game technology for serious applications
learning objectives
After reading this chapter you should
have an idea how to approach the development of a moderately
complex game, and you should also be able to discuss the notion of immersion
and argue why using game technology is relevant for serious applications.
Game playing is fundamental to human life.
Not only for entertainment, but also to acquire
the necessary skills for survival.
Game playing can take a variety of forms, but nowadays
the dominant game paradigm is undoubtedly the interactive video game,
to be played on a multimedia-enhanced PC or game console.
Currently, games are being (re) discovered
in the academic field, another serious areas of society,
as excellent means for both the transfer of knowledge and,
perhaps more importantly, for attitude change.
In this chapter we will look at the various issues in
developing a game, and more specifically, in section 11.2 at requirements
for a promotional game for our faculty
and the issues that came up when giving a masterclass
game development for high school students using this game.
Finally, we will sketch the history of immersive systems,
in particular panoramas, in section 11.3, and we will discuss
how immersion is to be realized in a game context.
game playing
... in the game we confront a function of the living creature
which cannot be determined either biologically or logically ...
visual culture
games are an increasingly important element in our visual culture.
game programming
- game play programming
- game engine programming
game engine component(s)
- rendering system -- 2D/3D graphics
- input system -- user interaction
- sound system -- ambient and re-active
- physics system -- for the blockbusters
- animation system -- motion of objects and characters
- artificial intelligence system -- for real challenge(s)
fun
- in the general flow of the game experience and
- in the individual moments during a playing session.
what is a game?
a game is a series of processes that takes a player to a result.
interactive electronic game
A game is a play activity comprised of a series of actions and decisions,
constrained by rules and the game world, moving towards an end condition.
The rules and the game world are delivered by electronic media and
controlled
by a digital program.
The rules and game world exist to create interesting situations to
challenge and oppose the
player.
The player's actions, his decisions, excitement, and chances, really,
his journey, all
comprise the "soul of play".
It is the richness of context, the challenge, excitement, and
fun of a player's journey, and not simply the attainment of the end condition
that determines the success of the game.
battle condition(s)
- confrontation on well-established area
- delimited in space/time
- audience/participants who judge victory/loss
design team role(s)
- manager(s) -- keep everything together
- producer(s) -- maintaining focus
- programmer(s) -- solve problem(s)
- tester(s) -- control quality
- designer(s) -- elaborate idea(s)
history
- phase i: before space war -- hardwired
- phase ii: spacewar on atari -- console with game
- phase iii: game console and PC -- separate game development
- phase iv: shakedown and consolidation -- player code in data files
- phase v: advent of the game engine -- user level design
- phase vi: the handheld revolution -- the GameBoy
- phase vii: the cellular phenomenon -- larger installed user base
- phase viii: multiplayer games -- from MUD to Everquest
Screens from Samurai Romanesque.
virtual heroes
Serious games and simulations are poised for a second revolution.
Today's children, our workforce and scientists are increasingly playing,
learning, and inventing in visually intensive "virtual" environments.
In our increasingly experiential economy, immersive educational and
training solutions are needed to advance the workforce of tomorrow.
Game-based learning and technologies meet this challenge.
With regard to the use
of 3D we may remark that
since ancient times a walk in space has served as a mnemonic device, and as such
spatial memory may aid in retention and understanding, which might also
provide a decisive argument for the use of 3D in aa serious game, such as a service management game!
peace maker(s)
Q:
With the lion's share of strategy games on the market being devoted to ending a conflict
through violence, why was it important to you to emphasize the need for a peaceful solution?
A: When we started to work on the project and looked around at other video games,
we encountered the notion that war is much more challenging and conflict is essential to engage players.
Many people we talked to perceived peacemaking as mere negotiations, where a group of diplomats sit
at a table for lengthy discussions and sign agreements.
We tried to shed light on what we see as the other side of peacemaking
how challenging it is for a leader to gain trust and understanding in the face of constant violence.
How difficult it is to execute concessions, while your own population is under stress or feeling despair.
In a sense, peacemaking can be more complicated, sophisticated and rewarding than war making,
and it is a message that we would like to convey to young adults, the future generation of leaders.
