CFC Day 2 The game industry and game design

Friday, January 30, 2015 Emma Westecott 1
The Modern History of the Games Industry
Emma Westecott
Assistant Professor: Game Design, OCAD
ewestecott@faculty.ocad.ca

Friday, January 30, 2015 Emma Westecott Source: Mayra, F. (2008) “An Introduction to Game
Studies: Games in Culture”. Sage: London.
Prehistory of Games
• Games and play appear to be cultural
universals - they are found everywhere.
• Anthropologist Edward Tylor (1879) suggested
that dice games have their origin in divination.
• Sacred and profane use of games have existed
side-by-side.
• Warning tales about games’ power, and laws
regulating gambling and gameplay have been
recorded from multiple societies.

Games’ Holding Power
• Games are capable of capturing attention
and energy, and holding them for extended
periods of time.
• Societies have found it necessary to control
this power of games in multiple ways.
• The holding power of games is one of the
major research problems in Game Studies:
why do we play games?

Earliest Digital Games
• Impulse to ‘hack’, or play around with computers’
possibilities.
• Even in 1945, Alan Turing used chess playing as
an example of what computer could do.
• The first functional chess program was written in
1950.
• UNIVAC, the first commercial computer, had
construction costs close to one million dollars in
1951 - its use was extremely expensive and
controlled.

Tic-Tac-Toe (A. S.
Douglas,1952)
• Early demonstration of
computer game with
graphical user interface:
‘OXO’, a version of
tic-tac-toe for the British
EDSAC computer.
See:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCTRWD3DF
sA
Tic-Tac-Toe, created by A. S. Douglas, 1952. Image credit: Martin Campbell-
Kelly, Department of Computer Science,
University of Warwick.

Other Early Demonstrations
• In January 1947, a patent application for a
‘cathode-ray amusement device’ was recorded.
• The patent was granted to an electronic missile
firing game, designed by Thomas T. Goldsmith
Jr. and Estle Ray Mann.
• In 1958, Willy Higginbotham, working for
Brookhaven National Laboratory, implemented a
two-player tennis game using analogue
computer and an oscilloscope for display.
• See ‘Tennis for Two’ video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2E9iSQfGdg

Early Commercial Video Games
• Commercial disputes surround the question
of who ‘invented’ video games.
• Electronic games appear to have been
implemented in various forms by multiple
groups and individuals.
• Engineer Ralph Baer developed a
commercial television game system in 1966-
1969.
• The system became known as Magnavox
Odyssey - it came packed with twelve games.

Games of Magnavox Odyssey
Source: http://www.pong-story.com/odyssey.htm

From Spacewar! (1962) to Atari
• Stephen ‘Slug’ Russell, with fellow students, implemented
an early ‘space shooter’ game for DEC Digital PDP-1
computer.
• Nolan Bushnell, with Ted Dabney, developed coin-
operated arcade game Computer Space, released by
Nutting Associates in 1971.
• Bushnell and Dabney founded Atari, Inc. in 1972, and
released their tennis game, PONG, developed by engineer
Al Alcorn.
• Sanders/Magnavox sued Atari, which settled out of court
and paid licence fees to produce electronic ping-pong
games – the video game industry had been born.

Multi-Layered Meaning Making
• Behind their digital surface, many games are
‘remediated’ versions of old games.
• Digital information technology adds a specific
layer of meaning to digital games.
• Each generation of digital games has been
visually different from the previous - they
demonstrate the powers of latest technology.
• Core gameplay is an embedded shell, which
extends beyond games’ graphics to the
significance of gaming hardware itself.
• This lesson involves playing two old games
online.

Games at the Forefront of
Computing
• Representatives of the games industry have
emphasised the role of games in the evolution of
computing.
• Non-keyboard interfaces, immersive alternative
realities and anthropomorphic characters were
introduced by games (Bushnell, 1996).
• Games demonstrate how computer software can
be designed to be highly usable and enjoyable.
• According to this view, games lead the way into
an information society where most people are
‘computer literate’.

Game ‘Classics’
• The concept of ‘classic’ relates to a ‘standard of
excellence’, which is referred to in discussions
that compare, contextualise and make sense of
different (artistic) phenomena.
• ‘Canon’ refers to a body of ‘great works’ that a
civilised person is supposed to know.
• This textbook introduces a certain group of
‘classic games’ but many alternative ‘canons of
digital games’ can be created.

Three Decades of Digital Games
• The focus is on three decades: 1970s, 1980s
and 1990s.
• There is no agreement of the exact periods in
games’ historiography.
• The ‘golden age of video games’ can, in different
sources, refer to e.g. the years 1978–1981,
1978–1985, 1971–1983 or 1971–1984.
• The early period is generally seen as more
influential, original and important for game
development than the years from late-1980s
onwards.

Games in the Information
Society
• Several thinkers have written about transition
into an ‘information society’, where the main
emphasis is on knowledge and information in
various forms.
• The instability of the games industry has
displayed the risks of an information economy.
• History includes the video game crash of 1977,
then 1983, and the ‘dot-com crash’ of 2000-
2002.
• Despite this, the trend appears to be moving
towards ‘experience economy’ or ‘media
society’.

1970s: Learning the Lexicon
• The 1970s introduced the first video games,
both in arcades and into homes.
• 1970s’ digital games can appear primitive by
modern standards.
• The earliest digital games relied on
experiences people had from other games.
• Growing gradually more complex, the early
games introduced players with the evolving
‘grammar and lexicon’ (sets of key
conventions) of gaming.

