Html5 game and gamification design from the trenches

HTML5 game
& gamification
design from
the trenches
Pietro Polsinelli
@ppolsinelli

Use HTML5 as a
platform for games
and gamified
solutions.

On all updated web enabled platforms.
More or less.
Once upon a time, there were two happy hobbits in search of an adventure. They wanted 2
to …

Saturday, March 23, 2013

A simple mechanics, a catchy narrative, and we’ll conquer the world.

But they found out that it wasn’t a picnic. I was a war, where we lost hard battles.

First of all, what do you mean by “this works on mobile”? Wide spectrum plus do not
compromise performance. We know that there are browser differences… but also
devices matter a lot. In particular for games.


“Our audio feature requests are very limited: we want a
background track for the game, changing only at level
change, and a few sound effects on events. The background
audio is not responsive with respect to game events.

Being a 3-match game, events are at a slow pace so effect
sounds would be mostly played one at a time, at most two
having a partial overlap.

There is no development platform built in the last 20 years
that does not support such minimal requirements for audio
(and much, much more, see e.g. Java, Flash, Unity…) so we
started in a quite confident mood.”

From our post on HTML5 audio: http://bit.ly/html5audio5


Example: current state
of mobile HTML5 audio

http://bit.ly/html5audio5
Just published an extended technical enquiry in mobile HTML5 audio – won’t enter in
technical details. Demo, sources, game, all at the address above.

Some of the problems we found:

- no concurrent audio

- no starting sounds in
background

- problematic impact on
performance

- no perfect sync

- no preloading

Resorted to sound sprites and other hacks.

After the first days, we felt a mixture of disappointment, rage, frustration.


Testing available libraries, web
audio superficially works, it doesn’t
really work on mobile:

1. cross browser / device

2. doesn’t compromise overall
performance of the rest
I have audio but no animations. Or vice versa. Libraries are unreliable, not tested, not 11
maintained. Web standards ignored or twisted.


Its not
limited
technical
skills.

It’s a wall.

Say not playing to audio files on Android. Simply nothing to do about it. Sprites, but
“combinatorial sprites” would be absurd.


“A game is
essentially
animations,
3D, things that
go fast played
in real time”

HTML5 seems unfit by design for games.


Getting out of
despair.inc zone

New resolve: turn weakness into power.


Once you accept the fact that you have limited means, you immediately get a
power refill.

Yes I’m not the first to say that. 17

Admit limited means -> Stop and think: what we do best? What we really need? This way 18
we got audio to fit our needs.

“Unfit by design” is related to
geeky commonplaces about
games & fun.

“A game is essentially
animations, 3D, things that go fast
played in real time”
Not always true.


Example: this game I
designed is
technologically and
game-mechanically
quite simple:

http://goodmorning.
appsfuel.com/

Simple tech is not equivalent to simple structure.


It’s a misleading
simplicity. Making it
addictive requires a
study, design, testing,
previous attempts.

The key here is “fun
because of hints of a non
trivial narrative through
a trivial game
mechanics.”
Simple and addictive


So… it’s time
to get creative!
23

GAMIFICATION
Follow me in a short detour. I have to say the obscene word.

Def. Black Hat Gamification

Definition: Adding points, badges, leaderboards & incentives to an
existing application in order to increase addictiveness.

Runs under the slogan “everything is a game”.
Image & ideas (a lot of them) from http://codingconduct.cc Sebastian Deterding

Undermining intrinsic
motivation:

“people feel
diminished autonomy
in their action, coerced
and micro managed
by badges & scores”

#badGamification

Extrinsic motivation. 27

LONG WINDED INTRO
A different idea of gamification, inspired by good videogames as they
actually are.

Gamify as find a real, anthropologically relevant core, and make it
explicitly a theme. This is effective gamification.

This is linked to game design as a methodology for other fields.

You need the “meat”. I see developers everywhere thinking they can do
games without the meat. YOU CAN’T.
29

Get attracted by a misleading analogy, web site / game.
Those that come from web development, may fall in the mistake of a misleading analogy web site / web
game. See http://www.slideshare.net/ppolsinelli/from-html5-websites-to-html5-games


Def. White Hat Gamification

Proposal: Gamifying means creating an
application that defines a meaningful
narrative through game design elements
and… it is not a game (though it should be
fun).

Runs under the slogan: a gamified app is actually a completely new app. Yes, relates to
intrinsic motivation, autonomy, learning.

I say that #gamification done properly MEANS storyboarding, not badges & points. 32

Jj Abrams tells that Jaws is a good, memorable movie because of the writing, not
because of the effects. You can do the same with games
http://www.ted.com/talks/j_j_abrams_mystery_box.html

What did the Romans do for us? Funnyfication of political discussion – but it is not
meaningless or silly.

How can I talk about WW2 to today’s hurried reader? Limited mechanics, complex story.

35

Movie script writing is hard & fascinating. Idea: movie script writing -> call & response game -> 140
tweet -> that’s it! Here the storyboarding relationship is twisted, just to confuse your ideas further.

Melt-a-Plot – fast paced call & response writing game, 140 characters (quick) each, giggling. Like as
hearts, top stories.

The way out: back
to HTML5 games

The way out is (game specific)
storyboarding.

Video game storyboarding is not
synonymous with say movie
script writing (“narrative arc”,
“hero’s journey”...).
Tom Blissel http://www.brainygamer.com/the_brainy_gamer/2013/03/brainy-gamer-
podcast-episode-40.html


10.000.000 is a beautiful game, because it is game-specifically well scripted. Needs minimal
development skills.

This is a liberating perspective for HTML5 games
and gamification.
Entire classes of games are perfectly possible. Don’t waste your energy against walls:
put them in improving your storyboarding quality.

Side effect: living, playing a story
leaves you something.

The remembering self will be
grateful for the story that
unfolded – which it didn’t have to
create itself.
We desperately need stories: addicted gamblers project a logical story over gambling
machines.
Games that change tell stories.


Two storyboarding tools: Machinations, Balsamiq.


Your own stories control you. Self-help & self-improvement can be seen as an ever strict
self-dictatorship, articulated in stories. That’s our way of living 

My twitter stream is dedicated to
game design:
http://twitter.com/ppolsinelli

A blog on game design
http://designagame.eu

http://www.flickr.com/photos/drakegoodman/3401538824/sizes/l/

http://www.despair.com/

http://distility.com/building-brand/branding-secrets-apple-steve-jobs/

http://www.kotaku.com.au/2011/08/youre-gonna-have-to-buy-rage-new-if-you-want-to-crawl-through-a-
sewer/

http://www.zazzle.com/warning_unfit_for_zombie_consumption_poster-228758161234600176

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/French_biplane_crash_WWI.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-
Gj_H38w0drc/TxgAJTWhOsI/AAAAAAAADQ8/rQahw0HlJuE/s1600/blackspot.jpeg

http://www.movpins.com/dHQwMTE3MTEw/muppet-treasure-island-%281996%29/

A few references. 47

Html5 game and gamification design from the trenches

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Html5 game and gamification design from the trenches