C++ Programming Introduction for Games

Added explanation: Guess Lecture in ICT for SMEs. Stefano Padilla 25th of October 2018 Edinburgh, Scotland

Computer Games

Quick introduction, industry, history, design, motivation, production and future direction Dr Stefano Padilla

The digital games industry in numbers

8%

growth per year

$100B

games revenues

Bigger

music and video combined

2500 https://ukie.org.uk/research

active game companies, including 30 in Edinburgh 2

What makes a game a game?

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Games

Added explanation: The Royal Game of Ur (BBC + Wikipedia Source) Board games were as popular in the ancient world as they are today. This is the Royal Game of Ur, a board game made between 2600 and 2400 BC. So it's at least 4,400 years old! It was found in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). In the 1920s, the British archaeologist Leonard Woolley was digging into the ruins of a longburied royal city, and among many amazing treasures, he found several games. This is one of them.

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Royal Game of Ur

Games

4 Added explanation: This is how it was played: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99V_IP8tsK0 – Something similar to backgammon. Note: There are a few versions of this game available on IOS and Android. 5

Royal Game of Ur

Games are an integral part of all known human cultures. Digital games, in all their various formats and genres, are just a new expression of this ancient method of social interaction. Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games by Tracy Fulerton

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Space Invaders 1978

Text Based games 1976 1977 Atari console

1972 Pong Arcade

Ralph Baer 1967 “Brown Box”

1962 Spacewar! Simulator

OXO game on 1952 EDSAC Computer

1947 Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device

History

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1986 Sega Master System

1985

Sony PlayStation 1993

1994 Doom

Myst – exploration game 1993

1989 SimCity No game to win

Nintendo Gameboy 1989

Nintendo Entertainment System

1980 Battle Zone 3D Game

History

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History •

1997 Ultima Online – MMORPG

•

1998 Sega Dreamcast

•

2000 Sony PlayStation 2 - The Sims

•

2001 GameCube - Microsoft Xbox

•

2002 Xbox live

•

2003 Sony EyeToy USB camera

•

2005 Xbox 360

•

2006 Sony PS3

•

2007 Nintendo Wii

•

2010 Nintendo 3DS

•

2012 Nintendo Wii U

•

2013 - PlayStation 4, Xbox One

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History •

2014 Cloud Gaming

•

2014 VR

•

2015 Steam controller

•

2016 4K and HDR

•

2017 Wireless VR trackers

•

2018 - Future? ….

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History •

2014 Cloud Gaming

•

2014 VR

•

2015 Steam controller

•

2016 4K and HDR

•

2017 Wireless VR trackers

•

2018 - Future? ….

Added explanation: Much more to come in the future… (Two last examples include Sony PlayStation PlayLink and Black Mirror TV Series).

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Why do you play games? Write down a reason on a post-it note.

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Why do you play games? •

Challenge

•

Creation

•

Achievement

•

Competition

•

Story

•

Collaboration

•

Rewards

•

Fun

•

Rules

•

Catharsis

•

Interactivity

•

Social

•

Decision Making

•

Pass time

•

Being in the Zone

•

…

Remember that what has made games such a long-lasting form of human entertainment is not intrinsic to any technology or medium but to the experience of the players. 13

How do we design games?

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Creativity and Design

Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games by Tracy Fullerton (3rd Edition) (eBook freely available from the HW Library Portal).

Creativity and Design

Designing Games: A guide to Engineering Experiences by Tynan Sylvester

Creativity and Design

The Art of Game Design: A book of lenses by Jesse Schell

Creativity and Design

Triadic Game Design: Balancing Reality, Meaning and Play by Casper Harteveld

Creativity and Design

Games, Design and Play: A detailed approach to iterative game design by Colleen Macklin and John Sharp

Creativity and Design

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqJ-Xo29CKyLTjn6z2XwYAw Mark Brown de-construction of games.

How are games composed?

