GLD - Riassunto PDF

Preview

Summary

Riassunto Game and Level Design, prof. Maggiorini e Ripamonti....

Description

Riassunto GLD There are various motivations to create a Video Game: -

Commercial Didactical Artistic Etc…

In order to make a game we need many features like a set of predetermined, agreed upon, rules designed to implement and facilitate gameplay. A Game Design is a coherent set of elements both formal (players, objectives, rules, boundaries, outcome) and dramatic (challenge, premise, character, story) that compose the game’s content in a way that facilitates appropriate gameplay and promotes fun in order to achieve the game’s fundamental goals. Formal elements refer to data data, while dramatic elements refer to emotions motions; for example a combat, can be interpreted as an algorithm in a formal way and as a powerful battle with swords and tension in a dramatic way. Game Design goals can be: -

External (Commercial, Educational, Artistic…) Internal (Empowerment, Have fun with the game, Don’t break the magic circle, Sense of achievement, Reward…)

A Game Designer is a person who determines the rules by which a game is formulated in order to reach the goals for which is created, coordinate coordinatess the development team, holds the overall vision of how the final product should be. Game Design is not the same as Level Design, but they are interconnected. Bad LD can ruin a good game (GD), Bad Game (GD) cannot be saved by good LD. Level Design is applied Game Design. A Game Designer formulates the STRUCTUR STRUCTURE E . (Theory) → Designs a game structure and rules. A Level Designer IN INTE TE TERPRETS RPRETS the structures. (Practice) → Designs how a player is confronted with structure & rules. Level Designers create the space and environm environments ents (arrange architectural elements, create obstacles), teach the players how to play the game and work closely with the entire team: -

With artists: to create compelling and appealing experiences With programmers: to push the limits of technology in order to achieve better environment With game designers: to fill the levels with challenges coherent with the game

Difference between GAME (teaches a skill) and GAMEPLAY (puts the skill to the test in a controlled manner).

It is important to define a set of clearly understood and shared goals before any major work is done! What do we mean for success in our game? EXTERNAL GOALS GOALS: (Ultimate reasons why a game is made) -

Be appealing to both genders Stay true to the brand image Sell N copies Push new engine technology Win an award Make money…

INTERNAL GOAL GOALS: S: (Contribute to good gameplay) -

Empower the player Teach how to have fun with the game Don’t break the magic circle Sense of achievement Reward for exploration Addictive, fun gameplay

GAME WIDE HIERARC HIERARCHY HY

LEVEL WIDE HIERARC HIERARCHY HY

LD Process & methodologies The level design process is an iterative process, composed generally by 11 phases: 1. Design to level design handoff → Game designer tell LD in a general way what he wants from the level. LD generates a list of features (events that can be triggered by player’s actions, Props, NPCs…) and a rough overview map, showing landscape etc… 2. Planning Phase → Plan the level in details and work out the sequence of events in term of gameplay, art, performance, code requirements. The planning of gameplay consists in layout (where the player can/not go), areas for major challenges, pacing, win/lose conditions, resource placement, player start and end points, npcs position and spawns, secret areas, landmarks (how to find the way), destruction, storytelling, save points. The planning of art consists in determining the scope (magnitude and complexity) of the level to define number and type of objects/effects that it includes. The planning of performance consists in sitting down with programmers and deciding boundaries to complexity that will not overload the machine, and identifying specific code requests for features the programmer should implement. 3. Prototyping → Build a prototype of the level by temporary modeling landscape & objects (blueprint for artists). Will include basic geometry, temporary textures, temporary models of props, paths for npcs, lighting deisng, trigger points for key events, temporary sound effects. Level Revie 4. Review w → Play the prototype and hold a level review with: designer, artists, programmers, audio, testers to spot problems. Review should include at least: scale, pacing, placement of object & triggers, performance issues, other code issues, aesthetics. 5. Level refineme refinement nt and lock-down → Take feedbacks from review and refine the prototype. Review again. Iterate till everybody agrees on the level. Lock down level design. 6. Level design to art handoff → Handoff your locked-down prototype to artists: they will use your work as a blueprint to finish the level. Give them every file they’ll need, document accurately your work, sit down with them and help them figure out what you really want. 7. First art ad rigging pass → The art team builds the artwork and rigging: stay in close contact with them, you may be asked to incorporate their work into the software to verify if everything works fine. 8. Art to level design handoff and review → Artists finish their work and hand it to you, perform another review. 9. Content integration → Assemble all the assets into the completed (but not yet tested) level: artwork, new code, audio, lighting etc… and adjust the remaining issues with: rigging, npcs positioning, effects, triggers. 10. Bug fixing → Test the level for bugs and mistakes in the content. It is an iterative process. When finished, pass to the quality assurance. 11. User testing and tuning → QA creates a test plan for the level, then begins formal testing (alpha testing) testing). Iterations with various teams (art, audio, design, programmers …) to correct problems. When QA is satisfied begins beta testing (with users users)).

