Written by Joe McLoughlin
Introduction
This blog takes an excerpt from my dissertation thesis and thus refers to my Hampton Court Palace project, which can be viewed on my portfolio. This particular segment delves into the methods employed by developers to keep the players of their games interested. Especially in the genre of historically educational games, and how they use this to carry out their purpose of educating the player.
Information Dissemination, Balance and Engagement
...Having settled on the type of educational game this project would develop the next step was to learn how best to communicate to the player the abundance of historical knowledge it was to contain. The historical genre is one that has always been popular [6] so there was no shortage of examples from which to draw. Brian Rejack [2007] analyses Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 (2005), a game that put considerable effort into accurately depicting key events following the Normandy landings of D-Day in 1944, creating a story that followed a fictional character involved in these events.
This can be exemplified by the chapter named ‘Dead Man’s Corner’, the nickname given to the intersection in Saint-Côme-du-Mont where an M5A1 Stuart tank was destroyed, whilst clearing the road south to Carentan, by a German Panzergrenadier unit on D+1. The chapter re-enacts this engagement with an impressive accuracy, as shown by the photo in figure 1. Despite this, he argues that “While Brothers in Arms makes significant efforts toward verisimilitude, when the game is actually being played, it is entirely possible (and indeed likely) that most gamers have little or no knowledge of the battles and scenes being recreated.” He continues to explain that “Only after completing every chapter at every level of difficulty is one able to view all the extras ... the player's success is rewarded with the means for acquiring such knowledge ... (playing in ignorance and being rewarded with knowledge) ....” [7]. It was immediately established that this structure of knowledge dissemination was neither suitable nor desired for this project. If it was the developers motive to unveil the true reality of the game post-completion to provoke a retrospective contemplation, then Brother in Arms does this well, but the idea that the player could interact with something of great significance yet remain none-the- wiser was not an approach that seemed fitting for a project whose primary focus was authenticity. A more ‘learning on the go’ system was far more appropriate and thus further research was undertaken.
The style of this game closely follows that of the Assassin’s Creed series (2007-20) and of Kingdom Come: Deliverance (2018), so these two titles were next to be placed under investigation. They are both primarily set in a historical time period with an open world environment that follows a storyline based on true events with extensive NPC interactions. Assassin’s Creed upholds an attention to historical accuracy in terms of its environment [8] and have provided for an educational aspect by highlighting these accuracies upon discovery of certain buildings, locations and people. The player is subsequently able to read further into the history of these people and places by accessing its database or ‘codex’, shown in figure 2. This idea is not unique to Assassin’s Creed as many RPGs and historical titles allow for this feature, such as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015), Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor (2014) and, of course, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, which puts a particular focus on historically accurate content [10]. Its codex goes further and includes entries on broader areas such as events, professions and ways of life, shown in figure 3. This codex method is a clever way to deal with the desire to be comprehensively informative whilst refraining from overloading the player, by only providing the necessary information for the storyline but allowing the player to read into greater detail if they so choose.
The codex could work as a standalone method of education if this was merely an informative walking simulator, with the goal of teaching the player about items and locations in the palace. However, this project also aims to teach the story of Henry VIII’s reign and his palace, as well as how different levels of society lived and the personalities and relationships of important people of the time. The manner this is achieved by games such as Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018), Ghosts of Tsushima (2020) and Skyrim (2011), as well as most RPGs, is via the storyline. The issue here is producing a coherent narrative when reality is complex and incongruous. Holmes [2017] explains that compressing both historical personalities into character stereotypes and events into single scenarios provides for a more refined and engaging experience, arguing that breaking down a complex event into key events and characters allows for a much more appropriate play length [11]. Although educating the player accurately on events is the highest priority of this project, this treatment of events will likely be unavoidable and is how almost every piece of historical media operates. Some games get around this by using flashbacks, or large leaps in the timeline. For example, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (2018) opens with the battle of Thermopylae (480BC), before jumping to the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War (431BC).
Spring [2015] follows Schell’s [2008] four basic elements that must be kept in balance in a game’s design [12] when arguing the requirements of a scholarly game. These are the balance of historically based mechanics, historical narrative, the historically accurate aesthetics and appropriate technology [13]. In support of these elements, the gameplay and storyline must maintain engagement and flow. There are several ways to achieve this. Side quests are vital in ensuring non-linearity and the inclusion of tasks and rewards to keep the player invested [14]. However, there must be benefits to completing these side quests, as, whilst they may relate to the main storyline, they cannot have any effect on it. Assassin’s Creed and Kingdom Come both offer rewards that would not be relevant to this project, such as financial and experience benefits, inventory items and skill/perk points. Thus far, an assumed thirst for knowledge is the only reward element of this project and whilst it may be enough incentive for some, for many it will not. As Norrman and Huldin [2018] state, “...a carefully balanced reward system is required to achieve the highest amount of player enjoyment. It is, however, preferable to have a seemingly excessive amount of rewards as the frustration is negligible in comparison to that which is caused by disappointment caused by insufficient rewards” [15].
