Game Design Workshop

Taller de Diseño de Juegos

Jonathan Hamel
@jhameltime
Welcome Back!


Designer
Mechanics Dynamics Aesthetics 
Player
MDA in SiSSYFIGHT

Turns + hit points + actions

Competition,
Random Attacks

Equality Scourge

Cooperation,
Team Attacks

BETRAYAL
Definitions

● Mechanics: The rules and concepts that formally

specify the game-as-system.

● Dynamics: The run-time behavior of the game-as-

system.

● Aesthetics: The desirable emotional responses evoked

by the game dynamics.
Iterative Design Process

Playtest

Follow the fun Fail fast

Modify Analyze
TODAY

• A deeper dive on the components of MDA

• An exercise about making players care about NPC
Schedule

● 1400 – 1800 again today

Game Design Workshop
MDA in Detail

Credit to Mahk LeBlanc (Riot)

Games as Feedback Loops

Alter
State

Measure


Decide
Two Kinds of Feedback Mechanics

● Negative: We give the losing player a bonus (blue shell)

● Positive: We give the winning player a bonus (speed boost)

● Resulting dynamics: Stabilizing force vs. Snowball effect

Dynamics & Aesthetics

● Where does Drama come from?

● Conflict creates dramatic tension
● Tension builds towards a climax
Tension is a Function of Uncertainty

● A game is as tense as it is close

● Tension = f(closeness)
So These Are Related!

● Feedback systems can govern closeness,

therefore tension.

● Thus they can be a useful tool for influencing drama

So These Are Related!

● Feedback systems can govern closeness,

therefore tension.

Dynamics

● Thus they can be a useful tool for influencing drama

So These Are Related!

● Feedback systems can govern closeness,

therefore tension.

Dynamics Aesthetics

● Thus they can be a useful tool for influencing drama

Important Distinction

● Feedback mechanics are a useful tool

for influencing drama
in a competitive environment.

● NOT “your racing game is bad if it doesn’t have a

feedback system.”
The Problem of Applicability

● Not all tools are hammers.

● Not all problems are nails.
● We need a language for describing problems.
● Solutions are not value statements.
Understanding Aesthetics

● We need to get past words like “fun” and “gameplay.”

● What kinds of “fun” are there?

● How will we know a particular kind of “fun” when we see

it?
Eight Kinds of “Fun”

● Sensation game as sense pleasure

● Challenge … as obstacle course
● Association … as social framework
● Narrative … as unfolding story
● Fantasy … as permission to pretend
● Expression … as soapbox
● Discovery … as uncharted territory
● Submission … as mindless pastime Aesthetics
Clarifying Our Goals

● An aesthetic vocabularly helps us describe the design

problems we want to solve.

● We need more than a one-word description of our

goals.
Formulating an “Aesthetic Model”

For each aesthetic goal:

● Write a formal definition
● List criteria for success
● List modes of failure

● Serves as an “aesthetic compass”

● These are often reusable
Some examples…
Goal: Competition

● Definition: A game is competitive if players are emotionally

invested in defeating each other.
● Success:
● Players are adversaries.
● Players want to win.
● Failure:
● A player feels that he can’t win.
● A player can’t measure his progress.
Goal: Drama

Definition:
● A game is dramatic if its central conflict creates
dramatic tension.
Goal: Drama

● Success:
● A sense of uncertainty
● A sense of inevitability
● Tension increases towards a climax
● Failure:
● The conflict’s outcome is obvious (no uncertainty)
● No sense of forward progress (no inevitability)
● Player doesn’t care how the conflict resolves.
Goal: Pirate Fantasy

● Definition: A pirate fantasy conforms to the genre

conventions of pirate movies, and permits the player to
engage in certain kinds of anti-social pirate behavior.
Goal: Pirate Fantasy

● Success: ● Failure:
● Empowerment ● Vulnerability
● Independence ● Compassion
● Greed ● Generosity
● Treachery
● Prey upon Weak
Aesthetic Models are a Vital Tool

● It’s hard to solve problems we can’t describe.

