Growth is an intrinsic element of human nature. Humans age and develop with the passage of time. Video games use elements of such desires for growth to power their gameplay. Player growth systems analyze the changes that a player and their player character experience during gameplay. This includes the visual changes, ability upgrades, as well as the emotional development that takes place during the story. Thus, a framework is presented to investigate how games with player growth systems are structured and how player characters evolve inside these games.
This framework is then applied to a game project during its development to show how these tools can be used in an actual project. This process of implementation serves to visualize concrete examples of player growth systems. Specifically, the focus of the project was on the idea of plant growth in a third-person action game.
The game developed during the project is tested in user tests to study the impact of player growth systems on engagement and gameplay structure. For this, a survey is used. It was found that players enjoyed learning new abilities and growing visually. Finally, the limitations of player growth systems are presented. This includes growth stagnation (lack of new end-game content).
Table of Contents
1. Project Introduction
1.1 Individual Goal
1.2 Relevance
1.2.1 Player Growth Systems
1.2.2 The Power of Growth as a Game Mechanic
1.2.3 Method: Experimental Nature of Relume
1.3 Outline
2. State of the Art - Literature Review
2.1 Defining Black and White Thinking
2.2 Systems Theory
2.3 Player vs. Player Character
3. The Design of Player Growth Systems
3.1 Definition of Player Growth
3.2 Visual Growth
3.2.1 Visual Growth Definition
3.2.2 Background
3.2.3 Examples
3.3 Player Ability Growth
3.3.1 Definition
3.3.2 Background
3.3.3 Examples
3.4 Emotional Growth
3.4.1 Definition
3.4.2 Background
3.4.3 Examples
3.5 Growth Related to Audio
3.5.1 Definition
3.5.2 Background
3.5.3 Examples
3.6 Combining multiple aspects of Player Growth
3.7 Player Regression
3.8 Growth Plateauing
3.9 Summary of Growth Elements
4. Methods as Applied to the Project (Implementation)
4.1 Why Third Person Action Games?
4.2 Growth Systems Outline
4.3 Growth Unlock Structure
4.4 Growth Mechanics instead of Violence
4.5 Movement in Relume
4.6 Storytelling: Emotional Growth
4.7 Player Narrative
4.8 Combat in Relume
4.9 Dancing in Relume
4.10 Teaching Growth Mechanics to Player
4.11 Summary of Growth Systems in Relume
5. Technical Implementation
5.1 Visual Player Growth
5.2 Player Abilities
5.3 Animations
5.4 Audio Programming
5.5 Teaching and Communicating Mechanics
5.6 Contributed Assets
6. Measurement Approach
6.1 General Playtests
6.2 Reworked Thesis Testing
6.3 Online Growth Testing
6.4 Questionnaire Comparison
6.5 Measuring Engagement through Analytics
7. Data Results
7.1 Early Survey
7.2 Late Production Survey
7.3 Online Growth Survey
7.4 Unity Analytics
8. Data Evaluation
8.1 Connection to Bachelor Goal
8.2 Survey Methodology
9. Player Growth Discussion
9.1 Conclusions for Player Growth Systems based on Results
9.2 Limitation of Player Growth Systems
9.3 Inherent Problems of Player Growth Systems
10. Project Reflection
10.1 Missing Research
10.2 Lessons Learned
10.3 Team Evaluation
11. Conclusion
Research Objectives & Topics
This thesis aims to explore how player growth systems can be designed and implemented to provide engaging, non-violent alternatives to traditional action game tropes. The research focuses on creating a framework for player growth and testing its application through a custom developed game project, "Relume".
- Analysis of visual, ability, and emotional player growth mechanics.
- Implementation of non-violent progression systems in a third-person action game.
- Evaluation of player engagement through playtesting, surveys, and analytics.
- Investigation into "black-and-white thinking" and agency in game narratives.
- Comparison of teaching methods (implicit, explicit, and interactive) within game design.
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3.1 Definition of Player Growth
After being unable to find a commonly agreed definition for player growth in games it has become clear that this term needs to be defined for this paper.
Player Growth: The changes a player and their character go through during gameplay. Going beyond physical growth, this also encompasses emotional advancement and developing/unlocking character abilities.
