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wrg3507
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wow9
hi
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angelasaint
My first time ever at even attempting to “know” anything about video games. I just know this course is going to help me bigtime!
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charley
i am new to kodu game lab i need help
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coolman6704
how do i start to play?
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richard
Week 5 Content Availability
The content for Week 5 is now available.
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mnjorgensen
Pushing the Boundaries – Games of skill and chance
Week 5 Kodu Course – Pushing the Boundaries – Games of skill and chance
Skill
Games of skill challenge the player with clear goals that demand a competent technique in order to win. An accurate aim for example, or the deft control of a joystick to manoeuvre around obstacles. These games often have a clear challenge and will slowly increase the difficulty, requiring the player to hone their skills.
Kodu is a wonderful platform for creating games of skill. With endless opportunities to reinvent the topography you can create narrow ledges, steep inclines, or simple shooting galleries with ease. Being able to adjust the behaviours of the game surface adds another interesting twist. For example, if you make the blue ground slippery when the player has to shoot a target it increases the challenge.
Considering the strengths and weaknesses of your game bots as we discussed last week, can add an additional element of skill to the this type of game. With bike bot, moving at speed is an obvious skill to master for example. Increase the speed, and you increase the level of difficulty.
You can easily achieve this slowly increase in challenge using point scoring system. For example, when your player reaches a particular score, the opponent bots recognise this, and move to an alternate set of behaviours where the speed at which they move increases.
Adjusting the friction, the amount of bounce, or the players ability to jump may also be things you consider to add an element of risk and difficulty for the player.
The great thing about games of skill, is that they are often simple in premise, and yet completely absorbing. Players can become obsessive about games of skill, particularly when the goal is clearly in sight. It is the players own level of accomplishment that stands in their way of success, and for competitive players, competing against themselves is the best challenge you can offer. Having an evident point score on the screen can add to this atmosphere
Games of skill may still offer strategy and an element of chance, but move too far away from the skill based requirement and you lose a critical piece of what makes games of skill so addictive.
Chance
When you introduce an element of chance into your game, what you’re really doing is offering the player something that they cannot easily predict, or that is impossible to predict. There may be an element of skill or strategy involved in a game of chance, but it is the unpredictable that keeps us coming back for more.When a game offers the chance for you to win … if you’re lucky … the gambler in all of us gets hooked. It’s the thrill of the unknown that draws us in, and keeps us playing. Take snakes and ladders for example. Big opportunities to stride ahead of competitors or quickly lose ground make the game exciting.There are a number of ways you can approach a game of chance in Kodu, and recreating a traditional board game where chance is the main ingredient is one obvious path to take. You can however, find the unpredictable in a game in other ways.Drawing on the ‘wander’ movement of opponents in the game for example, make their placement on the board difficult, if not impossible to determine, particularly if they are moving quickly. Adding additional commands to the bot that further compound this unpredictable nature needs to be done slowly to ensure you get just the right balance in how they react, and the threat that they are intended to offer.The obvious other way of introducing chance, is by using the random point feature, and have the characters behaviours assigned to different point scores. Using the programming ‘pages’ to best advantage here can allow you to create some very interesting behaviours in your games.Who are you building for?The funny thing about games of chance, is that even if the outcomes are entirely random, even if you’ve warned your players that planning a particular approach won’t help them, some players will still look for the best strategy.Think about players at the roulette table. On some level, they know the game is purely chance, but it doesn’t stop them looking for a strategy to try to gain a favourable outcome. Players that love strategy will always look for the best advantage, even when the game is determined by a roll of the dice.Similarly, in many circumstances, a player that loves skill based games may seek an slender advantage through that ability, despite the outcomes of game they are playing being entirely determined by luck.
You can create a great game with a focus on strategy, skill or chance, but many games will include an element of all three. An element of the unpredictable, an advantage in taking a strategy, and a roll of the dice all bundled together make the game challenging on a number of different levels.
