THE CURSE OF THE INPUT DEVICE

“Players do not just engage in ready-made gameplay but also actively take part in the construction of these experience: they bring their desieres, anticipations, and previous experiences with them, and interpret and reflect the experience in that light.” (Ermi & Mayra)

Video Game researchers Ermi and Mayra touch on the concept of previous experience and how they relate to video games. For most video games, the previous controller experience allows a user to pick up the game and play almost immediately. A user can pick up a controller and, based on the type of game, infer how the input device will work. Ermi and Mayra write about using previous experience to inform the player and to enhance satisfaction. For Heroes of Rock, we encountered a particularly challenging previous experience scenario. Our game was selected because of the use of a guitar peripheral. The guitar was our marketing exclamation point and it was the core of the game. Being bound to the guitar presented a slew of design problems especially surrounding previous user experiences.

When I was designing the gameplay for Heroes of Rock, I designed the controls around my experiences playing side scrolling action games and my experiences using a guitar peripheral. Side scrolling action games have a pretty standard set of mechanics and all gamers are familiar with their control schemes. There is no standard way of playing a real guitar or bass and there is no standard way of playing Guitar Hero or Rock Band. It was apparent in our first play testing session that almost every player had a different way of using the input device. Some players sat down to use the controller, some players used the strap to hold the guitar, some players help the guitar with their strumming hand, some players used their thumbs to strum while others used fingers and so on. All play testers had different feelings on our control scheme because they had different experiences informing them on how the game should play. We played around with multiple control schemes. We received equally positive and negative feedback on nearly every system. We were never going to make 100% of our play testing group happy because their previous experiences were just too different.

            We scrapped thousands of lines of codes, dozens of design documents, and hours of art production as we constantly shifted on how the game was going to function. This process took a toll on the team morale and made progress difficult for every aspect of the game. The element of our game that got us selected and that made our game so interesting was the most difficult. This design problem was my greatest weakness as a leader on this project. I was hoping that we could find a control mechanic that would satisfy more people on our team and more play testers. Some schemes did better than others, some were received poorly but I constantly felt that we could find something better than what we were doing. I felt like there had to be some system that would feel natural to players. This is when our understanding of previous experiences became important.

Based on the diversity of player experiences, no control scheme is going to be natural to all players. For our game, we couldn’t rely on previous experiences to inform the players and if we did, it might lesson the experience. To make our game feel appropriate on the guitar, we had to design mechanics that informed the player of how to play, rather than relying on what players have already learned. To settle on a final control scheme, we focused on the core of the game and what we were trying to accomplish. 

Reward Sounds

From my previous post on player feedback/player experience:

• Reward sounds - Part of the action game genre is feeling good about the amount of destruction that you are causing. Video Game fun is just like gambling fun. Pulling a levelon a slot machine isn't very fun but when you hear bells & whistles or even an announcement of your win, the player feels very good. We need to implement audio reward systems to help the player feel that gambling rush. 
• In the Unreal/Halo games, when a player hears "killing spree" there is an immediate rush of accomplishment. 
• In the Call of Duty games, the player is rewarded for each kill they achieve and the manner in which they kill the enemy. This helps the player feel good for each action they accomplish. 

Reward sounds are an incredibly important part of the action game experience. As I mentioned in my post, I feel that audio reward feedback enhances player satisfaction and the "fun level" significantly. Here are couple sounds that I think would help our game:

Audio Reward Feedback - 

• Skull System; as the player gets more kills they receive more skulls. We have a range for each type of skull that allows us to place a different award at each range - slam sound, announcements
• Red skull = 1-4 kills
• Yellow skull = 5-19 kills (DEMON SLAYER)
• Green skull = 20-49 kills  (BLOOD BATH)
• White skull = 50+ kills. (RAMPAGE)
• 11 out of 10 Sound; when players reach 11/10 on their rock meter they should receive a particular notification - Guitar Riff
• Concrete Smash - The player needs feedback when they are smashing the ground and not the enemy - Smash
• Knob Click; every time the knob moves a level the player should get some kind of notification - Knob Click
• Low Rock Level - Static or boos, cracking glass
• High Rock Level - Cheers 
• Dash sound; the dash is our coolest move in the game, we need to have a sound effect that makes the movie feel better - friction sound
• AOE Shockwave sound, we need to reinforce the feeling of power with the AOE attack with the Shockwave sound - air blast
• AOE charge up sound - We are giving players an opportunity to "jam out" during the charge up for the AOE. We need to give them an audio indication that the move is charging up - gradual charge up

Designing the new enemy interactions

We've had this conversation a bunch in class but I haven't put up our conversations onto my blog. I think it's time to reflect upon what we've been thinking. 

