Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Because mechanics are media-independent, most game scholars do not distinguish
between video games, board games, and even physical games. The relationships
between different entities in the game is much the same whether implemented on a
board, with pieces you move by hand, or on a computer screen, with images moved
for you by software. Not only can the same game be played in different media,
sometimes a single game can use more than one medium. Today more and more
games are hybrids: board games that include simple computers, or physical games
facilitated by clever devices hooked up to remote computers.
In addition, the media independence of game mechanics allows designers to create
mechanics for one game but then implement that game in several different media;
this cuts down on development time, since the design work is done only once.
hybrid Game example
The game
Johann Sebastian Joust
, developed by the copenhagen Games collective, is an
excellent example of hybrid game design. The game uses no screen, only speakers, and
takes place in an open area in which each player holds a Playstation move controller
(
Figure 1.1
). Players who move their controller too fast are eliminated from the game, so
players try to eliminate each other by shoving other players' controllers, while maneuvering
carefully to protect their own controllers, all in slow motion. Occasionally the tempo of
the background music speeds up, indicating the speed at which the player can move safely.
Johann Sebastian Joust
is a hybrid multiplayer game that blends physical performance
with simple computer-implemented mechanics to create a satisfying player experience.
FIGURe 1.1
Johann Sebastian Joust
in full swing.
image courtesy of Johan Bichel Lindegaard under a creative commons (cc BY 3.0) license.
