Game design - what is a game? Introduction to videogames. University of Vic

1. Ruth S. Contreras Espinosa
What is a game?
Game design

3. Ruth
S.
Contreras

4. Game
Games
are
dynamic
systems
and
that
their
elements
work
together
to
produce
a
complex
whole.
-­‐Outside
the
game,
our
ac<ons
have
no
real
consequences.
-­‐Without
players,
games
have
no
reason
to
exist.
A
game
is
a
closed,
formal
system
that
engages
players
in
structured
conflict
and
resolves
its
uncertainty
in
an
unequal
outcome.
Ruth
S.
Contreras

8. To
explore
the
actual
design
and
structure
of
a
game
we
can
use
Jesse
Schell’s
“tetrad”
With
4
components:

9. The
four
basic
elements
Schell
defines
mechanics
as
the
procedures
and
rules
of
your
game
and
discusses
six
mechanics:
Space
is
where
the
users
engage
with
the
game
(virtual
worlds
and
physical
space).
Objects
are
resources
used
by
the
player
to
advance
in
the
game.
Ac=ons
are
how
the
player
interacts
with
objects.
Rules
govern
the
game
environment.
Skills
are
physical,
mental
and
social
abili<es
used
by
a
player
to
progress.
Chance
refers
to
the
randomness
and
uncertainty
that
exists
in
games.
Ruth
S.
Contreras

10. The
four
basic
elements
Technology
refers
to
the
tools
and
systems
used
to
implement
or
deliver
the
gameplay.
The
same
mechanic
may
be
implemented
using
many
different
Technologies:
game
board,
mobile
phone
screen,
game
console,
etc.
Aesthe=cs
describes
how
your
game
looks,
sounds,
smells,
tastes,
and
feels.
Story
is
the
sequence
of
events
that
unfolds
in
your
game.
Most
if
not
all
games
may
have
a
story
in
Schell’s
sense
of
a
sequence
of
events.
Even
the
sequence
of
falling
blocks
in
Tetris
would
be
a
story
using
Schell’s
defini<on.
Ruth
S.
Contreras

11. Ruth
S.
Contreras
Jesse
Schell’s
“tetrad”.
App
The
art
of
Game
Design

12. vs

13. Ruth
S.
Contreras
Ex2.
In
base
of
a
videogame
that
you
selected
(homework):
1. Write
down
a
brief
descrip=on
of
the
game.
Describe
it
as
if
to
someone
who
has
never
played
a
game
like
it
before.
You
can
look
up
the
rules
online
2.
Talk
with
other
student
about
his/her
descrip=on
of
the
game.
The
more
different
this
game
is
from
yours,
beWer.
3.
Compare
your
descrip=ons.
Which
elements
were
different
and
which
were
similar?
Dig
deep
and
really
think
about
the
underlying
mechanics
of
each
game.
There
is
no
wrong
answer
to
this
exercise.
The
goal
is
simply
to
get
you
to
begin
thinking
about
the
nature
of
games
and
to
realize
that
games,
no
maWer
how
dissimilar
they
might
seem,
do
share
some
common
elements.

14. Ruth
S.
Contreras
Hw.
In
base
of
a
videogame
that
you
selected:
Game
Analysis
(
see
Game
Analysis
Guidelines,
Virtual
campus)
-­‐A
game
analysis
should
be
a
cri<que,
but
you
can
do
also
a
review.
-­‐The
goal
of
a
game
analysis
is
not
to
establish
how
good
or
bad
a
game
is,
but
highlight
and
ra<onalize
the
aspects
that
make
the
game
worth
studying
and
contribute
to
understanding
videogames
beWer.
-­‐Describe
the
basic
game
elements.Explain
mechanics,
story,
aesthe<cs,
technology.