Overall, I believe that new player experiences help make a game fun. When players experience something new and surprising, they get this rush of exploration and difficulty. It is a new scenario to deal with and it's a surprise from the norm. Players love this kind of thing.

Due to art problems/complications, we scoped out a lot of our special sequences and interactions. After the cuts, we had a very basic set of enemies and a very basic set of interactions with those enemies. Players had very little diversity in what they experienced in the game. They would most likely get bored with their attack set and the enemy interactions. 

To add to our diversity in player experiences we added functionality to our current models:

• Standard Enemy - Shield Attack. A new version of the standard unit has a shield. This gives the uppercut attack a purpose. This also gives a moment when the standard attack doesn't work on standard enemies. This mixes things up a bit and it helps change how the player is attacking. 
• Ranged Enemy - Pogo attack. Our original ranged unit was a stationary unit. This made sense in earlier builds of the game but it didn't make much sense when using the brawler mechanic. For long walking sequences, the stationary unit works but for the action segments we needed a new way of interacting with the ranged enemy. The ranged unit uses its missile launch to pogo around the map. This is a brand new experience and forces the player to play in a new way. 
• Heavy Enemy - Area of Effect attack. From the first encounters with the heavy enemy, the player realizes that they have to attack from behind. The area of effect attack forces the player away and gives the heavy unit unpredictable behavior. The first time the player's strategy is countered will be a good experience. 

Reward System

At this point in our development of Heroes of Rock we have an action game. The player action isn't much different than what players usually do in action games. We have player interaction right now but to make our game "fun," we have to give the player more of a feedback system. When players accomplish something, they get that endorphin rush for that accomplishment. There's only so much that players get from deleting pixels off of a screen. 

To increase player satisfaction, we need to implement more satisfying reward systems to make players feel good when they play the game. We want players to have more fun. 

• Enemy feedback - when player attack an enemy, we need to have more feedback that the player is doing something
• Enemy collision -  Right now our attacks go past the enemy. This lack of direct collision is confusing to the player and it disconnects how the player feels about hitting an enemy. They don't feel like they are really affecting the enemy.
• Increase speed and pacing of game - We have crafted this "metal" experience but our game is currently paced in small bits of action. That isn't very metal. If we want to maintain player satisfaction, we need to have longer periods of excitement. 
• Melee sounds for actions - Player feedback is very important and I think we are especially missing audio feedback. When players do something, they need to feel like there is a direct response. For an action game, melee sounds are super important. The player needs to feel like they are dealing damage to enemies or they don't feel like they are directly having an effect. 
• Reward sounds - Part of the action game genre is feeling good about the amount of destruction that you are causing. Video Game fun is just like gambling fun. Pulling a level on a slot machine isn't very fun but when you hear bells & whistles or even an announcement of your win, the player feels very good. We need to implement audio reward systems to help the player feel that gambling rush. 
• In the Unreal/Halo games, when a player hears "killing spree" there is an immediate rush of accomplishment. 
• In the Call of Duty games, the player is rewarded for each kill they achieve and the manner in which they kill the enemy. This helps the player feel good for each action they accomplish. 
• Power of the Player - An overall feedback that we need to demonstrate in our game is that the player is powerful. Our game is about being a rock god. If the player doesn't feel powerful, the core of the game is lost. In general, the player needs to see that they have some power in the universe. 
• Blood decals  - Gore makes players feel powerful in their destruction. We've developed a system so that we can splatter blood on the ground and the environment. 
• Blood splatter on the screen - After the area of effect explosion multiple enemies are killed. To intensify the effect, we will splatter blood on the screen. 
• Area of Effect Explosion - We need a moment when players can "jam out." When players really start to button mash, they rapidly hit the strum bar up and down. Our AOE attack allows players to perform that "jam out" session and then rewards them with a huge explosion. This gives the player that experience that they are looking for and it makes them feel powerful. 
• Uppercut - Our current uppercut works but we need to intensify the effect so that the player feels better when they perform the move. The player needs to launch the enemies in to the air. 

