Exercise 1.1: Become a Tester

Take on the role of a tester. Go play a game and observe yourself as you play. Write down what you’re doing and feeling. Try to create one page of detailed notes on your behaviours and actions. Then repeat this experience while watching a friend play the same game. Compare the two sets of notes and analyze what you’ve learned from the process.

My experience:

Grabbed by the Ghoulies: Play Test Part 1

- The game has an immediate charm to it with the storybook aesthetic to introduce the game.
- The setting is spooky and again charming, but it is unclear why exactly the characters are there in the first place.
- The lack of voice acting is a shame. In current games it may reflect a lack of funding or quality, but at the time this game was released it was more common. The noises made by the characters are very annoying, however.
- The villain is very stereotypical. He reminds me of a Scooby Doo villain.
- I’m confused by the butler character. Why is he helping? He provides too many tutorials that interrupt gameplay. Discovering the controls should be more intuitive.
- The controls are awkward and clunky. Hitting enemies is done with the right stick, which is usually used for moving the camera. Hitting enemies is slow and the character’s reach is very limited. The game would benefit from the option to block or dodge enemies.
- There is a scene in which the character walks down a long hallway, but I frustratingly can’t control his movement. He is continuously scared by the heads on the wall prompting a quick time event (press buttons in a certain order in a quick time period to be successful). At first this added some excitement, but why does he keep getting scared by the same thing repeatedly?

Grabbed the Ghoulies: Play Test Part 2

Enemies have a comedic charm and room designs are unique.
It seems like poor design that trying to bring a weapon into the next room results in the weapon breaking.
Parts of the environment are destructible, but without any hidden collectables it does not seem worthwhile to do so.
The pop-up conversations and tutorials with the butler are disruptive and annoying. Objectives seem to be explained too often rather than discovered. Perhaps the game was aimed at a much younger audience.
At one point when entering a new area, the villain declares that he is stealing some of your health to make things more difficult. This seems cheap and unwarranted. There should be a more organic way of creating challenge for the character.
The butler seems awfully nice considering he admits he works for a man that kidnaps people on a regular basis.

Observations of my wife playing:

Little patience of the text-based cut scenes. “This is going to put me to sleep. Can I skip through all of this part?”
Response to the dorky villain appearing: “That’s you.”
My wife has very little experience playing video games, so she paused longer to consider the controls when the first tutorial was provided. She struggled throughout differentiating the left (movement) and right (attack) control sticks, at one point yelling, “How do I move? I’m just kicking!” In fairness, I also found the control scheme awkward.
She did, however, figure out the non-conventional camera control scheme quite quickly.
After reading the initial tutorial detailing the basic controls of the game she quickly skipped through the rest of the instructions because she did not want to read them, just like when we try to build Ikea furniture.
The hallway scene that required the quick time events provided additional stress because she was not as familiar with the basic control scheme of the controller. This required her to constantly look back and forth between the screen and the controller. She found it rewarding when she was successful.
She was interested in how she could interact with the game environment, often asking what weapons she could pick up or what could be broken in the environment.
She found it relatively easy to figure out what the next objective was and how to navigate to the next area when it appeared she had met a dead end.
She seems to find it rewarding when she defeats enemies and becomes panicked when stunned by the enemy. She is starting to talk smack to the skeletons now. I think that means she is having fun, even if she won’t admit it.

Reflection:

I found it more difficult to assess the experience of my wife than my own experience. During my play test, I was able to reflect on my emotional response to the game. While trying to assess my wife’s experience, however, I had to rely on her comments or facial expressions, as well as try to draw conclusions based on observing her gameplay. There were noted differences in our experience levels with playing digital games, which allowed me to be more critical of the game design. Many elements of the game felt familiar to me, such as the quick time events, and I was much more familiar with the button layout of the controller. As such, I was able to pick up the controls and basic premise of the game more quickly. That said, the design of the game and the tutorials included did make the game very accessible for novice players.

