Tools for Creating Dramatic Game Dynamics

LeBlanc uses a number of terms, which are familiar to introduce us to mechanics we can use to create dramatic tension in games.

Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics

Mechanics: the necessary pieces to play the game. Mainly meaning the rules, but can mean the equipment, the venue, or other things needed to play the game.

Dynamics: the "behavior" of the game, the events and the phenomena that occurs throughout.
- Baseball is used as an example, fly balls, line drives, grounders, bunts are part of the dynamics in the game.
- There is a "relationship" between dynamics and mechanics, that is described as emergence. A games dynamics emerge from its mechanics.

Aesthetics: the emotional content, the emotional response players get when they play - all kinds of fun that result from playing hte game.
- the games aesthetis emerge from it's dynamics - as the games behaviors determines how the player feels.

He mentioned how the player goes the opposite direction (A---------->D---------->M) instead of M---------->D---------->A (Hunckle mentioned this in a previous article).





Drama Arc







Dramatic Tension is more of a quantity that can accumulate and discharge, increase and decrease as time passes, it can't be measured. Dramatic Tension is the level of emotional investment in the stories conflict.

The Drama Arc is a value stalemate. It possesses well-told stories that should have dramatic tension, and as time progress the tension should take on a shape, building towards the climax then dissipating.

Drama seems to be handcrafted by the story's author. In film or theater the director has complete control over the story. Game Designers have a harder time, we assume the game will be dramatic even when we don't have complete control over the games narrative, it's not scripted in advance, but emerges from the events of the game.

Dramatic Tension emerges from two factors:
. Uncertainty: outcome is unknown. Player can win or lose.
. Inevitability: the sense of moving forward towards resolution. Outcome is imminent.

Game Dynamics That Produce Dramatic Tension

Force and Illusion: Force is the approach of making the dramatic tension by manipulating the state of the contest itself. Illusion is the approach of manipulating the players perception so the game is closer than it is.

Rules of Play: provides a discussion of cybernetic feedback systems, and the ways in which they apply to games.

GAME STATE ------------------------->SCORING SYSTEM
       |                                                              |
       |                                                              |

       |                                                              |

       |                                                              |

       |                                                              |

       |                                                              |

      V                                                            V

GAME MECH. <------------------------- CONTROLLER
BIAS

GAME STATE is the complete status of the game at a particular moment. All the info, toy can put into a save game. SCORING FUNCTION is the sensor of the cybernetic feedback system. All numerical system that gives a measurement of who is winning and by how much. GAME MECHANICAL BIAS: the actuator of cybernetic feedback system. it's a rule that gives one of the contestants an advantage over the other. The CONTROLLER us the comparator of a cybernetic feedback system.

Negative Feedback System: when the advantage goes towards a losing player. This kind of feedback keeps the game close as it strives to make a score difference as small as possible. Mario Kart games are a good example here, you find that if your near last place, you get better weapons that would give you a chance to catch up (i.e. Red shells, Star, Blue Shell)

Positive Feedback system is the opposite.

Pseudo-Feedback: is the sort of mechanism that creates game dynamics that would appear in a game if it were being driven by a negative feedback system.

Escalation: is a mechanic in which the score changes faster and faster over the course of the game so that more points are at stake at the end of the game.

Fog of War: a way of creating dramatic uncertainty by limiting information available to the players.

Decelerator: describes an obstacle that slows the player down late game. makes the game closer by changing the scale and pace of the game.

Cashing out: describes a mechanic where the score of a game is reset to 7. Best of 7 is used as an example here from the World Series and other tournaments where the contest is actually several games played in sucession. The final event in the tv series Gladiators, "The Eliminator" is another form of cashing out, as the players go through a series of games and depending on how many points players have...it determines how long the head start is.

MDA (Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics)

This post will be about an article by Hunckle Et El (2004) in which he describes games as 'systems that build behaviour via interaction'.

To kick start this post off, I will give tell you what MDA is suppose to do. MDA - is a formal approach to understanding game - which attempts to bridge the gap between game design and development, game criticism and technical game research.


All artifacts are created with some design methodology. For building things like the prototype, architecting a software interface, constructing an argument, etc. Design Methodologies guide the creative thought process and help ensure quality work.


The MDA framework formalizes the consumption of games by breaking them into their distinct components:
            RULES------------->SYSTEM------------->"FUN"
...once that done establishing their design counterparts:
 MECHANICS------------->DYNAMICS------------->AESTHETICS


Mechanics: describes certain components of the game, from things like the level data representation and algorithms.


Dynamics: describes the run-time behaviour of the mechanics acting on player inputs and each other's outputs over time.


Aesthetics: describes the desirable responses evoked in the player, when she interacts with the game system.


The idea behind the framework I briefly explained is that games are more like artifacts than media. This is meant to mean that the content of a game is its behaviour - not the media that "screams" out to the player.


The framework can be thought of as "lens" or view for a game - it's seperate but casually linked (LeBlanc, 2004b)


From a Designers perspective, it goes as followed: the mechanics of a game give rise to the dynamic system, which then leads to the aesthetic experiences. However, the players perspective is the complete opposite.


Aesthetics: what makes the game "fun"?
Talking about games and play is heard because the vocabulary we use is limited. When it comes to describing things (the aesthetic qualities in games) they try to move away from words like "fun" and "gameplay". The words, at times, are not very helpful when it comes to describing the game, it's like asking someone to play a game you have a demo for and all they can say is "the gameplay is good, very fun" - that isn't helpful, tell me what's good, what bits you find enjoyable.


Sensation - Game as sense-pleasure
Fantasy - Game as make-believe
Narrative - Game as Drama
Challenge - Game as obstacle course
Fellowship - Game as social framework
Discovery - Games as uncharted territory
Expression - Game as self discovery.
Submission - Game as pastime.


Aesthetic Models
Using aesthetic vocabulary like a compass, we can define models for gameplay. The model are to help describe gameplay dynamics and mechanics.
Example  Quake + Charades both competitive. The teams or various players succeed when they emotionally invest in defeating each other.
If players don't see a clear winning condition or feels like they can't possibly win, they lose interest.


Dynamic Models
Dynamic work creates aesthetic experiences. E.g. Challenge creates the time pressure and opponent. Fellowship can be encouraged by sharing info between players or winning the game harder to win it alone. Expression comes from dynamics that encourage individual users leaving their mark: systems for purchasing, building or earning game items, constructing and changing levels or worlds, and for creating personalized unique characters. Dramatic Tension comes from dynamics that encourage a riding tension, a release, and a denouement.


Monopoly can be used as an example - the leader becomes incredibly wealthy - therefore enjoyable gameplay experience. Losing players lose more and more money makes it "impossible" impossible to win therefore it becomes a bad gameplay experience.
The article came up with a way of 'fixing' Monopoly, which was to reward poorer players so they don't fall behind or make progress more difficult for the leading player. But by doing that, the changes would then change the game dramatically by recreating the reality of the game practices - but reality isn't always "fun".


Mechanics
Various actions, behaviors and control mechanisms afforded to the player wthin a game games context. Combing the games content, the mechanics support the overall gameplay dynamics.


Tuning
Iterating - refine certain aspects of a game. Monopoly was used again, it talks about refining the values of penalties, rate of taxation or thresholds for rewards and punishments. Making the game more balanced (by iterating more).