Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals

694 Pages·2003·8.18 MB·English

by  Katie Salen, Eric Zimmerman

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Rules of Play - Game Design Fundamentals.....................................................................................................1

Foreword..............................................................................................................................................................1

Preface..................................................................................................................................................................1

Chapter 1: What Is This Book About?............................................................................................................1
Overview.................................................................................................................................................1
Establishing a Critical Discourse............................................................................................................2
Ways of Looking.....................................................................................................................................3
Game Design Schemas...........................................................................................................................4
Game Design Fundamentals...................................................................................................................5
Further Readings.....................................................................................................................................6
Further Reading......................................................................................................................................6

Chapter 2: The Design Process.........................................................................................................................1
Iterative Design.......................................................................................................................................1
Commissions...........................................................................................................................................2
Game Design Exercises..........................................................................................................................3
Creation............................................................................................................................................4
Modification.....................................................................................................................................5
Analysis............................................................................................................................................7
Further Reading......................................................................................................................................8
The Design and Testing of the Board Game- Lord of the Rings............................................................9
Design Process........................................................................................................................................9
Scripted Game System..........................................................................................................................10
Playtesting.............................................................................................................................................11
More Changes.......................................................................................................................................12
The Road Goes Ever On.......................................................................................................................13

Unit 1: Core Concepts.......................................................................................................................................1
Chapter List..............................................................................................................................................1
How does play happen?...........................................................................................................................1

Chapter 3: Meaningful Play..............................................................................................................................1
Overview.................................................................................................................................................1
Introducing Meaningful Play..................................................................................................................1
Meaning and Play...................................................................................................................................2
Two Kinds of Meaningful Play...............................................................................................................3
Discernable.......................................................................................................................................4
Integrated..........................................................................................................................................5
Summary.................................................................................................................................................6

Chapter 4: Design..............................................................................................................................................1
Introducing Design..................................................................................................................................1
Some Definitions of Design....................................................................................................................2
Design and Meaning...............................................................................................................................4
Semiotics: A Brief Overview..................................................................................................................4
Four Semiotic Concepts..........................................................................................................................5
A Sign Represents Something Other Than Itself....................................................................................6
Signs Are Interpreted..............................................................................................................................7
Meaning Results When a Sign Is Interpreted.........................................................................................7

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Chapter 4: Design
Context Shapes Interpretation.................................................................................................................8
Summary...............................................................................................................................................10

Chapter 5: Systems............................................................................................................................................1
Introducing Systems...............................................................................................................................1
The Elements of a System.......................................................................................................................2
Framing Systems.....................................................................................................................................4
Open and Closed Systems.......................................................................................................................5
Summary.................................................................................................................................................6

Chapter 6: Interactivity.....................................................................................................................................1
Introducing Interactivity.........................................................................................................................1
Defining Interactivity..............................................................................................................................1
A Multivalent Model of Interactivity......................................................................................................3
But Is it "Designed" Interaction?............................................................................................................4
Interaction and Choice............................................................................................................................5
Choice Molecules....................................................................................................................................7
Anatomy of a Choice..............................................................................................................................8
Space of Possibility...............................................................................................................................10
Further Reading....................................................................................................................................12
Summary...............................................................................................................................................13

Chapter 7: Defining Games...............................................................................................................................1
Overview.................................................................................................................................................1
Play and Game........................................................................................................................................2
Comparing Definitions...........................................................................................................................3
Definition 1: David Parlett...............................................................................................................4
Definition 2: Clark C. Abt................................................................................................................4
Definition 3: Johann Huizinga.........................................................................................................5
Definition 4: Roger Caillois.............................................................................................................6
Definition 5: Bernard Suits...............................................................................................................6
Definition 6: Chris Crawford...........................................................................................................7
Definition 7: Greg Costikyan...........................................................................................................8
Definition 8: Elliot Avedon and Brian Sutton-Smith.......................................................................8
A Comparison.......................................................................................................................................10
Our Definition.......................................................................................................................................11
The Puzzle of Puzzles...........................................................................................................................11
Role-Playing Games.............................................................................................................................12
Further Reading....................................................................................................................................14
Summary...............................................................................................................................................14

