1
00:00:00,060 --> 00:00:02,500
The following content is
provided under a Creative

2
00:00:02,500 --> 00:00:04,019
Commons license.

3
00:00:04,019 --> 00:00:06,360
Your support will help
MIT OpenCourseWare

4
00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:10,730
continue to offer high quality
educational resources for free.

5
00:00:10,730 --> 00:00:13,330
To make a donation or
view additional materials

6
00:00:13,330 --> 00:00:17,236
from hundreds of MIT courses,
visit MIT OpenCourseWare

7
00:00:17,236 --> 00:00:17,861
at ocw.mit.edu.

8
00:00:27,390 --> 00:00:30,950
RIK EBERHARDT: So welcome to
Creating Video Games, CMS 611

9
00:00:30,950 --> 00:00:32,009
and 6073.

10
00:00:32,009 --> 00:00:34,180
Is everyone in the right class?

11
00:00:34,180 --> 00:00:34,891
Yeah, all right.

12
00:00:34,891 --> 00:00:35,390
Cool.

13
00:00:38,430 --> 00:00:41,880
So this class is taught by--
it's a Comparative Media

14
00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:42,616
Studies course.

15
00:00:42,616 --> 00:00:44,740
So we'll be talking a lot
about the kinds of things

16
00:00:44,740 --> 00:00:46,510
that they talk about in
Comparative Media Studies.

17
00:00:46,510 --> 00:00:48,500
We'll study research
and design practices,

18
00:00:48,500 --> 00:00:51,030
but as it relates to
software engineering,

19
00:00:51,030 --> 00:00:54,070
and in particular to
developing video games-- so

20
00:00:54,070 --> 00:01:00,230
digital video games
for, basically, screens.

21
00:01:00,230 --> 00:01:03,700
The CMS department has a lot of
different, really cool research

22
00:01:03,700 --> 00:01:05,120
labs that are a part of it.

23
00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:06,770
And we are one of them.

24
00:01:06,770 --> 00:01:08,370
So we are the MIT Game Lab.

25
00:01:08,370 --> 00:01:11,240
Basically the whole
MIT Game Lab staff

26
00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:12,999
teaches this class together.

27
00:01:12,999 --> 00:01:15,290
Because we really like each
other, and it's really fun.

28
00:01:15,290 --> 00:01:16,670
But also because
there's a lot of you.

29
00:01:16,670 --> 00:01:18,753
And it's a really big,
complicated class to teach.

30
00:01:18,753 --> 00:01:20,900
So we need all the extra
support we can get.

31
00:01:20,900 --> 00:01:23,194
We teach classes in game
design and game research.

32
00:01:23,194 --> 00:01:25,360
Those are all the course
numbers that we teach other

33
00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:26,540
than this one.

34
00:01:26,540 --> 00:01:28,210
Maybe you've taken
one of these before.

35
00:01:28,210 --> 00:01:30,120
Maybe you're thinking about
some other game courses

36
00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:31,580
you want to take in the future.

37
00:01:31,580 --> 00:01:32,780
So take a look at that.

38
00:01:32,780 --> 00:01:34,410
We also have UROP opportunities.

39
00:01:34,410 --> 00:01:38,040
So we'll advertise those
classes as they come up.

40
00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:41,380
We do mentor Course 6
students for the UAPs.

41
00:01:41,380 --> 00:01:43,050
What we usually ask
is for you to bring

42
00:01:43,050 --> 00:01:45,020
to us an interesting
research topic that you

43
00:01:45,020 --> 00:01:46,270
want to research.

44
00:01:46,270 --> 00:01:48,790
And if we are also
interested, then cool.

45
00:01:48,790 --> 00:01:49,861
A match is made.

46
00:01:49,861 --> 00:01:51,360
Same thing when it
comes to masters.

47
00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:53,020
So if you're going
to get your master's

48
00:01:53,020 --> 00:01:56,040
of engineering here in Course 6.

49
00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:58,460
And you want to do it in game
design or game development,

50
00:01:58,460 --> 00:02:01,460
and you need a mentor,
we can be your mentor.

51
00:02:01,460 --> 00:02:05,160
We also host a lot of
events and outreach events

52
00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:06,026
and guest lectures.

53
00:02:06,026 --> 00:02:08,400
A lot of the guest lectures
will be part of this course--

54
00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:09,899
that we'll be opening
to the public,

55
00:02:09,899 --> 00:02:12,010
as well, for a few of them.

56
00:02:12,010 --> 00:02:14,010
We've got Riot coming
up in September.

57
00:02:14,010 --> 00:02:17,010
We've got Japanese
developer Swery65.

58
00:02:17,010 --> 00:02:19,850
Does anybody play
Deadly Premonition?

59
00:02:19,850 --> 00:02:22,420
Yes!

60
00:02:22,420 --> 00:02:23,030
It's awesome.

61
00:02:23,030 --> 00:02:25,702
And he's coming
to talk about it.

62
00:02:25,702 --> 00:02:27,993
And some other cool stuff--
we also do a lot of events.

63
00:02:27,993 --> 00:02:33,800
So like game jams-- we'll
have an alumni panel.

64
00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:36,540
And the next big thing is the
Boston Festival of Indie Games

65
00:02:36,540 --> 00:02:40,550
is going to be on
campus in 11 days.

66
00:02:40,550 --> 00:02:42,520
So 200 developers are
going to be showing off

67
00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:44,900
their games over in the
Johnson Activity Center.

68
00:02:44,900 --> 00:02:47,770
And we'll have a conference
track going on here.

69
00:02:47,770 --> 00:02:48,750
So take a look at that.

70
00:02:48,750 --> 00:02:52,439
You'll get all that information
as the course goes on.

71
00:02:52,439 --> 00:02:54,480
So next up, we just wanted
to introduce ourselves

72
00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:57,250
and our individual--
basically what we do,

73
00:02:57,250 --> 00:02:58,924
and why we're
teaching the course.

74
00:02:58,924 --> 00:02:59,590
PHILLIP TAN: Hi.

75
00:02:59,590 --> 00:03:00,950
I'm Phillip Tan.

76
00:03:00,950 --> 00:03:04,010
I've been teaching
various game courses here

77
00:03:04,010 --> 00:03:06,300
at MIT for about 10 years now.

78
00:03:06,300 --> 00:03:09,320
I'm a research scientist
over at the MIT Game Lab.

79
00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:14,800
And I've worked with all of
these fine folk for many years.

80
00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:17,440
Up here are a couple of
projects that I've worked on.

81
00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:20,120
On the right is a game called
A Slower Speed of Light.

82
00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:23,650
If any of you are interested
in relativistic speeds

83
00:03:23,650 --> 00:03:26,250
and simulating
them on a computer,

84
00:03:26,250 --> 00:03:27,950
you are welcome to check it out.

85
00:03:27,950 --> 00:03:30,630
We also have an open
source version of our code

86
00:03:30,630 --> 00:03:32,170
that lives on GitHub.

87
00:03:32,170 --> 00:03:36,040
So you can download that
version using the same tools

88
00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:38,860
that you might end up
using in this class.

89
00:03:38,860 --> 00:03:41,977
But basically it's, you travel
near the speed of light,

90
00:03:41,977 --> 00:03:43,560
and you see what
this might look like.

91
00:03:46,310 --> 00:03:48,330
I play a lot of StarCraft.

92
00:03:48,330 --> 00:03:50,232
Anybody here play StarCraft?

93
00:03:50,232 --> 00:03:51,475
A few people.

94
00:03:51,475 --> 00:03:53,700
All right.

95
00:03:53,700 --> 00:03:56,680
I've been working with
Blizzard this past year

96
00:03:56,680 --> 00:03:59,900
to work on their
spectator interface.

97
00:03:59,900 --> 00:04:02,260
The idea is that there
are a lot of people

98
00:04:02,260 --> 00:04:05,240
who watch e-sports right
now, especially on Twitch.tv.

99
00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:06,440
Who watches Twitch.tv?

100
00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:06,940
OK.

101
00:04:06,940 --> 00:04:07,439
All right.

102
00:04:07,439 --> 00:04:08,890
Lots of people.

103
00:04:08,890 --> 00:04:10,960
E-sports specifically
on Twitch.tv, or just

104
00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:11,641
like Let's Play?

105
00:04:11,641 --> 00:04:12,140
OK.

106
00:04:12,140 --> 00:04:14,820
A few.

107
00:04:14,820 --> 00:04:17,655
Those are spectators, just as
if you're watching a football

108
00:04:17,655 --> 00:04:19,339
or hockey game on TV.

109
00:04:19,339 --> 00:04:22,830
And they need infographics
to come up in real time

110
00:04:22,830 --> 00:04:25,150
when something interesting
is happening in the game.

111
00:04:25,150 --> 00:04:28,220
So I write code
together with UROPs

112
00:04:28,220 --> 00:04:33,230
to be able to bring up cool
infographics bring the hype,

113
00:04:33,230 --> 00:04:34,270
basically.

114
00:04:34,270 --> 00:04:35,710
So that's me.

115
00:04:39,730 --> 00:04:40,480
SARA VERRILLI: Hi.

116
00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:41,450
I'm Sara Verrilli.

117
00:04:41,450 --> 00:04:45,430
I'm the development director
at the MIT Game Lab.

118
00:04:45,430 --> 00:04:49,620
I came to the Game
Lab out of industry,

119
00:04:49,620 --> 00:04:53,290
where I've worked as a
producer and a game designer

120
00:04:53,290 --> 00:04:56,950
and originally, how I entered
it was as a QA tester.

121
00:04:56,950 --> 00:05:02,164
So I've held a lot
of the jobs there.

122
00:05:02,164 --> 00:05:03,580
I've worked with
a lot of students

123
00:05:03,580 --> 00:05:05,550
on games when we were
still running the summer

124
00:05:05,550 --> 00:05:08,710
program, the one we did with
Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab.

125
00:05:08,710 --> 00:05:12,090
And now I have focused to mostly
seeming to work on classes

126
00:05:12,090 --> 00:05:13,292
and teaching game design.

127
00:05:13,292 --> 00:05:15,750
So that's a lot of what I've
been doing and what I've done.

128
00:05:18,015 --> 00:05:19,140
RIK EBERHARDT: So I'm Rick.

129
00:05:19,140 --> 00:05:20,806
I'm the studio manager
for the Game Lab.

130
00:05:20,806 --> 00:05:22,110
I teach this course.

131
00:05:22,110 --> 00:05:25,410
I co-teach with Sara 617,
our advanced game studio

132
00:05:25,410 --> 00:05:27,790
course where you spend
the entire semester making

133
00:05:27,790 --> 00:05:29,125
one game.

134
00:05:29,125 --> 00:05:31,250
These are the games I've
worked on at the Game Lab.

135
00:05:31,250 --> 00:05:33,820
I worked on all sorts
of different games

136
00:05:33,820 --> 00:05:35,650
from anything to
games about depression

137
00:05:35,650 --> 00:05:40,110
to games about identity, games
that are demonstrating advanced

138
00:05:40,110 --> 00:05:44,240
3D rendering techniques, and
conference games-- PAX POX,

139
00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:48,550
a game that was played live
action at PAX East in 2009

140
00:05:48,550 --> 00:05:50,217
at our booth there.

141
00:05:50,217 --> 00:05:52,050
So I do digital and
non-digital game design.

142
00:05:52,050 --> 00:05:54,140
But for the most part
I'm studying and working

143
00:05:54,140 --> 00:05:56,882
on project management.

144
00:05:56,882 --> 00:05:57,590
ANDREW GRANT: Hi.

145
00:05:57,590 --> 00:05:58,570
My name's Andrew Grant.

146
00:05:58,570 --> 00:06:00,520
I'm the technical director
at the MIT Game Lab

147
00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:02,756
and help out with
the classes too.

148
00:06:02,756 --> 00:06:04,630
I'll probably be helping
you out a little bit

149
00:06:04,630 --> 00:06:07,160
with technical issues
or what have you.

150
00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:08,530
I was in the games industry.

151
00:06:08,530 --> 00:06:10,030
I started with Sara
at Looking Glass

152
00:06:10,030 --> 00:06:11,820
and moved to
Dreamworks Interactive.

153
00:06:11,820 --> 00:06:14,320
And after that, I kind of
got burned out, to be honest.

154
00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:15,944
It's a pretty rough
industry sometimes.

155
00:06:15,944 --> 00:06:17,460
I spent about 10
years consulting.

156
00:06:17,460 --> 00:06:19,310
And I kept coming back to
games and coming back to games.

157
00:06:19,310 --> 00:06:20,900
And so when I got
the opportunity

158
00:06:20,900 --> 00:06:24,820
to come to the Game
Lab, I said, well, yes.

159
00:06:24,820 --> 00:06:26,192
So anyway, here I am.

160
00:06:26,192 --> 00:06:28,150
I've been playing and
making games all my life.

161
00:06:28,150 --> 00:06:32,202
And I think we'll have fun
doing it this semester.

162
00:06:32,202 --> 00:06:34,660
RIK EBERHARDT: And if you can
stand up-- our TA is Paulina.

163
00:06:34,660 --> 00:06:35,554
Wave and say hi.

164
00:06:35,554 --> 00:06:37,720
She'll be helping with all
the administrative stuff.

165
00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:38,690
She'll be helping
us with grading.

166
00:06:38,690 --> 00:06:40,750
And she'll also be
helping with any questions

167
00:06:40,750 --> 00:06:42,180
you might have about
some of the technology

168
00:06:42,180 --> 00:06:43,240
that we're using, too.

169
00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:46,081
She took the course
this past last year.

170
00:06:46,081 --> 00:06:46,580
Great.

171
00:06:46,580 --> 00:06:48,712
So get down your pencils.

172
00:06:48,712 --> 00:06:51,170
This is the cheat sheet, the
one-line version of the class.

173
00:06:51,170 --> 00:06:54,890
If you learn anything,
you learn this.

174
00:06:54,890 --> 00:06:58,030
When you're working in this
class, the best way to succeed

175
00:06:58,030 --> 00:07:01,960
is working face to face,
testing your games often,

176
00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:04,870
prioritize, integrate, and
cutting features early.

177
00:07:04,870 --> 00:07:07,470
Sleeping is awesome.

178
00:07:07,470 --> 00:07:09,150
Avoid doing 3D.

179
00:07:09,150 --> 00:07:11,150
Avoid doing network code.

180
00:07:11,150 --> 00:07:14,227
And please use version control.

181
00:07:14,227 --> 00:07:16,060
We're actually going
to require all of this.

182
00:07:16,060 --> 00:07:19,990
But every year, a team or two
doesn't do one of these things.

183
00:07:19,990 --> 00:07:20,900
And it's OK.

184
00:07:20,900 --> 00:07:21,810
But they struggle.

185
00:07:21,810 --> 00:07:25,120
So if you do all these
things, through the semester,

186
00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:28,190
you'll do really, really well.

187
00:07:28,190 --> 00:07:30,820
Yeah, please.

188
00:07:30,820 --> 00:07:32,025
What was the question?

189
00:07:32,025 --> 00:07:32,860
AUDIENCE: Slides.

190
00:07:32,860 --> 00:07:33,360
Oh, the

191
00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:33,510
RIK EBERHARDT: Slides?

192
00:07:33,510 --> 00:07:33,780
Yeah.

193
00:07:33,780 --> 00:07:35,680
All the slides will be
available on Stellar.

194
00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:37,820
We're posting all of
our slides to Stellar.

195
00:07:37,820 --> 00:07:40,546
I don't actually expect you to
take notes on all these things.

196
00:07:40,546 --> 00:07:41,670
But it's awesome if you do.

197
00:07:41,670 --> 00:07:42,628
I remember it that way.

198
00:07:42,628 --> 00:07:45,161
PHILLIP TAN: This
is 140 characters.

199
00:07:45,161 --> 00:07:47,160
RIK EBERHARDT: This was
actually Phillip's tweet

200
00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:51,581
from last night, in case anybody
was following him already.

201
00:07:51,581 --> 00:07:53,840
SARA VERRILLI: Then they
were probably not sleeping.

202
00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:55,131
RICK EBERHARDT: Actually, yeah.

203
00:07:55,131 --> 00:07:56,900
So the next bit
of administrivia,

204
00:07:56,900 --> 00:07:58,320
we're going to go over
the syllabus a little bit.

205
00:07:58,320 --> 00:07:59,700
It's in front of
you right there.

206
00:07:59,700 --> 00:08:02,310
If you have any questions,
feel free to interrupt.

207
00:08:02,310 --> 00:08:04,410
Fellow instructors, if
I say something wrong,

208
00:08:04,410 --> 00:08:09,220
or if you want to say, hey,
but also this, please do.

209
00:08:09,220 --> 00:08:11,280
So first thing-- the
course is structured

210
00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:12,474
into four game projects.

211
00:08:12,474 --> 00:08:14,890
So you're going to be making
four projects over the course

212
00:08:14,890 --> 00:08:15,990
of the semester.

213
00:08:15,990 --> 00:08:19,510
Our first three projects
are about two weeks each.

214
00:08:19,510 --> 00:08:21,290
The third project is
a little bit longer,

215
00:08:21,290 --> 00:08:24,350
if you decide to work
over the student holiday.

216
00:08:24,350 --> 00:08:26,710
And then project four
is our final project,

217
00:08:26,710 --> 00:08:27,450
our main project.

218
00:08:27,450 --> 00:08:30,190
And that project's
going to be done

219
00:08:30,190 --> 00:08:32,730
for a client who will be
coming in to talk about what

220
00:08:32,730 --> 00:08:37,427
he works on later today.

221
00:08:37,427 --> 00:08:39,385
So your first project is
a non-digital project.

222
00:08:39,385 --> 00:08:40,549
It's a prototype.

223
00:08:40,549 --> 00:08:43,390
Your second and third
are small, short,

224
00:08:43,390 --> 00:08:47,250
digital prototypes-- so making
a digital game very quickly.

