Last Post

Hey folks,

It's been a very enjoyable course (at least from my p.o.v.) and I hope you all have a very good summer. Should you wish to contact me in the future, messages can be sent to matthewtoner (at) gmail dot com.

Very best.

A Last Minute Sound Resource

For those who have been having increasing difficultly finding sounds and music for their game from standard resources (library soundbanks etc.) here is another alternative for you.

Since the only limitation we've placed on 'borrowing' sound/music from existing games has been the actual reference and giving of credit to the original source--turning to existing games is therefore a viable option. SO...for those looking for an extra resource, here is game music archive for you to pillage for your last minute needs.

Zophar's Domain

Most 8-bit, 16-bit platforms are covered here--simply download a file, use the appropriate player/exporting tool and you can essentially export music and sound effects from the games of your choice to a usable wav or mp3 file. So if the theme to Battle Clash is ideal or the pellet-shooting sound from Mega Man X fits the bill...this is your opportunity to 'borrow' it for your purposes.

Of course it's ALWAYS better if you just created your own. ;) But hopefully a way to fill in those last minute audio gaps.

The Future of Downloadable Games

So next week, we'll be ending the term with a bang:

Jim Sink, the BizDev Manager for Backbone Vancouver, will be dropping by to talk about the future of downloadable games. He gave a similar talk at last year's Game Design Expo - here is the synopsis:

"Where we’ve been and where we’re headed: detailed analysis of current trends in downloadable content, different strategies for bringing downloadable games to the marketplace, and how Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo’s contrasting strategies will change how we buy and sell games. "

Jim's bio is as follows:

"Jim is a game designer and the business development manager for Backbone Entertainment, the most prolific developer for Xbox Live Arcade. He is currently involved with a number of
unannounced Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 downloadable titles. His credits include the Xbox Live
Arcade games Contra, Frogger, Yie Ar Kung Fu and Rush ‘n Attack, as well as Sonic Rivals PSP."

Not to be missed - bring some good questions.

Bug Tracking Solution

In order to give you folks a good starting point, I did some online research and came across what I think will be a decent solution.

Check out BugHost.

They have a number of increasingly powerful solutions, but the free web-based option - BugHost Lite - is not at all bad. Your test lead will need to spend about a half hour configuring fields and setting up user accounts... but it then looks to be a pretty robust solution.

Check it out and post comments here if you like it, don't like it, or have a better option that you'd like to share.

Beta and Final Game Clarification

Here's just a recap from the early part of today's lecture regarding the grading and expectations for the upcoming beta deliverable (April 5th) and final game deliverable (April 21st exam date).

The Beta is worth 25 percent of your grade and should be a functional version of your game with all art assets, sound assets etc. to be in reasonable condition. This version of your game should be entirely FEATURE COMPLETE. It shouldn't be missing anything that you had intended to design for. The break-down of the 25% Beta is as follows:
Art-5% (all art assets in place, even if not final, are represented by reasonable temporary graphics)
Sound-5% (all sound assets in place, even if not final, are represented by reasonable temporary sound)
General Game Design-10% (does it have an opening game sequence explaining how to play, is there a clear scoring mechanism or win condition, are your design goals met, are your mechanics in place and easily accessible to a player, do those mechanics fluidly and appropriately interact with the other elements of your game. Keep in mind, perfect game-balancing is NOT required for the beta)
Level of Bugginess-5% (there may be a few nagging bugs here, the fewer, the higher of this percentage you maintain. There may NOT be any crash-bugs. Type A crash bugs will result in the loss of this entire percentage)

We will be comparing what you've set out in your design document, to what it is that you end up handing into us. So keep the lines of communication open with us so that we know what to expect in terms of cuts in scope etc. If we still think you're going to deliver 10 levels, and you hand in 1 level...you're setting yourself up for disappointment unless you've let us know in advance of your design changes. Cuts are ok and sometimes entirely necessary--but if we don't know about them, you'll be judged on your last milestone/GDD update submission.