As classic RPG reward elements could not be used, it was clearly essential that alternative reward structures be found or risk the latter frustration. Investigation was undertaken into other reward types in games which lead to that of exploration and of environment. The former being the “rewards that allow players to move along paths that have now been unlocked in the gameworld [18].” And the latter as “allow[ing] for new obstacles to be positioned along the path, as further puzzles to be solved [16].” An example of this is Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004), in which the player can explore the large game area without completing missions, but these missions reward the player with unlocking more areas on the map [16]. Rewards of exploration, in turn, leads to rewards of environment by providing further quests in the newly unlocked areas of the palace, plus more to discover. Both San Andreas and the earlier Assassin’s Creeds tease the player with allowing the full map to remain visible (although greyed out), reminding the player of areas yet to unlock. The gradual unlocking of the palace must also be balanced well. Too slow and it limits the explorational open-world value of the game. Too fast and the reward element of the game is lost. Both also risking damage to the game’s flow.
To ensure flow, Norrman and Huldin [2018] list five essentials. These are clear goals at every step, immediate feedback, balance between challenge and skill, no worry of failure and autotelic quality [15]. Based on relevance, this project will attempt to follow three of them. Firstly, the player must always know what they are working towards. Without this, focus may be shifted elsewhere. Excessively clear steps, however, and this will also disrupt flow [17]. The second is immediate feedback, informing the player upon completing short-term goals. In its absence, the game can become stale, risking having vague objectives [18]. This also ties in with 2.2.3. Finally, a balance between challenge and skill. The game needs to be sufficiently difficult to remain engaging, but equally not so tough that the player gives up or loses interest [19].
They go on to explain the importance of intrinsic reward and motivation in these essentials. The former is what translates gameplay into player enjoyment, creating satisfaction from completing tasks, whilst the latter is why the player is doing what they’re doing [15]. Rioja [2020] describes ways in which game quests can achieve this. Firstly, he states how the main quest line should be used to present a new threat, move the plot forward or bridge story arcs. Whereas side quests can introduce new NPCs, locations or advantages as well as build character development [20]. Spring [2015] also suggests quest types that would be appropriate for a scholarly historic game: “...capture, chase, rescue or escape, construction, exploration, solution, and outwitting” [13]...
Successes and Shortfalls
The success of this project’s engagement level is difficult to evaluate without game testing from a varied audience. In the absence of this, analysis would instead be made by comparing initial self-given goals to the final product as well as examining its presence of methods used by professional games to retain engagement.
Successes Firstly, based on initial research, this project aimed to follow the research carried out by Norrman and Huldin [2018]. The three relevant elements proposed to ensure player engagement are described in detail in 2.2.1.1. They are ensuring the player always knows what they are working towards, immediate feedback and a balance between challenge and skill. The first element was implemented using UI and dialogue.
Once a quest had been set, it saved into the player’s database, allowing referral at any time. UI also remained on screen, in the top left had corner, detailing the most recent quest the player had received (see figure 11). The mechanic added allowing for progress-dependent dialogue also meant NPCs could aid the player with their goals. For example, if a player was lost, they could return to the quest- setting NPC, and they would often give added hints to help them complete the quest. Hints were also given by non-quest NPCs, for instance, to guide the player towards secret locations nearby. The second element has been touched upon in 4.2.1. Immediate feedback was a conscious focus, ensuring the player received small confirmation of successes throughout their journey. Again, primarily through UI, new room discoveries are made clear to the player and extra emphasis is made when discovering a secret room. When a major doorway is unlocked by the player, they are also greeted with a bright and bold UI element to highlight the importance and success of the step they’ve made. The addition of this was inspired by Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (2018), in which a similar response occurs when the player comes across a newly discovered region (see figure 12). The deletion of the exclamation marks above the heads of quest- giving NPCs when starting or completing a quest is also a satisfactory detail that furthers this. Finally, a balance between challenge and skill. This is the most likely area to have fallen short in success and as such, shall be discussed in the 5.1.2.2.
