From EQUIS Lab Wiki

This page is a part of Big Bad World of Exercise project, backtracking.

Contents 1 Introduction 1.1 Life Is A Village 1.1.1 Gameplay 1.1.1.1 In normal mode 1.1.1.2 In building mode 1.2 Exergaming 1.3 Platformer 1.4 Persistent or Asynchronous gameplay (in multiplayer game) 1.4.1 Introduction: 1.4.2 Persistent (synchronous) World: 1.4.2.1 A bit of "History": 1.4.3 Asynchronous gameplay: 1.4.4 Conclusion: 1.5 Exergaming References 1.6 Platformer 1.7 Persitant or asynchronous gameplay References

Introduction

"State of the Art" is meant to give a broad overview of the related fields of work relevant to the game at hand. This page aims to do just that, by reviewing exercise gaming, online gaming, and the platformer games that inspired the design of BBWOE.

Life Is A Village

This project aimed to create a full 3D game based on the famous open source engine OGRE. The game makes use of a combination of an IBike and a game pad for player input.

Gameplay

The player take place in a large terrain, compose by mountains, valleys, trees. By pedaling, the avatar explore the landscape to find a location for this village. After this first step, the player have to seek resources in this new world. You can harvest wood near forest, stone near to cliffs. Because you start with just one villager, you can harvest just one resource at the same time, but by adding additional building, you increase your harvest capacity. You can access to greater resources on harder place to reach (top of mountains for example). After developing your village a little bit, you have access to advanced buildings, scenery structures for your village for example. But this game is made to be play on just a single session, so players can save the game state, and later pick up.

The basic controls are: You pedaling for going forward, faster you pedaling faster you go. With your pad you can brake, steering, and many other actions. For example, in the game when you want harvest a new resource like wood: First you have to be close enough for pop-up a message that ask you if you want to harvest this wood. Next you press "1" button on the pad (same position than X on xbox 360 pad) to validate your action.

But you can play this game with a lots of different inputs:

In normal mode

• Tunturi bike:
  • Pedaling forward for going forward (faster you pedaling faster you go).
  • You have a force-feedback depending the difficulty of the terrain.
  • Pedaling backward just do nothing.

• With the mouse you can moving your avatar:
  • Left click: walk forwards
  • Right click: brake

• With the pad:
  • Left thumbstick control moving forwards and braking.
  • Right thumbstick control the camera view (up and down) and turns the avatar (left and right).
  • Button number 2 and the two right triggers control the brake
  • Button number 3 and 4 control gear down and up.
  • Button number 1 is action button, for cut down trees for example.
  • Button number 10 (kind of start button) inserts a building (switch to building insert mode)

• With the keyboard:
  • Arrow UP and W move the avatar forwards
  • Arrow DOWN and S apply the brake
  • LEFT and RIGHT and A and D turn the avatar left and right
  • ESCAPE exits the program
  • PAGE UP / PAGE DOWN shift the avatar's "gears" up and down
  • ENTER is the action button
  • HOME and END pitch the camera up and down
  • PRINT SCREEN takes a screenshot image and saves it to the current working directory
  • B inserts a building (switch to building insert mode)

In building mode

• With the pad:
  • Right thumbstick positions the building
  • Button number 3 and 4 rotate the building left and right
  • Button number 2 is used to cancel building insert
  • Button number 10 button confirms the building insert

• With the keyboard:
  • Arrow keys and WADS move the building.
  • B inserts the building
  • DEL cancels the building insert
  • Q and E rotate the building

Start of Analysis:

First, in this game you running your avatar when you pedaling. The parallel is not perfect but works, the immersion seams better than just press a button for walking (but need to be tested on people for check if everybody as same sensibility). An other good point is that: you need to move a lot in this game because you want to discover new resources, new landscape; So this increase the efficiency of the exercise. For give motivation to the player, the game use a combine of short term and long term goals. You have to searching for resources (short term) and after enough resources you can build a new type of building (long term). For the controls, the good point is that the game support a lot of different peripherals (pad, keyboard, mouse, joystick, Tunturi bike). But it's hard to remember all shortcut for each states. An other problem is the lack of consistency between normal and building state: the button for gear Up and Down is use for rotate Left or Right the building for example. The player discover the control each time he get stack, his try different button until something append on the screen.

Even if the HCI have to be improve, this exergame have been develop to be re-use. So the most important is a architecture that can be modify for create new tests/games faster as possible. This is harder to see, but LiaV is use in more than 10 project in the lab like Frozen Hunter treasure or Heart Burn (2 exergames). And i don't know one of this user complain about bad code readability or something like that.

Exergaming

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exergaming

<add tad paper>

Platformer

Introduction: This game is typically a side-scrolling game. In most of the case, you have to move your avatar in world full of enemies. You can avoid them or beat them. But we can start by re-introduce few older famous platformer:

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeu_de_plate-forme

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_chronologique_des_jeux_de_plates-formes

A bit of "History"

1980: Space Panic, the first platformer:

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Panic

1985: Super Mario Bros, the most sell platformer:

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_Bros.

1991: Sonic the hedgehog, the first success for a freeRun-like game ?

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_%28jeu_vid%C3%A9o,_1991%29

"Next Gen" platformer games

After Sonicthe hedgehog, nintendo respond with Donkey Kong Country on SuperNes. This game was sell at 8 millions of copies, one of the best selling for this console (Gamespot,DKC). In term of graphics, this game is all in 2D, but sprite is pre-rendred for give a "like 3D" effect. The platformer games that have been release after DKC have 2 types: Real next gen games with 3D characters and/or world. Or old-school games all in 2D like X-moto, or a mix but with real 2D gameplay likes Super Paper Mario.