There were also noted differences in how we approached the game. I was more focused on how to best meet the objectives of the game, while my wife was content to simply explore and play. An example of this difference in approach was evident in how we interacted with the environment. I paid little attention to breaking objects as I saw no value in it. My wife, on the other hand, enjoyed destroying much of the environment because it was simply fun.

Exercise 1.5: Your Childhood

List ten games you played as a child, for example, hide and seek, four square, and tag. Briefly describe what was compelling about each of these games.

1. Capture the Flag

Capture the flag was a game often played at my elementary school during P.E class, as well as recess and lunch. The game involved two large teams separated on the soccer field. Each team had a flag located behind the goal posts of their half of the field. The object of the game was to capture the other team’s flag and make it back across the midfield to your own territory without getting tagged by a member of the opposite team. If tagged, players were placed in jail, located behind the opposing team’s goal posts, but could be freed if a member of their own team tagged them and subsequently made it back to their own territory again.

Capture the flag was compelling for a number of reasons. It elicited a sense of urgency by having both teams competing to win at the same time rather than taking turns, a sense of excitement while trying to dodge the other team, and a sense of helplessness while waiting to be rescued from jail. It required strategy to decide who would try and capture the other team’s flag or free prisoners and who would stay to play defence. At times we would also completely forgo strategy and try to be the one to single-handedly capture the other team’s flag.

2. Red Rover

Red rover was another game often played at my elementary school. It involved two opposing teams that would stand opposite each other with arms linked. Each team would take turns calling over an opposing player who would try to run and break through a set of linked arms. If they were successful, they would bring a player from the defending team back to their own, lengthening their team’s chain of players. If they failed, they would join the defending team. The game was played until one team had no remaining players or, more likely, someone got hurt. This game was eventually banned at our school.

Similar to capture the flag, red rover was compelling due to both the physical activity and the strategy involved. There was a sense of excitement and anticipation both as a player trying to break through the opposing team, as well as the defending team watching as a player barreled towards them. Defending teams would often target the perceived weakest player on the opposite team, who would in turn target the perceived weakest link in the chain to try and break through. This created a sense of individual motivation within the confines of the game, as we would not want to be perceived as a weak player to be targeted.

3. Lava Monster

“Lava monster” was another…violent…game we played at my elementary school. It was played on a steep hill located on the school grounds and involved one initial “lava monster” who started at the bottom of the hill while the rest of the players sat at the top of the hill. The lava monster would try and drag a player to the bottom of the hill, who then would then become a lava monster as well. Players could fight, kick, scramble, and form chains to avoid being dragged down the hill by the lava monster. The game ended when only one player remained. This game was quickly banned as well.

What was compelling about lava monster was again the competition, physicality, and excitement of the game. Looking back, I think our imaginations further enhanced the emotional impact of the game. In our minds, the lava monster was a real threat and there was a sense of dread and terror as we were targeted and dragged down the hill. For those of us at the top of the hill, we would fight as hard as we could to save our friends from being dragged into the lava below and would yell in anguish when they were lost.

4. Jackpot

Jackpot was a relatively simple game that would involve one player throwing a ball into the air and the remaining players competing to catch it. The thrower would initially announce a target score, for example, 500, and on each throw would announce a number of points that would be awarded to whoever caught the ball. The thrower could also call “jackpot” during their throw, resulting in the catcher automatically winning the game. The winner would then become the thrower.

The game of Jackpot did not necessarily have a final outcome as the winner would simply replace the thrower. The points were largely arbitrary. As a result, the game was once again compelling mainly due to the physical competition of trying to catch each throw. We would often shove others out of the way or dive to make spectacular catches. Although we would try harder to catch throws with higher point values or “jackpots,” displaying our physical prowess and beating others to the catch was often just as important, if not more so, than our point total.

5. Kick the Can

Kick the can was a combination of tag and hide and seek. The basic premise was that someone was designated “it” while the others hid. My memory is a little fuzzy, but the game also involved the hiding players trying to make it to a central location without being caught. Frankly, I don’t recall if we even followed the rules or if there was even a can involved.