PONG (1972): Popular and
Simple
• Watch video of original arcade PONG gameplay:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LPkUvfL8T1I&NR=1
• Play a simple, single-player version of PONG:
http://www.corporatedump.com/oldpong.html
• More PONG remakes: http://www.pong-story.com/pcpong.htm
Image credits: Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pong.png

History of Gaming Devices
• The physical and electronic characteristics of
gaming devices matter considerably for most
gamers.
• The earliest digital games were often created
with ‘mainframe’ computers in research
laboratories and universities.
• Four main routes of mainstream game evolution:
– arcade gaming consoles (‘arcade video games’)
– home video game consoles (‘video games’)
– home computers (‘computer games’)
– handheld consoles (‘electronic games’).

• There have been many
kinds of special controllers
developed for digital play.
• Sometimes a good
controller has provided a
particular system with the
necessary competitive
edge.
Evolution of Controllers
Above Atari VSC/Atari 2600
(1977); below, Nintendo
Famicom/NES (1983)
Image credits: Wikipedia, www.wikipedia.org

Shooter Game: Space Invaders (1978)
• Shooting galleries were popular
as fairground attractions.
• Different kinds of digital
‘shooters’ have become one of
the most popular kinds of action
games.
• Space Invaders by Japanese
Taito appeared as a “mixture
between pinball and a Marvel
comic”. (Sellers, 2001)
• Introduced ‘high score’ which
contributed to the social playability
of the game. Image credits: The International Arcade Museum, www.klov.com;
The History of Computing Project, www.thocp.net

Establishing Game Genres
• Simultaneous navigation and shooting is a test
of accuracy and hand-eye coordination skills.
• This style of core gameplay was one of the
earliest conventions to become established in
digital games.
• Game genres were based on groups of
conventions related to e.g. interaction available
for the players and to the game screen elements
(the ‘interface’) and game controllers.
• Important for the grammar and syntax of digital
games (gameplay lexicon) to develop further.

List of Best-Selling Games
The 20 best-selling console/handheld games, not
originally bundled.
1. Wii Play (Wii – 26.71 million)[70]
2. Wii Fit (Wii – 22.56 million)[70]
3. Nintendogs (DS – 22.27 million, all five versions combined)[71]
4. New Super Mario Bros. (DS – 21.39 million)[70]
5. Mario Kart Wii (Wii – 21.22 million)[70]
6. Pokémon Red, Blue, and Green (Game Boy – 20.08 million approximately: 10.23 million in Japan,[46] 9.85 million in US)[19]
7. Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! (DS – 18.59 million)[70]
8. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES – 18 million)[107]
9. Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (DS – 17.39 million)[72]
10. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2 - 17.33 million)[115]
11. Mario Kart DS (DS – 17.28 million)[70]
12. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec (PS2 – 14.89 million shipped)[104]
13. Pokémon Gold and Silver (Game Boy Color – 14.51 million approximately: 7.6 million in US,[19] 6.91 million in Japan)[46]
14. Super Mario Land (Game Boy – 14 million)[107]
15. Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day! (DS – 13.71 million)[71]
16. Wii Sports Resort (Wii – 13.58 million)[70]
17. Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire (GBA – 13 million)[79]
18. Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen (GBA – 11.82 million)[72]
19. Super Mario 64 (N64 – 11 million)[107]
20. Gran Turismo (PS1 – 10.85 million shipped)[104][105]
Source: www.wikipedia.org

Game Design
Emma Westecott
Assistant Professor: Game Design, OCAD
ewestecott@faculty.ocad.ca

Tracy Fullerton’s game design
elements
• Formal
• Dramatic
• Dynamic

Formal game elements
• Players (interaction patterns)
• Objectives (capture, chase, race, alignment,
rescue/escape, forbidden act, construction,
exploration, solution, outwit)
• Procedures (starting action, progression, special action
& resolving action)
• Rules (defining, restricting, effects)
• Resources (lives, units, health, currency, action,
power-ups, inventory, terrain, time)
• Conflict (obstacles, opponents, dilemmas)
• Boundaries
• Outcome

• The formal elements are the underlying system and
mechanics of the game. Your initial concept might
include some formal elements but as you move
forward you need to fill in that system more and more.
These are some questions to ask yourself:
– What is the conflict in my game?
– What are the rules and procedures?
– What actions do the players take and when?
– Are there turns? How do they work?
– How many players can play?
– How long does the game take to resolve?

To flesh out the game structure consider the following:
• Define each player’s goal
• What does a player need to do to win?
• Write down the single most important type of player action in the
game
• Describe how this functions
• Write down the procedures and rules in outline format
• Only focus on the most critical rules
• Leave all other rules until later
• Map out how a typical turn works. Using a flowchart is the most
effective way to do this.
• Define how many players can play
• How do these players interact with one another?

Matt Allmer’s 13 Basic Principles
(Gamasutra)
• Direction (leading and directing player
experience)
– Focal point (provide primary focus through clear
lines of sight, defined plot points & objectives)
– Anticipation (signify that something is about to
happen)
– Announce change (communicate changes,
especially if rare)

(Gamasutra)
• Behaviour
– Believable events and behaviour must occur
according to the logic and expectations of the player
– Overlapping events and behaviour (discover the
right amount of events to occur at any given
moment of time)
– Physics (keep in mind gravity, weight, mass,
density, etc. don’t be limited by it)
– Sound

(Gamasutra)
• Progression
– Pacing (keep in mind a desired sense of urgency,
the rate in which events occur, the level of
concentration required and how often events are
being repeated. Spread out the moments of high
concentration.)

(Gamasutra)
• Environment
– Spacing (understand how much space is available
on screen and in world, recognise the spatial
relationship between elements)

(Gamasutra)
• Method
– Linear design vs component breakdown

(Gamasutra)
• Foundation
– Player
– Communication
– Appeal

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