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The Structure of Games

The document discusses the structures and elements of games by comparing the card game Go Fish to the 3D action shooter game Quake. While the formats are very different, with one using cards and the other using a computer, both share underlying structures that make them games. These common elements include having players, objectives, procedures/rules to guide play, resources to achieve objectives, boundaries to play within, and an uncertain outcome. The document also discusses how engaging challenges are important to attracting players and that puzzles can be considered a sub-type of game, with the distinction being whether there is a goal of winning or not.

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Mino Ilustradora
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36 views

The Structure of Games

The document discusses the structures and elements of games by comparing the card game Go Fish to the 3D action shooter game Quake. While the formats are very different, with one using cards and the other using a computer, both share underlying structures that make them games. These common elements include having players, objectives, procedures/rules to guide play, resources to achieve objectives, boundaries to play within, and an uncertain outcome. The document also discusses how engaging challenges are important to attracting players and that puzzles can be considered a sub-type of game, with the distinction being whether there is a goal of winning or not.

Uploaded by

Mino Ilustradora
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Structure of Games

GO FISH VERSUS
QUAKE

Do all games share the same exact structure?


A card game has very different format tha a very
different format tha a board game, a 3D action game
is not at all the same as a trivia game.

The Games
GO FISH

QUAKE

The player control a carcter within


a 3D environment.

Axe, shotgun, doubl-barreled


shotgun, nail gun, perforator, grenade
laucher, rocket laucher, and
thunderbolt.

When yo complete an entire dimensin


(fivetoeight levels).

The goal of Quake is to stay alive while


you work your way through each
level, killing all enemies in your way.

To six players using a standard

52-card deck. The dealer deals five cards to each player.

If the drawn card is not the rank you asked for, you keep
it, but the turn now passes to the player who said, Go
fish!

COMPARISON

The other is a real time 3D action shooter.

One requires a piece of comercial software and a personal computer


capa le of running it; the other can be played with a common deck of
cards.

There are enough similarities betwee the experience of Quake and the
exprerience of Go Fish for us to begin tu understand what underlying
requerements we are looking for when we judge whether or something
ia game.

PLAYERS
o

Musicians participate in creating the experience of music, but the


primary consumer are the audience, not the players.

The design calls for a lone player working against the game system.

These are very different scenarios, but what the term player implies
in each situation is the notion of a voluntary participant whot both
partakes in and consumes the entertainment.

The make decisions, they are invested, they are potential winnersthey are very distinct subset of people.

Is part of the psychological and emotional state of players tha we


need to consider as part of the playcentric process of game desing.

OBJETIVES

There is one for the


carcter, but were
talking about the
player here.
We dont need to
acomplish all of our
objetives to have a
successful life.e
Is a key elemet without
which the experience
loses much of is
structure.

PROCEDURE
S

The actions or methods of


play allowed by the ruler, are
an important distinction of de
experiences we call games.
They guide player behavior,
creating interactions tha
woul probably never take
place outside the authority of
the game.

RULES

There are eight types of


weapons, and Shellare for
both types of shotguns, nails
are for nail gunsand
perforators, etc.
Other rules limit player
behaviorand proscibe reactive
events.
The concepts of both rules
and procedures imply autority.
They experiences tha have
rules tha rules tha define
game objects, proscribe
principles, and limit behavior
within the game.

We have mentioned certain objects


that seem to hold a rather high
value for the players in reaching their
objetives.

RESOURCE
S

These object, made valuable because


they can help the players achive their
goal.

In the case of Quake, the architecture of


the 3D space forms a virtual boundary.
Players are precluded from moving their
characters out of these boundaries by rhe
underlying code.

BOUNDARIE
S

Players are not precisely bound in a


physical sense by any of the rules, except
tha they need to speak to one another
and trade cards back and forth.
All play moves and has its beginning
within a playgroud marked off beforehand
either materially or ideally.
All temporary worlds within the ordinary
world, dedicated to the performance of
an act apart.

OUTCOME

The outcome of both experiences is


uncetain, though there is the
certainty of a mesurable and
unequal outcome of some kindwinner, a loser, etc.
The outcome of a game differs from
the objective in that all players can
achive the objective, but other
factors within the system can
determine which of them actually
win the game.
They aspect of uncertainty in
outcome is an important one for our
playcentric procces because it is a
key motivation for the players.
Of outcome in very play for their
dramatic tensin.

FORMAL
ELEMENTS

Some of the most influential have been


those looking at games in terms of
studying conflict, economics, behavioral
psychology, sociology, and anthropolgy.
The distintive elements of game that are
described above are important concepts
for the game designer to understand
because they provide structure (and form).

ENGAGING
THE PLAYERS

Certainly, some are attaracted to


pure abstract challenges, but for
most players, there needs to be
something else tha draw them in
and allows right now are elements
that all games share elements tha
make up the essence of games.

CHALLENGE

This conflict challenges the


players, creating tensin as they
Work to resolve problems, as well
as creating varying levels of
achievement or frustation.
Alternately, if the challenge level
remains flat or goes down, players
might feel that they have mastered
the game and move on.

The relationship between games


and play is a deep and
important one.

PLAY

The play is the amount of


movement tha the steerign
Wheel can move on its own
within the system, the amount
the steering Wheel can turn
before it before it begins to turn
the tires of the car.

PUZZLES VERSUS GAMES


Game -- winning

Some game designers categorize puzles


as a subspecies of game.f
Players can enjoy rotating and
manipulating blocksin the action puzzle
game Tetris even if they dont understand
the goal .

0ther types of puzzle tha walk the line on


the issue of right answers include trivia
questions (in which requer knowlwdge).

Puzzle -- goal
Toy -- no goal
Story -- no interaction

WHAT IS A PUZZLE?
From casual games to 3D action games, puzles are an important part of
many electronic games.

a toy or other contrivance designed to amuse by presenting difficul to


be solved by ingenuity or patient effort.
Says tha puzzle are a form of play.
A puzzle is fun.
a toy or other contrivance designed to amuse by presenting difficul to
be solved by ingenuity or patient effort.

GRACIAS
Mnica Holgun
Linda Cubillos

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