Chapter 8: Defining Digital Games..................................................................................................................1
Overview.................................................................................................................................................1
The Computer Is Not a Computer...........................................................................................................1
What Can It Do?.....................................................................................................................................2
Integration...............................................................................................................................................6
Summary.................................................................................................................................................7

Chapter 9: The Magic Circle............................................................................................................................1
Overview.................................................................................................................................................1
Boundaries..............................................................................................................................................2

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Chapter 9: The Magic Circle
Enter In....................................................................................................................................................3
Temporary Worlds..................................................................................................................................4
The Lusory Attitude................................................................................................................................5
Further Reading......................................................................................................................................7
Summary.................................................................................................................................................7

Chapter 10: The Primary Schemas..................................................................................................................1
A Conceptual Framework.......................................................................................................................1
What Is a Schema?..................................................................................................................................2
RULES: Formal Schemas.......................................................................................................................3
PLAY: Experiential Schemas.................................................................................................................4
CULTURE: Contextual Schemas...........................................................................................................5
Summary.................................................................................................................................................5

Commissioned Game 1 — Richard Garfield....................................................................................................1
Rules.......................................................................................................................................................1
Scoring....................................................................................................................................................2
Design Notes...........................................................................................................................................3
Sibling Rivalry.................................................................................................................................4

Unit 2: Rules.......................................................................................................................................................1
Chapter List..............................................................................................................................................1

Chapter 11: Defining Rules...............................................................................................................................1
Overview.................................................................................................................................................1
A Deck of Cards......................................................................................................................................2
Other Kinds of Rules..............................................................................................................................3
Qualities of Rules....................................................................................................................................3
Rules in Context......................................................................................................................................5
Summary.................................................................................................................................................6

Chapter 12: Rules on Three Levels..................................................................................................................1
Overview.................................................................................................................................................1
Tic-Tac-What?........................................................................................................................................1
Under the Hood.......................................................................................................................................2
Being a Good Sport.................................................................................................................................3
Three Kinds of Rules..............................................................................................................................4
Operational Rules.............................................................................................................................4
Constituative Rules...........................................................................................................................4
Implicit Rules...................................................................................................................................4
The Rules of Chutes and Ladders...........................................................................................................4
Chutes and Ladders: Operational Rules...........................................................................................6
Chutes and Ladders: Constituative Rules.........................................................................................6
Chutes and Ladders: Implicit Rules.................................................................................................7
The Identity of a Game...........................................................................................................................8
Specificity of Rules.................................................................................................................................9
Designing Elegant Rules.......................................................................................................................10
Further Reading....................................................................................................................................12
Summary...............................................................................................................................................12

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Chapter 13: The Rules of Digital Games.........................................................................................................1
Rules as a Whole.....................................................................................................................................1
So What Are the Rules?..........................................................................................................................2
The Rules of Tetris..................................................................................................................................3
Rules and Not Rules...............................................................................................................................4
Wheels Within Wheels...........................................................................................................................5
Constituative.....................................................................................................................................6
Operational.......................................................................................................................................7
Implicit.............................................................................................................................................7
Why Rules?.............................................................................................................................................8
Summary.................................................................................................................................................8

Chapter 14: Games as Emergent Systems.......................................................................................................1
Introducing Emergent Systems...............................................................................................................1
Complexity..............................................................................................................................................2
Messengers and Buildings......................................................................................................................3
Simple Complexity.................................................................................................................................4
What Complexity Is Not.........................................................................................................................5
Four Kinds of Systems............................................................................................................................6
Two Horrible Games...............................................................................................................................7
Emergence...............................................................................................................................................9
Parts and the Whole..............................................................................................................................10
Object Interactions................................................................................................................................11
Life, the Game......................................................................................................................................12
Bottom-Up Behaviors...........................................................................................................................14
Emergence in Games............................................................................................................................15
Designing Surprise................................................................................................................................16
Engine Tuning.......................................................................................................................................17
Second-Order Design............................................................................................................................19
Further Reading....................................................................................................................................20
Summary...............................................................................................................................................21