The break-down of the 10% Final is not entirely as detailed nor complicated as the beta, but it looks for the same things--just better. We're looking for polish.
Your art should be complete and finalized, your sound should be exceptional and your game mechanics and balancing should be in tip-top shape. Your product should engage the player and close the 'magic circle' and it should be bug-FREE. If you have bugs, you've already poked a hole in your magic circle--strike one against your game. So make sure the end-product is tight on all fronts.

And again, as a rule of thumb for each of these deadlines: meet your scope. Any team that has not met their 'X' and has as not sufficiently achieved their stated design goals with be met with scrutiny.

So on that grave tone....good luck! :)

The Best Homework Ever

Hey folks.

On the 15th, we'll have a guest speaker: Ryan Clark, twice nominated to the IGF for great downloadable games. He's agreed to come in and discuss how/why he embarked on his development of Prof. Fizzwizzle and Fizzball.

So go to his website - GrubbyGames - download, play and come in with some great questions.

Gamasutra GDD Example

This GDD was posted recently to Gamasutra - might be a useful comparison for the various design groups. Take a peek and compare/contrast with your own documents right here.

Blog Your Playtests!

Today/tomorrow you're going to be having your alpha paper prototypes tested while also having a chance to play/test the prototypes of others. We're asking that each group submit the results of your games' playtests as comments here. So talk about whether you discovered some loopholes in your game, one or more dead-ends, areas where balancing is needed, overall necessity for scope adjustment etc. In other words, what did your group learn from the testing commentary of others? Let us know, group by group, right here.

Upcoming Games Conference

For those interested...

The Northwest Games Festival, which takes place Saturday, May 5 in conjunction with the Vancouver International Game Summit May 3-4 at the Sheraton Wall Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, will again hold an audience award contest.

Submissions of unpublished games of any development size are accepted up until the day of the Festival. Teams must bring their own technology and set up indie style in the expo room. Attendees will play available games and place votes throughout the day. At the end of the Festival, the top winners will be announced.

In tradition following the 2006 Festival in Portland, Oregon, cash prizes will be awarded to winners.

Northwest Games Festival – http://www.nwgamesfestival.com

Vancouver International Game Summit – http://www.rebootconference.com/games2007/

Printable Grid Templates for Prototypes

This is the website where you can download and print grid-types of varying shapes and sizes in pdf format for your prototypes.

Check it out right here

Sample Persona

With the alpha/working mechanic deadline behind you, your next major deadline now is the all-important design document. Since you'll all be working on this in the coming weeks, here is a sample persona which you can download to help yourselves out in the target market area of your GDDs.

Click here to snag it.

Game Design Document Template

First of all, I hope everyone's finishing up nicely on your alphas for this week! But looking not too far into the future, we have the deadline coming up for the game design document, and here it is: the template for the GDD.

It's alpha week, so you're likely under some stress with this week's deadline, however, it's not a bad idea to at least browse this in the upcoming days as Matt will be talking about the Design and Production sections of the document in Thursday's lecture.

Good luck all.

NB. For those asking for a copy of last week's Vision Statement/Competitive Analysis/Charter exercise to print out and take a look at for getting yourself started on organizing your GDD, i've linked to it below. This is NOT a deliverble so don't sweat it, it's just available to look at to help you. Download it right here.

When Is A Game Not A Game?

... when it's September 12th.

Very interesting object lesson here and an instructional example of how games can be used for subtle forms of education.

Let's talk about it at the start of next class - please post comments here as to how it is play, how the central mechanic is constructed and how it might be made into a game. I'll single out the best submissions for discussion... this is how those participation grades get made.

