Rules are placed within games so that players know how to play the games. Having rules in a game will allow the developers to set boundaries in order for the player to know what is right and what is wrong within the game. Game designers have to set the rules before starting there game as it will state what the characters will be able to do, how objects and components will be able to interact with the characters and players. So rules need to be set so that all the components can work together which therefore make a successful game. Rules will allow the game to know what to do when they are activated or broken as well. Different games have different rules for example in FIFA 15, if the player fouls the opponent then the opponent will receive a foul or a penalty. On the other hand, in Grand Theft Auto 5, if the player kills a civilian then they will get a 1 star so they will be watched by the police.
Addiction
Addiction is the state where the player starts to trapped within the game world or to something which is mentally or physically habit forming. There are some main reasons why players start to get addicted to the game. One reason is that players may start to become immersed to the game world because it starts to look more life like and allows some players to escape from the real life and do things that they are not able to do in the real life like fly, shoot enemy's or even more. Another reason is that players get addicted to the competitive aspect of the game and get a little adrenaline rush. For example people get addicted to if FIFA 15 which allows players to get a high after winning a tough game and start to enjoy the feeling and end up playing more than they expected. Video game designers will aim to make there game addictive as they will want players to play there game constantly and it shows how popular the game will be.
There are three main types of game mechanics which are Inventory, Scoring and Win Conditions.
Inventory
Inventory are placed within games in order for the players to see the items that they have collected along the journey of the game and it also gives information on how the player will be able to use them throughout the game. For example in Grand Theft Auto, the player is able to see what weapons they have picked up along the game and they have the choice of using one of them. Another example is on FIFA 15, you are able to see how many coins that player has in the club so that they could purchase new players to bolster there squad/team.
Scoring
Scoring is used within a game so that the player knows how well they are doing or how well they have done. This is really important to have in a game as this shows the player how well they are doing and how well they are doing compared to there opponents. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is an example of a game that uses scoring as when the player is playing online and gets a kill, that would be one point for the team. Another example is Candy Crush where the player gets points for how many candy's they get rid of.
Win Condition
Win condition is placed within a game to show the players in the game who the winner is once the game has ended It is important to clearly show who the winner is as then the players would know so that they can either celebrate if they won or learn from the mistakes they made in the game. An example of a game that has good win conditions is FIFA 15 as it clearly shoes who the winner of the match is by the amount of goals they scored at the opponents net.
With ever game there are certain settings that can be adjusted to allow the game to be unique and different so that it can be attracted by there target audience. There are different types of settings in video games which are Physical, Temporal, Emotional, Ethical and Environmental.
Physical settings
This is where the current story in the game is taking place. For example, if you were playing a horror game then the setting will be dark and bleak so that it can fit in with the theme. Also this allows the player to be immersed to the game world. Game designers have to use the appropriate setting because if they don't, it will not make sense for example, if you are playing a horror game then you do not want it to be bright and happy as it will not connect with the player and they wont be immersed to the game.
Temporal Setting
This is the time the game is set. It is important that the game designers decide what time period the game will be set in before making the game as it has to be correct or else it will look wrong. For example, in Assassins Creed it is important that the game is set in the late 1800's so as it based on the French revolution. If it is not set in the late 1800's then the player will not be able to be fully immersed to the game.
Environmental Setting
This is the setting that will affect the weather conditions. For example in a horror game, the weather will be dark, rainy and have thunder. However in some games the weather condition can change for example in FIFA 15 there can be different types of weather conditions in different matches so it can be raining, snowing or be sunny. This makes the game more realistic as when it is snowing, on FIFA 15 the ball will start to skid along the ground and you will be able to see the marks of the players on the pitch when they slide. Also the environmental condition may also effect the gameplay as on FIFA 15 when it is snowing, players and the ball will slip and slide more than on a sunny day.
Emotional Setting
This is the setting that will affect how the player will feel while playing the game. It is important that the game designers make a character that the player will be able to get an emotional attachment to as it will ensure that the player will enjoy the game more and feel more immersed to the gameplay and the gameworld.
