Katelyn ProcciDaniel BrownClint Bowers

UCF RETRO Lab

Recent and Emerging Technology Research Organization

Dr. Janis Cannon-Bowers, Co-FounderDr. Clint Bowers, Co-Founder

www.ucfretrolab.org

USS Rivet City:Lessons Learned from Modding Fallout 3 for Serious Games Research

Games for Change | June 20, 2012

Modding – An Introduction

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Modding: Adding new content to existing games, sometimes through developer-provided tools.

Modding will*:o Prolong shelf-lifeo Increase replay valueo Become a commercial success!o Promote innovationo Provide feedbacko Help gamers break into the game industry

o http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/2008/07/17/valve-hires-minevra-mod-maker/1

o http://www.insidegamingdaily.com/2012/02/29/mojang-hires-bukkit-modders-to-create-new-minecraft-api/

Modding tools are an invaluable resource for those who want to create a serious game, but do not have an experienced dev team.

* Kücklich, J. (2005). Precarious playbour: Modders and the digital games industry. The Fibreculter Journal, 5. http://five.fibreculturejournal.org/fcj-025-precarious-playbour-modders-and-the-digital-games-industry/

Modding – Two Uses

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1) Participatory Learning Experienceso Take content, build a modo Learn about the content, learn about programmingo Effective!

2) Tools to Create Entirely New Experienceso Games are prohibitively expensive for small teams to

develop from scratcho Authoring tools provide opportunities for those with less

experience to create effective gaming experiences

Developer-provided modding tools make serious game development accessible to everyone!

e.g. El-Nasr, M. S., & Smith, B. K. (2006). Learning through game modding. ACM Computers in Entertainment, 4(1), article 3B.; Learn with Portals; Towne, D. M., & Munro, A. (1987). The intelligent maintenance training system. SCS Simulators Conference.

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Interpreting a Bullseyeo Line 1: Door Access Numbero Line 2: Compartment Nameo Line 3: Compartment Number

Deck – Frame – Centerline – ClassificationThis repair locker is on the main deck at the 50th

frame and is the first compartment on the port side of the ship.

USS Rivet City: The Problem

1-58-2Repair Locker 1

1-50-2-Q

Procci, K., Blair, L., & Bowers, C. (2010, October). Cognitive load and the role fidelity in training games: Lessons learned from Bullseye. Poster presented at Meaningful Play 2010, East Lansing, MI.

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“Rivet City is an aircraft carrier. Let’s just mod that.”

Fallout 3 - Rivet City Concept ArtCraig Mullins, Bethesda Softworks

“USS Rivet City”

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USS OriskanyU.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation

(1996.488.196.049)

Comparing Battleship North Carolina and Rivet City

Step 1: Plan

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1) Have a plan with defined goalso Clearly state your objectives

2) Determine what tools and capabilities you needo Pick a game and tool that best aligns with your goalso Know the limitations of the tool you choose

o Dialogue - Are you allowed to interact with NPCs and hold conversations?

o Levels/Quests - Are there quests you can edit, can you add new ones to create unique missions?

o Assets - Are you able to edit and create new objects, textures, skins? How extensive is the library and what is already in it?

o Environment - Can you change the physical environment?o Support - Is there community that you can draw upon for help?

Step 1: Plan (continued)

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3) Explore your options

o Creation Kit (Skyrim – Bethesda Softworks) o http://www.creationkit.com/

o Hammer SDK (Source engine games - Valve)o https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/SDK_Docs

o Electron Toolset (Neverwinter Nights 2 – Obsidian Entertainment)o http://www.nwn2toolset.dayjo.org/

o WC3 World Editor – (Warcraft 3 – Blizzard Entertainment)o http://world-editor-tutorials.thehelper.net/

o Dragon Age Toolset – (Dragon Age - BioWare)o http://social.bioware.com/page/da-toolset

Step 2: Develop

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Step 2: Develop (continued)

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1) Set a timeline, and then give yourself double that time

o These tools have a learning curveo Things will go wrong!o You will want to tweak and refine2) Ask the community for

helpo What was awesome

about the GECK?: “The community behind it. They're incredibly helpful and knowledgeable.”

Step 3: Test

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1) User testing, user testing, user testing!o Will help you catch problems early-on!

2) Understand that your player may not be a gamer, but the game you’re modding was probably meant to be played by one

o Provide trainingo Tutorials, practice, in-game hand-holding, etc.

o Simplifyo Provide alternate inputs

o Maybe a controller would’ve helped…

USS Rivet City: Lessons Learned

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1) Define your goals

2) Determine your needs

3) Pick the most suitable game/tools

4) Give yourself more time than you think you need

5) Ask the community for help

6) Make use of early and iterative user testing, even for “just a mod”

7) Design with your player's level of gaming familiarity in mind

-[ UCF RETRO Lab | 407-823-5335 | www.ucfretrolab.org ]-Institute for Simulation and Training / UCF Department of Psychology

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