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goal(s)
- to develop a game that could be used for promoting our institute, and
- to prepare a masterclass game development for high-school students.
requirements game
- the game must provide information about the faculty of sciences of the VU,
- the game environment must be realistic and sufficiently complex, and
- the interaction must be of a non-aggressive, non-violent, nature.
requirements masterclass
- it must be suitable for beginners, in particular high school students,
- it must explain basic texture manipulation, and
- offer templates for modifying a game level, and finally
- there must be a simple (easy to understand) manual.
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technical issues
- level design
- game modifications
- importing models
level design
To give an impression of the overall size of the VU.vmf game level,
as map information we obtained 6464 solids, 41725 faces, 849 point
entities, 1363 solid entities, and 129 unique textures, requiring in total a
texture memory of 67918851 bytes (66.33 MB).
game modification(s)
player properties -- players start out immortal,
meaning that they cannot "die" while exploring the world.
Furthermore, continuous sprinting is enabled, which allows the player
to walk around faster.
puzzle HUD -- when the player starts out,
the puzzle HUD is the only HUD element displayed.
puzzle setter -- allows puzzle parts to be displayed on the puzzle HUD.
weapon enabler -- allows weapons to be enabled/disabled for the player.
Enabling the weapons also enables damage, and swithes from
the puzzle HUD to the default Half-Life 2 HUD,
which displays weapon and damage information along with a crosshair.
importing models
- the model must be exported to the custom Valve format smd
- the model must be compiled from smd to mdl format
assignment(s)
- to modify an existing game level by applying different textures,
- to create objects within an existing game level, and
- (for advanced students only) to create a new level.
instruction(s)
- an overview of the history of games,
- a general introduction on modelling characters and objects,
- the use of the Hammer editor, and finally,
- an explanation of the assignments.
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hammer editor
- block tool -- for creating simple object,
- selection tool -- to select objects for texturing,
- entity tool -- to select dynamic or interactive objects, and the
- texture tool -- to apply textures to an object;
Somewhat surprisingly, all
students worked directly from the (paper) manual, rather than consulting the
online documentation, or the help function with the tool.
matrix
competition
To stimulate the participants in their creativity,
we awarded the best result, according to our judgement,
with a VU-Life 2 T-shirt and a CD with Half-Life 2.
The results varied from a music chamber, a space environment,
a Matrix inspired room, and a messy study room.
We awarded the Matrix room with the first prize, since it looked,
although not very original, the most coherent.
civilisation
Media are special cases within the history of civilisation.
They have contributed there share to the gigantic rubbish heaps
that cover the face of our planet or to the mobile junk
that zips through outer space.
dead media project
Together with like-minded people, in 1995,
Bruce Sterling started a mailinglist (at that time still an attractive option)
to collect obsolete software.
This list was soon expanded to collect dead ideas,
or dead artifacts, and systems from the history of technical media:
inventions that appeared suddenly and disappeared just as quickly,
which dead-ended and were never developed further;
models that never left the drawing board; or actual products
that were bought and used and subsequently vanished into thin air.
machines can die
Sterling's project confronted burgeoning phantasies about
the immortality of machines with the simple facticity of
a continuously growing list of things that have become defunct.
technology and death
Once again, romantic notions of technology and of death
were closely intertwined in the Dead Media Project.
scenario(s)
Michelle is a writer, and she writes a book about Dutch paintings.
To collect necessary information, she analyses different sources about Dutch culture,
many of them in Dutch language. However, being a beginner in Dutch,
she often has to translate phrases from and to English.
She also needs to find additional information about particular concepts and facts.
Instead of using several tools, such as online dictionaries, definition books and search engines,
she decides to compose a simple service that aggregates all the services she needs.
dimension(s)
- scope -- individual vs. corporate
- platform -- local vs. web-based
- functionality -- data aggregation vs. interaction
- developers -- end-user vs. professionals
Additionally we address the issue of
- licensing -- OS vs. proprietary
service-oriented computing
- service brokering -- to connect services,
- service adapters -- to transform data, and
- integration mechanisms -- to deploy services.