Ethical Setting
This is the setting that allows the player to do things in the game world. For example, in Grand Theft Auto the player may be pushed into stealing a car or having to murder someone in the game. This is important for the game designers to notice as it will allow them to set an appropriate age rating of the game for example putting swearing and killing in a game that is rated 3+ will not be good as people will start to complain and the game will be less popular.
Goals in video games are mini tasks within a game that enhance the gaming experience once completed. Video games include goals in order to enhance the gaming experience, which would evidently enhance the gameplay for the player so that the game won't get boring. Different games have different goals within them such as killing an enemy, collecting coins, completing a lap or even scoring a goal. An example of a game that has goals is Mario Karts where one goal is to complete a lap around the track within a race or trying to get ahead of the other players. Another Game that uses goals is FIFA 15 where the goal of the player is to score against there opponent so that they would have a higher advantage against them.
Challenges
Challenges are used within games to build on goals. There are three main types of challenges which are used within games, they are short, medium and long challenges. Short challenges are do not tend to take long to complete and are fairly easy for the player to complete. An example of a short challenge is to get 5 headshots on the enemy within Call of Duty: Black ops. Short challenges are used within games because it keeps the player entertained. The next type of challenge is medium challenge which tends to be longer than short challenges and are usually more of a challenge to complete. An example of a medium challenge is completing a mission in Grand Theft Auto or winning a match on FIFA 15. Medium challenges are used within games because they provide a more challenging objective for the player and also keeps the player entertained. The last type of challenge is long challenges. Long challenges tend to be the longest challenge to complete and are the hardest. An example of a long challenge is to win the trophy at the end of division 1 on FIFA 15. Long challenges are used within games because it keeps the player interested in the game and provides a purpose to it.
Rewards
Rewards are used within games to enhance the experience of the game and also keeps the player interested. Rewards are provided after players complete a challenge or goal which will make the players go for the goals and challenges more meaning that they will improve there skills in the process. There are different types of rewards given to the player on different games and tasks within a game. Also there are short and long term rewards given by the game. Short term rewards are given after completing a short task such as completing a match on FIFA 15 with a reward of some coins to help players boost there ultimate team. Another example is in Assassins Creed, once you help a villager, you will be awarded with a new weapon to help complete the mission. Long term rewards are rewards that the player will achieve after competing a long task. An example of a long term reward is on FIFA 15 where you will achieve a trophy when getting enough points to win the division. Another example of a long term reward is completing certain tasks on certain guns so that they can receive some skins for there guns. Rewards are used within games because it keeps the players playing the game and to give the player some achievements to show that they are progressing and to show how good they are. If games did not provide awards then players would get bored and feel as if they are playing the game for no reason so they will stop completing goals and challenges as there is no purpose.
Narrative
Narrative is the storyline within a video game that allows the player to go through an experience that the games providing. Game designers implement a narrative within their games because without it, the game may be boring as there will not be any real objective to playing the game. Also a narrative helps players as it in placed within missions so that player knows what is going on and what they have to do in the mission or it can be placed before and after you complete a mission to allow the player to get ready and to immure them into the game. There are many advantages and disadvantages to narratives. An advantage to using a narrative within a game is that it provides the gamer with a story and purpose to what they are doing or about to do. Also using a narrative within the game allows the player to be more immersed and feel more part of the game. A disadvantage with narrative is that it can slow down the gamers progress which may get annoying for the gamer. There are two main types of narrative which are FMV (Full Motion Video) and Cut Scenes.
