1. Pandemic uses cooperation as players must work together to treat disease outbreaks around the world before they get out of control. Players share resources and have a common goal of curing diseases. 2. Cartagena the Escape has a rescue mechanic as players work cooperatively to escape from a prison. They must overcome obstacles and rescue each other from guards. 3. Space Alert puts players on a team as they cooperate to navigate a spaceship and complete missions amid threats. Players must communicate and work together in real-time to survive threats and accomplish their goals.

1. Level 5
David Mullich
Game Mechanics
The Los Angeles Film School

3. Resources
 Resources
 Production
 Consumption
 Investments
 Diminishing Returns
 Resource Management

4. Construction
 Construction
 Extended Actions
 Interruptible Actions
 Ownership
 Transfer of Control
 Constructive Play

5. Octalysis

7. Games Are Social In Nature
Even single-player ones.

8. Conflict
One or more parties, often players or players
against the game system, have goals that cannot
be satisfied together.

9. Sources of Conflict
 Combat
 Overcome
 Combat
 Seize Control/Ownership
 Combat
 Capture/Evade
 Combat
 Construct/Destroy
 Combat
 Player Elimination
 And don’t forget… Combat

10. Non-Combat Gaming
Extra Credits: How to make social mechanics fun

11. What Was The Main Message Of This
Video?

12. Simulating Social Mechanics
 Time Pressure on Dialog Choices
 Moves and Counter-Moves
 Skill Check Against Stats
 Persuasion Bar
 Persuading Voters

13. Let’s Leave That To Narrative Mechanic
Lecture

15. Social Interaction
When two or more players have two-way
communication between each other.

16. Why Designers Use Social Interaction
 Emotional Immersion
 Freedom of Choice
 Illusion of Influence

17. Social Interaction Design
Considerations
 Reasons for Communicating
 Get Something
 Performing Collaborative Actions
 Cooperation
 Communication Channels
 Natural
 Stimulated
 Pacing
 Turn-Based
 Real-Time

19. Competition
The struggle between players or against the game
system to achieve a goal where the performance of
the players can be measured at least relatively.

20. Forms Of Competition
 Enemies
 Incompatible Goals
 Preventing Goals
 Rewards

21. Direct vs. Indirect Competition
Direct
 Overcome
 King of the Hill
Indirect
 Races without Interference
 Last Man Standing

22. Why Designers Use Competition
Encourages:
 Conflict
 Tension
 Social Status
Discourages:
 Cooperation
 Alliances
 Experimenting

23. Competition Design Considerations
 Direct or Indirect?
 Symmetric, Asymmetric, or Unknown ?
 Outcome?

24. Player Killing
When players can intentionally or unintentionally
remove players from the game for at least a
period of time.

25. Why Designers Use Player Killing
Main Uses:
 Player Elimination (but with Respawning)
 Team Elimination
 Score Keeping
Encourages:
 Risk/Reward Decisions
 Social Status
Affects:
 Ownership
 Team Balance
 Team Play

26. Player Killing Design Considerations
 Penalties (for being killed)
 Respawning
 Friendly Fire
 Rewards (for killing)

27. Betrayal
One or several players that have an agreement with
other players intentionally fail to do as agreed or
otherwise hinder the fulfillment of the agreement.

28. Betrayal Elements
 Cooperation Between Players
 Commitment To A Goal
 Incentive For Breaking Commitment

29. Where Betrayal Can Occur
 Mutual Goals
 Collaborative Actions
 Player-Decided Rewards

30. Why Designers Use Betrayal
Promotes:
 Emotional Immersion
 Role-Reversal
 Leap Of Faith
Balances:
 Negotiation
 Trading
 Alliances

31. Betrayal Design Considerations
 What collaborative actions have a delayed
effect?
 What are players’ perceived chance of
individual rewards for betraying another
player?
 Do players have asymmetric information
about other player’s actions?
 Can bluffing be used to conceal betrayal?

33. Cooperation
Player cooperate; i.e., coordinate their actions
and share resources, in order to reach goals or
subgoals of the game.

34. Ways To Achieve Cooperation
 Team Play
 Mutual Goals With Shared Results
 Shared Rewards
 Collaborative Actions

35. Why Designers Use Collaboration
Encourages:
 Social Interaction
 Alliances
 Betrayal
 Constructive Play
Reduces:
 Competition
 Tension

36. Collaboration Design Considerations
 Shared Resources
 Mutual Goals
 Shared Rewards

37. Player-Decided Results
Players are responsible for deciding at least some of
the results of player actions, and their decisions are
not necessarily based on the rules of the game.

38. Alliances
A group of players who have agreed to obey
particular and specific rules of conduct toward each
other and who, usually, have a shared agenda.

39. Why Designers Use Alliances
Encourages:
 Team Play
 Social Organizations
Discourages:
 Competition

40. Alliances Design Considerations
 What are players’ mutual goals or common
enemies?
 What are the rules of conduct that players
can agree to?

