Dramatic Elements of Games

Hey all I'm for another lecture blog, this one focusing on the Dramatic Elements of games, my last lecture blog focused on the formal elements of games and if you want to read it you can find it here. Now onto the the dramatic elements of games (I am kinda more particular to the dramatic elements rather than the formal elements but that's just me).

Now in class we defined 5 different dramatic elements that we find in games which my professor mentioned are borrowed from drama. The ones we focused were challenge, play, premise, character, and story.

Challenge

Now most people know challenge as a difficult task one must complete, sometimes in order to move on to the next challenge like in those reality shows, survivor and amazing to name a few. In games we refer to challenges as quests, missions, or even objectives (what they are called all depends on the game and the game developers). Challenges create a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment you get from completing them. In video games there are numerous amounts of challenging interactions whether from the game itself or when interacting with other players. Depending on what type of player you are different challenges can bring about an individualized sense of accomplishment, this is why certain games appeal to certain types of gamers.

The differences in challenges creates a dynamic and personalized experience for gamers (I love the fact some games have different challenges that different players can run through that are more geared towards the way they player their games. Me, I'm a huge achievement gamer and completionist so games like Little Big Planet and Assassin's Creed that offer achievements for 100 percenting a level or mission is awesome because its like its individualized to me and the way I play games). This dynamic is also shown in the difference in levels, such as easy, medium or hard modes which caters to the different level players.

An interesting game we talked about in the lecture is a game called Flow (which I love this game 1. because its just so very pretty but also because of the way the developers incorporated the element of challenge into the game). This game is all about the experience you have while being highly engaged in Flow and even if you play if it doesn't seem like your type of game I highly recommend you try it (I find it really addicting and you should all play it, like right now). Below is a video of Flow's game play if you are interested:

Play

Play is word most people relate to activities such as sports, art, games, etc which isn't wrong however in games it divided into  4 different types and 2 forms of freedom we have with play. In this lecture we took a look at the dynamic element of play, and what it really means in the game world. Now there are 4 different types of play that Roger Caillois (who was the really smart guy from France that i don't really feel like explaining so if you really want to know who he is click here for more info) identified in his work called Man, Play and Games: 

•  Argon, which is a competitive style of play (so soccer, hockey or really any time of sport)
  
• Alea, a chance-based type of play (poker, black jack and all those fun card games you somehow always lose to your grandmother cause you don't know how but thy are like the grandmaster of cards)
  
• Mimicry, which is make-believe play (so like when little kids play house or have tea parties or even cosplaying)
  
• Linx, a vertigo (which translates to a whirling or spinning movement) play such as skiing or horse back riding 

 In addition to the types of play he identified Caillois separated them into 2 dimensions of freedom:

• Ludus, which is rule-based play (you basically have to follow rules and there isn't much wiggle room)
  
• Paida, which is a free-form, improvised form of play (this is basically like giving a toddler a toy and letting them do whatever they want with it)

When we were discussing the different types and forms of play we got on to the topic of cosplaying and conventions when we discussed Mimicry, which was awesome cause without realizing it my professor was able to define what type of play cosplaying was which I had never really thought about before until he brought it up. Now while we were talking about play, we go into the different types of players which there are a lot to list so I've include the lecture slide outlining them below:

The discussion that came from looking at the different types of play because different types of players enjoy different ways of playing. I'm sure many of you can guess what each player type values when playing games based on their type name. Now my professor mentions a model that analyses different player types called the BrainHex (note that players can be more than one type of gamer, which the BrainHex actually looks into). I knew I've always been an achievement gamer, but when my professor mentioned there were primary and secondary types of gamers I was really intrigued and checked it out. Basically there a bunch of questions you answer and based on the answers provided the model tells you what type of gamer your are. My results are below (if you want to find out your gamer types based of the BrainHex model click here:

Premise

Premise refers to the setting of the game, which includes time, place, main character(s), objective and action that propels the story forward. This element makes a game's formal system playable for the user. The premise is really based on story telling in the game, which helps draw players into the game and get them more engaged in the game play. Some games that place a large focus on premise to engaged and draw players in are games like Bioshock, Uncharted, Assassin's Creed and Dishonored among others, which shows how the premise leads the player into the drama and conflict in the game. Personally I really enjoy games that play a higher emphasis on the premise and story of the game, since it really increases the enjoyment I get from the games I play (don't get me wrong not all games I enjoy have an intricate premise but many of my favorite games are because of the world and story developed through the game).

Character

 With Characters, in any form of media whether is be games, movies or TV, drama is told from their actions, and creates a sense of empathy through their movement toward a resolution. The premise is set in motion through the characters since they are the main tool in propelling the story forward, though this is much harder to achieve in games since as we discussed in class, its much harder to develop a sense of empathy for the characters since you are the one controlling him and moving the story forward (which creates a seriously interesting relationship between the players and game characters). In our lecture we identified 4 methods of characterization:

• Wants
• Needs
• Hopes
• Fears

 These characteristic help to develop more rounded characters that can be explored and related to due to their more realistic nature rather than having more flat characters that may not be memorable or interesting. This difference is extremely important to understand in order to use the different types of characters in the game to either use as a tool to propel the story or a object in the game.

Story

Story is an important dynamic element for games that help develop the premise and characters in the game. It is a main aspect that drives games, which can have a huge sense of uncertainty which increases how engaging a game is. This is seen in The Hero's Journey, which you can see below:

Player choices can affect the game outcome by creating branching story lines or limiting the scope, a perfect example of this in a game is the game Catherine where the choices you make in game affects the game play, you can either make it harder or easier and change the ending. In stories there is what is known as the Dramatic act which is basically the main idea of how you have rising and falling tension in your story/ game(everyone should know something about this I mean they teach you this every year in English class). In games there a significant amount of more types of conflict that you as a game developer can use to draw players into the game. As seen in the image below, the is always rising tension that leads to the climax, which can help draw in and ensnare players emotionally in the game, making the player have a sense of accomplishment when they get to the releasing tension (like my professor said just like in chick flicks).