Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
ChAptEr 6
In the previous chapter, we introduced the Machinations framework and showed
how you can use Machinations diagrams to model the internal economy of games.
In this chapter, we introduce some advanced features of the Machinations framework
that will permit you to simulate and study more complex economies. We also dis-
cuss how feedback structures can be read from a Machinations diagram. As we
discussed in Chapter 3, “Complex Systems and the Structure of Emergence,” feed-
back plays an important role in the creation of emergent behavior, and in this
chapter we outline seven important characteristics of feedback structures. Finally,
we address ways you can use randomness to add unpredictability and variation to
the behavior of your internal economy. This way, Machinations diagrams, both
static and digital versions, become an essential tool to help designers understand
the nature of the dynamic system of game mechanics that drives the gameplay of
their game.
To start with, we introduce a few additional features of digital Machinations dia-
grams that we didn't include in Chapter 5, “Machinations.” In this section, we'll
explain these extra features.
Registers
Sometimes you'll want to make simple calculations in a Machinations diagram
or use numeric values that come from player input. While it is possible to model
most of these features with pools, interactive sources, interactive drains, and state
connections, the resulting diagram is awkward to read. To simplify things, digital
Machinations diagrams offer an additional node type: registers. Registers are repre-
sented as solid squares with a number indicating their current value.
In many ways, a register acts just like a pool that always displays its value as a num-
ber. A register can be passive or interactive. A passive register has a value that is set
by input state connections. When a diagram is not running, this value is displayed
as
x
because it is not yet determined. An interactive register has an initial value that
you can set while designing the diagram. In addition, it has two buttons that allow
the user to modify its value while the diagram is running. An interactive register is
the equivalent of a pool connected to an interactive source and an interactive drain
(
Figure 6.1
).
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