Transcript Rules - Lehigh CSE

Defining Rules and Levels of Rules
(Chs. 11 & 12)
Rules: Example
• Let us define the rules for Tic-Tac-Toe
• These rules describe the formal system (not the
experience)
• Does the game change if we use “” instead of “X”, and
“” instead of “O”?
Characteristics of Game Rules
•Rules limit player action
•Rules are explicit and unambiguous
•Rule are shared by all players
–But players of different levels in MMOs?
•Rules are fixed
–Is this true in all digital games?
•Rules are binding
•Rules are repeatable
Rules and Strategy
• Rules impose limits, explicit and unambiguous, …
• What is an strategy?
• Example of an strategy that is not a rule?
Idea: Abstraction
• A non-gaming example:
Formulate a property or “formal structure” that is
common to the following 2 sets of numbers:
A = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}
B = {1006, 1008, 1010, 1012, 1014}
• Formulating such properties provides a better
understanding of sets, models, and systems
• Surprisingly the same idea can be applied to games…
Oh Really?
• Lets play these two games:
– Tic-Tac-Toe
Level 1: “Operational
Rules”
– “3-to-15” game:
• Two players alternate turns
• On your turn pick a number between 1 and 9 that
has not been picked before
• The first player to pick exacly 3 numbers that add
to 15 wins
• These two games have a common formal structure
Formal Structure or “Constitutive Rules”
for Tic-Tac-Toe and 3-to-15
2
9
4
7
5
3
6
1
8
Level 2: “Constitutive
Rules”
Both games have the same constitutive rules:
•Players alternate making a unique selection from a grid
of 3 x 3
•First player to select 3 in a row, column, diagonal wins
•Otherwise, it is a draw
Level 1: Operational Rules
• The delineate precisely how a player manipulates and
interpret objects in the game
• Describe specific actions that player takes
• These are what in the (commercial) games are termed
out as “rules”
Level 2: Constitutive Rules
• Describe the
mathematical logic of
the game
• Actions are more
general; can fit many
games
• Another Example:
“Chutes and
Ladders”
• We know the
operational rules
• But what are the
constitutive rules?
Constitutive Rules of “Chutes and
Ladders”
• Players begin with a
value of 0
• Players alternate
turns adding a
random number from
1 to 6
• First to reach 100
wins
• When player reaches
certain numbers
(e.g., 62) it adds or
subtracts a certain
amount (e.g., -43)
Why not using rules close to the
constitutive rules?
• Why do we need the board in “Chutes and Ladders”?
– What is the purpose of the board?
– Why this specific set of operational rules?
 Elegant design: no need for calculator
 Meaningful: discernable
 Meaningful: integrated
• What are the constructive rules for RTS, RPG, FPS
games?
– Some answers will be provided in the design
analysis project
– How can I tell if a set of constitutive rules is “right”?
 Those rules should be the same for any other
game in that Genre: Example 1 and Example 2
Level 3: Implicit Rules
• Unwritten rules. Examples for Tic-Tac-Toe?
–Fair play (“no cheating”!)
–Etiquette
–…
• Other examples:
 When teaching another player to play chess
• Sometimes some implicit rules are actually written.
Example?
Summary
• Games are structured activities
Rules determine the structure
An integral part of game design is
therefore creating (and testing) the rules
Beta testing
Problems tuning rules can be game
breaking
• “More than a procedure for designing games, the three kinds of
rules provide a framework for understanding how rules operate”