Hello, this is Sungwoong Choi from the Game Institute of Korea Creative Content Agency
During this time, the basic concepts of games
And the process of specifying idea will be explained
First, a few famous games that everyone knows
will be explained
In Super Mario, one becomes Mario or Luigi
And through various actions such as running and jumping
breaks obstacles and rescues Princess Peach
as its main objective
Another game, Tetris
rotates puzzles of various shapes that appear randomly
and fills up the horizontal lines with no space, for as long as possible
Like these, games are divided into various platforms and genres
Despite this, all games have common elements
We'll look into each of them
Elements of game composition and elements of immersion
First, games have players that accept the rules
Cultural contents of other types
such as movies, webtoons, and dramas
have a clear distinction between the creator and the consumer
and the consumer cannot directly be involved in the art
But in games, they participate directly in the game as a player
and go through the process of making decisions, putting in effort, and making accomplishments
Players, unlike in other cultural contents
are beings of clear distinction
In order to become the player, the rules and limits of the game have to be voluntarily accepted
Accepting the game rules
is the playful attitude of games
The player's playful attitude is, rather than the better method for reaching the goal
accepting the rule that they need to use the worse method
I'll take archery as an example
The goal of archery is to stick the arrow in the center of the designated target
In terms of efficiency, standing right in front of the target
and sticking the arrow in there will be the most natural way
I wouldn't necessarily use a tool called bow and shoot the arrow from meters away
in order to stick it into the target
But players do this while playing archery
That's because as a limit on trying to reach the goal of the game
they've accepted the rules of archery
This attitude, or the voluntary acceptance of game rules
is an element of game that's centered around play
Second, games have goals
Games have specific goals that players need to reach
In Super Mario, the goal is to reach the designated point to rescue Princess Peach
and Tetris, when played for a long time, as an ending
but normally, the goal is to last as long as they can
This has a difference from other cultural contents
When watching movies or webtoons, there are no goals
Of course, the characters in the movie and webtoon have goals
but they're unrelated to the players
We set goals during our life
and put in the effort that's needed to reach them
Even if we don't reach all the goals we set, our life doesn't fail
But in games, goals are the core elements
in order to reach the goal, the player immerses into the game
and if they can't reach the goal, the game ends
Third, games have resources
For players to play the game
they needed resources that the developer provides
Resources such as character, background, items, and monsters
Distinguish the real world from the digital world
lead the goal of the game and the actions of the player
and have the role of controlling them
Johan Huizinga, in his book Homo Ludens
described the temporary world of games as the magic circle
Magic circle means, rather than the rules of the daily world
a world where the rules of the game applies
All plays occur in the physical and conceptual
play area that has been designated
The stage, actions, and perspective composing the game
all of these, within the play area called magic circle
functions according to the set rules
Some games stimulate the player's imagination and disappear
and some games are boring
Good games induce the player's voluntary participation and emotional touch
The elements mentioned until now are the composing elements of games
and now the elements for making the player participate in the game
will be talked about
The first element is challenge
All games have goals
but in order to prevent the player from reaching the goal too easily
there are obstacle elements
The player gains a sense of achievement by destroying these obstacles
Here, the player gains a sense of challenge
In the process of trying to solve the game, there's tension
and depending on success or failure, they feel achievement or desparity
Like this, games require continuous challenge from players
If the process has little to no change
the player feels boredom and looks for other games
In contrast, if it's too difficult, they may feel too much despair and quit the game
This is called difficulty adjustment
or in other words, balance planning
Balancing the difficulty for the challenge of the game
is a core element that makes the player continuously immerse in the game
I'll tell you about this using Csikszentmihalyi's Flow Theory
When one first starts a game
they usually don't have enough abilities to destroy the obstacles
If this is difficult, players will feel despair
But as the play continues, the ability increases
and if the level of challenge doesn't increase as well
it will later in turn, become boring
The flow diagram balances between despair and boredom
and shows the path in which challenge and level of ability increase
If the level of challenge is maintained based on the player's abilities
and if the level of challenge increases as the ability increases
the player remains in the middle section of the diagram
and experiences the state of flow
If they play the game within the flow channel, they feel accomplishment and happiness
and we call this "fun"
The second element is universe
To make the player voluntarily participate in the game
attractive game environment is needed
and we call that the universe
The universe of StarCraft is
the fierce competition between the three tribes in outer space
And one of those tribes represent humans
This universe, in the end of 1990s
during the end of century, was very attractive
The reason why StarCraft is still popular these days is
the universe that contains attractive units of tribe
The Legend of Zelda involves the journey of Link
who lives in a world full of adventure
World of War Craft involves the Horde that occurs in Azeroth
and the conflict of the Alliance tribe
We'll simply apply this on Rock Paper Scissors
The Rock Paper Scissors that we play on a daily basis has clear rules
but it's hard to feel entertainment through this itself
But on Rock Paper Scissors
what if we apply the adventure of the fantasy universe?
