On Making Good Games - Using Player Virtue Ethics and Gameplay Design Patterns to Identify Generally Desirable Gameplay Features

This paper uses a framework of player virtues to perform a theoretical exploration of what is required to make a game good. The choice of player virtues is based upon the view that games can be seen as implements, and that these are good if they support an intended use, and the intended use of games is to support people to be good players. A collection of gameplay design patterns, identified through their relation to the virtues, is presented to provide specific starting points for considering design options for this type of good games. 24 patterns are identified supporting the virtues, including RISK/REWARD, DYNAMIC ALLIANCES, GAME MASTERS, and PLAYER DECIDED RESULTS, as are 7 countering three or more virtues, including ANALYSIS PARALYSIS, EARLY ELIMINATION, and GRINDING. The paper concludes by identifying limitations of the approach as well as by showing how it can be applied using other views of what are preferable features in games

On Making Good Games - Using Player Virtue Ethics and Gameplay Design Patterns to Identify Generally Desirable Gameplay Features

This paper uses a framework of player virtues to perform a theoretical exploration of what is required to make a game good. The choice of player virtues is based upon the view that games can be seen as implements, and that these are good if they support an intended use, and the intended use of games is to support people to be good players. A collection of gameplay design patterns, identified through their relation to the virtues, is presented to provide specific starting points for considering design options for this type of good games. 24 patterns are identified supporting the virtues, including RISK/REWARD, DYNAMIC ALLIANCES, GAME MASTERS, and PLAYER DECIDED RESULTS, as are 7 countering three or more virtues, including ANALYSIS PARALYSIS, EARLY ELIMINATION, and GRINDING. The paper concludes by identifying limitations of the approach as well as by showing how it can be applied using other views of what are preferable features in games

Os modos de existência do gameplay: um exercício de aplicação com Cities: Skylines

This text presents an application of the theories proposed in An inquiry into modes of existence, Bruno Latour, as a key to understand gameplay, based on game situations from Cities: Skylines. The analysis is presented after reviewing the theoretical framework and a brief presentation of the gameplay situation and highlights the most prominent modes of existence in Cities: Skylines’ gameplay ([FIC], [TEC] e [HAB]) and their crossings ([FIC-TEC], [FIC-HAB] and [TEC-HAB]).Este texto apresenta uma aplicação de ideias propostas em Investigação sobre os modos de existência, de Bruno Latour, como chave de leitura do gameplay, tendo como base uma situação de jogo com Cities: Skylines. Após uma revisão dos fundamentos teóricos e uma breve apresentação da situação de jogo, a análise destaca os modos de existência mais proeminentes no gameplay de Cities: Skylines ([FIC], [TEC] e [HAB]) e seus cruzamentos ([FIC-TEC], [FIC-HAB] e [TEC-HAB])

Plusminus: Emergenssilähtöinen peliympäristöjen suunnittelu

Emergent gameplay occurs when the rules of a game system interact and create new behavior that is not defined by the rules of the system. It has been a widely discussed topic in the research of games and game design, and it is described as a desirable and beneficial property of a game system that is difficult to design. Emergent gameplay has been described to increase player freedom and creativity, make game worlds more consistent and immersive, increase the depth and strategy in games, and extend the lifespan of a game. However, it may also make designing games more difficult, decrease the creative control of game designers, and enable game-breaking behaviors. Previous research on how to design games for emergence has approached the topic heavily from the perspective of technical implementations of the game rule systems. In this thesis emergent gameplay is approached from the perspective of level design, and the impact of level design on the occurrence of emergence in a game is discussed. The thesis states that designing games for emergence requires considerations in level design of the game, and that level design decisions can significantly increase the emergent properties of a game system. The thesis looks into previous research on emergence and analyzes the definitions of the concept. The findings are then used to form several methods and approaches on level design in order to support and encourage emergent gameplay which are used to design levels for an action-puzzle game Plusminus. Finally, the thesis discusses the methods and approaches formed and evaluates the results of the attempts to increase emergent gameplay through level design. The conclusions of this thesis suggest that how levels are designed can introduce constraints in emergent gameplay and that the occurrence of emergence and use of emergent strategies in games can be improved with level design solutions.Emergenssi viittaa pelitutkimuksessa pelijärjestelmän toimintaan, kun järjestelmän säännöt ovat vuorovaikutuksessa ja luovat uudenlaista käyttäytymistä, joka ei ole järjestelmän sääntöjen määrittelemää. Aihetta on tutkittu paljon pelitutkimuksessa ja -suunnittelussa, ja se mielletään usein toivottavaksi pelijärjestelmän ominaisuudeksi, jota on vaikea suunnitella. Emergenssin on väitetty lisäävän pelaajan vapautta ja luovuutta, tekevän pelimaailmoista todentuntuisempia ja immersiivisempiä, lisäävän peliin syvyyttä ja strategisuutta sekä pidentävän pelin käyttöikää. Se voi kuitenkin tehdä pelien suunnittelusta vaikeampaa, vähentää pelinkehittäjän kontrollia pelaajan pelikokemuksesta ja mahdollistaa peliä rikkovia toimintoja. Aiempi tutkimus pelien suunnittelusta emergenssille on lähestynyt aihetta usein näkökulmista, jotka ovat painottuneet vahvasti pelijärjestelmän sääntöjen tekniseen toteutukseen. Tämä tutkimus lähestyy emergenssiä peliympäristöjen suunnittelun näkökulmasta ja analysoi ympäristösuunnittelun vaikutusta emergenssiin. Tutkimus esittää, että pelien suunnittelussa emergenssiä varten on emergenssi huomioitava myös pelien ympäristöjen suunnittelussa ja että pelien ympäristöjen suunnittelulla emergenssin esiintymistä voidaan lisätä merkittävästi. Emergenssiä lähestytään aiheena analysoimalla aiemman tutkimuksen sille antamia määritelmiä, minkä pohjalta luodaan peliympäristöjen suunnittelumalleja emergenssin lisäämiseksi toimintapeliin Plusminukseen. Lopuksi käytettyjen suunnittelumallien käyttöä ja vaikutusta emergenssin esiintymiseen arvioidaan. Työn tuloksista voidaan nähdä, että pelien ympäristöjen suunnittelu voi luoda rajoitteita pelaamiselle, mikä voi myös vaikuttaa emergenssin esiintymiseen. Tulokset myös viittaavat siihen, että emergenssilähtöinen peliympäristöjen suunnittelu, ainakin Plusminuksen kaltaisessa pelissä, voi lisät mahdollisuuksia emergenssin esiintymiseen