You may decide to make your game to appeal to players that enjoy all these elements in a game, but I’d suggest that leaning toward one of these three will help define the sort of game you’re building, and help you better consider what sort of player your building your game for.
Knowing your limitationsThere are limitations to Kodu, and when you know them, you’ll find it easier to work within the restrictions that the Game Lab has. Some of these limitations are built into the game intentionally to promote more diverse and exciting game play. For example, bots have different abilities, different strengths and weaknesses. Once you know what these are, you can build games that leverage those abilities to best effect.
The game engine has a limit to how big or complex a world it can cope with, and this forces you to work with a more intimate game space. In the same way that telling a story in ten words rather than thousand requires you to focus more keenly on each world and its value in the story, the same is true of this game space limitations. You must weigh each element of the game carefully, assess its value, and determine whether it is adding to the experience of the game or is unnecessary or even detracting from it.
A good example of this were the soccer games I recently blogged about on the Planet Kodu. Some had peripheral characters on the sidelines that were there purely to add some extra colour. You might say, that these characters added little to the experience of playing the game. They certainly didn’t influence the challenge the game offered. It’s undeniable however, that they added to the overall atmosphere, and were for me, one of the most memorable elements. As I’ve stated before, knowing what to include, and what to leave out of the game can be a delicate balance, but can make all the difference in terms of engagement.
Of course, any game you build will have rules and therefore you must set your own limitations. When the player knows the restrictions under which must play, the game play can become more intense. Knowing how many rules to include, and how much freedom you allow your player can greatly affect the playability of your game.
Finally, like any game environment, Kodu has its own quirks and character, and your best games will often be those that use to these unique elements to best effect. Playstation games are in a completely different category to Nintendo Wii for example, both have their appeal, both have strengths and weaknesses and are satisfying because of them.
Final WeekIt’s been a wonderful five weeks running the Planet Kodu course, and we’ve learnt allot, observing the games and unique approaches participants have taken. We hope you’ve gained some new programming skills, have a clearer idea of how to approach game design, and have enjoyed the experience!
We’ll be leaving the course material online as a resource for the rapidly growing number of Kodu Game Lab for PC developers, and hope it will continue to be of use to the broader gaming community.
Thanks for playing!
Martin Jorgensen & Richard Olsen -
richard
Puzzles
Many games use puzzles, game play that can be solved using deductive reasoning, in order to add variation to the game. Often puzzles are used to unlock doors to other game areas or open containers that contain equipment needed by the player.
When creating puzzles, the game designer must make sure that the goal is easily understood and that it is very obvious what the goal of the puzzle is and how the user can proceed. One way to ensure this is to make it easy to get started with the puzzle and give the player feedback on their progress.
It is also very important that the player feels that the puzzle is solvable, using multiple puzzles making the first one easy and then gradually increasing the difficulty in subsequent puzzles is a useful technique. Having said that it is important that we allow the player to give up if they no longer want to work on the puzzle.
Finally, if all else fails it is useful to tell the player the answer to the puzzle. Knowing the answer will help the player with subsequent puzzles and reduce the level of frustration with the puzzle and subsequently the enjoyment of the game.
Refer to the Puzzle Solving game design pattern.
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richard
Probability and Chance
Games need chance and probability to be fun. If a game played the same way every time then it wouldn’t be worth playing more than once. Also if there isn’t any variation in the gameplay then “working through” a level loses its fun because it is predictable and therefore boring.
In game making we use random numbers to add variety to our game play. Randomness may be used to determine when and where opposition characters appear or how the non-playing characters react to certain events. When using chance in our artificial intelligence we need to be careful that we get the level of difficulty correct, the way we determine how likely events are to happen may have a dramatic effect on the skill level needed by the player and therefore how fun the game is.
There are two methods we can use. The first is to look at the code and calculate the likelihood of various events happening, particularly looking at the unlikely events and how game play will be affected when they occur. Using a table may be useful in considering how two random events will work together to determine game play.
