Article featured at IGDA Perspective Newsletter

Part II of my GDAM article Motivating Players in an Engaging Way  has been featured in the February edition of the IGDA Newsletter Perspectives. The release of the newsletter had been announced at the IGDA webboard a week ago.

You can view the February issue here. My article is on pages 8-9.

I’m very happy with this and I hope I get a few more articles selected in the future!

Motivating Players in an Engaging Way

My new article up at GDAM discusses the problem of mechanics that artificially lengthen gameplay.

It happens all too often that we lose our motivation exactly because of the mechanics that were supposed to achieve such motivation. I believe that one of the reasons for this is that game designers have too much faith in reward systems and do not tie them strong enough to narrative structures that foster a strong sense of game progression. In this article first I address the concept of climbing tension in order to explain the forces behind a strong sense of progression. Later on I give examples from cases in which the climbing tension principle is ignored and what impact this has on player experience.

I hope you enjoy the read!

GDAM February Poll is up!

The poll for the February topic at GDAM is up. The choices for February are:

• Multiplayer Economies
• Emotive Games
• Losing the Fun Factor

You can vote here.

GDAM’s January topic is “Mechanics That Artificially Lenghten Gameplay”

January 2010′s topic is Mechanics That Artificially Lenghten Gameplay.

A significant number of players complain about game designs that seem to be deliberately wasting their time. Due to the amount of grinding and long walks that can be seen in this genre, it is often MMORPG’s that are subject to such criticism . It appears, however, that from time to time all types of games and genres suffer from sequences that mindlessly waste the time of players.

During it’s January rally, GDAM asks you to provide insight and answers to the problem of game mechanics that artificially lengthen gameplay. In the broader sense, we ask you what methods or mechanics the game designer has at her disposal to lenghten gameplay without annoying the gamers. In particular, we ask the following questions in the hope to inspire you for articles:

• What is the relation between business models and mechanics that artificially lengthen gameplay? Which business models or design principles built around mechanics that artificially lengthen gameplay could serve to increase a game’s value for both players and developers?
• How can dead time in runs and overall travel time be reduced without destroying the rationale behind the business model and the overall pace and rythm of the game in question?
• What design methods do exist that could be helpful in creating mechanics that preserve player motivation while gameplay is artificially lenghtened? How, in that regard, can we utilize psychological processes like for example matching creatively?
• What kind of ancillary reward systems do exist or could be developed and how could these help to foster a feel of environmental progression in the game that makes long walks feel like they are part of the game rather than being pointless and repetitive tasks?
• What are design methods and principles that can be helpful in manipulating felt time and making it easier on the player when gameplay is lenghtened artificially? How can we stretch game sequences by building additional moves into game mechanicsm without making them feel artificial?

My Latest Article Up At GDAM: An Advertising Approach to High Concept Pitching

You can read my latest article on High Concept pitching at Game Design Aspect of the Month (GDAM). The article will be published in two parts, so don’t forget to check back in a few days to read the second part.

Btw, GDAM is still looking for writers who would like to contribute a short (500-1000 words) article about the topic.

There is also just one day left to announce the topic for January, so stay tuned!

GDAM January 2010 Poll

Please visit GDAM and vote for the January 2010 topic!

The choices are:

• Cheats
• Mechanics that artificially lengthen gameplay
• Multiplayer Economies

Voting is open until  December 25.

GDAM reboots!

Game Design Aspect of the Month made a reboot to prepare itself for the new year.

The statement on the blog says:

After a very fruitful first year, the Game Design Aspect of the Month editors are preparing for the new year with the goal of building on last year’s achievements and improving GDAM’s features. We want to continue to present game designers, industry professionals and game researchers with a platform for high-standard discussions and exchange. We would like to express our gratitude to our readers and to all those who during the past year contributed to GDAM with their articles or took the time to participate in our podcasts: Thank you very much!

GDAM is now looking for writers to contribute with articles to the current topic which is Pitching and High Concepts. The topic had been suggested by narrative designer Tobias Heussner and you can find a more detailed topic description here.

Also the GDAM editors are all ears for topic suggestions for the month of January, so why don’t you give it a shot? Just for some inspiration: topic suggestions of the past included Mature Games, Prototyping and Player Death.

On Train

My latest article on the art game Train (Brenda Brathwaite, 2009) has been published at Sande Chen’s Game Design Aspect of the Month.

I hope you’re going to like it!

Mature Games podcast at GDAM

Have you lately been following the developments over at Sande Chen’s Game Aspect of the Month (GDAM)? The blog is known for serving as a platform for discussion  for game designer and scholars alike. So far, GDAM featured many articles on subjects like player death, prototyping, and trends of simplicity. This month’s July rally, however, came with the launch of a brandnew feature: A podcast on mature games!

It had been revealed earlier that in the coming months we will be able to listen to more of such podcasts!

This month’s Mature Games session which is moderated by 2007 Writers Guild Award in Videgame Writing nominee Sande Chen, features NY-based writer CJ Kershner and designer-turned programmer Ryon Levitt from japanese game developer KOEI. Issues range from serious games to sex and violence, and the participants touch on games like Starcraft, Passage and Harry Potter. If you have a few spare minutes, just tune in, it’s definitely worth the time!

New Article on Prototyping

Part I of my new article  Prototyping: An Odyssey is up on GDAM (Game Design Aspect of the Month). This month’s rally is on Prototyping and so far three game designers have contributed with their articles.  The GDAM subjects in the past were 2-3 Hour Games, Player Death, and Trends of Simplicity. There is a lot of good stuff there so please check it out!

Click on the links for Part II, Part III and Part IV.

Here’s an excerpt from my article:

I must admit that I was enchanted by [the Proteus] myth. It was a wonderful metaphor for prototyping and captured its essence perfectly. Let’s look at the elements of this myth:

• Metamorphoses: the ability to assume many forms in rapid succession.
• Prophecy: the revelation of the mistakes you were unaware of at the time you made them; and directives on what course to take in order to repair the damage that they have done.
• Exactitude (As an extension of the Prophecy element): The Oracle of Delphi carried the inscription “Know thyself!”, an inscription that has been often interpreted as “Know your problem!” or “Have a clearly formulated question!”. Otherwise the answer of the Oracle will sound cryptic and useless.
• Teamwork: You can’t fasten Proteus all by yourself; you need the help of a group of dedicated and determined people.