Gaming I Flashcards - Notebook 1

What is the essential element of games?

Games, regardless of the type contains some key elements that makes them work. Whether they are real world games, or video games. There are also elements that are unique to certain types of games.

Some of the common elements include;

* Goal

* Rules

* Challenge

* Actions

* Fairness

* Competition & Cooperation

* Strategy

* Socializing

* Role-playing

* Story

What is the game element that governs how a game operates, as well as player actions and consequences?

Rules. A game must have official rules that governs how it operates. These rules might be explicitly stated to the player for understanding of how to play the game. The rules govern the things/actions that can be performed AND their consequences, setting up a framework for the player to evaluate which actions are best to take in different scenarios.

Some examples are:

* A separate tutorial mode to guide players through the controls and lore rules of the game

* Tutorial sequences incorporated into the main gameplay

* Physical Rulebooks

* Interface windows explaining rules

* Move-List/Skills Page

* Diegetic/Spatial UI elements that guides players through tasks

What are hidden or unwritten rules in a game that are created and agreed on by players?

Meta-rules are hidden or unwritten rules that can be in place for a variety of reasons, including conflict resolution, ensuring fair play, adding an extra layer of fun and excitement for players. They are not official game rules but are a mutual agreement between players of the game.

Some examples are:

* Don't steal other player's loot

* Don't camp spawn points and engage in spawn killing

* Rules on how loot is divided amongst parties (Damage based, Rolling, Item Suitability)

* Who goes first in a game

* Punishment stacking in Uno

What kind of challenges in a game relate to testing the player’s hand speed, reaction time, tactile accuracy, timing, and balance and co-ordination?

Physical & Coordination Challenges

What kind of challenges in a game relate to testing the player’s memory, pattern recognition, trivia knowledge, resource management, solving logical problems, and deductive reasoning?

Memory & Knowledge Challenges

What kind of challenges in a game relate to testing the player’s patience, stay calm under pressure, maintaining good technical ability under the added pressure, speed and accuracy of overcoming challenges and maintaining good decision making under the additional pressure?

Time & Pressure Challenges

What kind of challenges in a game relate to the player having to roam around the game world to find either specified, or unspecified items, testing their observational skills, and capitalizing on the curiosity of the game world and lore.?

Exploration & Environmental Challenges

What kind of challenge in a game involves trying to get past an opponent/character with opposing interests. This usually tests a player’s conflict resolution skills, problem solving skills and technical ability?

Conflict Challenges

What is the game element that involves the different things a player can do towards overcoming the challenges in games and achieving the goals?

Actions. These are the different things a player can do towards overcoming the challenges in games and achieving the goals. The actions a player can take are usually set within the rules of the game. The rules will define when actions are legal, or illegal.

These kinds of actions vary depending on the game. The user should be able to combine different actions to obtain more complex results.

Some examples are

* Parry an attack

* Run

* Crouch

* Jump

* Talk

* Aiming

* Use an item

* Use an ability

* Surrender

* Taunt

* Blocking

* Trading

* Dodging

What is the element of games that relates to enforcing fairness of the game, and that players can only take actions within the rules of the game? Keeping things so that other players of the game do not have "undue" advantages?

Fairness. Players should expect that the rules of the game are enforced, and that players can only take actions within the rules of the game. That other players of the game do not have "undue" advantages.

Though different people and even societies might have differing notions of what constitutes fairness, and so some games might offer players a limited ability to modify the rules to enforce their idea of fairness.

Fairness is not always achievable, as players always look for advantages in a game.

Some ways unfairness can happen in games is

* Resource hoarding

* Player hacking

* Taking advantage of unbalanced

* Taking advantage of game glitches

* Player griefing

* Spawn camping

* Lag cheating

* Players forming groups in individual mode

* Spending money