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Game Research and Analysis
(i) Construct buildings in game to generate resources The buildings establish economic relationships with each other. The effectiveness of the economy depends on the player's decisions: what buildings he built, where he put them, how much infrastructure connects them together, when he built them, etc.
The landscape contributes to the economy and player have to make the best use of it.
(ii) In Caesar III, there is a simulated citizenry that demand temples, schools, theaters from the player. These becomes player goals. (iii) There are threats to build against: the player will need city walls, hospitals, to train soldiers...
Challenges::Tuning_Levers Opportunities::Tuning_Levers
In economy building, goals tend to be very long-term and offer many ways to reach them. Players set their own intermediate goals, and for many players, building a stable and growing economy becomes a goal in its own right. Missions consist often in building an economy to achieve a particular state or to exist within limits.
(i) Production of basic resources: E.g., wheat, fruits, olives, clay, metal These basic resources can be converted to into intermediate products or arms. Residences require these and other goods. The wealthier the citizen, the more tax money (ii) Food::Feed_Population, Food::Build_Units (iii) Gold::Finance_Special_Buildings, Gold::Finance_Research, Gold::Finance_Units
(i) Location of buildings::Production_Rates (Building on fertile grasslands increases food production, rivers increase trade and wealth, hills and mountains offer opportunity to build mines to increase production rates.
(i) Strong_Military::Strategy
This requires producing more raw materials and building close to rivers to speed up trade, wealth, and scientific advancements. Must consider short-term and long-term issues... Cities whose Population_Grow_Rate is fast will eventually require more upcost.
(ii) Big_Population::Strategy
Building close to fertile soils rather than high density raw resources area can become a long-term winning strategy.
Caesar III This game makes most of the resource flows visible. Player has to build roads to connect farms to markets and connect houses to workshops. People carrying goods from one place to another are seen. New citizens flow into the city from a particular edge of the map and leave on a different side. The structure of the economy closely resembles the map of the city.
The challenge of Caesar III is to utilize space effectively and build a smoothly running economy. Obstacles to overcome are the positive feedback loop that involves production, consumption by citizens and tax income. The positive feedback is balanced by the negative feedback from the dynamic friction built into the residence mechanism. External friction mechanisms include demands from the Roman Emperor and fighting invading barbarians.
Basically, there are intermittent frictions on the economic engine.
The feedback loop forms the economic structure: this loop exists between residences, production and distribution. In this textbook's jargon, there are at least four design patterns implemented: converter engine, engine building, dynamic friction, multiple feedback. There is a dominant economic structure that naturally emerges as a template for the ideal economy. Players will build to gravitate around that ideal. But this is not made easy: the game will add impediments to building that economy, which constitute the challenges.
(i) Landscape restrictions: how much space available and where production buildings can be made (e.g., timber yard close to woods, marble quarry close to mountains). Water restricts movement... certain maps do not have olive farms/certain resource. Strategies must be flexible for these variations.
(ii) Player starts with limited amount of money to start building.
(iii) Scenarios: provide challenges and goals, scripted events...
(iv) Important mechanism: phase transitions: As the game stretches on, the labor produced from residences decreases as inhabitants grow wealthier. This creates a problem and threatens the economy: a phase transition or barrier to navigate around.
(v) This is a game of emergence, with its own rhythm and progression that emerge from both the dynamic game economy and from the scripted events that are unique for every scenario.
This can be done using paper and pen, chips and cards. A board game that is human tested before being simulated with machinations.
Ingredients:
- Poker chips
- Paper, pen
- A card
- Flat surface
Setup:
- Create a playing area.
A game that successfully employs causative symbolic simulation can create emergence and shorter sessions of play. Analoguous and symbolic games which are less detailed are not necessarily less meaningful. Symbolic constructions allow, with less iconic messages, to be more applicable outside the particular setting of the game.
This means that analoguous and symbolic games can express something through the game that has value beyond the game and its immediate premise. E.g., Monopoly vs. accurate realistic simulation of real estate market. (Which wouldn't be as entertaining too, unless the goal is a serious or educative game)
The number of elements is not as important as the number of possible connections between the elements. Systems with many meaningful combinations (endless) can be better than more systems. i.e., CREATE A LOT OF DEEP MECHANICS WITH ITEM MANUFACTURINg AND PLAYER COMMUNICATION
Mechanics produce an additional layer of meaning naturally because they communicate through the signals they produce, and through the mechanics that produce the signals.
Bioshock: Physical and Moral Layers, Aesthetic Layer, Political Layer. Provided by mechanics are the physical and moral layers.
Invites audience, no matter the background, into a more reflective attitude about the work. Example: Grand Theft Auto San Andreas's Victim Shop.