Characteristics of generatable games

We address the problem of generating complete games, rather than content for existing games. In particular, we try to an- swer the question which types of games it would be realistic or even feasible to generate. To begin to answer the question, we rst list the di erent ways we see that games could be generated, and then try to discuss what characterises games that would be comparatively easy or hard to generate. The discussion is structured according to a subset of the charac- teristics discussed in the book Characteristics of Games by Elias, Gar eld and Gutschera.peer-reviewe

Game theory for computer games design

Designing and developing computer games can be a complex activity that may involve professionals from a variety of disciplines. In this article, we examine the use of game theory for supporting the design of game play within the different sections of a computer game, and demonstrate its application in practice via adapted high-level decision trees for modelling the flow in game play and payoff matrices for modelling skill or challenge levels

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

Languages of games and play: A systematic mapping study

Digital games are a powerful means for creating enticing, beautiful, educational, and often highly addictive interactive experiences that impact the lives of billions of players worldwide. We explore what informs the design and construction of good games to learn how to speed-up game development. In particular, we study to what extent languages, notations, patterns, and tools, can offer experts theoretical foundations, systematic techniques, and practical solutions they need to raise their productivity and improve the quality of games and play. Despite the growing number of publications on this topic there is currently no overview describing the state-of-the-art that relates research areas, goals, and applications. As a result, efforts and successes are often one-off, lessons learned go overlooked, language reuse remains minimal, and opportunities for collaboration and synergy are lost. We present a systematic map that identifies relevant publications and gives an overview of research areas and publication venues. In addition, we categorize research perspectives along common objectives, techniques, and approaches, illustrated by summaries of selected languages. Finally, we distill challenges and opportunities for future research and development

Automated iterative game design

Computational systems to model aspects of iterative game design were proposed, encompassing: game generation, sampling behaviors in a game, analyzing game behaviors for patterns, and iteratively altering a game design. Explicit models of the actions in games as planning operators allowed an intelligent system to reason about how actions and action sequences affect gameplay and to create new mechanics. Metrics to analyze differences in player strategies were presented and were able to identify flaws in game designs. An intelligent system learned design knowledge about gameplay and was able to reduce the number of design iterations needed during playtesting a game to achieve a design goal. Implications for how intelligent systems augment and automate human game design practices are discussed.Ph.D

Simulating Mechanics to Study Emergence in Games

This paper presents the latest version of the Machinations framework. This framework uses diagrams to represent the flow of tangible and abstract resources through a game. This flow represents the mechanics that make up a game’s interbal economy and has a large impact on the emergent gameplay of most simulation games, strategy games and board games. This paper shows how Machinations diagrams can be used simulate and balance games before they are built