Recently I watched a video by Extra Credits called plan practise and improvise, these are three different types of play found in games. I want to figure out what and why my game will use these styles of play in it's design so that I can use this categorisation system to my advantage. By doing this I will be able to structure my level design around adapting to the styles of play I choose to continue with.
First let me introduce the three types:
There is no set formulae for implementing this into games, you can use it how you want, some games such as Heavy Rain would rely a lot on you improvising as you move along the story, throwing quick fire decisions at you as you progress.
As you can see in the image above, the game throws quick time events at you, while also showing what button is coming next to allow the play a tiny amount of planning time, this is a great example of the two types of gameplay being mixed together.
Other games such Final Fantasy would have you incorporate all three, practising by leveling up your characters through mind-boggling hours of grinding, planning before a battle to ensure your tactics are set up right, and improvising, when you inevitably get caught off guard by a random event and get slaughtered by the opposition.
My game is similar to limbo in respects of narrative being the driving force of the game, meaning most of my game would probably have to rely on player improvisation, but if I'm giving the player an array of re-useable power ups then I can also include some elements of practise to allow them to experiment when identifying the effectiveness of the power ups in different scenarios. this will also allow me to change the fluctuation of difficulty of the game as the player progresses, directly linking in to the main theme of FLOW in my game. By play testing and generating user feedback I can create a level timeline in which I know where the player will have ease and difficulty of playing the game and how to transition between the two.
In conclusion I will be incorporating improvisation and practise at an approximately 80/20 split, throwing quick decisions at the player while also giving them the chance to explore between these scenarios by practising with the selection of level-traversing power-ups.
First let me introduce the three types:
- Plan - Most things strategy based involve planning, stealth games are a good example genre, having to plan your movements to gain a higher score.
- Practise - The perfect example of this is guitar hero, you master gameplay through repetition, allowing you to learn and expand knowledge and be rewarded for your practise.
- Improvise - You have no idea what's coming, you must continuously adapt the the situation at hand. Anything made to be beaten in one go is generally improvisational.
(images from extra credits)
There is no set formulae for implementing this into games, you can use it how you want, some games such as Heavy Rain would rely a lot on you improvising as you move along the story, throwing quick fire decisions at you as you progress.
As you can see in the image above, the game throws quick time events at you, while also showing what button is coming next to allow the play a tiny amount of planning time, this is a great example of the two types of gameplay being mixed together.
Other games such Final Fantasy would have you incorporate all three, practising by leveling up your characters through mind-boggling hours of grinding, planning before a battle to ensure your tactics are set up right, and improvising, when you inevitably get caught off guard by a random event and get slaughtered by the opposition.
My game is similar to limbo in respects of narrative being the driving force of the game, meaning most of my game would probably have to rely on player improvisation, but if I'm giving the player an array of re-useable power ups then I can also include some elements of practise to allow them to experiment when identifying the effectiveness of the power ups in different scenarios. this will also allow me to change the fluctuation of difficulty of the game as the player progresses, directly linking in to the main theme of FLOW in my game. By play testing and generating user feedback I can create a level timeline in which I know where the player will have ease and difficulty of playing the game and how to transition between the two.
In conclusion I will be incorporating improvisation and practise at an approximately 80/20 split, throwing quick decisions at the player while also giving them the chance to explore between these scenarios by practising with the selection of level-traversing power-ups.
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