The second method is to play test. When play testing to determine how randomness affects your games you will most likely need to play the game a lot. When playing try to see how random events influence each other, if a series of unlikely events happen will this make the game either unplayable or too easy?
Determining the actual possibility of random events in your games won’t necessarily help you understand how the random events in your game will affect the perceived playability of your game. The actual differences between various random events may not always be apparent, the subtle differences may either not be apparent or seem to be greater than they actually are. Getting others to play test your games and discussing how random events are perceived is the only way to determine how random events affect the player’s mind.
Chance and randomness can be used effectively to increase the level of difficulty, and therefore the level of skill the player needs as the game progresses. Good games get harder and are perceived by the player to get harder as progress is made.
Finally, chance and randomness should not be used in way that the player perceives its role to be too great, and therefore believing that luck not skill will determine success in the game.
Game design patterns useful when using chance and probability in your games.
Limited Foresight
Strategic Knowledge
Player Balance
Memorizing
Balancing Effects
Risk/Reward
Imperfect Information
Tension
Luck
Limited Planning Ability -
mnjorgensen
Game Experience: Theme and Story
Week 4 - The Game Experience – Theme and Story
We’re more than half way through our course! Thanks to everyone that has contributed so far, we’ve really enjoyed the games you’ve uploaded, and the discussion, and hope it continues after the course concludes in week 5!
Kodu characters and worlds
There are dozens of different game genres, and one of the wonderful things about Kodu is that it allows you to explore most, if not all of them! Each genre offers unique advantages and challenges to the developer and player.I’ve outlined a few of the better known game genres below, and some considerations to keep in mind.Strategy
Usually turn based, games that require a strategic approach are perhaps one of the more challenging genres to approach in Kodu. Strategy assumes either you have an intelligent opponent, which either means you’ll be building a multi player game, or your facing a challenge set by the developer.You can achieve turn based reactions in a number of ways. You might use points, where different scores result in a range of reactions. Alternatively, you might determne that for particular behaviours on the part of your protagonist, specific reactions result, making the game more about devising a strategy to overcome these reactions.Developing a strategy game is a real challenge, but worth your time as the game play can be absorbing.
Action
Perhaps one of the more common game formats for Kodu games, this style of game often challenges the players quick reaction times. One of the things to consider in this type of game, is a unique set of properties for each advasory. A weakness and a strength will enhance game play considerably. For example, you might make the bike bot super fast, but unable to traverse particular obstacles. You might make the tug boat slow, but with superior weaponry.Considering a strength and weakness for each character will enhance the gameplay, and encourage you to think about their placement and position in the game more carefully.Because you can also adjust the reactions of game objects (like a ball) as well, consider what their strengths and weaknesses are as well. For example, a ball that moves quickly over one surface, but slowly over another.
RPG and Adventure
You’ll need to think about your story more carefully in this genre, as roleplaying games rely on narrative as well as some action to draw the player through the game. Good RPG games can strongly resemble interactive fiction.
In simplest terms, think about your character as the hero in the story. You might even write down some basic story structure to help you create an absorbing narrative. A simple three act story structure is the easiest approach, and you can find supporting material on Lightning Bug.Another important point when considering the story you intend to structure your game around, is the concept of emergent narratives. This is when the story that evolves is one that occurs because of what the player themselves brings to the game. For example, if the player ignores your suggested path, and takes an unintended shortcut across the river.You might wish to tightly control the experience of the player in the game in order that they follow your story as you’ve prescribed it, but keep in mind that the player and may have other ideas, and play in ways you may not have predicted. Providing some side quests is one way of approaching this, accepting that the player may never conclude your story, and prefer to take their own path.
Another challenge when developing a significant world and storyline can be that Kodu Game Lab struggles to cope with the scale of your game. In many of the RPG game examples I’ve come across, the usage meter is often near or in the red zone. To avoid this, consider what you can leave out of your game up front. This might be simplifying your approach to the topography and relying on moody lighting instead. Or it could be using one adversary with a unique strength and weakness rather than five that just point and shoot.
