Gameplay Dynamics

The word "dynamic" is commonly used in the video game industry. Dynamic AI. Dynamic soundtrack. Dynamic difficulty. Dynamic animation. Dynamic missions objectives. Dynamic lighting. Dynamics are an important concept in understanding what makes games so interesting. More specifically dynamics are what make emergent gameplay possible. The reason a few rules can create countless outcomes is because of dynamics. The concept is simple, but it would be good to clearly spell everything out.

First, to develop a clear definition. I'm using these definitions from Dictionary.com as a starting point: 

adj

1. a Of or relating to energy or to objects in motion.
2. Characterized by continuous change, activity, or progress: a dynamic market.

n

1. An interactive system or process, especially one involving competing or conflicting forces: "the story of a malign dynamic between white prejudice and black autonomy"(Edmund S. Morgan).

Building from these common definitions a video game dynamic can be thought of as any interactive system within a game. This is a very general definition that can apply to music, graphics, and gameplay systems alike.

When using the word "dynamic" to describe gameplay requires a more exact definition. A gameplay dynamic is a system where one action has a range of influences on gameplay elements, features, and/or challenges.

To put it simply, a gameplay dynamic is when one action has multiple reactions that influence gameplay elements. Going by this criteria alone, it's easy to come up with examples of gameplay dynamics that have a large effect on a game's gameplay and other examples that have a very small effect. A good example of a very small gameplay dynamic is the music in New Super Mario Brothers. In this game, there are specific moments during the soundtrack that trigger enemies on the screen to dance. During these small cues Koopa perform a little side step move, Goomba jump, and Cheep-Cheep swim in a circle. If you're not paying close enough attention, the small change in timing from a dancing enemy could be just enough to throw off your aim.

As evident from the NSMB example, gameplay dynamics that have a very small effect on gameplay can be very subtle and specific with effects that are very infrequent. For the purposes of this article, I will focus on gameplay dynamics that are much more common and that affect a significant amount of the gameplay elements. Such dynamics are called core gameplay dynamics or core dynamics. 

Let's break it down.

SPACE

I can't think of many games that don't use space as a core dynamic. Likewise, time is also a widely use core dynamic because its couples well with space. Because time is a bit more complicated, I'll start with space. 

Any game system with characters or objects that move, touch, hit, and/or dodge to reach a goal use the core dynamic of space. Take Pong for example. Pong is a game that simulates table tennis like gameplay. Players have to move their paddles through space anticipating the trajectory of the ball and make contact with the ball to continue the volley. Every instant the ball moves, it's changing its position on the screen (in space) in addition to the relative distances between each paddle and the walls. For every movement (1 action) the positions (both relative and actual) of every element in the game changes. This is the basic idea behind the dynamics of space.   

Everything from the advance spacing involved in fighters, taking cover in a shooter, flipping blocks in Planet Puzzle League, to jumping over Goomba uses the dynamic of space. Different games can use the dynamic of space differently which in turn influences gameplay in very specific ways. 

• 2D top down
  • Because there's so much space the player can freely move through, challenges in top down games are generally designed to limit the player's options by filling the screen, surrounding, or homing in on the player. In other words, the real challenge comes when players are trapped against walls or by multiple contrary enemy elements. 
  • Chess, The Legend of Zelda, Neo*RPG, Geometry Wars. (more examples)
• 2D side scrolling (Gravity)
  • The key difference of the space dynamic between top down and side scrolling games is gravity. Gravity (1 force) is a dynamic that works against many gameplay elements in the game. Take Super Mario Brothers. Because Mario is constantly pulled to the ground, it's easier to create contrary motion against the player by way of enemies that also walk along the ground.  All the elements that are influenced by gravity (Mario, some enemies, fireballs, powerups, etc) layer well with those that don't (some platforms, some enemies, etc). 
  • Super Mario Brothers, Super Smash Brothers, Braid, Mighty Flip Champs. (more examples)
• 3D Space
  • The 3rd dimension really adds a lot to the dynamic of space. In 3D environments, every movement of an object changes its relative distance from every other object in 3 axes instead of just 2. This inherently makes moving through space in 3D games more dynamic and complex than in 2D games. Because games that feature 3D space as a core dynamic can also feature gravity, all of the influences of 2D dynamics (described above) can also apply to games with 3D space. Read more about it in the link above. 
  • Halo 3, Ninja Gaiden, Super Mario 64/Sunshine/Galaxy.

