BOUMEDIENEBOUMEDIENE BELKHOUCHEBELKHOUCHE

COLLEGE OF INFORMATIONCOLLEGE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYTECHNOLOGY

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Game Study: are we serious? Cultural studies Social, psychological, literary Impact on society

Technical Structure Algorithms Technology Reverse engineering

Games are a serious business

What is a game?

Ingredients for a Definition

PlayersArtificial worldDecisionsArtificial conflictsInteractionsRules

Bounded contextGoalWinning situationRewardsResourcesArt

What makes a game enjoyable?

Story

Colors

Sound/Music

Challenges

Other qualities:

Idea

Graphics

Animation

Multiplayer

A structured set of activitiesrequired to develop a softwaresystem• Requirements• Design• Implementation• Validation• Evolution

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Design: what is it? Initial Concept• Source of idea• Meaning

Description• How it works• Components: art, function, etc.

Model• Prototype• Software design

Game Overview Game World Gameplay Game Story Game Characters Behavior Specification AI Software Structure And More … User Interface Sound Effects Art

Architectureof a Game

Sound SystemPhysics Engine

Event Handler

Graphics Engine

UI

Logic Engine

DISPLAY

Main goals of a game engine Graphics rendering Physics engine Sound Scripting Animation Artificial Intelligence Networking

And to Simplify development process Run on multiple platforms

GameMaker:Studio

What is a game?

What is a game?

What is a game?

What is a game?

Create a sprite

Load a sprite picture

Sprites

Images of Sprites

Naming and Loading a Sprite Picture

Sprite Properties: Collision Mask

Create Object

Objects

Create Sound

Loading Sounds

Creating a room

Create Background

Setting the background

Load background picture

Adding Event-Action

Object with several events-actions

Object Events and Actions

Object Transparency

Keyboard Events

Keyboard Events

Game World Artificial universe – an inviting place Setting Dimensions - Physical Dimensions – Temporal Environmental Way of life Level of Detail

Particular governing rules

Environment

How does the world look Cultural context of the people in the game Different from the cultural context of the players outside the game

Must match the story line, the visual appearance and the tasks. Should be consistent with players knowledge No Greeks with riffles

Largely work of artists Requires study How did the Maori live?

Music and sound effect must match this Try to be original Too many games use the same type of environment

Rules

Rules define the inner formal structure of the game Rules limit player action Rules are explicit and unambiguous Rules are shared by all players Rules are fixed Rules are binding Rules are repeatable

Gameplay: the holy grail

Actions/events/interactions Unique powers Health indicators Dangers, hazards, challenges Winning situation Intelligence Interactivity Immersion

Is there a Story to Tell?

Importance for the game None: Arcade Little: Strategy Medium: FPS games More: Role Playing games Most: Adventure Games

Light backstory: You have to save the world Still useful to provide some form of motivation and

justification Can be told beforehand or in steps during the game

Who Tells the Story? Game Designer The designer is not the player

The Player She/he is the one elaborating the story They are free to think on their own

Story structure General framework Threads Characters Conflict

Monomyth

Called “The Hero Story” A pattern that most stories follow. Charts the progress of the story’s hero Are easily recognizable by all individuals It’s a form (guidelines), not a formula

Monomyth Steps

The ordinary world The call to adventure The refusal of the call The meeting with the mentor Crossing the first threshold Tests, allies, and enemies The approach to the innermost cave The ordeal The reward The road back The resurrection The return with the reward

Characters

Must be developed carefully Good visual designOften exaggerated to create affection (large head,

large eyes) Cuteness Characters must fit the game Create a personality for the character Character growthWhile going through the story

Character

Character: The 3 Dimensions Physiology-sociology-psychology Character Physiology and Sociology round each other

and give birth to the Psychology. Bonded to the others in a relational system of the

Character’s 3 dimensions.

