Beyond Fun: Setting Aesthetic Goals and Sticking to Them

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Beyond FunSetting Aesthetic Goals and Sticking
to Them

• Tim Stellmach Craig Derrick
• Design Group Manager Project Manager

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• The first and foremost question to be answered
  about any game is Is it fun?
• The Levelord (Richard Bailey Gray )

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Wheres the fun?

• Game developers dont put the fun in the game in
  the first place.
• It emerges from the players interaction.
• All developers make is the play object, not the
  play itself.

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The Switcheroo

• A large software project requires a specification
  of the software the play object.
• The spec gets some sort of play object made
  whether or not it says how the player is supposed
  to feel.

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Formulating Goals

• What is a goal?
• How should I begin to formulate my goals?

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Formulating Goals

• You should be able to tell what the goal is (vs.
  other possible outcomes).
• The desired result must be possible.
• A plan of action must be formable.
• You should be able to tell how the plan is going.
• Bonus Knowing how long it is likely to take is
  much nicer than not.

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Formulating Goals

• Tell what the goal is Specific.

• Possible result Realistic.

• Workable plan Attainable.

• Tell how its going Measurable.

• Manageable duration Time Frame.

Youll hear this called a S.M.A.R.T. goal
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Aesthetic Goals

• What are game aesthetics?
• Definition taken from MDA framework
• The desirable emotional responses evoked by the
  game dynamics
• Can we apply S.M.A.R.T?

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Designer
Player
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Whats Missing?

• Most projects intended aesthetics are Realistic
  and Attainable.
• Timeliness is generally a constraint on the plan,
  not a problem with the desired aesthetic.

• If desired effect is known, process needs to be
  devised to Measure it.
• Often, though, aims are not even Specific.

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• The first and foremost question to be answered
  about any game is Is it fun?
• The Levelord (Richard Bailey Gray )

Game projects need a functional specification,
but first and foremost they need an aesthetic one.
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Why Beyond Fun

• Fun carries baggage about the nature of the
  effect.
• Fun implies nothing about process.
• Great word, but not for talking about this
  particular thing.
• What typologies exist to help define a games
  aesthetic?

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Caillois Fundamental Categories

• Agôn contests of skill.
• Alea games of chance.
• Mimicry games of make-believe, fantasy, and
  imitation.
• Ilinx games of vertigo.

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Caillois Axis of Ludus vs. Paidia

• Ludus Sobriety of attitude, formality of game
  structure.
• Paidia Frivolity of attitude, informality of
  game structure.

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The Caillois Graph
Paidia
Ludus
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Garneaus Fourteen Forms of Fun

• Beauty
• Immersion
• Intellectual Problem Solving
• Competition
• Social Interaction
• Comedy
• Thrill of Danger

• Physical Activity
• Love
• Creation
• Power
• Discovery
• Advancement and Completion
• Application of an Ability

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LeBlancs Eight Kinds of Fun

• Sensation Game as sense-pleasure
• Fantasy Game as make-believe
• Narrative Game as drama
• Challenge Game as obstacle course

• Fellowship Game as social framework
• Discovery Game as uncharted territory
• Expression Game as self-discovery
• Submission Game as pastime

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Multiple Aesthetics

• Games dont present only a single aesthetic

• Examples
• Charades Fellowship, Expression, Challenge
• Quake Challenge, Sensation, Fellowship, Fantasy
• Final Fantasy Fantasy, Narrative, Expression,
  Discovery, Challenge, Submission

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Multiple Aesthetics

• Aesthetics are not either present or absent in a
  game, but rather are present to different
  degrees.
• All of this got Caillois into a pickle in his day.

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Unified Theory of Game Aesthetics

• Caillois Seminal to the field
• Garneau Down-to-earth
• LeBlanc Analytically rigorous

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Garneau Competition
LeBlanc Challenge Fellowship
Caillois Agôn, maybe Alea.
ò
ò
Aesthetic model
Ludus vs. Paidia?
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Doesnt That Just Spell S.A.R.T?

• Specific descriptions of your aesthetic goals are
  not sufficient.
• Much of the key measurement happens in day-to-day
  process checking
• Goal specifications must be integrated into your
  process documents.

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Process Translation

• Create the following
• Vision Statement
• Project Charter
• Competitive analysis

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Vision Statement

• Whats a vision statement?
• A vision statement is a way of communicating the
  ideas and purposes of your game in an easily
  understood manner to encourage and inspire the
  team to achieve and meet the goals of creating
  the game

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Project Charter

• Whats a project charter?
• A project charter is generally a one or two page
  document that outlines the purpose, expectations,
  and challenges that you have identified for your
  project

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Project Charter Headings

• Customer Expectations
• Key Documents / Assets
• Internal Objectives
• Critical Selling Features
• Known Development Challenges

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Game Development is a Journey

• Youre likely to get lostoften
• Use your charter to guide yourself back to the
  original goals of the project.

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Competitive Analysis

• Whats a competitive analysis?
• Why do this?
• Analysis may yield insight into what
  differentiates the goals of your game from
  contemporaries, from both an aesthetic and
  functional point of view.

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Competitive Analysis Headings

• Feature Set
• Platform(s)
• Target Demographic
• License / Tie-In
• Reviews
• NPD Funworld Data

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Project Example Thief

• Whats fun about running away from fights?
• Whats fun about sitting around doing nothing?

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Project Example Thief

• Aesthetic goal Empowerment (specifically, remedy
  of power imbalance) via tactics
• Aesthetic goal Dramatic tension.

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Project Example Thief

• Game Mechanic Rope Arrows
• Game Mechanic AI suspicion

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Art, Craft, Management

• Management, if it serves its purpose, empowers
  creative people. It is not the antithesis of
  art, but its helper.
• The processes of a developed craft are
  freely-adopted constraints. As such they enable
  and serve creativity just as rules create and
  define play.

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Final Thoughts

• THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING!
• QUESTIONS?
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