FMV
FMV stands for Full Motion Video, which is a high quality video footage put into a video game and are usually quite long. They are usually pre-recorded and are played when the player reaches a certain checkpoint so that they can see what their current mission is going to be. FMV also are not based within the actual gameplay so it is based outside it which allows the designers to make a high quality full motion animation. An example of a game that uses FMV is Call of Duty as they provide one long high quality video at the start of the campaign to provide information about what is going on to the player and also another shorter on at the end of each mission to show the players progress. There are advantages and disadvantages of using FMV. One advantage is that it prepares the player for the mission and allows the player to get into the game even before doing anything. However, a disadvantage is that some FMV are around 2-5 minutes long, which may annoy players especially when there are no skip buttons to skip the video. Also another disadvantages is that it takes a couple of minutes for the FMV video to load and start which again may annoy the player and make them less immersed with the game.
Cut Scene
Cut scenes is a small clip that is coded and created to be rendered so that it can be put into the actual game engine. This allows the cut scenes to have a smooth transition and look more professional. Also this means that they can be used within a game and part of the story line. A game designer uses cut scenes as it can be smoothly transmit the movie scene along with the gameplay rather than waiting for a long video to load. An example of a game that uses cut scenes is Assassins Creed. Assassins Creed use the cut scenes may times but the main one was when the enemy was about to get assassinated. Cut scenes are preferred over FMV's because they don't take long to load so the player will not have to wait and ruin the experience and also it will not interfere with the gameplay.
Interaction model is the part of the game in which the designers and creators have to think about how much control they would want to give to there target audience and how much there audience will be represented in the game. There are two different types of interaction models which are Avatar Interaction Model and Omnipresence Interactive Model.
Avatar Interactive Model
Avatar Interactive Model is when the player is represented by an avatar within the game world and the only control the player has in the game is over the avatar. An example of a game that uses avatar interactive model are Assassin Creed and Grand Theft Auto. People prefer to play this type of interactive model is because they do not like to control a lot of people and things and would rather control one avatar. Also having to only control an avatar, it will allow you to go through a story line and also connect with the character, making the player more immersed to the game world.
Omnipresence Interactive Model
Omnipresence Interactive Model is when the player has control of more than one characters within the game and also some games allows the player to control and change the game world itself. Examples of games that use Omnipresence Interactive Model are My Sims, Theme Park, Age of Empire. People prefer to play this type of interactive models because it allows players to be creative and make the game there own and also the world will be unique to the player only. Also they will have more characters to connect to.
Difficulty
Game balance is linked to difficulty as getting the balance of the difficulty right is really important. So game designers have to make sure they do not make the game to easy or to hard for the player. This is because making the game to easy may make the player bored so they will no want to play any more as there is no challenge and they have no drive to carry on. Also if the game is too easy then the player will finish the game really quickly and may not have as much fun as they should. On the other hand, making the game to hard may again make the player bored as they will struggle passing a certain mission and get bored of playing it over and over again, so they may give up and stop playing. Game designers can do two things to try and prevent that from happening and try balance the game. One thing they can do is that they could make the start of the game easy so that the player can get used to the controls and the gameplay and eventually start to get harder and harder. This is also good as it allows the player to be more immersed to the game. Another thing the game designer can do is that they could provide the player with the difficulty setting. This is really helpful as if the player is getting bored of the game because it is too easy or hard, they can manually change the difficulty up or down. Also this is good because people that have played the game before can have a a choice of starting hard to challenge themselves. An example of a game that uses difficulty setting is FIFA 15, where the player has a choice of how hard they want the CPU to be depending on how good the player is as well, Another example is Call of Duty, as they can increase the difficulty during the campaign as it will make the game more challenging. A player may increase the difficulty of the game because they are finding it too esy and want to challenge themselves and also improve there own skill at the game.
Player Action
There are two different types of player actions in video games. One of them are the main actions where the character can do in the game world such as run, jump, crouch and many more. For example, if you analyse two different games such as FIFA 15 and Super Mario, you will see that one has many different main actions where as the other only has some simple main actions. On Super Mario, there are only a certain things you can do with the character such as jump, run and punch. However, on FIFA 15 you can do many things including the simple actions as well such as, shoot, slide tackle, sprint, pass, through ball and many more.