Change = Growth Decisions initiate conflicts Conflicts to try the character Decisions are made to move towards fulfilling the

premise Decisions initiate counter-decisions from the

adversaries Decisions may have either positive or negative impact Change results in growth

Pivotal Character The one who takes the lead The one who creates conflict The one who has a high value at stake There is an antagonist (adversary) who is as strong

Character Attributes

HungerSatiationFearPleasurePainAngerInterestSurpriseSexual ArousalFrustrationAnxiety

ShamePrideDisgustContemptAcceptanceGuiltSelf-Image

BeliefsHappinessSelf-esteem

High-level

Mid-level

Low-level

Resultant AffectsInputs

Sensory

Events

Ideas andConcepts

Source of Affects

Preprogrammed

LearnedSocial Origin

Intellectual origin(Relatively stablelong duration affects)

CharacterInventoryHealth

Interact()Move()Fight()Talk()AccessInventory()UseAccessWay()Die()Get/SetHealth()Get/SetInventory()

Behavior Specification

How agents behave Rule-based FSA Agents (intelligent)

Rulesif (condition1) then actions-1

else if (condition2) then actions-2else if …

if (not hungry & sleepy) then sleepif (not hungry & not sleepy) then walk and bark

Finite state machines

Each object can be in a number of states A state corresponds with some local behavior Often described by a rule based approach

State change occurs based on Events, observations, triggers, etc. A rule based systems

Pacman example: Three states: hunter, hunted, dead Each has some behavior State changes based on eating of pills, timer, reaching the starting

position Does a dead monster become a hunter or a hunted???

Behavior Specification

Behavior Specification

Behavior Specification

FSA

S0 S1

S2

SF

S3

Complete AllMissions

Free Play

Anger Police

Escape

Arrested/Killed

CompleteMission

Accept Mission

Accept Mission

Do Mission

Path Planning Where am I?

Where is my target?

Is there any danger?

How will I get there?

goal

d1 d2r

r

G1

G2

Grid Representation of the Map

Conflict Structure1. Rising conflict2. Crisis

1. Impending change2. No other alternative

3. Climax1. Point of no-return2. Highest point

4. Resolution

Successive ladder steps

What is Analysis? To understand the game Cultural studies Social, psychological, literary Impact on society

Technical Structure Algorithms Technology Reverse engineering

Game Analysis: GTA Vice City

About the Game Studio: Rockstar Games (UK) Year: 2002 (PS), 2003 (Windows), 2010 (Apple) Genre: Action-Adventure Intended Audience: mature Available for: PC, PS, Xbox, Apple Best-seller Unlimited Violence

Main Menu

Gameworld Setting

Grand Theft Auto takes place in three different cities:Liberty City, San Andreas, and Vice City. Each citydistinctly resembles an actual U.S. city: New York, SanFrancisco, and Miami, respectively.

Environment The actual cities themselves. The environment contains buildings, other cars, pay

phones, trees, street signs, etc.

Gameworld Boundaries Fairly extensive; the boundaries stretch basically

to the city limits. However, the cities are so largethat a player hardly ever reaches the boundaries

Perspective Bird’s view, 3-D

Characters Behavior There isn’t very much your character can do; he/she

can steal a car, drive it, pick up and drop items, attack,and receive messages. Other than that, a character’ssuccess is based on the skill level of the player.

Physical/Intellectual/Psychological Attributes The character you control basically has none. It does

nothing intuitively. You have to control it completely.There is no real difference among the avatars withregard to these attributes.

CharacterInventoryHealthInteract()Move()Fight()Talk()AccessInventory()UseAccessWay()Die()Get/SetHealth()Get/SetInventory()

PlayerANSLevel: int

GamePoints: intincANSLevel(int): voiddecANSLevel(int): voidincGamePoints(int): voiddecGamePoints(int): void

Pedestrian

Location: int[2]

Move: void

CarCarOrientation: int

Location: int[2]HealthPoints: int

MaxHealthPoints: intMaxSpeed: int

MaxAcceleration:intmoveLeft: void

moveRight: voidmoveUp: void

moveDown: voidrotateCar: void

incHealthPoints(int): voiddecHealthPoints(int): void

World

MapItemsAccessWays

RemoveItem()Get/SetAccess()

Police

wayPoints: int[10][2]playerLocation: int[2]

onPatrol: Boolean

setPatrol(bool): void

Weapon

Firing speed: intAmmo: int

Damage: int

fire: void

Eventsperson dies person dies and blood is left on ground

scorescore (money) is increased based on how the event wastriggered

police chase police cars actively chasing playerpolice dies police officer dies and blood is left on groundwarrant forarrest active search for your car and chasedamage event car's damage meter is increased

blow up carcar's damage meter has increased to critical point and carexplodes

player dies game overbusted game over

new mission starts up a new mission via phone call or page

Interaction Matrix

Play

er C

ar

Play

er P

erso

n

Peop

le

Polic

e (P

erso

n)

Amm

o

Goa

l

Car

Player Carx x 1 2 3 8 5

Player Personx x 4 6 7 8 7

People1 4 x x 7 x x

Police (Person)2 6 x x 7 x x

Ammo3 7 7 7 x x 3

Goal8 8 x x x x x

Car5 7 x x 3 x x

Gameworld Levels: Three different cities in which you play in.