TIME

Most games function in real time meaning the game actively processes player input (or the lack thereof) and changes the game state accordingly. This happens many times a second. Whether the game is real time or turned based, there are many factors in a game that are active. Perhaps in games like untimed Chess when one player is thinking of their next move the game has practically stopped. But for most video games, time marches on. This is not to say, however, that time is a core dynamic of gameplay. 

For time to be a core gameplay dynamic the structure of the challenges (or core interactivity) must change with time. For games that use space as a core dynamic, this comes naturally. For example, a Goomba walking toward Mario is an organic timer. Every second the Goomba gets closer and closer to hurting Mario. And every step Mario takes closer to the Goomba, the distance and timing changes. In this way the relative distances in space are proportionate to the relative timing between objects. 

For another example, the time Mario invests in jumping affects where he can land and when. "What goes up must come down." These concepts should be very familiar to us. This is why time and space are natural/organic dynamics. Because these dynamics are a part of our ordinary lives, they're easy to grasp. It's no wonder they're so widely used in video games. 

The dynamics of time usually accompanies the dynamics of space in the design of a game. Other than this natural dynamic of time, there are a few other types:

• Time: Decay and Rates
  • In a game where key resources are accrued over time the difference between executing a maneuver now and the same maneuver 5 seconds later can be the difference between victory and defeat. In Star Craft, resources take time to mine, buildings take time to erect, energy takes time to charge, units take time to travel, and upgrades take time to research. Everything is balanced by time.  The player is constantly thinking about time. Strategies are built around attacking economies that grow over time. And matches can become wars of attrition. It's no wonder we have a whole genre dedicated to the core dynamic of time.  
• Real Time 
  • In Animal Crossing, real life time is a core dynamic. Depending on the time of day or day of the year, the entire game world is affected. Holidays come and go. Opportunities and grudges pass. Animals move in or out. Your house may get roaches. Weeds grow. Stores close. And your mail box may overflow. Whether you're playing the game or not, every second affects the range of interactivity you can have with the game world. 
  • In Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater your in game rations can spoil after an amount of game time passes. Also, The End is a very old boss character in the game that player can overcome by waiting a week of real time so that he dies of old age. Though these features are not core to the game, they're neat nonetheless. 

ARTIFICIAL DYNAMICS

If space and time are natural dynamics, the flip side of the coin would mean that there are artificial dynamics. These dynamics are usually game rules that are implemented to make things more fair or interesting. Artificial dynamics generally have less influence on gameplay and player decisions than core dynamics because they deal with specifics.

Artificial dynamics are also used to connect actions to what would otherwise be unrelated elements. For example, in Halo 3 and ODST the Black Eye skull that adds a new dynamic to combat. Normally, player's health/shield regenerate as long as they're not being attacked. But with this skull players can only get their health back by melee attacking enemies. In this way, the Black Eye skull dynamic connects two completely unrelated elements of design; melee attacks and player health. 

• CO Meter: In the Advance Wars series (except Days of Ruin) whenever you give damage or take damage, part of your and your opponent's CO meter is built up. It is nearly impossible to win games without contributing to these meters. Once full, players can unleash devastating and game changing attacks. So, for every offensive or defensive action, the unit health is affected in addition to the CO meters. 
• Ultra Meter (Street Fighter 4): Like in Advance Wars your revenge gauge or ultra meter fills up when you take damage. The more you get beat up, the more powerful your ultra attack becomes. There's no way to win a round without filling up your opponent's gauge. 
• Hybrid dynamic (Henry Hatsworth): HH is designed so that the player actions from the top or bottom screen influence the other screen. Kill an enemy on the top screen, and it'll move to the bottom screen. Eliminate it on the bottom screen, and that enemy will be converted to energy for the top screen. The cycle goes back and forth. See link above for more information.
• Semi hybrid game dynamic (Maboshi's Arcade) (video): This strange and unique game is actually 3 games that can be played by 3 players all at once or by 1 player playing with replays. Each game is simple and interesting individually. But when played side by side the games have elements that affect each other. So you can effectively help your self out from the moves you made in the past. That's 1 action for several emergent results. 

THE HUMAN DYNAMIC

Another dynamic in game systems is the human dynamic. These dynamics are found in multiplayer games. 