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analogon of reality
Certainly, the image is not the reality but at least it is its
perfect analogon and it is exactly this analogical perfection
which, to our common sense, photography.
This can be seen as the special status of the photographic image, it is a message without a code.
perspective(s)
- the organisation of the image, as well as
- the (optimal) point of view of the viewer.
realism
... documentary modality of black and white realism ...
visual grammar
grammar goes beyond formal rules of correctness.
It is a means of representing patterns of experience.
It enables human beings to build a mental picture of reality, to make sense of their
experience of what goes on around them and inside them.
virtual reality
the idea of virtual reality only appears to be without a history: in fact,
it rests firmly on historic art traditions, which belongs to a discontinuous
movement of seeking illusionary image spaces.
immersion
the concept of immersion when implemented as an artwork surrenders most of the
essential properties of an artwork.
properties of artwork(s)
- form -- aesthetic whole
- structure -- organisation of elements
- function -- context of display
- processuality -- (implicit) narrative structure
- statement -- existential/political implication(s)
collective memory
it is an apparent feature of the concept of immersion that it engages
with the spatial and pictorial concentration of the awareness of one's own people,
the formation of collective identity through powerful images that occupy
the function of memory.
ecstatic transport
using contemporary image techniques, immersive art very often
visualizes elements that can best be described as Dionysian:
ecstatic transport and exhilaration.
realism
a realism is produced by a particular group as an effect
of the complex of practices which define and constitute that group.
naturalism
each realism has its naturalism, that is a realism that is
a definition of what counts as real, a set of criteria for the real,
and it will find its expression in the right, the best,
the most natural form of representing that kind of reality,
be it a photograph or a diagram.
dominant paradigm(s)
the dominant standard by which we judge
visual realism (and hence visual modality) remains for the moment,
naturalism as conventionally understood, photorealism.
relation(s)
- response -- object disembodied from self
- control -- self embodies object
- reflection -- self disembodied from object
- belonging -- object embodies self
mass medium
thus, one year after Monet's death and fifty years after
his Impression soleil levant, a late example of modern
art reached the changed artistic landscape of the 1920's,
transported in a derivative of the mass medium
for images in the 19th century.
new media
a consequence of the constitutive function of artistic-illusionary utopias
for the inception of new media of illusion is that the media are both
a part of the history of culture and of technology.
cultural convergence
the cultural convergence of art, science, and technology provides ample
opportunity for artists to challenge the very notion of how
art is produced and to call into question its subject matter and
its meaning in society.
tele-presence
- notions of artificial life
- fusion with (infinite) virtual image worlds
- transformation of self into digital data
human aspiration(s)
telepresence also combines the contents of three archetypal areas
of human aspirations: automation, virtual illusion and
metaphysical views of the self.
cybergnosis
what is being preached is the phantasm of union in a global net
community, cybergnosis, salvation through technology, disembodied as
a post-biological scattering of data that lives forever.
zealot(s)
what we observe are hyperzealots of a new technoreligion running wild,
zapping, excerpting and floating in cyberspace.
aesthetics
since the eighteenth century, aesthetic theories have regarded
distance as a constitutive element of reflection, self-discovery
and the experience of art and nature.
tool(s)
aesthetic distance is no longer tenable when artist are engaging the same systems
used in general communications and research
webvolution(s)
- access -- make available through url
- find -- using search engine
- share -- by storing online
- participate -- by contributing content
- collaborate -- to create meaningful sites
- co-create -- to build a (new) world
game event description format
- name of event -- give a meaningful name
- event-id -- for administrators only
- type -- (generic/specific) game/model/video
- cause -- game play/simulation/exploration
- feedback/information -- give a logical description
- player actions -- indicate all (logical) player options
- description of visuals -- for feedback, information and player options
- additional information -- give a url with reference(s) to information and visuals
- relates to event(s) -- give id's or descriptions of related events
scenario(s)
- context -- general setting, situation
- problem -- event(s) to occur, problem to solve
- S-R situation(s) -- stimulus/response (one or more)
- climax -- action must be taken
- resolution -- find solution or result
concepts
technology
projects & further reading
As a project, develop a non-violent game using the Source SDK.