The other type of player action is how the gamer controls the main character. For example a gamer can control a character using a controller, mouse, keyboard or even motion sensors. A controller is one of the most used devises in video games. It is a usually connected to the game console, either wireless or wired, and it allows the player to control the character by pressing on different buttons that do different actions. A console that uses a controller is PS4, where it provides a controller that has a d-pad, four main buttons, two analog stick, two bumpers and a touch screen. Motion sensor is a device which is connected by a wire to the game console and it detects the movement of the player by a small camera. This allows the player to control the character to mave they character using there body movements. An example of a devise that uses motion sensors is the Xbox Connect, which has three cameras and a microphone.
Game world is the
virtual version of the place it is set within, either an imaginary place or a
real life
place. There can be many different game world within one game as it
may have different places the player could go to for example, Borderlands 2
have many different planets that the player could travel to so it will have a
certain game world for each planet. Designers have to make sure they get the
game world right as the game world allows the player to adapt to the time it is
set in thus making the player feel more attached and immersed to the game. Also
if the designer gets the game world wrong then the whole game will not make sense
for example, if Assassin Creed game world was set in the future, this will confuse
the player as the characters will be dressed in the 1800’s while the surrounding
will be all futuristic. As you can see from the images below, you can clearly
see the difference in the quality of the game world and the graphics used have
increased dramatically as the recent one has a much more lifelike look to it,
making it more appealing to the gamer and allows them to be more immersed to
it, rather than having simple and boring graphics like before.
Terrain
Terrain is the surface in which the game world is played on
so it is the ground the player is on. The terrain can change from grass to
water to sand and many more. Usually the terrain does not affect the game play
so will not play a part in the game as it is just a surface in which the
characters walk upon. But not all games have terrain that change so will be the
same throughout the whole game. Grand Theft Auto 5 is an example of a game that
has a terrain that changes as there are many different locations that will need
a different surface so one minute you could be walking on concrete and the next
minute you could be on the beach walking on sand. This links to most adventure
games as they are usually always moving to new places to explore and are normally
open world games. An example of a terrain that stays the same is NBA 2K15,
which has a surface of a pitch that is made out of wood, so there will be no
need to change the terrain. This links to most sport games as they usually
place on the same surface.
Architecture
Architecture is the buildings, structure and any monuments that are surrounding the game world. Architecture is based upon where and when the game is set so different games will have different types of architecture designs. For example Madden NFL 15 has a simple amount of architecture as the designers will only need to create the stadiums because it is set in the modern time in a rugby pitch. On the other hand, Grand Theft Auto 5 has a much more advanced types of architecture as it is an open world game that is mostly based in a city which requires a vast majority of buildings. designers have to have a precise and detailed architecture as it allows the game to look realistic which also allows the player to feel like they are actually in the game. Also it will allow players to appreciate the amount of work put into the game which will increase the popularity of the game and thus increase sales. Architecture has changed dramatically overtime. This is because pc's and consoles have improved as well allowing them to run games in very high quality. Here is an image of the same game but with a 14 year gap between them and you can clearly see how different they look because of the buildings, even though it is the same game.
Objects Objects are things in the game which make enhances the game world so that it would look more realistic and lifelike. Objects can be used by the players within the game to help assist the players for example on Minecraft, there are beds which allow the player to sleep so that they could pass through the day and go back to morning faster. Other objects can be put into the game world to make the world look more realistic such as chairs and tables. Designers have the task to make high quality objects as it will make the game look more lifelike, making the game more popular for players. Also a high quality object can make the player feel more into the game and may think they are in the game and actually moving around in the game world. In the past few years, objects have improved greatly. Before objects looked fake and sometimes hard to identify what the object actually wad meant to be but because of better graphics and designers, objects now look more lifelike which improves the experience of the players. Also, only a few object could be used by players but over the past few years, there are many objects that can be used for many different purposes for example in Dead rising three, you can pick up random objects and combine them together to make a weapon to defeat the zombies.
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