Final Exam

Question 1

What are the essential elements of a game?

Answer 1

Rules, goals, play, and pretending.

Question 2

What is the “magic circle” in games?

Answer 2

The artificial reality created by pretending, where artificial importance is assigned to events within the game.

Question 3

What is the formal definition of gameplay?

Answer 3

Gameplay consists of the challenges that a player must face to arrive at the object of the game, and the actions that the player is permitted to take to address those challenges.

Question 4

What is a player-centric approach to game design?

Answer 4

A philosophy of design in which the designer envisions a representative player and focuses on two duties: entertaining the representative player and empathizing with the representative player.

Question 5

What are the three stages of the game design process?

Answer 5

Concept stage, elaboration stage, and tuning stage.

Question 6

Why is it important to separate concept elements from other design elements?

Answer 6

Concept elements (game concept, audience, player’s role, and dream fulfilled) should be permanent once you’ve started the elaboration stage. Changing these later disrupts the development process.

Question 7

What is the most important question to answer when starting game design?

Answer 7

“What is the player going to do?” Designers should think about player actions first before developing story, avatar, game world, or artwork.

Question 8

What are the five dimensions of a game world?

Answer 8

Physical, temporal, environmental, emotional, and ethical.

Question 9

What is the difference between a specific and nonspecific avatar?

Answer 9

Nonspecific avatars are assumed to “be” the player with undefined appearance and personality. Specific avatars are detailed characters with defined histories and personalities.

Question 10

What is the difference between linear and nonlinear stories in games?

Answer 10

In linear stories, players can’t change the storyline. In nonlinear stories, player choices or actions can affect the direction of the plot, providing agency.

Question 11

What is a foldback story structure?

Answer 11

A compromise between branching and linear stories where the plot branches but the branches fold back into a single inevitable event, offering players agency without the cost and complexity of a fully branching story.

Question 12

What is emergent narrative in games?

Answer 12

Storytelling produced entirely by player actions and in-game events, where the story emerges from the act of playing rather than being predetermined by designers.

Question 13

What are the core components of video games?

Answer 13

Core mechanics, user interface, and storytelling engine.

Question 14

How do core mechanics relate to gameplay?

Answer 14

Core mechanics generate the gameplay by defining the challenges, the actions, and the player’s effect on the game world.

Question 15

What is the relationship between the user interface and core mechanics?

Answer 15

The user interface mediates between the core mechanics and the player - interpreting player’s inputs and displaying the results of those inputs.

Question 16

What are the two structures for video games?

Answer 16

Gameplay modes and shell menus/screens. Gameplay modes consist of the available gameplay and user interface at a specific time, while shell menus are used when the player is not in a gameplay mode.

Question 17

What are the common types of interaction models in games?

Answer 17

Avatar-based, multipresent, party-based, contestant, and desktop.

Question 18

What are the key perspective options for 3D games?

Answer 18

First-person perspective, third-person perspective, and aerial perspectives (top-down, isometric, free-roaming camera, context-sensitive).

Question 19

What is the hierarchy of challenges in game design?

Answer 19

From lowest to highest: atomic challenge, sub-mission, mission, and complete the game.

Question 20

How is absolute difficulty determined in games?

Answer 20

Absolute difficulty is determined by intrinsic skill required plus time pressure (stress).

Question 21

What are commonly used challenges in games?

Answer 21

Physical coordination challenges, logic and mathematical challenges, races and time pressure, factual knowledge challenges, memory challenges, pattern recognition challenges, exploration challenges, conflict, economic challenges, and conceptual reasoning/lateral thinking puzzles.

Question 22

Why should trial and error solutions be avoided in game design?

Answer 22

Players should be able to make deductions from their experiments. Puzzles that can only be solved by trial and error without any clues about the correct solution state become frustrating for players.

Question 23

What are the primary ways of saving a game?

Answer 23

Level access codes to restart a level, save to a file or save slot, quick save, and automatic save/checkpoints.

Question 24

What is self-defining play in games?

Answer 24

Play that lets players project their personality into the game world by means other than gameplay choices, such as avatar selection, avatar customization, and avatar construction.

Question 25

What is the difference between constrained creative play and freeform creative play?