Producing the appropriate documentation for levels allows to: -

Have a good structure in advance Paper playtesting Schedule development phases

GAME DESIGN DOCUMENT (G (GDD) DD) Is a blueprint for the game Includes: -

High Concept High Concept dissected down to smaller pieces (Levels, Look & Feel, Scope of the game, Technology, Costs…)

The world diagram (aka mission flowchart) is a key component of the gdd. Maps out all the levels in the game & their order, it can be used by LDs to determine the scale of each level. In a game that uses levels for progression, levels DO NOT have an “order”, but a difficulty setting. Players can access groups of levels that they can complete in any order. The level progression ch chart art helps to explain the position of each level within the game world. Goal outline determines the goals for the player throughout the game

LEVEL DESIGN DOCUMENT (LD) GDD + world diagram = guide to create each level in the game. Level Diagram shows the areas the player will progress through and events occurring in each area. Before creating a level GD & LDs needs to answer some questions together: -

How does the player interact with the game? What challenges the player? How does the player overcome the challenges? What changes as the player progresses through the game? Which type and context of the levels?

Also, there are many type of levels: -

Prototype llevel evel evel: helps to test early and to discover problems, becomes a guideline for the rest of the game, is used to demonstrate the game’s technology, visuals ecc… (IT IS NOT THE FIRST LEVEL) Sandbox Level Level: it is a TEST containing all the obstacles the game will have. It helps determining whether an obstacle is fun and difficult to overcome. Once built, its sections can be copied & pasted in actual levels.

-

-

-

-

Tutorial Level Level: Early in the game, its goal is to teach the player the fundamental skills of her character. Generally short and very simple challenges. THE MOST DIFFICULT TO DESIGN because you have to teach multiple skills in a short time, has to fit in the game well, should not overwhelm the player. Standard Level Level: Majority of the levels, contain the typical gameplay of the game and may incorporate the major part of the story. The levels may have different objectives. HUB (Transition) LLe evel vel: Not all games have hubs (common in RPGs), they are levels that connect other levels together and allow players to return frequently (Give them a REASON to return). They have a different gameplay model (safe place maybe?) and they have more than 1 entry/exit point. Players should satisfy their needs and not get bored. Boss Levels (Climax) (Climax): Final/bosses are a break from the standard levels, are much more challenging, are critical to complete the game and may have slightly different mechanics. The level is built AROUND THE BOSS. Bonus Levels & EEaaster Eggs Eggs: Not necessary to complete the game, not related to the story, can appear anywhere in the game, reward extra effort, have the lowest priority.

Skills and Obstacles Obstacles are elements of the game that challenge the player, skills are the abilities of the character that the player uses to interact with the game and overcome obstacles. Obstacles can be: -

-

Simple Roadblocks Roadblocks: only slow down the player (without stopping) and mostly require one action to continue. Add a bit of interaction can be combined with other tasks to increase difficulty. Enemies Enemies: anything that can harm the player character. Can be categorized basing on size, movement and attack style. The ene enemy my chart is designed on enemies attributes, ranks enemies according to their difficulty and helps to build the level progression. Traps Traps: the obstacles you avoid, they damage the player character but they are part of the environment. Can be used to control the level pace, adrenaline. Should have some warning. Puzzles Puzzles: the obstacles you solve. Require brainpower to be solved. Ok for pushing exploration, slowing down the pace, providing a break.

