Lecture 2:

Characteristics of Games and (Skill) Depth

Game Design

Fall 2023

Julian Togelius and M Charity

Just to name a few:

​

• Stochasticity vs. Observability vs.

Time Granularity

• Length of playtime
• Systems
• Single vs. Multiplayer
• Heuristics
• Dexterity vs. Strategy

Stochasticity vs. Observability vs. Time Granularity

• stochasticity - will different outcomes happen from taking an action or the same actions every time?
• deterministic vs. non-deterministic

Deterministic (Sokoban)

Non-Deterministic (Caveblazers)

Stochasticity vs. Observability vs. Time Granularity

• observability - how much of the game is known vs. unknown
• perfect information vs. imperfect information

Perfect Information (Chess)

Imperfect Information (Battleship)

Stochasticity vs. Observability vs. Time Granularity

• time granularity - can you take as much time as you want to make an action or does it play in real-time?
• turn-based vs. real time

Turn-based (Final Fantasy 3)

Real Time (Elden Ring)

Length of Playtime

• round - short and quick relative to the entire gameplay
• session - can vary in time from a few minutes to a few hours
• “full game” - encapsulates the entire gameplay from start to finish

​

• Note: A session can have multiple rounds and a full game can contain many sessions

​

​

Length of Playtime

Round

(1 battle)

Session

(Fighting a Gym)

Full Game

(Collecting badges)

Pokemon

Length of Playtime

Round

(1 minigame)

Session

(Multiple minigames)

Full Game

(Playing all minigames)

Wario Ware

Systems

• how game elements interact with each other
• player, object, enemy, ally, abstract items, etc

​

1. conditional
1. if X, then Y
2. combination
• X + Y, makes Z
3. feedback loops
• AI behavior + state trees; if X, then Y, else Z
4. resources
• turn # X into ## Y; use X to Y

Systems

Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Combination

Conditional

Feedback Loop

Resources

Single vs Multiplayer

• single-player - can someone play the game by themselves?
• multi-player - can multiple people play the game?
• co-op - players work together towards a goal
• competitive - players play against each other for the same goal

​

• Sync vs. Async - can players interact with each other in real-time or at different times?

​

​

Single vs Multiplayer (in the same game)

Single player

Multiplayer (competitive)

vs

Mario Party

😕

🤩

Single vs Multiplayer (in the same game)

Single player

Multiplayer

(co-op)

vs

Super Mario Galaxy

🤨

😁

Single vs Multiplayer (in the same game)

Single player

Multiplayer

(co-op)

vs

Overcooked

😂

😖

Single vs Multiplayer (in the same game)

Single player

Multiplayer

(co-op and competitive)

Minecraft

😊

😝

Async Online Multiplayer Mechanics

Messages (Elden Ring)

Level editors / creation (Free Rider)

Design codes (Animal Crossing)

Heuristics

What are heuristics?

Heuristics

What makes a set of heuristics “Good”?

They…

1. exist at all levels of gameplay (beginning, middle, and end)
2. vary in accessibility and has lots of satisfaction all around
3. lie somewhere between gut-feeling and brute-force
4. allow your players to take mental shortcuts and avoid overload

A game that both a novice and experienced player can find fun and get better at

Heuristics

• Control the center 4 squares
• Castle your king
• Develop your sphere of influence/zones of control
• Avoid doubling up pawns

Chess

Heuristics

Bad Heuristics (E.T.)

Good Heuristics (THPS)

Depth vs. Entropy

Structure

Disorder

Shallow

Deep

Bubsy (SNES)

Pokemon Randomizers

Nethack

Factorio

Dexterity vs Strategy

dexterity - requires physical / reflexive ability to play well

• point and click, button mash, combos, etc.

​

​

strategy - requires mental planning ability to play well

• thinking steps ahead, resource management, risk-taking, etc.

Dexterity

Low Dexterity

High Dexterity

Cookie Clicker

Elden Ring

Strategy

Low(er) Strategy

High Strategy

Craps

Starcraft (RTS)

Your mission

• Build a simple game prototype that demonstrates at least 3 characteristics of games
• Minimalist, if possible
• Argue how the characteristics are used and why they support developing deep playing skills
• Avoid: multiplayer, long games (more than 4 min), systems