Chapter 15: Games as Systems of Uncertainty...............................................................................................1
Overview.................................................................................................................................................1
Introducing Uncertainty..........................................................................................................................1
Certainty, Uncertainty, and Risk.............................................................................................................2
The Feeling of Randomness....................................................................................................................3
Probability in Games..............................................................................................................................5
Dice Probability......................................................................................................................................5
Chance and Game Play...........................................................................................................................7
Case Study One: Thunderstorm..............................................................................................................9
Thunderstorm...................................................................................................................................9
Case Study Two: Pig.............................................................................................................................10
Pig...................................................................................................................................................10
Breakdowns in Uncertainty...................................................................................................................12
Breakdown 1: Computer Randomness...........................................................................................12
Breakdown 2: Strategizing Chance................................................................................................13
Breakdown 3: Probability Fallacies...............................................................................................14
Meaningful Chance...............................................................................................................................15
Further Reading....................................................................................................................................16
Summary...............................................................................................................................................17

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Chapter 16: Games as Information Theory Systems......................................................................................1
Introducing "Information"......................................................................................................................1
Information Theory.................................................................................................................................2
Probability and Guesswork.....................................................................................................................4
Noise in the Channel...............................................................................................................................5
Redundancy in the System......................................................................................................................7
Balancing Act..........................................................................................................................................9
Further Reading......................................................................................................................................9
Summary...............................................................................................................................................10

Chapter 17: Games as Systems of Information...............................................................................................1
Introducing a Different Kind of Information..........................................................................................1
Perfect and Imperfect Information..........................................................................................................2
Enchanted Information............................................................................................................................4
Each turn, Enchanted..............................................................................................................................6
Hiding and Revealing Systems...............................................................................................................7
Summary.................................................................................................................................................8

Chapter 18: Games as Cybernetic Systems.....................................................................................................1
Introducing Cybernetic Systems.............................................................................................................1
Elements of a Cybernetic System...........................................................................................................2
Feedback Systems in Games...................................................................................................................5
Positive and Negative Basketball............................................................................................................6
Racing Loops..........................................................................................................................................7
Positive Feedback in a Game..................................................................................................................9
Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment...........................................................................................................10
A Simple Die Roll.................................................................................................................................11
Putting Feedback to Use.......................................................................................................................12
Afterword: Don't Forget the Participant...............................................................................................13
Further Reading....................................................................................................................................14
Summary...............................................................................................................................................15

Chapter 19: Games as Game Theory Systems................................................................................................1
Introducing Game Theory?.....................................................................................................................1
Decision Trees........................................................................................................................................2
Strategies in Game Theory......................................................................................................................5
Game Theory Games..............................................................................................................................6
Cake Division.........................................................................................................................................9
Playing for Pennies...............................................................................................................................11
The Prisoner's Dilemma........................................................................................................................12
Game Theory and Game Design...........................................................................................................13
Further Reading....................................................................................................................................14
Summary...............................................................................................................................................15

Chapter 20: Games as Systems of Conflict......................................................................................................1
Introducing Conflict................................................................................................................................1
Conflict Case Studies..............................................................................................................................2
Centipede..........................................................................................................................................2
Joust..................................................................................................................................................3
Gauntlet............................................................................................................................................4
Competition and Cooperation.................................................................................................................6
New Games.............................................................................................................................................8

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Chapter 20: Games as Systems of Conflict
The Goal of a Game................................................................................................................................9
The Level Playing Field of Conflict.....................................................................................................11
Pig Redux..............................................................................................................................................13
Further Reading....................................................................................................................................14
Summary...............................................................................................................................................15

Chapter 21: Breaking the Rules.......................................................................................................................1
Introducing Rule-Breaking.....................................................................................................................1
Kinds of Rule-Breaking..........................................................................................................................2
Player Types.....................................................................................................................................2
Standard Players......................................................................................................................................3
Dedicated Players....................................................................................................................................3
Unsportsmanlike Players..................................................................................................................5
Degenerate Strategies..............................................................................................................................5
Degenerate Strategy Ecosystems............................................................................................................7
Cheats and Spoil-Sports..........................................................................................................................8
Five Player Types Compared..................................................................................................................9
Sanctioned Violations: Professional Sports..........................................................................................10
Sanctioned Cheating: Illuminati...........................................................................................................11
Hacks, Cheats, and Mods: Digital Rule-Breaking................................................................................13
Easter Eggs.....................................................................................................................................13
Cheat Codes....................................................................................................................................13
Game Guides and Walkthroughs....................................................................................................13
Workarounds..................................................................................................................................14
True Cheating.................................................................................................................................14
Hacks..............................................................................................................................................14
Spoil-Sport Hacking.......................................................................................................................14
Rule-Breaking as a Game Design Practice...........................................................................................15
Further Reading....................................................................................................................................17
Summary...............................................................................................................................................17

