It is all about the experience! Player experience in game design

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description

My presentation at Microsoft Game Dev Camp 2014. I talked about the importance of player experience and the need to focus on the experience when designing games. I added some discussion regarding what constitutes a good experience and the importance of progression.

Transcript of It is all about the experience! Player experience in game design

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It is all about the experience player experience in game design Rui Prada (IST, SPCV)

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                               Who is this guy?

Professor  at  Ins,tuto  Superior  Técnico  Dep.  Computer  Science  and  Engineering    Applica,on  Area  on  Games  h5p://ajist.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/    7  years,  2  courses  

 >200  students,  >  50  game  prototypes  

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                                                                           Who is this guy?

Sociedade  Portuguesa  de  Ciências  dos  Videojogos  (Est.  2009)  Co-­‐Founder  and  Current  President    Promo,ng  

 Knowledge  and  understanding    CollaboraHon  of  peers    Teaching  and  research  

www.spcvideojogos.org  

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h5p://www.ipca.pt/videojogos/  

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                               Who is this guy?

Author  of    

   Design  e  Desenvolvimento  de  Jogos    Carlos  MarHnho,  Pedro  Santos,  Rui  Prada    FCA,  2014  

h5ps://www.flickr.com/photos/nanagyei/5199156473  

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                                                                           Who is this guy?

Avid  Player    Game  Collector  

h5ps://www.flickr.com/photos/merydith/5875929614  

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          Player Experience h5ps://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesHmbrell/8314586801/  

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Experience? Why?

Games  are  means  to  live  experiences  Voluntary  Subjec,ve  

Gameplay   Experience  

Game  Designer  

Player  

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Experience? Why?

Design  for  the  experience  A  good  game  is  one  the  promotes  a  good  experience  

 

Gameplay  Experience  

Game  Designer  

Player  

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1.  Doing/Performing      

2.  Feeling/Assessing      

3.  Remembering/Learning  

Experience? What?

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Fulfill  a  dream  

 Do  something  that  cannot  be  done      

 Feel  special      

 Live  and  acquire  something  unique  

Player Experience

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Doing/Performing    Create  moHvaHon,  opportuniHes,  incenHves  for  acHon  

Feeling/Assessing    Promote  interesHng  choices    Define  consequences  of  choices  

Remembering/Learning    Promote  re-­‐use  and  combinaHon  

Crafting the Experience

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          Pleasure h5p://pixabay.com/p-­‐110303  

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A  good  experience  elicits  pleasure    

Brain  rewards  “desirable”  situaHons  and  behaviours  

A Good Experience

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Achievement.  Achieve  milestones,  finish  tasks.  Power.  Have  an  impact  on  the  world,  improve  skill.  Affilia,on.  Maintain  posiHve  interacHons  with  others.  Avoidance.  Self-­‐preservaHon,  seeking  certainty.    

Balance  Novelty  and  Control  

Pleasure: Satisfaction of Needs

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Internal  sensa,ons  linked  to  assessment  of  situaHons  People  have  needs  of  emo,onal  regula,on  (to  relax  or  get  excited)  Regulate  engagement  (a5enHon  and  moHvaHon)  

Pleasure: Emotions

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If  something  has  emo,onal  impact  

it  is  relevant!  

Emotions and Engagement

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Primary Emotions

a. b. c.

d. e. f.

Anger   Fear   Disgust  

Surprise   Happiness   Sadness  

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     Achieve  a  desirable  situaHon  Complete  a  level  Give  the  players  what  they  desire  Nice  rewards  (e.g.  rare  items)  

             Achieve  an  undesirable  situaHon  

Lose  something  important  Lose  an  opportunity  

Stronger  if  the  situaHon  is  irreversible    

Eliciting Emotions

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     Obstruct/deny  players’  goals  Hurt/damage  what  they  like  The  blame  is  not  a5ributed  enHrely  to  the  self  Belief  that  the  situaHon  is  recoverable  

