Game Discussion Wiki

Game discussion

This is where we will collect the discussions of games, their designs, and some theoretical underpinnings throughout the seminar. The idea is to submit some questions and discussion topics before the in-class discussion. You are encouraged to contribute to this page, as it is publicly editable (when logged in to external link: Sakai). If anyone has discussion topics, please use the forum by clicking the "Discussion and Private Messages" link in the left side bar (again only visible when logged in to external link: Sakai)… Unless you are the discussant for the upcoming week. Then this is the place where you should be preparing your discussion topics and questions.

Discussion April the Twenty-Eighth: Free for all Form Discussion (Moderation: Christopher Lesiw, Yuri Vishnevsky) ^_^

Snow

8-bit Megaman

Karoshi 2.0

Discussion April 21st: Indie Prototyping(Moderation: Sung Soo Jeong, Alex Zhang)

Jonathan Blow

"Don't do idea that are 'just good enough' because this is your life you are spending."- Jonathan Blow
"Wow that was a great way to spend 2 years." - Jonathan Blow

Derek Yu

Braid

Portal vs Narbacular Drop

Discussion April 14th: Conflicts in Story and Game Design (Moderation: Bella Pilyavskaya, Anthony Maddatu)

Story Meaning vs. Dynamic Meaning

Discussion April 7th: Game Prototyping (Moderation: Xiaokang Qin, Cody Bruno)

General

-What does prototype mean to you? What needs to be included in the prototype for it to be a successful one?
-Beside what is mentioned in the presentation, what else should a prototype be used for?

Cost

-To what extent can development time/resources be cut down while still keeping functionality? Inversely, how much time/resources can be given to its development while keeping everything quick and smooth?

Relevancy

-In what other ways is prototyping useful to the development of the game as a whole?

Surprise

-How are upside/downside affected, if the program is too specific? Too broad?

Persuasion

-How important is intuition in terms of "fun" the participant is having? Does intuition contribute at all to the participant's interest in the prototype?

Design Document vs Prototype

-Considering how much better the prototype is compared to a design document, in what instance would a design document prove better?
-According to Hecker/Gingold, a good prototype is also cheap, so where does that leave design documents?

Steal it, Fake it, Rehash it

-In the presentation, the buildings are constructed through a video in Maya - not through an interactive system. Does this defeat the purpose of the prototype or add to it in anyway?

Decomposition

-To what extent should the problems/concept be broken down in order to ensure the best prototype?
-Are there are any specific ways a problem should be broken down to ensure smooth development?

World of Goo (and prototype)

-According to the guidelines set by Hecker/Gingold, were the prototypes successful? If so, what in particular made them so? If not, what did they fail to accomplish?
-With bugs present in each prototype, did they subtract from its functionality? Were the bugs too insignificant?
-Did each prototype function properly at each step, up until its final release?


Discussion March 31st: Games as Miniature Gardens (Moderation: Dan "The Boat" Gopstein, Matt "The Hammer" Zucker)

I. Miniature Gardens

II. Micro/Macro

III. Boundaries (Spatial / Non-spatial)

IV. Inviting Participation

V. Rabbit Hole

Reference: Pleasures of Participation


Discussion March 10th: Narrative in Games (Moderation: Sean Li, Raymond Chen)

General

I. Narrative Used Today

(Majesty of Colors, Pathways)

II. The Best Use for Narrative

(Gravity Bone, Graveyard, I wish I were the Moon)

Games

Majesty of Colors / I wish I were the Moon

Pathways

The Graveyard

Gravity Bone


Discussion March 3rd: Visual Abstraction and Interaction Abstraction (Moderation: Xiaokang Qin, Raymond Chen, Cody Bruno)

General

The Marriage

Passage

Zork

Stars over Half Moon Bay


Discussion Feb 24th: Flow Theory + Difficulty in Games (Moderation: Bella Pilyavskaya, Anthony Maddatu, Alex Zhang)

General

Flow

  1. Do you feel the DDA was accurately tracking your progress?
  2. What aesthetics appealed to you in the game?
  3. What did your creature look like when you stopped?

Flywrench

  1. How does the game fair in terms of the flow article for you? Too much anxiety/boredom, or did you reach flow? (ex. I took a joystick out and beat the game within hours and thus I achieved flow.)
  2. What aesthetics were in this game?
  3. What audience do you believe this game is meant for?

Nicewrench

  1. How do you feel about flow in this game as compared to Flywrench?
  2. How did the stars and the level design change the game experience?

I Wanna Be the Guy and N


Discussion Feb 10th: Game Feel (Moderation: Dan Gopstein, Sean Li, Matt Zucker)

Strange Attractors I

  1. Concentrating on which one of the virtual sensations would have made Strange Attractors a better game?
  2. Were the collisions in the game a positive contribution to the game feel?

Osmos

  1. How does managing your resources contribute to the game feel?
  2. We think there was a lot of impact and satisfying resolution. Anyone agree/disagree?

Ski Stunt Simulator

  1. Do you agree with Swink that Ski Stunt Simulator has a low skill floor and high skill ceiling?
  2. What would be different if there was a different context (Run Fatty Run)?

Precision

  1. Who else hated Precision?
  2. How did the predictable results impact this game? Would you have kept playing if there were no predictable results?
  3. How was your input crucial to the response from the game?
  4. --
  5. external link: http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/1816/precisionbeatedgt6.jpg
  6. "Good fight, precision."
  7. -Sung Soo (David)

General

  1. What do you think of the different input used in these games?
  2. Is there some form of game feel that is enjoyable because it is not intuitive?


Discussion Feb 3rd: Game Design Analysis (Moderation: Christopher Lesiw, Yuri Vishnevsky, Sung Soo Jeong) ^_^

Auditorium

Dino Run

Samorost

General


Discussion Jan 27th: What is a Game? (Moderation: Andy Nealen)

General:

Puzzle Quest Galactrix

Crayon Physics Deluxe

What is a game?


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