Game Experiences

Define Game Mechanics that provide for specific Game Experiences

(My personal favorite types of Game Experiences):
Ambush: COH setup ambush (the element of guile and surprise)
Overwhelm: Zerg Rush COH counterattack
Hijinks: Explody Pants (Fallout 3)
Triumph (overwhelming odds): Demons Souls
Exploration & discovery : Ultima 3, Oblivion
Wonder/Secrets: Ultima 3/5 Moongates
Secret Reveled: Ultima 3 Magic Carpet (play the song on the harpsicord), Ultima 3 triple crossbow
Teamwork/Coordination: Left 4 dead
Disguise: Hitman
Loot : Diablo 2 (LOD)
Commeraderie: Left 4 Dead
Rigged Traps: Rigged Health stations (bioshock)
Round up a Possee : Bioshock Turrets/ helibots, Life Force (option), Dungeon Seige Party
Chip to Peices (Soften em up): COH mortar teams
Beat Down: Double Dragon knee bash, Golden Axe hilt bash
CounterAttack: Demons Souls Reposte
Sniping : COH Sniper in Bell Tower, CTF 2 face Unreal tournament
Triumph over unbelieveable odds : Close Combat Choke point with Machine gun
Overkill/Gibfest: Doom BFG, Unreal Tournament Nuke, Dungeon Seige, COH flak cannon
Revenge: Burnout Revenge : Revenge Takedown

games where no enemies are always out to get you with a suicidal resolve


use the "power of loot" as an incentive to
Traps/Incentives : often optional spicy things to make the gameplay interesting


Spirit Form
if you die, or use certain artifacts/abilities you enter "spirit form"
in spirit form, you dont take damage however you can be "banished" or "trapped" by mystical creatures
(in which case, it's game over) your body becomes a zombie
In Spirit Form you can possess certain other creatures (if your Will attribute is higher than target)
When you Possess a creature - you have limited options for interacting with the environment,
you can attack other monsters, you can only pick up certain things. (based on the creatures ability)
If the possessed creature picks up a health or revive potion and returns to the players body, the creature can revive the corpse (at this point, the player may revive and have to fight the previously possessed creature)
If the possessed creature dies - you are returned to your body and have 0 will/stamina, also you wont be able to move for a few moments
If your body is attacked while you are possessed, you immediately return to your body and have to wait until you can fight back (you remain stunned for a few seconds while you are revived.)

Possess : You can use this ability to solve some puzzles, i.e.
cant cross chasm
1)go into spirit form
2) possess a creature that can fly (hawk)
3) fly across chasm
4) attack drawbridge rope
5) return to player (exit possessed creatures body back to players body)
6) cross on drawbridge

Possess Puzzle :small spaces
Possess a mouse
enter a hole
attack a rope to open door

Possess a mouse
scare an elephant

Possess an aligator
swim through swamp (dive) attack drawbridge

Possess stone elemental, (strength)push block to complete bridge so you can cross
...Destroy barricade
...cause avalanche

Fire elemental (ignite dynamite kills self)
Possess Spider (climb walls)
Ice Elemental Freeze water (make walkable)

Possess Puzzle: (use some characteristic of the possessed creature to solve a puzzle)
Possess a fire elemental, go through fire, hit switch

after you die, if you have a high "Will" attribute you may come back as a spectre.  spectres cannot interact with the environment, but they can pass through many solid objects and they dont take damage.  instead of "stamina" your Will attribute is depleted when you are a spectre (you can only exist as a spectre for so long)
where you can "possess" a monster. to revive your body, you must possess a creature

Spirit Recon - you can become a spirit where you can "scout ahead" to find out about enemy emplacements, and move through some solid objects your experience an "out of body" experience and you are able to move a spirit form around the world. in spirit form, you cannot take damage, however you are still vulnerable to magicians/wizards/mystic creatures who can soul trap you, or banish you

this depletes your will... your body is left immobile and it can take damage

DANGER - watch out, if wizards, mystics, or other characters

Spirit Posses Disguise - possess a creature, infiltrate a lair, steal items or execute enemy, return to body. (this is "timed" based on the amount of Will the player has)