Within each city there are on average 14missions to accomplish and a number of secretmissions within each city. The missions consistof stealing cars, running narcotics, performinghits, kidnapping, and various other criminal actsfor the local crime boss. To find out what thenext mission is you answer phones and readyour pager.

Gameworld Transitions Each city is a level in and of itself; you begin in Liberty

City, then move on to San Andreas, and finally Vice City.Within each city there are two sets of roughly 15missions each. The order the missions appear in seemsto be random. After completing the missions and accumulating a

certain number of points, you move on to the nextmission set or city, advance in the Mob hierarchy andwork under a new boss.

Gameworld TransitionsWithin each city the missions flow from one

into another with no pause or loading. Thisallows for seamless game play.

Gameworld Dimensions: 40 feet to a city block. When walking around or

driving slowly the player can see about 40 squarefeet (20 ft. in each direction). Once the play hasstarted driving fast in a car the sight grows toabout the size of a city block (120 square feet).The total playing field (all three citiescombined) takes up about 6000 city miles.

Gameworld Time: 1980’sDaytime. Some missions are timed, where you die if you

do not complete the mission in the specifiedamount of time. The rest of the missions carry no time limit.

GameplayEvents At any point in the game, you can steal a car. As long as you are close

to a stopped car, whether there’s someone in the car or not, you cansteal it. This is usually done simply with the push of a button or key.

Driving is the primary aspect of the game, as you need to drive allover the cities to accomplish your missions.

Shooting and killing is also another important aspect of the game.You can drive or walk around and pick up weapons, or buy themfrom a store. You will need these weapons in order to accomplishcertain missions. Of course, at any time, you can also attack anyrandom person on the street, though this usually draws theattention and ire of the police very quickly.

GameplayChallenges

Driving is a challenge in itself. The controls are fairlycomplicated, so staying on the street and avoidingobstacles is not as easy as it looks.

Completing the missions without being killed orarrested is the biggest challenge in the game. It’s noteasy, for example, to drive a truck with a bomb in it,avoid obstacles so that the bomb doesn’t detonatewhile you’re driving, park it under a police station, andrun away before it explodes, all while playing undertime constraints.

GameplayChoices

Since the missions are governed by time constraints,finding the best route to a given location can be filledwith choices. All that’s given to you to navigate the cityis an arrow to point you in the direction of yourdestination and a paper map of each city that comeswith the game.

Of course, stealing many cars and causing manyaccidents will draw the attention of the police, so aplayer needs to be as careful as possible whencompleting missions.

GameplayChoices

Interestingly, deciding which car to steal can also decide one’sfate. When being chased by the police, for example, you’dprobably want a fast sports car so you can outrun them. Choosinga large, slow car in this situation might prove critical, as the copswould be able to catch up to you and arrest or kill you.

As you accomplish, you accumulate points. These points can laterbe spent, if necessary, on items that will help you in yourmissions or evade capture. For example, you can go to a “re-sprayshop,” which will paint your car a different color and change thelicense plates so the cops can’t recognize your car.

GameplayChoicesOn each level, you receive your first mission

through pay phones, which often appear ingroups. Each pay phone you choose to answercontains a different mission.

AI GTA does not have very much A.I., since for the most part,

completion of missions depends solely on the skill of the player. The driving A.I. is adequate, as a car will almost always stop when

you run out into the street on foot. A game like this would cause oneto drive recklessly, so the A.I. cars also do a good job of swervingwhen you drive in their way. Police A.I. is realistic in that they chaseyou well, but if you’re a skilled enough driver, you can get away.

Pedestrian A.I. is weak. They do stay on the sidewalk, and walkstraight when possible, but when you attack them, they mostly justtry to walk away rather than fight back.