225
00:08:47,250 --> 00:08:51,960
Your fourth is a longer
time period project.

226
00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:56,120
But it should be about the
same amount of features,

227
00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:59,650
the same amount of work,
the same amount of game play

228
00:08:59,650 --> 00:09:00,680
as the first three.

229
00:09:00,680 --> 00:09:03,350
It's just you had a lot more
time to actually do it right,

230
00:09:03,350 --> 00:09:08,140
and to do it well, and to
polish on it, and iterate on it.

231
00:09:08,140 --> 00:09:10,520
At the end of today,
we'll talk about what

232
00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:12,320
we mean by these common themes.

233
00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:14,630
This common theme--
what did I say--

234
00:09:14,630 --> 00:09:20,010
meaningful decision making, or
meaningful decisions in games.

235
00:09:20,010 --> 00:09:22,970
And each time we start a
project-- our first project

236
00:09:22,970 --> 00:09:24,815
starts on Monday--
we'll introduce

237
00:09:24,815 --> 00:09:26,940
the theme in more detail
and talk a little bit more

238
00:09:26,940 --> 00:09:27,440
about it.

239
00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:29,810
But you can see all of the
details about the projects

240
00:09:29,810 --> 00:09:33,900
that we have available for
you at Stellar right now.

241
00:09:33,900 --> 00:09:36,660
Our grading rubric
for each project

242
00:09:36,660 --> 00:09:38,210
is largely team-focused.

243
00:09:38,210 --> 00:09:41,160
So all of your projects
are worked on in teams.

244
00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:45,020
They start in small teams
and get a bit larger.

245
00:09:45,020 --> 00:09:48,770
You'll see each of these
lines is 20% of the grade.

246
00:09:48,770 --> 00:09:51,930
So the actual working of the
game is only 20% of your grade.

247
00:09:54,830 --> 00:09:56,936
Following the iterative
design process

248
00:09:56,936 --> 00:09:59,310
that we'll be talking about,
using the project management

249
00:09:59,310 --> 00:10:02,200
practices that we'll
be talking about,

250
00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:06,140
doing a good presentation-- a
group post-mortem presentation

251
00:10:06,140 --> 00:10:08,100
about your game--
is another 20%.

252
00:10:08,100 --> 00:10:10,640
And then every
student will write

253
00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:15,090
an individual post-mortem,
their own one to two page essay,

254
00:10:15,090 --> 00:10:18,570
at the end of-- turned in at
the same time as every project.

255
00:10:18,570 --> 00:10:20,860
And what we're asking for
all these things is we

256
00:10:20,860 --> 00:10:23,891
want to know about your process.

257
00:10:23,891 --> 00:10:26,140
We want to know how you made
the game, what challenges

258
00:10:26,140 --> 00:10:30,470
you had while you were making
the game, what difficulties

259
00:10:30,470 --> 00:10:31,090
you faced.

260
00:10:31,090 --> 00:10:32,260
How did you surpass them?

261
00:10:32,260 --> 00:10:34,810
And even better, what are you
going to do in the future?

262
00:10:34,810 --> 00:10:36,575
When you either go
into the industry

263
00:10:36,575 --> 00:10:38,200
or go into another
software engineering

264
00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:40,080
project or another
class, what would you

265
00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:44,810
do differently, after the
experience you just had?

266
00:10:44,810 --> 00:10:47,480
So 80% of your grade
is team-delivered.

267
00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:51,650
20% percent of your
grade is your own work.

268
00:10:51,650 --> 00:10:53,930
So speaking of
in-class expectations,

269
00:10:53,930 --> 00:10:55,700
the class is a three-hour class.

270
00:10:55,700 --> 00:10:56,370
Holy crap.

271
00:10:56,370 --> 00:10:59,300
And it runs twice a week.

272
00:10:59,300 --> 00:11:02,540
Class time is actually allotted
for your work in teams.

273
00:11:02,540 --> 00:11:05,410
We don't expect you to get your
games actually built entirely

274
00:11:05,410 --> 00:11:06,390
within class.

275
00:11:06,390 --> 00:11:10,734
But important team meetings,
test sessions, code

276
00:11:10,734 --> 00:11:12,150
review-- you're
going to generally

277
00:11:12,150 --> 00:11:14,722
have a lot of time in class
to do a lot of that stuff.

278
00:11:14,722 --> 00:11:16,430
For projects one and
two, you'll probably

279
00:11:16,430 --> 00:11:19,400
have about 60 minutes
at the most per session

280
00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:23,610
to work on your team work
outside of an activity.

281
00:11:23,610 --> 00:11:25,610
But we're also going to
have a lot of activities

282
00:11:25,610 --> 00:11:28,770
where you're doing
some of the work that's

283
00:11:28,770 --> 00:11:31,530
required in each project as
part of a guided activity

284
00:11:31,530 --> 00:11:32,815
that we're going to run.

285
00:11:32,815 --> 00:11:34,940
So it's actually a little
bit more than 60 minutes.

286
00:11:34,940 --> 00:11:36,580
Products three and
four, we're probably

287
00:11:36,580 --> 00:11:38,330
going to have about
90 minutes per session

288
00:11:38,330 --> 00:11:39,414
for working in your teams.

289
00:11:39,414 --> 00:11:41,621
And that's going to generally
be at the end of class.

290
00:11:41,621 --> 00:11:44,085
At the beginning of class,
we're going to have, usually,

291
00:11:44,085 --> 00:11:47,950
a guest lecture for
those last two projects.

292
00:11:47,950 --> 00:11:49,730
And then we'll have
a playtest session.

293
00:11:49,730 --> 00:11:52,210
And then it'll
just be open work.

294
00:11:52,210 --> 00:11:54,070
Our original classroom
had flat tables.

295
00:11:54,070 --> 00:11:55,540
This classroom-- that moved.

296
00:11:55,540 --> 00:11:56,550
This classroom does not.

297
00:11:56,550 --> 00:11:58,230
So it'll be interesting.

298
00:11:58,230 --> 00:12:00,840
I don't know if it's got
power on any of the stations.

299
00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:05,710
But the short version of it is,
bring your development station

300
00:12:05,710 --> 00:12:06,660
to class, if you can.

301
00:12:06,660 --> 00:12:08,300
If it's a laptop,
bring it to class.

302
00:12:08,300 --> 00:12:11,550
You'll be using it a lot
starting Monday-- well

303
00:12:11,550 --> 00:12:14,172
actually, starting
two Mondays from now.

304
00:12:14,172 --> 00:12:16,630
And the other thing-- teamwork
is the heart of this course.

305
00:12:16,630 --> 00:12:18,620
Actually, participation is
the heart of this course.

306
00:12:18,620 --> 00:12:20,370
So even though we're
in this tiered thing,

307
00:12:20,370 --> 00:12:23,710
and I hate giving lectures
to people this way,

308
00:12:23,710 --> 00:12:26,800
we're going to ask you to
talk back to us a little bit.

309
00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:29,640
So fill in the gaps
when you come in.

310
00:12:29,640 --> 00:12:31,470
Participation is
actually very important.

311
00:12:31,470 --> 00:12:34,770
Class participation-- so
showing up to class on time,

312
00:12:34,770 --> 00:12:37,020
showing up to class at all,
and participating in class

313
00:12:37,020 --> 00:12:39,180
is 25% of the grade.

314
00:12:39,180 --> 00:12:42,590
So speaking of that,
attendance-- you

315
00:12:42,590 --> 00:12:46,050
will be penalized if you
miss more than three classes

316
00:12:46,050 --> 00:12:48,150
without justification.

317
00:12:48,150 --> 00:12:49,400
So what is that justification?

318
00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:50,441
It's like if you're sick.

319
00:12:50,441 --> 00:12:52,200
If you're sick, we
don't want you here.

320
00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:53,650
Stay home.

321
00:12:53,650 --> 00:12:54,470
Don't make us sick.

322
00:12:54,470 --> 00:12:57,100
Don't make your team sick.

323
00:12:57,100 --> 00:12:59,150
He's a real stickler about that.

324
00:12:59,150 --> 00:13:00,082
I'm invincible.

325
00:13:00,082 --> 00:13:00,790
I won't get sick.

326
00:13:00,790 --> 00:13:01,790
But everybody else will.

327
00:13:04,180 --> 00:13:05,300
Do not be late.

328
00:13:05,300 --> 00:13:07,330
Again, we're recording.

329
00:13:07,330 --> 00:13:10,610
We have very important
guest lecturers

330
00:13:10,610 --> 00:13:12,580
who are in our network
that we'd really

331
00:13:12,580 --> 00:13:14,430
like them to enjoy being here.

332
00:13:14,430 --> 00:13:17,286
So I really hate it
when people show up

333
00:13:17,286 --> 00:13:18,660
in the middle of
a guest lecture.

334
00:13:18,660 --> 00:13:21,470
It makes me feel like a jerk
for asking them to talk to MIT.

335
00:13:21,470 --> 00:13:23,020
So don't show up late.

336
00:13:23,020 --> 00:13:23,860
But do show up.

337
00:13:23,860 --> 00:13:26,990
So if for whatever reason,
the doors are locked,

338
00:13:26,990 --> 00:13:29,740
it really just means, hey,
there's a guest lecturer here.

339
00:13:29,740 --> 00:13:32,460
And coming in is going
to disrupt things.

340
00:13:32,460 --> 00:13:34,120
The doors will get unlocked.

341
00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:35,920
I don't expect to
have to use that.

342
00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:36,870
But if I will, I will.

343
00:13:36,870 --> 00:13:39,170
Ha ha.

344
00:13:39,170 --> 00:13:41,686
And usually, guest
lectures end about 2:10.

345
00:13:41,686 --> 00:13:42,560
So you can come back.

346
00:13:42,560 --> 00:13:45,110
Come into class later
to work, and actually

347
00:13:45,110 --> 00:13:46,770
get counted for the
rest of the day.

348
00:13:46,770 --> 00:13:50,043
So I'd rather you come
in later than at 1:15

349
00:13:50,043 --> 00:13:52,394
while somebody's
talking up here.

350
00:13:52,394 --> 00:13:54,810
Class is generally going to
start-- lectures are generally

351
00:13:54,810 --> 00:13:56,110
going to start at 1:10.

352
00:13:56,110 --> 00:13:59,190
We'll do announcements at 1:05,
if that makes a difference.

353
00:13:59,190 --> 00:14:01,023
Because I know a lot
of people are coming in

354
00:14:01,023 --> 00:14:03,290
from recitations and whatnot.

355
00:14:03,290 --> 00:14:06,540
The other thing-- MIT has
an anti-harassment policy.

356
00:14:06,540 --> 00:14:08,592
We've also got an
anti-harassment policy.

357
00:14:08,592 --> 00:14:10,050
If anybody's on
Twitter these days,

358
00:14:10,050 --> 00:14:12,745
or anybody's engaged in game
culture these days, it's toxic.

359
00:14:12,745 --> 00:14:13,590
And it sucks.

360
00:14:13,590 --> 00:14:16,110
And it makes me mad I don't
want to see it in this class,

361
00:14:16,110 --> 00:14:17,510
please.

362
00:14:17,510 --> 00:14:20,032
So this is on the syllabus.

363
00:14:20,032 --> 00:14:21,490
It's the last page
of the syllabus.

364
00:14:21,490 --> 00:14:24,640
Basically, don't make
offensive verbal comments

365
00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:26,660
or any other kind of
comments about all

366
00:14:26,660 --> 00:14:28,201
these different
things, when it comes

367
00:14:28,201 --> 00:14:30,930
to gender identity, sexual
orientation, disability,

368
00:14:30,930 --> 00:14:34,440
physical appearance, body
size, race, religion.

369
00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:35,620
Just don't be a jerk.

370
00:14:35,620 --> 00:14:38,420
Don't be an ass.

371
00:14:38,420 --> 00:14:41,850
More importantly, though, if you
see it happening, let us know.

372
00:14:41,850 --> 00:14:44,170
If you are a target
of this, let us know.

373
00:14:44,170 --> 00:14:45,670
There's ways to get around this.

374
00:14:45,670 --> 00:14:48,094
There's ways to report this.

375
00:14:48,094 --> 00:14:50,010
In the syllabus, it
actually lists the website

376
00:14:50,010 --> 00:14:51,629
for the official MIT
way to report it,

377
00:14:51,629 --> 00:14:53,670
if you'd like to go that
way, if you'd rather not

378
00:14:53,670 --> 00:14:56,360
come to either the
instructors or your TA.

379
00:14:56,360 --> 00:15:00,430
And our email address--
videogames-bosses@mit.edu.

380
00:15:00,430 --> 00:15:01,290
Email that.

381
00:15:01,290 --> 00:15:03,100
Don't email us individually.

382
00:15:03,100 --> 00:15:05,292
That makes sure that
one of us reads it.

383
00:15:05,292 --> 00:15:06,570
SARA VERRILLI: Can I
add just one more thing?

384
00:15:06,570 --> 00:15:07,280
RIK EBERHARDT: Yes, please.

385
00:15:07,280 --> 00:15:09,321
SARA VERRILLI: Rick put
up a giant list of things

386
00:15:09,321 --> 00:15:10,752
that you should
[? worry about ?],

387
00:15:10,752 --> 00:15:11,248
and that you should
not be harassed about.

388
00:15:11,248 --> 00:15:13,232
But I will go ahead and
say that you should not

389
00:15:13,232 --> 00:15:13,728
be harassed about anything.

390
00:15:13,728 --> 00:15:14,720
Right?

391
00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:15,402
We have a list.

392
00:15:15,402 --> 00:15:19,003
It's not meant to be exclusive.

393
00:15:19,003 --> 00:15:21,002
So if there is for some
reason some other things

394
00:15:21,002 --> 00:15:23,043
coming up and bothering
you, come and talk to us.

395
00:15:24,454 --> 00:15:26,120
RIK EBERHARDT: We
are-- team development

396
00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:27,640
and game development
is stressful.

397
00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:28,440
Yeah, question.

398
00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:30,315
AUDIENCE: One phrase
that I've heard recently

399
00:15:30,315 --> 00:15:32,343
that I love is, "Rights work up.

400
00:15:32,343 --> 00:15:34,339
Rules work down."

401
00:15:34,339 --> 00:15:36,335
You have a right
to be respected.

402
00:15:36,335 --> 00:15:39,474
The rules that are listed
will be paper mached on

403
00:15:39,474 --> 00:15:40,224
to make that work.

404
00:15:40,224 --> 00:15:43,187
But in general, be respectful.

405
00:15:43,187 --> 00:15:44,020
RIK EBERHARDT: Yeah.

406
00:15:44,020 --> 00:15:44,980
That's really what
we're asking for.

407
00:15:44,980 --> 00:15:46,440
Just be respectful
for each other.

408
00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:48,877
You're going to be
working on large teams.

409
00:15:48,877 --> 00:15:50,210
There are going to be deadlines.

410
00:15:50,210 --> 00:15:51,020
It's going to hurt.

411
00:15:51,020 --> 00:15:52,840
It's going to be painful.

412
00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:54,340
Things are going to slip.

413
00:15:54,340 --> 00:15:56,642
Don't let that be the
way that you express it.

414
00:15:56,642 --> 00:15:58,350
We'll actually give
you some better tools

415
00:15:58,350 --> 00:16:02,610
to express your
pain and suffering.

416
00:16:02,610 --> 00:16:04,790
So the class is called
Creating Video Games.

417
00:16:04,790 --> 00:16:06,440
How do we create video games?

418
00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:08,960
We have a whole bunch
of people involved

419
00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:10,242
in creating video games.

420
00:16:10,242 --> 00:16:11,950
Was this the slide
you were coming in on?

421
00:16:11,950 --> 00:16:12,070
Or is it the next one?

422
00:16:12,070 --> 00:16:13,160
SARA VERRILLI: This is the slide
I was going to chime in on.

423
00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:14,220
But you were chiming so nicely.

424
00:16:14,220 --> 00:16:15,928
RIK EBERHARDT: Come
in whenever you like.

425
00:16:15,928 --> 00:16:17,660
So basically, all
sorts of people

426
00:16:17,660 --> 00:16:19,560
are required to make games.

427
00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:21,370
We have all those
people in the room.

428
00:16:21,370 --> 00:16:23,286
SARA VERRILLI: Actually,
a whole lot of skills

429
00:16:23,286 --> 00:16:25,126
are required to make games.

430
00:16:25,126 --> 00:16:26,500
You should not
come in and think,

431
00:16:26,500 --> 00:16:28,040
I'm going to the
programmer on this team.

432
00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:28,830
You should not
come in and think,

433
00:16:28,830 --> 00:16:30,510
I'm going to be the game
designer on this team.

434
00:16:30,510 --> 00:16:32,301
Or I'm going to be the
artist on this team,

435
00:16:32,301 --> 00:16:34,560
or the sound designer
on this team.

436
00:16:34,560 --> 00:16:36,930
The teams are small
enough, even when

437
00:16:36,930 --> 00:16:39,510
you hit the eight-person
team for the large project.

438
00:16:39,510 --> 00:16:41,657
And the projects are
always challenging enough.

439
00:16:41,657 --> 00:16:43,990
Even if you think you have a
short list of things to do,

440
00:16:43,990 --> 00:16:45,281
you have a challenging project.

441
00:16:45,281 --> 00:16:47,720
That's one thing we've
noticed every single year.

442
00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:51,820
Everybody manages to come up
with a challenging project.

443
00:16:51,820 --> 00:16:55,220
The team's going to need you
doing everything you can do.

444
00:16:55,220 --> 00:16:56,850
And that means that
if you can program,

445
00:16:56,850 --> 00:16:58,266
they probably want
you to program.

446
00:16:58,266 --> 00:16:59,725
If they need
programmers, chime up.