For example, the evil king who set out to destroy the kingdom
and the 4 soldiers who fought against him
The soldiers play a game of Rock Paper Scissors with the king
The king gets 5 chances
and let's say that the 4 soldiers each get 1 chance
Rather than 5 people playing Rock Paper Scissors with no settings
it's much easier to immerse in the roles
Like this, universe is something that makes the player emotionally immerse into the game
as an important element
Other than this, games need complex systems and various interactions
An important thing to keep in mind about games is
that the whole is greater than the sum of parts
This means that the interaction of small elements
brings a new dimension, different from before
Using cars as an example, understanding the structure of elements that compose the engine
and predicting its reaction is possible
but once power is provided and the car starts moving
no one can predict its movements afterwards
Games are similar to this
The elements explained ahead
are the possibilities that the planners designed before playing the game
They can't predict everything about the results of the actual play
Therefore, the planner
shouldn't just view the elements of games as separate forms
but should be able to view the entirety, including the play
Deducing and specifying ideas
Next, we'll learn about ways and processes of idea deduction
Many people think that making ideas
is just the role of the planner
But that's not true
Ideas can be made by a 7-year-old child
or programmers and art
Making ideas is only the starting point of the creation process
Adding details and life into it
is what game planning is
Like this, game planning isn't all about having great ideas
but it also means carefully trimming and advancing the initial concept
to specify it into something that's actually producible
Then let's first learn about some ways to make ideas
Where does idea come from?
You may think that it appears out of nowhere, but that's not true
Ideas appear when good senses
and experiences are encountered and accepted
Living a life full of curiosity, interesting people,
location, thoughts, issues filling up the life
and all the other experiences of various cultural contents
are the starting point of becoming a person full of ideas
I sometimes receive this question from students
Doing what things will be helpful to planners?
This is the answer I always give them
There's no experience that's not helpful to planners
But excluding the familiar things as much as possible
accepting new things
and thinking flexibly, are what's important
Other than games, watching movies, listening to music, exercising, drawing, volunteering
all these are included
Earlier, we looked into Csikszentmihalyi's Flow Theory
He researched about how creative people work
and how they develop creativity
We'll learn about the idea creation process that he talks about
First is the preparation process
It's jumping into interesting topics and areas, and issues that cause problems
Second is incubation
It's the period when ideas squirm under the boundary of consciousness
Until here, it remains under the surface
Third is insight
It's a time of saying Aha!
where the puzzle or a piece of idea fits in
Here, the thoughts are brought up to surface
Next is evaluation
Judging whether this insight is worth carrying out
Evaluating whether this idea is truly original and fun
Next is elaborating
It's the longest and most difficult part
It's a time of endless testing and modification
Edison's inventions are said to be made with 99% of perspiration
and 1% of inspiration
This is the part that corresponds to the 99% of perspiration
This process isn't a linear process that goes from one step to the next
It has a repeating structure
The incubation itself may take years
or it may take just a few hours
One insight and many other insights may gather
to make a completely new idea
I said that all activities help in game planning because
it can decrease the step of preparation and incubation
No one knows when the Aha! insight will occur
Ideas will appear anytime, anywhere
So if there's an insight that sparks into mind
you must jot it down on your phone or notebook
In order to make ideas for a new game
analyzing the existing games help greatly
How should we perform analysis on games?
Earlier, we learned about the composing elements of games
In reverse, taking apart the components from an already-completed game
becomes a great asset for deducing ideas for a game
Evaluate the goals of the games that you usually enjoy playing
and pull out their core mechanisms
Core mechanisms of a game
are repetitive actions that players perform
during the play in order to reach the goal
I'll show you a few examples
The Super Mario that you all know
For Super Mario, running and jumping
avoiding obstacles and getting to the goal are the core mechanisms
In the case of StarCraft
creating units and controlling them
to destroy the enemy is the core mechanism
Can you get a feel of it now?