For example, you may develop an application that gives a community
of users access their personal collections of photographs.
One interesting feature to explore is the use of narratives,
that is a kind of guided tour that gives a user an overview
of the collection of photographs by means of a story, taking (in other words) the user by the hand in navigating the gane space.
For further reading I suggest, apart from the manuals
and learning materials that come with the Source SDK,
books on game development such as [Game], [VideoGame] and
[Magic].
- digital beauties -- taken from [Beauties].
- Masereel, social realist works
- Roy Lichtenstein, 1962
- Masereel, social realist works
- images from Samurai Romanesque, see section 1.3
- HalfLife 2 shader programming
- VU-Life 2 -- opening screen
- VU-Life 2 -- screenshots
- VU-Life 2 -- screenshots
- VU-Life 2 -- screenshots
- VU-Life 2 -- tools
- VU-Life 2 -- tools
- VU-Life 2 -- masterclass
- diagram AMICO core
- diagram AMICO applications
- Roy Lichtenstein, 1962, Stillives
- Monet, Nympheas
- Monet, Nympheas
- Monet, Nympheas
- Web 3Di -- diagram for Webvolution
- signs -- abstract, [Signs], p. 146, 147.
experience is determined by meaning
towards an aesthetics for interaction
learning objectives
After reading this chapter you should have an understanding
of the model underlying game playing, and the role
of narratives in interaction.
Furthermore, you might have an idea of how to define aesthetic meaning
in a cultural context, and apply your understanding to the creative
development of meaningful interactive systems.
As in music, the meaning of interactive applications is
determined, not only by its sensory appearance,
but to a high extent by the structure and functionality of the application.
This observation may, also, explain, why narratives become more and more important
in current video games, namely in providing a meaningful context
for possible user actions.
In this chapter, we take an interactive game-model
extended with narrative functionality as a starting point
to explore the aesthetics of interactive applications.
In section 12.1, we will introduce a model for interactive video games, and in section 12.2
we will present a variety of rules for the construction of narratives
in a game context.
Finally, in section 12.3, we will characterize the notion of meaning
from a traditional semiotics perspective, which we will then apply
in the context of games and interactive multimedia applications.
game theory
- system -- (formal) set of rules
- relation -- between player and game (affectionate)
- context -- negotiable relation with 'real world'
classic game (reference) model
- rules -- formal system
- outcome -- variable and quantifiable
- value -- different valorisation assignments
- effort -- in order to influence the outcome
- attachment -- emotionally attached to outcome (hooked)
- consequences -- optional and negotiable (profit?)
rules vs fiction
game fiction is ambiguous, optional and imagined by
the player in uncontrollable and unpredictable ways, but the emphasis
on fictional worlds may be the strongest innovation of the video game.
theory of interaction
are games relevant for a theory of interaction?
effective service management game(s)
- rules -- service management protocols
- outcome -- learning process
- value -- intellectual satisfaction
- effort -- study procedures
- attachment -- corporate identity
- consequences -- job qualification
additional criteria
- scenario(s) - problem solving in service management
- reward(s) - service level agreements
game play
... structure of interaction with game system and other player(s)
component framework
- holistic -- playing games as an undividable activity
- boundary -- limit the activities of people playing games
- temporal -- describe the flow of the game (interaction)
- structural -- physical and logical elements of the game system
pattern(s)
- resource management -- resource types, control, progress
- communication and presentation -- information, indicators
- actions and events -- control, rewards and penalties
- narrative structures and immersion -- evaluation, control, characters
- social interaction -- competition, collaboration, activities
- mastery and balancing -- planning, tradeoffs
- meta games and learning -- replayability, learning curve(s)
intimate media object(s)
- glow tags -- a subtle way to trigger the person who has placed it or who sees it
- living scrap book -- to capture and collect information and media digitally
- picture ball -- as an object of decoration and a focus for storytelling
- lonely planet listener -- enabling people to listen to a real time connection to another place
intimate media experience(s)
- sensorial -- experience is visual, audible, tactile, olfaric
- personalized -- objects embody meaning and memories
- analogue -- people relate to physical objects
- enhancement -- people already have extensive intimate media collections
- serendipity -- it supports unstructured and flexible usage
- longevity -- objects may exist over generations
experience as meaning
- experience occurs during the interaction between the user(s) and the
interactive system(s) in the lived environment
- designers convey meaning (consciously or unconsciously)
through the appearance, interaction and function of the system
- user(s) construct a coherent whole that is a combination of
sensual, cognitive, emotional and practical forms of experience
film as art
by still being read, the little treatise seems to prove that in spite of all the changes that have
taken place in their form, content and function,
films are still most genuinly effective when they rely on the basic properties
of the visual medium.
