Post on 07-Jan-2016
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Read Me:Closing the Readability Gap in Immersive Games
Patrick ReddingUbisoft Montreal
Who am I?
Patrick ReddingGame designer at Ubisoft Montreal,unannounced project
Previously, narrative designer on Far Cry 2
Narrative design problems…
… game readability problems.
AI dialogue system
Dynamic narrative
Readable
interface exposes the game’s systems
(and player choices)
Imperfect information
Game mechanics manipulate information
dynamic systems
representation
procedural representation(simulation)
game information
player
Not accessibility, exactly
Both concerned with providinggame cues and feedback
Not talking about legibility
(although UI is important)
≠ uncanny valley problem, although
consistency and interface feel > graphical fidelity
Elements of representation
graphics
physics
dynamic lighting
spatial audio
animation
mo-cap
IK
modeling
hardware
UI
Elements of representation
++ “bit-depth”added to simulation
perfect information
eyes
ears
hands
20101970
1990 20001980
Dynamic complexity
20101970
1990 20001980
Dynamic complexity
Representational depth
The “fat pipe”
AAA game titles
Rich representational content
thin-pipe/fat-pipe problem
Player controls are pitiful
overcompensation
unrecognizable,
disconnected
simulation
emulation
highlow
readability
representation
Splinter Cell
GTA III: SA
Gran TurismoFar Cry 2
Dirt
Virtua Figher
QTE-heavy action games
MGS
Super Mario 64
Myst
Shenmue
RE5
Elements of readability (current working model)
Elements of readability (current working model)
game cues
game feedback
player
interface
Elements of readability (current working model)
feedback
available actions
game cues
response to input
Elements of readability (current working model) game cues
Elements of readability (current working model) game cues
Elements of readability (current working model) feedback
Elements of readability (current working model) feedback
Elements of readability (current working model)
easy to interpret
information
easy to recognize
prioritized
coherence
Elements of readability (current working model)
Players know when they are being told
something
coherence
Elements of readability (current working model)
HUD coherence
coherence
Elements of readability (current working model) consistency
representation
matches natural expectations
assigns similar form to similar meanings
or behaviors
Elements of readability (current working model) consistency
Elements of readability (current working model) consistency
Elements of readability (current working model) context
game space
player understands the
world
player can apply “natural
mapping”
MDA(LeBlanc, Hunicke, Zubek)designe
r
mechanics
dynamics
aesthetics
player
MDA(LeBlanc, Hunicke, Zubek)
MDA(LeBlanc, Hunicke, Zubek)
M D A A’
Authorship ?
designer
player
MDA(LeBlanc, Hunicke, Zubek)
M D A1 A’
A2
systemic
representational
Simulation
‘MDA’ is the purist version…
…But because of the readability problem:
M D ∑{A1+ A2+… An }
Confusing aesthetic experience for aesthetic content
Temptation to tunnel
Risk
Time
As the machinery of content-
creation goes into gear…
design GP prog prototypingmandate
art pipeline asset creation
Not difficult to justify
Willful act of self-deception
Procedural vs non-procedural ‘A’
Jonathan Blow, MIGS 2008 keynote
procedural friction
traditional authorship feels ‘safer’…
…but it’s antagonistic to meaningful play
The six pillars of Far Cry 2
Freedom
Openness
Realism
Meaning
Immersion
Dynamism
Immersion needs to be backed up by lots of data
Graphics
Animation
Audio
Physics
Physical connection to game world
Procedural disconnection from simulation
game information
player
?
game system state ‘verisimilitude’
The industry fetishizes immersion
Yes, metaphorical cushions are useful…
… but games are dynamic systems
Trawling the boundary conditions
Seduced by production values
Cognitive science:Verbal overshadowing
unreliable witness problem
representation
systems
Self-erasing routines
Root of the readability problem?
Dynamic narrative systems
Player achieves goals,earns rewards,
measurable progress…
‘Story-shaped’ output
{ P1, P2, P3, … Pt }local minima
Most likely outcomes
For RPGs, strategy games, sports titles,
{ P1, P2, P3, … Pt } ‘tradition
alnarrative
’
(one of) our failings on Far Cry 2:
game metric
s
playerstory output
buddy manag
er
dialogue
manager
mission manag
er
game input
Why?
didn’t support meaningful play
game metrics:
+Inf
± Hist
+Prog
buddy manag
er
dialogue
manager
mission manag
er
game input
+ 2 hours…
Presents rich characters…
…but doesn’t link them readably
Contradiction:
M D A1
A2systemic
narrativerealization
Contradiction:
M D A1
A2
Reinforcing the wrong things here…
Contradiction:
M D A1
A2
Pulling players away from meaning
Just complaining about pretty, shallow games? No.