447
00:16:59,725 --> 00:17:01,099
If you're primarily
a programmer,

448
00:17:01,099 --> 00:17:02,610
or you think yourself
of, they need

449
00:17:02,610 --> 00:17:04,339
you to chime up
on the game design

450
00:17:04,339 --> 00:17:08,432
and comment on places
where it will work better.

451
00:17:08,432 --> 00:17:09,890
And you understand
how it will work

452
00:17:09,890 --> 00:17:11,690
better, because of your
understanding of the code.

453
00:17:11,690 --> 00:17:12,920
If you're the game
designer, you've

454
00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:15,503
got to be ready to pitch in and
help make all those things you

455
00:17:15,503 --> 00:17:17,130
see in your head
happen, whether that's

456
00:17:17,130 --> 00:17:22,390
creating some sketched
doodled art, so your team can

457
00:17:22,390 --> 00:17:24,774
go with the little pixel
figures, or whatever.

458
00:17:27,490 --> 00:17:30,300
We don't-- usually these teams
aren't big enough to support

459
00:17:30,300 --> 00:17:32,270
someone who does
nothing but draw art.

460
00:17:32,270 --> 00:17:35,130
We're not actually grading you
on the beauty of your games.

461
00:17:35,130 --> 00:17:37,980
I mean, yes, we want good,
well-functioning, rounded

462
00:17:37,980 --> 00:17:38,710
games.

463
00:17:38,710 --> 00:17:41,040
We want games that are
relatively easy to use.

464
00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:45,200
But you don't need super
beautiful art for that.

465
00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:47,630
So if what you'd like to do
is primarily art for the game,

466
00:17:47,630 --> 00:17:50,005
think about what else you can
be contributing to the game

467
00:17:50,005 --> 00:17:53,640
as well, so that your game
gets more functionality in it.

468
00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:54,444
And let's see.

469
00:17:54,444 --> 00:17:56,860
For community managers, business
analysts, and marketers--

470
00:17:56,860 --> 00:17:59,360
the people who are pitching
your game and talking about it--

471
00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:01,070
don't mean on the
person who ends up

472
00:18:01,070 --> 00:18:02,980
stepping up to organize
your team and steps

473
00:18:02,980 --> 00:18:04,996
into the producer role.

474
00:18:04,996 --> 00:18:07,370
They're already doing an awful
lot of job just producing.

475
00:18:07,370 --> 00:18:09,390
They're going to need your
help figuring out presentations

476
00:18:09,390 --> 00:18:11,980
and talking about your game,
and doing the reflection,

477
00:18:11,980 --> 00:18:13,530
and keeping the team running.

478
00:18:13,530 --> 00:18:16,824
So don't think of these as a
whole bunch of individuals.

479
00:18:16,824 --> 00:18:18,990
Think of it as a whole bunch
of skills, one of which

480
00:18:18,990 --> 00:18:20,080
may be your primary.

481
00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:23,060
But choose at least two
or three as your backup.

482
00:18:23,060 --> 00:18:23,987
That's my shtick.

483
00:18:23,987 --> 00:18:24,820
RIK EBERHARDT: Cool.

484
00:18:24,820 --> 00:18:27,111
And that's basically how
indie game development is run.

485
00:18:27,111 --> 00:18:29,270
When you see a game
made by three people,

486
00:18:29,270 --> 00:18:30,660
they're doing all of that.

487
00:18:30,660 --> 00:18:34,590
And so that's basically what
we're expecting from y'all.

488
00:18:34,590 --> 00:18:38,220
So if we're not teaching
a lot of the skills,

489
00:18:38,220 --> 00:18:41,150
the main skills that we
are teaching in this class

490
00:18:41,150 --> 00:18:43,250
is giving you
hands-on experience

491
00:18:43,250 --> 00:18:45,552
working on complex
projects with large teams.

492
00:18:45,552 --> 00:18:46,510
So what does that mean?

493
00:18:46,510 --> 00:18:48,990
It's basically project
management, team management,

494
00:18:48,990 --> 00:18:50,445
and communication skills.

495
00:18:50,445 --> 00:18:53,070
You're coming to us through your
prerequisites with some design

496
00:18:53,070 --> 00:18:53,500
skills.

497
00:18:53,500 --> 00:18:55,541
You're coming to us with
some programming skills.

498
00:18:55,541 --> 00:18:57,440
You have support for
some of the game engines

499
00:18:57,440 --> 00:18:58,840
you haven't seen before.

500
00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:01,686
But like any other
engineering course at MIT,

501
00:19:01,686 --> 00:19:02,830
you pick up a tool.

502
00:19:02,830 --> 00:19:05,200
You learn how to use
the tool in the course,

503
00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:06,330
if you need to use it.

504
00:19:06,330 --> 00:19:08,644
So the tools that
we've chosen should

505
00:19:08,644 --> 00:19:10,810
be short enough that you
can be able to pick them up

506
00:19:10,810 --> 00:19:11,630
pretty quickly.

507
00:19:11,630 --> 00:19:14,166
And actually, we're going to
go into that today as well.

508
00:19:14,166 --> 00:19:15,540
But the remainder
of the course--

509
00:19:15,540 --> 00:19:17,910
particularly project
two and project three--

510
00:19:17,910 --> 00:19:21,800
are going to be focused
on communication.

511
00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:24,626
If you're on a large team,
how do you talk to each other?

512
00:19:24,626 --> 00:19:26,250
How do you communicate
with each other?

513
00:19:26,250 --> 00:19:30,260
Is it going to be through
email, instant message, chat,

514
00:19:30,260 --> 00:19:36,850
post-it notes, mash notes,
hate notes, karaoke?

515
00:19:36,850 --> 00:19:39,840
Bottlenecks are going to
form in your work process.

516
00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:42,610
You're going to find out
that oh, all the assets are

517
00:19:42,610 --> 00:19:43,630
going to one person.

518
00:19:43,630 --> 00:19:44,800
And they're sick today.

519
00:19:48,251 --> 00:19:50,300
The quality of your
code and assets

520
00:19:50,300 --> 00:19:53,157
are going to quickly nosedive
if you don't have a plan.

521
00:19:53,157 --> 00:19:53,990
SARA VERRILLI: Yeah.

522
00:19:53,990 --> 00:19:56,467
This is another
one of those, don't

523
00:19:56,467 --> 00:19:58,550
assume that one person on
your team is going to do

524
00:19:58,550 --> 00:19:59,762
all the art or all the sound.

525
00:19:59,762 --> 00:20:01,220
And that's all
they're going to do.

526
00:20:01,220 --> 00:20:03,870
Because if they get
hit by the flu truck--

527
00:20:03,870 --> 00:20:06,280
as frequently
happens around here--

528
00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:07,950
you'll discover
you've got nothing

529
00:20:07,950 --> 00:20:10,660
to put in the beautiful
game that you've made.

530
00:20:12,929 --> 00:20:14,720
RIK EBERHARDT: So to
get around that, we're

531
00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:17,040
going to introduce to you tools
and methods through the course

532
00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:19,400
that are going to help you
get through these problems.

533
00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:21,150
How to do code workflow,
how to do asset workflow--

534
00:20:21,150 --> 00:20:22,840
we'll talk about
that a little bit.

535
00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:25,460
That's actually the
first assignment.

536
00:20:25,460 --> 00:20:26,880
We'll talk about code review.

537
00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:28,754
We're not necessarily
teaching a lot of this.

538
00:20:28,754 --> 00:20:30,350
We'll be talking
about a lot of this.

539
00:20:30,350 --> 00:20:31,910
I know some of
you have done some

540
00:20:31,910 --> 00:20:33,200
of this in other experiences.

541
00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:35,990
We actually want you to help
other people out in the course.

542
00:20:35,990 --> 00:20:37,490
Talk about your
previous experiences

543
00:20:37,490 --> 00:20:38,180
working on a project.

544
00:20:38,180 --> 00:20:39,860
If you've done an
internship before,

545
00:20:39,860 --> 00:20:41,318
if you've made an
app for a company

546
00:20:41,318 --> 00:20:44,010
before-- because everybody
has apps these days--

547
00:20:44,010 --> 00:20:45,680
you've probably run
into some of this.

548
00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:48,011
So we want to hear about
your experiences, too.

549
00:20:48,011 --> 00:20:50,385
We're going to talk a lot
about product backlogs and task

550
00:20:50,385 --> 00:20:54,700
lists-- paper!-- using paper and
spreadsheets to tell each other

551
00:20:54,700 --> 00:20:57,326
what you've been working on and
how you're going to work on it.

552
00:20:57,326 --> 00:20:59,158
I'll be talking a lot
about retrospectives--

553
00:20:59,158 --> 00:21:00,630
about how, at the
end of a project,

554
00:21:00,630 --> 00:21:02,640
you can talk about
what you've just done,

555
00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:04,452
and how you can do it quickly.

556
00:21:04,452 --> 00:21:06,639
But ultimately, we
can going to give you

557
00:21:06,639 --> 00:21:07,930
all the tools, all the methods.

558
00:21:07,930 --> 00:21:10,404
The best way to learn all
this, to know all this,

559
00:21:10,404 --> 00:21:12,070
is really just through
prior experience.

560
00:21:12,070 --> 00:21:14,486
So this class is going to be
that prior experience for you

561
00:21:14,486 --> 00:21:17,340
when you go to your
next challenge,

562
00:21:17,340 --> 00:21:19,205
either working in
the industry, working

563
00:21:19,205 --> 00:21:20,830
doing any kind of
software engineering,

564
00:21:20,830 --> 00:21:24,160
or going to another class.

565
00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:27,060
So again, the cheat
sheet-- work face to face.

566
00:21:27,060 --> 00:21:28,290
Test often.

567
00:21:28,290 --> 00:21:31,130
Prioritize, integrate,
and cut features early.

568
00:21:31,130 --> 00:21:32,280
Sleep.

569
00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:34,170
Avoid 3D.

570
00:21:34,170 --> 00:21:35,920
Don't do networking.

571
00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:39,194
And use version control, please.

572
00:21:39,194 --> 00:21:40,860
SARA VERRILLI: And
this is where the cut

573
00:21:40,860 --> 00:21:44,530
I have from the last three
years of this course,

574
00:21:44,530 --> 00:21:46,650
and the final presentations
from pretty much

575
00:21:46,650 --> 00:21:48,540
every group that's given
a final presentation

576
00:21:48,540 --> 00:21:50,310
for their final
project-- in which they

577
00:21:50,310 --> 00:21:53,960
look at us sheepishly and say,
you said we should test early.

578
00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:54,710
And you know what?

579
00:21:54,710 --> 00:21:56,590
We really should
have tested earlier.

580
00:21:56,590 --> 00:21:59,214
I can't actually be 15
different MIT students

581
00:21:59,214 --> 00:22:01,380
who have taken this course
saying this sheepishly up

582
00:22:01,380 --> 00:22:02,652
on the screen.

583
00:22:02,652 --> 00:22:04,610
But I've heard it from
all of them, pretty much

584
00:22:04,610 --> 00:22:05,680
every single group.

585
00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:08,740
So I'm going to give you
guys the really early

586
00:22:08,740 --> 00:22:10,500
heads-up warning.

587
00:22:10,500 --> 00:22:11,380
Test earlier.

588
00:22:11,380 --> 00:22:12,090
We say it.

589
00:22:12,090 --> 00:22:14,080
We mean it.

590
00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:16,462
RIK EBERHARDT: I'd like
to introduce Pablo Suarez.

591
00:22:16,462 --> 00:22:21,739
He and his group will be
our client for project four.

592
00:22:21,739 --> 00:22:23,530
So we're asking him to
give an introduction

593
00:22:23,530 --> 00:22:24,180
of the kind of
work that he does,

594
00:22:24,180 --> 00:22:26,600
and give a feeling for
what the kind of work

595
00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:28,120
we're going to do in class.

596
00:22:28,120 --> 00:22:29,790
The first three
projects are going

597
00:22:29,790 --> 00:22:34,080
to build slowly towards that
final project in the theme

598
00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:35,941
and strength of those games.

599
00:22:35,941 --> 00:22:37,774
And in that fourth
project, he and his group

600
00:22:37,774 --> 00:22:38,680
will come back in
again and tell us

601
00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:40,156
more detail about what
they're really looking for,

602
00:22:40,156 --> 00:22:43,054
and what kind of games they're
really looking at from us.

603
00:22:43,054 --> 00:22:45,010
So take it away.

604
00:22:45,010 --> 00:22:46,010
PABLO SUAREZ: Thank you.

605
00:22:46,010 --> 00:22:46,510
Thanks Rick.

606
00:22:46,510 --> 00:22:48,480
Thanks Game Lab team.

607
00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:49,900
I'm very grateful for this.

608
00:22:49,900 --> 00:22:53,020
And you-- I am grateful
to you, even though you

609
00:22:53,020 --> 00:22:54,840
don't have much of a
choice that I show up

610
00:22:54,840 --> 00:22:57,480
and you have to
suffer through me.

611
00:22:57,480 --> 00:22:59,360
My name is Pablo, Pablo Suarez.

612
00:22:59,360 --> 00:23:01,450
My strange accent
comes from Argentina.

613
00:23:01,450 --> 00:23:03,770
I live in the Boston area,
where a fraction of my time

614
00:23:03,770 --> 00:23:04,990
I'm a researcher.

615
00:23:04,990 --> 00:23:07,640
I used to be a researcher
affiliated with MIT.

616
00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:09,120
I just came from
the Lincoln Labs,

617
00:23:09,120 --> 00:23:11,820
where I'm collaborating with
MIT folks there as well.

618
00:23:11,820 --> 00:23:15,700
But most of my time, I work with
a humanitarian team-- the Red

619
00:23:15,700 --> 00:23:18,990
Cross/Red Crescent
Climate Centre.

620
00:23:18,990 --> 00:23:21,450
It's like a think tank within
the humanitarian sector.

621
00:23:21,450 --> 00:23:22,970
It's based in the Netherlands.

622
00:23:22,970 --> 00:23:26,120
We cover the planet--
187 countries.

623
00:23:26,120 --> 00:23:28,930
I am in charge of research,
in charge of innovation,

624
00:23:28,930 --> 00:23:30,860
mostly in charge of Africa.

625
00:23:30,860 --> 00:23:36,890
And unfortunately for the world,
we have way, way too much work.

626
00:23:36,890 --> 00:23:40,660
The workload is so
ridiculously huge

627
00:23:40,660 --> 00:23:43,760
that in my opinion,
especially coming from science

628
00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:47,800
and technology, we need
to change the way we

629
00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:50,860
think about humanitarian work.

630
00:23:50,860 --> 00:23:53,510
And if it is about
changing how we think,

631
00:23:53,510 --> 00:23:57,120
traditional ways are
not working too well.

632
00:23:57,120 --> 00:23:59,350
And that's why I'm here.

633
00:23:59,350 --> 00:24:01,400
I love this slide.

634
00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:04,190
We have a comfort zone,
which is doing things the way

635
00:24:04,190 --> 00:24:05,460
we've been doing them.

636
00:24:05,460 --> 00:24:06,270
Someone's hungry?

637
00:24:06,270 --> 00:24:07,050
Go get food.

638
00:24:07,050 --> 00:24:07,900
Someone's homeless?

639
00:24:07,900 --> 00:24:08,630
Go give shelter.

640
00:24:08,630 --> 00:24:10,120
Someone's sick?

641
00:24:10,120 --> 00:24:11,740
Help them heal.

642
00:24:11,740 --> 00:24:14,750
But we no longer have the
money, the brain power,

643
00:24:14,750 --> 00:24:17,460
the equipment to deal
with all that's happening.

644
00:24:17,460 --> 00:24:18,670
Too much is happening.

645
00:24:18,670 --> 00:24:20,480
The climate is changing.

646
00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:22,440
Environmental
degradation, urbanization,

647
00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:26,200
political instability, weird
diseases-- you name it.

648
00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:30,760
How can we learn more
about what we can do?

649
00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:36,300
We need as humanitarian
workers to get into a new place

650
00:24:36,300 --> 00:24:39,050
where we can do more
with what we have.

651
00:24:39,050 --> 00:24:41,590
And that place is
outside our comfort zone.

652
00:24:41,590 --> 00:24:44,030
Now magic can happen.

653
00:24:44,030 --> 00:24:46,295
But very often, we step
out of our comfort zone

654
00:24:46,295 --> 00:24:48,220
and we fall into the abyss.

655
00:24:48,220 --> 00:24:51,080
It's not easy to
find the right place.

656
00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:53,300
This is a risky endeavor for me.

657
00:24:53,300 --> 00:24:56,440
I'm here hoping
that you guys will

658
00:24:56,440 --> 00:24:59,030
accomplish one of two things.

659
00:24:59,030 --> 00:25:00,600
One is maybe you
come up with a game

660
00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:03,347
concept that has a life
after the end of your course.

661
00:25:03,347 --> 00:25:04,180
You get your credit.

662
00:25:04,180 --> 00:25:05,140
You graduate.

663
00:25:05,140 --> 00:25:07,210
And the Red Cross
or others can play

664
00:25:07,210 --> 00:25:09,110
a game that helps
someone understand

665
00:25:09,110 --> 00:25:11,300
something, helps
someone do something,

666
00:25:11,300 --> 00:25:13,690
helps someone collect
data about something.

667
00:25:13,690 --> 00:25:15,750
And we'll talk more about
what are those things

668
00:25:15,750 --> 00:25:19,420
that we want when we
get to project four.

669
00:25:19,420 --> 00:25:23,200
The other one is maybe we can
lure you-- even if one of you,

670
00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:26,090
even if one of the
Game Lab team--

671
00:25:26,090 --> 00:25:28,650
to consider humanitarian
work as part

672
00:25:28,650 --> 00:25:31,460
of what you may be doing
in your future life,

673
00:25:31,460 --> 00:25:35,080
either as your job,
or as your hobby.

