In this Spark activity, choose a game that really inspires you, and analyse it in terms of the design criteria provided before. Feel free to use images from the game or your own diagrams to illustrate your work.
Figure 1: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006)
I have chosen to analyse The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006) because it's one of my favourite video games to play on a console - a timeless classic! A true masterpiece of a game. Although, some may argue it hasn't aged particularly well...
Game Mechanics Player mechanics include running, jumping, attacking (melee and ranged combat), and bartering, whilst, at its most fundamental level, Todd Howard (Game Director of TES:O) describes the game as, "at its heart, it's 'run through dungeons and kill creatures and take their stuff and buy bigger weapons and kill bigger creatures, and that's kind of layered on top of [the virtual world]" (The Making of Oblivion, 2011). The virtual world includes quests to complete, items/property to buy, NPCs to talk to and enemies to combat.
Genre RPG, Open-World, Fantasy, Singleplayer, Adventure, Action [Steam Tags]
Player Fantasy The player can explore a vast open world (with a custom-made character) and define themselves in different questlines, or they can choose to combat the main story at their leisure and become the hero of Kvatch!
Platform and Controls The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 in 2006, followed by PlayStation 3 in 2007. Personally, I prefer using a controller (as I usually play on Xbox), although many fans have articulated that using M&KB gives you better control over the game's camera and combat. In addition, the native controller support for PC Oblivion is far from being well-regarded.
Spatial Abstraction TES:O plays in a 3D space of vast open areas as it attempts to mimic a real-world (albeit fantasy) environment.
Avatar You play as "The Prisoner", which essentially is a blank canvas of a character. Although Oblivion is set in Cyrodiil, the native province of the Imperials, the player starts by choosing their humanoid protagonist from one of nine fantasy races, which can be male or female. The races include Argonian, Breton, Dark Elf, High Elf, Imperial, Khajiit, Nord, Orc, Redguard and Wood Elf. Once the player completes the tutorial, they will not be able to update their character's name or physical appearance.
Camera Perspective TES:O is playable in first-person or third-person, with a simple button press that switches between each perspective.
Goals and Scores There are hundreds of quests to complete, including the main quest, which acts as the game's main story. Although there is no game 'score'. However, the player can accumulate money in the form of the world's currency, otherwise known as 'Septims'.
Progression and Variety The player can join several guilds and progress through their respective ranks. However, regarding personal levels, if the player wishes to level up efficiently, they must practice skills they assigned themselves during the character creation process. This feature was not well-received as players felt locked to a particular playstyle - something that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim later amended. Once the player has practised enough skills, they are prompted to find a bed and rest to increase their main attributes. As a result, the player will become stronger and faster as they level up. There is a difficulty slider, although the world's inhabitants scale with the player (much like the armour and weapons).
Tension and Rest From my experience, I wouldn't say TES:O is a stressful game. Being an open-world RPG means you can decide what you want to do at your own pace. For instance, the player can spend hours picking flowers or buying a new home!
Obstacles and Penalties There are numerous enemies to defeat and puzzles to overcome, although I feel there is no real in-game penalty if the player fails. For instance, if the player character dies, the game forces the player to load their last save point (acting as a checkpoint). There is a justice system whereby if the player commits a criminal offence, they must either resist arrest, pay a fine or serve time in jail. The latter option reduces the player's skills. Although, experienced players will have no trouble overcoming this scenario.
Resources As I stated before, the player can accumulate money, called 'Septims', to buy better weapons and armour. In addition, the player can improve health, stamina and 'magicka' to increase survivability and damage output.
Decisions Most quests are linear, and there is no in-game consequence for ignoring or not completing quests. To my knowledge, the player is rewarded for things they achieve in the game and are not penalised for decisions they didn't make. Moreover, the player is free to tackle quests how they want. Other questlines force the player to make decisions that can impact the story, although the rewards end up being similar. Furthermore, the player is free to kill NPCs. However, they cannot kill NPCs relating to major questlines - these are considered essential NPCs.
Simulation and Chance TES:O is a hand-crafted game, meaning there is no randomness involved, and I believe every item, weapon and creature is placed in the world with intent. Although there are random enemy encounters, they don't happen often. Events only seem to occur when the player makes an action, so they cannot be considered random or spontaneous.
Storytelling There are no cutscenes in TES:O, other than one that introduces the game at the beginning. The storytelling in TES:O is why I believe everyone should experience the game. I don't think I can put into words how good the stories are. Starting as a petty thief to ending up stealing an Elder Scroll will always blow my mind - and that is only one pathway out of many the game has to offer!
Art Direction and Style The art style is probably one contributing factor in the game not ageing particularly well! (although some may disagree). I don't even know how to describe it. The graphics are vibrant and colourful, with a clear intent to mimic a high-fantasy world, but were held back by hardware limitations.
Animation and Visual Effects Overall, the animations and particle effects in TES:O are okay; they are certainly not a reason to play this game, but the ragdoll physics is where the game truly shines! Although some may consider them over-the-top, the physics in TES:O are timeless and never fail to make me laugh!
