Designing For Competitions

Advantages of Entering Competitions

Game design competitions can be helpful in many ways, especially for the hobby designer (i.e. one that does not work for a publisher or does not depend on game design income).

First, it usually provides clear boundaries as to game materials and other factors, such as target group and even theme.  These outside limits help a designer immediately focus.  I've written before about the need of self-imposed limits, when one is designing on spec rather than on a contract basis.  A competition usually has many of these limits built-in.

Second, it provides a clear deadline.  Without deadlines, game design can go on forever.  I often tell publishers that delaying the release of my games is a dangerous thing, as I continue to find ways to tweak them if given more time. A deadline forces one to "finish" it.

Third, entering a competition guarantees that your prototype will be playtested by a number of diverse people.  Finding playtesters and asking/bribing/blackmailing them into testing your prototype is one of the most challenging phases of game design.  It is much easier for extroverted people like me to host game nights where testing can take place, but for introverts, entering competitions is another great option.

Fourth, the feedback you receive--both positive and negative--can help you improve your design submission and give you the confidence to pitch it to a publisher.

Fifth, winning a competition can get your game noticed by publishers.  Some competitions are organized by publishers offering contracts to the winners, and some include publisher representatives on their juries.

My Experience with Game Design Competitions

I neglected, in the list above, to mention one of the main reasons I enter competitions.  I do it for the same reason I play games: because exercising creativity in a competitive setting is fun.  There is something that draws me to a competition, no matter how prestigious it may be.  Perhaps it is the specific program and limits, or the fact that I will be able to get feedback from the public on a design before it's published.

Competitions have also been rewarding for me in that they have led either directly or indirectly to several publishing contracts:

Alea Iacta Est, for example, began as a simple entry into a game competition using dice and a standard deck of cards in 2006. The competition was canceled without ever informing the participants, but I enjoyed the game so much that I continued to expand and refine it with my friend, Bernd Eisenstein, and it eventually found a publisher.

The competition entry that became Alea Iacta Est.

That same competition inspired another design that I have been working on ever since.  The dice were eventually replaced with tiles, and the game transformed from a 2-player affair to accommodate up to 5 players in its current form, which has now been signed by a German publisher and is planned for an October release.

The competition entry that evolved greatly into a soon-to-be-released game. Hint: there are no longer any dice!

Both Wampum and Artifact, another game from Bernd and I, were not designed specifically for a competition, but it was only after being awarded by the Hippodice Competition that they received interest from publishers and, eventually, contracts.  The latter is also planned for an October release.

The Wampum prototype for the Hippodice competition.

The Artifact prototype for the Hippodice competition.

Just two months ago I found out about a local design competition from a "print on demand" publisher here in Berlin.  I found the material possibilities--and limits--intriguing. The entries were limited to using pawns in 6 different colors and 6-sided dice, along with light or dark Backgammon discs.  The game boards would also be printed on bendable, vinyl sheets.  The 3 finalists will be played and judged this weekend at Potsdam's 23. International Game Market, an annual event in the largest city on the outskirts of Berlin. The theme of the event, which is designed more for children and families than for gamers, is "fantasy" or "using your fantasy," and the competition encourages the games to incorporate that theme into their design.

The deadline was unusually short, but I was intrigued enough to enter, although there was not very much time to playtest before sending in my submission.  I just found out that my design was chosen as one of the 3 finalists, and I've already sent my improved version of the game board and rules, which I had continued to refine after the competition deadline.  I've also worked on a few other prototypes which have tried to take advantage of the unusual game board material.

My entry: Fantastic Stories as initially produced by Spieltz for the competition.

It will be fun to see the game being played at the event when I bring my family this Saturday, and the game will be available on the publishers print-and-play website sometime thereafter.  And, like some of the other games that began as a humble entry into a relatively unknown competition, perhaps this one will also evolve into something bigger in the future.

On Level Generation In General, And A New Competition

Procedural content generation has been a thing in games at least since Rogue and Elite in the early 80s. Plenty of games feature some kind of procedural generation, for example of levels, maps or dungeons. There's also lots of generation of more auxiliary things, such as skyboxes, trees and other kinds of vegetation, and patterns in general. While Spelunky relit the interest in PCG among indie game developers, AAA developers are increasingly looking at generating various parts of their games. There is also a very active research community on procedural content generation, with lots of papers published every year on new ways of generating things in games. We even wrote a book on this.