Let Me Save You Some Trouble

There is a free online application that you may find quite useful during this term's production. Some of you may already be aware of it, but for those that aren't:

It's called BaseCamp. And you should really, really check out some of its features. As we move into discussions of project planning and scheduling, you'll be glad that you did.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Ok, folks, please comment on this posting. Every team should post here a list of all the things that could go wrong with their development project. Be exhaustive and make sure that you discuss these as a group.

Every problem has a solution - now is the time to figure it out. Please also pose a solution for every problem you list.

Some Light Reading for Next Week

As we're starting to get into our pre-production phase, that means we're going to start talking about the game design document. This article, courtesy of Gamasutra, gives a nice high-level overview of how documentation meets team dynamics. Another article, a little dated perhaps, provides a similar commentary from a different perspective.

Games, Play and Narrative

Really good post on the above that picks up nicely on last week's lecture.

Check out today's Penny Arcade.

Come and talk game design at the GDDG

To all SFU students with an interest in game design:

I may not speak for every student in this course, but I'm sure many have an interest in a career as a video game designer. However, the collective skills needed to make those truly inspiring games we'd love to emulate and surpass may be still beyond our reach...not to mention difficult to fit within our school schedules.

So what if we just discuss game design itself, no development needed?

I'm sure many of those who dream of getting into the game industry have thought of their own ideas for games...well, why not explore those possibilities?

What I am proposing is a discussion group that chats about the design of video games: from target audience to story to game play mechanics to plausibility and back again. We share our ideas, elaborate, confer, and at the end of every session we wrap up the idea, catalogue it and begin a brand new idea next session.

No time needed outside of each session, external activities or work needed.

Just come, talk games, and leave with maybe some fresh ideas or a new perspective on something you're passionate about.

If you are interested, please email me at cchurch@sfu.ca with the subject of GDDG (standing for Game Development Discussion Group [name still under consideration]) with a list of times you would be available to attend sessions. Sessions will likely be an 1 1/2 to 2 hours long.

Thank you, and hope to see you there.

Cody Church

Game Mechanic Presentations Links

Add comments to this post to link to your game mechanic presentations!

Presentations can be either in text summary format, pdf format or ppt format. If you used Keynote, if you could export to pdf or ppt format that would be much appreciated for the PC-handicapped. :)

Readings: The Magic Circle Continued

Just a reminder that this week's readings include the following:

The Liminal Magic Circle--Harvey

Good Last Minute Question

Q:

Our team is a little confused about game mechanics. Is the mechanic defined as the step that someone performs in a game or how one takes that step? For example, in Scrabble, is the mechanic to spell words or to put letter tiles onto the board? In Connect 4, is the mechanic to make lines or to drop coloured chips into the slots?

Thanks.


A:

At the risk of confusing you more, it's a bit of both: you're separating the physical action (placing tiles) with the emotional satisfaction of making words.

But the two together are the mechanic and, in truth, both are "forms" of fun: the satisfying physical sensation of placing the tile (which is made of smooth, clickable plastic not card stock) with the sense of achievement (spelling a word). Heck, there's even a sense of power from spelling words that your friends don't know exist.

So if I wanted to discuss a "jump" mechanic, I would talk about the physical action of jumping (standing, running, on a trampoline, etc.) and ALSO how that makes people feel (exhilirated, powerful, etc).

Hope this helps.

FIRST ASSIGNMENT

This one is worth 10% of your final grade - it's an easy way to get off to a good start or an excellent chance to start digging that hole.

Each group will give a ten minute presentation on game mechanics. The first five minutes or so should be spent on an overview and analysis of the analog and digital games played in the first two weeks of class. The last five minutes should focus on a game mechanic they will build as part of their next course deliverable. Please have an alternate game mechanic in mind in case we need to redirect your project.

Students should cross-reference these mechanics against the triangle of interaction and Garneau's 14 forms of fun. Be able to talk in detail about why these mechanics are fun. Don't phone it in - I mark hard.

Also, be wise and think ahead a bit: ask yourselves what you want to build as the central "engine" of your digital game... this will ultimately need to be conceived in ActionScript or Java, etc.