674
00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:36,840
It's great fun.

675
00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:39,000
It's a great
intellectual challenge.

676
00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:41,850
The head of my team, Martin
[? Van Ahls-- ?] he's

677
00:25:41,850 --> 00:25:44,310
an astrophysicist by training.

678
00:25:44,310 --> 00:25:44,810
OK?

679
00:25:44,810 --> 00:25:49,140
So you don't have much
awareness of the extent

680
00:25:49,140 --> 00:25:52,440
to which humanitarian workers
can come from unusual places.

681
00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:55,760
And we hope that MIT stops
being an unusual place

682
00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:58,060
for humanitarian stuff.

683
00:25:58,060 --> 00:26:01,280
So let me illustrate the
kinds of challenges we get.

684
00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:05,510
This is an actual fax that
actually arrived in May,

685
00:26:05,510 --> 00:26:07,740
2008 to the office
of my colleague Yusef

686
00:26:07,740 --> 00:26:11,030
[? ayd-Shaloush, ?] who at
the time was based in Dakar.

687
00:26:13,730 --> 00:26:16,080
Let me see if this works.

688
00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:16,750
OK.

689
00:26:16,750 --> 00:26:21,410
For those of you who know Dakar,
it's near those green pixels.

690
00:26:21,410 --> 00:26:24,800
That's where, at the time,
the regional office was

691
00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:26,120
for West and Central Africa.

692
00:26:26,120 --> 00:26:30,320
28 countries going
from Mauritania--

693
00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:32,534
where there have
been a military coup,

694
00:26:32,534 --> 00:26:34,700
and there was bloodshed in
the streets and Red Cross

695
00:26:34,700 --> 00:26:37,810
volunteers needed to learn
first aid to prevent someone

696
00:26:37,810 --> 00:26:40,440
bleeding to death--
all the way to Congo

697
00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:43,780
Brazzaville in the southernmost
part of this area, where there

698
00:26:43,780 --> 00:26:46,380
was flooding-- urban flooding.

699
00:26:46,380 --> 00:26:48,710
And as Red Cross,
we don't fully know

700
00:26:48,710 --> 00:26:53,160
how to operate in rapidly
changing urban contexts.

701
00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:56,420
We're used to a planet where
poor, suffering people were

702
00:26:56,420 --> 00:26:58,830
either in conflict
or in rural areas.

703
00:26:58,830 --> 00:27:03,820
And Darfur-- people going to
Chad-- needing shelter, aid,

704
00:27:03,820 --> 00:27:05,090
all sorts of things.

705
00:27:05,090 --> 00:27:08,030
Yusef has to deal with
those three and everything

706
00:27:08,030 --> 00:27:11,360
in between-- chronic food
insecurity, Burkina Faso,

707
00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:14,010
you name it-- insufficient
training for his staff.

708
00:27:14,010 --> 00:27:17,380
And he gets this fax.

709
00:27:17,380 --> 00:27:22,050
Now I want you to think
you're a decision maker.

710
00:27:22,050 --> 00:27:25,520
You're someone who has to make
decisions and gets this fax.

711
00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:28,780
It was issued in May,
referring to the three coming

712
00:27:28,780 --> 00:27:31,020
months-- June, July, August.

713
00:27:31,020 --> 00:27:35,772
And it says if we define
an extreme precipitation

714
00:27:35,772 --> 00:27:37,230
event-- extreme
rainfall-- as being

715
00:27:37,230 --> 00:27:41,020
in the top 15% of the
historical record,

716
00:27:41,020 --> 00:27:43,040
then this year-- there
was a lot of text.

717
00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:44,380
I won't bother you with that.

718
00:27:44,380 --> 00:27:46,880
This year, because of sea
surface temperature anomalies

719
00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:49,980
and other things that maybe you
know if you're an MIT student,

720
00:27:49,980 --> 00:27:53,000
but it's not what we're
used to-- this year,

721
00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:56,290
because of that stuff, the
probability of extreme rains

722
00:27:56,290 --> 00:28:01,970
is enhanced from 15%
to between 40% and 50%.

723
00:28:01,970 --> 00:28:03,780
So this fax is in the office.

724
00:28:03,780 --> 00:28:05,960
And Yusef looks at it.

725
00:28:05,960 --> 00:28:07,080
And what does he do?

726
00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:08,430
What do you think he does?

727
00:28:08,430 --> 00:28:11,120
What do you think the
humanitarian sector

728
00:28:11,120 --> 00:28:14,060
does when we get information?

729
00:28:14,060 --> 00:28:15,850
First of all, to
understand it fully

730
00:28:15,850 --> 00:28:18,980
you need to stop doing
everything else you're doing.

731
00:28:18,980 --> 00:28:20,550
You have to not answer an email.

732
00:28:20,550 --> 00:28:23,820
You have to not sign the check
for the fuel for the driver

733
00:28:23,820 --> 00:28:25,920
for delivering the
something or other.

734
00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:28,220
And once you start
thinking about it,

735
00:28:28,220 --> 00:28:30,610
what do I do with the
place with the green pixel?

736
00:28:30,610 --> 00:28:33,922
Do I send-- I don't
know, one tent?

737
00:28:33,922 --> 00:28:34,630
A thousand tents?

738
00:28:34,630 --> 00:28:36,616
Where do I send
them, and to do what?

739
00:28:36,616 --> 00:28:37,490
What are the chances?

740
00:28:37,490 --> 00:28:39,950
When will it happen?

741
00:28:39,950 --> 00:28:43,910
So my job is to
help the Red Cross

742
00:28:43,910 --> 00:28:45,550
family and the
humanitarian sector

743
00:28:45,550 --> 00:28:50,210
at large to understand science
that can help us make smarter

744
00:28:50,210 --> 00:28:51,980
decisions.

745
00:28:51,980 --> 00:28:56,730
Now if you want to
represent, to model,

746
00:28:56,730 --> 00:29:01,080
with an experience of forecast,
this is how it normally works.

747
00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:04,590
There's information that
allegedly can support action.

748
00:29:04,590 --> 00:29:07,890
That is communicated with an
audience in a passive mode,

749
00:29:07,890 --> 00:29:11,884
like a fax or an email or
a TV or radio announcement.

750
00:29:11,884 --> 00:29:13,300
And then you hope
that people will

751
00:29:13,300 --> 00:29:15,090
get it and do the right thing.

752
00:29:15,090 --> 00:29:17,735
Of course, I leave a question
mark, because-- not always?

753
00:29:20,670 --> 00:29:25,290
Now when I talked to people
about climate science--

754
00:29:25,290 --> 00:29:27,040
about changing
climate conditions;

755
00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:29,080
sea levels rise, so
we need new locations

756
00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:32,850
of shelters; about El Nino
and changing risks of drought

757
00:29:32,850 --> 00:29:35,860
and food insecurity;
about rainfall upstream,

758
00:29:35,860 --> 00:29:39,350
therefore flooding downstream--
I would be talking science.

759
00:29:39,350 --> 00:29:41,350
And the people I was
talking to-- they

760
00:29:41,350 --> 00:29:43,370
had something else to do.

761
00:29:43,370 --> 00:29:44,670
They had to go save lives.

762
00:29:44,670 --> 00:29:48,400
And they were forced into
a room just like you now.

763
00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:49,710
And I was talking science.

764
00:29:49,710 --> 00:29:54,120
And I could feel the extent
to which I was successfully

765
00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:55,560
shrinking their brains.

766
00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:00,120
This is a metaphor.

767
00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:02,300
There are very talented
and smart people

768
00:30:02,300 --> 00:30:03,710
in the humanitarian sector.

769
00:30:03,710 --> 00:30:07,560
But my putting them
into a passive mode,

770
00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:11,930
talking jargon to them, showing
maps and graphs and so on,

771
00:30:11,930 --> 00:30:13,550
was really not
accomplishing much.

772
00:30:13,550 --> 00:30:15,770
So I had to try something you.

773
00:30:15,770 --> 00:30:20,450
Oh, by the way, I remember
hearing the snoring

774
00:30:20,450 --> 00:30:23,080
while I was talking science.

775
00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:24,510
So it was shocking.

776
00:30:24,510 --> 00:30:27,840
Because they were wasting
their time listening to me

777
00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:30,800
unsuccessfully try to
communicate information

778
00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:32,760
that can help save lives.

779
00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:34,571
So I started doing other things.

780
00:30:34,571 --> 00:30:36,070
And we're going to
get a five minute

781
00:30:36,070 --> 00:30:38,280
flavor of the kind of
things we're doing.

782
00:30:38,280 --> 00:30:39,730
So let's play.

783
00:30:39,730 --> 00:30:42,160
You're a team.

784
00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:43,284
Split in half.

785
00:30:43,284 --> 00:30:45,700
Each one of you choose, are
you on this half or this half?

786
00:30:45,700 --> 00:30:46,283
You're a team.

787
00:30:46,283 --> 00:30:47,280
You're a team.

788
00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:49,370
You're a team-- four teams.

789
00:30:49,370 --> 00:30:52,020
There will be one winning team.

790
00:30:52,020 --> 00:30:54,880
The winning team
is the team that

791
00:30:54,880 --> 00:30:57,970
has the most people standing
by the end of the game.

792
00:30:57,970 --> 00:30:59,430
We'll have a few
practice rounds,

793
00:30:59,430 --> 00:31:01,580
and then we'll play for real.

794
00:31:01,580 --> 00:31:02,800
OK?

795
00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:04,250
You are not who
you think you are.

796
00:31:04,250 --> 00:31:06,820
You're not some MIT
student or something.

797
00:31:06,820 --> 00:31:10,780
You are magically, in the magic
circle of this game, a Red

798
00:31:10,780 --> 00:31:13,070
Cross disaster manager.

799
00:31:13,070 --> 00:31:13,771
OK?

800
00:31:13,771 --> 00:31:14,270
Good.

801
00:31:14,270 --> 00:31:16,910
Someone is celebrating.

802
00:31:16,910 --> 00:31:17,680
You're hired.

803
00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:20,740
We have no money,
but you're hired.

804
00:31:20,740 --> 00:31:24,930
So there are three kinds
of things you can do.

805
00:31:24,930 --> 00:31:27,230
And everyone will be standing
when the game begins.

806
00:31:27,230 --> 00:31:28,419
One is to go like this.

807
00:31:28,419 --> 00:31:29,960
This means I hope
there's good rains.

808
00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:31,918
I'm going to take advantage
of this opportunity

809
00:31:31,918 --> 00:31:34,270
to do good things when
there's good rains.

810
00:31:34,270 --> 00:31:35,040
Train people.

811
00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:36,590
Change the tires of the vehicle.

812
00:31:36,590 --> 00:31:38,010
Build a shelter.

813
00:31:38,010 --> 00:31:39,530
Write a proposal for donors.

814
00:31:39,530 --> 00:31:42,510
Write a report to the donor
that gave me money last year.

815
00:31:42,510 --> 00:31:45,630
All those things, you can
do when it's a nice day.

816
00:31:45,630 --> 00:31:48,520
Now maybe there's
too much rain coming.

817
00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:50,410
Then you can invest
in preparedness

818
00:31:50,410 --> 00:31:51,390
against too much rain.

819
00:31:51,390 --> 00:31:54,520
You make this gesture
like an umbrella.

820
00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:56,520
And it means you're
preparing against the risk

821
00:31:56,520 --> 00:31:57,490
of too much rain.

822
00:31:57,490 --> 00:32:00,130
This could be
prepositioning relief items,

823
00:32:00,130 --> 00:32:03,810
like tents, for those who have
to be displaced with the flood.

824
00:32:03,810 --> 00:32:05,680
But it's better to do
it before the flood.

825
00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:06,870
Because if you
wait for the flood,

826
00:32:06,870 --> 00:32:08,430
then the bridge has
been washed away.

827
00:32:08,430 --> 00:32:12,120
And you have no way to take
tents to the other side.

828
00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:16,460
The other option you have is
to do a bucket-- something

829
00:32:16,460 --> 00:32:18,160
to hold water from the sky.

830
00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:19,900
If there's a risk
of a drought, you

831
00:32:19,900 --> 00:32:21,690
want to collect water
before the drought

832
00:32:21,690 --> 00:32:23,520
so people can have
water to drink.

833
00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:26,180
So each one of you
can do three things.

834
00:32:26,180 --> 00:32:28,390
Good rains, you go like this.

835
00:32:28,390 --> 00:32:29,824
Too much rain, you go like that.

836
00:32:29,824 --> 00:32:31,240
Too little rain,
you go like this.

837
00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:33,560
What determines rains?

838
00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:36,460
The probability distribution
function of precipitation

839
00:32:36,460 --> 00:32:39,800
based on the past record.

840
00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:44,620
So you guys are affected
by this PDF, this die.

841
00:32:44,620 --> 00:32:47,580
You guys are
affected by this one.

842
00:32:47,580 --> 00:32:49,640
A six is what?

843
00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:52,730
Too much rain-- it's a
good idea to be like this.

844
00:32:52,730 --> 00:32:54,620
If you're not like
this, you sit down.

845
00:32:54,620 --> 00:32:56,680
You got it wrong.

846
00:32:56,680 --> 00:32:58,940
A one is what?

847
00:32:58,940 --> 00:33:01,720
Too little rain-- it's a
good idea to be like that.

848
00:33:01,720 --> 00:33:03,060
Otherwise, you got it wrong.

849
00:33:03,060 --> 00:33:04,150
You sit down.

850
00:33:04,150 --> 00:33:06,460
Everything in between is what?

851
00:33:06,460 --> 00:33:07,200
Good rains.

852
00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:09,170
You better go like this,
or you got it wrong.

853
00:33:09,170 --> 00:33:12,160
Practice round--
everyone stand up.

854
00:33:12,160 --> 00:33:18,070
Because the winner is going to
be-- well, let me show this.

855
00:33:18,070 --> 00:33:19,800
Losing players
[? all ?] get it wrong.

856
00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:21,390
You sit down.

857
00:33:21,390 --> 00:33:23,720
You're basically-- not
fired, but people suffer

858
00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:26,300
because of your bad decisions.

859
00:33:26,300 --> 00:33:30,420
And the winning team is
the team that, at the end

860
00:33:30,420 --> 00:33:33,580
of the few rounds-- I will
arbitrarily declare the end,

861
00:33:33,580 --> 00:33:36,650
because in the real
world, there is no end.

862
00:33:36,650 --> 00:33:39,810
We'll have three practice
rounds, and then for real.

863
00:33:39,810 --> 00:33:42,622
Most people standing-- so if you
guys have two people standing

864
00:33:42,622 --> 00:33:45,080
and you have 10 people standing
and they have less than 10,

865
00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:46,340
you are the winners.

866
00:33:46,340 --> 00:33:50,310
And the winning team
will win a publication.

867
00:33:50,310 --> 00:33:54,050
I will explain how you'll
have to fight over it.

868
00:33:54,050 --> 00:34:02,800
So let's go back
to-- actually, here.

869
00:34:02,800 --> 00:34:05,660
So that you remember the
three things you can do.

870
00:34:05,660 --> 00:34:08,650
Each one of you has
to make a decision.

871
00:34:08,650 --> 00:34:11,560
Two, three, four, or five,
it's a good idea to do this.

872
00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:12,949
Six-- good idea to do that.

873
00:34:12,949 --> 00:34:14,219
One-- good idea to do that.

874
00:34:14,219 --> 00:34:15,900
You can have a
collective conversation.

875
00:34:15,900 --> 00:34:18,310
But each one of you has to
be making one of those three.

876
00:34:18,310 --> 00:34:20,435
If you're making none of
those three, you sit down.

877
00:34:20,435 --> 00:34:21,639
You're fired.

878
00:34:21,639 --> 00:34:27,250
You have 30 seconds to
consult with your teams.

879
00:34:27,250 --> 00:34:29,720
[SIDE CONVERSATIONS]

880
00:34:50,951 --> 00:34:52,409
PABLO SUAREZ: The
rains are coming.

881
00:34:52,409 --> 00:34:54,270
Make your decisions.

882
00:34:54,270 --> 00:35:03,370
10, nine, eight, seven,
six, five, four, three.

883
00:35:03,370 --> 00:35:06,510
When I say stop, you have
to be in the position.

884
00:35:06,510 --> 00:35:13,160
Three, two, one, and-- be
in the position or you're

885
00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:15,150
fired-- stop!

886
00:35:15,150 --> 00:35:15,980
OK.

887
00:35:15,980 --> 00:35:21,350
Here we see a lot of thumbs
up, two buckets, two umbrellas.

888
00:35:21,350 --> 00:35:24,690
Roughly the same kind of
configuration-- all right.

889
00:35:24,690 --> 00:35:26,380
Let's see what
happens to this half.

890
00:35:26,380 --> 00:35:28,090
Camera, I wish you good luck.

891
00:35:28,090 --> 00:35:30,830
This is for you guys.

892
00:35:30,830 --> 00:35:34,260
It is a five.

893
00:35:34,260 --> 00:35:35,850
So if you're like
that, stay standing.

894
00:35:35,850 --> 00:35:36,750
Otherwise, sit down.

895
00:35:36,750 --> 00:35:39,750
You didn't invest in the good
things you could have done.

896
00:35:39,750 --> 00:35:42,670
For you guys, let's
see what happens.

897
00:35:42,670 --> 00:35:45,260
And it is a four.

898
00:35:45,260 --> 00:35:46,800
If you're like
that, stay standing.

899
00:35:46,800 --> 00:35:47,680
Otherwise, sit down.

900
00:35:47,680 --> 00:35:51,400
Moving on to your
two-- practice round.

901
00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:52,485
What are you going to do?

902
00:35:55,190 --> 00:35:58,710
Those who are sitting, stay
sitting, but can give advice.

903
00:35:58,710 --> 00:35:59,210
OK?

