Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
depends on desired difficulty of game play and is significant because the result of
the decision impacts not only this single experience, but is also representative of a
recurring type of information as it exists in context.
Designing content in context allows game designers to balance implicit and
explicit content distribution. In the previous example, the player learns through the
course of game play what each of those indicators mean, which opens the oppor-
tunity to embed more content implicitly. If the design decision is made to use a
warning light in the HUD as a visual and text indicator of danger, this could encode
any number of circumstances, from all dangerous situations to only one specific
type of danger—determined by the game objectives and type of game play. This is
important because game play consists of players figuring out strategies based on the
information provided. Too little information and the game is too difficult; too simply
communicated, and then the game's degree of challenge is forfeited.
A key factor for how representations of content work together is how the content
is distributed within the game. As a standard design practice, the design recom-
mendation for building e-learning includes segmenting and organizing content into
chunks of information. The same is true for game design as the principles of cogni-
tive load are still the same; it is the distribution that is different. Game content must
be accessible and manageable by the player but in order to do so, the content is
segmented, organized, and
distributed
across internal mechanisms within the game.
This allows greater and more complex amounts of information to be integrated into
the game without making it too difficult for the player to synthesize into action. For
example, if the player must retain a large amount of poorly distributed or exces-
sively detailed information over too long of a period of time, the game becomes too
difficult.
UI design is an example of embedding content that a player may need to access in
specific circumstances. This serves two purposes, the first is that the player is aware
and knows each element of content might be needed for any particular circumstance
and is therefore, in each situation, evaluating which content or combinations of are
required for success. The second is that this mechanism also serves as an extension
of the player as a tool for organizing and keeping accessible content necessary for
game play. The UI as tool for distributed cognitive processes of the player, enabling
him or her to incorporate more information into action than he or she could perform
without it. In 3D games, the environment itself can act in the same capacity, where
locations within the space serve the same purposes—a virtual location to store and
access in times of need. For a literal example, bank locations are a common feature
in RPGs where the player acquires items for a range of applications, some of which
are used for very specific situations. Players store materials here and access them
when necessary, but it remains up to the player to figure out which circumstances
are appropriate for each item's use. This conceptual design of organizing pieces of
content expands and deepens the players' knowledge of game content because of
the volume in which is distributed to the banks.
An aspect of distributing content is also captured by scaffolding of content. The
increase of complexity and difficulty of game play is integrated into game play pro-
gression. For game design this means balancing game play as a linear progression of