Answer 25

Constrained creative play allows creation within artificial constraints imposed by rules, while freeform creative play provides unlimited time and resources (often called sandbox mode).

Question 26

What are the goals of character design in games?

Answer 26

To create characters that people find appealing, can believe in, and the player can identify with.

Question 27

What are the key principles of player-centric interface design?

Answer 27

Be consistent, give good feedback, remember the player is in control, make everything as easy as possible, and tell the player what they need to know.

Question 28

What essential information should a game interface communicate to the player?

Answer 28

Where they are, what they are doing, what challenges they face, if their actions succeeded or failed, if they have what they need, if they're in danger of losing, if they are making progress, what they should do next, and how they performed.

Question 29

What are the key elements that contribute to making games fun?

Answer 29

50% avoiding errors (basic craftsmanship), 35% tuning and polishing, 10% imaginative variations on the game's premise, 4% true design innovation, and 1% an unpredictable quality. Gameplay comes first Get a feature right or leave it out Design around the player Know your target audience Abstract or automate parts of the game that aren’t fun Be true to your vision Strive for harmony, elegance, and beauty

Question 30

What are the motivations that can influence game design beyond player-centric design?

Answer 30

Market-driven games, designer-driven games, games for a specific license, technology-driven games, and art-driven games.

Question 31

What are the types of game design documents?

Answer 31

High concept document, game treatment document, character design document, world design document, user interface design document, flowboard, story and level progression document, on-screen text and audio dialog script, and game script document.

Question 32

What is a high concept statement in game design?

Answer 32

A brief, compelling description that captures the essence of the game in one or two sentences.

Question 33

What are the classic game genres?

Answer 33

Action games, strategy games, role-playing games, real-world simulations, construction and management games, adventure games, puzzle games, and shooter games.

Question 34

What is the "Design Rule: Avoid Trial and Error" principle?

Answer 34

Provide adequate clues that enable players to deduce the correct resolution to a problem, and avoid creating challenges that are only surmountable by trial and error.

Question 35

What is the "Design Rule: Gameplay Comes First" principle?

Answer 35

Gameplay is the primary source of entertainment in all video games, and it should be the first thing to consider when designing a game.

Question 36

What is the "Design Rule: You Are Not Your Player" principle?

Answer 36

Do not assume that you epitomize your typical player. Player-centric game design requires you to imagine what it is like to be your player, even if that person is very different from you.

Question 37

What is the "Design Rule: The Player Is Not Your Opponent" principle?

Answer 37

Do not think of the player as your opponent. Game design is about entertaining the player, not opposing the player.

Question 38

What is the "Design Rule: The Story Comes Later" principle?

Answer 38

Do not spend a lot of time devising a story at the concept stage. Focus efforts on the gameplay at this point; the story should be developed during the elaboration stage.

Question 39

What is the "Design Rule: Be a Game Designer, Not a Filmmaker" principle?

Answer 39

Don't design a game to show off skills as a film director or author. Design a game to entertain by giving the player things to do. Always give the player more gameplay than narration. The player, not the story, is the star of the show.

Question 40

What is the "Design Rule: Allow the Player to Save and Reload the Game" principle?

Answer 40

Unless your game is extremely short or your device has no data storage, allow the player to save and reload the game. Their right to exit the game without losing the benefit of their achievements supersedes all other considerations.

Question 41

What skills are most useful for professional game designers?

Answer 41

Imagination, technical awareness, analytical competence, mathematical competence, aesthetic competence, general knowledge and ability to research, writing skills, drawing skills, and ability to compromise.

Question 42

What are the roles typically found on a game design team?

Answer 42

Lead Designer, General Game Designer, Mechanics Designer, Level Designer/World Builder, User Interface Designer, Writer, Art Director, Audio Director, Lead Programmer, and Producer or Project Manager.

Question 43

What is the Design Rule regarding designing by committee?

Answer 43

Do not treat the design work as a democratic process in which each person's opinion has equal value. One person must have the authority to make final decisions, and the others must acknowledge this person's authority.

Question 44

What is the difference between a game idea and a design decision?

Answer 44

A game idea is a general concept (e.g., "Dragons should protect their eggs"), while a design decision is a specific implementation of that idea with detailed mechanics and parameters.

