The idea was to create a very complex game with a very simple, solitary interaction. I remember playing this first level over and again. Beaver, Lumberjack. Termites. Chainsaw. The ways I could help my main character, Maxwell, to get to the star piece seemed infinite.
In the end, Scribblenauts did not have it so easy. You could write any noun, but verbs on the other hand required the user to take action. Sometimes this was simple, other times difficult. How to attach the rope to my helicopter using a stylus. How to move using a stylus. (Many times I would do both and fall into a pit)!
Verbs, indeed, tend to be "the rub". This is where a designer must focus so much of his time and energy. The noun "goomba" in Mario holds within it an image of a walking blob.
What verbs might we conjure when thinking of a goomba however? To name a few:
- Avoid
- Squash
- Hurdle
We must avoid the goomba while hurdling it or squashing it by landing on its head. Turtles add a new verb: kick.
Mario also contains player verbs such as jump, run and move. Poweups give Mario a new verb, such as shoot.
All games teach us something.
In a great game, we spend time learning more and more about verbs. What can our character do? What can the player do?. What can enemies and the environment do?
In games like Portal, we spend most of our time learning what you can do with portals. Since the player has direct control of portals, Portal largely becomes a journey of self-discovery.
In Mike Tyson's punch out, the goal is more focused on learning how to defeat certain enemies. The focus is more on "what can this enemy do" rather than "what can I do".
Tony Hawk has different areas you must perform tricks in. Tony Hawk games encourage you to plan a "run" or sequence of moves through an area. Learning about the environment encourages us to use certain moves at certain times.
There are many, many areas of discovery. Identifying where these lie reveals the type of game.
The game designer must encourage the player to discover these interactions. The real goal of level design is to allow discovery at a pace the user finds engaging. One difficulty here is that too slow a pace may lead to boredom, while too fast a pace may isolate some players.
There is a temptation to refer to a game as "hardcore" as a means of forgiveness of bad pacing. But a game's intensity has little bearing on this. Many modern rhythm games such as Guitar Hero use difficulty levels to teach skills incrementally. The goal is to leave the Expert level gameplay undiluted by considerations for players novice players while doing just the opposite for the Beginner level gameplay.
Games like Demon's Souls do a great job at satisfying players who already have a good understanding of how to navigate 3D spaces, while moving attacking and blocking. At the time of this posting, it has obtained an impressive 90 metacritic rating.
This shows the devil of the rating system. This game was made for reviewers. Indeed, for a player who has the broad basis of gaming knowledge, this game offers a new level of challenge and discovery unseen in many of its contemporaries.
It does very little in the way of teaching basic controls and interactions to a novice player, however.
The challenge is how to quickly size up a player. How to keep them at the perfect level of discovery and engagement? Some simple games like Flow have attempted this, while games like Left 4 Dead allow the AI director to keep the right amount of pressure on the player.
The simple option of allowing the player to choose their own difficulty, for now, seems the best option. Perhaps new innovation will occur in this area.
Until then, I will leave you with this plea. Unfold discovery like a miser and tactician. Dole out new challenges sparingly, and double back on old lessons, with a fresh twist. The player will never notice it, but they'll stay engaged but curious as to what awaits them next.
No comments:
Post a Comment