1. Identify the basic elements in a game of your choice (actions, goals, rules, objects, playspace, players).
I’ll pick a game I revisited this summer: Pokemon Heartgold. It was my first Pokémon game and my first Nintendo game (back when the Nintendo DS was all the rage). In my (very biased viewpoint) it still is one of the best Pokemon games (your Pokémon even walked with you!).
Actions
- Explore the Johto and Kanto regions
- Catch Pokemon
- Battle trainers
- Battle gym leaders
- Hatch Pokémon eggs
- Talk to NPCs (hoping they’d give you freebies)
- Enter Pokémon in marathon contests
Goals
- Collect all eight badges
- Level up Pokemon
- Catch all Pokemon (complete the Pokédex)
- Complete the storyline
- Become champion!
- Defeat special characters (Red, Kimono Girls, Gym Leader rematches)
Rules
- Collect the eight badges to access Pokémon League
- Can’t move onto the next city/area without completing certain tasks
- No stealing other trainers’ Pokémon
- Pokémon will disobey you without the relevant gym badges
- The need and use of HMs (Hidden moves) (Can’t cross large bodies of water without Surf, can’t break rocks without Rock Smash, etc.)
Objects (not all are listed)
- Poke Balls (of various kinds)
- Vitamins (for powering up Pokémon stats)
- Berries
- Incense
- TM/HM (technical and hidden moves)
- Key Items (like fishing rods, mail, berry pots, squirtbottle)
- Exp Share
- Lucky Egg
Playspace
- Digital
- Not open world, more of a linear path
- Map provided to navigate space
Players
- One, but can interact with other players through trading (often for version-exclusive Pokémon)
2. As a thought experiment, swap one element between two games: a single rule, one action, the goal, or the playspace. For example, what if you applied the playspace of chess to basketball? Imagine how the play experience would change based on this swap.
How about the rule in Dodgeball (hitting people with the ball means they’re out) applied to Hide and Seek? There would be the usual gameplay of one person being ‘It’, counting to 100, then venturing off to find everyone else. When the person who’s ‘It’ finds someone, they have to hit that person with a ball for them to be out. Otherwise, that person could go hide somewhere else, continuing their time in the game.
The innocent game of Hide and Seek turns a lot more terrifying (yes, getting hit by a dodgeball is terrifying). I would imagine the anticipation and fear of being found is heightened, and the game intensified. Being found by ‘It’ would lead to more than one outcome — someone can get hit by the ball (ending their gameplay) or dodge the ball and hide elsewhere (continuing their playtime).
Personally, I wouldn’t play this game — high school and middle school gym times made me learn that Dodgeball isn’t quite as fun when you can’t dodge. But! I’d love to watch such an intense round of Hide and Seek.
3. Pick a simple game you played as a child. Try to map out its space of possibility, taking into account the goals, actions, objects, rules, and playspace as the parameters inside of which you played the game. The map might be a visual flowchart or a drawing trying to show the space of possibility on a single screen or a moment in the game.
Flappy Bird’s only objective was to last as long as possible until meeting ultimate death.
The longer you last, the higher your score.
4. Pick a real-time game and a turn-based game. Observe people playing each. Make a log of all the game states for each game. After you have created the game state logs, review them to see how they show the game’s space of possibility and how the basic elements interact.
Real-time game:
Kahoot
Game States
Comments / Elements
Opening
- Players chose a game name
Waiting for question
- Players have a few seconds to recover from the last question and wait for the upcoming one
Comments / Elements
- Builds anticipation, which sometimes causes players to choose answers by reflex
- Gives a ‘break’ between questions, players are seen conversing, or revising their game plan
Choosing an answer
- Players see the question and answer options
- There is a timer that is counting down
- Players chose an answer
Comments / Elements
- Players’ score is based on speed and correctness
- A lot of players either chose with confidence or chose randomly and hope for the best
- Some players realize they chose the incorrect answer afterwards (signs of regret could be seen)
Checking the results
- Correct answer is revealed
- Player’s standing is shown (ranking based on points earned)
- Data on how many players chose which answer is also shown
Comments / Elements
- Players are motivated (or demotivated) to achieve a higher ranking (or beat whoever is ranked directly above them)
End State
- Top three players are shown (with total points)
- All other players’ ranks are shown (with total points)
- Winners are determined and celebrated with a confetti screen
Turn-based game:
Pokémon Showdown (turn based battle system)
Game State
Comments / Elements
Opening
- One player sends a challenge the other
Player 2 accepts the challenge, beginning the game
Comments / Elements
- Challenger sets the rules (which generation of Pokémon, items included, randomized team, etc)
Game time
- Players alternate choosing an action (Pokémon use move or switch out), once per turn
- Held items may affect Pokémon’s damage dealt, HP, statuses, and more.
- Players attempt to defeat all Pokémon on the other player’s team. When a Pokémon team is completely defeated, the player has lost
Comments / Elements
- There are many possibilities depending on players’ choices
- Players can choose to stall (use recovery and status moves) or attack aggressively (use hard-hitting or attack increasing moves)
- Players might have a very useful held item (focus sash, leftovers) which they can use to play to their Pokémon’s strengths
- Players might want to take advantage of Pokémon’s abilities, which also affects a Pokémon’s competitiveness
Closing
- Win / loss (whoever’s team is all defeated first loses)
It was interesting watching both gameplays while keeping an eye out for different states and player’s actions in response. I considered both games to be intuitive and simple when I started the assignment, and changed my mind after completion. Everything about the mons in Pokémon adds to the complexity and alters the win/lose possibility of a Pokémon Showdown game. A player has to consider each Pokémon’s type effectiveness, ability, move set, and held item, as well as how each of these aspects works with the others. For both their team AND the enemy team. I understand Pokémon fans’ frustrations when a Pokémon’s ability or typing is changed, but also understand how difficult is it for the game makers to balance out every Pokémon as they add in new ones with new typings.
