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Virtual Worlds > Design Principles > Flashcards

Design Principles Flashcards

1
Q

How many levels of functionality are there? Which ones are these?

A 
There are 4.
From closest-to-hardware to furthest-from-hardware:
- Driver
- Mudlib
- World Definition
- Instantiation
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2
Q

Describe the Driver functionality.

A
  • Most basic part of the virtual world software
  • Consists of Operating Systems Interfaces
  • Also of Interpreter Components
  • Makes two foundation concepts available to higher levels (objects and players)
  • Handle Load Balancing, instancing, phasing, …
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3
Q

Describe the Mudlib functionality.

A
  • Handles the physics of the virtual world
  • Term not used at today’s MMOs
  • Handles some higher, game-specific concepts (magic system, combat system and economic system)
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4
Q

Describe the world definition functionality.

A
  • This (plus driver and mudlib) is what’s needed to start running the game.
  • Known as world model or static database.
  • Fully descriptive of the virtual world
  • Defines new functionality consequent on the physics
  • Acts as a template for creating instantiations of the virtual world.
  • Implicitly describes all game states that can occur
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5
Q

Describe the instantiation functionality.

A
  • It’s each running instance of a virtual world.
  • Data values that make worlds different between each other.
  • Only real-time component of a virtual world
  • Most of it is to do with player activity.
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6
Q

Define the three levels of Data Definition.

A
  • Hard-coded (C, C++, Java,…) -> Game Engine
  • Soft-coded (scripting language interpreted by the hard code)
  • Explicit data (values that can’t be executed)
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7
Q

What are the codebase differences between Virtual Worlds?

A

Mushes and Moos -> Game engine is just the Driver;

LPMUDS -> Driver + Mudlib

DikuMUDS -> Driver + Mudlib + World Definition

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8
Q

What are the advantages of the DIKUMUD and MUSH/MOO approaches?

A

DIKUMUD:

  • Ease to use
  • Run-time efficiency
  • Fewer bugs

MUSH/MOO:

  • Flexibility
  • Expressiveness
  • Variety
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9
Q

What’s the difference between virtual worlds and web pages in their client/server connection?

A

Virtual Worlds are asynchronous:
- Client sends request to server, server updates its database and server sends a request to client, then client updates the screen.

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10
Q

Describe how the data flow works.

A
  • User types something
  • Client packages it and sends it to server
  • Server receives it and figures what it means
  • Server processes it as a command.
  • Server packages results & sends to clients
  • Client receives the results as instructions
  • Client processes its instructions
  • User decides what to do next
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11
Q

Define inheritance.

A

Offspring objects get all their parents characteristics.
They can also have new ones or override these.
Objects at the top are more abstract.

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12
Q

Define the 2 types of inheritance.

A

Single: Form of a tree; Runs fast; Fairly Simple.

Multiple: Form of directed graph; Doesn’t run fast; Very expensive.

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13
Q

How are maps usually defined?

A

Areas concern content.
Regions concern geography (sometimes ownership).
Zones are collections of 1+ regions.

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14
Q

How do Virtual World stop players from walking off the edge of the world?

A
  • Wrap-around
  • Physical boundary
  • Emotional boundary
  • Big Stick (swimming fatigue).
  • Notice
  • Invisible Wall
  • No boundary
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15
Q

Describe the level of detail of today’s MMOs. Explain why this happens.

A

They are superficial. Reality works at a greater level of detail than MMOs.
Graphics cover for lack of immersiveness; players are expecting things as they are used to them and breaking expectation breaks immersion.

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16
Q

How is time defined in Virtual Worlds?

A

Most of the times it’s linearly compressed.
It’s also the fashion in mmos to have inworld events that coincide with real-world events.
Night and day are usually cosmetic.

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17
Q

Define a quest.

A

A quest is a stand-alone piece of goal-oriented content:
– If doing it is required to win the game, it’s a story quest
– If not, it’s a side quest

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18
Q

What are the three classes if quests in MMOs?

A

– Hand-crafted
– Auto-generated
– Emergent

19
Q

What is the economy in Virtual Worlds?

A

The economy is the means by which objects are introduced into, moved within and removed from the MMO.

20
Q

Which types are there in the economy?

A

• Self-contained
– New bears appear when old bears are killed

• Faucet/drain
– Objects introduced at a steady (mean) rate
– objects destroyed at the same (mean) rate

• Limited resources
– Resources are finite and will run out

21
Q

How do characters and players advance in a virtual world?

A

Players advance intangibly and characters advance tangibly. This is done by levels and stats.

22
Q

Describe the main features of characters advancement.

A

Characters have attributes with which are associated values; they may have secondary attributes which derive from these; they can also do ‘things’ (eg quests) and gain experience which allows them to reach different levels and alter these attributes.

23
Q

How does the ability system work?

A

Experience points are cashed in for new functionality.
Abilities system can be either one-off or on demand
– On demand: Every time you use a summon spell it will cost you XP

24
Q

How can the characters attributes change? What is the downside to this?