Games, on these core mechanisms
have various additional elements added on
that make it more abundant and entertaining
I'll explain the additional mechanisms
In the case of Super Mario
it shoots projectiles, flies, and even becomes huge
As for StarCraft
it collects resources, abilities of units strengthen
and advantages or disadvantages exist based on the land
Just like this, taking the core mechanisms of the games you enjoy playing
and organizing them along with additional mechanisms
will be a big help for idea deduction
Mix in the existing mechanisms well
and apply the universe on here
Then the user doesn't recognize this as mechanism A B
but as a completely new concept, mechanism C
Next is a way to create ideas in a formal way
called brainstorming
Brainstorming is the method of many people gathering together
and freely sharing ideas
Brainstorming is used not only in idea creation
but also in the overall game development process
In the game development process made by collaboration
it's a good way to make all the teammates gain a sense of ownership
There are a few important rules here
First, optimistic atmosphere
You shouldn't judge or ignore other people's ideas
The core of brainstorming is thinking freely
and using each other's thoughts
So editing out or criticizing ideas cuts of the flow
Also, the very first person who came up with the idea, is not important
naturally using other person's ideas
to expand upon it, this itself is a fun idea process
Second is leader exchange
Rather than one person leading continuously
changing the leader
and leading in different styles deduces various ideas
Third is unfamiliar environment
Leaving the office that we spend the most time in
and proceeding at other places such as the meeting room or cafe is better
Here, when it's proceeded with a whiteboard or a big paper on the wall
the ideas can be seen at once
And since people move around and think
much more collaboration is stimulated
Fourth, quality over quantity
In the idea step, quality is more important than quantity
You don't need to worry about the ideas being bad
The next steps can naturally decrease the number of ideas
and specify it
Brainstorming requires a lot of energy
After concentrating for a certain amount of time, everyone needs a rest
Even if there was no conclusion today
it's important to make short, multiple meetings
Now let's look into the methods of brainstorming
First is making a list
First, list all the things can be thought about the particular topic
For example, if the topic is the age of 10s
Tests, teacher, school food, talent show
field day, gym, admission, graduation, student council, joke
bad students, slippers, P.E. clothes are the various things that can be listed
And alter the topic and make another list
Repeat this, and you'll be surprised
at how many lists can be formed from a single topic
In this process, associating freely
and systematically organizing at the same time, is possible
Second is idea card
Write down various ideas in each empty card, one per person
Put it in a box and mix
Now pull out two cards
If the words are goblin and wings
there may be goblins with wings in this game
The more silly the ideas are
the more abundant the combination of them will be
Third is mind map
Mind map is a way to express ideas visually
Write the core idea or topic in the middle
and branch out the related ideas
Using a mind map allows non-linear expansion of thinking
Through this, the abstract thoughts of teammates can be conceptualized
and the environment that allows debate will be formed
Fourth is research
The methods above all induce creativity through randomness
However, brainstorming needs
research on the interesting topic, on top of this
If the topic is a cat
you need to research on it as much as possible
Research everything about cats, their types, habits, habitats, and predators
Go further to answers from a cat expert and taking care of a cat yourself
You have to immerse in the topic as much as possible
Research means being buried into the topic
Next is idea trimming
Even if brainstorming ended successful
it just mean many ideas, and the game hasn't been made yet
Now the ideas have to be filtered out and trimmed
In the creation process of Csikszentmihalyi
this is the part that corresponds to evaluation
Let's classify the ideas that have been formed
First is the possibility of technical implementation
All game development has limited resources
Ideas have to be adjusted based on the set time and staff
Not being about to implement it doesn't mean that it's a bad idea
But judging the current development team's abilities
objectively is very important
Second is the market environment
Games form a close relationship with the humans' daily lives
so it's sensitive to the market trend
In the past, single play games of PC environment were major
but through the expansion of smartphones
games are being developed
to fit the environment where many people can enjoy
Here, let's create a questionaire about games for ourselves
This questionaire can be applied
to all games generally, not just a particular game
The more detailed, the better
I'll tell you a few examples of questions
How many players play the game?
What's the goal of each player?
What does the player need to do to reach the goal?
Choose the most important action of the player within the game
How long does it take to finish the game?
Does it work by turns, or real-time?
As you write down answers about your own game for these questions
the ideas finally specify into game planning
Next is writing a one-page proposal
If the ideas about the game are specified
explaining this to someone who doesn't know anything about the game
by writing a one-page proposal is needed
In here, the core mechanisms of the game, the universe, the genre
market situation, and target player are included
Ultimately, the game has to feel attractive
But to feel attraction
they need to at least know what kind of a game it is
So catchphrase and marketing elements shouldn't be too much of a focus
Once the one-page proposal is complete
let's summarize the game in one paragraph
The core mechanisms of the game
and the slogan that will be used in its marketing
should all be included here
Once you've come here, the idea that you like
will be summarized into a document
Idea and design are different concepts
Idea is a loose concept that can be explained through words or short sentences
Design pulls up the ideas into something that can be performed
Like this, specifying an idea
is a very important ability for a game planner, so it needs repetitive practice
During this short time, we learned about the composing elements of a game
and ways to specify ideas
A game is an interesting process in which a player challenges toward a goal
And ideas can be made by anyone
but designing it is the job of a planner
Don't forget these two things all the time
Thank you
Composing elements of games and immersive elements Composing elements of games Player that accepts the rules Goals that the player will reach Resources provided by the developer Player immersive elements Sense of challenge Universe
Complex systems and various interactions Immersive Theory When the level of challenge is maintained based on the ability and if the level increases as the ability increases, the state of flow can be experienced
Deduction and specification of ideas Process of idea creation Preparation: step of diving into interesting topics or areas and problematic issues Incubation: step of ideas floating from under the borderline of consciousness
Insight: step of realization where the piece of idea matches up Evaluation: step of judging the possibility of implementation and evaluating the originality and fun of the idea Elaboration: step of endless tests and adjustments
Brainstorming Many people gather together and share ideas Main rule: positive atmosphere, change of leaders, unfamiliar environment, quality over quantity
Method of brainstorming: making lists, mind map, research