Why is the design of a computer game important?

Transcription

1 Why is the design of a computer game important?

2 Arcade reaction speed Puzzle clever thinking / brain improvement (Angry Birds, Myst) Role Playing steer a character through a world Management build a empire Sport / Racing Simulators realistic

3 What was the first game? Before Pong, there was Tennis for Two Gauntlet was the first 4 player game. Outrun was the first game with a steering wheel, shifter and foot pedals. It also had a memorable crash animation. History of video game consoles Atari had an open-source code and could not control the quality Mario s name was going to be Mr. Video and he could not jump.

4 Some say it is E.T. made by Atari in 1982 The game tanked because "it was practically broken" with the E.T. falling into traps that were almost impossible to escape and would appear constantly and unpredictably. The E.T. game is among the factors blamed for the decline of Atari and the collapse in the U.S. of a multi-million-dollar video game industry that didn't bounce back for several years Dumped into a landfill in New Mexico Was fixed and re-released in 2013

5 Can help adults process information much faster and improve their fundamental abilities to reason and solve problems in novel contexts - Office of Naval Research (ONR) As Dr. Ezriel Kornel explains on WebMD.com, playing certain video games (e.g. Brain Age or Guitar Hero) can also improve hand-eye coordination, enhance split-second decision making and even, potentially, boost auditory perception. Just playing isn t enough, though, says Dr. Kornel. The key is that you have to be improving each time you play, because in order to improve you have to be learning. According to studies by Daphne Bavelier, a professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Rochester, video gamers show real-world improvements on tests of attention, accuracy, vision and multitasking after playing certain titles.

6 A study published in the February edition of Archives of Surgery says that surgeons who regularly play video games are generally more skilled at performing laparoscopic surgery. According to Dr. Jeffrey Taekman, the director of Duke University s Human Simulation and Patient Safety Center, serious games and virtual environments are the future of education. Organizations supporting individuals of all ages and interests are additionally using active games to help get people up and moving. Nursing homes, cruise ships and even after-school programs all now employ active video games in some form to help stimulate both the mind and body. Healthy diversions such as Wii Fit and Zumba Fitness continue to be some of the most popular and best-selling games year in and out.

7 Games with broad appeal that are easy to grasp can additionally help many families play together, and better bridge the gap between generations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers found that participants who had just played a pro-social game in which characters must work together to help each other out as compared to those who had just played a neutral game (e.g. Tetris) were more likely to engage in helpful behaviors Look at World of Warcraft : You ve got 11-year-olds who are learning to delegate responsibility, promote teamwork and steer groups of people toward a common goal. - Ian Bogost

8 Average US child spends 50 hours a week on gaming/media Obesity Sleep Deprivation (from cell phones and computers) It dumbs you down - Impairs attention, alertness, concentration, reasoning and problem solving Can lead to you injuring yourself Serious health problems heart, high blood pressure, stroke Depression and moodiness Ages your skin Makes you forgetful Makes you gain weight increases hunger and appetite Immersed in violence leads to violent behavior military training is an example If you are in a fight or flight type of game, your body sends out chemicals that shuts down your rational brain. This hinders your ability to weigh consequences when make decisions. Poor people skills - saying things online that you would not say in person

9 When Atari produced its first game console in the seventies is was not very popular. This changed drastically when the game Space Invaders was created and bundled with the console. The same thing happened when Pacman was produced. And for the Nintendo Game Boy Tetris was the absolute winner. Why are these games so special that they mean the difference between success and failure of the devices they were created for?

10 The key issue is immersion. The player needs to feel present in the game world and that their decisions and actions really matter. If they become emotionally attached to the main characters, then the graphics and sound are not that important. Ingredients to achieve this immersion are: The story in and behind the game, the surroundings in which the game takes place, the way the main characters in the game look and behave, the music, and the special effects.

11 Balance sprites should be scaled appropriately Contrast the important elements should stand out (largest is most important) Unity the game should connect with the theme Rhythm there should be an appropriate ramp up in the difficulty in the levels

12 Players make decisions that influence the game. Carefully balancing decisions and their effects is crucial for satisfying game play Need to design a balance between players having control of the game, but also having surprises and dramatic effects that control the game (game zooms in and the music gets louder) The player should manage resources. Game designers should balance the availability of resources with their need. Must be a goal to reach. Long games should have sub-goals. Each goal should have a reward sound, score, health, new ability, useful information, etc. The goals should be challenging without being frustrating (age appropriate)

13 Preproduction - Plan - This is usually considered to be the most important aspect of designing a game. What you want to do, why you want to do it, and the goals you want the player to complete. Decide on the genre. Create a story. Game elements (characters, goals, how to play, etc.) Production - Construction and Development Art team for visual effects Programming team for the code Audio team for music and sound effects Design team to ensure that the teams stay on track and everything works the way you want Postproduction - Finishing touches Test and debug Market the game Showcase the game at trade show demos.

14 Majority of mainstream games take at least 2 years to make Some adventure games have been known to be under development for 5 to 10 years. Mainstream game production costs start at $10M This is changing because of smart phones and tablets Flappy Birds In 2014, it took 2-3 days to code and became the #1 app download at ios. It took in an estimated $50,000 a day in in-app advertisements. Immediately, there were many clones of the game.