Part 1 of my commentary on Jesse Schell's book The Art of Game Design looked at the importance of simplicity and fun, and touched on the experience received by the player (more on that in a moment).
Part 2 dealt with Schell's four game elements -- aesthetics, mechanics, story & technology -- before moving on to the importance of themes and, finally, the development process.
This third part explores the nature of The Experience:
Modelling
Our brain forms models based on the repeating patterns we see in the world around us; it then uses these models to help us to identify new things. The author uses cartoon characters to illustrate this point, showing how we recognise them as human despite their disproportionate features.
Schell argues that "the subconscious exerts terrific control over almost everything we say or do." This is certainly the case for modelling: most of us will see 'faces' in things like decorative wallpaper.
However, there is also a subtlety to this pattern-matching. For example, speech recognition requires more detailed analysis for similar sounds (e.g. 'P' versus 'B') than for dissimilar sounds (e.g. 'W' versus 'L').
I'd suggest that pattern-matching works fastest on the subconscious level but works most accurately when fully conscious.
How do we take advantage of this in a game?
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| We can recognise Captain Kirk even when he's made of Lego. |
- Distinctiveness. We can take a lesson from Star Trek here. Why do the characters wear coloured shirts? It is really tied to rank or job role? Not really. The primary purpose is to make sure that we can distinguish each character easily. Essentially, we're making the model simpler for speed-matching on a subconsious level.
- Repetition. Iteration is a key feature of forming models, and we can use this to help train the player. It's important to balance this to stop the player getting bored.
- Metaphor. We can use existing models to help ease the player into our specific ones. This is why physics-mechanic-based games like Linerider are so successful -- they work on the fact that we already know the model of how things move under gravity. This use of real-world metaphor is a key factor in human-computer interaction (HCI), and helps a computer user to use an abstract system more easily.
Focus
Focus works in two ways: we can deliberately select to concentrate on one thing, or we can have our focus forced onto an object (e.g. a focal point in a painting). Either way, we 'tune out' everything else. Schell states that this is crucial to create an interesting gaming experience.
Schell talks about flow, as defined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and suggests that game designers can benefit from careful study of this concept.
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| A1 = practically no skills and barely any challenge. A2 = repetitive practice of skills. A3 = a challenge which is too difficult for the current skill level. A4 = challenge which can be met by skills, giving an enjoyable experience. |
Empathy
Empathy with our avatar or with other players will enhance the experience of playing a game, and can add an emotional context.
This can also be used in a negative way, tied-in with challenge: the player can experience a negative emption through watching their avatar fail, especially if this imparts some kind of insult, and will be spurred-on to succeed at the game as a form of revenge.
Imagination
Schell finishes by stating that the player will use their imagination to fill gaps. This could be very powerful for intrinsic narrative, as it allows us to use the player's presumptions to our advantage.
Again, this can be linked with empathy: in some of the Mario games, the player will appear to teeter on an edge or miss a platform when jumping, but will struggle back on -- this 'rescue' is emotionally satisfying. Yet it may not actually be happening! Did the designers actually put that in? Is it just a jumpy animation caused by dodgy collision detection? Sometimes a player will infer action within the game to enhance the emotional experience.
Conclusion
Schell has uncovered a number of aspects to The Experience and all seem valid and important. The one thing that sticks out to me is the notion of mental modelling, which can be exploited to make the player quickly feel at ease. This deserves further study if time allows.