• Free For Alls: In FFA games it's every man, woman, alien, robot, etc. for themselves. Alliances can be made and broken all in a player's attempt to look out for themselves. Some players may be weak making for easy targets. In these cases, the battle dynamic can shift from "who can get the most points by killing anyone" to "who can get the most points by killing a specific player." Whatever the case is, every action made by each player changes the game for everyone. 
• Co-op: In situations where cooperation and teamwork are necessary, the player(s) that you need to work with to win and your ability to work with them is a dynamic all in itself. If you need to stick together and one or more of your teammates move in opposite directions what do you do? If one player won't listen to your plans, are the other players able to play off of the stubborn one? Once again, the actions of one can instantly affect the game for others.  
• Co-unter-op: The dynamics of co-ounter-op situations are a mix between the dynamics of FFA and co-op. At one point, everyone may be working together. And at another, one player may try to do things in his/her best interest. The Force gems in The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords come to mind. Just sprinkle a few of those "valueless" gems out on the field and watch as your friends instantly become enemies. 

To end this article I wanted to briefly talk about....

GAMES WITHOUT DYNAMICS

  

• Some puzzle games don't have have any gameplay dynamics. For example, some of the puzzles in Professor Layton require the player to input the right answer from a question prompt (see images above). Sometimes the answer is a letter. Sometimes a number. And sometimes it's multiple choice. There's only one right answer for these puzzles. If you get it, good for you. If you miss it, you get to try the same problem again. The game looks for one input to pair with the success result. All other input just repeats the cycle. 1 action for 1 results isn't dynamic. 
• Many music rhythm games are not dynamic. Whether you miss the timed input or not, the game will keep rolling. Throughout the song, the game won't get any harder or easier based on player performance. The challenge is designed to be the same from start to finish every time. A set "roller coaster" ride may be fun, but it's not dynamic. 

The FPShuffle

First the explanation. The FPShuffle is an emergent behavioural occurrence in first or 3rd person shooters. Perhaps you've experienced it at some point. Picture one player moving back and forth in a fairly unpredictable fashion shooting at every opportunity at a single opponent who is doing the same. Neither can cause enough damage to kill the other quickly. So this dance of sorts continues until someone runs away, gets lucky, or other factors intercede. 

FPShuffle at 50 seconds (lasts 16 seconds)

The reason I especially dislike the FPS Shuffle is because it's a goofy stalemate. Though it's not the worst thing that can happen in a shooter, when excessive FPShuffling is present a game begins to fall apart on the basic level. In other words, the function of mechanics fail to move the state of the game closer to the goal or a resulting state where the mechanics become functionally useful again. In such moments, the game may seem like a very different thing. Instead of focusing on actions like getting kills or moving into position, when FPShuffling, players desperately try to kill, yet no kills are made. Nothing really happens.

Now, I understand that "nothing really happens" is an exaggeration. Even if two players are locked in a stalemate situations in a multiplayer shooter, the rest of the players are still moving and changing the state of the game in numerous, emergent ways. At any point when FPShuffling, a teammate can step in and dynamically break up the dance. However, when I can't aim, shoot, and kill effectively in a shooter, there may be little I can do to contribute to the game in a meaningful (goal oriented) way. And that's a serious issue. Of course player skill and play styles are contributing factors, so let's lay everything out clearly.

The reason the FPShuffle occurs is a combination of these factors:

• player skill: No matter how an FPS is designed, if two players aren't skilled enough the FPShuffle may occur. Also, if both players elect to dance about, that's their prerogative.
• character movement: If the basic character movement is too fast/quick in an FPS, simply moving around can create a very hard target to hit requiring significant player skill to overcome. This includes moves like strafing, jet boosting, running, jumping, and context sensitive dives into cover.
• aiming versatility: When you can't adjust your aim quickly/accurately enough to hit a target whether due to player settings, game limitations, or controller types the entire game system can be stressed. If you can't aim well, killing becomes that much harder. And if you can't kill, there goes most of the significant actions in a shooter. 
• environmental cover: If there are too many objects to hide behind and sneak around in a 1v1 fire fight encounter, the opportunities to get a clear shot off are reduced. With the ability to do damage diminished, FPShulffing is more likely to occur.
• weapon attributes: If a gun has a very slow fire rate a player may decide to dance around in the interim. After all, a still body in a shooter is an easy target. If a gun doesn't do enough damage quickly enough this next factor may come into play.
• regenerating health: If one or both players are using guns with long firing/reload times, the player health may have time to regenerate  (if the game supports such a design). In such a case, player can recover health faster than they can do damage.
• connection lag: In a match with significant lag issues, there is a disconnect between everything you do and everything you see. A target may appear to be standing right in front of you, but to the computer putting everything together, that target may have moved to another location. With lag issues, time, actions, and reactions can be very different for each player. The worst I've experienced was probably from Gears Of War. I lined up the reticle, fired, and a few seconds later the shot came out. By then the target had moved. In our feeble attempts to kill each other, we FPShuffled madly.