The Possess mechanic allows for more optimal variation in gameplay
(You aren't always the same character where you have the same "abilities"/constraints/strengths/weaknesses)

Chase - robbers steal from you, chase them down to get your stuff back
Race - Challenge
Guide - (Spirit, etc.) may lead you through the level
Maze - (Labyrinth) spacial judgement skills
Puzzle - (Normally some type of pattern recognition)
Scavenger hunt (need these 3 things at shrine)
   clues
Riddle
Distract - draw monsters away from a treasure with a distraction
Self baiting trap -
1) monster guarding treasure
2) get his attention (aggro)
3) monster chases you
4) you trigger trap, monster dies
5) you get treasure

Room full of money, with tons of enemies

Baited Trap (treasure, locked in room, but gargoyles...tough)
The solitary chest - in a dark room, light shining on it (indiana jones)
    drop the curtain (lights go out)
    enemies spawn
Turncoat (think they are your friend turn out to be an enemy leading you to an ambush)
Corpse stealer - Hyenas attack in packs
Interesting Party - a party which may have a leader (i.e. a wizard with cultists and possessed, a necormancer with undead warriors)

Breaking and entering - (steal item without combat) -- pure stealth (invulnerable enemies)
Disguised Aggro robbery - you can walk past enemies in disguise, then you steal an item and immediately you get aggro and they all come after you.

Red Light/ Green light -  use torch to scare off tunnel creatures (frodo LOTR)

Treasure grab - timed grab of treasure before vault closes and you are flooded

Environment
    tightrope walk
    obstacle course
    avalanche
    crumbling ruins/bridge
    escape the spreading fire
   claustrophobic corridors
   open dessert
   mist/overcast (walk into trap)
 
Pit trap (you fall down and are immediately surrounded)
Hunting (follow tracks, stalk prey, kill)

Rings/Brands - Game Mechanics - Modify Game Experience

The concept of rings within the context of a game is ...

After the rules of the game are illustrated to the player, rings  become available to the player which allow them to change the overall gameplay experience. (Do not make the rings available prior to making sure the player is well informed about the base gameplay experience).  Rings provide the ability to slightly "bend" the rules of the game without breaking the game.  This allows a level or strategy and customization to liven up the gameplay experience.(tailoring it to the user's play style).

1) the player must earn the ring (find it, quest for it, etc.)
2) rings can only be equipped given the slots available to the player (slots gained as the player progresses)
3) rings can have negative side effects (i.e. makes you deal more damage at the expense of health loss)
4) rings can have passive abilities (health regen) and active abilities (blind flash)
5) rings "active" abilities are often powerful game changers...
    as such may require recharge time,

some rings denote allegiance to a specific faction or deity, (and cannot be taken off... they can be "traded in" meaning you change factions) they may give you positive effects and ally yourself to a faction, but also makes you an enemy of another faction. (Thieves ring -- Thieves Guild... Nobles Ring -- Noble  nobles and thieves are enemies.)


Some examples of rings and effects:
Noble Ring -
Thieves Ring -
Gladiator Brand -
Sunlight - illuminates areas (damages enemies... vampires, blinds enemies, heals/buffs fire based enemies)
Silverlight - small illumination, flash stuns enemies (does damage to werewolves, heals some elemental enemies)
BloodLust - attack power up, defense down
FrostWard -
Familiar - a familiar fights by your side
MoonShadow - makes you harder to spot
Revelation - X-Ray - See through blocks / secret doors/ etc
DustWorm - squeeze in tight spots (secrets, etc.)
Chronos - Stun Grenade - stops enemies/slows time
Tractor Beam - pulls items / enemies towards you (must "look" or lock onto them)
Ward - Shield - mitigate damage or reflect damage (depends on angle of attack and direction of shield)
Stone - Bash/Knockback - knocks enemies back (removes shields?, may leave enemy stunned for counter or critical)

Rings - some of them need to "recharge" (the current charge level shows at top of screen)
(via sunlight, moonlight, starlight -- this takes time)
(via blood -- each enemy killed is sacrificed to the ring)
(via items - i.e. gems/gold, using this ring costs "ammunition" or sacrifices)

based on level, you only have a limited number of slots available for rings, so they need to be used wisely (swapping which equipment you have should be interesting part of the game)

A "Brand" is similar to a ring in that it has positive and negative aspects.