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Structure of Games Mechanics

Formal Elements

Classification

System Dynamics

Motivation

Dramatic Elements

Narrative

Fun

Formal Elements Elements that form the structure of a game - without them it stops being a game!

Formal Elements

1. Players

5. Resources

2. Objectives

6. Conflict

3. Procedures

7. Boundaries

4. Rules

8. Outcomes

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Object of the Game

Added explanation: Even early games used Dramatic Elements to enhance gameplay…

Super Mario Bros.

Object of the Game

Added explanation: Actual Super Mario Bros US manual…

Super Mario Bros.

Dramatic Elements

Added explanation: Even early games used Dramatic Elements to enhance gameplay…

Space Invaders Arcade

Dramatic Elements Dramatic elements engage the player emotionally with the game experience and invest them in its outcome. They give context to gameplay, overlaying and integrating the formal elements of the system into a meaningful experience.

Dramatic Elements

1. Challenge *

4. Story **

2. Play *

5. Dramatic Arc **

3. Premise **

6. Character & World **

* Basic elements.

** Deeper elements.

Basic Elements are found in all games. Deeper elements are used to enhance the abstract elements of the formal systems, creating a deeper sense of connection for the players and enriching their overall experiences. 27

When do people enjoy an activity? Remember the last time you enjoyed a sport, board game, pastime, video game or task. Write a few conditions that make that activity enjoyable.

Fun

Enjoyment

Mihali Csikszentmihalyi found that regardless of age, social class, or gender, that people talked described enjoyable activities in the same way. He found that certain conditions that made the activity pleasurable to them: 1.

We confront tasks we have a chance of completing.

2.

Must be able to concentrate on what we are doing.

3.

Task has clear goals.

4.

Provides immediate feedback.

5.

One acts with a deep but effortless involvement that remove awareness.

6.

Allow people to exercise a sense of control over their actions.

7.

Concern of self disappears.

8.

Sense of duration of time is altered.

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Flow

Challenge

Fun

Ability “In flow, an activity balances a person between challenge and ability, frustration and boredom, to produce an experience of achievement and happiness” https://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow

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Can we define our players?

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Play Types of players by Fullerton: 1.

Competitor: plays to best others.

2.

Explorer: curious about the world, loves to adventure.

3.

Collector: Acquires items, knowledge; likes to create sets, organise.

4.

Achiever: plays for the varying levels of achievement.

5.

Joker: does not take game seriously, plays for the fun of playing.

6.

Artist: creativity, creation and design drives them.

7.

Director: loves to be in charge, direct the play.

8.

Storyteller: loves to create or live in worlds of fantasy and imagination.

9.

Performer: loves to put a show for others.

10. Craftsman: want to build, craft, engineer, or puzzle things out.

Can we really classify a player to belong to a specific type – especially when game genres are more and more varied and flexible?

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Player Motivation

Motivation

Yee surveyed 3000 players about their motivations – this is what they found: Achievers

Social

Immersion

Advancement Progress, Power, Accumulation, Status

Socialising Casual Chat, Helping others, Making friends

Discovery Exploration, Lore, Finding Hidden Things

Mechanics Numbers, Optimisation, Templating, Analysis

Relationship Personal, Self-Disclosure, Find and Give Support

Role-Playing Story Line, Character History, Roles, Fantasy

Competition Challenging Others, Provocation, Domination

Teamwork Collaboration, Groups, Group Awareness

Customisation Appearances, Accessories, Style, Colour Schemes

Added explanation:

Advancement: Desire to make quick progress, hit targets and goals (progression accumulation power and status). Mechanics: Derive satisfaction from optimizing a character and reach a desired point or stage. Competition: Competing with others to reach a game’s goal (like to challenge, beat and dominate others).

Escapism Relax, Escape from Reality, Avoid Real Problems.