904
00:36:06,070 --> 00:36:07,310
Make your decisions.

905
00:36:07,310 --> 00:36:15,340
Five, four, three,
two, one, and, stop.

906
00:36:15,340 --> 00:36:16,670
Lots of thumbs up.

907
00:36:16,670 --> 00:36:18,271
Are you with these guys?

908
00:36:18,271 --> 00:36:18,770
All right.

909
00:36:18,770 --> 00:36:21,510
So you're the only
umbrella on this side.

910
00:36:21,510 --> 00:36:23,370
Let's see how it happens.

911
00:36:23,370 --> 00:36:23,960
There we go.

912
00:36:26,370 --> 00:36:26,870
There's

913
00:36:26,870 --> 00:36:27,740
A four.

914
00:36:27,740 --> 00:36:28,860
Thumbs up, stay standing.

915
00:36:28,860 --> 00:36:30,150
Otherwise, sit down.

916
00:36:30,150 --> 00:36:31,940
This team not
surprisingly is weak.

917
00:36:31,940 --> 00:36:33,260
They started with few.

918
00:36:33,260 --> 00:36:38,160
Over here, you
guys-- there we go.

919
00:36:38,160 --> 00:36:39,510
A two.

920
00:36:39,510 --> 00:36:42,520
So if you're like that
or like that, sit down.

921
00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:44,445
Now, the last practice round.

922
00:36:48,220 --> 00:36:50,130
You receive this fax.

923
00:36:55,683 --> 00:36:56,516
That's all you know.

924
00:36:56,516 --> 00:36:57,570
You got these fax.

925
00:36:57,570 --> 00:36:59,442
AUDIENCE: Are we
using the same dice?

926
00:36:59,442 --> 00:37:01,650
PABLO SUAREZ: I am answering
your question by saying,

927
00:37:01,650 --> 00:37:05,290
all you got is this.

928
00:37:05,290 --> 00:37:09,430
There's a deliberate
scarcity of information.

929
00:37:09,430 --> 00:37:13,427
You have 30 seconds to
make your decisions.

930
00:37:13,427 --> 00:37:14,860
AUDIENCE: Wait, where are we?

931
00:37:14,860 --> 00:37:18,254
PABLO SUAREZ: You are in the
place with the green pixel.

932
00:37:18,254 --> 00:37:20,694
[SIDE CONVERSATIONS]

933
00:37:36,820 --> 00:37:39,410
PABLO SUAREZ: 10 seconds left.

934
00:37:39,410 --> 00:37:46,793
Five, four, three,
two, one, and, stop!

935
00:37:46,793 --> 00:37:47,293
OK.

936
00:37:47,293 --> 00:37:49,080
So in this team,
there's only three left.

937
00:37:49,080 --> 00:37:51,920
One third are investing
in too much rain.

938
00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:54,440
Here we have about eight or so.

939
00:37:54,440 --> 00:37:56,850
Half or more are
investing in this.

940
00:37:56,850 --> 00:37:59,580
No one-- oh, only one
person is going for drought.

941
00:37:59,580 --> 00:38:01,540
Over here-- all right.

942
00:38:01,540 --> 00:38:03,580
I see over here we have three.

943
00:38:03,580 --> 00:38:06,900
So about half, also,
investing in flood protection.

944
00:38:06,900 --> 00:38:10,430
Over here we have more than
before, two out of six.

945
00:38:10,430 --> 00:38:16,050
Well, of course, what this
says is that on a normal year

946
00:38:16,050 --> 00:38:20,270
the chances of this is
15%, or about one in six.

947
00:38:20,270 --> 00:38:22,850
One in six is 16%.

948
00:38:22,850 --> 00:38:25,140
But this year, because
of unusual conditions,

949
00:38:25,140 --> 00:38:27,720
it's a flip of the coin.

950
00:38:27,720 --> 00:38:29,710
So for you guys, I'm
going to flip this one.

951
00:38:29,710 --> 00:38:33,620
Of course, you cannot now
change your decision, right?

952
00:38:33,620 --> 00:38:34,990
It's too late now.

953
00:38:34,990 --> 00:38:37,570
You either sent the tents
or bought the cement

954
00:38:37,570 --> 00:38:38,630
for the shelter.

955
00:38:38,630 --> 00:38:40,420
So I'm going to throw
this up in the air.

956
00:38:40,420 --> 00:38:42,400
If it falls like
this, no problem.

957
00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:43,950
It's like a three.

958
00:38:43,950 --> 00:38:48,620
If it falls like this, too
much rain-- 50% chance or so.

959
00:38:48,620 --> 00:38:50,420
It's a good idea to
have the umbrella.

960
00:38:50,420 --> 00:38:51,790
Otherwise you sit down.

961
00:38:51,790 --> 00:38:53,980
If it falls like this,
meaning it stops moving

962
00:38:53,980 --> 00:39:00,220
and it stays standing, it's
a good idea to have a bucket.

963
00:39:00,220 --> 00:39:03,310
You guys will get
the yellow one.

964
00:39:03,310 --> 00:39:06,654
Ready, set, and go.

965
00:39:06,654 --> 00:39:07,500
AUDIENCE: Yes!

966
00:39:07,500 --> 00:39:08,333
PABLO SUAREZ: Flood.

967
00:39:08,333 --> 00:39:10,530
Someone's very happy.

968
00:39:10,530 --> 00:39:12,470
We love it.

969
00:39:12,470 --> 00:39:15,890
So if you're not like
this, you have to sit down.

970
00:39:15,890 --> 00:39:19,380
Now notice this interesting
feature of reality.

971
00:39:19,380 --> 00:39:22,620
If you take the right
action, an extreme event

972
00:39:22,620 --> 00:39:23,710
is not a disaster.

973
00:39:23,710 --> 00:39:24,880
He was prepared.

974
00:39:24,880 --> 00:39:26,640
He's happy that a
disaster happened.

975
00:39:26,640 --> 00:39:29,440
Because he was prepared.

976
00:39:29,440 --> 00:39:31,300
Which is a good thing.

977
00:39:31,300 --> 00:39:35,850
A disaster is only a disaster if
it leads to negative outcomes.

978
00:39:35,850 --> 00:39:41,210
If someone tells you it's
going to be 110 degrees today,

979
00:39:41,210 --> 00:39:42,720
and you have some
health condition,

980
00:39:42,720 --> 00:39:44,094
you turn on the
air conditioning.

981
00:39:44,094 --> 00:39:45,330
There's no disaster.

982
00:39:45,330 --> 00:39:47,620
Unless there's no energy
for your air conditioner.

983
00:39:47,620 --> 00:39:48,120
OK.

984
00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:49,161
Let's see about you guys.

985
00:39:52,490 --> 00:39:53,367
You also got a flood.

986
00:39:53,367 --> 00:39:54,950
So if you're like
this, stay standing.

987
00:39:54,950 --> 00:39:56,070
Otherwise, sit down.

988
00:39:56,070 --> 00:39:57,960
If this were the end
of the real game,

989
00:39:57,960 --> 00:39:59,970
we'd have three standing here.

990
00:39:59,970 --> 00:40:01,170
No other team has three.

991
00:40:01,170 --> 00:40:05,250
So you would be declared
the winning team.

992
00:40:05,250 --> 00:40:06,840
Oh, you got four!

993
00:40:06,840 --> 00:40:08,670
So my apologies.

994
00:40:08,670 --> 00:40:10,850
You would be declared
the winning team.

995
00:40:10,850 --> 00:40:12,160
Congratulations.

996
00:40:12,160 --> 00:40:13,050
Now.

997
00:40:13,050 --> 00:40:14,690
[APPLAUSE]

998
00:40:14,690 --> 00:40:16,580
PABLO SUAREZ: Thank you.

999
00:40:16,580 --> 00:40:17,780
Everyone sit down.

1000
00:40:17,780 --> 00:40:19,290
And now we're going
to see what you

1001
00:40:19,290 --> 00:40:22,060
would do for real
in this scenario

1002
00:40:22,060 --> 00:40:24,280
where we have climate change.

1003
00:40:24,280 --> 00:40:26,800
Have you heard of
climate change?

1004
00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:28,620
Things are changing.

1005
00:40:28,620 --> 00:40:32,570
This is based on the past
record of precipitation.

1006
00:40:32,570 --> 00:40:36,850
But the past no longer
explains the present.

1007
00:40:36,850 --> 00:40:38,820
Things are changing.

1008
00:40:38,820 --> 00:40:42,660
So I hereby introduce
you to climate change.

1009
00:40:46,530 --> 00:40:50,060
This one is going
to be for you guys.

1010
00:40:50,060 --> 00:40:52,930
I'm going to throw this up in
the air with some spin, just

1011
00:40:52,930 --> 00:40:55,060
like the dice.

1012
00:40:55,060 --> 00:40:55,572
Look at you.

1013
00:40:55,572 --> 00:40:56,280
I love this face.

1014
00:40:56,280 --> 00:41:00,351
This is a very
productive silence.

1015
00:41:00,351 --> 00:41:01,850
I'm going to throw
it up in the air.

1016
00:41:01,850 --> 00:41:04,100
if it falls like this,
it means normal rains.

1017
00:41:04,100 --> 00:41:05,240
No problem.

1018
00:41:05,240 --> 00:41:07,900
It's like a three-- a
good idea to go like that.

1019
00:41:07,900 --> 00:41:10,350
If it falls like
this, too much rain.

1020
00:41:10,350 --> 00:41:12,664
It's a good idea to
invest in your umbrella.

1021
00:41:12,664 --> 00:41:13,580
AUDIENCE: Oh I get it.

1022
00:41:13,580 --> 00:41:17,820
PABLO SUAREZ: If it falls like
that, what is it representing?

1023
00:41:17,820 --> 00:41:21,170
It's too little rain-- bucket--
good idea to go like this.

1024
00:41:21,170 --> 00:41:22,590
This is for you guys.

1025
00:41:22,590 --> 00:41:25,629
We're going to imagine we
play three consecutive years.

1026
00:41:25,629 --> 00:41:26,670
Can you hold this for me?

1027
00:41:26,670 --> 00:41:27,503
No spinning, please.

1028
00:41:27,503 --> 00:41:28,560
No throwing.

1029
00:41:28,560 --> 00:41:32,000
For the other half, we
have this other one,

1030
00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:33,240
which is also climate change.

1031
00:41:33,240 --> 00:41:37,210
But the climate doesn't change
in the same way in every place.

1032
00:41:37,210 --> 00:41:39,150
So I'm going to throw
this up in the air.

1033
00:41:39,150 --> 00:41:41,540
If it falls like this,
it means no problem.

1034
00:41:41,540 --> 00:41:43,670
Good idea to go for thumbs up.

1035
00:41:43,670 --> 00:41:46,580
If it falls like
this, too much rain.

1036
00:41:46,580 --> 00:41:49,360
If it falls like
this, too little rain.

1037
00:41:49,360 --> 00:41:50,730
Go for that.

1038
00:41:50,730 --> 00:41:54,430
As a team, you have two minutes
to come up with a decision--

1039
00:41:54,430 --> 00:41:56,090
or more likely, one minute.

1040
00:41:56,090 --> 00:41:58,460
Go.

1041
00:41:58,460 --> 00:42:22,360
[SIDE CONVERSATIONS]

1042
00:42:22,360 --> 00:42:23,735
PABLO SUAREZ: Less
than a minute.

1043
00:42:36,160 --> 00:42:37,065
30 seconds.

1044
00:42:42,060 --> 00:42:43,950
10 seconds.

1045
00:42:43,950 --> 00:42:45,290
Everybody stand up.

1046
00:42:47,800 --> 00:42:49,520
Make your decisions.

1047
00:42:49,520 --> 00:42:59,675
Five, four, three,
two, one, and, stop!

1048
00:43:02,670 --> 00:43:04,590
All right.

1049
00:43:04,590 --> 00:43:07,350
Compared to the first
round with the die,

1050
00:43:07,350 --> 00:43:10,280
there's much more
proportion of people

1051
00:43:10,280 --> 00:43:13,390
investing either in too much
rain or in too little rain.

1052
00:43:13,390 --> 00:43:15,580
Can you notice any
difference between this half

1053
00:43:15,580 --> 00:43:17,065
and that half?

1054
00:43:21,520 --> 00:43:22,830
Not really.

1055
00:43:22,830 --> 00:43:27,170
Very substantial, phenomenally
different climate change

1056
00:43:27,170 --> 00:43:28,800
projections coming
from science-- this

1057
00:43:28,800 --> 00:43:32,200
could be like the
IPCC report, right?

1058
00:43:32,200 --> 00:43:34,680
And yet, you don't know how to
interpret those differences.

1059
00:43:34,680 --> 00:43:38,810
Thank you for incarnating what
happens in the real world.

1060
00:43:38,810 --> 00:43:39,360
OK?

1061
00:43:39,360 --> 00:43:41,660
We just are very
confused to understand

1062
00:43:41,660 --> 00:43:43,550
that the risks are higher.

1063
00:43:43,550 --> 00:43:45,929
So I will not roll it.

1064
00:43:45,929 --> 00:43:47,970
Because I would rather
keep sharing with you some

1065
00:43:47,970 --> 00:43:49,150
of the things we were doing.

1066
00:43:49,150 --> 00:43:52,440
But I can share with
you that you already

1067
00:43:52,440 --> 00:43:55,195
have-- no, I want to know!

1068
00:43:55,195 --> 00:43:56,350
Let's play.

1069
00:43:56,350 --> 00:43:59,530
I want to see what the
climate will bring.

1070
00:43:59,530 --> 00:44:01,610
And that's exactly the point.

1071
00:44:01,610 --> 00:44:05,260
We are creating your
appetite for learning.

1072
00:44:05,260 --> 00:44:08,977
And that's what games can
help me and my colleagues do.

1073
00:44:08,977 --> 00:44:10,685
We have a bunch of
[? reckless ?] people,

1074
00:44:10,685 --> 00:44:13,101
and suddenly they want to know
the real climate projection

1075
00:44:13,101 --> 00:44:14,330
for their project site.

1076
00:44:14,330 --> 00:44:14,830
All right.

1077
00:44:14,830 --> 00:44:17,480
Everyone can sit down.

1078
00:44:17,480 --> 00:44:21,650
So we went through
this-- oops, sorry.

1079
00:44:21,650 --> 00:44:23,490
This is where I wanted to go.

1080
00:44:23,490 --> 00:44:28,950
So that's the fax
that Yusef received.

1081
00:44:28,950 --> 00:44:31,800
You played, and you had many
more people going like that--

1082
00:44:31,800 --> 00:44:33,630
which is the right thing to do.

1083
00:44:33,630 --> 00:44:34,880
Now it's 50-50.

1084
00:44:34,880 --> 00:44:37,670
It could have been
that it doesn't flood.

1085
00:44:37,670 --> 00:44:39,680
But if you understand
the risks, you

1086
00:44:39,680 --> 00:44:42,040
can say to the
face of your staff,

1087
00:44:42,040 --> 00:44:44,600
to the face of your donor, or
to the face of the communities

1088
00:44:44,600 --> 00:44:45,870
you're helping, look.

1089
00:44:45,870 --> 00:44:48,590
I had reasons to act that way.

1090
00:44:48,590 --> 00:44:51,480
Because it went from one
in six to one in two.

1091
00:44:51,480 --> 00:44:54,420
And games can help process that.

1092
00:44:54,420 --> 00:44:58,020
What games can do is to
help embed information

1093
00:44:58,020 --> 00:45:02,180
into a system where
decisions have consequences,

1094
00:45:02,180 --> 00:45:04,200
and shape of the
information that becomes

1095
00:45:04,200 --> 00:45:07,120
available for the next turn.

1096
00:45:07,120 --> 00:45:09,691
So you can have more or
less resources and so on.

1097
00:45:09,691 --> 00:45:10,191
Yes.

1098
00:45:10,191 --> 00:45:10,816
AUDIENCE: Yeah.

1099
00:45:10,816 --> 00:45:12,646
I was wondering.

1100
00:45:12,646 --> 00:45:15,592
If you have a 50-50
chances, right,

1101
00:45:15,592 --> 00:45:20,255
and let's say it turns out
you made the right choice

1102
00:45:20,255 --> 00:45:23,448
this year, why not invest
more into better measurement

1103
00:45:23,448 --> 00:45:24,430
[? increments? ?]

1104
00:45:24,430 --> 00:45:25,700
PABLO SUAREZ: Exactly!

1105
00:45:25,700 --> 00:45:29,250
Why not invest more
in better everything?

1106
00:45:29,250 --> 00:45:30,190
We can.

1107
00:45:30,190 --> 00:45:32,100
But we don't have the money.

1108
00:45:32,100 --> 00:45:32,600
Right?

1109
00:45:32,600 --> 00:45:35,930
So we're talking to
Lincoln Lab and donors

1110
00:45:35,930 --> 00:45:39,450
and so on to help us
improve our ability

1111
00:45:39,450 --> 00:45:43,351
to sense what is going on in
terms of hazards-- including

1112
00:45:43,351 --> 00:45:45,850
too much rain, too little rain,
and other things-- including

1113
00:45:45,850 --> 00:45:47,750
vulnerabilities--
it's not the same

1114
00:45:47,750 --> 00:45:51,510
for me to be exposed to
100 degrees of heat wave

1115
00:45:51,510 --> 00:45:53,910
versus to an elderly
person with asthma.

1116
00:45:53,910 --> 00:45:54,524
Right?

1117
00:45:54,524 --> 00:45:55,940
And it's the same
with capacities.

1118
00:45:55,940 --> 00:45:59,990
What do we have, in terms
of skills and knowledge,

1119
00:45:59,990 --> 00:46:04,180
in terms of equipment,
in terms of experience?

1120
00:46:04,180 --> 00:46:08,330
The disease chikungunya--
has anyone heard of it?

