Games Flashcards
What is the definition of flow?
When a player loses all track of time and place. His absolute attention is on the game.
How can you achieve flow in a game?
An equilibrium between challenge and skill.
What means immersion?
Becoming one with an activity.
What happens when a player’s skill is not used during the game?
The player becomes bored and feels subchallenged -> no flow.
What happes when a game is too hard fot the skill level of a player?
The player feels stressed and feared -> no flow.
What factors influence the perception of flow?
Skill level, experiences, interests.
How can a developer make games feel good for different skilled players?
Different difficulty-levels or help-mechanisms if needed.
What is dynamic difficulty adjustment (DDA) / dynamic game balancing (DGB)?
The process of automatically changing parameters, scenarios and behaviors in real-time, based on the player’s ability.
What are examples of dynamic game elements that can be used for DDA/DGB?
Speed of enemies, health of enemies, frequency of enemies, frequency of powerups, power of player, power of enemies, duration of gameplay experience.
What are possible criteria for DDA/DGB?
Rate of successful shots/hits, numbers of won/lost pieces, life points, the players evolution, time to complete a task.
What are examples to enable a players pride in his own performance?
Beating the final boss in a game, building something cool/big, getting first place.
Why is a challenge important for a game?
Because it gives the player a feeling of achievement and pride.
Why is curiosity important in a game?
Because it is a strong source of motivation and makes the player want to continue with the game.
How can curiosity be created in a game?
Game mechanics -> What skill awaits me at the next level, leveling system, story -> secrets of the plot.
How can you create a feeling of suspense?
Giving the feeling that something is about to hapent but not exactly showing what willl happen.
What is good game design according to Sid Meier?
Presenting the player with interesting choices on a regular basis.
Why is competition good in games?
Because showing the world what you are capable of is a big motivator. Winning player feels pride.
What is a core element of competitive games?
That the game mechanic concentrates on the question, wich player is the better.
Why should games support orderliness?
Many people feel satisfaction by creating order, the search for patterns is a basic element of human thinking.
What are examples for rewards in games?
New weapons, new levels, new characters, achievements.
What are the 8 kinds of fun according to Marc LeBlanc?
Sensation, Fantasy, Narration, Challenge, Fellowship, Discovery, Expression, Submission.
What means sensation according to Marc LeBlanc and what are game examples?
Games that evoke emotion in the player, be it through sound, visuals, controller rumble or physical effort. - Dead Space, Dance Dance Revolution, Candy Crush Saga.
What means fantasy according to Marc LeBlanc and what are game examples?
Game as a mean to take the player to another world, some call it escapism. - Final Fantasy, Nier: Automata, The Legend of Zelda.
What means narration according to Marc LeBlanc and what are game examples?
Game as a mean to tell a story or narrative to the player. - The Walking Dead, Persona, Dear Esther.
What means challenge according to Marc LeBlanc and what are game examples?
Game that provides the player with highly competitive value or with increasingly difficult challenges. - Dark Souls, Tetris, X-COM.
What means fellowship according to Marc LeBlanc and what are game examples?
Games that have social interactions as its core or as a big feature. - Mario Kart, Destiny, World of Warcraft.
What means discovery according to Marc LeBlanc and what are game examples?
Games in which the player explores the world he/she finds himself/herself in. - Uncharted, Tomb Raider, Assassin’s Creed.
What means expression according to Marc LeBlanc and what are game examples?
Games that allow self-expression from the player through gameplay. - Minecraft, Garry’s Mod.
What means submission according to Marc LeBlanc and what are game examples?
Games that have “farming” or “grinding” as a core element. - FarmVille, Hyperdimension, Neptunia, Disgaea.
Who were some of the first pioneers in interactive entertainment?
Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr., Steve Russel and Ralph Baer.
What was the earliest known interacitve game, by whome and when was it invented?
Cathode Tube Ray Amusement Device - Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. in 1947
What were some of the features of the Cathode Tube Ray Amusement Device?
It was a missile simulator, used analog circuitry and screen overlays for graphics.
What were some of the earliest games and when did they release?
Nim in 1951, OXO in 1951, SStrathcey’s Draughts Program in 1951, Tennis for Two in 1958 and Mouse int the Maze in 1959.
What is considered as the first shooter when was it released and who developed it?
Space War! - Steve Russel and Wayne Wiitanen in 1962.
What was one of the first game consoles for use at home, who develped it and when?
Magnavox Odyssey - Ralph Baer in 1971.
What was the first mass-produced video game, when did it release?
Computer Space - a coin-operated version of Space War - 1971
When was Atari founded and by whom?
1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney.
What as Ataris first game?
Pong - a copy of Ralph Baers tennis-game.
When was Pong released?
1972
What was the first successfull arcade game?
Pong
When did Atari release a home-system of pong?
1974
What are some of the important arcade games from Atari?
Asteroids, Battlezone, Centipede, Missile Command, Tempest, Breakout, Yar’s Revenge, Lunar Lander, Star Raiders, Night Driver.
What was the Atari 2600 and when was it released?
A home console - 1977
What are some important games on the Atari 2600?
Adventure, Pitfall, River Raid, H.E.R.O., Warlords, Gravitar, Custer’s Revenge, Pac-Man, E.T. - The Extraterrestial.
When and to whom was Atari sold?
Warner Communications - 1976
What are some other early game systems?
Fairchild Channel F, Mattel Intellivision, Emerson Arcadia 2001, Bally Astrocade, ColecoVision, Vectrex.
What caused the “Great Crash” and when did it happen?
The market was widely saturated, games were expensive, new ideas were rare, no licensing-system and no quality control -> lot’s of bad games. - 1983
What were the consequences of the “Great Crash”?
Customers wouldn’t buy video games anymore, the whole market collapsed, Warner sold the home computing/game console division to Jack Tramiel.
