book

Making Deep Games

Name: Making Deep Games
Author: Doris C. Rusch
ISBN: 9781317607700

by Doris C. Rusch

January 2017

Intermediate to advanced

228 pages

6h 41m

English

Focal Press

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Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
List of Figures
Preface
Author
Introduction

1 Diving for Deep Game Ideas
1.1 Becoming a Mind Reader1.1.1 Morning Pages1.1.2 Artist Date1.1.3 Conversing with the Inner Game Designer1.2 Tracing the Human Experience in Art—Finding the Theme1.3 Become a Sucker for Other People’s ExperiencesReferences
2 Games as an Expressive Medium
2.1 Introduction2.2 What Are Games?2.3 How Can Games Be about Something?2.3.1 Representation, Abstraction, Fiction, and Rules2.3.2 Representational Hierarchy in Games: Rules before Fiction2.3.3 Games as SimulationsReferences
3 Modeling the Human Experience—Or the Art of Nailing a Pudding to the Wall
3.1 Introduction3.2 Making Sense of Our Experiences3.3 Making Sense of Abstract Experiences—The Role of Metaphors3.3.1 Understanding Our Inner Lives through Structural Metaphors—Symbolic Modeling in Psychotherapy3.4 Applying Theory to Practice: Case Study Akrasia3.4.1 Case Study: Akrasia3.4.2 Conception Phase3.4.3 The Iterative Process of Modeling the Addiction Gestalt3.4.4 ConclusionReferences
4 Experiential Metaphors—Or What Breaking Up, Getting a Tattoo, and Playing God of War Have in Common
4.1 Gameplay as Embodied Experience4.2 Experiential Metaphors—Modeling What It Feels Like4.2.1 Case Study: God of War II, Grappling Hook Sequence—Enacting the Art of Letting Go4.3 Modeling What It Feels Like versus How It Works4.3.1 Case Study: The Marriage4.4 Impact of Experiential Metaphors on Meaning Generation—Potentials and Pitfalls4.4.1 Case Study: Angry Birds—Mechanics of Vengeance4.4.2 Case Study: American McGee’s Grimm: Little Red Riding Hood—Mechanics of Cleaning4.4.3 Case Study: Left Behind: Eternal Forces—Mechanics of Cleaning Contextualized as Religious PurgeReferences
5 Allegorical Games—Or the Monster Isn’t a Monster Isn’t a Monster
5.1 Introduction5.2 Potentials of Allegorical Games5.2.1 Reason 1: Making Inner Processes Tangible5.2.2 Reason 2: Creating a “Magic Door” to a Deeper Theme5.2.3 Reason 3: The Theme and Nothing but the Theme5.2.4 Reason 4: Allegories Make You Think5.3 Metaphor as Mystery, Message, and Muse—Three Ways to Make You Think5.3.1 Approach 1: Metaphor as Mystery—Stimulating Curiosity5.3.2 Approach 2: Metaphor as Message—Achieving a Communicative Goal5.3.3 Approach 3: Metaphor as Muse—What Does It Mean to “Me”?5.4 Designing Allegorical Games5.4.1 From Theme to Story5.4.2 Define the Communicative Goal and Playtest to Achieve ItReferences
6 Designing with Purpose and Meaning—Nine Questions to Define Where You’re Going and Make Sure You Get There
6.1 Introduction6.2 Question 1: What’s It About?6.2.1 Based on Another Medium6.2.2 Based on (Somebody’s) Personal Experience6.2.3 For a Cause6.3 Question 2: What Is the Purpose/Communicative Goal of Your Game?6.3.1 Personal Games for Self-Expression6.3.2 Raising Awareness6.3.3 Object to Think With6.3.4 Changing Behavior/Perception6.3.5 What You Do Is What You Get6.4 Question 3: Literal or Metaphorical Approach?6.5 Question 4: The Right Metaphor for the Experiential Gestalt?6.6 Question 5: How It Works versus What It Feels Like?6.7 Question 6: Zooming In versus Zooming Out—How Much Shall Be Modeled?6.8 Question 7: From Which Perspective Shall the Player Interact with the System?6.9 Question 8: Do Core Mechanics Reinforce Meaning?6.10 Question 9: Player–Avatar Alignment?References
7 It’s Not Always about You!—Lessons Learned from Participatory Deep Game Design
7.1 Introduction7.2 Participatory Game Design7.3 Case Study: For the Records—Potentials and Pitfalls of Participatory Game Design7.3.1 Game Synopses7.3.2 Participatory Design with SMEs7.3.3 Final Thoughts about Participatory Deep Game DesignReferences
8 The Same New Kid in Yet Another Hood—Deep Game Design as Creative Arts Therapy?
8.1 Introduction8.2 An Introduction to Basic Concepts and Criteria of Creative Arts Therapies8.2.1 Criteria for Consumer Safety and Optimal Health Outcomes in Creative Arts Therapies8.2.2 Fundamental Mechanisms8.3 Comparative Case Studies8.3.1 Dance and Movement Therapy Case Study8.3.2 Game Design Therapy Case StudyReferences
Index

Content preview from Making Deep Games

Designing with Purpose and Meaning—Nine Questions to Define Where You’re Going and Make Sure You Get There

Wherein the topics covered in the previous chapters are summarized and presented in the form of nine questions to identify a game’s vision and guide its purposeful design. The questions are as follows:

• What is the game about?

• What is the game’s purpose/communicative goal?

• Literal or metaphorical approach?

• Does the metaphor fit the game’s experiential gestalt?

• Should the game model “how it works” or “what it feels like”?

• How encompassing should the system that shall be modeled in the game be?

• From which perspective should ...

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Making Deep Games

by Doris C. Rusch

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
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