Game Analysis at HEVGA PhD Summer School

Game Analysis
Petri Lankoski
petri.lankoski@sh.se

Me…
Petri Lankoski, HEVGA Research Summer School 2019
• Game analysis
• Game design research
• Game character design
• Games as fictions
• Emotions
• Character engagement
• Empathy / sympathy /
antipathy
• Interpretation
• Alignment
• Embodiment
• Game research methods

● Formal analysis of gameplay
● Using formal analysis to compare games
● Formal analysis and narration
Today’s agenda

Formal analysis framework
• Components
• Actions
• Player actions
• Component actions
• System actions
Primitives
Goals
Lankoski & Björk, 2015

Space Invaders

Hulk

Comparing games

“We see this in the game X, hence all games
have this effect”

● Questions as follows can be addressed using formal analysis
● How X is similar or different to A, B, and C
● If a set of games share much features, one has grounds to
extrapolate ones findings to that set of games
● Note: representation matters
Example: Comparing games

Elder Scrolls: Skyrim Nethack
Walk x x
Look at to direction x
Sprint x
Jump x
Sneak x class-dependent
Wield or sead a weapon x x
Wear clothes or armor x x
Attack or shoot x x
Active, use, and pick up x x
Cast a spell x x
Dying Game ends. Player can continue from the last save Game ends. All progress is lost; chance that
character remains remain (including its items) and
can be found in a later play session
Comparing component actions

● Time
● Component action in Nethack
● Time advances when player makes an action
● System action in the Elders Scrolls: Skyrim
● Time advances independently
Comparing actions

Nethack Elders Scroll V: Skyrim

● In many ways, the games are similar
● Notable differences that shape the experience
● Representation of the game world and characters
● Time
● Permadeath vs no permadeath
● Combat requires different types of skills and thinking
● Tactical vs switch skill
● Behaviors will be similar because of actions
● (micro-level behaviors differ)
Comparing games

Elders Scroll V: Skyrim World of Warcraft
These are similar and different

In terms of your research, it is important to think how form of
studied games influence play behaviors and experience
Not all games are equal
?

Formal analysis and narration

Shopping mall toilet, after a cut-scene introducing Douglas (a private investigator)
1. I tried to move Heather back to corridor where Douglas is waiting. Heather refuses "That
weird old detective is out there, so I am not leaving.” Player action – character action
disparity
2. Heather looks at a symbol on mirror when near Character action triggered proximity of an
object
3. Heather comments when looking at the mirror "I don't like mirrors. [...]” Player action –
contextual character action
4. When acting on the mark on the mirror "That mark on this mirror... It looks so familiar
somehow. [...]" Save screen appears Player action – contextual character action
5. Action on small window at the back of the ladies room starts a cut-scene where Heather
climbs out through the window. Note that climbing action is an action that is not always
available.
...
Example: Notes for formal analysis

● Cut-scenes
● Player actions do not influence the game state
● Player actions – Component actions
● Player actions are translated to the component actions
● Pressing thump stick forward makes the PC move forward
● Guiding the PC to exit the the toilet prompts the PC refusal
● Component actions are represented (like in every game)
● Goals are only implied
● Survive
● Find out what happened in the PC’s childhood
Example: Silent Hill 3

We have some insights on how the Silent Hill 3 works in rather
low level
So what?

How game events are interpreted?
● Event Index model
● Time
● Space
● Entity
● Causation
● Motivation
● (e.g., Zwaan, 2016)
● Person schema
● Body
● Perceptual activity and self-
awareness
● Intentional actions
● Emotions
● The ability to use language
● Persistent traits (e.g., personality)
● (e.g., Smith, Engaging characters)
Game interpretation is a form of story comprehension!

● Game events are information used in story comprehension
● Components = entities
● Character entities are the most interesting ones
● Intentions <= intentional actions <= actions
● Actions are regulated by a game
In order to play: primitives and goals needs to be represented!
How game events are interpreted?

Narrative = a specific kind of interpretation of causally linked events with
entities with intentions
Narration = all kinds of information feeding the narrative

All characters
● Perceivable features
● What is told about characters
● Cut-scenes
● How other characters react to the character
actions
● (Other sources)
PC
● Goals
● Tells about intensions
● Possible and impossible actions
● What are made possible and what are
left impossible
● what is hard or easy
● Predefined functions
● How actions are executed (speed, style,
strength, etc.)
● Voice over narration
theory + form => character narration

Goal structure regulate actions

● Single point of view
● Vs e.g., Fahrenheit where the player is not always confided to what the PC is perceiving
● Journey to the PC’s childhood memories
● Silent Hill is a metaphor
● But the game takes her literally back to her childhood
● Detective structure
● Finding out what happened in the past
● Horror effect
● Sympathy with the PC vs antipathy
● “Monsters? They look like monsters to you?”
Narration in Silent Hill 3

● Look at the games you (or one of you in your group) are using in their studies
● Analyze the features
● What are implications of those features in terms of generalizing your findings?
Groupwork

Game Analysis at HEVGA PhD Summer School

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