Anyway. You probably already knew this, given that you somehow found your way to this blog. What I'm going to say next is also rather obvious:

Essentially all PCG systems are limited to a single game. The level generator for Spelunky only generates Spelunky levels, and will not work with Civilization, or Diablo, or even Super Mario Bros. The Civilization map generator will not work with The Binding of Isaac, or Phoenix, or FTL, or... well, you get my point. In many cases the general algorithm (be it L-systems, binary space partition, diamond-square or something else) could be made to work on other games, but various amounts of game-specific engineering (hacking?) would be necessary; in other cases, the PCG method itself is mostly game-specific engineering and it's hard to discern a general algorithm.

Now, this is actually a problem. It is a problem because we want reusability. We don't want every game designer/developer to have to develop their own PCG method for each new game. Wouldn't it be great if there was software we could just grab, off the shelf to do level generation (or generation of some other kind) in your game? Even for those designers who see PCG as a canvas for creative expression, wouldn't it be great to have something to start with? Most game developers now use some kind of game engine, where physics, collision detection, rendering etc are available out of the box. Even some kinds of PCG is available this way, in particular vegetation through SpeedTree and similar packages. Why couldn't this be the case for level generation?

Let's make another analogy. In research on game-playing AI, there is a growing realization that working only on a single game has its limits. Trying to create champion-level players of Go, Poker, StarCraft or Unreal Tournament is in each case a worthy endeavor and the results are valuable and interesting, but at the same time the resulting solution tends be pretty domain-specific. The world's best Go AI is worthless at any other game than Go, and the same goes for all the other games in the list. There's simply a lot of game-specific engineering.

This is the problem that some recent competitions and frameworks are aiming to overcome. The General Game Playing Competition, the Arcade Learning Learning Environment and the General Video Game AI Competition (GVGAI) each focus on testing game-playing agents on multiple different games. There are many differences between their respective approaches, but also strong similarities.

Tying these threads together, what would it mean to create level generators (or other kinds of game content generators) that without modifications would create good content for a large number of different games? In other words, what would general level generation look like? This is not only a question of making game designers' lives easier (I am of course always interested in that; making game designers' lives easier, or replacing them), but also a very interesting AI and computational creativity problem in its own right.

In a new paper, General Video Game Level Generation, we explore this question. We design a framework based on the GVGAI framework, that allows level generators to connect to any game that is defined in the Video Game Description Language (the basis of GVGAI). The interface gives the level generator information about how the game works, and the level generator then returns a game level in a specified format. In the paper, we describe three different generators based on different approaches, and we test them using both computational means (which agents can play these levels) and through user studies with human players.

Better yet, we are not content with doing this ourselves. We want you to get involved too. That is why we are setting up a level generation track of the General Video Game AI Competition. The competition will run at the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence this year, and we have extensive documentation on how to participate. It is easy to get started, and given how important the question of general level generation is, participating in the first ever competition on general level generation could be a very good investment of your efforts.

Looking forward to seeing what you will do with our framework and competition!

New Shaman Card - Sludge Slurper - Hearthstone

New Shaman Card - Sludge Slurper

UCSC Launches The Country's First M.S. Program In Serious Games

UCSC Games & Playable Media and Serious Games MS Programs

As anticipated in my prior post, the Baskin School of Engineering at UC Santa Cruz is launching the first professional master's degree program in Serious Games offered in the United States, with an initial cohort of students starting in fall 2019. Applications for the M.S. in Serious Games were accepted until January 24, 2019.

Based at UCSC's Silicon Valley Campus in Santa Clara, the Serious Games program builds on existing expertise at UC Santa Cruz in assistive technologies, games and playable media, digital art and new media, psychology, and other related disciplines. The campus's professional degree programs are designed to replicate and accelerate the process of learning from experience.

Image credit: UCSC's Silicon Valley Campus in Santa Clara

The Silicon Valley Campus is home to the UCSC M.S. in Serious Games

"Our professional programs in games and playable media and Serious Games are project-oriented and emulations of professional environments," said Michael John, a teaching professor of computational media who has more than 25 years of industry experience with both Serious and Entertainment Games. "Each quarter you might make three or four games, and they won't all be good; actually most of them won't be good, but the process of building lots of little interactive toys and games is how you learn, and that turns out to be a key skill in the workplace."

The new program will train students over five academic quarters in six key areas: game design, game technology, eliciting and integrating subject matter knowledge, designing and conducting efficacy measures, effective teamwork, and career planning. It will culminate in a capstone project. The program's location in the heart of Silicon Valley and the close relationships of faculty with industry are expected to create ample opportunities for students.

There are opportunities to study Serious Games at other universities, but none offer the breadth and focus of the new program at UC Santa Cruz," said Noah Wardrip-Fruin, professor of computational media. "The professional degree in Serious Games will give students an entry into a rapidly growing industry," he added. 