illusion
... in film or theatre, so long as the essentials of any event are shown,
the illusion takes place
patterns of light
... we can perceive objects and events as living and at the same time imaginary,
as real objects and as simple patterns of light on the
projection screen, and it is this fact that makes film art possible.
frames of reference
it is one of the most important formal qualities of film
that every object that is reproduced appears simultaneously in two
entirely different frames of reference, namely the two-dimensional
and the three-dimensional, and that as one identical object it fulfills
two different functions in the two contexts.
principles of montage
- cutting -- unit length, whole scenes, cuts within scenes
- time relations -- synchronized, before/after, neutral
- space relations -- same place (different time), different place
- subject matter -- similarity and/or contrast
film technique
- camera -- position, focus, movement
- transitions -- fading in/out, dissolving, stills
- arrangement -- light/shade, color, sound
cinematographic motion
- movement of objects
- effect of perspective
- motion of camera
- montage of scenes
narrative implication(s)
- objects -- the items in the image
- vectors -- (imaginary) lines suggesting interaction
- gaze -- inward (offer) / outward (demand)
composition
composition, ..., relates the representational
and interactive meanings of the picture to eachother,
through three interrelated systems.
representation(s)
- information value -- left/right, top/bottom, centre/margin
- salience -- foreground/background, relative size, contrast
- framing -- connecting or dissolving lines
information value
- left/right -- given versus new
- top/bottom -- ideal versus real
- centre/margin -- important versus marginal
scientific context
- mathematics -- matrix algebra, transforms
- physics -- game physic, particle systems
- computer science -- technological infra-structure
- information theory -- compression and delivery
- media theory -- history of communication
- semiotics -- theory of meaning
societal context
- cultural heritage -- digital dissemination of art
- education & communication -- presentation of concepts and examples
technological context
- modelling -- objects, characters
- interaction -- game programming
- architecture -- game engine design
- rendering -- programming the graphics hardware
creative context
- visual design -- style, models and attributes
- story telling -- narrative structure
learning/meaning
- actionary level -- action and movements
- sensory/iconic -- images and impressions
- symbolic -- language and mathematics
basic geometrical shapes
... basic geometrical shapes have always been a source
of fascination, even of religious awe.
And our scientific age is no exception.
nervous system
(basic geometrical shapes) have been thought to have the power
to directly affect our nervous system, for instance by the
constructivist artist Gabo: the emotional force of an absolute shape is unique
and not replaceable by any other means ...
semiotics -- a theory of meaning
- signifier -- sign/symbol
- signified -- what is referred to
semiotic modes
... is the move from the verbal to the visual
a loss, or a gain?
complexity
... it has to be handled visually,
because the verbal is no longer adequate?
multimedia
the multi-modality of written texts has, by and large, been ignored,
whether in educational contexts, in linguistic theorizing,
or in popular common sense.
Today, in the age of multimedia, it can suddenly be perceived
again.
quotes
- myth of transparency -- visual communication is always coded!
- literacy -- standards for semiotic order
- semiotic modes -- text, visual, auditive, ...
- computer technology -- central to semiotic landscape
- semiotic activities -- production, transformation, development
semiotic landscape
the place of visual communication in a given society can
only be understood in the context of, on the one hand,
the range of forms or modes of public communication available
in that society, and, on the other hand, their uses and valuations.
sonic act(s)
what is the meaning of meaning in apparently
meaningless expressions
modality
one of the crucial issues in communication is the question of
the reliability of messages.