Commissioned Game 2 — Ironclad...................................................................................................................1
A game for 2 players...............................................................................................................................1
Rules.......................................................................................................................................................1
Playing Ironclad: The Spectacle of Mechanical Destruction..................................................................2
Playing Ironclad: The Technique of Scholarly Discourse......................................................................4
Design Notes...........................................................................................................................................6
Ironclad.............................................................................................................................................6

Unit 3: Play.........................................................................................................................................................1
Chapter List..............................................................................................................................................1

Chapter 22: Defining Play.................................................................................................................................1
Introducing Play......................................................................................................................................1
What Is Play?..........................................................................................................................................2
A General Definition of Play..................................................................................................................4
Play is free movement within a more rigid structure.......................................................................4
Transformative Play................................................................................................................................5
Being Playful..........................................................................................................................................6
Ludic Activities.......................................................................................................................................7
Game Play...............................................................................................................................................9

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Chapter 22: Defining Play
Summary...............................................................................................................................................11

Chapter 23: Games as the Play of Experience................................................................................................1
Introducing Experience...........................................................................................................................1
Qualities of Experience...........................................................................................................................2
Designing Interactive Experiences.........................................................................................................4
The Core Mechanic.................................................................................................................................4
Core Mechanics in Context.....................................................................................................................5
Tag....................................................................................................................................................5
Verbal Tennis...................................................................................................................................5
LOOP................................................................................................................................................6
Breaking Out of Breakout.......................................................................................................................7
Variations on a Core Mechanic...............................................................................................................8
Timed Play.......................................................................................................................................8
Breakthru..........................................................................................................................................9
Steering, Catching, and Invisible Bricks..........................................................................................9
Breaking Out..................................................................................................................................10
Repetitive Play...............................................................................................................................10
Putting It All Together..........................................................................................................................12
Further Reading....................................................................................................................................14
Summary...............................................................................................................................................15

Chapter 24: Games as the Play of Pleasure.....................................................................................................1
Introducing the Play of Pleasure.............................................................................................................1
Rule-Bound.............................................................................................................................................2
Autotelic Play.........................................................................................................................................3
Enter. Play. Stay......................................................................................................................................5
Typologies of Pleasure............................................................................................................................6
Game Flow..............................................................................................................................................8
Sculpting Desire....................................................................................................................................11
Patterns of Pleasure...............................................................................................................................13
The Role of the Goal.............................................................................................................................14
Goals Within Goals...............................................................................................................................15
Conditioned Pleasure............................................................................................................................17
Rewards and Schedules.........................................................................................................................18
Boredom and Anxiety: Flow Redux.....................................................................................................22
Anxiety and Boredom on the High Seas...............................................................................................24
Meaningful Pleasure.............................................................................................................................26
Against "Addiction"..............................................................................................................................29
Further Reading....................................................................................................................................31
Summary...............................................................................................................................................32

Chapter 25: Games as the Play of Meaning....................................................................................................1
Introducing the Play of Meaning............................................................................................................1
Two Kinds of Representation.................................................................................................................2
Systems of Meaning................................................................................................................................2
System and Context................................................................................................................................3
Emergent Representations......................................................................................................................4
The Context of Meaning.........................................................................................................................5
Down the Rabbit Hole............................................................................................................................6
In the Queen's Court...............................................................................................................................7

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Chapter 25: Games as the Play of Meaning
Framing Play...........................................................................................................................................8
Metacommunication and Play.................................................................................................................9
Captured by the Game..........................................................................................................................10
Further Reading....................................................................................................................................11
Summary...............................................................................................................................................12

Chapter 26: Games as Narrative Play.............................................................................................................1
Overview.................................................................................................................................................1
Introducing Narrative Play......................................................................................................................1
Narrative Tensions................................................................................................................