Beyond adjusting the above factors in attempt to reduce the amount of FPShuffling in a shooter, there are other creative solutions.

• Metroid Prime 2: Echoes - Lock On - Like in the single player game, the multiplayer in Metroid Prime 2 features a lock on mechanic. One way to break lock is to go into morph ball. A player in morphball form can't fight back at medium to long range. Therefore, when in morphball it's a good strategy to run away while covering your retreat with bombs. In this situation, the other player can either pursue the morph ball player through the bomb traps or free aim in attempt to destroy the target before it escapes. If both players lock on, it's a fight to the death unless someone decides to run. With the lock on mechanic and the accompanying interplay, the FPShuffle is converted into a style of play where kills or chases are the norm.

• Section 8 - Lock On - To counteract the lack of aiming accuracy in a game that's designed for a play style somewhere between a PC and a console shooter, the designers at Timegate came up with a innovative lock on mechanic. On the most basic level, once you zoom in on an enemy, you can lock onto them. When locked on, the aiming reticle is fixed to the target no matter how quickly it moves. All the while, the lock on timer ticks down. Once out, the player must rely on free aiming. The point is to get the kill before you run out of lock on time. If both players run out of lock on, then the probability of FPShuffling increases significantly especially on the console. After all, hitting a highly mobile player that uses any combination of their super run or jet pack mechanics can be very difficult.

• Halo3 - slow movement, aim assist, power weapons, splash damage - Bungie really knew what they were doing when they made the Halo series. Console analog sticks fundamentally change player aiming mechanics. Quick, accurate, and fine tuned adjustments are harder to pull off using a console analog stick compared to a mouse. So instead of designing an FPS around hitting fast moving targets, they slowed the motion of Master Chief on the ground and in the air. The slower movements coupled with the aim assist allows players to hit each other more easily than they can dodge each other. Add in some power weapons that can kill in a hit or two (Snipe, Shotgun, Rocket, Sword, Hammer, etc) and the FPShuffle is mostly removed from play.
• The beauty of Halo's design starts with the core mechanics. Guns compress 3D space allowing players to interact over long distances. Melee attacks are for close quarters. While connecting this high damaging attack, the player will lunge forward which helps to simplify the 3D space just around the player (which can be the most awkward in a first person game) in addition to briefly locking the player's perspective on the target. Lastly, the grenades are a timed attack for medium to long rang that move through 3D space in an entirely unique way (design space wise). Because grenades can arc, they can travel up over structures. Because grenades bounce, they can be angled around corners. And because the grenades have splash damage, you don't have to land a direct hit to deal effective damage. So, you can use grenades to keep players back, flush players out, or, with a preemptive throw, set up a layered attack. And if the target tries to jump over the blast, Halo's floaty jump makes the target more predictable thus ending a possible FPShuffle. See examples here.

• Perfect Dark - slow movement, low health, stop to aim - For this N64 game the player only has one analog stick to move or shoot (on the default control scheme). There's also no jumping either. So, all of your opponents will be traveling fairly slowly along the ground. To aid players, the auto aim feature adjust one's aim toward the chests of targets. Perfect Dark also has a low health design. In general, two shots to the head is fatal. To aim at the head or any point outside of where the auto aim is positioned, players must hold R to stop moving and free aim. All of these design elements together facilitate encounters that end fairly quickly in either a western style quick draw or with one player in pursuit. If players do dance in the FPShuffle due to additional factors like weapon types and/or shield for added health, the encounter will most likely be converted into another type (chase and pursuit).

• Call Of Duty 4 - low health/powerful weapons - In a system where a few bullets will kill and you can die before you realize you're in danger, being able to move quickly or under the cover of smoke isn't enough to produce many FPShuffle scenarios. In the blink of an eye where you can be dead or victorious, dancing never crosses your mind.