● To ourselves
● To each other in a collaborative environment
Understanding Dynamics

● Behavior is separate from rules.

● The same behavior can emerge from many different

rules.

● We can create Dynamic Models

Dynamics
Dynamic Models Help Us

● Explain the behavior we observe

● Predict behavior before it happens
Feedback System is One Example

● Negative feedback loop State

(Stabilizing force)
Alter Measure

● Positive feedback loop

(Snowball effect) Decide
The Science of Probability

● This is a model of 2d6:

Chance in 36

2 3 4 5 6 Die7roll8 9 10 11 12
The Science of Psychology

● The player is part of the system, too!

● Psychology is the science of understanding and
predicting behavior
The Science of Psychology

● Operant conditioning
● “Variable schedules of reward produce persistence…”
● Behavioral economics
● “Cognitive load consumes the same part of the brain people
use to make sound judgements…”
● Empathy theory
● “Expressions of vulnerability can encourage empathy…”
Understanding Mechanics

● Knowledge of Mechanics is encyclopedic

● Play lots of games
Understanding Mechanics

● Cards
● Shuffling, Trick-Taking, Bidding
● Shooters
● Ammunition, Spawn Points, Health
● Golf
● Sand Traps, Water Hazards
● Basketball
● Passing, 24 second shot clock (90*60)/(112*2)
It's not so much about this…

Mechanics Dynamics Aesthetics

This is where design happens…
Game Design Workshop
River Xcape™

Credit to Jeb Havens (Google)

Overview

RivrXcape™ simulates the plight of ten people

escaping across a raging river.

Playtest
RivrXcape(tm) - The Basic Game Rules
Ten people are caught
in a section of raging
river between two
deadly waterfalls.
They must get to safety
before they are swept
over the edge.

The goal is to get as

many as possible to the
river bank on the right.
RivrXcape(tm) – Each Turn…
Phase 1: Rapids (Roll 2d6)
• First, check for sixes. If you roll any
sixes, push EVERY Meeple down one
space and then immediately re-roll the
sixes. Repeat this until neither die
shows a six.
• Then, for each of the two dice, push
all the Meeples in that column down
one space.
• Any Meeple that falls off the bottom of
the board is dead. :-(dd

Phase 2: Move Towards Safety!

• You can now make up to X total moves, where X is equal to the final die roll total from Step 1.
• Each move consists of moving one Meeple one space horizontally or vertically.
• Each Meeple can only make a maximum of two moves in a turn.
• Meeples cannot move into or through other Meeples' spaces.
• A Meeple that moves onto one of the two brown river bank spaces is safe. :-)
Play until ~15:00

● Try to complete three full games

● Write down how many people survive each game
General Observations About RivrXcape?

Analyze
What’s fun about RivrXcape?

● Can we get more specific than “fun/not fun?”

● How did you feel when you played?
● Challenge: Tactics, Problem Solving
● Drama: Narrative Arc, Forward Pressure
● Responsibility: “Oh no!” moments
Exercise Goals

● Make the player care about the individual people

● Each time you play, count how many survive
● Tune the game so about half of them die each time

Half the people die, but the player

should just care a lot more
Modify
The GRUVI Model: Why Do We Care?

● Getting players to emotionally attach

to virtual agents

● Grateful
● Relatable
● Useful
● Vulnerable
● Investment (-ful)

● Credit: Jeb Havens, Google/YouTube

Grateful
The player feels directly responsible for the agent’s happiness

● Thankful Reactions
● The agents clearly express their thanks to the player for actions taken
● Attributes Happiness
● The agents attribute any happy moment or action to the player
● Humble
● The agents show respect for the player’s ultimate authority, as they know that they could
never survive without you
● Proactive
● The agents go out of their way to try to show appreciation to the player, even unprompted
Relatable
The player can project his or her own mind and thoughts onto the agents