Skills are a limited number of abilities that the player’s character has, they are used to overcome obstacles and progress through the game. Skills can be: -

-

-

-

-

Fundamental Sk Skills ills: Are the foundation for player interaction. They introduce the player to how the game is played. Are the skills you start with. SEQUEL SHOULD NOT PRESUME PLAYERS HAVE ALREADY ACQUIRED SKILLS IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER! Adding New Skil Skills ls ls: Are the skills the character gains advancing through the game. Skills can be very simple (new weapon), derive from experience (levelling up), be chosen by the player… When a character gains a new skill, make the player test that skill. Combining Skills Skills: Skills can be combined to add gameplay variety and challenge. Skills can be combined by placing obstacles that work together (pulling a lever + jumping), all skills used in a combination MUST be introduced separately before mixing them. Taking Measurement Measurement: The LD must detail all skill & combinations before creating the level, this includes determining exact measurements for movement skills. Once defined measures, work with artists to establish clues for players. Ordering Skills Skills: Once skills & obstacles have been defined, the LD should rank obstacles & skills from the easiest to the hardest making a SKILL CHART.

Level Description This step consists in describing the level in terms of: location/setting, events, characters, interior/exterior spaces, size, architecture, visual style, scripted sequences, puzzles ecc… To glue all the aspects of the level description together, use the level narrative: each level can have its own story, it could stem from game’s story and themes, can be subtle or completely visual. Level Description can include both the scale of the entire level and specific areas within the level. Designing Puzzl Puzzles es Is part of the level design process, they slow player’s progression, introduce variety, make the player stop & think how the game works, sense of accomplishment. Many designers work backwards: start from the goal of the player and insert puzzles to block the player’s path till the starting point of the level. Use the enemy & skill chart to determine what can be encountered and the difficulty. Levels don’t stay by themselves, they work together to teach the players how to progress in the game. Level Context is its relationship to the rest of the levels in the game, how the player progresses through the whole game. Level Scope refers both to the amount of gameplay in a level and the % of the game contained in each level, it isn’t necessarily the physical size of the level and is related to gameplay time. Is determined by total playing time, number of levels, whether the level is played more than once. Linear Level PProgression, rogression, gameplay on rails, player cannot deviate from pre-defined path. To progress, the player has to go through gameplay events in a certain order. Allows to control player’s experience, but the player may feel constrained. Hybrid Level PProgression, rogression, player has choices and free roaming. Multiple ways to reach the level end. Bottleneck: a conditional event (collection items/points, time limit…). Player has control and freedom, multiple play-styles, but there can be logical inconsistency. Non Linear Level Progr Progre ession, players take responsibility for their own failures, sense of ownership over gameplay. Harder to test and to design. Player must have their own gameplay story. (Multiplayer games, sandboxes…). We make Level Diagram Diagramss to show all possible paths, areas dimensions, puzzles. -

List all the areas Connect all the areas together (ladders, tunnels, cinematics, hallways…) Place gameplay elements (obstacles, skills, establish symbols, place enemies by how they attac k) Add a level description (explains what happens. Area description: how it should be visually. Level Description: what happens in the area.) Add flowcharts (capturing specific information and showing how it relates to other elements logically) Add concept art to help the team to visualize the final outcome.

Transmedia Worlds Novels, comics, movies, toys, games, art…all of these are gateways to a world. Each media explores part of a different story, the objective is to create a fantasy world that can be entered through many different media. Properties: -

Powerful: strong effect on fans, they need gateways to enter a personal utopia fans like to visit. It needs a world at its core. Long Lived: strong transmedia worlds continue for a long time and generate profits, worlds that appeal to children and grow into adults that are still passionate. Evolve over time: they change their properties and new features are selected by the collective consciousness of the fans.