Unlike a ring, getting a brand is a big decision -> cannot be changed (no going back)
Brands have positive effects, but also negative effects... once you earn the ability to get a brand, and get branded you can never undo the brand.

Gladiator Brand - More powerful, but not able to associate with Nobles and other folks
Monk Brand - Outcast

Loading Screens, MP Lobbies... are they supposed to be boring?

Pure brainstorm here, but some nights at 3am I'm stuck waiting in a lobby for a game to begin for l4d.  Granted I'm an impatient type, but wouldn't it be cool if:

(Examples for Left 4 Dead)
The lobby itself could provide some level of entertainment... (I specifically like the banter between the survivors, maybe they could be in a safe room:
sleeping if they haven't been selected (bots) maybe they talk in their sleep
talking to each other if they have been selected.

maybe there is some radio broadcast or television show on that could be telling you things (i.e. giving you hints or tactics)  this could be dynamic, i.e. some DJ named Crazy nick on a HAM radio that is talking and telling you things, or a television broadcast from someone

Alternatively you could have some "televised" best of moments of teams in verses having great comebacks or funny other things that occurred from teams ingame.

Of course all of these things are just of the distraction variety, so you might run into people who are easily hypnotized...As soon as the game starts/ the door opens, it ends the broadcast

All Hail Pac-Man Championship Edition DX

If given the task of "rebooting" Pac-Man, I'm not exactly sure what I would do, probably spend a good deal of sleepless nights trying to figure out how I might refine the best designed video games of all time.  One thing is clear though, I would not have been able to come up with something as awesome as Pac-Man Championship Edition DX.

Here's a few quotes I pulled from Wikipedia (from Game Editiors) about the game:
"a master class in game design."
"more thrilling and addictive than ever."
"insanely addicting."
"a game you'll want to instantly evangelise to anyone with even the vaguest sense of what makes a game good."
"one of this year's best and purest arcade experiences and definitely a must-buy."
"sensory overload of the highest order, the kind of game that leaves your eyeballs dry, your nerves shot, and every last bit of you wanting more."


I couldn't agree more, the game is stellar... Kudos to producer Nobutaka Nakajima and director Tadashi Iguchi
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3867/reawakening_the_sleeping_giant_.php

I really think they did an awesome job of distilling the game down to it's essence: "I think one of the major reasons why Pac-Man is still a very good game and a very compelling experience is the whole "tag" aspect, between Pac-Man and the ghosts."--Tadashi Iguchi


You know for years I've played the game, and I never thought about it that way, it's just a game of tag...


"the only things we should be changing are the game tempo and the map design."


I'd love to hear theories to why the team decided to do what they did with the game.  All of the additions (from a gameplay perspective) are just awesome, some of the things you'll notice right off the bat:
1) Bombs
2) Sleeping Ghosts
3) Slowdown Effect when close to ghosts
4) Ghosts with Power Pellets and Bombs 
...fit so well into the overall package, and the pacing is just so stellar.


From a game design perspective the whole package just kills.


From the start you only have a few levels unlocked, and many of them are short (1 minute or less) and very simple, so instead of a boring tutorial, in seconds you are chomping down ghosts and immediately unlocking new levels. (And you aren't trying to figure out the control scheme, or going through some tutorial or story cutscene intro)... Bravo, just bravo.




The fact that the game is non-linear is a big win, I love how they bring you into the game Only a few levels are unlocked from the git-go, and immediately (within seconds) you are chomping ghosts, finishing levels and unlocking other parts of the game.  


Levels that take under a minute, it's like a hit off a crack pipe, it's so easy to approach the game, "Oh I'll just jump in and get my fix, then get out... 3 hours later..."


They took the core of what makes Pac-Man fun and amplified it to astronomically insane proportions.  I dare you to play for 30 minutes and not have a few moments where you smile or feel the tension, but overall you walk away feeling better. 


