Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
emergent narrative
Events that are produced by the core mechanics as part of an
interactive story, rather than being written by the designer in advance. Should
really be called
emergent storytelling
, because
narrative
refers to narrated material.
entity
A datum or collection of data that describes some object, character, quan-
tity, or state of affairs in the game. See
simple entity
and
compound entity
.
exclusionary material
Content or features that tend to drive players away from a
game they might otherwise like, for example, racist or sexist content.
experience points
A resource earned by the player through combat and other
activities in a
role-playing game
.
explicit challenge
A challenge the player is explicitly told about by the game.
Ty pically the explicit challenges are the
victory condition
and the
atomic challenges
.
factories
Entities, usually characterized as buildings, under player control that
convert or produce resources of use to the player.
fair
(1) In a player-versus-player game, a perception on the part of the players that
they all have an equal chance of winning the game when it begins and that the
rules do not create advantages for one player over another other than by the opera-
tion of chance. (2) In a player-versus-environment game, a set of player
expectations about the nature of the game experience.
feedback
(1) Information provided to the player to let him know the effects of his
actions upon the game world and other data he may need to evaluate his status and
plan future actions. Used in the context of user interfaces. See
feedback element
. (2)
A phenomenon occurring in automated internal economies; see
feedback loop
for
further information. (3) A common phenomenon occurring in the
balance
of a
game so that the player's successful efforts make the game easier or harder. See
posi-
tive feedback
and
negative feedback
.
feedback element
An audible or visible part of the user interface that informs the
player about the effects of his actions upon the game world and other data he may
need to evaluate his status and plan future actions. Sound effects and visible
indica-
tors
are feedback elements.
feedback loop
In an
internal economy
, a situation in which some of the resources
produced by a production mechanism must either (a) be used to initiate the pro-
duction mechanism in the first place or (b) be fed back into the production
mechanism to keep it operating. Feedback loops run the risk of creating a
deadlock
.
first playable level
The first level created by the level design team that actually
includes gameplay, as opposed to being a prototype or mockup. It should be a typi-
cal example of a level, not the first level that the player will play.
