Marc LeBlanc: Tools For Creating Dramatic Game Dynamics

Dramatic tension is made up of two factors:

• Uncertainty: The sense that there is no predetermined outcome, no player is guaranteed to win.
• Inevitability: The sense that the game will eventually end, that there will eventually be a resolution.

Dramatic tension requires both of these factors to be effective, Neither factor will be sufficient on it's own.

Negative Feedback Systems:

This type of feedback system is used to decrease the gap between the player(s) that are winning, and the player(s) that are falling behind. For example, in the racing game Mario Kart, if a player is not currently in first place, then they have a chance to obtain the Blue Spiny Shell. This shell attacks the player that is currently in first place, closing the gap between them and the player that is currently in last place. This helps to create uncertainty, because if there is no distinct lead, then the outcome seems undecided.

Positive Feedback Systems:

This type of feedback system is used to add more inevitability to a game. For example, in trading card games, such as the World of Warcraft Trading Game, the longer a game lasts, the more 'resources' the players will acquire. More powerful cards take more resources to play, so as the game keeps going, more and more powerful cards will be played more frequently. This can be useful to bring a game to a close, to ensure that the game does not take so long that the players lose interest in competing.

Pseudo Feedback:

This is where it seems like a feedback system is being used when, in fact, no feedback system is being used at all. Examples of pseudo feedback:

Escalation:

This is where the score changes progressively faster over the course of the game. For example, in the game show Jeopardy, when half of the game's time has elapsed, only one third of the available prize money has been awarded. This is because the value of each question increases as the game progresses. This makes the player feel that the game has progressed further than it really has.

Hidden Energy:

This is where all players have a boost or power of some kind that they can use. For example, in some racing games, players may each have a turbo boost that they can use once during the race to give them a speed boost. If a player chooses to use the boost at the beginning of the race it can seem like they are ahead. However, once the other players have used their own boosts, the the playing field is level again. Hidden energy can obscure the true state of the game from the player.

Fog of War:

In strategy games, like Warcraft III, a mechanic called Fog of War is used. This mechanic prevents players from seeing areas of the map that their units cannot see. As the player's base grows, they begin to see more and more of the map. This is a way to create dramatic uncertainty, because players start with very little information, and the outcome of the game is uncertain (Players cannot see how well the other players are doing). As the game progresses, the player's information increases, and the outcome of the game seems more certain.

Decelerator:

This is an obstacle that appears in the later stages of a game, which changes the game's scale and pace, to make the game seem closer than it is. Take the show Gladiators for example. In the the final course of the game, The Eliminator, one of the obstacles is a cargo net. It takes a long time to climb the net, so the player that was falling behind would usually catch up while the leader is on the cargo net. Measured in time, the leader is still quite far ahead, but because they seem close to each other in regards to distance, it makes it seems like the contestants are nearly neck and neck with each other.

Cashing Out:

This is a game mechanic where the score is reset to zero. For example, in the game Bomberman, the player gains a trophy for winning each round. The first player to win three trophies is the winner of the game. At the start of each new round, the power-ups are reset, so in each new round the player is given a fresh start. Winning a previous round does not give the player any advantage. This adds to uncertainty, as there is no clear winner until that third trophy has been won.

Game Dynamics That Produce Dramatic Tension:

• Force: Creating dramatic tension by manipulating the game state itself.
• Illusion: Manipulating the player's perception, without actually changing the game state, so that the game seems closer than it is.