Matching Items (8)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Game Design
- Creators: Computing and Informatics Program
Description
The objective of this project concentrates on the game Defense of the Ancients 2 (Dota 2). In this game, players are constantly striving to improve their skills, which are fueled by the competitive nature of the game. The design influences the community to engage in this interaction as they play the game cooperatively. This thesis illustrates the importance of player interaction in influencing design as well as how imperative design is in affecting player interaction. These two concepts are not separate, but are deeply entwined. Every action performed within a game has to interact with some element of design. Both determine how games become defined as competitive, casual, or creative. Game designers can benefit from this study as it reinforces the basics of developing a game for players to interact with. However, it is impossible to predict exactly how players will react to a designed element. Designers should remember to tailor the game towards their audience, but also react and change the game depending on how players are using the elements of design. In addition, players should continue to push the boundaries of games to help designers adapt their product to their audience. If there is not constant communication between players and designers, games will not be tailored appropriately. Pushing the limits of a game benefits the players as well as the designers to make a more complete game. Designers do not solely create a game for the players. Rather, players design the game for themselves. Keywords: game design, player interaction, affinity space, emergent behavior, Dota 2
ContributorsLarsen, Austin James (Author) / Gee, James Paul (Thesis director) / Holmes, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Kobayashi, Yoshihiro (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Computing and Informatics Program (Contributor) / School of Arts, Media and Engineering (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Distant is a Game Design Document describing an original game by the same name. The game was designed around the principle of core aesthetics, where the user experience is defined first and then the game is built from that experience. Distant is an action-exploration game set on a huge megastructure floating in the atmosphere of Saturn. Players take on the role of HUE, an artificial intelligence trapped in the body of a maintenance robot, as he explores this strange world and uncovers its secrets. Using acrobatic movement abilities, players will solve puzzles, evade enemies, and explore the world from top to bottom. The world, known as the Strobilus Megastructure, is conical in shape, with living quarters and environmental system in the upper sections and factories and resource mining in the lower sections. The game world is split up into 10 major areas and countless minor and connecting areas. Special movement abilities like wall running and anti-gravity allow players to progress further down in the world. These abilities also allow players to solve more complicated puzzles, and to find more difficult to reach items. The story revolves around six artificial intelligences that were created to maintain the station. Many centuries ago, these AI helped humankind maintain their day-to-day lives and helped researchers working on new scientific breakthroughs. This led to the discovery of faster-than-light travel, and humanity left the station and our solar system to explore the cosmos. HUE, the AI in charge of human relations, fell into depression and shut down. Awakening several hundred years in the future, HUE sets out to find the other AI. Along the way he helps them reconnect and discovers the history and secrets of the station. Distant is intended for players looking for three things: A fantastic world full of discovery, a rich, character driven narrative, and challenging acrobatic gameplay. Players of any age or background are recommended to give it a try, but it will require investment and a willingness to improve. Distant is intended to change players, to force them to confront difficulty and different perspectives. Most games involve upgrading a character; Distant is a game that upgrades the player.
ContributorsGarttmeier, Colin Reiser (Author) / Collins, Daniel (Thesis director) / Amresh, Ashish (Committee member) / School of Arts, Media and Engineering (Contributor) / Computing and Informatics Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Video games often feature agents that the human player interacts with to overcome.
Designing these agents to cover every case of human interaction is difficult, and usually
imperfect, as human players are capable of learning to overcome these agents in unintended
ways. Artificial intelligence is a growing field that seeks to solve problems by simulating
learning in specific environments. The aim of this paper is to explore the applications that the
self play learning branch of artificial intelligence may pose on game development in the future,
and to attempt to implement a working version of a self play agent learning to play a Pokemon
battle. Originally designed Pokemon battle behavior is often suboptimal, getting stuck making
ineffective or incorrect choices, so training a self play model to learn the strategy and structure of
Pokemon battles from a clean slate would result in an organic agent that would outperform the
original behavior of the computer controlled agents. Though unsuccessful in my implementation,
this paper serves as a record of the exploration of this field, and a log of what worked and what
did not, in order to benefit any future person interested in the same topics.
Designing these agents to cover every case of human interaction is difficult, and usually
imperfect, as human players are capable of learning to overcome these agents in unintended
ways. Artificial intelligence is a growing field that seeks to solve problems by simulating
learning in specific environments. The aim of this paper is to explore the applications that the
self play learning branch of artificial intelligence may pose on game development in the future,
and to attempt to implement a working version of a self play agent learning to play a Pokemon
battle. Originally designed Pokemon battle behavior is often suboptimal, getting stuck making
ineffective or incorrect choices, so training a self play model to learn the strategy and structure of
Pokemon battles from a clean slate would result in an organic agent that would outperform the
original behavior of the computer controlled agents. Though unsuccessful in my implementation,
this paper serves as a record of the exploration of this field, and a log of what worked and what
did not, in order to benefit any future person interested in the same topics.