A

By using Gear (this can be worn out or stolen sometimes).

This equates advancement with acquisition of material goods, not personal development.

25
Q

What are skills? How do you develop them?

A

The basic idea is that you define your character in terms of what it can do - this is its skill set.
They have to be learned before they are available and then trained (through a specific action or spun off from an XP/Level system.

26
Q

What are the four kinds of skills?

A

– Binary - either you can speak elvish or you can’t

– Discrete - You can speak elvish in one of these ways: not at all (0), a few words (1), conversational (2), fluently (3)

– Continuous - people can SPEAK ELVISH with a wide range of ability, from none at all to complete competence.

– Binary-continuous - either you can’t speak it, or you can with a wide range of competence.

27
Q

How do players identify with their characters?

A 
By creating them and giving them stats + costemics.
Almost all MMOs require gender and avatar look (race and class are popular too).
28
Q

Describe some methods for setting starting attributes/skills.

A

Fixed – The same for everyone of that race/class.

Random – Server rolls dice.

Pick points – You get points to allocate where you want them.

Kits – Choose a pre-balanced initialisation.

Questionnaires – From hypothetical questions about what you would do, your character details are divined.

Observation – Computer watches what you do then proposes your initial class/skills.

Tabula rasa – You Construct your character’s past, from which the computer constructs your character’s present.

Essay – Once used for textual role-playing worlds.

29
Q

Describe the combat system in virtual worlds.

A

Combat is an important feature.
It has conflict, drama, risk, bravery, friendship, honour, glory – something for everyone.
The basic form that combat takes hasn’t really changed since MUD1.

30
Q

What is the MUD1 combat paradigm?

A

– The attacker initiates combat
– An automated sequence of blow exchanges begins (melee)
– While this is going on, players can take other actions to affect the outcome
– Chance to hit is based on dexterity/agility
– Damage dealt is based on strength
– Damage taken comes off stamina/health
– When stamina falls below 1, fight ends.

31
Q

Describe some combat problems.

A

– Equaliser weapons – six-guns
– Weapon mismatch – sword versus musket
– Over-robust defence – newbie versus sleeping old-timer
– Concurrency – how many creatures can you fight at once?
– Targeting – aim at individuals or points?
– Area effects – grenades that miss your team
– Twitch – latency too much of a factor
– Disengagement – end fight without death?

32
Q

What is permadeath?

A

When a character dies it is obliterated from the database.

33
Q

What are the pros and cons of having or not permadeath?

A

Having permadeath: People really do not like it when it happens to their character.

Not having permadeath:
• Players who are first into positions of power remain there
• Characters bunch up at the end – And “the end” has to have new content added to it all the time
• It undermines achievement
• You only experience content once
• It (usually but not always) breaks the fiction
• Players can’t handle griefers themselves

34
Q

What are companions?

A

Companions are NPCs belonging to the player but under AI control. Pets do not count they are cosmetic usually.

35
Q

How do companions affect immersion?

A

They can help immersion up to a point, but then they rapidly work against it.
Companions are basically unimmersive - Players buy into the fiction that their own character is a real person but companions as drones.

36
Q

Who wrote “Ambiguity of Play”?

A

Brian Sutton-Smith.

37
Q

How many common ways did Sutton-Smith identified for framing games? Identify these.

A 
7 (called rhetorics).
– Play as progress 
– Play as fate 
– Play as power 
– Play as identity 
– Play as the imaginary 
– Play as self 
– Play as frivolous
38
Q

What is immersion?

A

It’s the feeling that you are in a virtual world. It involves cutting off the external world – Concentration, Physical separation.

39
Q

Why are virtual worlds immersive?

A

Virtual worlds are immersive because of presence. This is the perceptual illusion that a mediated experience is not mediated ( you’re not typing at a keyboard, you’re talking to someone )

40
Q

Besides immersion what other reason makes players choose virtual worlds?

A

Community. This is the sense players have of collective belonging.

41
Q

What are the five main dimensions of groups?

A 
– Single or multiple? 
– Formal or informal? 
– Temporary or persistent?
– Flat or hierarchical? 
– Hardwired or softwired?
42
Q

Which group types occur often enough that have names?

A

• Party
– temporary, formal, softwired, usually flat casual adventuring band
– Also group, team, fellowship, …

• Guild
– persistent, formal, softwired, hierarchical social network of disparate players
– Also kinship, clan, corporation, cabal, …

• Alliance
– temporary, usually informal, softwired collections of guilds acting as if they were one

• Faction
– persistent, hardwired separation of players and NPCs, typically for pvp purposes

43
Q

What are the different types of community in terms of strength?

A

– Communication – Get this by default in vws

– Community of interest – People with same goals/interests group

– Community of practice – Share knowledge and pool resources

– Community of commitment – Members work together on projects important to the community, not individuals

– Spiritual community – Individual members know and trust each other implicitly

Virtual Worlds (4 decks)

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