We often played kick the can at one particular friend’s house whose backyard backed on to forest space, and most often played at night. The game was compelling for similar reasons to capture the flag, but with the added atmosphere of playing in a dark forest. Our imaginations again enhanced the game and elicited an emotional response. We were not just hiding from an opposing player, in our heads we were often hiding from some sort of monster in the forest and had to work together to keep hidden.

6. Heads Up, Seven Up

Heads up, seven up was a classroom game in which seven students were selected to go to the front of the classroom. The teacher would then tell the rest of the class, “heads down, thumbs up” and everyone still at their desk would cover their eyes and place their thumb up on the desk. The seven students at the front of the class would each then choose seven students by touching their thumbs before returning to the front of the class. The teacher would then tell the class, “heads up, seven up.” The seven students who were selected were then tasked with trying to guess who had touched their thumb.

Besides the obvious compelling nature of this game- that it was a game that we got to play during class time- it was also a fun game in its own right. There was a sense of excitement and anticipation waiting to see if you were selected. If picked, there was then a sense of strategy in determining who picked you. Was it your best friend trying to give you an obvious win? Or was it the classmate you would never expect? The surprise of finding out who it was a reward even if you were wrong. There was a collective social aspect to the game as well, as we would often tease others for their selections, because they obviously only chose classmates they had a crush on.

7. Golden Eye 007

Golden Eye 007, based on the James Bond film of the same name, was really a revolutionary game when it came out on the Nintendo 64 in 1997. Goldeneye was one of, if not the first, first-person shooters on game consoles to include a 3D environment, 360 degree control of the character’s view, and hit detection (shooting a player in the head caused more damage than shooting them in the leg, for example). The game included a single player campaign mode with level designs based on the movie, but it was the multiplayer component of the game that made it so compelling. The game supported up to four players playing on the same screen and multiple different game modes with various objectives, mainly aimed at killing other players. As such, there was a strong social and competitive aspect to the game. To be successful, we needed to be not only skillful at moving and aiming, but also knowledgeable about level design- where the good hiding spots were, where the good weapons were located, and where to pick up ammunition so we didn’t run out. There was also a culture surrounding the game. We would talk and look online for cheat codes, for example, to add more challenges to the game.

8. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater

I think Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, a videogame for the Nintendo 64, was so popular at the time not only because it had fun game mechanics, but because it captured the essence of skateboarding culture which was extremely popular at the time, especially in the small town I grew up in. It let players take control of some of the most popular skateboarders at the time who we often watched in the X-Games, customize their clothes and skateboards, and included an awesome soundtrack. In a lot of ways, the game influenced how we dressed, what music we listened to, and our interest in skateboarding outside of the game world.

There was again a social aspect to the game, as we would get together with friends and show off what new tricks we had mastered in the game, what boards we had unlocked, the high scores we had obtained, and what secret locations we had found. The game was extremely fun largely because of how outrageous and unrealistic it was, allowing you to do tricks and landing from huge heights that could never be done in real life. It also encouraged exploration by hiding collectables in hard to reach locations throughout the game.

9. Super Smash Brothers

Super Smash Brothers was another popular videogame for the Nintendo 64 and again encouraged multiple players to compete against each other. The game involved players taking control of a popular video game character from other franchises, such as Mario, Yoshi, Star Fox, or Donkey Kong, and battling against each other in a variety of 2D arenas. Besides taking control of some of our favourite characters, the game was compelling in a lot of smart ways.

The first was through the game’s smart level design. Despite being a 2D environment, characters could move vertically by jumping or grabbing onto ledges. The arenas would also have different features to add challenge to the game, such as platforms that would randomly disappear causing players to fall to their death. Items would also drop into the game which could be picked up and used by players. As these items were random, they could quickly swing the momentum of the game in a player’s favour.

