Games, Design and Play: Elements

Q1: Identify the basic elements in a game of your choice (actions, goals, rules, objects, playspace, players).

Badminton

Action: Players need to perform a variety of strokes to hit the shuttlecock across the net to the other side of the net.

Serve: Players start the game by serving to the opponent within the service box. There is a mixture of long & short serves.

Smash: This is a powerful downward shot, aimed to end the rally.

Clear: This is a high, overhead shot, aimed to push the opponent to the back of the court.

Net: This is a soft touch shot played at the net.

Lift: This is a long swing shot, played at the net to push the opponent to the back of the court.

Drive: This is a half-court shot, usually flat and fast, aimed a little higher than the net.

Drop Shot: This is a soft shot from the back of the court, aimed to move opponents to the net.

Footwork: Movement around the court (Usually around the 6 main points of the court).

 

Goals: 

Primary Goal: Players need to score points by landing the shuttlecock into the opponent’s side of the court (within play area), without them successfully returning it.

Winning a point: Players need to score points in order to win. You win a point every time your opponent is unable to successfully return the shuttle. You also lose a point, if you cannot do the same. In a competition, this would mean a game of 21 points, best of 3 sets. Duce is called if the players play till 20-20. The game will continue until there is a clear 2 point margin, i.e 22-20. Otherwise, players continue to play to 30 points. The first person to reach 30 will win (sudden death).

 

Rules: 

Scoring: Points are scored when the opponent fails to return the shuttlecock or hits it out of the play area. (Explained earlier)

Serving: The server must serve diagonally into the opponent’s service box. The service alternates after each point. Stand on the left for odd points, right for even points.

Boundaries: Shots must land within the designated court area (singles or doubles) to count. The play area for the singles game is smaller than the play area for the doubles games. 

Faults: Points or serves are lost if the shuttlecock hits the net, goes out of bounds, or is hit more than once per side. Points are also lost if the player misses the shot or hits the shot without successfully sending the shuttlecock over the net. 

Winning: A player must win by at least two points if both players/teams reach 20-20. (Explained earlier)

 

Objects: 

Badminton racket: Used by players to hit the shuttlecock

Shuttlecock: Feathered object for players to hit

Net: Used to divide the two sides of the court, shuttlecock must be hit over the net. 

 

Playspace: A rectangular court divided by two ways with a net & with floor markings for the play area. Rubber courts / wooden floors / hard courts are also possibilities.

 

Players – 2 or 4 players. Singles – 2 players, one on each side of the court (Male vs Male, Female vs Female), Doubles – 4 players, 2 on each side of the court (Male + Male / Female + Female), Mixed doubles – 4 players, 2 on each side of the court (Male+Female in a team)

 

Q2: 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.

Candy Crush in a Monopoly Playspace

Candy Crush Playspace: a simple grid of candies, with different shapes for the candies to move

Monopoly Playspace: rectangular board with different landing spaces, each with different functions.

 

Instead of a linear race to the top to see who clears the most levels, Candy Crush in a Monopoly playspace would mean that players will now get to play and interact with their friends by moving across a Monopoly board. 

Movement: Instead of progressing through the different levels in a linear manner, players would now roll a dice to move between different landing spaces, unlocking a new puzzle each time they land on a property / utility & if they decide to “buy” the property. 

Properties: By landing on the properties, players will have a chance to play the candy puzzle to unlock that property. The candy puzzles get harder with more expensive properties.

Monetary Aspect: Landing on “Go”, “Chance” or “Community Chest” could earn you boosters to be used for different puzzles.

Jail: Failing a puzzle three times in a row could send you to “jail,” where you have to complete specific puzzles or pay with boosters to get out. 

Playspace as a Foundation of Game’s Structure

Upon reflection, I realized that the playspace does not only “put objects into use and to help create physical and conceptual relationships” (Chapter 1 of readings), it further defines the scope of player interaction by shaping the ways players navigate their environment, interact and perceive the game’s objectives. Changing this influences the conditions in which rules, actions, and goals unfold

In Candy Crush, the original grid focuses the player’s attention on individual moves, minimizing external distractions and emphasizing puzzle-solving. However, changing the playspace into Monopoly board introduces randomness (from dice rolls), and social interaction (as players share the space).

This shift fundamentally alters the player experience:

• In the original playspace, every action serves to directly solve the puzzle. Players align candies to complete puzzles.
• In the Monopoly-inspired playspace, movement between properties introduces a layer of uncertainty and tactical decision-making about where to go, how to spend resources, and how to out manoeuvre opponents.

 

Q3: 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.

Old Maid

Presentation1

 

Q4: 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.

1. Real-Time Game: Tag

• Actions:
  • Chasing, dodging, and tagging.
• Goals:
  • “It” player: Tag another player.
  • Other players: Avoid being tagged.
• Rules:
  • One player starts as “It.”
  • Once the “It” player tags another player, that person becomes the new “It.”
  • The game continues indefinitely or until players decide to stop or set a timer.
• Objects:
  • There are no physical objects in basic Tag
• Playspace:
  • Typically an open field, playground, or park, where the space limits the play area. The size of the space can vary depending on the number of players.
• Players:
  • A group of players. One player starts as “It,” and the others are evading that player.

Simple Game State Example:

1. Start:
   • “It”: Player A.
   • Positions: All players standing in different spots on the field.
2. 5 seconds later:
   • Player A runs toward Player B.
   • Player B tries to avoid getting tagged.
3. 10 seconds later:
   • Player A tags Player B.
   • Now “It”: Player B starts chasing Player C.

Space of Possibility:

• The possibilities are endless and changing within the play area
  • Players can move in any direction, and at any moment.
    • A player might zigzag, sprint, or hide behind an obstacle.
    • The “It” player might chase different players or change direction unpredictably.

Interaction:

• Players constantly respond to each other’s movements. If Player A (the “It”) runs toward Player B, Player B will immediately react by moving in the opposite direction.
• The game is dynamic, with no clear pathway of getting tagged / tagging. 

2. Turn-Based Game: Tic-Tac-Toe

• Actions:
  • Placing an X or O on the grid.
  • Each player takes one action per turn.
• Goals:
  • First player to get 3 of your marks (X or O) in a row, column, or diagonal wins.
• Rules:
  • Players take turns placing their mark (X or O) on the grid.
  • A player can only place their mark in an empty square.
  • The game ends when one player gets 3 marks in a row or all squares are filled (resulting in a win or draw).
• Objects:
  • A 3×3 grid (usually drawn on paper or a board).
  • X and O symbols (which are placed in the grid).
• Playspace:
  • The 3×3 grid, which has 9 squares.
• Players:
  • 2 players (Player X and Player O).

Simple Game State Example:

1. Start:
   • Empty board.
   • Player X’s turn.
2. Player X’s move:
   • Board: X placed in the center.
   • Now Player O’s turn.
3. Player O’s move:
   • Board: X in the center, O placed in the top-left.
   • Now Player X’s turn.

Space of Possibility:

• The space of possibility is finite. The game has a fixed number of possible moves (9 spaces on the grid).
• Each player has limited choices at any given moment: place an X or O in one of the empty squares. As the game progresses, the number of available moves decreases, reducing the space of possibilities.

Interaction:

• Each player’s move changes the board state, which directly impacts the opponent’s available choices. For example:
  • If Player X places an X in the center, Player O might respond by placing an O in a corner to prevent a winning line.
• The interaction between the players is tactical, with each player reacting to the other’s moves and planning future steps based on the current board.