● Transparent
● The agents give clear and frequent feedback, and the player can easily see current status
● Emotional
● The agents are happy and playful at times, and sad and downtrodden at other times
● Social
● The agents interact socially with others of their kind
● Predictable
● The agents make fairly simple choices, for reasons that are clear to the player
Useful
The player derives important benefit from the agents

● Powerful
● The agents have especially powerful (often unique) actions, such as skilled or efficient use of
resources, or the creation of especially cool structures or events
● Renewable
● The agents will continue to “work” as long as they are kept alive and happy
● Adaptable
● The agents can learn, or otherwise have their behavior modified by the player to respond to new
conditions
● Resilient
● The agents will actively try to keep themselves alive and avoid danger (rather than simply running
down like an automaton)
Vulnerable
The player sees that the agents need him or her to survive

● Mortal
● The agents can die
● Short Sighted
● The agents won’t make optimal decisions on their own
● Hunted
● The agents have some form of enemies they need protection from (predators, disease, monsters,
environment, etc.)
● Periodically Fragile
● The agents are especially fragile at certain times or in certain situations (when sick, as a baby, in
winter, at night, during a life-stage metamorphosis, etc.)
Investment (-ful)
The player can spend a lot of time and energy on the agents

● Sacrifice
● The agents have a significant cost to create, nurture, and grow
● Future Potential
● The agents take a while to be especially useful, focusing the player on the agents’ longer-term
future
● Support Structure
● The agents have recurring needs that require the player to mold the surrounding environment
(both natural and economic systems) to meet on a regular basis
● Multiple Cycles
● The agents operate and grow according to longer-term cycles that the player must adapt their
upkeep to (age, seasons, day/night, reproductive, etc.)
The GRUVI Model: Why We Care
Relatable
- Transparent
Grateful - Emotional Useful
- Thankful Reactions - Predictable - Powerful
- Attributes Happiness - Social - Renewable
- Humble - Adaptable
- Proactive - Resilient

Virtual Agents

Vulnerable Investment
- Mortal - Sacrifice
- Short Sighted - Future Potential
- Hunted - Support Structure
- Periodically Fragile - Multiple Cycles
Beta Test at 5:15 pm

● Make sure your rules are written down.

Beta Test

● Send 4 team members to 2 other tables as beta testers

● 2 people stay behind to teach the rules
● Test until 5:30
Discussion
● Let’s compare solutions.
● What different approaches did we take?

5:50
Game Design Workshop
Closing
MDA in SiSSYFIGHT

Turns + hit points + actions

Competition,
Random Attacks

Equality Scourge

Cooperation,
Team Attacks

BETRAYAL
MDA in Context

● The game industry is full of both aesthetic models and

prescriptive aesthetic lenses
Marc LeBlanc

● Sensation game as sense pleasure

● Challenge … as obstacle course
● Fellowship … as social framework
● Narrative … as unfolding story
● Fantasy … as permission to pretend
● Expression … as soapbox
● Discovery … as uncharted territory
● Submission … as mindless pastime
… or my version

● Sensation game as sense pleasure

● Challenge … as obstacle course
● Association … as social framework
● Narrative … as unfolding story
● Fantasy … as permission to pretend
● Expression … as soapbox
● Discovery … as uncharted territory
● Submission … as mindless pastime
Nicole Lazzaro
Jason VandenBerghe

Novelty
Challenge
Stimulation
Harmony
Threat
Jamie Madigan, et al.
(Immersyve)
This is where design happens…
Takeaways

● Game mechanics create dynamics when set in motion

● Game dynamics have emergent aesthetics
● The designer can choose those aesthetics
● Through iteration we refine both the aesthetics and the
clarity with which they emerge from the game
Takeaways

● Aesthetic models are reusable

● Dynamic models come from science
● Knowledge of mechanics is encyclopedic
Thanks

● Slides and materials will be posted for download

● @jhameltime