Level 4 of the Los Angeles Film School's Game Mechanics class.

1. Level 4
David Mullich
Game Mechanics
The Los Angeles Film School

3. Tactics vs. Strategy

4. Objects
 Units
 Enemies
 Bosses
 Strategic Locations

5. Actions
 Combat
 Aim & Shoot
 Dexterity-Based Actions

6. Action Control
 Limited Set of Actions
 Decreased Abilities
 Ability Losses
 Asymmetric Abilities

7. Goals
 Overcome
 Evade

8. Boss Battle Time!
There will now be a test on Levels 1-3!

10. What Are Resources?

11. Resources
Objects used by players to enable actions in
the game.

12. Resources Design Considerations
 Actions Fueled
 Consumption/Conver
sion
 Resource Production
 Player Resource
Distribution
 Resource Storage
 Resource Control
Design Analysis: Resources

13. How Resources Are Produced
 Starting Items
 Collection
 Conversion
 Rewards
Design Analysis: Resource Production

14. How Resources Are Consumed
 Actions
 Construction
 Conversion
 Destruction
Design Analysis: Resource Concumption

15. Are Houses And Hotels A Resource?

16. Is Energy In Role-Playing Games A
Resource?

17. Energy Systems
Extra Credits: Playtime-limiting systems often found in social games

18. What Was The Main Message Of This
Video?

19. Bad Uses Of Energy Systems
 Habituation
 Content Restrictions
 Monetization

20. Better Use Of Resources
 Measure Progress
 Create Strategic Areas
 Support Ownership, Collecting, Area
Control, and Exploration (with Hidden
Resources) Goals
 Balance Players, Units, Construction, Area
Control, Game World
 Resource Management

21. Resource Management
When the players have to plan, manage and
control resources within the game in order to
reach the game’s goals.

22. Resource Management Design
Considerations
 Resource
Limitations
 Resource
Renewability
 Risk/Reward
Tradeoffs

23. Why Designers Use Resource
Management
 Cognitive Immersion
 Strategic Planning
 Risk/Rewards
 Freedom of Choice
 Balances Complexity

25. Producer-Consumer
Determines the lifetime of game objects, usually
resources, and thus governs the flow of
gameplay.

26. Producer-Consumer Design
Considerations
 Object Production
 Object Consumption
 Player Control of
Production and/or
Consumption
 Producer-Consumer
Chains
 Container Limits

27. Why Designers Use Producer-
Consumers
 Resource Management
 Varied Gameplay
 Balancing Complexity, Resources, Units
Warning! Lengthy could conflict with
 Predictable Consequences
 Illusion of Influence

28. Ownership
Dictates which and how players have access
to resources and other game elements.

29. Ownership Design Considerations
 Attainment
 Benefits/Penalties
 Player Sharing
 Permanent
 Beyond Game
Ownership
Design Analysis: Ownership

30. Why Designers Use Ownership
 Rewards
 Balances Resources, Strategic Locations,
Units, Resource Management, Conflict
 Support Goals of Gain Ownership,
Capture, Rescue, Collection, Area Control
 Emotional Immersion

32. Construction
Introduction new game objects that are
presented as intentional constructions in the
game world.

33. Construction Design Considerations
 Objects Produced
 How Produced
 Resources/Skills Needed
 Chance For Success
 Design Variations

34. Why Game Designers Use
Construction
 Sensory-Motor Immersion
 Gain Ownership
 Investments
 Creative Control

35. Constructive Play
Based on putting game elements together to
construct new kinds of game element configurations,
which might have different emergent characteristics.

36. Constructive Play Design
Considerations
 Construction
Complexity
 Dynamic Systems
Design Analysis: Constructive Play

37. Why Designers Use Constructive Play
 Cognitive Immersion
 Player Defined Goals
 Experimenting
 Player-Constructed Worlds

39. Transfer of Control
When the influence over a game element is
passed from one player to another.

40. Transfer of Control Design
Considerations
 Objects Transferred
 Resources
 Tools
 Units
 Can objects be
uncontrolled?
 Do players focus on
owning few or many?
 Is control based on
collaboration or conflict?
 Is transfer of control total
or not?
Design Analysis: Transfer of Control

41. Why Designers Use Transfer of
Control
 Ownership
 Emotional Immersion
 Privileged Abilities
 Strategic Knowledge
 Varied Gameplay
 Collaborative Actions
 Balance Resources, Tools, Units
 Support of Goals Gain Ownership, Collection,
Area Control, Capture

42. Extended Actions
Actions that take so long to complete that they
require players to miss opportunities to perform
other actions in order to complete them.