Questions? Just ask.

Teams Comment Here!

Each team needs to add a comment to this post, listing their members, specialties and naming the team lead (who will be the principal point of contact). Be sure to include a catchy team name - thanks.

Flash Game Links for Week 2

The following are the selected Flash Game sites for use in class this week. Choose from the following:

http://www.addictinggames.com/

http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/

http://www.flasharcade.com/

http://www.miniclip.com/

GRADING SCHEME

In response to a few student questions and in an effort to be very clear about the marking scheme, we have decided to re-weight the course slightly in order to break out the participation/professionalism grade.

Grading will be now be weighted as follows:

• Game Analysis and Pitch: 10%
• Working game mechanic 10%
• Game Design Document 20%
• Paper prototypes 10%
• Game “betas” 25%
• Final games 10%
• Overall professionalism, participation, attendance 15%
  

Any questions, just post a comment and we'll respond.

Enrollment Issues

Just a note to everyone emailing us with concerns regarding section changes. At the moment we are being as amenable as possible in trying to get everyone in the section that best suits them. However, there are emerging issues regarding registration imbalances between sections since most changes being requested are moves being made from Friday slots (particularly the 4:30) to the Thursday slot.

We ask that for the time being you simply attend the section you wish to be apart of, and after the official drop date both Matt and Dave will be able to more adequately assess the student loads they can handle in their respective sections.

Thus, although we are trying to handle and respect your requests, be prepared to return to your section of origin in the event of insurmountable section balance issues.

Thanks!

14 Forms of Fun

You can read Pierre-Alexandre Garneau's pivotal article HERE. Please do so for next week... it will give you a good jumping off point for thinking about solid core mechanics.

Apparently, if you're not already a member of Gamasutra the site asks you to sign in. I'd suggest creating an account (it's free) as this site is a real gold mine of material related to the games industry.

Post Analysis of Mechanics HERE!

For those of you taking part in the Week 1 game lab, please add comments to this post to describe your initial impressions of the mechanics of analog games. Please include your name and student number as well as the title of the game played.

Course Description

Beginning in the year 2000, digital gaming has become a transcendent entertainment industry that surpasses even Hollywood in terms of revenue (and some might say quality of product). As new platforms and richer experiences are created, there is a tendency to forget that all of these elaborate games are rooted in fundamental principles that are centuries old.

By examining both analog and digital games, this course will seek to explore the inter-connections between the classical and the contemporary. Specifically, we will focus on an exploration of game mechanics as the fundamental building block of games. These simple, repeatable and enjoyable actions are the DNA of any gaming experience, whether it be World of Warcraft or tag.

General Information

COURSE: Foundations of Game Design

INSTRUCTOR: Matt Toner

CONTACT INFO: mtoner@sfu.ca

LOCATION: Large Lecture Theatre – Room 2600

TIMES: Lecture - Thursdays at 15h30; one lab session

Course Objectives

· The student will become familiar with the fundamental principles of game design and first-level techniques that govern game production

· The student will execute a number of assignments leading towards the production of a simple digital game.

Course Outline

WEEK 1: Overview of Course and Expected Outcomes

This will be a general familiarity with the course, students and teaching staff, with a particular emphasis on desired outcomes. We will discuss the difference between games and play and focus on why the game mechanic is the most digestible beat when it comes to design.

Topics:

· Course objectives

· State of the Industry

· Games vs. Play

· What is a game mechanic?

Lab:

• Play through a series of analog games and record the principle game mechanics
• Self-select specialties for team assignments

Readings:

• Read Garneau’s 14 Forms of Fun

WEEK 2: Game Mechanics on a Digital Scale

The second week will concentrate on a discovery of how classic analog techniques have made the jump to a digital environment. A variety of games ranging from the simple to the exotic will be discussed from a theoretical point-of-view.

