Better Games

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Prof. David Negrin

Better Video Games

1. Better Stories
2. Better Representation
3. Better Social Impact

Indie Games

• Narrative Games
• Social Impact Games
• STEM Games
• VR Experiences
• Art Games

Designing Indie Games

• Beyond the ‘power fantasies’ and massive sensory input, and dopamine transfusions.
• What will help you build your portfolios whether you work for major developer or an indie developer
• Games with smaller budgets, shorter play times, and smaller niche audiences.
• Is this good? Yes, because you can complete more of theses titles in your career.
• AND the skill sets to design and develop them are the same or similar to working for major game developers
• AND it allows underrepresented content and creators to make a living, build skill sets, and find their audience.
• But the indie game goes beyond a cute 2D Platformer.

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Better

Stories

Universal Story Elements

Three Act Structure (classic)

The Hero’s Journey

Character Archetypes

Metaphorical Mechanics

How can we tell better stories with our game system’s interfaces?

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With clever metaphors in our game mechanics...

FLORENCE Gameplay Walkthrough Part 1 FULL GAME - No Commentary (PC)

Genres:

• Minigames
• Interactive novel

Florence and the Mechanics

• Florence is the story of a young Asian-American woman and a romance that helps her find herself.
• Metaphorical Game Mechanics that are organic to the narrative

Florence: Metaphorical Mechanics

The Conversation Game

Virtual Reality Storytelling

• What makes a story worth VR
• Dear Angelica is a VR experience that tells the story of a daughter reflecting on losing her famous mother.
• Dear Angelica - use of size & scale tell the story.

Mechanics for VR Storytelling

Scale & Space

Better Representation

New Voices

We need video games that tell new stories, created by underrepresented voices, that help us see and change the systems in our communities, our country and our world.

Your Lived Experience

• The game industry has a history of exclusion.
• If you’re Black, Indigenous, a Person of Color, LGBTQ+ or a Woman and you’re in a game design program--
• --you’re already beating the odds. But it’s likely you’ve experienced exclusion, inequity, or lack of belonging.
• We need to do more to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom and in the studio. We can start by learning more about our students and team members individual lived experiences.

Democratization of �Game Development �Tools & Resources

• Free Tools - Maya, Zbrush, Unity, Unreal--- but we also have Blender, Godot
• Distribution & Platforms - PS, Xbox, Switch - we now have Steam & Itch to remove gatekeepers.
• Stories that wouldn’t have been told before are being told, and audiences are hungry for them.
• Interactive Ideation & GDD - allows for artistic collaboration and rapid prototyping -- e.g. Miro
• Three Act Structure in storytelling? The craft of storytelling is universal, we understand it innately as human beings. Story is the most powerful marketing tool ever invented and mastering the craft is free to you.
• Agile Collaboration - video conference, group task management, meetings,revision contro - e.g. Trellol

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Better Representation

Special Thanks to Prof. Colleen Macklin�Professor at The New School

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SweetXHeart by Catt Small - the life of black college student in NYC

Hard Lads Created by Robert Yang - meditation on masculinity and sexuality.

When Rivers Were Trails - narratives vignettes from over 30 indigenous artists - will make you think about the true history of the land where you’re living.

Mission: It’s Complicated from Schell: dating game for LGBTQ superheros (multiple)

SweetXHeart by Catt Small - the life of black college student in NYC

Better

Social Impact

Social Impact Games

• Games with Social Commentary
• Art Games
• Healthcare & Medical Games
• Education - STEM/STEAM Games
• Visual Novels
• Experimental Games

Why are video games poised to be a good tool for social impact?

• Video Games are becoming the most influential media form of the 21st century
• In certain countries, the video game exceeds the size of the movie industry. And in the future
• Video games have a dimension of media that no other does. “Continuous engagement” millions of hours a month playing online games.
• More consumers seek out products that have a positive impact on the world. In fact, 90% of Millennials say they will switch to a cause-branded product when choosing between two brands of equal quality and price, and 51% of global consumers will pay extra for products committed to positive social and environmental impact.
• We can use the same games, same tools, and same technologies to deal with the most pressing social, political, and economic problems in our society.