43. Examples of Extended Actions
Player
 Dexterity-Based Actions
 Combo Actions
Non-Player
 Resource Generators
 Chargers

44. Extended Actions Design
Considerations
 Focus Loci Performing Action
 Action Time Length
 Is It Interruptible?
 Time To Take Full Effect

45. Why Designers Use Extended Actions
 Delayed Actions and Effects
 Attention Swapping
 Risk/Reward
 Balances
 Resource Generators
 Chargers
 Privileged Abilities
 Collaborative Actions
Warning! Can cause Downtime!

46. Interruptible Actions
Actions that can be interrupted before they
affect the game state.

47. Turn-Based vs. Real-Time Games
Turn-Based
 Changes to Turn-Taking Sequences
Real-Time
 Extended Actions with Delayed Effects

48. Interruptible Actions Design
Considerations
 What action can be interrupted?
 Who can interrupt it?
 How is it interrupted?
 How delayed is the effect?

49. Why Designers Use Interrupting
Actions
 Attention Swapping
 Balancing
 Irreversible Actions (e.g., Blocking)
 Combos

51. Gain Ownership
The goal to gain ownership of a game
element.

52. Ways To Gain Ownership
 Game Start
 Rewards
 Pick Up
 Capture
 Construction
 Trading

53. Gain Ownership Design
Considerations
 How is ownership achieved?
 What does ownership provide?
 Is it destroyed when taken?
 Is owner known?
 Can ownership be changed or shared?
 Is it linked to a movable or non-moveable
game object?

54. Why Designers Use Gain Ownership
Goals
 Conflict
 Transfer of Control
 Resources for Resource Management
 Progress for Collection Goals
 Balances:
 Ownership
 Enemies

55. Collection
The completion of several goals that together
form a coherent unit.

56. Collectible Design Considerations
 What is to be collected?
 How varied can collected items be?
 Is the collection a subgoal of another
collection?

57. Why Designers Use Collection Goals
 Quests
 Transfer of Control
 End Goal

58. Choose one of the following games to play:
 Dragon’s Gold (3-6p, 30m)
 Drive (2-4p, 30m)
 For Sale (3-6p, 20-30m)
 High Society (3-5p, 30-45m)
 Medici (3-6p, 45m)
 Priests of Ra (2-5p, 60m)
 Qwirkle (2-4p, 30-45m)
 San Juan (2-4p, 45-60m)
 *Settlers of Catan (3-4p, 60m)
 Thief of Baghdad (2-4p, 45m) (Collection)
 Ticket to Ride Europe (2-5p, 30-60m)
 Zooloretto (2-5p, 45m)

59. Group Quest
Design an analog game prototype using
mechanics supporting one of the following goals:
 Gain Ownership
 Collection

61. Investment
Committing resources for a certain amount of
time to something in order to reap the rewards
later.

62. Investment Design Considerations
 Resources
Invested
 Rewards
Produced
 Maturation
TIme
 Ratio of
Investment-to-
Rewards
 Reward
Randomness
Design Analysis: Investments

63. Why Designers Use Investment
 Strategic Planning
 Delayed Effects
 Balances Resources, Skills

64. Diminishing Returns
The returns for similar investments decrease
as the player progresses in the game.

65. Diminishing Rewards Design
Considerations
 Diminishment
Rate

66. Why Designers Use Diminishing
Returns
 Balancing Character Development
 Limit Effectiveness of Renewable
Resources
 Promote Varied Gameplay
 Create Tension through Interferable Actions
 Prevent Analysis Paralysis (Real-Time
Games)

67. Design an Investment mechanic with
diminishing returns on the LMS.