Finally, it was perhaps the gameplay design that made the game the most compelling. Unlike other fighting games, players did not have health bars. Instead, players could lost only by being knocked out of the fighting arena. Each player had a damage calculator expressed as a percentage which would increase every time they were hit by another player. As the damage calculator increased, each subsequent hit from another player would cause the character to be hit further until they could eventually be knocked out of the arena. With a large roster of characters with different abilities, we had to learn their “move sets”- their offensive and defensive capabilities- as well as how they moved, which was critical to avoid falling off the fighting stage. We would often become experts with a small handful of characters that we would use most often.

10. Pokemon

What kid growing up in the 90’s did not play Pokemon in some form? There was a culture surrounding Pokemon like no other game at the time, as it included the original video game for the Game Boy and spawned the additional card game and television series. Focusing on the videogame, it was a rare game that allowed us to play as a character our same age. We felt like we were really going on an adventure. The objective was twofold: battle your way to becoming champion and, as the tagline suggested, catch them all. The latter objective was not a requirement to complete the first; it was mainly a goal for those perfectionists who wanted to truly complete the game.

There was an addictive quality to the game, as we sought to find, capture, and train various Pokemon. Players could choose to focus on capturing as many Pokemon as possible or training a small number of their favourites. This provided great replay value to the game as players could choose to start again and focus on training completely different Pokemon for a new experience. Once again, the social and cultural context surrounding the game was compelling as well. My friends and I would often trade or battle our Pokemon, and share what rare Pokemon we found and where to find them. We would also debate how our teams were assembled, which Pokemon were stronger, and share strategies for beating the tough trainers in the game.

Exercise 2.8: Story

Have any stories within a game ever gripped you, moved you emotionally, or sparked your imagination? If so, why? If not, why not?

Games have the capability of providing rich stories on par with cinematic and literary genres, with the added benefit of increased immersion by providing interaction and choice. I have always been drawn to story-driven games precisely because they are gripping, emotional, and imaginative. I have included examples of two games that have been particularly memorable due to their stories.

Alan Wake

XboxViewTV. (2010, May 2). Alan Wake – Official Launch Trailer. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSB4QcQMm6E&feature=emb_logo

Alan Wake is a survival-horror game released in 2010 in which players assume the role of Alan Wake, a horror novelist trying to uncover the details surrounding his wife’s disappearance in the small town of Bright Falls. Throughout the game, the player begins experiencing the horrors of Wake’s latest novel come to life and the line between reality and the surreal becomes increasingly blurred.

Although there are elements of action, exploration, and puzzle solving, it is the story that drives the experience of Alan Wake. The game is even organized into six episodes, similar to a television format, and includes frequent cinematics throughout to push its largely linear story forward. The game grips players as they try to unravel the mystery of what happened to the character’s wife and the larger question of what is real. The atmosphere and psychological horror aspects of the game elicit an emotional response, as does assuming the role of a relatively regular man trying to find his wife as he falls further into a very Lovecraftian horror experience.

Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect 2 is a story-driven, action role-playing game released in 2010. The Mass Effect franchise has included four games to date, as well as several spinoff novels. Unlike the linear story progression of Alan Wake, Mass Effect 2 has a story that is profoundly shaped by player choices, as well as an abundance of side-quests that players can choose to complete that further add to the story and character development. Player choice determines both how the story develops, as well as the relationships formed with other characters in the game and how the player is viewed.

The story is an epic sci-fi adventure that features alien species, galactic political intrigue, and a mysterious imminent threat. The emotional impact, however, stems from the choices the player makes and the relationships developed based on how you choose to interact with other characters. The clip below demonstrates one of the many morally difficult decisions the player must make throughout the story, the impacts of which aren’t always clear until later in the game.

James Huls. (2012, Mar 10). Mass Effect 3 Death of Mordin / Curing the Genophage. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-_X9Tsg0Fc&feature=emb_logo

Exercise 3.4: Objectives

List ten of your favourite games and name the objectives for each. Do you see any similarities in these games? Try to define the type or types of games that appeal to you.