They really took a page out of Toru Iwatani's book and frankly the guy says so many things that are noteworthy he needs his own post
“The development of the hardware, and the greater ability to express every idea that flies into a programmer’s head, mean that game creators have made the new games congested with every technique in their power. The basic games behind all this are so blurred that people can’t catch up. We should go back to basics — like Pac-Man — and play in an easier, more relaxed way.”

"Perfect" Video Game (Mechanics)

So looking back over the years I've played games, I can think of a few games which I would define as "perfect" in the sense that :
1) the control scheme was intuitive (to the point that you don't need to read the manual, you just feel the game)
2) the game's incentive/risk structure is appropriate (the incentives to do things are clear, the risks are also clear)

In general you want a control scheme that doesn't require a manual, that if you look at gameplay footage you already know how it works.  or if you were to walk up to an arcade cabinent you could play immediately

Best joystick
Better joystick/button
Good 2 thumbsticks (thumbstick shooters)
Ok 2 thumbsticks 2 triggers
joystick/thumbstick movement

Honorable mention (and why they aren't winners)
Gauntlet : the magic button seems superfluous, only because it's only used a small fraction of the time
Double Dragon: damn jump button and platforming sections... killed me more than enemies, no real incentives I think Final Fight is an improvement (much like many other Capcom beat em ups)
Golden Axe: I like the magic incentive, more potions = more powerful magic, joystick, attack,jump,magic (run double tap) but the magic button is underutilized, and platform sections kinda hurt this game (you jump to high, and fall down pits easily)
1942: joystick/shoot/bomb (although bomb is underutilized)

OK, from the top of my head

Geometry Wars: Incentive Multiplier, dual stick controls, awesome
pong: Perfect because it is exactly the minimal of what it needs be
Space Invaders : left/right fire (bonus ship also interesting risk/reward)
Galaga: Love the risk reward of enemy ships getting closer to you
Pitfall: left/ right/ jump
Final Fight: Jump, attack, move (simple) incentives (meat, points) grab (get close)
Tetris: left rotate/right rotate drop
Diablo: point and click at it's finest
Life Force/Gradius : move/shoot/missles


Donkey Kong : controls joystick, jump, that's it...
Marble Madness: the ball controls the ball... brilliant
Pac man: the brilliance of just a joystick controls ... the progressively multiplicative value of eating ghosts is brilliant

Character Classes

Character Classes
The Order of the (Eagle, Crow, Tiger, Stag, Steed, Bear)
Cleric  (Eagle) Distance Buffs/Summons/Fear Chain And Arc Attacks
Sorcerer (Crow) Distance (Area of Effect Spells) Curses
Monk (Tiger) Mid Range/Close Range Speedy Attacks hit Multiple Enemies
Rogue (Stag) Distance Ranged Weapons (Speed)
Paladin (Steed) Close Range Steed Shield Bash CounterAttack
Barbarian (Bear) Close Range Bashing Attacks knock down area of effect bashes Charge

Monsters, Creatures

Looter > collects things off of dead/ steal items from character
Scavenger > loots things from dead bodies (Pack of Hyenas)
Siren > Song that can Possess you (make you run away you loose control) or stun you
Succubus >
Manticore > scorpion tail can stun
Tendrill > slow but can "elongate" to attack you
Centaur (Centaur Chieftain) > charge attack
Wyvern > different variants (fire, ice) shoot ranged
Gargoyle > lies in wait, ambushes you
HellHound > attack in packs (where there is one there are more) make noise to know of their presence
Gorgon > turns you to stone
VineLurker > vine appendages emanate from the creature that and constrict you, you can "beat a path through" to the center OR hit the eye/center with Ranged attacks)
Creeper > looks like poison plant, but moves area of effect spore attack
Mimic > can disguise itself as Chest, Powerful monster i.e. Dragon, etc.)
SpineHound/HedgeHound
Dark Harvester > revives/resurrects any beast (or human) to turn it against you
Yeti
Gore-beast Horned (like a rhino charges and gores you)
Dervish/Typhoon
Musk/Mist
Drake
Wisp
TendrilHulk
Gloom--
--Guardian
Kraken
Lizard Man
Corpse
Golem
Stalker
Shambler
Lich
Omen
Horror
Jelly > if attacked and not killed splits in 2 with 50% HP each
-Mole
-Rot Rotten-
Sprite
Pixie
Wraith
Necro-
Phantom/Poltergeist
Needle-
Revenant
Putrid -
Urchin
Wither
-Fiend- (Bone Fiend)
-Vermin
Wasp
Scorpion
MantaWraith (Shock/Lightning)
Python/Serpent
Gremlin
Squid
Balrog
Spider/Arachnid
SerpentMan
Parasites (attach on you and hard to remove...Burn of Poison off)
Leech (Variants)
Mite (Variants)