Sound Design In my opinion, TES:O has the best soundtrack in the franchise. The tracks are seamless and effective, and the game does a fantastic job of setting the tone depending on what the player is doing in-game. For example, there is frantic combat music whenever the player engages in a fight. However, the lack of voice actors in a world populated with hundreds of NPCs can sometimes ruin the immersion. Overall, the sound design is punchy and effective, although considered limited in certain aspects by today's standards.
Game Design - Process & Principles
In the lecture 'Game Design - Process & Principles', Iain Lobb explores some of the most valuable game design principles and ways to get started in the game design process. Furthermore, Lobb highlights the importance of game polish by referencing Martin Jonasson and Petri Purho's lecture 'Juice it or Lose it' - thanks, James. Lastly, Lobb underpins how significant 'game feel' is and outlines some techniques to capture it. Developers can sometimes spend months working on the character controller, attempting to capture the right game feel.
Game Design Concepts
Figure 2: So You Wanna Make Games?? | Episode 10: Game Design
"In this video, a few game designers talk about some fundamental game design concepts - from understanding “fun,” to setting clear goals, and creating opposition. They also explain how design decisions can impact the theme and tone of a game, even without any art at all, underscoring the importance of cohesive art and design." (Riot Games, 2018)
This video (figure 2) is a good refresher about the core principles of game design and how goals and gameplay should be cohesive, working together to create a good experience for the player. I encourage people to watch it if they haven't already!
Engagement & Immersion
Unfortunately, due to time constraints and the length of the video, I will be watching this talk on my own time.
References
The Making of Oblivion (2011) YouTube. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvm0CN3tQFI&ab_channel=DarkDrake (Accessed: February 6, 2023).
Challenge Activity - Game Outline
Date: 10th February 2023
Use the game design principles discussed this week to produce a proposal for the indie game prototype you would like to make in this module.
In your proposal, you should strongly consider the scope of the game in relation to your current skill set, and how much time you have to work on it. It will be more beneficial for you to work on a relatively simple idea and polish it to a high standard, rather than embark on an ambitious masterpiece you don’t come close to finishing.
Figure 3: "Surrealistic Planet" [Media from Wix]
Below is the game outline document for 'Space Junk'. I have kept it intentionally brief so that I can add or alter it throughout development.
Game Name 'Space Junk' [TBD]
Game Pitch You play as "The Space Binman", an employee of an intergalactic cosmic clean-up company! Your job is to clean a space station whilst defeating hostile invaders using your cleaning supplies as make-shift weapons.
Game Mechanics Player mechanics include running, jumping, interacting and shooting. Using a unique weapon called "The Suck Gun" [TBD], the player must suck up items in the environment, considered 'space junk' to use as ammunition to combat hostile invaders. The player can also use another unique weapon called "The Gravitational Manipulator" [TBD] to manipulate the gravity of a pre-defined area, making it easier to identify items in the environment.
Genre FPS, Adventure, Action, Singleplayer, Sci-Fi, Physics, Simulation [Potential Steam Tags]
Player Fantasy The player will be able to explore a space station, interact with the environment, talk to specified NPCs and combat hostile invaders using unique weaponry.
Platform and Controls PC/Windows - Keyboard & Mouse or Xbox controller
Spatial Abstraction Space Junk plays in a 3D environment (space station). It will feature a linear level involving backtracking.
Avatar You play as "The Space Binman", an employee of an intergalactic cosmic clean-up company!
Camera Perspective First-person perspective.
Goals and Scores Rid the space station of hostile invaders whilst attempting to clean the station! Currently, there is no in-game scoring in place. [TBD]
Progression and Variety I have thought about offering players the ability to upgrade their weapons, which would involve developing a progression system. However, due to scope, I am currently against it [TBD]. There will be a variety of enemies to fight, including unique ways to defeat them.
Tension and Rest The plan is to develop chaotic and wacky physics-based combat. Although, I believe the player may find respite in cleaning the space station.
Obstacles and Penalties If the player takes too much damage from the hostile invaders, they will die and have to restart the level. [TBD]
Resources Space Junk will include a classic health bar and a 'sanitary meter' to indicate how clean the space station is.
Decisions Although the player is free to wander the space station, the game will be linear, offering no alternate endings or significant decisions to make. [TBD]
Simulation and Chance There is no current plan to involve randomness other than implementing physics-based action and unique enemy AI. [TBD]
Storytelling The player is sent to a space station to rid the vessel of cosmic debris. The player is greeted first by the station's AI, who informs them that hostile invaders have taken over the station. The AI believes the invaders came for the cosmic debris to convert into rocket fuel. The AI encourages the player to kill the hostile invaders (and clean the station) before betraying them for its own personal gain and turning "mini-boss". The game will feature visual story-telling and in-game dialogue from certain characters. [TBD]
Art Direction and Style Low-poly stylized art. The game will feature a mixture of third-party assets and my own. I plan to model both guns in Blender - nothing too extreme.
Animation and Visual Effects The game will feature basic humanoid animations (idle, running, jumping, etc.) and particle effects.
Sound Design I plan to download audio assets to focus on the other aspects of the game, although I hope to create an immersive environment.
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