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https://csis.upenn.edu/news/what-is-social-impact-anyways/

ESA Essential Facts

Why now?

• We are living in a momentous era of social change.
• Several civil rights movements are active in our time: Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, LGBTQ+ Rights, Indigenous Peoples Rights, Reproductive Rights.
• Globalisation, Information Revolution, Renewable Energy
• Awareness, Activism, Protest, Voting, Policy Change
• The Pandemic has accelerated these movements for social change.

Social Impact Games Examples

Papers Please �(Immigration Policy)

• Trailer
• GamePlay
• Article

Florence�(Relationships, Loss)

• Trailer
• Gameplay

Papo y Yo �(Child Abuse)

• Trailer
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That Dragon, Cancer �(Cancer Awareness)

• Trailer
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Flower �(Environmental Awareness)

• Trailer
• Gameplay
• Genre: Flight Sim?, Adventure

Salaam�(Refugees Crisis)

• Trailer
• Article

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Link

Platform

Year

Developer

SPROUT: Idle Garden

• Casual, Idle, Thumb Game
• What do you learn?
• Strategies to grow plants.
• Fictional, Arbitrary strategies.

Wellness Hero (WAVES)

• There are people in my life who I love, who’ve suffered from mental health challenges.
• SPROUT? instead of an idle game that teaches you a fictional and arbitrary algorithm to grow flowers faster--
• --Why not an idle game that teaches real strategies for surviving mental health crises and managing waves of depression ?
• Waves is a puzzler because a person with depression has their emotional tank / decision tank / physical tanks drained -- a person with depression has to figure out how to get things done, with less energy. Then also discover what drains you, and what fills your tank.
• The core objective is to complete your daily tasks-- wake on time, get dressed, get on the subway, go to work, focus on your work, socialize, spend time with friends and family.
• Interactive Game Design Document

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“Wellness Hero” - Game Design & Concept Art

MATERIALS - Interactive Game Design Document

“Wellness Hero”

SUMMARY

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WELLNESS HERO is a video game for social impact designed for mobile iOS and Android devices on the Unity software development platform. It is a game designed to simulate depression, teach coping skills, destigmatize mental health issues, and spread awareness. The game includes in-game interactive calls to action for advocacy, donation, and crisis support through mental health NGO partners.

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DESIGN

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NARRATIVE - Life experience of mental health fighters and professionals.

VISUALS - 2D Isomorphic, Mobile Game with cutscenes.

SOUND - Thematic audio and sound efx akin to a film score.

INTERACTIVITY - 2D, single and multiplayer combination of a simulation, puzzler, management and dungeon crawler game.

SOCIAL IMPACT - in addition to simulation and education includes interactive calls to action for advocacy, donation, and crisis support.

GAMEPLAY - single and multiplayer puzzler and dungeon crawler experience.

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MATERIALS - Interactive Game Design Document

Status - In Development

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Better Games

• Better stories
• Better representation
• Better impact

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• Better games have more Compassion.

“…it turns out that it's our differences and our negotiation of difference that unite us… equity means facing the communities that exclude us… in our families, in our communities, and in our societies.”

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-- Andrew Solomon, Author

The Noonday Demon, Far From The Tree

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Thank you.

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Prof. David Negrin

“…it turns out that it's our differences and our negotiation of difference that unite us… equity means facing the communities that exclude us… in our families, in our communities, and in our societies.”

-- Andrew Solomon, Author

The Noonday Demon, Far From The Tree

https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/07/board-games-have-colonialism-problem/619518/

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Case Study: Slither.io

1. Play for 5 mins - http://slither.io
2. Define Games Design here Group Mind Map

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(Do not pay for Miro, no need)

Distance Learning

1. Share Slides up front - You’re welcome to explore them as I lecture and return. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1PiEgwrUGb4WCjGoN1BVAPpexQJ00qBjHl2WHIDhT1Jc/edit?usp=sharing
2. Feel free to use the chat during my presentation
3. “STACK” - if you want a question addressed after the presentation please write “STACK” in the chat before your comment or question.
4. “Creators” includes game designers, developers, modelers, animators, programmers, story writers