Feedback from the Graduate EAE Playtest

Last Friday, the graduate EAE program playtested our game. We got a good amount of feedback, particularly on a couple of small things:

• Enemy Feedback - The player is doing stuff to the enemies but the enemies aren't reacting yet. Players like to see a reaction to every action that they perform. It improves the experience
• Include Jump - We had hours of conversation about taking out the Jump mechanic. We all logically decided that jumps were not necessary. Being minimalists, we removed the non essential mechanics from the game. During the playtest, we spoke about how Jump isn't necessary but it's fun. That is a home run argument. We need to include a jump or we need to embellish the dash mechanic to make travel more fun in the game. 
• Unexpected benefits - Players like to be surprised. They like it when they suddenly get some new ability or something exciting happens to them in the game. We already have the dial mechanic and I think that it would be great to add unexpected player benefits for when the dial reaches 11. I want to see flames and particle effects all over the place when we reach 11. 
• Tutorial - As I spoke about earlier, we need a tutorial for our game. The controls are good but people need help understanding how the guitar translates. 
• Players should get rewarded for pacing attacks with the animations. I actually like this idea as a way to make the game more rhythmic. It is a music game afterall. 
• Duke Nukem Dialog - I loved the old Duke games particularly because of the personality. I think adding some Duke Nukem dialog would be a good nostalgic element. I think it adds more to the charm of our game. It could be a great addition. 
• Bonus Section - We have a score element of our game. I think we should take the bonus score sections of guitar hero and put it in our levels. I loved that jam session at the end of guitar hero songs and I think bonus sections could add a level of fun to our game. 
• Include small amount of movement with attacks - I think adding a small amount of movement helps players feel better about using the strum to attack and move. 

All of these points are small parts of a big project but I think it will add a lot to the project. 

Tutorial Section for the Game

The number one point of contention in our game has been the controls. Everyone plays guitar hero differently and when a player picks up a guitar hero guitar for a brawler, they have a certain way that they want to play the game.

As we talk about control schemes, the controls that make sense for our team are the controls that match their play style for Rock Band. This makes almost any control scheme not "intuitive." I am a believer in simplicity of games and I think a player should be able to  pick up any game and play it instantly. If you need to explain the controls, it probably means your controls aren't very good.

That being said, we are making a weird game and we have to retrain people to understand the control scheme of our game. We are combining two types of games and two types of control schemes.

We believe that if we have a strong tutorial players will accept our control scheme better. I think that the tutorial will dramatically help the understanding of our game and the transition from guitar hero to brawler.

Here's the tutorial script Nick just sent me:

1. Movement explanation

Guitar: you can move by strumming up/down

Controller: you can move by pressing left/right

Completion: A move here icon appears on the right of the screen

2. Dashing explanation

Guitar: you can dash by pressing green or orange and strumming in the direction you want to go (is this changing?)

Controller: you can dash by pressing left shoulder or right shoulder based on the direction you want to go

Completion: A move here icon appears in the middle of the screen

3. Hud explanation

Guitar/Controller:  This is your rock level, it goes up as you attack enemies, but goes down when you aren't attacking, or when you take damage.  If it goes below 1, you die.  Keep it high to get a better score. Press B to continue.

Completion: Player stays in place, enemy spawns.

4. Attack explanation

Guitar: You can attack by holding Red/Yellow/Blue and strumming in the direction you want to attack.

Controller: You can attack by pressing A/X/Y/B

Completion: Player stays in place.

5. Chord explanation

Guitar: You can perform chords, which are more powerful moves by holding any two buttons and strumming.  Try pressing Red+Yellow and strumming now

Controller: ???? idk how chords work on the controller

Completion: Player stays in place.

6. Slam explanation (should have a cooler name than slam)

Guitar: If you press Red, Yellow, and Blue at the same time, then strum you will perform your slam.  Strum rapidly to charge up your slam.

Controller:  If you press B you will perform your slam.  Press b rapidly to charge up your slam.

Completion: Enemy dies, player can move, go to end level trigger to finish (could possibly just end the game)

Rock Meter

Throughout the development of our game, we've struggled with integrating music into our game. We want players to get into the music and we want the music to matter to the game but our other design choices just didn't work. If we had the players directly influence music, button mashing would lead to bad things. If we made the controls too oriented towards guitar, it makes the controls too difficult. From the beginning we wanted music to be a big part of the game but we just couldn't figure out how to make it work.

The rock meter is what we needed in our game. Playing off of the Spinal Tap 11/10 volume meter (also the namesake of our company) we devised a game mechanic that incorporates music but also encourages high speed gameplay. The idea for the rock meter game up during a design conversation and I loved it. I think the idea was validated after it's first playtest. When the dial goes up to 11, players smile.

The dial represents the players health, how well the player is doing and the volume of the music that is being played. We wanted the dial to reflect reward systems in both guitar hero and fighting games. As the player does well, the dial goes up. The higher the dial goes, the louder the music gets and if the dial gets to 10, a crowd starts to cheer. If the dial gets to 11, a crowd comes on the screen and cheers and the character receives special abilities. If the player isn't doing well (getting attacked or not attacking constantly), the dial goes down. Below 3 on the dial lowers the music and causes booing.

I love this new mechanic. I think it adds a lot to our game and I think it makes the whole game more enjoyable. As I said earlier, play testers have started to smile while they play our game. That is what we are going for.