MIT OpenCourseWarehttp://ocw.mit.edu CMS.608 / CMS.864 Game DesignSpring 2008 For information about citing these materials or our Terms of Use, visit: http://ocw.mit.edu/terms.CMS.608 – 12 February 2008 Notes by Clara Rhee Game History and Types of Fun − In the past game history has consisted of lists of game platforms basically − boring! − And then there's this elusive idea of “fun” − the rules don't actually describe the kind of experience − there are different types of fun − The developers and players have very different perspectives (like Course 6 vs. CMS!) from the system vs. from the aesthetics. Game history as incremental evolution − Let's examine matching tile games − looked down upon in the game industry, even in casual games − but so popular! − First came Bejeweled, then lots of clones − Then Jewel Quest – moderate innovation − match on every tile − 7 Wonders − pass “cornerstones” through the playing field − Da Vinci Code − clear a path − The family tree is quite complex! (SEE FAMILY TREE) − There's a limit to how complex/difficult a casual game can get − the casual game audience has less patience for a steep learning curve or complicated instructions − Comparative game history − Same Game vs. Tetris (the two “roots” of match-3 games) − What's still missing from the tree? − 3D, competitive, innovations after 2005 − How do you determine what came first and what influenced what? − Example: Zuma, Puzzle Loop, Luxor, clones − Developers want to be original, but players think of all games as versions of each other − Should games be innovative or familiar? − A mix? − One new thing at a time? − There have been very successful games that were entirely new concepts − Katamari, Sims − EXERCISE: make a game evolution tree − Fun vs. system − Does knowing that Tetris is NP-complete tell us anything useful? − What is a game?− The system, the machinery, or the emotions? − The MDA framework doesn't hold for card/board games etc. where the players must understand the mechanics first. − Maybe your design goals should be aesthetic? − “I want the game to make the player feel...” − there are many unpredictable types of fun! − How do you make a player cry? (not through frustration!) − emotional development over time and effort − expectations for emotional
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