             Promote  anHcipaHon  of  an  undesirable  situaHon  

Threaten  what  is  important  for  the  player  Creates  tension  

PotenHates  other  emoHons  (e.g.  Happiness)    

Eliciting Emotions

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     Create  unexpected  situaHons  Framed  in  the  expectaHons  of  players  and  uncertainty  PosiHve  surprises:  the  situaHon  becomes  be5er  NegaHve  surprises:  the  situaHon  becomes  worst  

             Create  uncomfortable  situaHons  

Not  clearly  undesirable,  but  probably  to  avoid  Social  disgust:  related  to  social  values  

Eliciting Emotions

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All  emoHons  ma5er  Go  beyond  primary  emoHons  

Social  emo,ons  (Guilt,  shame,  pride,  love…)  

Which Emotions?

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Playing  is  a  learning  ac,vity  (players  learn  controls,  mechanics,  

strategies,  story…)  

Pleasure: Learning

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Support  learning  in  your  game  Balance  guidance  and  

self-­‐explora,on  

Learning

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The  experience  is  ruined  if      

 There  is  nothing  to  learn    It  is  impossible  to  learn  (noise,  sensory    overload)    There  is  no  interest  in  the  things  learnt    (are  not  applied  in  the  game)  

Learning

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Visceral:  moHon,  heat,  relaxaHon  Cogni,ve:  problem  solving,  memory  challenges  Social:  social  status,  sense  of  belonging,  interacHng  with  others  Moral:  follow  ideals,  moral  code  

Types of Pleasure

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Sensa,on:  game  as  sensory  pleasure  Fantasy:  game  as  make  believe  Narra,ve:  game  as  drama  Challenge:  game  as  obstacle  course  Fellowship:  game  as  social  framework  Discovery:  game  as  uncharted  territory  Expression:  game  as  self-­‐discovery  Submission:  game  as  pasHme  

Types of Pleasure (MDA)

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          Progression h5ps://www.flickr.com/photos/usafe/14050607788/  

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The  experience  changes  with  Hme  

Progression

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Selec,on:  build  expectaHons  Assump,on:  establish  grounds  based  on  previous  experience  (genre,  world  metaphors)  Abstrac,on:  idenHfy  the  mechanics,  (dis)confirm  assumpHons  Strategy:  build  strategies  combining  the  mechanics  Reduc,on:  ignore  “irrelevant”  informaHon  

Phases of the Experience

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Challenge  and  Novelty  (keep  the  learning)  

Managing the Progression

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The Flow

Degree of Challenge

Skill Level

Anxiety

Boredom

Flow Channel

Experience

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Design  the  experience  considering  ,me  (play  sessions,  replays)  

The Experience Through Time

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Define  ,me  steps  (storyboard):    the  beginning,  the  mid  game,  the  end…  

 For  each  define:  

 what  to  do,  how  to  feel  and  what  to  remember.  

The Experience Matrix

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          Games as Communication Tools

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Theme  (subject)  Thesis  (perspecHve,  an  idea)  

Game  conveys  the  message    

Game Design as Communication

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Theme and Thesis

h5ps://www.flickr.com/photos/enricjuve/2695421587/      h5ps://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesboyes/13931401969/            h5ps://www.flickr.com/photos/jonycunha/3880522914/                  h5ps://www.flickr.com/photos/mene5rier/6382539855/  

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Supports  the  meaning  of  the  experience  

Establish  a  culture  (interests,  values,    symbols,  heroes,…)  

Bound  the  dreams  that  the  game  supports  

Theme and Thesis

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Gameplay  is  crucial  for  the  experience  The  presenta,on  is  important  as  well  

Theme and Presentation

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          Players are not all Alike h5ps://www.flickr.com/photos/popculturegeek/7640586630  

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A good game is one that promotes a good experience Satisfaction of needs, emotional impact, learning

Well balanced in time Meaningful message

Rui Prada [email protected] http://gaips.inesc-id.pt/rprada