Is what we see or hear true, factual, real, or is it a lie,
a fiction, something outside reality?
To some extent the form of the message itself suggests the answer.
coding orientation
- technical/scientific -- effectiveness, blueprint
- sensory -- pleasure principle is dominant
- abstract -- used by socia-cultural elite
- naturalistic -- dominant common sense paradigm of realism
aesthetics of shock
it is within the realm of probability that the shock,
which Walter Benjamin diagnosed as being film's aesthetic innovation,
will undergo renewal and intensification with far more sophisticated means.
voyeurism
the most obvious symptom of this loss of distance will be a voyeuristic,
dissecting penetration of representations of objects and bodies.
TV
for the first time in the history of man's striving for understanding,
simultaneity can be experienced as such, not merely
translated as a succession in time.
sensory stimulation
although the new victory over time and space represents an
impressive enrichment of the perceptual world, it also favors
a cult of sensory stimulation which is characteristic of the
cultural attitude of our time.
direct experience
proud of our inventions -- photography, film, radio, ... --
we praise the educational virtues of direct experience.
communication
when communication can be achieved by pointing with the finger, however,
the mouth grows silent, the writing hand stops and the mind shrinks.
channels
... the decisive questions remain: who controls the channels,
who distributes right of access, and who exercises economic and political
authority over the networks?
visions
... the history of technological visions is the history of our dreams,
our vagaries and our errors.
Media utopias fluctuate, often occurring in a magical or occult ambience.
synopsis course(s)
... the curriculum should emphasise basic principles,
and to the extent possible employ open standards and open source.
Practical assignments must be centered on local culture,
and stimulate the young talent to explore innovative
applications for cultural heritage, serious games and artistic
expression.
where, what & why
- where -- Ethiopia & VU
- what -- introduction multimedia
- why -- to develop curriculum
environment
- low end computers -- windows, linux
- elementary skills -- programming, design
assumptions
- open source -- flex 2 sdk, Delta3D
- open standards -- XML, X3D
- basic principles -- exploratory development
targets
- local -- present local cultural heritage
- serious -- develop serious game(s)
- benefits -- promote local culture and commerce
presentation
- philosophy -- pathos, ethos, logos
- trailer -- drama, apocalyptic, appeal to player
- climate star -- scientific issues & game play
- game development -- architecture and project plan
phrase(s)
- art -- rethorics of the material
- technology -- solving problem(s)
- science -- establish a theory
dimensions of aesthetic awareness
- spatial -- topological relations, layout of image
- temporal -- order, rhythm, structure
- dynamic -- interaction, reflection, involvement
concepts
technology
projects & further reading
As a project, explore the ways narratives may be constructed from
a collection of images.
Deploy the various editing facilities for providing
flashbacks, flashforwards, and other (temporal) relations
within storytelling.
You may implement this using flash, VRML, or even try to embed
such a narration facility in a game level developed with the
Delta3D or the
Source SDK.
For further reading I suggest you to take a look at
more theoretical material from media theory, such as [Remediation].
Also there is a large collection of books from MIT Media Press
that is of relevance for our new visual culture.
- einzelganger -- walking man of Alberto Giacommeti,
taken from an aanouncement of the Ives Ensemble, Amsterdam.
- game component framework, from [GamePatterns].
- diagram MIME
- diagram experience as meaning
- Roy Lichtenstein, 1962,
(a) Kiss II, (b) Masterpiece,
(c) Forget it, forget me.
- edgecodes -- showing George Lucas and his editoroid.
- El Lissitzky, suprematist works
- El Lissitzky, suprematist works
- Roy Lichtenstein, 1999, Still lifes with brushstrokes
- Les Demoisselles dAvignon, Picasso, 1908, regarded as the start
of Cubism, and Le Goutier, Jean Metzinger, 1911, often referred to as the Mona Lisa of Cubism.
- poster for exhibition of dutch china work.
- signs -- abstract, [Signs], p. 228, 229.
