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Learning Journal:
We began with our usual class discussion, and talked about Barotrauma, Iron Lung, The Division 2, Path of Exile and Scarlet Nexus at various length. After that, we did a guided MDA analysis of the game 'The Song of the Sky: Sunless Skies Full Release' (video credit: @Luckless Lovelocks, 2019).
M - questing system, 'terror' meter, unlocking the map, looting, non-recharging health, limited resources
D - interact with the world to proceed, can only follow certain storylines and cannot backtrack to explore all options, must keep the terror meter below a certain level by completing tasks successfully, explore and fulfill quests to unlock the map, gather resources and story fragments
A - steampunk-y, exploratory, mystery, tactical with resources
Paper prototyping is 'the act of making a playable version of a game with paper. Lego is often used to feel out design issues with projects'. This can be used for things such as line of sight, visualizing cut scenes, camera positioning, physical level design etc. Easily prototyped games are generally those with tabletop rules and systems. Popular examples include Baldr's Gate 3, Armello and Spore. The point is to create quick, cheap play-tests to iron out the issues with a design before it goes to expensive production.
The 'Golden Trifecta' of designing and producing a game is time, quality and money.
When creating a paper prototype, there are four important things to consider: (GDC, 2019, 00:58:10)
state your intention
determine the scope - how much of the game are you going to prototype?
specify purpose - why and what are you trying to achieve?
what is the time scale?
Our next activity was to brainstorm a prototype from a game that already exists. We chose to analyse Gwent: The Witcher Card Game as it appears in The Witcher III. Our intention was to test the minigame's balancing, and to determine whether or not the mechanics work together effectively. We limited our prototype to the duration of a match, and not including the process of deckbuilding. It would be slow to test this game as there are several types of cards, with sub-classes and special abilities, as well as a 'best-of-three' round system. A possible step-by-step prototype:
Start with a rudimentary mock-up of the battle board, establishing the ranges of combat (melee, ranged, and siege);
Set up combat classes (also determined by range of combat);
Limit the number of cards per 'Faction' to be just enough to make a game - attempting to recreate the five Factions in their entirety would be time-consuming and difficult. We are not testing the balancing of each card but rather the game as a whole;
Fine-tune the order of play - do we need more or less moves per turn?
Test the various special abilities that cards may have; and
Test the special cards, such as Hero, Weather and Leader cards.
Lockett, E. (2022, February 16). Thalassophobia: How to Overcome Your Fear of the Ocean. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/anxiety/fear-of-the-ocean
Gilliam, R. (2020, Jan 13). Path of Exile guide: Which is the best class? Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/2020/1/13/21055761/choosing-a-class-guide-shadow-marauder-scion-templar-duelist-witch-ranger-ascendancy-best
Luckless Lovelocks. (2019, February 1). The Song of the Sky - Sunless Skies Full Release Part 1 - Let's Play Blind Gameplay. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvatUMmj7eQ
GDC. (2019, June 14). Rules of the Game: Five Further Techniques from Rather Clever Designers. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh5oqH1Dv8g
I also learned about what thalassophobia is. The term refers to a serious fear of deep water, such as the ocean (Lockett, 2022) or large lakes. Games such as Barotrauma and Iron Lung are designed to simulate this feeling. It wasn't something I had properly considered, but accessibility settings can also include censoring of certain distressing or phobia-inducing elements. An example of a potentially upsetting game element is the giant spider design in the Skyrim franchise. In my own time, I'd like to do some research - nothing major, just to satisfy my curiosity - about why some people have phobias such as this. My question would be "is it an arbitrary quirk in the brain, or is there an actual evolutionary reason for it?"
It is always important to consider the real-world fun aspect of a game, such as whether or not the concept's charm matches up to the player's actual enjoyment of it. A concept may be fantastic but if the players do not see the fun side, the game will fail. Another important thing to keep in mind is the social aspect; if the experience goes sour for players, the developers must deal with the fallout. Thus, during the design stage, the potential for this must be evaluated and if the backlash would be horrible, is the game really worth it?
Finally, there is definitely such a thing as 'too granular'. For example, the Path of Exile skill tree (Gilliam, 2020). I haven't played that game, and after looking at the skill try (and attempting to follow it) I doubt very much that I will. Whilst some players love this level of detail, it can quickly becoming overwhelming for others. Therefore, the player's experience may not necessarily live up to the developers' intent.
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