How Game Designers Create Systemic Games | Emergence, Dynamic Narrative and Systems in Game Design

Summary

The script delves into the concept of 'emergence' in game design, illustrating how simple rules can lead to complex strategies and narratives, as seen in games like chess and The Legend of Zelda. It discusses strategic, systemic, and narrative emergence, highlighting their impact on player experience and the potential for games to reveal truths about the universe and human nature. The talk underscores the importance of understanding systems and complexity in creating engaging and meaningful gameplay.

Takeaways

• 🤖 The concept of emergence in games is crucial, as it refers to the phenomena where the whole system exhibits properties that the individual parts do not have, often described as 'the whole is greater than the sum of its parts'.
• 🏰 Chess exemplifies strategic emergence, where simple rules lead to complex strategies, and has inspired AI research, culminating in AI like Deep Blue defeating world champion Garry Kasparov.
• 🎮 Systemic emergence, as seen in games like 'The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild', occurs when game mechanics can be combined in innovative ways to create new outcomes, such as using stasis and climbing abilities together to traverse large distances.
• 🚀 'Missile Command' demonstrates narrative emergence, where game events create a story about the futility of nuclear war, highlighting how game rules can generate meaningful narratives.
• 📚 The book 'Rules of Play' discusses how emergence arises from complexity in game systems, suggesting that sufficient internal connectivity can lead to discernible phenomena.
• 🌐 Emergence is not limited to games; it's a phenomenon observed across various systems, from ant colonies to the universe itself, potentially indicating that life and the universe are built from emergent processes.
• 🎲 Game designers like Sid Meier, Will Wright, and Jonathan Blow are noted for leveraging different forms of emergence to create games with depth, systemic interaction, and dynamic narratives.
• 🛠️ Systemic games are defined by their components' ability to interact, and designers must consider how objects can interact beyond just the player, enabling player-driven stories and choices.
• 🔍 The 'mechanics dynamics aesthetics' framework shows how emergence can exist both vertically and horizontally within a game, influencing mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics.
• 🕹️ Games like 'Dishonored' and 'Hitman' are examples of levels and systems designed to enable player intentionality, offering players the freedom to explore and realize solutions creatively.
• 🌟 The potential for games to convey meaning and truth through their mechanics, rules, and systems is vast, with titles like 'Papers, Please' and 'SimCity' embedding narrative weight and values within their gameplay.

Q & A

What is the concept of 'strategic emergence' as discussed in the script?

Strategic emergence refers to the phenomenon where the rules of a game generate a rich possibility space for strategic play, as seen in games like chess where simple mechanics lead to complex strategies.

How does the game 'The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild' exemplify 'systemic emergence'?

In 'The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild', systemic emergence is demonstrated by combining two rules: freezing an object and climbing any object in the world. This combination allows players to launch themselves over vast distances, showcasing the novel outcomes generated by the interaction of system rules.

What is 'narrative emergence', and how is it portrayed in the game 'Missile Command'?

Narrative emergence is a form of emergence where the sequence of events in a game creates a story or a parable. In 'Missile Command', the game's events and the player's attempts to protect cities from nuclear weapons create a narrative about the horrors and futility of nuclear war.

How do games like 'Tetris' and 'Civilization' illustrate the concept of 'Yomi' in game design?

'Yomi' is the art of reading an opponent's moves and counteracting them. Games like 'Tetris' involve risk and reward decisions, such as choosing when to clear lines, while 'Civilization' involves long-term strategic decisions and the dynamic of bluffing, deception, and information gathering.

What does Sid Meier mean when he says 'games are a series of interesting decisions'?

Sid Meier suggests that games are about making decisions that involve risk versus reward and long-term versus short-term strategies. This concept is directly related to strategic emergence, where players must weigh different options and their consequences.

How does Will Wright view games in terms of their systemic nature?

Will Wright sees games as dynamic interactive systems that allow for the creation of simulations and testing of hypotheses. He encourages thinking about game design from the perspective of systems and complexity theory, using tools like feedback loops and state spaces.

What is the 'ass multiplicative design' approach used in 'The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild'?

The 'ass multiplicative design' approach involves using systems to create scenarios that specify a goal but then allow players to figure out how to accomplish it. This design creates a chemistry engine that connects all elements of the game, enabling strategic depth and player expression.

How do 'positive' and 'negative' feedback loops contribute to the dynamics of a game?

Positive feedback loops in games, like killstreaks in 'Call of Duty', reinforce actions, making them more likely to occur again and can push the game towards imbalance. Negative feedback loops, on the other hand, work to bring the system back towards balance, such as in racing games where AI adjusts the difficulty based on the player's performance.

What is the 'Machinations' framework introduced by Ernest Adams, and how does it help in understanding game systems?

The 'Machinations' framework is a formal language for understanding game systems. It breaks down a game's internal economy into sources, drains, converters, and traders, which helps to reveal the relationships between different entities within a game system and the systemic patterns they create.

How does the concept of 'emergence' apply to the design of games and their potential for education and exploration?

Emergence in game design allows for the creation of deeper strategic games, robust simulations, and dynamic stories. It can change how we perceive reality by revealing the inherently systemic nature of the universe. Games can educate people to think more systematically, as they expose the internal workings of systems in precise and measurable ways.