1121
00:46:08,330 --> 00:46:10,880
So what are you going to do
if an outbreak of chikungunya

1122
00:46:10,880 --> 00:46:13,120
comes out to MIT tomorrow?

1123
00:46:13,120 --> 00:46:13,620
Right?

1124
00:46:13,620 --> 00:46:15,160
Knowing can help.

1125
00:46:15,160 --> 00:46:18,210
Sensing can help you
make better decisions.

1126
00:46:18,210 --> 00:46:22,300
In short, in my experience,
only games can do this.

1127
00:46:22,300 --> 00:46:24,930
Only games can get a
bunch of people together,

1128
00:46:24,930 --> 00:46:26,680
and in a very short
time understand

1129
00:46:26,680 --> 00:46:29,430
the role of information in
the context of decisions

1130
00:46:29,430 --> 00:46:31,490
that will have
consequences-- including

1131
00:46:31,490 --> 00:46:34,990
lifesaving or
life-losing consequences.

1132
00:46:34,990 --> 00:46:37,530
This is an example--
I'm going to skip it,

1133
00:46:37,530 --> 00:46:38,674
so I can get to the end.

1134
00:46:38,674 --> 00:46:40,090
But basically,
games can also help

1135
00:46:40,090 --> 00:46:43,620
you collect data and compare
one scenario versus another,

1136
00:46:43,620 --> 00:46:47,050
and see which are the things,
the aspects of the real world,

1137
00:46:47,050 --> 00:46:50,600
where people are failing
to get something.

1138
00:46:50,600 --> 00:46:52,550
And so you can
target your efforts

1139
00:46:52,550 --> 00:46:54,610
in capacity-building
training, et cetera.

1140
00:46:57,160 --> 00:46:59,950
This is one of the things
I will talk to you about.

1141
00:46:59,950 --> 00:47:04,150
I will want you want to help
us design games or playful

1142
00:47:04,150 --> 00:47:07,650
activities that can help people
make their decisions based

1143
00:47:07,650 --> 00:47:10,570
on forecast, as
opposed to always doing

1144
00:47:10,570 --> 00:47:12,840
as if it were the normal die.

1145
00:47:12,840 --> 00:47:15,310
And then if there's a
flood, as the forecast said

1146
00:47:15,310 --> 00:47:17,200
was more likely, you
go, eh, I don't know.

1147
00:47:17,200 --> 00:47:18,300
I wasn't prepared.

1148
00:47:18,300 --> 00:47:22,460
Which is what happens
quite frequently.

1149
00:47:22,460 --> 00:47:23,979
There are many advantages.

1150
00:47:23,979 --> 00:47:25,520
One is that we get
better performance

1151
00:47:25,520 --> 00:47:28,040
in terms of outcomes--
fewer sick people.

1152
00:47:28,040 --> 00:47:31,020
Better efficiency-- so you
save more per unit money

1153
00:47:31,020 --> 00:47:33,100
or equipment or et cetera.

1154
00:47:33,100 --> 00:47:35,110
Flexibility-- people
can do more if they

1155
00:47:35,110 --> 00:47:36,594
understand the forecast.

1156
00:47:36,594 --> 00:47:38,260
If you know that
Katrina is about to hit

1157
00:47:38,260 --> 00:47:41,600
your village or
your city, there's

1158
00:47:41,600 --> 00:47:43,970
more you can do in anticipation,
as opposed to waiting.

1159
00:47:43,970 --> 00:47:46,370
And once it slams,
there's very few things

1160
00:47:46,370 --> 00:47:47,760
you can do at that point.

1161
00:47:47,760 --> 00:47:51,020
Because if you step out of
your door, you're in trouble.

1162
00:47:51,020 --> 00:47:55,590
Games can create the
appetite, through confusion.

1163
00:47:55,590 --> 00:47:59,280
With the cone, you
were like, huh?

1164
00:47:59,280 --> 00:48:03,930
We deliberately
create systems that

1165
00:48:03,930 --> 00:48:08,020
push people to the
tolerable edge of confusion.

1166
00:48:08,020 --> 00:48:10,260
So that they want to
figure out, to make

1167
00:48:10,260 --> 00:48:11,770
sense of what's going on.

1168
00:48:11,770 --> 00:48:14,280
And then participants
themselves-- individually

1169
00:48:14,280 --> 00:48:17,580
or in conversation with
peers, they go like, huh.

1170
00:48:17,580 --> 00:48:19,470
So if we do this
and this happens,

1171
00:48:19,470 --> 00:48:21,940
I'll be better off than
if I do this other thing.

1172
00:48:21,940 --> 00:48:25,220
The aha moment-- the
epiphany, the revelation--

1173
00:48:25,220 --> 00:48:27,720
is constructed by the players.

1174
00:48:27,720 --> 00:48:30,040
And that has much
more lasting effect

1175
00:48:30,040 --> 00:48:32,350
than if I give you the answer.

1176
00:48:32,350 --> 00:48:36,740
No one remembers the answer if
no one was asking the question.

1177
00:48:36,740 --> 00:48:41,900
Very few examples-- these
cones are the result

1178
00:48:41,900 --> 00:48:45,784
of a collaboration with the
World Bank Chief Economist

1179
00:48:45,784 --> 00:48:46,950
for Sustainable Development.

1180
00:48:46,950 --> 00:48:50,510
He was trying to explain
a confusing concept called

1181
00:48:50,510 --> 00:48:51,239
deep uncertainty.

1182
00:48:51,239 --> 00:48:52,780
[? Jana ?] over
there-- can you wave,

1183
00:48:52,780 --> 00:48:55,900
[? Jana? ?] She's my partner in
game design, and facilitation,

1184
00:48:55,900 --> 00:48:56,400
and life.

1185
00:48:56,400 --> 00:48:59,340
She had the brilliant idea of
taking-- our cone had surgery.

1186
00:48:59,340 --> 00:48:59,840
Sorry.

1187
00:48:59,840 --> 00:49:01,650
Our cat had surgery.

1188
00:49:01,650 --> 00:49:05,220
And she thought, how about
using the cone of shame--

1189
00:49:05,220 --> 00:49:08,650
you know, for the creature not
to lick its surgery-- she said,

1190
00:49:08,650 --> 00:49:12,040
how about using that for
depicting this uncertainty?

1191
00:49:12,040 --> 00:49:15,680
Now we had students tossing
each one of those cones

1192
00:49:15,680 --> 00:49:17,840
100 times to see the
probability solution,

1193
00:49:17,840 --> 00:49:20,851
with and without
spin, and augmenting

1194
00:49:20,851 --> 00:49:22,600
the gap between what
you think will happen

1195
00:49:22,600 --> 00:49:24,480
and what actually happens.

1196
00:49:24,480 --> 00:49:28,060
A few other cases-- this
is from Hanoi University

1197
00:49:28,060 --> 00:49:29,210
of Science and Technology.

1198
00:49:29,210 --> 00:49:33,470
These was with 350 students
playing a game on dengue.

1199
00:49:33,470 --> 00:49:35,075
It's like a rock
paper scissors, where

1200
00:49:35,075 --> 00:49:36,390
three players are mosquitoes.

1201
00:49:36,390 --> 00:49:40,100
And they can either bite, or
with your blood, lay eggs.

1202
00:49:40,100 --> 00:49:41,980
And the other
players are humans.

1203
00:49:41,980 --> 00:49:44,950
And they can either
protect from biting

1204
00:49:44,950 --> 00:49:46,820
or attack the breeding grounds.

1205
00:49:46,820 --> 00:49:51,630
This was designed by students
at game design students

1206
00:49:51,630 --> 00:49:54,060
at [? Parsons ?] and
professors collaborating

1207
00:49:54,060 --> 00:49:56,380
with the other students.

1208
00:49:56,380 --> 00:50:00,990
This one is a
publication from NASA.

1209
00:50:00,990 --> 00:50:04,040
It doesn't get more NASA
than a rocket launch.

1210
00:50:04,040 --> 00:50:07,510
But if you look here, it says,
Erin Coughlan-- former intern

1211
00:50:07,510 --> 00:50:09,340
and now staff in my team.

1212
00:50:09,340 --> 00:50:11,820
And the Red Cross/Red Crescent
Climate Centre project.

1213
00:50:11,820 --> 00:50:17,350
You go to page 47, and you
see [? Munu. ?] [? Munu ?] is

1214
00:50:17,350 --> 00:50:20,000
a volunteer of the
Zambia Red Cross,

1215
00:50:20,000 --> 00:50:24,810
from the village of Kazungula
in Western Zambia on the Zambezi

1216
00:50:24,810 --> 00:50:26,750
River.

1217
00:50:26,750 --> 00:50:30,180
I mean, there's not much
electricity or NASA-ness

1218
00:50:30,180 --> 00:50:31,520
in Kazungula.

1219
00:50:31,520 --> 00:50:35,810
But he was trained as a
facilitator for a game

1220
00:50:35,810 --> 00:50:37,860
where, with cards
and dice, there's

1221
00:50:37,860 --> 00:50:40,020
rain that happens over there.

1222
00:50:40,020 --> 00:50:42,650
So her cup gets some water.

1223
00:50:42,650 --> 00:50:44,850
And then from her cup,
she passes the water

1224
00:50:44,850 --> 00:50:47,900
to the person next to her,
representing the upstream going

1225
00:50:47,900 --> 00:50:48,650
downstream.

1226
00:50:48,650 --> 00:50:50,570
She can get more water or not.

1227
00:50:50,570 --> 00:50:52,100
And it keeps going
until maybe he

1228
00:50:52,100 --> 00:50:54,350
gets water to overflow his cup.

1229
00:50:54,350 --> 00:50:57,820
He's in trouble, unless he
takes some action ahead of time.

1230
00:50:57,820 --> 00:51:00,720
And the game we're
designing is not only

1231
00:51:00,720 --> 00:51:03,520
with cups and to mimic
the upstream/downstream.

1232
00:51:03,520 --> 00:51:06,710
But we're also making a digital
game where people actually

1233
00:51:06,710 --> 00:51:08,900
monitor river levels.

1234
00:51:08,900 --> 00:51:10,450
And they make predictions.

1235
00:51:10,450 --> 00:51:15,010
They make bets as to what the
river level will be in two days

1236
00:51:15,010 --> 00:51:16,170
or so.

1237
00:51:16,170 --> 00:51:17,680
And then the winner wins points.

1238
00:51:17,680 --> 00:51:20,800
But they can use points to
buy information from upstream.

1239
00:51:20,800 --> 00:51:24,310
And then with that data we're
developing a hydrological model

1240
00:51:24,310 --> 00:51:27,690
that can help us better know
what is going down the stream,

1241
00:51:27,690 --> 00:51:31,310
and are we going to
have more flood trouble?

1242
00:51:31,310 --> 00:51:35,170
As you can imagine, it's
awesome to have NASA report

1243
00:51:35,170 --> 00:51:39,180
on some little project in
Western Zambia, in part

1244
00:51:39,180 --> 00:51:41,060
because we know
that we can partner

1245
00:51:41,060 --> 00:51:43,600
these on-the-field
game-based data

1246
00:51:43,600 --> 00:51:48,120
collection with satellite image
for ground truthing and so on.

1247
00:51:48,120 --> 00:51:51,870
This one-- because we
are being recorded,

1248
00:51:51,870 --> 00:51:54,840
I will not disclose
the full story.

1249
00:51:54,840 --> 00:51:58,590
But in short, we play the
game that had the same story.

1250
00:51:58,590 --> 00:51:59,890
You play with a 6-sided die.

1251
00:51:59,890 --> 00:52:01,530
You know your probabilities.

1252
00:52:01,530 --> 00:52:04,160
It was being played with
the top-level climate

1253
00:52:04,160 --> 00:52:06,295
scientists in this planet.

1254
00:52:06,295 --> 00:52:07,920
And as you can see
on the left, there's

1255
00:52:07,920 --> 00:52:10,440
all sorts of calculations
with probability distributions

1256
00:52:10,440 --> 00:52:11,880
and the cost benefits and so on.

1257
00:52:11,880 --> 00:52:14,470
Then we change the
probabilities on them.

1258
00:52:14,470 --> 00:52:16,870
And then we gave them that.

1259
00:52:16,870 --> 00:52:18,536
Just like you were
saying, what is that?

1260
00:52:18,536 --> 00:52:19,619
What are you going to use?

1261
00:52:19,619 --> 00:52:22,350
We just gave them that
graph and the caption.

1262
00:52:22,350 --> 00:52:24,766
And some of them were
saying, but wait a second.

1263
00:52:24,766 --> 00:52:26,390
Why are you giving
me this information?

1264
00:52:26,390 --> 00:52:29,310
It's completely useless in
the context of my decision

1265
00:52:29,310 --> 00:52:30,640
situation.

1266
00:52:30,640 --> 00:52:33,100
And then we told them,
this is the information

1267
00:52:33,100 --> 00:52:36,900
that you yourselves produced
in the summary for policymakers

1268
00:52:36,900 --> 00:52:39,040
of climate science stuff.

1269
00:52:39,040 --> 00:52:42,280
And they became fully
aware of the need

1270
00:52:42,280 --> 00:52:46,040
for them to improve the way they
communicate climate science.

1271
00:52:49,350 --> 00:52:52,130
This-- you may
recognize that dude.

1272
00:52:52,130 --> 00:52:54,600
I think it's the last time I
wore a necktie-- at the White

1273
00:52:54,600 --> 00:52:56,460
House.

1274
00:52:56,460 --> 00:52:57,880
I was given five minutes.

1275
00:52:57,880 --> 00:52:59,840
I begged for seven.

1276
00:52:59,840 --> 00:53:03,910
Seven minutes given, preceded
by extensive PowerPoint

1277
00:53:03,910 --> 00:53:06,450
presentations or other
forms of uni-directional,

1278
00:53:06,450 --> 00:53:11,352
so I had an audience that had
brain wave activity declining.

1279
00:53:11,352 --> 00:53:12,060
And I said hello.

1280
00:53:12,060 --> 00:53:12,940
My name is Pablo.

1281
00:53:12,940 --> 00:53:14,180
And this is not a Frisbee.

1282
00:53:14,180 --> 00:53:15,030
It's a hurricane.

1283
00:53:15,030 --> 00:53:17,684
Everybody stand up.

1284
00:53:17,684 --> 00:53:19,100
And people were
somewhat confused.

1285
00:53:19,100 --> 00:53:19,910
Some were standing.

1286
00:53:19,910 --> 00:53:22,118
Others were distracted, and
they saw people standing,

1287
00:53:22,118 --> 00:53:22,833
so they stood.

1288
00:53:22,833 --> 00:53:23,300
And I said, OK.

1289
00:53:23,300 --> 00:53:25,383
I'm going to throw this
frisbee in some direction.

1290
00:53:25,383 --> 00:53:26,120
It's a hurricane.

1291
00:53:26,120 --> 00:53:29,010
If it hits you in the
chest, it's trouble.

1292
00:53:29,010 --> 00:53:30,520
You're suffering.

1293
00:53:30,520 --> 00:53:34,430
Now if you sit down, it will
fly above your head, no problem.

1294
00:53:34,430 --> 00:53:35,786
It's like evacuation.

1295
00:53:35,786 --> 00:53:37,160
But if you sit
down and evacuate,

1296
00:53:37,160 --> 00:53:39,640
and the hurricane goes
in some other direction,

1297
00:53:39,640 --> 00:53:41,390
someone may still
your refrigerator.

1298
00:53:41,390 --> 00:53:43,040
Right?

1299
00:53:43,040 --> 00:53:45,130
You're doing the wrong thing.

1300
00:53:45,130 --> 00:53:48,800
So where it will go will be
determined by these two dice.

1301
00:53:48,800 --> 00:53:51,710
So you either say standing
or sit down to avoid it.

1302
00:53:51,710 --> 00:53:53,170
And I throw the things.

1303
00:53:53,170 --> 00:53:53,790
And I look.

1304
00:53:53,790 --> 00:53:55,984
And I throw in this direction
and in this direction.

1305
00:53:55,984 --> 00:53:56,900
People were being hit.

1306
00:53:56,900 --> 00:53:58,120
There was huge confusion.

1307
00:53:58,120 --> 00:54:00,050
No one understood
what was going on.

1308
00:54:00,050 --> 00:54:01,990
And then someone got it.

1309
00:54:01,990 --> 00:54:03,280
Double one, I throw over here.

1310
00:54:03,280 --> 00:54:05,000
Double six, I throw over here.

1311
00:54:05,000 --> 00:54:06,680
Interpolate.

1312
00:54:06,680 --> 00:54:07,764
So someone figured it out.

1313
00:54:07,764 --> 00:54:08,679
They said, oh, a nine!

1314
00:54:08,679 --> 00:54:10,030
It will go in that direction.

1315
00:54:10,030 --> 00:54:11,590
Everybody sat down.

1316
00:54:11,590 --> 00:54:12,590
And I threw the frisbee.

1317
00:54:12,590 --> 00:54:15,000
And it flew elegantly
until it hit

1318
00:54:15,000 --> 00:54:16,910
the wall of the White House.

1319
00:54:16,910 --> 00:54:19,720
And then I said, well,
you know, climate science

1320
00:54:19,720 --> 00:54:21,290
can give us this.

1321
00:54:21,290 --> 00:54:22,330
Think Katrina.

1322
00:54:22,330 --> 00:54:24,090
Think all that we could do.

1323
00:54:24,090 --> 00:54:25,310
We're here to help.

1324
00:54:25,310 --> 00:54:26,210
Thank you.

1325
00:54:26,210 --> 00:54:28,760
And that game was memorable.

1326
00:54:28,760 --> 00:54:29,830
It opened doors.

1327
00:54:29,830 --> 00:54:32,270
And it created
awareness of the value

1328
00:54:32,270 --> 00:54:34,160
of linking climate
science with decisions

1329
00:54:34,160 --> 00:54:37,120
of the humanitarian sector,
of the government sector,

1330
00:54:37,120 --> 00:54:38,660
and beyond.

