Realism in games - Systemic Design
The final project under ​my Master's program at Kingston University was a thesis. I've never attempted to write a thesis before, since my undergrad course didn't require one, and hence this was a choice I made to improve my research skills as a designer and learn more about systemic design.
Topic & Role
Highlights of the Project: Topic exploration, Analyzing games that have systemic elements, Identifying games that have the potential to add systemic design, Re-creating scenarios in these games by adding systemic design, Creating surveys
Team size: Individual
Realism in Games - A look into Systemic Design is a thesis that aimed to discover if game design could benefit from a systemic approach. This meant that as designers, we create systems that are aware of each other and could interact, hence producing unique consequences.
There are two types of systems - Traditional and Complex. This thesis focused on the comparison between them, and how games could increase player freedom and realism by incorporating this form of design.
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Researching on the topic.​​
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Testing through a prototype to understand.
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Conducting survey to prove the necessity.
Tools used: Unity, Google Forms, MS Word, MS Powerpoint
Understanding
After getting my proposal approved, I began finding the right books, articles and videos to refer to understand academic take and practical take on this topic. Some of the books that inspired me the most were Rules of Play, Game Design: Theory & Practice, and Level Up. I then moved on to understanding the differences between traditional and complex systems. An example of which is presented below. Zelda: Breath of the WIld and Uncharted 4 have the same set of systems - Weather and Surfaces. But Breath of the Wild has both these systems aware of each other, since Link slips and falls during rain, unlike Uncharted, where Nathan continues to climb.
Breath of the Wild: Complex System
Uncharted 4: Traditional System
A tutorial made by BoardtoBits, a YouTube channel, helped in understanding how aware systems worked, and the ways in which their values differed. For this a self sustained system was re-created to monitor values. The self sustained system consisted of three profiles - Grass, Rabbit and Wolf. These interacted with each other, as well as propagated on their own. If a player interaction was added in this situation, the values of each profile would change, since it's an aware of system.
This simple exercise helped me understand how small scale systemic design can be developed.
Games with systemic
I then analyzed 3 games that have successfully used systemic design. To begin with, Breath of the Wild let's players use its in-game environmental features. The first GIF shows how the rule of lightning is consistent throughout the game - "Lightning strikes anything metallic". Hence if player is carrying anything metallic, like the sword, they get struck.
Secondly, Monster Hunter world lets player pit two monsters against each other, making this feature extremely useful to dodge attacks and let other monsters do the work.
The third example is The Forest which has a very interesting AI, that let's players face consequences for their actions in a unique manner. The more acts they do to become noticed, the enemy AI actually starts observing them.
Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Monster Hunter World
The Forest
Games without systemic
I realized that certain titles had the system in place, but did not take the initiative to make it systemic. This is not a bad thing, but I wanted to understand if these games did add such a system, what results it would lead to and if there was even a need. Hence a list of games was made, and they were played thoroughly and analyzed to see where systemic design would best fit. My method was fairly simple - Choose a game, identify a feature that could be modular, craft a solution and present it to the audience.
Witcher 3
I conducted three case studies, Witcher 3 being the first. This game has Igni, a fire sign, that does damage over time to it's enemies. What it doesn't do is, damage the environment around. The grass may look like it's on fire, but it's only for aesthetics. Hence, this can easily be turned systemic, where environment and fire sign are aware of each other.
Minecraft was the second case, and this game is quite systemic in every aspect. One of it's feature felt under - developed, that is, the rain. Hence, if the rain could form puddles, or overflow lakes, or even turn the dirt into mud would make the game feel realistic.
Minecraft
GTA V
Lastly, GTA V's cop chase system felt unrealistic to some extent, since after the losing all stars, the game got back to normal. Developing this system further by letting NPC's identify the player in their last wanted location, or having more cops patrol around would also bring realism in the game.
Each case study had it's own survey sent out, and received a fair amount of responses in favor of the solutions crafted. More details to this can be made available on request.
Conclusion
I also covered another section about creating stories through systemic gameplay, that depended on hierarchies and consequences in games. An aware system would track and learn, and create quests accordingly for the player.
To conclude, I also formed a set of guidelines based on my studies and findings that can be looked into to create systemic design. This form of design, if done correctly, can create an increase in replayability and see a rise in types of systems and mechanics.
If you want to know more, feel free to drop a message and I will love to show my research in detail!