Construction and management
Games like these rely predominantly on collecting resources and building structures. You’ll likely be using the factory bot in this type of game. Though the bots can’t create other buildings, they can create large objects like rocks that can be used for all manner of creations. For example. your player might be tasked with filling a space with rocks to get across it.New gaming
Your game doesn’t neccesarily have to have a definitive end resulting in a win or loss. Take a look at the work of Tale of Tales for example. Their games are built for atmosphere and the experience rather than a focus on reaching an evident end goal.
This may be a little harder to achieve with the Game Lab, but you can definitely experiment with some alternate game structures … just ask my 6yo daughter who is obsessed with Kodu at present. Her worlds are an end in themselves. She simply likes placing things in the word that will respond to her. She stands by the lake, she wanders through the forest, she chases the clouds. You don’t ‘win’, there are no points to collect, she just revels in wandering about a space of her own creation.
There are no hard and fast rules about how games must be developed. One of the great things about Kodu, is that you can experiment with combinations of different genres to create unique experiences that you wouldn’t encounter anywhere else!Of course, Kodu has some restrictions, like any development tool, but there’s plenty of room for a creative approach once you know what those restrictions are. Getting to know Kodu just that little bit better however, is the best way try something completely different. After all, you need to know the rules before you can figure out how to break them!Building atmosphere in your Kodu games
Building atmosphere in your game might seem easy on the surface. A little dramatic music here, a dark forest there, and bingo! Instant atmosphere!To achieve it with some success however, you’ll need to develop a holistic approach to building your game, and not rely on one or two single elements to achieve it for you. There are many ways in which you can build atmosphere, and I’ve outlined a few ideas get you thinking about your own approach.Character size
Given that you can adjust your characters size, and the size of the objects around them, this presents a wonderful opportunity for introducing atmosphere. Size is inevitably (no jokes here please) linked to power and the level of threat a character is confronted by, or holds over the environment around them.A small character in a large dark wood immediately introduces the impression of vulnerability for example. Experimenting with your characters size and strength is one way of building atmosphere … without all the dramatic music and dark lighting.Dramatic music and dark lighting
Of course, you can’t go wrong with dramatic music and lighting … as they make a substantial impact on your game experience. Don’t consider them an end in themselves however, think of them as simply another layer of atmosphere. It’s worth noting that music in particular can be used to great effect if you position it carefully in the game.Heading off to meet the big Boss? Dramatic music! Wandering over a bridge? Perhaps something a little lighter. You’ll be the best judge of how to most effectively use these effects. Just remember that if you use them sparingly, but effectively, they’ll have far more impact. Constant music of any kind can wear thin after a while.Delayed gratification
No, this isn’t another paragraph about size, it’s about the completely absorbing nature of video games. Of all the forms of entertainment we indulge in, playing computer games demands (and gets!) the most attention from us. Numerous studies have suggested that we’re far more likely to remain absorbed, despite distractions, in a good game than we are in TV or even a book!Delaying gratification in the game is a great way of slowly increasing the stakes, building tension, and keeping your players hooked. Providing just the right amount of challenge to keep the player just out of reach of their goal. Just be careful to allow your audience some wins along the way or they’ll eventually get frustrated, and move on to something else.Colour use
Effective colour use will influence the mood considerably. Think about your best use of colour however, after you’ve chosen your lighting. If it’s a dark night, dark ground won’t show up to best effect. Similarly, a dark bot will be hard to see, but then, perhaps that’s what your after? Just consider your lighting first, and then take the colour of everything else into account.POV
The point of view you take in the game can have a considerable influence over the atmosphere and tension in the game. Take for example, a space invaders style shooter like the one that Richard designed a few weeks ago.A fixed camera angle removes the distraction of a wandering point of view, and introduces the feeling that you can’t back away from the action! It also allows you to see the entire playing field, and as you can more easily see the growing number of opponents your faced with, increases the tension.A first person perspective on the other hand, is a far more personal point of view, and perfect for RPG games where you want the player investing themselves in the outcome of their characters journey.
