Game Mechanics and TheorySTORYTELLING

Three act structure

Beginning (Act 1): Place the audience into the action or drama of the story. Introduce the problem.

2. Middle (Act II): Focus on the obstacles that stand in the way of solving the problem.

3. End (Act III): The problem introduced in Act I has been solved, and the obstacles have been removed.

EX: Fable 2

Hero’s Journey Structure

Ordinary World: The hero’s ordinary world is established.

Call to Adventure: The quest or journey is introduced.

Refusal of the Call: The hero refuses but is uncomfortable with the decision.

Meeting with the Mentor: The hero receives information relevant to the quest and needs to go on the journey.

Crossing the First Threshold: The hero abandons the refusal and embarks on the journey.

Hero’s Journey (continued)

Tests, Allies, and Enemies: The hero is tested and makes friends and enemies.

Approach to the Inmost Cave: The hero faces more tests and preparations

Ordeal: The hero must defeat the villain.

Reward: The hero gets the reward.

The Road Back: The hero has to choose the special world or ordinary world.

Resurrection: The hero must face death one more time.

Return with the Elixer: The hero finally returns but is changed forever .

Three act structure

First Act (introduction) – usually used to establish the main characters, their relationships, and the world they live in. Near the end of the First Act, the main character

(protagonist) has to deal with some problem that will change the world. This is the first Turning Point.

Second Act (confrontation) – longest section depicts the protagonist attempting to resolve the problem.

Vocabulary for Storytelling

Protagonist

Antagonist

Inciting Incident

Hook

Plot Point

Turning point

subplot

Game Mechanics and TheoryCHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

Character Classes

Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) introduced character classes.

Common types of classes Fighter- focused on combat abilities but usually lacks magical abilities

Thief/Rogue – focused on stealth and high-damage but usually lacks defense or armor rating

Mage – powerful magical abilities but physically weak

Cleric/Priest – healing and supportive magical abilites

Combined classes

There are variations of the 4 main class types though and can pretty much be combined in any way. Thief + Fighter = Assassin

Cleric + Fighter = Paladin

Mage + Fighter = Battle Mage

Thief + Mage = Bard or Mesmer

Ranged Thief + Support = Engineer

Some can combine more than one class Ex: Fighter + Mage + Cleric = Druid

Class trees

Class trees are used to add more variation to the classes

Warrior Characteristics

Heavy plate armor

Large or multiple weapons

Sometimes has a shield

Lots of health

Druid Characteristics

Nature spells

Lives in forest

Protects the forest and animals

Animal characteristics

Thief Characteristics

Hood or mask over face

Lots of daggers or weapons

Usually wears leather or cloth

Mage Characteristics

Magical auras

Staff, wand, or spellbook

Pointed hat or hood

Usually wears cloth robes

Paladin Characteristics

Heavy plate armor

Large or multiple weapons

Great amount of health

White/Gold/Blue armor

Shield with one-handed weapon

Game Mechanics and TheoryGAMEPLAY

What is the relationship between gameplay and game story?

Why is the experience of playing the game so important?

How should game rules be structured?

Vocabulary

Non-playable character (NPC) – a character that cannot be controlled by a real player

Avatar – the character that represents a player in the game

Allies – characters that are on the player’s side

Enemies – characters that are against the player

The relationship between gameplay and game story

Gameplay is “a set of instructions for the player” Also known as “rules of play”

You can have a game without a story Ex: Tetris

You cannot have a game without gameplay Ex: ???

Gameplay types

Asymmetrical Gameplay – multiple player play the same game simultaneously in different ways.

Cooperative Gameplay – players work together to meet a goal

Deathmatch – players work alone and fight each other Twitch Gameplay – tests a player’s reaction time

Gameplay Types (continued)

Hack and Slash – focuses on melee fighting Leveled Gameplay – Game gradually increases in

difficulty Micromanagement – player manages several small

groups of units and controls most if not all actions of those units

Nonlinear Gameplay – players face challenges that can be completed in a number of different sequences

The key to a good game is getting the gameplay and the game story to be in harmony with each other. Ex: Call of Duty game about saving whales

Good gameplay and a good story usually make for a good game. Just because gameplay is bad doesn’t mean the game is bad

Victory and Lose conditions

Each gameplay type will have different win and lose conditions

Victory [“Win”] conditions are the conditions that must be met to win the game.

Lost [“Lose”] conditions are the conditions that must be met to lose the game.

Interactivity conflict

Player vs Player (PVP) – the player fights other real players

Player vs Environment (PVE) – the player fights AI controlled enemies Can be played alone, with human companions, or AI companions

Choose a game, and determine what the “win” and “loss” conditions are in relation to gameplay. Are they different from the story?

Balance of gameplay

A good game has to balance several factors Obstacles and Aids

If the obstacles might be too much of a challenge, add aids to help the player figure it out.

Penalties and Rewards If the player uses aids, add a penalty or reduce the reward

Design Principles

Concept Art

Modeling

Texturing

Animation

Movement

Appearance

2-D

3-D

Concept Art – rough draft of art Usually has little detail and is designed to show an idea

Modeling -

Texturing

Animation

Movement

Appearance

2-D – graphics consisting of 2 planes. Usually includes the x and y planes

3-D – graphics consisting of 3 planes. Usually includes the x, y, and z planes