A selection of published papers relating to player experience and machine learning by Prof Julien Togelius of ITU in Copenhagen.
Interview with Miyamoto and Iwata. Miyamoto tries to avoid talking about game design but can’t quite manage it.
Miyamoto: Now, a fun game should always be easy to understand - you should be able to take one look at it and know what you have to do straight away. It should be so well constructed that you can tell at a glance what your goal is and, even if you don’t succeed, you’ll blame yourself rather than the game. Moreover, the people standing around watching the game have also got to be able to enjoy it.”
And this…
Miyamoto: There’s always a basic reason why you can’t clear a level: either it’s because the game is really difficult, or it’s because you don’t understand the game properly. For instance, even though you could use a lift and bounce easily to the next stage, you go out of your way to choose a tricky route and that means no matter how many times you try it, you fail.
Iwata: So you’ve ramped up the difficulty level yourself by not choosing the correct route.
Miyamoto: Yes, that’s right. It’s at times like that when watching a skilled player will make you realise: “So that’s what you have to do!” Then you can do it correctly yourself. I thought it would be great if you were able to do that in your own home, which is why we devised the Super Guide.
Nokia analyses Boku Sudoku, Mass Effect, Spore, GTA IV and WoW to see if they can graft the achievement systems onto their non-game application. The table listing the achievement categories is pretty good.
“When a class fits a person’s playstyle, their weaknesses feel less pronounced. If the Heavy player values strength over speed, he won’t feel cheated or weak by a slow character. If they player did, they could simply switch to something like a Scout. In the same round of TF2, each player may be playing what amounts to a different game depending on their class. The Spy sneaking behind enemy lines is playing a stealth mission, while the Scout is playing a race against the enemy flag carrier.”
On pricing games for the app store and why you should only price one at 99c if you can guarantee a hit.
Excellent stuff, but my favourite post is this one:
1988/11/november-12-1988/Still not enough. What’s the point in running, running to get to the exit, if all it gets you is more of the same? The princess waiting at the end is a reward only in the story. We need rewards in the game - like beating a guard in Karateka. What makes a game fun? Tension/release, tension/release. Prince of Persia has neither. It’s like going on a 25-mile hike. Every now and then, you get to step over a log or cross a stream. Big deal. Running, jumping, and climbing, no matter how beautifully animated, hold your attention for maybe the first three screens. Then you start to wonder: when is something going to happen? Like: a guard to fight. An airplane to shoot down. Something.
A detailed analysis of Choose Your Own Adventure books, with some very pretty graphs.
“Books and movies have a huge advantage in not incurring regret in their audience. Their “players” have no agency; as much as they may dislike a twist in the plot, it’s not their fault. As game designers, we must reckon with regret. Our players have to do more than like the story; they have to accept each turn of events and roll with them, and never wonder if they should have gone back to get it right.”
