Fun: Game Design and Player Experience PDF

Fun What’s That? Lecture Time! Kinds of Fun: Because “Fun” is Subjective? Fun Marc LeBlanc, an educator about and a designer of video games, proposed a list containing eight kinds of fun Tis Time for "Torture," Princess, episode 2 LeBlanc's Taxonomy of Game Pleasures...

Fun What’s That? Lecture Time! Kinds of Fun: Because “Fun” is Subjective? Fun Marc LeBlanc, an educator about and a designer of video games, proposed a list containing eight kinds of fun Tis Time for "Torture," Princess, episode 2 LeBlanc's Taxonomy of Game Pleasures Sensation Fellowship Game as sense-pleasure Game as social framework Fantasy Discovery Game as make-believe Game as uncharted territory Narrative Expression Game as unfolding story Game as soapbox Challenge Submission Game as obstacle course Game as mindless pastime Sensation Pleasure from the five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell What sights do you enjoy? What sounds do you enjoy? What textures do you enjoy? What tastes do you enjoy? What scents do you enjoy? https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Steak_03_bg_040306.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/USAF_EOD_explosion.jpg/1024px-USAF_EOD_explosion.jpg Fantasy It's like playing pretend Save the world! Rule the world! Rock six-pack abs! Fall in love with the boy/girl/etc. of your dreams! Catch them all! Villainess Level 99, episode 7 Narrative It's almost like reading a book or watching a movie Narrative doesn't refer to just the story, but how the events in the story play out, or the unfolding of the story Not to be confused with narration by a narrator https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Timeless_Books.jpg Challenge Put your skills to the test Stay at the top of the leaderboards! Play on the hardest difficulty level! Perma-death / hardcore! Formulate strategies! Catch them all! http://memesvault.com/wp-content/uploads/Challenge-Accepted-Meme-07.jpg Fellowship No man is an island Games make excellent icebreakers Talking about single-player games still counts! Multiplayer sessions are a great way to “hang out”, even if it means taking turns in a single-player game! https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/40/Fellowship.JPG Discovery Have you noticed that the more times you play/finish a game, the more likely you are to stop playing that game? We want new sensations! We want new abilities! We want new challenges! We want new places to explore! And we want to master them! https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/STS-124_launch_from_a_distance.jpg Expression Exercise your creativity If you're going to show your avatar to others, might as well make your in-game self look good! Customization! Amaze others with your unique playstyle! https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/The_Scream.jpg Submission All games, even simulations, follow a very small set of rules, compared to the rules that govern the real world Easier to focus on the game “Mindless” way to while away the time Enjoy the game… because it's a game The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again Today, episode 6 We Want Players to Have Fun “We” = game designers / developers Will you still buy a game if all your friends say it isn't fun? Will you wait for reviews if made the game? Will you continue playing a game that gave you a good first impression but proceeded to flood you with announcements and ads for virtual premium currency? Will the Players Have Fun? Let's say you want to make a game, and a sponsor asks you that question Issue#1: When can you answer that question? Issue#2: Your answer may lean towards “I don't know” since fun is subjective Will the Players Have Fun? The obvious, common-sense answer that many of you are probably thinking of: “When the game is done.” Get the answer by testing the finished product! But that means a HUGE risk for whoever is FUNDING your game's development Planning Ahead A better question to ask might be: “How do I make a game that is fun for the player?” This is definitely more difficult to answer, but the “answer” can be “used” as early as the game's design phase Planning Ahead It's more complicated than you think! Up next: Looking at our own experiences as gamers https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/75/Judie_tzuke_-_the_beauty_of_hindsight.jpg