X-moto: This opensource platformer try to use physics for improve user gameplay, this game is a clone of Elastomania, but with more real physics, and more complex systems (elevators for exemple). Like in Elastomania, the game compose by a succession of levels. For done one level, you need to catch each apples, and the flower for finish.

As you can see on this screenshot, the interface is light: Current timer, best time, number of apple already catch. One the other square, a mini map. All inputs on this game use the keyboard: Space bar change the orientation of the avatar. The arrow pad is use for: Up: Trottle Down: Brake Left: Rotate counter-clockwise Right: Rotate clockwise

Super Paper Mario:

This game combine 2 different gameplay: You start with a classical 2D platformer and early in the game you win the ability to add a third dimension for short period of time. The dimension allow you to cross barriers, see hidden objects ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SPM_3D.jpg This pictures illustrates the difference between 3D/2D views

conclusion

Persistent or Asynchronous gameplay (in multiplayer game)

Introduction:

With the rising popularity of MMORPG like World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment,2004), the MMORPG style is the kind of game that we think when we thinking about multiplayer games. But this kind of game still Hardcore gamer oriented (even if WoW is one of the most casual MMORPG game). This paper try to present, in the first hand, main idea of persistant world oriented, like MMORPG, and other, in the other, asynchronous game. In conclusion we will present few games base on persistant world combine with asynchronous communication.

Persistent (synchronous) World:

A bit of "History":

You can find elements of actual persistance game in older game like Trade Wars (1984) or Wasteland (1988) but it's the advent of MMORPG that really express what a persistant world can be.

We cannot present MMORPG without explain what is MUD (Multi-User Dungeon). It was the first adventure game to support multiple users. The player was to connect to a server using the Local network of the university, and answer to the Dungeon Master questions by basics worlds (yes,no,leap,go in ...)
Sreenshot of recent version of MUD:

MUD based on Dungeon & Dragon (D&D), is the precursor of nowadays MMORPG.(Multi-User Dungeon). You can find a lot a game designers ou developpers influence by MUD (Interview Brad McQuaid, Interview Brian Green). But the first graphical MORPG was Neverwinter Nights (First Graphical Online RPG) This game start with server who can connect 50 player on the same game in 1991. Internet connection costs dropped, and improvement of server (500 player on a same server in 1995) created hourly player charge decline. This explain a part of the constant improvement of the players number between 1991 and july 1997 (115000 players) the date where the game was stop. Ultima Online realeased in 1997 was set in the already popular Ultima universe. It was also more involved, complex than many of its predecessors. Ultima online is now credited with popularizing the genre (IGN Ultima Online review). Everquest launched in 1999 was the most successful MMORPG in the U.S for five years ans was the basis for 16 expansions. Since Everquest, the genre continue to progress with new gameplay mechanism like Realm vs Realm (RvR) in Dark Age of Camelot, Or free to play MMO who generating revenue by selling in-game enhancements.

Persistent worlds can be simulated in offline games, such as in the Animal Crossing series. Even though nothing happens while the game is off (due to the obvious technical constraint), the illusion of persistence is created by advancing events as soon as the game is turned on. The game generates events that could have happened during the real-world time in which the game was inactive.

Nowadays, World of Warcraft are the most play MMORPG around the world, about 11.5 Millions(Blizzard Press Release 2008). You find in WoW a mix of gameplay inovation since Ultima Online. Players have to improve habilities of our avatar. For do that, the avatar have to win some experience points, stuff, gold. You have many ways to interact with the world: you can move your avatar using your keyboard and your mouse, you can talk with the avatar around you using a chan include in the game (you can call avatar near you, but you can talk in a specific chan if you want, your group chan, or guilde chan for exemple). When you playing with your guilde you have to use a VOIP software to directly talk with your ally (mumble, teamspeak or ventrilo). But their are asynchronous way to discuss in WoW. You can sell or buy stuff like weapons using a specific auction market in the game. If you win an auction, you receive your object directly by Mail in few hours. But you can use this Mail system to write letter to other character, or send objects.

• Talk about the non online persistent world Animal crossing.

But MMORPG is not the only nowadays game that let player interacting in a persistent virtual world. Animal crossing is one of this games: You playing a animals who living in a town filled with cartoonish animal characters. You can interact with them for buying house, work, trade, personalize their environnement. The game is already synchronized on the real world: If you playing the night the game will be darker that during the day.

Asynchronous gameplay:

• Diplomacy and Play-By-Mail

"The most successful game for this format is clearly Diplomacy" (Gamasutra asynchronicity)

• • Describe Diplomacy and the problems
  • Describe why Play-my-Mail is a good solution.

• Battlemail: Play-By-Email
  • Describe how battlemail kung-fu work
  • Conclude about this game

The first version of Animal Crossing ran on a Nintendo GameCube (GC) support asynchronous multiplay with up to four players.This console support synchronous gameplay, it's deliberate designers choice to let player discover this world alone. This players can interact with their friends or family members who play the same game, but indirectly: by leaving notes, gifts, completing tasks, or even planting flowers or trees.

Conclusion:

Persistent asynchronous gameplay. We already talk about Animals Crossing,

Exergaming References

• BBC news about new English 2007 words added link

Platformer

• Gamespot DKC link

Persitant or asynchronous gameplay References

• Blizzard Press Release 2008 link
• China, What's coming next ? 2010 link
• Trade Wars (1984) link
• Wasteland (1988) link
• Online World Timeline 2002 link
• Multi-User Dungeon (1978) link
• Interview Brad McQuaid link
• Interview Brian Green link
• First Graphical Online RPG link
• Petition about NWN link
• IGN Ultima Online review link
• Gamasutra asynchronicity link
• Animal Crossing 2001 link