Question 45

What are the primary functions of design documents?

Answer 45

1) Create a record of decisions made, 2) Turn generalities into particulars, 3) Communicate intentions to the rest of the team, 4) Serve as the basis for contractual obligations, and 5) Provide evidence to funding agencies that the designers know what they're doing.

Question 46

What are functional attributes in avatar design?

Answer 46

Attributes that affect gameplay, including characterization attributes (which define fundamental aspects and change slowly or not at all) and status attributes (which give the current status of the character and may change frequently).

Question 47

What are cosmetic attributes in avatar design?

Answer 47

Attributes that do not affect gameplay but make the game more fun, such as headgear, clothing, hair color, body type, or vehicle customization options.

Question 48

What is the difference between emergent narrative and branching stories?

Answer 48

In branching stories, the designer creates multiple predetermined plot lines that split at specific points. In emergent narrative, the story is produced entirely by player actions and in-game events without a predetermined structure.

Question 49

What are the three types of events in an interactive story?

Answer 49

Player events, in-game events, and narrative events.

Question 50

What is narrative in game design?

Answer 50

Narrative refers to story events narrated by the game to the player—the noninteractive, presentational part of the story.

Question 51

What is the Design Rule about noninteractive sequences?

Answer 51

All narrative material must be interruptible by the player. Provide a button that allows players to skip the sequence and go on, even if the sequence contains important information to win the game.

Question 52

What are the three types of episodic delivery in games?

Answer 52

Unlimited series, serials, and limited series.

Question 53

What are the key visual elements in a user interface?

Answer 53

Main view, feedback elements (indicators, mini-maps, colors, character portraits), and control elements (screen buttons and menus).

Question 54

What is the difference between symmetric and asymmetric games?

Answer 54

In a symmetric game, all players use the same rules to accomplish the same goal. In an asymmetric game, different players follow different rules to accomplish different goals.

Question 55

What are the benefits computers bring to games?

Answer 55

Hiding the rules, setting the pace, presenting a game world, and artificial intelligence.

Question 56

What is the "Design Rule: Strive for Harmony" principle?

Answer 56

A good game is a harmonious game. Try to find a way to make every aspect of your game fit together into a coherent, integrated whole.

Question 57

What is the "Design Rule: Keep Text Separate from Other Content" principle?

Answer 57

Never build text into program code or into images. Store all text in separate text files to make localization easier.

Question 58

What are the main accessibility considerations in game design?

Answer 58

Vision-impaired players, players with low vision, players who need magnification, color-blind players, hearing-impaired players, mobility impairments, and older players.

Question 59

What are the main types of input devices for games?

Answer 59

Three-dimensional input devices (accelerometer, GPS), two-dimensional input devices (directional pads, joysticks, mouse, touchpad), and one-dimensional input devices (controller buttons, keys, knobs, sliders).

Question 60

What are the main audio elements in games?

Answer 60

Sound effects, ambient sounds, music, and dialog/voiceover narration.

Question 61

What are the primary navigation mechanisms in games?

Answer 61

Screen-oriented steering, avatar-oriented steering, flying navigation, and point-and-click navigation.

Question 62

What is the difference between dramatic tension and gameplay tension?

Answer 62

Both involve something important at stake, but dramatic tension comes from the plot and fades with randomness and repetition, while gameplay tension comes from challenges and can tolerate randomness and repetition for much longer.

Question 63

What is the "Design Rule: Risks Need Rewards" principle?

Answer 63

A risk must always be accompanied by a reward; otherwise, the player has no incentive to take the risk.

Question 64

What is a game concept?

Answer 64

A description with enough detail to discuss a game as a commercial product, including a high concept statement, licenses, player's role, competition modes, primary gameplay mode, game world description, genre, monetization plan, target audience, progression summary, and hardware requirements.

Question 65

What is a flowboard in game design documentation?

Answer 65

A document that shows the structure—links among gameplay modes and shell menus—and lists available menu items and player inputs.

Question 66

What is the difference between a game structure and a game story/level progression?

Answer 66

The structure defines the relationships among the gameplay modes, documenting when and why the game changes from mode to mode. The story or level progression describes how the player experiences a sense of progress from the beginning of the game to the end.