41. Team Play
Players in a group or team coordinate their
actions, abilities and roles in order to reach a
common goal.

42. Ways To Use Team Play
 Avatars In Multiplayer Games
 Units in Single Player Games

43. Why Designers Use Team Play
Encourages:
 Social Interaction
 Cooperation
 Collaborative Actions
 Constructive Play
Discourages:
 Betrayal

44. Team Play Design Considerations
 What is the mutual goal and
its rewards?
 What are the shared
resources?
 Do teams form at the
beginning of the play
session, or dynamically
during gameplay?
 Does team play occur
between players or is it
simulated through units?
 How does each team
member feel important and
significant?

46. Trading
Players exchange a resource, whether it is
information, actions, or game elements, between
each other or the game system.

47. Why Designers Use Trading
Encourages:
 Social Interaction
 Cooperation
 Alternate Strategies For Progression
 Avoiding Strategies For Blocking Player
Progression
Balances:
 Resources

48. Trading Design Considerations
 Resources to be Traded
 Incentive
 Initiation (Offer)
 Bargaining (Optional)
 Resolution (Exchange)
Special Cases:
 Ransom
 Gifts

49. Bidding
Players invest resources, usually some kind of
currency, for an uncertain outcome in order to get
a reward of some kind.

50. Why Designers Use Bidding
Encourages:
 Competition For Resources
 Player-Defined Goals
 Transfer Of Control Of Resources
 Conversion Of Resources
 Trade-Offs
 Alternate Strategy To Combat

51. Bidding Design Considerations
 Are player bids known to other players?
 What order do players bid in?
 Can players negotiate during bidding?
 Can players be eliminated during bidding?
 How does bidding end?
 How is outcome determined?
Special Cases:
 Auctions
 Voting

52. Bluffing
Players have a possibility to convey false
information to other players in order to benefit
from their situation.

53. Why Designers Use Bluffing
Encourages:
 Betrayal
 Makes Trading, Betting, Bidding More
Complex
 Social Skills To Random Situations

54. Bluffing Design Considerations
 What asymmetric information can be the
basis for bluffing?
 How is false information indirectly
communicated from one player to another?
 What are the rewards and penalties for
bluffing?

56. Eliminate
Remove a game element from its location in
the game space.

57. Examples Of Elimination
 Remove An Element That Hinders Player
Actions
 Remove A Threat To The Player’s Goals
 Removal Is A Goal Itself

58. Why Designers Use Elimination Goals
 Turn Player Into a Consumer of Game
Elements
 Prevent Opponent’s Survive or Evade Goals
 Speed Up and Simplify End Game
Encourages:
 Conflict
 Tension
 High-Level Closures

59. Eliminate Design Considerations
 What game element is eliminated?
 How is the elimination achieved?
 Is the elimination permanent?

60. Rescue
The goal of freeing someone or something
that is guarded.

61. Why Designers Use Rescue Goals
 Prevents Guard Goals
 Narrative Structure
Encourages:
 Conflict

62. Rescue Design Considerations
 What/who must be rescued?
 What obstacles must be overcome?
 Does the hostage need to be moved to a
safe area?
 Do the players have other goals besides
rescuing?

63. Choose one of the following games to play:
 Boomtown (3-5p, 30m)
 *Cartagena the Escape (2-5p, 30m)
 Colossal Arena (2-5p, 40-60m)
 For Sale (3-6p, 20-30m)
 Forbidden Island (2-4p, 30m)
 Money (3-5p, 20-30m)
 *Pandemic (2-4p, 45m)
 *Quo Vadis (3-5p, 45m)
 Space Alert (1-5p, 30m)
 The Downfall of Pompeii (2-4p, 45)

64. Group Quest
Design an analog game prototype using
mechanics supporting one of the following goals:
 Eliminate
 Rescue

66. Negotiation
A situation where the players confer with each
other in order to reach an agreement or
settlement.

67. Examples of Negotiations
 Collaborate Actions
 Players Exchanging Resources
 Deciding When To Use Asymmetric Abilities
 Deciding When To Use Shared Resources
 Player-Decided Results
 Deciding On Handicaps For Balancing

68. Why Designers Use Negotiations
Encourages:
 Social Interaction
 Transfer of Control
 Alliances
 Game Mastery
 Engagement During Downtime
Balances:
 Players

69. Negotiation Design Considerations
 How are negotiations initiated?
 How does bargaining occur?
 How are agreements reached?
 Can third parties interrupt the negotiation?
 How are agreement breaches handled?

70. Player Negotiation Scenarios

71. Social Dilemma
Players tend to compete against each other even
though cooperation would be best for all
involved.

72. Why Designers Use Social Dilemmas
Encourages:
 Betrayal
 Tension
 Risk/Reward Decisions
Balances:
 Alliances

73. Social Dilemma Design
Considerations
 What are the shared penalties for
cooperating?
 What are the individual rewards for
betrayal?

74. Research and use the LMS to report on
games using group activities discussed in
class.