Topics:

· Review of week 1

· Deeper discussion of game mechanics

· The evolution of digital games

Lab:

• Students will play and analyze a variety of standard online games from sites such as PopCap and MSN games. Results will be recorded.
• Student teams will be assigned

Reading:

• The “magic circle” taken from Zimmerman & Salen’s Rules of Play
• Rule Sets, Cheating and Magic Circles-Consalvo
  

Assignment:

• Prepare for next week's pitch.

WEEK 3: The Magic Circle
An interesting anthropological approach to an understanding of the game experience is the "magic circle" discussed by Huizinga. While the theory may seem a little dated, it has a significant application when one considers those user experiences most sought after by game designers.

Topics:

• Review of weeks 1 and 2
• Discussion of the classical “magic circle”
• What does his mean to digital game design?

Lab:

• Students will present their analysis of game mechanics from week's one and two and will "pitch" the game mechanic they intend to model.
• Analyses/pitches will be graded (10%)

Reading:

• The Liminal Magic Circle--Harvey

Assignment:

• Teams will begin modeling game mechanic

WEEK 4: Design Essentials
The creation of a game requires more than a big idea and an army of willing coders: designers must grapple with how theoretical considerations and user experience goals can be translated into a workable vision. This class will begin building the bridges between the abstract and the practical.

Topics:

• Review of weeks 1, 2 and 3
• Review of game goals and development challenges
• Discussion of translation techniques

Lab:

• Course instructors will walk students through the game design document.

Reading:

• TBD (design fundamentals)

Assignment:

• Student teams will finish modeling their basic game mechanic

WEEK 5: Mo’ Better GDD
Our discussion of theoretical to practical continues. The central issue will be how to preserve the fun when grappling with practical considerations. In other words, project scope – the balance between lofty design goals and production realities is essential for any game production.

Topics:

• Review of weeks 1 thru 4
• Further exploration of translation techniques
• Discussion of production aesthetics

Lab:

• Student teams will present their working game mechanics
• Technical prototypes will be graded (15%)

Reading:

• Ernest Adams article on game interface design
• Effective Affective User Interface Design in Games-Johnson and Wiles
  

Assignment:

• Begin work on GDD

WEEK 6: Visual Information Systems

This lecture will down-shift into a more precise discussion of the game interface. This is the primary information transmission mechanism for digital games and is an often-overlooked design consideration. We will consider how these graphical elements can be deftly used to reinforce the overall gameplay experience.

Lab:

• Presentation of GDDs (first pass)

Reading:

• Tyler Sigman's articles on prototyping

Assignment:

• Student teams will further refine their GDDs based on lab feedback.

WEEK 7: Prototyping Made Easy

Tyler Sigman, award-winning Lead Designer at Backbone Entertainment will lead a highly practical discussion of ways to mock up your games before hours are spent on fruitless coding. An essential lecture.

Lab:

• Presentation of GDDs (final)
• GDDs will be graded (25%)

Reading:

• TBD

Assignment:

• Start work on board games / paper prototypes

WEEK 8: Playtesting – Turn Down the Suck
Another highly practical lecture. This class will discuss how playtesting can improve gameplay. Relevant methodologies will be discussed and a reference grid provided.

Lab:

• Student teams will playtest initial board games / paper prototypes

Reading:

• Callois excerpts from Rules of Play
• Chapters 5 and 6 from Chris Crawford's Art of Computer Game Design.
  

Assignment:

• Students will refine their board game / paper prototypes.

WEEK 9: A Return to Theory
In order to continue the student’s conceptual grounding, this lecture will return to pivotal theoretical concepts. We will discuss the work of Roger Caillois and his anthropological take on the game experience.

Lab:

• Presentation of board games / paper prototypes
• Board games / paper prototypes will be graded (10%)

Reading:

Play Fizzwizzle games.. ok, it’s not really a reading.