Creature Variations (Extremes)
Small Enemies   Giant Enemies
Magical      Physical

Stealthy    - Luminescent

Texture (Furry - Spiny - Armored->Slimy-> Thorny ->smooth->scaly ->gas->liquid)

(Slow lumbering -> Quick Agile)

(Tiny -> gigantic)

Aggressive -> Passive->Peaceful->Friendly (Familiar)

Parasitic (Mites, Ticks, Leaches) Symbiotic (Faeries, Sprites, Familiars)

Natural(Vines) Unnatural(Undead) SuperNatural (Wisp)

Solitary(Phantom) Pack Creatures(HellHound)

Flying (Harpy/Succubus) Underground Enemies (BurrowBeast)

Types of Damage:
Piercing/Gouging (through armor armor absorbs a minimal amount of damage... the armor's durability is damaged)
Bashing (armor absorbs some percentage but takes durability damage)
Constricting (attack damage is lessened/interrupted more often, immobile)
Ripping/Tearing/Slashing (on flesh causes bleeding)
Interrupts (if in middle of attack your attack is interrupted)

Example ways in which creatures attack you (their weapons)
Tail (whipping/bashing)
Tongue (whipping, constricting)
Spit/Vomit (ranged)
Melee (Normal Weapons Swords/Clubs/Flails)
Spines (shooting)
Jaws/Teeth (Biting can transmit disease and cause bleed damage)
Thorns (ThornHulk uses thorn branches to attack)
Acid/Venom (on fangs or shot does physical damage or damage to weapons/armor)
Claws/Pinchers/Talons  (physical damage, slashing bleeding damage)
Stinger (bees/scorpions do stun damage, slow)
Horn (gouge damage, charge damage)
Elemental (fire, ice, shock)
Shock Damage has more effect if you are in water
Fire Damage has less effect if you are in water
Breath (elemental usually, also knockback and modifies environment (lights on fire or ice obstructions)
Spores (confuse, debuff, poison, slow) confuse can effect how you move (disorient you)
Noise (Sirens can charm/confuse/possess you or call in reenforcements to fight you, Roars can cause FEAR (vibration))
Light/Darkness (Enemies can "blind" you or "flashbang" stun you)
Web/Tar (Sticky stuff to limit your mobility and slow attacks/speed)
Ink (i.e. from a Squid - > blind)
Smoke (obstructs vision/blinds)
Gas
Magical Attacks (possess, curse,)
Constriction/Crushing (Python)
Undead (they should be described more discretely... undead 10th Legionaire, Gladiator Barbarian)

Defense mechanisms
Immunities (i.e. immune to fire, poison, dark magic, armor classes)
Some Enemies Reflect attacks (Monk particularly good at deflecting/reflecting physical attacks, Cleric Reflects spells)
Some Enemies are Healed by attacks (Spectres are healed and energized by some magic)
Play Dead
Cloak
Decoy (spiritual)
Spells Push
Spell Regen/Heal
Disarm
Explosive
Summon
Burrow (dig away)
Tangle (web, vines)
Curl up into ball (Defense, Turtle)
Smoke/Ink to evade and escape
Spines (if you hit them you take damage)
Spores/Gas(confuse or interrupt release if they are attacked)
Tar (slows you down)
Poison/Disease