They tend to be rooted in a single medium (a comic, a toy, a game…), each of them is at its strongest in the original medium. They are intuitive and have a creative individual at their core (George Lucas…), they facilitate the telling of many stories, are not based on a single plotline. They make sense through any of their gateways and they encourage visits from every media, it’s about discovery. The characters need to be in tune with their traits and they need to evolve and transform in interesting ways. The nature of characters is defined by their media: -

Novel Character: Psychic struggle rooted in rea reality. lity. Complex plot. Game Character: Physical struggle in a fantasy setting. Simpler plot.

The avatar (controlled by the player) can be something we have always dreamt to be (Ideal form) or totally iconic, ok for imagination and self-projection. All of the characters need to have a function. Hero, Mentor, Assistant, Final Boss, Minions, Hostage… so list the character functions. They need to say and do things that define them as real people, you must know their traits and adapt dialogues and actions to them. The interpersonal ch chaaracter circumplex is a tool taken from social psychology, is a model for conceptualizing interpersonal behavior, traits and motives. Vertical Axis: status, dominance, power or control. Horizontal Axis: solidarity, friendliness, love… We need to investigate what characters think of each other, it’s the key to success. The power of the voice, face, and the behavior we adopt when interacting with other is important. Characters need to evolve, powerful stories transform characters. Let your character surprise us.

Videogame Stories Each story is the basis for a multi-million dollar franchise with a global audience, merchandise ecc… It can be Gamer Friendly or Family Friendly. In a movie it’s ok to see the hero slay the dragon, in a game we want to slay the dragon by ourselv ourselves es es. So action is the charact character er er, it’s the player who guides the action in order to help become the character they control, they are interested in the story THEY are authoring while playing. Games are journeys of actions. Story, narrative setting and world are as crucial in games as gameplay. Story matters more in representational games rather than in presentational games. (Action adventure vs Puzzle Game). We need storytellers who know tech and tech people who know storytelling. They cannot be exclusive. A story is made by a -

Protagonist Protagonist: is the hero of the story, is the one whose story we follow. Goal Goal: all stories are about desire, we want to pursue something. What the hero wants is key. Conflict Conflict: what slows the hero down. With the environment, antagonist or internal. Obstacles Obstacles: the hero must overcome challenges and obstacles. Players love them, heroes DON’T. Resolution Resolution: good stories need satisfying endings, doesn’t need to be happy.

Story Structures -

-

3 ACT ACT:: Setup, Confrontation, Resolution. 4 ACT: there’s a midpoint halfway through the 2° act (big twist), typical of most Hollywood movies. 5 ACT: Shakespeare’s. Introduction (pre-existing conflict), turn on reversal (worsens the main conflict), major turning point (a twist, surprise that make things worse), the spiral (escalation), climax/resolution. 8 ACT: Opening, setup, new world, midpoint, development, crisis, battle, resolution. Hero’s Journey (12 steps) teps):: call to adventure, meeting a mentor, crossing the threshold (normal world to unkown), trials + failures, growth new skills, death + rebirth, revelation, finally changes, atonement, gets gift, return changed.

“What happens next?”, cliffhanger/shocking revelation. Good games should have this, maybe in a DLC. Parallel Narrative: all the players/characters are after the same goal, they are on the same path and the story can move forward with each of them. (Last of us, when Joel is incapacitated we use Ellie.) Branching Narrative Narrative: dramatic action begins with the same problem but might end in many different ways. Dilemma for completist players, multiple endings. Non-Linear Narrative: common in movies, typical of sandboxes and open worlds. U can do what u want, missions can have their own structure. Good dramatic writings are done backwards: KNOW THE ENDING. Know how the hero is going to change. The external story of each level is the journey of emotion. What happens within each level is the jour journey ney of action.

LD & Teaching mechanisms Games teach skills using levels. Fun in games arises out of mastery. It is the act of solving puzzles that makes games fun. Fun is the emotional response to learning. If the rules are not properly taught to the player, the game would suffer. But teaching is meaningless unless what is taught can be tested and put into practice, there always has to be a way to test in an enjoyable manner. Good LD is not just teaching rules, but also allowing the player to use these rules in a way that is both REWARDING and FUN. Main areas to b...