Games pod 01 -What are games?

Summary

In this lecture, Sarah Waterson introduces game design, emphasizing the importance of understanding games through various lenses: social science, humanities, and industry. She explains the role of games as designed interactions with rules and objectives. The lecture explores the global gaming market, cross-platform strategies, and the significant growth of mobile games. She also outlines production roles in game design and discusses the different genres of games. Students are encouraged to engage hands-on, designing games that reflect both gameplay mechanics and cultural impact, all within the current industry landscape.

Takeaways

• 😀 Game design is a multidisciplinary field, intersecting areas like communication design, product design, and experience design.
• 😀 Game studies is an emerging academic discipline that draws from interaction design, cultural studies, computer science, psychology, and more.
• 😀 Games can be analyzed through different approaches: social science (effects on people), humanities (meaning and context), and industry/engineering (design and technological innovations).
• 😀 A game is defined as designed interaction for play with a purpose, emphasizing that both the rules and the goal are essential to the game experience.
• 😀 Games are categorized by their rules (formal systems), play (psychological and social experiences), and culture (cultural phenomenon).
• 😀 The example of the 'Rainbow Warrior' game highlights how game mechanics create stress and psychological motivation, engaging players in an emotional experience.
• 😀 Cross-media and cross-platform strategies are crucial for the future of games, as seen with the Harry Potter franchise, which spanned books, films, games, and online platforms.
• 😀 The gaming market is rapidly expanding, with close to three billion players globally in 2021. Mobile games, particularly casual games, dominate the market.
• 😀 Changes in data privacy policies, like Apple's removal of the IDFA for advertisers, may impact how game designers optimize their advertising strategies.
• 😀 Game design roles are diverse, including producers, game designers, artists, programmers, level designers, sound engineers, and testers. These roles can overlap in indie game studios.

Q & A

What is the main focus of this lecture on game design?

The lecture provides an overview of game design, its intersections with other design fields, and the different approaches used to study games, including social science, humanities, and industry perspectives. It also introduces key concepts like game rules, mechanics, and the cultural significance of games.

How does Clement Mock's diagram relate to game design?

Clement Mock's diagram categorizes game design within communication and product design, showing that games intersect with web and film design. It highlights that game design is a mix of interactivity, experience design, and mechanics, generating a controlled experience for the user.

What is the academic status of game design as a field of study?

Game design is a relatively new academic field, gaining serious recognition in the past 5 to 15 years in Europe, the U.S., and Australia. It draws from interaction design, cultural studies, and various other disciplines, with game studies being an interdisciplinary field of research.

What are the three approaches to studying games?

The three approaches to studying games are: 1) Social science, which examines the effects of games on people, 2) Humanities, which focuses on the meanings and contexts of games, and 3) Industry and engineering, which looks at the technological aspects of game design and development.

What is the definition of a game in the context of this lecture?

A game is defined as a designed interaction for play with a purpose, where rules define the relationship between the player and the game. This structured interaction, like rolling dice in Monopoly, turns a simple action into meaningful play.

How does Zimmerman categorize games?

Zimmerman categorizes games into three areas: 1) Rules, which are formal systems with underlying mechanics, 2) Play, which is the social and psychological experience of gameplay, and 3) Culture, which refers to games as cultural phenomena that impact society.

What is the student example of the Rainbow Warrior game about?

The Rainbow Warrior game involves rescuing chickens from a butcher while avoiding a guard dog. The game creates a stressful experience with a time limit, and it engages with cultural issues like vegetarianism and animal rights.

How does the Harry Potter franchise illustrate cross-media and cross-platform strategies?

The Harry Potter franchise started with books, expanded into films, and later included games, online platforms, and virtual environments. This cross-media approach demonstrates how a property can evolve across various forms of media and platforms, reaching a wider audience.

What impact has the gaming boom had on the global market?

The gaming boom has led to a significant increase in global players, with close to three billion players worldwide in 2021. The rise in online populations, better internet infrastructure, and affordable smartphones have contributed to this growth, especially in regions like the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.

What is the current state of the console game market compared to mobile games?

The console game market is facing a slight decline due to supply chain issues and delays in next-gen consoles like the PlayStation 5. In contrast, mobile games have seen tremendous growth, particularly in casual gaming, which now holds the largest share of the market.