Image credit: UCSC Baskin Engineering Website

Jim Egen dons a virtual reality helmet and paddles to test ASSIST lab's stroke rehabilitation game.

UC Santa Cruz already offers two of the most highly rated game degree programs in the country: a B.S. in computer game design and M.S. in games and playable media, both in the top 20 of Princeton Review's Top Game Design Schools.

Much of the credit for the early emphasis on games at UC Santa Cruz goes to Jim Whitehead, professor and chair of computational media. In 2004, he began developing a program for computer science students who wanted experience with game development. When the campus began offering a B.S. in computer game design in 2006, it was the first program of its kind in the UC system and one of the few in the country.

During the past decade, UCSC alumni have helped create the latest generation of games. Whitehead said he foresees the same thing happening with Serious Games. Some students currently enrolled in the games and playable media program are already planning to switch to Serious Games. "There's a lot of overlap between Serious Games and more entertainment platforms," he said. "They work with the same programming languages, but there are definitely divergence points."

Those divergence points provide the rationale for having two separate programs. "If you're doing a Serious Game, there's some sort of outcome expected, and it's really important to measure whether you're getting there or not. So there's an important assessment component," Whitehead said.

Designing games with assessment built in seems like a subtle distinction but often requires an entirely different design philosophy. Another reason for separate programs, according to Whitehead, is that the students interested in them are quite different.

Edward Melcer, assistant professor of computational media, teaches a required course on the fundamentals of Serious Games. "So many people see the potential of games to do something important, but shy away," Melcer said. "People think they have to have all this technical knowledge or be a hardcore gamer to do Serious Games, but we don't require that. We want people with passion, people who want to do something for their audience."

More information about the M.S. in Serious Games at UC Santa Cruz is available online at gpm.soe.ucsc.edu/admissions

Get Back To Nature With Forever Forest, Out Now Exclusively On Nintendo Switch

Fictive Studios and Mad About Pandas are excited to announce the result of their collaborative creative force, Forever Forest, will hit Nintendo Switch today.

Forever Forest is a journey of self discovery, casting light on what the developers pitch as 'the essential conflict between man and nature'. The game tells the tale of a world corrupted by magical, mysterious masks, with human beings wielding their power to conquer the Wyld Ore forest, unwittingly spreading darkness and decay, and consuming almost all of the woodland's nature in the process .

To the rescue comes a two legged, hairy protagonist - better known as the 'child of the forest' - who sets out to bring the light back to the world and restore balance to the forest once more.

Forever Forest features:

• A survival, action and role playing game that brings a heartfelt message and an experience you won't forget any time soon
• Delicate visuals that beautifully illustrate the forest's fragility
• Immerse yourself in a world of vibrant habitats and meditative melodies
• Use your wits to outsmart and hunt powerful creatures
• Absorb mysterious masks to permanently evolve and mold your character using unique abilities

"Forever Forest is the result of a collaboration of multicultural global talents, hence why we'll release this game with a multitude of languages, including Arabic, Turkish, English, German and several others more to target the global market," comment Fictive Studios and Patrick Rau, Creative Director at Mad About Pandas.

"When people play Forever Forest, we want them to be playing all over the world sharing our vision of mutual respect and understanding. We are so excited for Forever Forest's release. This really marks the beginning of Fictive's Studio's project portfolio and you can expect brand new launches in the near future."

Forever Forest draws inspiration from around the world and is available now, exclusively on Nintendo Switch for $14.99 / £12.99.

Video Game Backlog: The Enemy Of Gamers Everywhere

If you've been keeping track of me here, on Twitter or Tumblr, you know that I'll be a first-time dad by the middle part of June of this year.  My wife and I are having a baby girl, and we have decided to name her Clementine.  I'm not going to sit here and type that we named her after Telltale's video game Walking Dead character, but I will say that by playing through all 5 episodes of the game, hearing it over and over throughout the course of 10+ hours, and seeing a helpless little 7 year old girl deal with the un-dead, it did rub off on us. It really is a sweet little girl name.  Read from that what you will.  I also am obligated to say "I love you" to my wife after that, because my wife is totally on board with that name.  Not only is she on board, she loves it and thinks it's sweet.  There is no word yet on the middle name just yet, but we're working out the details on a short and sweet middle name. Any ideas? Send them my way.