Socialising: Like to get along other players, chat, help, make friendships quick form of relationships with no complications). Relationships: Meaningful relationships with others – conversation close to real life. Players talk about personal issues and real life problems – seek to help or seeking support from others. Teamwork: Desire to achieve through collaborative and collective efforts. Discovery: Explore so as to see different locations and dig for things that others don’t know about (collecting and finding hidden things). Role-play: Players likes to be involved into the storyline and participate in the drawing of a story. Customisation: like to customise the game or game characters. Escapism: relax during playing and not talking it seriously (pure enjoyment, distancing from real life problems). Further reading paper on Vision.

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How can we improve games?

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Dramatic Arc

Dramatic Elements

Narrative Tension

Climax

Rising Action

Falling Action

Exposition

Resolution Narrative Time

Conflict draws players into the game emotionally. Escalating conflict creates tension. Games with well-integrated dramatic elements will intertwine formal systems – so as the challenge rises, the story develops.

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Dramatic Elements

Dramatic Arc

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Dramatic Elements

Dramatic Arc

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Emergent gameplay

Added explanation: Open world games try to introduce as many dynamics as possible – the effect is the larger possibilities increase the scope for choice, opportunities for the player to solve game problems, and enhance re-playability.

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GTA V

Uncertainty and the control paradox

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Fifa 2018

Rewards

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Loot boxes

How are games created?

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Added explanation: Video Games can be anything from TINY to HUGE! Tiny as super meat boy and mobile games >> Super Meat Boy is an independent video game designed by Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes and developed by Team Meat. There is a good insight into their experience in the “indie game – the movie”. And the story on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Meat_Boy

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Added explanation: Huge Game example: GTA V – the actual end credits run for 35 minutes!

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Added explanation: Huge Game example: GTA V – the actual end credits run for 35 minutes!

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Added explanation: Contrasting to movies … Indy and big releases.

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? Added explanation: Nothing in the middle – no profit. 46

How exactly?

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Games Engines

48

… 49

Playtesting Production

Added explanation: Playtesting Fullerton

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Design

51

NFS

Paper Prototype

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Super Mario Bros.

Digital Prototype

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Spore

Playtesting

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Microsoft Playtest Centre

Release

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Minecraft

What is in the future?

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8th Generation CPU - Quad-core 'Steamroller' (3ghz) GPU - AMD HD 7670 (1ghz) - assisted by A10 APU (CPU/GPU companion processor) System RAM - 8gb Video RAM - 1gb Resolution - 1080p/3D/60fps, 4K Media - 50gb BD

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Last few years

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Last few years

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VR Headsets

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Augmented Reality

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Augmented Reality

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Mobile Gaming

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Social Gaming

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Material Gaming

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Tactile Interfaces

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3D Printing

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Graphics / Humans

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Graphics / Materials

69

Advance Hardware

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Advance Hardware

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Convenience

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Healthcare

73

AI

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Algorithms

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Data

76

Crowdsource / Indie Devs

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Alt Controllers

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8th+ Generation

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Black Mirror’s Future

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Success?

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• What do you enjoy playing? • Why is it fun? • What methods are they using? • What mechanics does the game use?

• Deconstruct your favourite game

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Let’s have a look at a game…

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Why?

84

Fortnight

Why?

85

Fortnight

Why?

86

Fortnight

Why?

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Fortnight

To conclude…

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DiGRA is the association for academics and professionals who research digital games and associated phenomena. It encourages high-quality research on games, and promotes collaboration and dissemination of work by its members

CHI PLAY is an international and interdisciplinary conference (by ACM) for researchers and professionals across all areas of play, games and humancomputer interaction (HCI). We call this area “player-computer interaction.”

http://www.digra.org

htttp://chiplay.org

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Added explanation: Guess Lecture in ICT for SMEs. Stefano Padilla 25th of October 2018 Edinburgh, Scotland

Computer Games

Quick introduction, industry, history, design, motivation, production and future direction Dr Stefano Padilla