Press to Art - Boceto de las experiencias artísticas en los videojuegos

En la Historia del Arte han ido apareciendo nuevas formas de expresión artística conforme evolucionaba la sociedad del momento. En nuestros tiempos, los videojuegos son uno de los elementos más influyentes de nuestra cultura. Nacidos bajo el amparo del entretenimiento lúdico y desarrollados gracias a las nuevas tecnologías, este medio está siendo capaz de desarrollar todo un nuevo mundo estético y artístico, consolidándose en algunos casos, como una nueva fuente de expresión y difusión de un nuevo arte emergente para las masas. Este trabajo pretende valorizar este novedoso medio audiovisual como un nuevo lenguaje artístico a la altura de las otras grandes artes

Les enjeux esthétiques du jeu vidéo : entre art, stylistique et interactivité

Dans cet article, l’auteur questionne le lien complexe entre le jeu vidéo et l’art en tentant de réfléchir à l’esthétique du jeu vidéo. Selon lui, le questionnement sur la qualité artistique du jeu vidéo repose principalement sur une confusion dans la définition de la notion d’art. Trois conceptions différentes semblent être en cause dans le discours général : le jeu vidéo comme production ou technique artistique, le jeu vidéo comme média audiovisuel, et le jeu vidéo comme pratique interactive. En distinguant à tour de rôle ces trois acceptions, l’auteur se penche également sur la question des styles visuels de jeu vidéo, alors que ces derniers contribuent de manière primordiale à la perception du jeu vidéo en tant qu’objet esthétique et culturel.In this article, the author questions the complex relationship between video game and art in trying to think about the aesthetics of video games. According to him, the questioning of the artistic quality of the medium is mainly based on a confusion in the definition of the concept of art. Three different significations seem to be involved in the general discourse: video game as an artistic production or technique, video game as an audiovisual medium, and video game as an interactive practice. While distinguishing between the three meanings, the author also addresses the issue of video game visual styles, since they contribute significantly to the perception of video game as an aesthetic and cultural object

Artistry, Aesthetic Experience, and Global Futures in Civilization Game Design: How the ESCAPe Framework as an Ontology Captures an Art Form of the Information Age

Civilization games can depict imaginative and sophisticated perspectives on the future. Yet some scholars have critiqued civilization games for their replication of dominant, limited ideologies. Game designers often learn about design directly or indirectly from frameworks, such as the Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics (MDA) framework which contains a very idiosyncratic definition of aesthetics. Given that aesthetic thinking can unlock the sociological imagination, the aim of this dissertation was to discover opportunities to expand civilization game design by understanding the aesthetic experience of designers. A qualitative interview study was conducted of 13 game designers who created at least one civilization game based in the future. The interview and analysis had an ontological focus, to better understand how aesthetics fit into the existing puzzle of game design knowledge. The findings showed that designers employ their perspective in game design; this sense of self and perspective is not captured by current ontologies of game design. Furthermore, designers are limited in their ability to explore the boundaries of civilization games by task complexity, emotionality, and reliance on player experience. Resultantly, they may focus intensely on known aspects of game design in order to deliver a product. The dissertation proposes two primary solutions. Firstly, a game design framework that integrates the self into game design and more clearly delineates the game as an artifact. Secondly, cultivate truer senses of vision in game design for those who want to push civilization games and games as a whole, while understanding the practical realities of game design. These implications can be used by educators to reconsider game design program curricula, as well as affirm game designers’ pursuit of their own perspective

Exploring Aesthetic Ideals of Gameplay

This paper describes a theoretical exploration of aesthetics ideals of gameplay. Starting from observations about the game artifact, several gameplay properties that can affect the aesthetical experience are identified, e.g. tempting challenges, cohesion, and gamer interaction. These properties are then used to describe several aesthetical ideals of gameplay, e.g. emergence, reenactment, meditative, and camaraderie. The properties and ideals provide concepts for how games attribute aesthetical value to gameplay design and how they distinguish their own preferences from inherent qualities of a game artifact

Exploring Aesthetic Ideals of Gameplay

This paper describes a theoretical exploration of aesthetics ideals of gameplay. Starting from observations about the game artifact, several gameplay properties that can affect the aesthetical experience are identified, e.g. tempting challenges, cohesion, and gamer interaction. These properties are then used to describe several aesthetical ideals of gameplay, e.g. emergence, reenactment, meditative, and camaraderie. The properties and ideals provide concepts for how games attribute aesthetical value to gameplay design and how they distinguish their own preferences from inherent qualities of a game artifact