My name is Justin and my wife's name is Jennifer.  Two of the most common 1980's names there are.  Some people want us to do a "J" name.  Other people are glad we DIDN'T do a "J" name.  Some people we tell aren't on board with Clementine (or Clem, or Clemmy).  And to all of those people I say:  1) She is my daughter.  2) She is Jen's daughter.  3) She will know how to use her biting words and will sling phrases around with the best of them on the playground.  I fully expect her to grow up to be a stand-up comedian.  And although stand-up comedians do sometimes get picked on (it fuels their material), they do eventually grow up and have their own HBO specials and make millions of dollars.

Despite all of the excitement, fear, and anticipation that goes along with bringing a kid into this world, I still want to talk about those vidya games.  Sure sure, call me crazy and tell me I have other more important things to worry about, but I still feel like I have something to say about them; to review them, to discuss the broad range of topics they cover, and to read up on all of the insight that goes into making those fun games along the way.  I don't have as much time as I used to, but I will be on here from time to time spilling the beans and getting as much of this stuff out as I can.  It all won't be logical.  Hell, it might not even make sense.  But I'll try, and it will help me scratch this interactive media itch I have.  So please indulge me. Plus, you'll occasionally get updates on Clem's status, so there's something to look forward to if you're into the whole baby thing.

Back to video games for the moment -

It feels like it was only yesterday when I shut down the mics (not permanently) on the podcast I co-created with my friend Dalyn called Twisted Gamer Radio.  Sadly, when I actually look back it was over a year now. 

So much has happened in that year.  What happened? I have no idea, but that's how life is, isn't it? We try to look back and grasp our memories or accomplishments, only to have them slowly slip through our fingers (thank you Princess Leia for help on that quote).  I'm not done with the whole podcasting thing.  I haven't sold off all of my gear.  I haven't quit paying Amazon to host all of my .mp3 files.  You can still access the RSS feed and download the episodes that are there.  All 13 of them.  But I need somewhere to vent.  Somewhere to release these words and tire me out, so I feel like I don't have anything left on this topic anymore.  Even with a kid and being eventually sleep-deprived, I feel like I will still be interested in and wanting more video game news from the internet. 

This brings me to my current state.

With Bioshock: Infinite coming out tomorrow, I set in motion a plan to get the game for "free".

I normally buy video games months, if not years after they're released (unless they are a highly anticipated title).  Games in the Mass Effect, Bioshock, Borderlands or any other game that piques my interest will be picked up on day one.  I will find a way to get those.  Others, I mostly wait on them because by the time I'm ready to play them, they're cheaper, but also because I'm too busy playing another past game in my backlog that I need to experience.  I almost said "get rid of", and that's wrong.  I don't mean it that way.  In the coming months, I probably won't have any time to game at all, so getting rid of as much backlog games as I can will ease me into parenthood and more importantly the next console generation.  Wait, reverse that. 

If you can't read in-between the lines, that pretty much means I'll be slaving away on previous generation games for about a year before I make the move (and have enough money socked away in diapers) to buy a new Xbox or PS4 console.

I've been on a tear recently, having picked out and completed over 10 games to trade-in for Bioshock: Infinite.  Most of the games are ones I've held onto, but realized I'm probably never going to play them.  Something inside me snapped, and that set in motion a massive picking of games out of my backlog cabinet. 

Some of the games I picked have been out so long they have sequels out already, but I kept them to experience the story and see the progression from the first game in the series to the second, or second to third, etc.  I've always said that I need to pick away at my backlog (even writing a post on Loot Ninja a long ass time ago about it and my problem), but I never stuck to that code of "beat a backlog game, purchase a new game" mentality. This brings me around to my current plan.

I want to go back into my video game backlog and beat games that I started but never finished, or beat games from years ago to help get me the ultimate prize of the perfect game:  Bioshock: Infinite*  (based on current review scores of all major blogs and Metacritic rating.)

Currently I'm making my way through Gears of War 1 with a friend (who needs the co-op achievement), and on the PS3 side of things I started the Killzone 3 single-player.  After that?  I've got to finish a date I started back in March of 2012 with Nathan Drake and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception.  Then it's on to the other 24 disc-based games I have in my catalog both on the Xbox 360 and PS3.  Thank god that this summer is upon us and the slow crawl to October is on, so I can do some catching up game-wise.

As for the blog, I plan on keeping you updated on my progress and I also plan on reviewing and sharing my thoughts on smaller, indie titles on all platforms that deserve the exposure (how little of it they do get from my blog).  This will give me the opportunity to still hack and slash away at my backlog, but keep you guys informed on all things indie games as they get picked up on my radar.  I'd love to say that I will promise to keep you guys updated on all of this, but you never know just what will happen.  I will try though, so there's that.

What about you readers?  Have you put a game so far back in your backlog, that it took you weeks, months or years to come back to it?

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