Question 67

What is agency in interactive storytelling?

Answer 67

The power to change the direction of the player's path through the plot, and perhaps the story's future events.

Question 68

What are the common examples of shell menus in games?

Answer 68

Options/settings menus, save/load screens, main menu, character creation screens, and credit screens.

Question 69

What are the four types of competition modes in games?

Answer 69

Single player, multiplayer competitive (competitive multiplayer), multiplayer cooperative (cooperative multiplayer), and single player competitive (player competes against the game system).

Question 70

What are the three types of immersion in games?

Answer 70

Tactical immersion (being "in the groove"), strategic immersion (observing, calculating, planning), and narrative immersion (feeling of being inside a story).

Question 71

What are the common boundary types in game worlds?

Answer 71

Impenetrable barriers (invisible walls, physical barriers), wrap-around boundaries (exiting one side enters the opposite side), and deadly boundaries (going too far results in death or failure).

Question 72

What is the "Design Rule: Do Not Taunt the Player" principle?

Answer 72

A few designers think it's funny to taunt or insult the player for losing. This is mean-spirited and violates a central principle of player-centric game design: the duty to empathize.

Question 73

What are the different ways to handle the ethical dimension in games?

Answer 73

Games can reflect real-world ethics, create alternative ethics for fictional worlds, present moral dilemmas for players to resolve, or avoid ethical questions entirely.

Question 74

What is the difference between abstract and representational realism in games?

Answer 74

Abstract games simplify or stylize real-world concepts and may not attempt to look real, while representational games try to mimic reality more closely in appearance and/or mechanics.

Question 75

What is the "Design Rule: Keep Exclusionary Material Out of Your Game" principle?

Answer 75

To reach a large audience while still creating a harmonious, coherent game, don't try to attract everyone by adding unrelated features. Instead, work to avoid repelling people who might otherwise be attracted.

Question 76

What is the relationship between visuals and ethics in game design?

Answer 76

If game world ethics are unrealistic, it's advisable to make visuals unrealistic also, to create distance between the game world and reality.

Question 77

What are the key considerations when managing complexity in user interfaces?

Answer 77

Simplify the game (abstract details, automate functions), balance depth versus breadth, use context-sensitive interfaces, and avoid obscurity.

Question 78

How does environmental design in games affect player experience?

Answer 78

The environment sets the mood, creates a sense of place, establishes cultural context, guides player movement, provides gameplay elements, and reinforces the game's themes.

Question 79

What is the relationship between camera models and interaction models?

Answer 79

The camera model (how the player views the game world) is often tied to the interaction model (how the player acts on the game world). For example, avatar-based games typically use first-person or third-person perspectives, while multipresent interaction often uses aerial perspectives.

Question 80

What is the Design Rule regarding innovation in UI design?

Answer 80

Do not innovate unnecessarily in UI design. If a convention exists, use it—or as much of it as works with your game. Forcing players to learn an unfamiliar UI when perfectly good ones already exist will frustrate them.

Question 81

What are the types of game machines and how do they affect design?

Answer 81

Home game consoles, personal computers, browser-based games, handheld game machines, mobile phones/wireless devices, and other devices (airlines, arcades, etc.). Each has different capabilities, control schemes, and audience expectations that influence design decisions.

Question 82

What are the five things player-centric interface design should tell players?

Answer 82

Where they are, what they are doing, what challenges they face, whether their actions succeeded or failed, and how they're progressing.

Question 83

What is the difference between a game treatment document and a high concept document?

Answer 83

A high concept document (2-4 pages) is a brief tool to sell the game concept, while a game treatment document is a more detailed sales tool that provides a summary of the basic game design, similar to a brochure.

Question 84

What are the main exploration challenges in games?

Answer 84

Spatial awareness challenges, locked doors, traps, mazes/illogical spaces, teleporters, and finding hidden objects.

Question 85

What are conflict challenges in games?

Answer 85

Conflict challenges include strategy, tactics, logistics, survival and reduction of enemy forces, defending vulnerable items or units, and stealth.

Question 86

What considerations should be made when placing checkpoints for automatic saves?

Answer 86

Place checkpoints before any critical moments, place checkpoints after any long non-interactive content, and avoid auto-saves just before death onto a single slot.