Norrman and Huldin [2018] also highlight the importance of a well-balanced reward system. This project produced a relatively short game and so rewards were naturally to be received regularly, however it was ensured that the reward structure lent more towards over-rewarding than under, as was argued as a better approach in 2.2.1.1. Therefore, every successful quest rewarded the player with a ‘key’ to a new area. It avoided the disappointment value experienced by players when a long and difficult quest rewards the player with something that does not match the effort invested. An example of this is Prowler’s Profit in Skyrim (2011), after traversing every corner of the map to find the twenty-four Stones of Barenzaih, the player is finally rewarded with a passive ability that increases the chance of the player finding gems from chests, called the Prowler’s Profit. The disappointment of this potentially useful reward is that the quest isn’t achievable until late in the game, at which point the gems are of little value and most chests have already been opened. When contrasting to examples such as this, the project avoided such shortcomings in its reward structure. Finally, as noted as a potential issue in pre-production, the absence of typical RPG rewards; experience, money, skills points etc., could have led to a stale progression with little to work towards. The solution adopted by this project followed Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) in employing rewards of exploration and environment. The player is encouraged to delve deeper into the state apartments by early quests and the final goal of finding King Henry. Upon unlocking a new area, the player is greeted with a brand-new area to explore, more items and characters to interact with and more quests to complete. No new area offered the player nothing and as such fulfilled its objective successfully.
Shortfalls As mentioned in 5.1.2.1, the balance between challenge and skill may have fallen short. Having designed the quests and storyline and with an intricate pre-possessed knowledge of Hampton Court, it is difficult to ascertain the difficulty of quests, navigation and discovery without testing on other players. As mentioned earlier, hints and direction is given by NPCs, however the lack of a mini-map and on screen prompts could lead to frustration when attempting to find specific places or targets. Even highly exploration-based games, such as Assassin’s Creed, prompts the player when near to a target and the mini-map uses icons to aid in direction. In terms of skill, little of this is required. As a primarily educational game, there are no mechanics included in this project that demand player skill, like fighting or tactical positioning. They are encouraged to explore and learn along the way. In this sense, it is a success, however for the purpose of engagement, it did fall short.
The importance of side quests was highlighted by S.Noonan [2015] in aiding gameplay flow. They break up the main storyline and create opportunity to introduce new characters, threats or advantages. As explained in 4.1, however, the significant reduction in game space and the subsequent layout of the remaining space, made this unviable and side quests, therefore, were unfortunately not included. The project thus lost the benefits they brought with them. Efforts were made to counter this loss, through the introduction of secret rooms and ‘Orbs of Knowledge’. These provided a break from the guided storyline and helped improve variety.
References
[6] Zack Millsap. 2020. Why are historical video games SO appealing? Retrieved 30 June 2022 from https://www.cbr.com/historical-games-appealing-total-war-call- of- duty/
[7] Brian Rejack. 2007. Toward a virtual reenactment of history: Video games and the recreation of the past. Rethinking History. 11:3. 411-425. DOI: 10.1080/13642520701353652
[8] Aris Politopoulos, Angus Mol, Krijn Boom & Csilla Ariese. 2019. “History Is Our Playground”: Action and Authenticity in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey. Advances in Archaeological Practice, 7(3), 317-323. doi:10.1017/aap.2019.30
[9] Ed Coates. 2022. Game UI Database. Retrieved 07 June 2022 from https://www.gameuidatabase.com/gameData.php?id=521 [10] Andrew Webster. 2018. Kingdom Come: Deliverance is an RPG that trades fantasy for historical accuracy. Retrieved 23 June 2022 from https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/2/16964080/kingdom-come- deliverance-history-rpg-ps4-xbox-pc [11] David M. Holmes. 2017. Methods and Implementations of Historically Accurate Game Design for First Person Shooter Video Games [12] Jesse Schell. 2008. The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses. 1st ed.Amsterdam/Boston: CRC Press.
[13] Dawn Spring, 2015, ‘Gaming history: computer and video games as historical scholarship, Rethinking History’, 19:2, 207- 221, DOI: 10.1080/13642529.2014.973714
[14] Sarah Noonan. 2015. Side Quest Generation using Interactive Storytelling for Open World Role Playing Games (Doctoral dissertation, Master’s thesis, University of Dublin, Trinity College. Department of Computer Science).
[15] Flilip Norrman, Max Huldin. 2018. The Effect of Intrinsic Game Rewards on Player Enjoyment [Internet] [Dissertation]. Malmö universitet/Teknik och samhälle. Available from: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-20315
[16] Alison Gazzard. 2011. Unlocking the Gameworld: The Rewards of Space and Time in Videogames. the international journal of computer game research. volume 11 issue. ISSN:1604- 7982
[17] Mihaly Cskszentmihlyi. 1990. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York: Harper & Row
[18] Hao Wang and Chuen-Tsai Sun. 2011. Game Reward Systems: Gaming Experiences and Social Meanings. In Proc. 2011 DiGRA International Conference: Think Design Play.
[19] Raph Koster. 2005. A theory of fun for game design. Scottsdale. AZ: Paraglyph Press.
[20] Tomás Giménez Rioja. 2020. Give A Meaning To Your Open- World Quests. Retrieved 27 June 2022 from https://www.tribality.com/2020/12/23/creating-quests-for-open- world-campaigns/