We’ve dug ourselves into a hole.
Recent art games seem like an attempt to climb
out.
Braid (2007)
Should “Braid 2” be more like
PoP: Sands of Time ?
Find the balance betweenexpressing dynamic meaning and maximizing simulation fidelity
So…
Reforming production
False design precision
Lack of incrementation
during abstraction
Actual design is happening during implementation
Industry now dominated by game
designers without programming backgrounds
Iterative prototyping and playtesting
Not just mining for fun.
Do players understand their
choices?
Fire-proofing interface schema
Evolving an actionablereadability model
Readability
The quality of giving visibility to player choice
Not giving away the best choice
But revealing the range of choices
Portal (2008, Valve)
Linear
Constrained
FPS
(subversive)
Portal (2008, Valve)
The Portal Gun
Movement through portals
The game environment
Challenge design
Implication
Read
Perceive biases in the local conditions of the gamespace that favor a particular set of choices
What does the player read in Portal?
Start by looking at this:
Platformer paradigm
Same challenges
Primary verbs are the same
(dimensionally constrained)
Overview of entire gamespace.
Perfect information.
How does the real Portal differ?
Looking through portals
Looking through portals
Looking at whole game world in 2D
Spatial information
Parallax
Unique instrument of readability in Portal
Decision scale(working model)
critical
important
necessary
minor
inconsequential
potential upside
potential downside
Game Design Workshop (Fullerton, 2007)
Decision scale(readability-centric)
threat
progress
locality
agency
self
What are the sources of risk?
threat
progress
What is the current goal?
locality
What are the conditions, positionin the gamespace?
agencyWhat are the game’s boundaries?
What is the state of the player/avatar?
self
Decision scale(readability-centric)
threat
progress
locality
agency
self
degeneracy,
hollow
degeneracy,
optimal
information,
blind
information,
perfect
effects,delayed
effects,immediate
Principles
Readability of individual game ingredients
Readability of the game holistically
Principles
One channel, multiple dimensions
Street Fighter 2 (1994, Capcom)
# signsrepresented
Player’s game system literacy
A D M
Principles
If it’s simulated, it affects readability
DOOM (1993, Id Software)
Not all experiences simulate readably
Abstract
Formal
Numerical
Principles
Systemic representations fail by becoming fuzzy and ambiguous
Special-case representations fail by becoming simplistic and misleading
Designers tend to favor the systemic over the
special-case
Neither guarantees success by itself
Principles
Readability of special-case representations combined with systemic representations
Readability of special-case representations that reinforce systemic representations
Thief (1998, Looking Glass Software)
Far Cry 2 (2008, Ubisoft)
Principles
A game system is readable only if the player can perceive the relationship between game cues/feedback
A game system is readable only if the player internalizes the game’s metaphor
“Meaningful play occurs when the relationships between actions and outcomes in a game are both discernable
and integrated into the larger context of the game.”
Rules of Play (Salen & Zimmerman, 2003)
Key readability challenges in game design
Resolving breadth of simulation
Determining the depth of abstraction
Integrating both into player experience
Key readability challenges in game design
Introduction of game ingredients
Functional consistency of game ingredients
Procedural representation of game ingredients
Affordant qualities of game ingredients
Challenge managementfor readability
core activities
low-level input
player verbs
visibility
choices supported by LD
core activities
low-level input
player verbs
visibility
choices supported by LD
Essential actions
Motivating goals
Anticipate/react
Twitch/react
Move (analog)
Move (binary)
Manage/track
Infer/plan
Observe/adapt
Synthesize
core activities
low-level input
player verbs
visibility
choices supported by LD
core activities
low-level input
player verbs
visibility
choices supported by LD
Low-level controls
Range of meaningful input
Parameters that affect gameplay
gameplay patterns
core activities
low-level input
player verbs
visibility
choices supported by LD
Individual ingredients
Sequence of ingredients
Information channels
Systemic representations
Special-case representations
Patterns of feedback
Affordances
core activities
low-level input
player verbs
visibility
choices supported by LD
Just one possible tool…
Questions ?
patrick.redding@ubisoft.com
www.wemakeholesinteeth.com
Read Me:Closing the Readability Gap in Immersive Games
Patrick ReddingUbisoft Montreal