Assignment:

Student teams will begin digital production


WEEK 10 The Life & Times of Prof. Fizzwizzle
Award winning game designer Ryan Clark will discuss the small-team development process that has led his company, Grubby Games, to early success.

Lab:
Student teams will meet with course staff to discuss needed refinements for games.

Reading:

• The Importance of Risk in Basic Game Design-Portnow
  

Assignment:
Continue digital production


WEEK 11 Testing
As the course approaches its finale, this lecture will discuss the testing process as it applies to games.

Lab:
Student teams will meet with course staff to discuss needed refinements for games.

Reading:

Optional: Ernest Adams Dos and Don'ts:

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/designers_notebook/19980313.htm

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/designers_notebook/20000331/index.htm

Assignment:
Preparation for presentation of beta games.


WEEK 12 Prisoners’ Dilemma
Provided that the digital production cycle is progressing smoothly, we will discuss the pivotal work of Von Neumann, the prototypical game theorist who gave us the notion of the “zero sum game”.

Lab:
Presentation of beta games.

Betas will be graded (25%)

Reading:
None

Assignment:
Student teams will enhance or refine games as needed


WEEK 13 Development on the Edge
Jim Sink, Business Development Manager for Foundation 9 Entertainment will discuss cutting edge game development.

Lab:
Emergency troubleshooting for final presentation

Reading:
None

Assignment:
Prep for the next week's presentation


WEEK 14 Presentation of final games
This is it – student teams will present their final projects for peer review and evaluation. All games will be graded (15%)

Methodology

· The course will be delivered through lectures, demonstrations, and lab exercises -- all will contribute in some way to the development of a final project.

· Final games will be presented to the class for peer review.

· Course content will progress from the theoretical to the practical.

· Wherever possible, lectures will be built upon practical, real world examples to illustrate the concepts being discussed.

· Wherever possible, in-class demonstrations and guest speakers will be offered to allow students to gain first hand exposure to the various techniques and principles.

· As students work through assignments, the instructional staff will provide feedback and suggestions for revision.

Completion Requirements

To be successful in the course, students should follow these guidelines:

· Attend all classes, listen to lectures and take notes as needed.

· Read all suggested materials thoroughly.

· Lab work will be required to successfully satisfy course requirements.

· Students may need to carry out independent research after class hours in order to complete their assignments properly.

· Students are encouraged to consult with the course instructors if they are having difficulty and/or are falling behind the rest of the class.

· In general, students should take it upon themselves to utilize resources such as internet sites, relevant magazines or books to expand their knowledge base

Evaluation and Feedback

Grading will be carried out in accordance with standard SIAT/SFU policies: students are encouraged to review these documents as well as current policies regarding academic honesty. The Simon Fraser University policy on plagiarism applies to both written work and game design projects in this course.

Attendance and promptness for all class meetings is expected. Lateness and absences are not acceptable and will most definitely affect your grades.

Assignments will be critiqued and graded on criteria supplied by the instructor. Every assignment must be completed to the best of the student's ability and presented for evaluation on the scheduled date. Failure to do so will result in a “0” grade for that assignment.

Grading will be broken down as follows:

· Game Analysis and Pitch: 10%

· Working game mechanic 15%

· Game Design Document 25%

· Paper prototypes 10%

· Game “betas” 25%

· Final games 15%

Simply submitting god work is necessary but not sufficient. These grades will be modified by the individual student’s attendance, participation and overall professionalism.

Resources

Reference Material:

· Readings will be made available to students on a weekly basis via paper handouts or the course blog.

· Students will also benefit from various periodicals, magazines, book, etc. available through the SFU/SIAT library.

· Instructor’s handouts.

General Observation

· Students should use this time to become aware of how game design considerations impact the increasing variety of platforms, techniques and technologies.

· Based on past experience, students are strongly encouraged to avail themselves of mentoring sessions with the course instructors during designated lab periods.