  • Vast sandy areas
  • Sandstone blocks

• Foliage
  • Triangle-leaf Bursage
  • Octillo
  • Barrel cactus
  • Joshua tree

 

Architecture

Architecture refers to the buildings and structures that feature in a game world. The presence of architecture in video games is  important as it forms the background for action, and is the platforms on which the characters move, act and, die. It is vital that the design of these structures fits in with the style of the game world in order to keep the final product sleek and polished.

Assassin’s Creed is a prime example of a game that uses architecture to it’s full potential, making the player climb on buildings and use them to progress further into the story.

As my game is set in Egypt I decided that I would keep in line with my theme in order to come up with some suitable architecture to include

• Pyramids
• Sphinx

 

Objects

Objects are the visible building blocks which add to the realism of a game. They are the fundamental items which are placed throughout the environment to act as obstacles or aids for the player upon interaction with them. Objects are usually beneficial for the player but they can sometimes be detrimental or can be deemed completely useless in terms of story progression.

After discussing objects as a class, I was able to determine some of the items that I would consider including in my game 

• Amulets
• Seals
• Canopic jars
• Ancient coins
• Old jewellery
• Pharaoh related objects
  • Sceptres
  • Sarcophagi
  • Pharaoh’s crown

 

Feedback Interface/Heads Up Display (HUD)

The HUD is a very important feature to a player as it is used to relay important information to them as part of the visual interface. The HUD is used to display several pieces of information at once. Although the contents of the HUD depends greatly on the game itself, there are many features which are present within a large variety of games and these can include:

• Timer
• Health/lives
• Weapons
• Capabilities
• Minimap
• Progression

The aim of my game is to collect objects to uncover the mystery of an old tomb, and for this reason I would like a very minimal HUD that contains only the number of artefacts collected, out of how many there are available. Instead of a HUD, I would prefer to make use of a menu screen similar to the one seen in The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap.

I would like to produce a menu which switches between the items collected and the players progression status. Ideally, these are the premises that each screen would follow.

• Artefacts collected (possibly a short paragraph of information about each one)
• Map – once collected

 

Mini-maps

A mini-map is a small map that is often placed in the corner of a screen in order to aid the players navigation through the game world. They only take up a small section of the screen and often only display a small segment of the main map at any one time. For this reason, they must be designed in a way which allows the player to obtain only the important information from them.

In a lot games, the mini-map begins as a solid square of black colour, and the map is automatically drawn as the player discovers new areas of the game world. Alternatively, “fog of war” is used and each area on the mini-map is covered until the player discovers it.

Some games may decide the have their mini-map completely discovered, one game that does this is Runescape. From the start of the game, you are able to use the mini-map to navigate without anything preventing you from seeing each new area. The mini-map within the game also manages to fit a lot of important features on it, such as NPC locations and points of interest, as well as other players and dropped items.

 

Characters

The character design is crucial to making a successful game – if the main playable character is not appealing enough, then the player will not be immersed in the experience and thus your game won’t be as successful. It is essential that you as a designer, create enough sprites to cover all of the moves and actions that main will be performing. It is vital that your character will be easily recognisable and memorable – Pacman and Mario are two old school characters that are recognised throughout the world of gaming, this is due to their simple design which hasn’t really changed throughout the years aside from graphical updates.

NPCs

The visual presentation of non-playable characters is equally important in a game. If NPCs do not match the theme of the game, then they will seem very out of place. The Assassin’s Creed series is very good at making sure the NPCs fit in with the setting of the game by making sure that they wear suitable clothing and act accordingly.

3DS Max – Practicing with Splines

In order to broaden my knowledge, I have been trying other methods of modelling use splines and the lathe modifier. Splines is a method of drawing that allows you to draw basic 2D shapes in the same way that you would if you were using the pen tool in Photoshop, whilst Lathe is a modifier that allows you to transform your drawings into a 3D model by rotating the shape/line around an axis.

As you can see I started off with a basic wine glass shape. However, as the top was solid, the 3D model did not come out how I wanted, I fixed this by using the modifier panel to adjust the position of my vertices so that the middle of the glass was hollow.

Using the Lathe modifier, I then rotated this basic shape around the Z axis in order to produce a basic wine glass.

Upon rendering the image, the object was completely see through. This can easily be fixed with the use of a simple shell modifier. (Parameters : Outer – 0.5)

After applying the shell modifier and a material, the glass was rendering properly. I then produced a small selection of other models and applied a plane and a skylight in order to cast shadows and make the model appear more realistic.