ContributorsCiudad, Erick Marcel (Author) / Meuth, Ryan (Thesis director) / Kobayashi, Yoshihiro (Committee member) / Computing and Informatics Program (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12
Description
A bicycle tour is an unusual thing, one that often defies the expectations of the first-time touring cyclist. In this report, the experience of touring cycling is examined in two parts: a narrative documenting the author's tour down the Pacific Coast, and a reflective work that examines the journey and the major themes which persist throughout. In examining the trip, two major dichotomies arose as themes. The first major dichotomy is found in the expectation of a solitary experience for one who is touring solo. In reality, tours are often built on the goodwill of others in the cycling community. On this particular tour, a website called Warmshowers was central to this point. By offering lodging to tired touring cyclists who would otherwise camp alone, this website serves to bring the cycling community together, and allows for connections that would otherwise never exist to be formed. However, it is true that much of a solo tour is, in fact, spent in solitude. This allows a cyclist long periods for self-reflection and meditation, an opportunity to strengthen one's connection with oneself and the natural world around them. The second is a contrast between the planning that goes into embarking on a long trip and the entropy and randomness that inevitably causes the experience to wildly differ from said plan. When the unexpected occurs, there are two options: to reject the unknown and cling to the framework one sets out for themselves, or to embrace the unexpected and see where it takes you. Often, diverting from the plan can allow for new and exciting experiences. However, there is also value to the framework and stability afforded by adhering to a plan. Through these experiences and more, a bicycle tour changes the way one looks at the world.
ContributorsReid, Evan Calderwood (Author) / Fette, Donald (Thesis director) / Loebenberg, Abby (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Programming is quickly becoming as ubiquitous a tool as general mathematics. The technology field is progressing at an exponential rate and driving this constantly evolving field forward requires competent software developers. Elementary and high school educational facilities do not currently express the importance of the computer science field. Computer science is not a required course in high school and nearly impossible to find at a middle school level. This lack of exposure to the field at a young age handicaps aspiring developers by not providing them with a foundation to build on when seeking a degree. This paper revolves around the development of a virtual world that encompasses principles of programming in a video game structure. The use of a virtual world-based game was chosen under the hypothesis that embedding programming instruction into a game through problem-based learning is more likely to engage young students than more traditional forms of instruction. Unlike the traditional method of instruction, a virtual world allows us to "deceive" the player into learning concepts by implicitly educating them through fun gameplay mechanics. In order to make our video game robust and self-sufficient, we have developed a predictive recursive descent parser that will validate any user-generated solutions to pre-defined logical platforming puzzles. Programming topics taught with these problems range from binary numbers to while and for loops.
ContributorsWest, Grant (Co-author) / Kury, Nizar (Co-author) / Nelson, Brian (Thesis director) / Kobayashi, Yoshihiro (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Computing and Informatics Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
For my Spring 2022-23 Barrett Honors College creative project, I designed and created my own analog game. The created game is a tile-management game for 2-4 players called Plash. Players collect tiles and manipulate the board to complete goals and win the game. The paper for this project details the inspirations and research done for the game’s design, the game's design journey, and detailed instructions on how to play.
ContributorsDavis, Jordan (Author) / Loebenberg, Abby (Thesis director) / Mack, Robert (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Computing and Informatics Program (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2023-05
Description
Into The Network is the result of a years worth of role-playing game research and design. Creating a game that allows for dramatic and comical narratives about colliding video-game worlds. This thesis documents the process of researching various analog games, the process of developing mechanic ideas into a prototype, testing the prototype on groups, and finalizing the game into a full product.
ContributorsGaumond, Timothy (Author) / Loebenberg, Abby (Thesis director) / Mack, Robert (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
This creative honors thesis explores game design by going through the game design experience to produce a prototype of an original board game. From being a casual board game designer to creating one herself, here is a re-account of the experiences it took to design Descent into the Deep. The game design process involved intensive research of game mechanics, learning design tool skills for prototyping, and playtesting to create a playable original board game. Descent into the Deep is a hand management/path game that has players balance their resources to stay alive while considering the opportunity costs of their decisions to earn the most research points. Descent into the Deep has players push their luck and brains to collect research cards for points or offense and defense attacks against other players. The documentation includes the game's rule book, design process, and journal.
ContributorsTran, Teresa (Author) / Loebenberg, Abby (Thesis director) / Mack, Robert (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2023-05