Some examples which will be covered in this thesis are:
- The visual growth and collection process in Pokémon
- The emotional bond developed in The Sims franchise
- Unlocking new abilities in Super Metroid
A psycho-structural analysis of video games was performed in 2004 to define categories and characteristics for different products (Wood, 2004). The team created these categories after studying various games and conducted empirical research to evaluate these structural attributes of video games. The research found that 66% of respondents answered that they found “it was important for the characters to be able to develop over time in terms of features such as dexterity, strength, and intelligence.” (Ibid)
This category, referred to as “character development” in the study, is tied closely to the concept of player growth systems which will be studied in this paper. Additional categories from this research such as “Game dynamics” and “Advancement rate” will be used as found applicable to describe various methods of player growth. The research of Wood demonstrates the importance of player growth systems for video games which indicates a need to further investigate them.
Summary of Chapters
1. Project Introduction: Describes the motivation for creating "Relume" and sets the primary research question regarding how player characters grow over time and affect the player.
2. State of the Art - Literature Review: Provides a theoretical foundation covering systems theory, black-and-white thinking, and the distinction between player and avatar.
3. The Design of Player Growth Systems: Defines player growth categorizations, including visual, ability, emotional, and audio growth, supported by examples from established games.
4. Methods as Applied to the Project (Implementation): Details how growth mechanics were applied to the "Relume" project, including movement, combat replacement, and narrative techniques.
5. Technical Implementation: Explains the Unity-based technical setup, including script management, animation layers, and Wwise audio integration for growth mechanics.
6. Measurement Approach: Outlines the qualitative and quantitative methods used to assess player experience, including surveys, playtests, and Unity Analytics.
7. Data Results: Presents findings from the early survey, late production survey, and analytics regarding player engagement and sentiment.
8. Data Evaluation: Assesses the survey outcomes in relation to the initial project goals and discusses the methodological challenges.
9. Player Growth Discussion: Summarizes the conclusions regarding growth systems, their limitations, and inherent problems like growth plateauing.
10. Project Reflection: Reflects on the development process, missing research areas, and the lessons learned during the team collaboration.
11. Conclusion: Summarizes the thesis findings, stating that player growth provides an effective canvas for ambitious, innovative game design.
Keywords
Player growth systems, action games, non-verbal storytelling, emotional growth, game design, Unity, user testing, analytics, player agency, character development, visual growth, ability progression, engagement, interactivity, flow theory.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The research explores the design and implementation of "player growth systems" as a means to create engaging gameplay in third-person action games, specifically focusing on non-violent mechanics.
What are the primary themes discussed?
The core themes include visual growth, player ability progression, emotional growth, and audio-linked growth, alongside narrative agency and player choice.
What is the central research question?
The primary research question is: "How can the player character grow over time and how does this affect the player?"
Which methodology is employed in this work?
The research uses a mixed-methods approach: a literature review for conceptual definitions, followed by the practical application of these concepts in the game "Relume," and an evaluation via playtests, surveys, and Unity analytics.
What topics are covered in the main section of the paper?
The main sections cover the literature review (state of the art), a detailed design framework for various growth types, practical project implementation, technical implementation in Unity, and the resulting data evaluation.
Which keywords best describe this study?
Keywords include player growth systems, action games, game design, non-verbal storytelling, emotional growth, user testing, analytics, and player agency.
How does "Relume" attempt to address black-and-white thinking?
By providing the player with a choice to "dance" rather than just "fight," "Relume" forces the player to consider their relationship with adversaries, thus challenging the traditional good-vs-evil action game trope.
What role does the "Shadow Baby" play in the project?
The Shadow Baby acts as a non-verbal narrative device designed to teach dance mechanics to the player and facilitate a moral choice, encouraging empathy toward shadow characters.
What are the identified limitations of player growth systems?
The primary limitation is "growth plateauing" (growth stagnation), where a player reaches the end-game and has no new mechanics to discover, potentially leading to boredom.
What technical tools were used to measure player engagement?
The project utilized Google Forms for qualitative and quantitative surveys and Unity Analytics to track custom in-game events like "danceAction" versus "attackAction."
- Arbeit zitieren
- Leon Arndt (Autor:in), 2020, Design and Implementation of Player Growth Systems. Exemplified through a Third-Person Action Game, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/540558