1331
00:54:38,660 --> 00:54:43,210
So game play beats
PowerPoint in a million ways.

1332
00:54:43,210 --> 00:54:46,070
For me, as someone who has
to help others take actions

1333
00:54:46,070 --> 00:54:48,390
that save lives, I'd
say first of all,

1334
00:54:48,390 --> 00:54:49,740
there's active learning.

1335
00:54:49,740 --> 00:54:53,080
When you were playing, and you
were confronted with that fax,

1336
00:54:53,080 --> 00:54:54,490
you were saying, what is that?

1337
00:54:54,490 --> 00:54:55,400
What does it mean?

1338
00:54:55,400 --> 00:54:57,300
And what should I do about it?

1339
00:54:57,300 --> 00:54:59,080
It's about action.

1340
00:54:59,080 --> 00:55:01,590
And there's plenty of peer
to peer-- no, but look!

1341
00:55:01,590 --> 00:55:03,910
If it's 50%-- and people
learn from each other.

1342
00:55:03,910 --> 00:55:07,880
There are plenty
of "aha" moments.

1343
00:55:07,880 --> 00:55:09,280
It's fun, but it's serious.

1344
00:55:09,280 --> 00:55:11,390
And the fact that
it's fun is important.

1345
00:55:11,390 --> 00:55:14,050
Neuroscientists, including
some in this building--

1346
00:55:14,050 --> 00:55:18,050
I think Satra works
here-- have evidence

1347
00:55:18,050 --> 00:55:19,840
that if you are
emotionally engaged,

1348
00:55:19,840 --> 00:55:24,440
your learning goes
deeper and lasts longer.

1349
00:55:24,440 --> 00:55:26,420
There is also the
ability to collect data.

1350
00:55:26,420 --> 00:55:27,350
I didn't go into it.

1351
00:55:27,350 --> 00:55:29,900
But that's one of the things
I'd be keen on using with you,

1352
00:55:29,900 --> 00:55:32,380
if you are able to make
a digital game that

1353
00:55:32,380 --> 00:55:35,100
can collect data and help us
understand, what do people

1354
00:55:35,100 --> 00:55:35,600
know?

1355
00:55:35,600 --> 00:55:36,474
What do people think?

1356
00:55:36,474 --> 00:55:38,795
What do people want?

1357
00:55:38,795 --> 00:55:40,920
And then we can use it as
an optimization platform.

1358
00:55:40,920 --> 00:55:42,190
How much should we do?

1359
00:55:42,190 --> 00:55:44,180
How many people should
stand up next time

1360
00:55:44,180 --> 00:55:46,760
we have that forecast?

1361
00:55:46,760 --> 00:55:48,859
It's like a Monte Carlo
simulation, right?

1362
00:55:48,859 --> 00:55:49,900
You do things many times.

1363
00:55:49,900 --> 00:55:51,690
And you figure out,
what are the things

1364
00:55:51,690 --> 00:55:55,270
that you call optimal, based
on objective or subjective

1365
00:55:55,270 --> 00:55:56,370
metrics?

1366
00:55:56,370 --> 00:55:58,495
That's the website for my
team-- climatecentre.org.

1367
00:56:01,050 --> 00:56:04,190
Note the British spelling.

1368
00:56:04,190 --> 00:56:07,430
This is at the core--
why we love games.

1369
00:56:07,430 --> 00:56:09,660
There's an
experiential learning.

1370
00:56:09,660 --> 00:56:12,540
That's from our conversation
with your colleagues

1371
00:56:12,540 --> 00:56:13,630
at the Lincoln Lab.

1372
00:56:13,630 --> 00:56:17,430
You want to do things,
reflect what would happen,

1373
00:56:17,430 --> 00:56:19,900
form abstract concepts--
maybe I should do this

1374
00:56:19,900 --> 00:56:22,960
or that-- test it, and do
it again in a better way.

1375
00:56:22,960 --> 00:56:24,890
And it's much safer to
do this in game play

1376
00:56:24,890 --> 00:56:27,350
than to do it in the real
world, where if you fail,

1377
00:56:27,350 --> 00:56:28,915
you can fail soundly.

1378
00:56:28,915 --> 00:56:31,040
These are some of the
partners we have worked with,

1379
00:56:31,040 --> 00:56:34,710
including UN system, academic
organizations, Rockefeller

1380
00:56:34,710 --> 00:56:37,950
Foundation, and many other
partners like Oxfam America

1381
00:56:37,950 --> 00:56:38,900
and so on.

1382
00:56:38,900 --> 00:56:39,990
It's been delightful.

1383
00:56:39,990 --> 00:56:45,440
We have severe shortage of human
capacity to make this happen.

1384
00:56:45,440 --> 00:56:48,990
We have Jana, who will likely
come as a resource person

1385
00:56:48,990 --> 00:56:51,890
to interact with you
when I'm traveling,

1386
00:56:51,890 --> 00:56:53,790
which will be a lot
over the coming months.

1387
00:56:53,790 --> 00:56:54,950
There may be other
colleagues who

1388
00:56:54,950 --> 00:56:56,280
live in New York, who may come.

1389
00:56:56,280 --> 00:56:57,114
We also have Willow.

1390
00:56:57,114 --> 00:56:58,863
Willow, would you like
to wave your hands?

1391
00:56:58,863 --> 00:57:00,830
Willow is very likely
to become a consultant

1392
00:57:00,830 --> 00:57:03,940
for my team going
to Nairobi to help

1393
00:57:03,940 --> 00:57:07,920
people use digital devices
to map risks at the community

1394
00:57:07,920 --> 00:57:08,420
level.

1395
00:57:08,420 --> 00:57:11,070
Maybe there's a way to
infuse it with games.

1396
00:57:11,070 --> 00:57:15,310
She already developed games
for Tanzanian communities.

1397
00:57:15,310 --> 00:57:20,920
So in short, I wish you all
the best-- learning a lot

1398
00:57:20,920 --> 00:57:24,900
from these guys, doing a
lot based on what you learn,

1399
00:57:24,900 --> 00:57:26,850
and your own motivations.

1400
00:57:26,850 --> 00:57:28,880
And whether you like
it or not, project four

1401
00:57:28,880 --> 00:57:31,010
will involve doing
something for us.

1402
00:57:31,010 --> 00:57:33,671
Thank you in advance for
accepting those rules.

1403
00:57:33,671 --> 00:57:34,670
And there shall be more.

1404
00:57:34,670 --> 00:57:36,270
Thank you very much.

1405
00:57:36,270 --> 00:57:40,440
Oh and by the way, I will
leave this with you guys.

1406
00:57:40,440 --> 00:57:44,550
It's our publication--
a shared endeavor

1407
00:57:44,550 --> 00:57:48,040
of my Red Cross team and Boston
University Pardee Center.

1408
00:57:48,040 --> 00:57:50,210
It's called, "Games
for a New Climate--

1409
00:57:50,210 --> 00:57:53,600
Experiencing the Complexity
of Future Risks."

1410
00:57:53,600 --> 00:57:55,940
I promise you it's fun to read.

1411
00:57:55,940 --> 00:57:58,365
And it's available
online for free as a pdf.

1412
00:57:58,365 --> 00:58:00,490
ANDREW GRANT: I'm going to
talk about game engines.

1413
00:58:00,490 --> 00:58:01,670
And before I do, if
you want to think

1414
00:58:01,670 --> 00:58:03,380
a little bit about one of the
things that Pablo was saying.

1415
00:58:03,380 --> 00:58:04,990
It's about, one of the
things that a game does

1416
00:58:04,990 --> 00:58:07,656
is it forces you to look at what
happened, and sort of say, huh?

1417
00:58:07,656 --> 00:58:09,650
You figure out why
did that happen.

1418
00:58:09,650 --> 00:58:11,209
And then you try to fix it.

1419
00:58:11,209 --> 00:58:12,750
And that's actually
one of the things

1420
00:58:12,750 --> 00:58:14,620
I think is very much
like programming.

1421
00:58:14,620 --> 00:58:17,636
If you're trying to write
code, and something goes wrong,

1422
00:58:17,636 --> 00:58:19,760
often that's what the
process of debugging is like.

1423
00:58:19,760 --> 00:58:22,360
You go, why did the
screen flip upside down?

1424
00:58:22,360 --> 00:58:23,425
That just makes no sense.

1425
00:58:23,425 --> 00:58:24,800
And then you have
the aha moment.

1426
00:58:24,800 --> 00:58:26,520
And you can go and fix it.

1427
00:58:26,520 --> 00:58:30,922
Turns out that making software
is a lot like playing a game.

1428
00:58:30,922 --> 00:58:33,380
So anyway, we're going to talk
about game engine selection.

1429
00:58:33,380 --> 00:58:35,622
Because one of your early
tasks will be to sort of

1430
00:58:35,622 --> 00:58:36,550
try out a game engine.

1431
00:58:36,550 --> 00:58:38,700
We're not going to be using a
game engine for the first game

1432
00:58:38,700 --> 00:58:39,395
project.

1433
00:58:39,395 --> 00:58:40,845
But we want you
to be ready for it

1434
00:58:40,845 --> 00:58:42,053
when it comes to project two.

1435
00:58:44,880 --> 00:58:46,320
Now the first
thing to realize is

1436
00:58:46,320 --> 00:58:50,441
that digital games are
basically a software project.

1437
00:58:50,441 --> 00:58:51,940
They share a lot
of things in common

1438
00:58:51,940 --> 00:58:53,440
with software in general.

1439
00:58:53,440 --> 00:58:56,024
You're going to have a UI that
your user has to interact with.

1440
00:58:56,024 --> 00:58:58,398
There's going to be something
going on in the background.

1441
00:58:58,398 --> 00:58:59,900
For a commercial
or business offer,

1442
00:58:59,900 --> 00:59:02,205
it might be a
database or something.

1443
00:59:02,205 --> 00:59:04,330
There's probably going to
be either a design you're

1444
00:59:04,330 --> 00:59:04,890
working from.

1445
00:59:04,890 --> 00:59:05,849
Or you're making it up.

1446
00:59:05,849 --> 00:59:07,265
Or maybe you've
got a customer who

1447
00:59:07,265 --> 00:59:08,520
cares about what's going on.

1448
00:59:08,520 --> 00:59:09,550
You've got features.

1449
00:59:09,550 --> 00:59:10,340
You've got bugs.

1450
00:59:10,340 --> 00:59:11,230
We've got task lists.

1451
00:59:11,230 --> 00:59:13,790
All of the same sort
of managementy things

1452
00:59:13,790 --> 00:59:16,980
that happen, happen on software
projects and game projects

1453
00:59:16,980 --> 00:59:18,225
the same way.

1454
00:59:18,225 --> 00:59:20,100
There's a little bit of
a difference, though.

1455
00:59:20,100 --> 00:59:22,975
Games are a little bit
harder in some ways,

1456
00:59:22,975 --> 00:59:23,850
and easier in others.

1457
00:59:23,850 --> 00:59:24,340
But we're going to
talk about the ways

1458
00:59:24,340 --> 00:59:27,130
that they're harder, because
that's more interesting.

1459
00:59:27,130 --> 00:59:30,109
The thing that happens with
most business software-- or even

1460
00:59:30,109 --> 00:59:31,150
something like Photoshop.

1461
00:59:31,150 --> 00:59:32,780
Have any of you used Photoshop?

1462
00:59:32,780 --> 00:59:33,599
Excellent.

1463
00:59:33,599 --> 00:59:35,390
Photoshop is one of
those software packages

1464
00:59:35,390 --> 00:59:39,050
that-- a lot of people like
to take classes in Photoshop

1465
00:59:39,050 --> 00:59:40,841
before they get started.

1466
00:59:40,841 --> 00:59:42,590
If you sat down to
Photoshop, you probably

1467
00:59:42,590 --> 00:59:45,360
didn't think to yourself,
wow, this is easy.

1468
00:59:45,360 --> 00:59:46,780
And if you did, wow.

1469
00:59:46,780 --> 00:59:51,620
But basically, Photoshop has
hundreds, or perhaps even

1470
00:59:51,620 --> 00:59:54,180
thousands, of features in
there that you don't know about

1471
00:59:54,180 --> 00:59:55,250
until you've taken the classes.

1472
00:59:55,250 --> 00:59:56,875
And if you want to
figure out something

1473
00:59:56,875 --> 00:59:59,450
about Photoshop, your best bet,
really, is to go to a search

1474
00:59:59,450 --> 00:59:59,870
prompt.

1475
00:59:59,870 --> 01:00:02,411
And go to your favorite search
engine to find out what to do.

1476
01:00:02,411 --> 01:00:03,620
Or ask someone who knows.

1477
01:00:03,620 --> 01:00:05,161
Because actually
trying to figure out

1478
01:00:05,161 --> 01:00:09,430
Photoshop from first principles
is really, really, really hard.

1479
01:00:09,430 --> 01:00:11,790
The thing is that with a
game, you can't do that.

1480
01:00:11,790 --> 01:00:13,100
You can't get away with that.

1481
01:00:13,100 --> 01:00:15,720
If your game is
complex, no one's

1482
01:00:15,720 --> 01:00:18,679
going to take a training class
to learn how to play your game.

1483
01:00:18,679 --> 01:00:20,220
Now it might be the
case that someone

1484
01:00:20,220 --> 01:00:22,680
will look at a walkthrough
or a cheat sheet or something

1485
01:00:22,680 --> 01:00:25,370
to play your game-- after
they've played for three hours

1486
01:00:25,370 --> 01:00:26,890
and decided they liked it.

1487
01:00:26,890 --> 01:00:29,090
But they're not going
to do that first.

1488
01:00:29,090 --> 01:00:31,285
That's a general, broad,
sweeping generalization.

1489
01:00:31,285 --> 01:00:32,910
There are some people
that like nothing

1490
01:00:32,910 --> 01:00:34,670
more than to read the
manual for a game.

1491
01:00:34,670 --> 01:00:36,730
They mostly died out
about 10 years ago.

1492
01:00:36,730 --> 01:00:38,910
But there are still
some hanging on.

1493
01:00:38,910 --> 01:00:42,460
Generally speaking, nowadays,
you're going to play the game,

1494
01:00:42,460 --> 01:00:44,230
and then you're going
to decide if you're

1495
01:00:44,230 --> 01:00:45,864
going to read the
instructions or not.

1496
01:00:45,864 --> 01:00:48,030
And this is going to be
true for your games as well.

1497
01:00:48,030 --> 01:00:50,310
So your UI task-- your
user interaction piece

1498
01:00:50,310 --> 01:00:52,330
for your game-- is
going to be hard.

1499
01:00:52,330 --> 01:00:54,820
And the only way to make
sure that works properly

1500
01:00:54,820 --> 01:00:58,590
is to test it over and over
again, as early as possible.

1501
01:00:58,590 --> 01:01:00,090
So that's one way
in which games are

1502
01:01:00,090 --> 01:01:03,680
going to be a little bit
harder than normal software.

1503
01:01:03,680 --> 01:01:06,320
Also, games have to be fun.

1504
01:01:06,320 --> 01:01:08,270
And we use the word
fun kind of loosely.

1505
01:01:08,270 --> 01:01:09,780
And we're always scared
of using the word fun.

1506
01:01:09,780 --> 01:01:11,190
Because there are serious games.

1507
01:01:11,190 --> 01:01:13,314
There are games that are
supposed to make you think

1508
01:01:13,314 --> 01:01:15,470
instead of get a big
smile on your face.

1509
01:01:15,470 --> 01:01:18,510
But what they have to be is
engaging, or interesting.

1510
01:01:18,510 --> 01:01:19,890
Photoshop's not a great example.

1511
01:01:19,890 --> 01:01:22,320
If you're playing with
Photoshop as an undergrad,

1512
01:01:22,320 --> 01:01:24,740
you're probably thinking to
yourself, this is kind of fun.

1513
01:01:24,740 --> 01:01:28,640
But if you're using a fancy
piece of software for work,

1514
01:01:28,640 --> 01:01:30,590
you're not doing that
because it's fun.

1515
01:01:30,590 --> 01:01:33,330
You're probably doing it because
someone's paying you to do it.

1516
01:01:33,330 --> 01:01:36,325
The games-- not so much.

1517
01:01:36,325 --> 01:01:38,700
People are going to play it
because they want to play it,

1518
01:01:38,700 --> 01:01:40,180
and for really no other reason.

1519
01:01:40,180 --> 01:01:41,720
So your game has to be fun.

1520
01:01:41,720 --> 01:01:44,130
And what you think is fun
they may not think is fun.

1521
01:01:44,130 --> 01:01:45,440
So the only way to make
sure that your game is fun

1522
01:01:45,440 --> 01:01:46,950
is to find some
users really quick,

1523
01:01:46,950 --> 01:01:50,371
and try out your game on them
as soon as you possibly can.

1524
01:01:50,371 --> 01:01:52,620
The same thing happens with
your game play difficulty.

1525
01:01:52,620 --> 01:01:54,220
By the time you're
done with your game,

1526
01:01:54,220 --> 01:01:56,053
you're going to think
the game was too easy.

1527
01:01:56,053 --> 01:01:56,720
I guarantee it.

1528
01:01:56,720 --> 01:01:58,090
And everyone who plays
it for the first time

1529
01:01:58,090 --> 01:01:59,131
will think it's too hard.

1530
01:01:59,131 --> 01:02:01,270
I guarantee that, too.

1531
01:02:01,270 --> 01:02:04,050
So you have to test it with
other users, not yourselves.

1532
01:02:04,050 --> 01:02:06,250
Because you will think
your game is too easy.

1533
01:02:06,250 --> 01:02:08,810
And you'll be wrong.

