class: center, middle # Creación de Videojuegos ### Players --- class: center, middle # Player Types --- # Bartle's taxonomy of player types * Killers * Achievers * Explorers * Socializers --- # Killers * Want power * Want to exert control over others * Create chaos * Sometimes problematic griefing behavior --- # Achievers * Want to collect wealth * Care about points, leaderboards, in-game currency * Leveling up is important * Are more willing to "grind" to gain advantages than other player types --- # Explorers * Want to find patterns * Geography: Patterns in landscape * Strategy: Patterns in the rules * Seek knowledge --- # Socializers * Care about people (virtual or real) * Want to interact with other players/non-players in meaningful ways * Enjoy roleplaying * Are often active in guilds, clans, etc. --- class: center, middle # What player type am I? <img src="/CI-2700/assets/img/bartle.png" width="100%"/> --- class: center, middle # What player type are you? <a href="http://matthewbarr.co.uk/bartle">http://matthewbarr.co.uk/bartle</a> --- class: oneline # Notes * Aren't these four types just the four Hogwarts houses? - Killer: Slytherin - Achiever: Gryffindor - Explorer: Ravenclaw - Socializer: Hufflepuff --- # Notes * They are definitely related to Myers-Briggs personality types (via David Keirsey): - Killer: Artisan (Sensing, Perceiving) - Achiever: Guardian (Sensing, Judging) - Explorer: Rational (Intuition, Thinking) - Socializer: Idealist (Intuition, Feeling) --- # Filling in the gaps: DGD1 (by Christopher Bateman) <img src="/CI-2700/assets/img/DGD1.png" height="100%"/> --- # Why do we care? * Ultimately, games are for players * Different players want different things * Understanding what players want helps us design better games for them * Understanding that there is a difference between players allows us to cater content to specific types --- # Example: WildStar <img src="/CI-2700/assets/img/wildstar.jpg" width="100%"/> --- class: small # Mechanics * Killer - Fighting - Competition - Interference * Achiever - Scores - Ranking - Challenges - Vanity objects * Explorer - Expansive geography - Hidden mechanics - Hidden interactions * Socializer - Clans/guilds - Rich characters --- # What does Skyrim have to offer? <img src="/CI-2700/assets/img/skyrim.png" width="100%"/> (Skyrim) --- class: center, middle # Flow --- class: small # Flow * Experimentally validated by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in the 70s * For any task - If it's too hard: people get anxious - If it's too easy: people get bored * What is easy/hard changes with skill * Skill improves over time! * While in the "flow", people are focused purely on the task --- # Flow <img src="/CI-2700/assets/img/flow.png" width="70%"/> --- class: small # Flow To stay in the "flow", players need * Concrete goals, and consistent rules * Actions to achieve these goals that they can accomplish * Clear and timely feedback * No distractions --- class: small # Flow - In Games What this means for games: * Provide the player with something to do * Don't change the rules drastically * Increase difficulty incrementally, as players get better * Tell the player how they are doing on their goals * Don't overwhelm the player with information --- class: small # How games keep you in the flow * Give you a better weapon when killing monsters gets too hard * Introduce new mechanics gradually, then mix and match * Split missions up into smaller sub-tasks of increasing complexity * Progress feedback --- class: center, middle # Tutorials --- class: small # Tutorials Good tutorials: * Can be skipped (and aborted) * Have little text * Describe things clearly * Are complete * Excuse small mistakes * Are not condescending --- class: small # Tutorials <img src="/CI-2700/assets/img/wowtutorial.jpg" width="80%"/> (World of Warcraft) --- class: small # Tutorials <img src="/CI-2700/assets/img/wowtutorialnew.jpg" width="100%"/> (World of Warcraft) --- class: middle, center # Tutorials ## Good and bad tutorials? --- class: center, middle # Super Mario <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZH2wGpEZVgE" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> --- class: center, middle # Narrative --- class: small # Narrative * Characters actually *do* something * Narrative consists of two parts: - Story: What is happening - Discourse: How is it told * The story does not have to be explicitly defined in the game --- class: small # What drives the story? * Goals - Character goals - Authorial goals * Obstacles - Something does not work out as planned - Someone else is trying to interfere because of a conflicting goal --- # Story * Remember the Sierra, queen of hammers and the nails? --- class: small # Discourse: How do we actually tell the story? * Cut scenes * Dialog * In-world artifacts * Interactions --- # History <img src="/CI-2700/assets/img/dwarffortress.png" width="100%"/> (Dwarf Fortress) --- class: small # What about the player? * The narrative can guide the player along the levels - Player has to resolve the obstacles * The player could also make decisions that influence the narrative - Branching stories - Combinatorial explosion * There is no story, the narrative emerges from interactions --- # Social Aspects: What's in the world? * Inclusive designs * Representation of cultures * Stereotypes <center> <img src="/CI-2700/assets/img/overwatch.jpg" width="65%"/><br/> (Overwatch) </center> --- class: small # Diversity * A [recent study](https://medium.com/@Electronic_Arts/what-inclusion-means-to-players-db4522bdd8a0) found that gamers increasingly want more diverse representation in games * The study questioned 2252 *gamers* * 56% of the participants said that it is *important* to them that games are more inclusive (31% were neutral on the issue, only 13% found it not important) * 45% said they were more likely to play a game if the developers added inclusive features * Respondents also said that games are becoming more inclusive, but that it is important that developers keep their characters authentic --- class: center, middle # Economy ## (In Massively Multiplayer Online Games) --- class: small # Economy * If there is any way to trade, there is currency * In most games, everyone can produce anything (given enough time) * The fundamental unit of value is therefore "time" * Fun also plays a role: If everyone does the same dungeon, items found in that dungeon will drop in value --- class: small # Economy: Let's say there is money/gold * You get some money for killing a monster * Many players kill lots of monsters * Money is actually "harvested", because it has no theoretical maximum quantity * That's why your equipment "breaks", transportation costs money, etc. * Other option: You don't get incidental money (EVE Online) --- class: small # Auction Houses * Sell-order only * Buy- and sell-orders * Final Fantasy XIV (2010) - Bazaar system - Retainers --- # Resources * <a href="http://matthewbarr.co.uk/bartle">Online Player Type Survey</a> * <a href="https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/134842/personality_and_play_styles_a_.php">Personality And Play Styles: A Unified Model</a> * <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/166972/cognitive_flow_the_psychology_of_.php">Cognitive Flow</a> * <a href="https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/134774/the_designers_notebook_eight_.php">How not to make a tutorial</a> * <a href="https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/134576/virtual_economic_theory_how_mmos_.php">Virtual Economic Theory: How MMOs Really Work</a> by Simon Ludgate