On a final note, some games have more complex versions of the FPShuffle. From my experience, sliding into cover and rolling in Gears Of War can create a different kind of dance. Games like this and Shadow Run have to be careful about their design if they want to make their games more functional and accessible to a wider range of gamers. If you're the kind of gamer that likes the FPShuffle, let me know. 

Puzzlement & Portability

About a year ago, I surveyed the state of the video games industry with regards to the puzzle genre. After clarifying a few things about the design of puzzle games, I concluded that the year 2008 for the puzzle gamer was an immensely bountiful one. Since then even more wonderful puzzle games have been released.

Before I get into the new games, I wanted to first talk about a personal goal of mine. Perhaps I owe it to the Pokemon spirit that I acquired with my copy of Red when I was 12 years old, but I aspire to be the best at what I do. Sometimes, in order to make this incredibly unrealistic goal more practical, I must define what I do in broader more creative terms. I know I can't be the best Super Smash Brothers player in the world, but I'll settle for the title of best Melee Kirby player. Likewise, I've been working at becoming a video game "puzzle master." Shortz and others may have earned the title for more traditional puzzling endevours, but perhaps I can carve myself a space in the video gaming world.

Real life puzzle master Will Shortz.

They say it becomes increasingly harder to play fast action real time games the older we get. I'm sure I'm an old fogie in a StarCraft pro's eyes, and competiting in ultra fast paced shooters are out of the question. But maybe the puzzle genre is one that ages well with the player. After all, most puzzle games don't have skill intensive real time gameplay. So I'm free to take my time and think my way through challenges.

So over the years I've been honing my skills and keeping track of all the puzzle games I've played as well as my progress with them. I do believe that delving deeper into a work/hobbie is one of the best ways to understand it and yourself better. For this reason, I believe video games should be studied like anything else worth understanding in life. With that said, here is my puzzle game resume so to speak.

OLD SCHOOL

• Tetris (GB & DS)
•  Wario's Woods
• Chu Chu Rocket (Dreamcast & GBA)

OTHER NEXT GEN CONSOLES

• Braid
• Portal

GAMECUBE/Wii

• Super Monkey Ball 1 & 2
• Boom Blox
• Zack & Wiki
• World of Goo: Game complete: 691 goo balls. 6:59:39 time. 
• Maboshi: The Three Shape Arcade
• Dr. Mario Online Rx

DS

• Super Mario 64 DS (Puzzle Panel): Level 20.
• Kirby Canvas Curse (Rainbow Run mode): 100% game completion
• Meteos
• Picross DS
• Sudoku (Brain Age): 51% complete
• Bangai-O Spirits (Puzzle levels): 100% of Puzzle stages.
• Advance Wars: Dual Strike (Survival Mode): S ranked Money and Turn on basic and champion.
• Tetris Attack & Planet Puzzle League: 100% basic puzzles. 47/60 advanced puzzles.
  
• Professor Layton 1: 100% of story mode puzzles
• Professor Layton 2: 137/137 story mode puzzles solved. 100% complete musician's, tea master's, & animal lover's house. 4879 score.
• Scribblenauts

INDIE/FLASH

• Red Remover: 100% puzzles. 36/40 golded.
• Maze Man 2: 8mins 7secs
• 3D Logic: 100% game completion
• 3D Logic 2: level 23
• Exploit: 100% game completion
• I wish I were the Moon: game complete
  
• There Is Only One Level: game complete
  
• Closure: level 12 
• Time Fcuk: Start mode complete
  
• Flood Fill: 100% golded
• Shift: game complete
• Little Wheel: game complete
• Loops Of Zen: level 12
• Electric Box: game complete score: 5836
• Hexicom Connect: 20 levels.
• minim: game complete (35 levels no walkthrough) score: 94310
• enDice: game complete (35 levels)

To finish up the list, I wanted to comment on how the DSi is my puzzle gaming platform of choice for '09. Just counting my downloadable DSi Ware titles alone, I've added these 7 games to the list (ranked below). If you're a puzzle fan, I highly recommend these games.

1. Box Life: 100% game completion
2. Zengage: 100% puzzles solved. 80/108 puzzled golded.
3. MightyFlipChamps: 41/41 puzzles solved.
4. Precipice: High Score on 10 floors: 6,392,450
5. Base10: 8/27 puzzles solved
   
6. Aquia: 16/25 aquariums
7. Pictobits: 27/30 Levels

Let's hope next year follows the trend.