Dynamic Systems
Games have always tried to move beyond the linearity of movies and
novels. Techniques such as content randomization and writing stories with many
paths and endings were the first attempts, and a third, potentially
revolutionary method has recently arisen. Based on games like Dungeons &
Dragons and Warhammer that play out in dynamic, storyteller-driven worlds, real
time strategy and role-playing games began to develop. The real-time strategy
genre relies on scripted, movie-like sequences to tell its story, whereas
role-playing games often make use of complicated conversation systems. Both,
however, tread on untested ground in terms of gameplay. In either genre, the
player is dropped into the world and told to make of it what he will. There is
always a goal to achieve--a warlord to defeat or an artifact to find-- but the
means of achieving that goal are left open to the player.
This results in a tremendously complicated design and programming
process, but can give rise to an unparalleled range of freedom in terms of
gameplay. The player can choose from an infinite number of strategies, because
their imagination is the only limit to how they can proceed. As in life, we are
given a set of abilities, skills, and procedures, and we are free to use them as
we will. Thus, a giant leap is made towards immersion.
The Next Step: Emergence
The steps that were taken by these two genres to bring their
gameplay into existence are the very steps that are now being researched as a
way of removing the narrative restrictions on all kinds of video games. The
technique is called emergence, and is one of the new frontiers in game
artificial intelligence. In his book Professional Game Design, Troy Dunniway
describes emergence as an efficiency tool:
“ The designer . . . can code in every possibility with a simple if/then type of structure, or a programmer can come up with a general system for these problems. . . One of the interesting aspects to designing a game based on systems is that, even when you've tested the game to death, someone still comes up with a new and innovative solution. As long as this new solution doesn't break the game, it can be a lot of fun [3]. ”
Efficient game implementation is certainly a welcome side effect to
emergence, but the observation that it is impossible to test exhaustively
implies that the technique has far broader implications.
Emergent Systems Design
Emergence is unpredictable behavior from the computer through
systemic level design, which is the process of designing a high concept of what
the game should be like, and inventing rules that, when combined, result in the
intended "system." The system adds consistency that would be a painful process
to implement through traditional scripting. For example, if the player is hit by
a fireball in a system that understands the relationship between fire and
flammability, then they will be burned, and maybe even catch fire. From this,
the player will determine that fire causes damage, and that objects can be set
on
fire [4]. Later when the player sees a group of powerful monsters hiding in
the forest, a fireball thrown at the trees may be an obvious solution. The
system knows that trees light on fire, and moments later they do. Pretty soon,
the whole forest is ablaze, and the monsters are burnt marshmallows.
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