Game	Objective	Objective Type
The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt	Advance the story of the game by searching for your adopted daughter, who is on the run from the wild hunt, while exploring the game world and accepting witcher contracts.	Primary: exploration Secondary: rescue, construction
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim	Advance the story of the game and defeat Alduin while exploring the game world and completing various side quests.	Primary: exploration Secondary: construction
Gears of War 3	Defend humanity and destroy the locust horde.	Primary: capture/ kill
Mass Effect 2	Assemble a team and save the galaxy from the threat of the Collectors	Primary: exploration Secondary: capture/ kill
Diablo 3	Stay alive, battle through each dungeon map, and kill Diablo.	Primary: capture/kill Secondary: escape
Dragon Age: Inquisition	Assume the role of the Inquisitor and save the land of Thedas from the demonic threat of the breach.	Primary: exploration
Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor	Capture enemy strongholds until you are strong enough to defeat Sauron.	Primary: capture/kill Secondary: exploration
Tomb Raider (2013)	Survive, explore, and escape from the mysterious island Lara has been stranded on while discovering its secrets and history.	Primary: exploration Secondary: solution, escape
Resident Evil 5	Survive and escape from a zombie-infested region of Africa and defeat Albert Wesker.	Primary: escape Secondary: capture/kill
Batman: Arkham Knight	Explore Gotham city, complete various puzzles, and investigate and defeat numerous villains.	Primary: exploration Secondary: solution, capture, escape

Reflection:

It came as no surprise to see that games that emphasize exploration are the most appealing to me. I think it is not just the act of exploration that is engaging, but that of discovery that is most rewarding. I found it difficult to be succinct defining the objectives of some of these exploration-based games, as they are so large that they often include a myriad of objectives and are often driven by story. As such, their objectives sound a lot like their premise. For example, The Witcher 3 contains an enormous amount of optional side quests with a large variety of objectives, including chase/rescue/kill/retrieve/protect objectives, horse races, and an in-game card game that is so robust it spawned its own spinoff. I also found the list provided by Fullerton (2019) to not be exhaustive, as it was difficult to define games like Diablo 3, a “dungeon crawler,” which emphasizes replayability with an objective of obtaining better loot, and Batman: Arkham Knight which has a complex array of different objectives. I also enjoy fighting games, such as Street Fighter, which did not easily fit into Fullerton’s list of objective types.

Exercise 3.11: Boundaries

What are the boundaries in the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons? Can you think of physical and conceptual boundaries?

Fullerton (2014) refers to the concept of the magic circle – “the act of agreeing to play, to accept the rules of the game”- as a critical component in helping players feel safe within the boundaries of a game that are intended to be temporary (p. 87). Perhaps no other game exemplifies this sort of social contract than Dungeons and Dragons. Players must agree to a set of rules and systematic procedures that largely exist on paper and within the players’ imaginations in order to collectively propel the game forward in a rewarding fashion. In this sense, the boundaries of Dungeons and Dragons are largely conceptual. Players can act within the boundaries set by the rules, the capabilities of their character, the outcomes of the roll of dice, and the boundaries set by the dungeon master.

Fullerton also refers to the emotional boundaries of games, arguing “the boundaries of the game serve as a way to separate everything that goes on in the game from daily life…you can shake hands at the end of the game and walk away without any real damage to your relationships” (p. 87). Again, there are likely few games that exemplify this concept better than the imaginative escapism offered by Dungeons and Dragons. Players can assume the role of various races and classes and choose to betray or cooperate with their fellow players or look out for their own self-interest.

Finally, Dungeons and Dragons contains physical boundaries as well. Players are typically situated at a table which includes the game space and all rule and character sheets. There are also imagined physical boundaries within the game world. Players must adhere to rules and logic regarding distance, climbing, swimming, and opening doors that are dictated by their characters’ abilities and dice rolls. The game may also include maps or detailed descriptions of the setting to be explored. Players may also utilize a 3D terrain placed on the table to serve as a reference.

Dwarven Forge. (2020, Dec 15). Dwarven Forge in 60 Seconds. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN4aLRSJqAQ&feature=emb_logo.

Reference

Fullerton, T. (2014). Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games, NY: Taylor & Francis (CRS Press).

Intellectual Production #8