CharactersAvatars: At the beginning of the game, you

can choose from among 5 different avatars.Other than appearance, there is seemingly nodiscernable difference among the characters.Enemies: Your enemies depend on the particular

mission. They may be rival mob bosses oroperatives, or the police, or there may be no enemyat all.

Ingredients of a Game

Interactivity: how the player perceives the world andhow he acts within it Storytelling and narrative: storyline, dramatic effect

and motivation, involvement Core mechanics: the rules Each of these aspects highly influences the impact of a

game What is the effect of shooting? Why do you shoot? How do you shoot, how does the target look, and how do

you see the effect?

Interactivity

Who is in control? Viewer versus active participant Linear story line versus multiple story lines

Features versus chrome What are essential features in a game? What is chrome Again, consider certain games Age of Empires (choosing from 12 races?) Simcity (building styles) Puzzles in Black-and-White

Is 3D chrome? Popoulos First-person view versus third person view

Game Design Timeline

Inspiration getting the global idea of the game duration: 1 month (for a professional game) people: lead designer result: treatment document, decision to continue

Conceptualization preparing the "complete" design of the game duration: 3 months people: lead designer result: complete design document

Blueprint separate the project into different tiers duration: 2 months people: lead designer, software planner result: several mini-specifications

Game Design Timeline

Architecture creating a technical design that specifies tools and technology used duration: 2 months people: project leader, software planner, lead architect result: full technical specification

Tool building create a number of (preferably reusable) tools required for the

game, like the 3D graphics engine, a level builder, or a unit builder duration: 4 months people: project leader and 4 (tool) programmers result: set of functionally complete tools (maybe not yet feature

complete)

Game Design Timeline

Assembly create the game based on the design document using the tools; in the

process the design document and the tools can be updated if required(consulting the lead designer)

duration: 12 months people: project leader, 4 programmers, 4 artists the complete game software and toolset

Level design create the levels for the game duration: 4 months people: project leader, 3 level designers result: finished game with all levels, in-game tutorials, manuals

Review testing the code, the gameplay, and the levels duration: 3 months (partially overlapping level design) people: 4 testers result: the gold master

People Involved

Lead designer Project leader Software planner Architectural lead Programmers (tools and game) Artists Level designers Testers

References http://www.gamasutra.com/ http://www.gamedev.net/ http://www.yoyogames.com/

http://www.rpgmakerweb.com/ Jacob Habgood and Mark Overmars, The Game Maker’s Apprentice: Game

Development for Beginners, Apress. Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman, Rules of Play, MIT Press. Andrew Rollins and Dave Morris, Game Architecture and Design, New

Riders. Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Princeton University

Press. Jesse Schell, The Art of Game Design, Morgan Kaufmann Tony Mott, 1001 Video Games you must play before you die, Quintessence

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Thank you!Thank you!

Types of Games

Action – Frantic button pushing (reaction speed,experience) Adventure – (including RPG) The story matters (surprise,

emotions) Strategy – Nontrivial choices (insight, cleverness,

experience) Simulation – Optimization exercises (insight, experience) Puzzle – Hard analytic thinking (cleverness) Competition – Beat the other (human) players Toys – Software to have fun with (surprise) Education – Learning by doing

Important aspects

Reaction speed Experience Insight Cleverness Surprise Emotions

Game Genre

First person shooter, FPS (DOOM) Third person shooters Role playing games, RPG (Leisure Suit Harry) Flight simulators Racing Sport simulators Strategy games (real-time or turn based) GOD games (Popoulos) Puzzle games Adventure …

A* Algorithm1. Let P=the starting point (g is zero for the starting point).2. Compute g, h, and f values associated with P.3. Add P to the Open list. At this point, P is the only node on the Open list.4. Let B=the best node from the Open list (the best node has the lowest f-value).

a. If B is the goal node, then quit- a path has been found.b. If the Open list is empty, then quit- a path cannot be found.

5. Let C=a be a valid node connected to B.a. Assign f, g, and h values to C.b. Check whether C is on the Open or Closed list.

i. If so, check whether the new path is more efficient (lower f-value).1. If so, update the path.

ii. Else, add C to the Open list.c. Repeat step 5 for all valid children of B.

6. Repeat from step 4.