1534
01:02:08,810 --> 01:02:10,790
And then, of course,
finally, your game

1535
01:02:10,790 --> 01:02:12,291
may have an impact
you want to have.

1536
01:02:12,291 --> 01:02:14,165
And I'm going to keep
saying this over again.

1537
01:02:14,165 --> 01:02:15,860
You're going to have
to test your game.

1538
01:02:15,860 --> 01:02:18,540
Remember, there's a theme that's
going to keep going on here.

1539
01:02:18,540 --> 01:02:19,960
And we're going to use
this theme with absolutely

1540
01:02:19,960 --> 01:02:20,730
everything we do.

1541
01:02:20,730 --> 01:02:22,360
When you're playing a
game, you try something.

1542
01:02:22,360 --> 01:02:22,910
It doesn't work.

1543
01:02:22,910 --> 01:02:23,701
You think about it.

1544
01:02:23,701 --> 01:02:24,760
You try something new.

1545
01:02:24,760 --> 01:02:26,480
When you're developing a game,
you're going to try something.

1546
01:02:26,480 --> 01:02:27,438
It's not going to work.

1547
01:02:27,438 --> 01:02:28,360
You try something new.

1548
01:02:28,360 --> 01:02:30,810
When you're trying to make your
team work smoothly together,

1549
01:02:30,810 --> 01:02:31,680
you're going to try something.

1550
01:02:31,680 --> 01:02:32,800
And that's not going to work.

1551
01:02:32,800 --> 01:02:33,950
And you'll try something new.

1552
01:02:33,950 --> 01:02:36,340
We're going to talk about that
circle over and over and over

1553
01:02:36,340 --> 01:02:37,131
again in the class.

1554
01:02:37,131 --> 01:02:40,140
Because it works.

1555
01:02:40,140 --> 01:02:45,620
So moving on, we're going
to talk about game engines.

1556
01:02:45,620 --> 01:02:48,300
And if I talk to
quickly, as I have

1557
01:02:48,300 --> 01:02:51,140
a habit of doing-- even more
so when I'm talking to people--

1558
01:02:51,140 --> 01:02:52,586
let me know.

1559
01:02:52,586 --> 01:02:53,460
Tell me to slow down.

1560
01:02:57,760 --> 01:03:03,586
So this is the game
you want to make.

1561
01:03:03,586 --> 01:03:04,210
It's beautiful.

1562
01:03:07,080 --> 01:03:09,935
This is the tools
you have to make it.

1563
01:03:09,935 --> 01:03:12,884
[LAUGHTER]

1564
01:03:12,884 --> 01:03:15,300
ANDREW GRANT: So obviously,
what you're really going to do

1565
01:03:15,300 --> 01:03:18,900
is going to be somewhere in
between these two extremes.

1566
01:03:18,900 --> 01:03:20,790
And you have to think
really hard about how

1567
01:03:20,790 --> 01:03:22,200
you're going to accomplish it.

1568
01:03:22,200 --> 01:03:24,290
The vast majority of game
developers, especially

1569
01:03:24,290 --> 01:03:26,165
new ones, are going to
come into it thinking,

1570
01:03:26,165 --> 01:03:29,064
this is the awesome, perfect
thing I want to create.

1571
01:03:29,064 --> 01:03:30,980
And then they're going
to come to their tools.

1572
01:03:30,980 --> 01:03:33,970
And they're going to discover
that it's really hard to do.

1573
01:03:33,970 --> 01:03:36,020
And so I encourage you--
rather than thinking

1574
01:03:36,020 --> 01:03:39,290
of the big vision of
what you want to make,

1575
01:03:39,290 --> 01:03:41,560
and then figuring
out how to get there,

1576
01:03:41,560 --> 01:03:44,670
I recommend thinking
about what you've got.

1577
01:03:44,670 --> 01:03:48,730
And then figure out,
what can you make?

1578
01:03:48,730 --> 01:03:50,910
Now these are a couple
things you can do here.

1579
01:03:50,910 --> 01:03:53,410
One, reduce in
your mind the scope

1580
01:03:53,410 --> 01:03:54,960
of the thing you're
going to make.

1581
01:03:54,960 --> 01:03:58,340
You're not going to
make your favorite RPG.

1582
01:03:58,340 --> 01:04:01,010
You're not going to make an MMO.

1583
01:04:01,010 --> 01:04:03,140
If you try, we
will laugh at you.

1584
01:04:08,712 --> 01:04:10,670
You will occasionally
think about this top row.

1585
01:04:10,670 --> 01:04:11,930
How do I get the awesome thing?

1586
01:04:11,930 --> 01:04:13,679
But I really want to
encourage you instead

1587
01:04:13,679 --> 01:04:15,720
to think, as much
as you possibly can,

1588
01:04:15,720 --> 01:04:16,970
this is what I know how to do.

1589
01:04:16,970 --> 01:04:18,470
These are the tools I have.

1590
01:04:18,470 --> 01:04:21,020
What awesome thing can
I do with these tools?

1591
01:04:21,020 --> 01:04:24,301
Rather than, how do I get over
there when I'm way over here

1592
01:04:24,301 --> 01:04:24,800
right now?

1593
01:04:30,270 --> 01:04:33,120
This is a quote
from a discussion

1594
01:04:33,120 --> 01:04:36,200
I had with a game
team once where

1595
01:04:36,200 --> 01:04:38,650
we were talking about a
particular technical problem.

1596
01:04:38,650 --> 01:04:39,980
And I said, how hard is that?

1597
01:04:39,980 --> 01:04:42,010
And the developer
says, well, it's

1598
01:04:42,010 --> 01:04:43,660
really hard because of this,
that, and the other thing.

1599
01:04:43,660 --> 01:04:43,860
I said, wait.

1600
01:04:43,860 --> 01:04:44,500
Stop.

1601
01:04:44,500 --> 01:04:46,040
Actually I didn't mean that.

1602
01:04:46,040 --> 01:04:47,680
I don't care how hard it is.

1603
01:04:47,680 --> 01:04:49,889
What I want to know is, how
long is it going to take?

1604
01:04:49,889 --> 01:04:52,096
And we're going to say that
a lot in this class, too.

1605
01:04:52,096 --> 01:04:53,890
We're going to say,
how hard is something?

1606
01:04:53,890 --> 01:04:56,132
And often what we
really mean is,

1607
01:04:56,132 --> 01:04:57,340
how long is it going to take?

1608
01:04:57,340 --> 01:04:58,780
Because we don't
care if it takes

1609
01:04:58,780 --> 01:05:01,580
an hour of really hard
thinking, to some extent.

1610
01:05:01,580 --> 01:05:04,040
What we care is that
it takes an hour.

1611
01:05:04,040 --> 01:05:05,620
If it's going to
take you an hour

1612
01:05:05,620 --> 01:05:09,775
to do an easy thing-- like
sort a bunch of yellow stickers

1613
01:05:09,775 --> 01:05:11,650
and a bunch of orange
stickers because that's

1614
01:05:11,650 --> 01:05:12,972
part of your game prototype.

1615
01:05:12,972 --> 01:05:14,930
If it takes an hour to
do that, that's an hour.

1616
01:05:14,930 --> 01:05:16,721
It doesn't matter that
that's an easy task.

1617
01:05:16,721 --> 01:05:17,270
That's time.

1618
01:05:17,270 --> 01:05:18,686
And you have to
be careful how you

1619
01:05:18,686 --> 01:05:20,989
spend your time in this
class-- actually, through all

1620
01:05:20,989 --> 01:05:22,280
your classes at MIT, I suspect.

1621
01:05:22,280 --> 01:05:24,140
But in this class,
we know that you

1622
01:05:24,140 --> 01:05:27,370
don't have enough time
to get done every thing

1623
01:05:27,370 --> 01:05:28,760
that you want to get done.

1624
01:05:28,760 --> 01:05:30,384
And so you have to
think very carefully

1625
01:05:30,384 --> 01:05:32,516
about how you spend your time.

1626
01:05:32,516 --> 01:05:35,690
It turns out that game
development is already hard.

1627
01:05:35,690 --> 01:05:37,800
You don't need to
add hard stuff to it.

1628
01:05:40,820 --> 01:05:43,680
So a lot of what we're going to
focus on with choosing a game

1629
01:05:43,680 --> 01:05:46,000
engine and all the
decisions you make is you

1630
01:05:46,000 --> 01:05:49,050
want to write as little
code as possible.

1631
01:05:49,050 --> 01:05:52,140
And that's not because
we're afraid of code,

1632
01:05:52,140 --> 01:05:55,180
but because every line of
code you write is time.

1633
01:05:55,180 --> 01:05:58,916
Every 10 lines of code
you write is a bug.

1634
01:05:58,916 --> 01:06:00,374
[LAUGHTER]

1635
01:06:00,374 --> 01:06:01,350
ANDREW GRANT: Right?

1636
01:06:01,350 --> 01:06:03,205
So what we want to do
is minimize the number

1637
01:06:03,205 --> 01:06:04,330
of lines of code you write.

1638
01:06:04,330 --> 01:06:06,371
We want to minimize the
number of bugs you write.

1639
01:06:06,371 --> 01:06:08,550
Because when it gets
to be the bug stage,

1640
01:06:08,550 --> 01:06:11,050
that takes even more time--
to find it, to fix it,

1641
01:06:11,050 --> 01:06:13,390
to write new code to fix it.

1642
01:06:13,390 --> 01:06:16,340
So we want to reduce as much
as possible all of that time.

1643
01:06:20,750 --> 01:06:23,700
So we want to use
all the tools we

1644
01:06:23,700 --> 01:06:25,950
can to reduce the amount of
code we're going to write.

1645
01:06:25,950 --> 01:06:29,030
One of our big ones is we use
what we call paper prototyping.

1646
01:06:29,030 --> 01:06:30,270
We don't actually mean paper.

1647
01:06:30,270 --> 01:06:33,680
We mean whatever materials
you can use-- chalk,

1648
01:06:33,680 --> 01:06:35,920
pieces of plastic,
dice, frisbees.

1649
01:06:35,920 --> 01:06:38,260
Anything you can use to make
your game without writing

1650
01:06:38,260 --> 01:06:40,410
a line of code,
you should try it.

1651
01:06:40,410 --> 01:06:41,140
Test it that way.

1652
01:06:41,140 --> 01:06:44,030
Because it's so much
faster to test it that way.

1653
01:06:44,030 --> 01:06:45,749
When else do we have up here?

1654
01:06:45,749 --> 01:06:47,790
Iterative design-- I've
talked about this before.

1655
01:06:47,790 --> 01:06:48,850
We're going to use
the phrase iterative

1656
01:06:48,850 --> 01:06:51,760
design to talk about that whole
cycle where you try something,

1657
01:06:51,760 --> 01:06:55,440
see how it worked or didn't
work, change it, try it again.

1658
01:06:55,440 --> 01:06:56,230
That's iteration.

1659
01:06:56,230 --> 01:06:59,237
And we're going to talk about
that a huge, huge amount.

1660
01:06:59,237 --> 01:07:01,070
And one of the big parts
of this, of course,

1661
01:07:01,070 --> 01:07:02,110
is game engines.

1662
01:07:02,110 --> 01:07:03,770
Which is not to say
that you're going

1663
01:07:03,770 --> 01:07:05,760
to build your game engine.

1664
01:07:05,760 --> 01:07:07,690
But rather, you're
going to try stuff.

1665
01:07:07,690 --> 01:07:09,940
And the game engines will
let you iterate faster,

1666
01:07:09,940 --> 01:07:12,580
do more with less code,
and get more done.

1667
01:07:16,560 --> 01:07:17,060
All right.

1668
01:07:17,060 --> 01:07:18,410
So again, you're going
to use a game engine

1669
01:07:18,410 --> 01:07:19,534
to save yourself some time.

1670
01:07:19,534 --> 01:07:21,332
You don't want to
reinvent the wheel.

1671
01:07:21,332 --> 01:07:23,040
I'm confident that
you could write a game

1672
01:07:23,040 --> 01:07:25,060
engine if you wanted to.

1673
01:07:25,060 --> 01:07:26,760
But I don't think
it's worth your time.

1674
01:07:26,760 --> 01:07:28,472
Someone else has
already done it.

1675
01:07:28,472 --> 01:07:30,930
They may or may not have done
a better job than you can do.

1676
01:07:30,930 --> 01:07:33,140
But you can bet that
the thing that you're

1677
01:07:33,140 --> 01:07:34,590
going to get from
your game engine

1678
01:07:34,590 --> 01:07:36,092
will be faster than if
you stopped and wrote it

1679
01:07:36,092 --> 01:07:36,670
from scratch.

1680
01:07:39,930 --> 01:07:41,415
And then finally,
the game engine

1681
01:07:41,415 --> 01:07:43,790
that you write from scratch--
for every 10 lines of code,

1682
01:07:43,790 --> 01:07:44,577
you've got a bug.

1683
01:07:44,577 --> 01:07:45,660
I'm making that number up.

1684
01:07:45,660 --> 01:07:48,660
But it sounds good.

1685
01:07:48,660 --> 01:07:50,890
That means that a game
engine you write has bugs.

1686
01:07:50,890 --> 01:07:51,800
Now I'm not going to
claim that the game

1687
01:07:51,800 --> 01:07:54,154
engines that we're
going to suggest you use

1688
01:07:54,154 --> 01:07:54,820
don't have bugs.

1689
01:07:54,820 --> 01:07:56,330
They totally have bugs.

1690
01:07:56,330 --> 01:07:59,650
But what we have is 10,000
monkeys on the internet,

1691
01:07:59,650 --> 01:08:02,130
using that game engine,
reporting the bugs.

1692
01:08:02,130 --> 01:08:04,680
And there have been a lot of
cycles of people fixing bugs.

1693
01:08:04,680 --> 01:08:08,756
And so hopefully, the worst
ones are out of your way.

1694
01:08:10,956 --> 01:08:12,830
The other thing you can
do with a game engine

1695
01:08:12,830 --> 01:08:14,820
is you can use it
as you tinker toys,

1696
01:08:14,820 --> 01:08:16,149
as we talked about before.

1697
01:08:16,149 --> 01:08:18,311
Your game engine has a list
of things it does well.

1698
01:08:18,311 --> 01:08:18,810
Great.

1699
01:08:18,810 --> 01:08:21,069
Use those things as tools.

1700
01:08:21,069 --> 01:08:22,060
Take advantage of that.

1701
01:08:22,060 --> 01:08:23,890
Do everything you
can with those tools.

1702
01:08:23,890 --> 01:08:27,300
And if it can't do
something, don't fight it.

1703
01:08:27,300 --> 01:08:30,069
Don't say, game engine, darn
you, if only did this thing.

1704
01:08:30,069 --> 01:08:34,369
Think, how can we change
our design to not need that?

1705
01:08:34,369 --> 01:08:35,910
That's another
advantage you can use,

1706
01:08:35,910 --> 01:08:37,034
another trick you can play.

1707
01:08:37,034 --> 01:08:38,990
If you limit your
design, sometimes it

1708
01:08:38,990 --> 01:08:40,500
increases your creativity.

1709
01:08:40,500 --> 01:08:42,791
And it can actually help you
get your game done faster.

1710
01:08:45,859 --> 01:08:49,189
So throughout this
class, I use this phrase.

1711
01:08:49,189 --> 01:08:50,439
I'm not sure anyone else does.

1712
01:08:50,439 --> 01:08:53,512
But I consider certain
things to be nooses.

1713
01:08:53,512 --> 01:08:55,720
There are some things we
will tell you you cannot do,

1714
01:08:55,720 --> 01:08:58,220
or that we tell you
not to do, flat out.

1715
01:08:58,220 --> 01:09:00,870
And those things--
don't do them.

1716
01:09:00,870 --> 01:09:01,370
OK?

1717
01:09:01,370 --> 01:09:03,453
But there are some things
that we're going to say,

1718
01:09:03,453 --> 01:09:05,060
we recommend that
you don't do that.

1719
01:09:05,060 --> 01:09:09,910
Or, you know, no team has
tried that and succeeded yet.

1720
01:09:09,910 --> 01:09:11,870
Those I consider nooses.

1721
01:09:11,870 --> 01:09:13,510
You can try them.

1722
01:09:13,510 --> 01:09:15,189
And you can put
your head in there

1723
01:09:15,189 --> 01:09:17,109
and see how comfortable it is.

1724
01:09:17,109 --> 01:09:18,738
But probably by the
end of the class,

1725
01:09:18,738 --> 01:09:20,029
you'll say, wow, you know what?

1726
01:09:20,029 --> 01:09:22,760
When you said not to do
multiplayer networked play,

1727
01:09:22,760 --> 01:09:24,600
you were right.

1728
01:09:24,600 --> 01:09:27,210
We have heard that every year.

1729
01:09:27,210 --> 01:09:30,720
We will hear it this
year, I suspect.

1730
01:09:30,720 --> 01:09:34,370
But again, we're not telling
you to never try crazy things.

1731
01:09:34,370 --> 01:09:38,189
But merely be aware of
what the crazy things are.

1732
01:09:38,189 --> 01:09:40,789
If we're suggesting that you
not try something, but not

1733
01:09:40,789 --> 01:09:43,330
telling you you can't do it,
and we're looking kind of pained

1734
01:09:43,330 --> 01:09:45,340
when we say it, be
aware that this is

1735
01:09:45,340 --> 01:09:46,756
a huge risk for your project.

1736
01:09:46,756 --> 01:09:49,130
Be aware that this is a place
where you should be putting

1737
01:09:49,130 --> 01:09:52,210
a lot of early attention to make
sure that you have a back-up

1738
01:09:52,210 --> 01:09:54,572
plan if it fails.

1739
01:09:58,290 --> 01:09:58,850
All right.

1740
01:09:58,850 --> 01:09:59,659
On we go.

1741
01:09:59,659 --> 01:10:02,200
Now we're actually going to talk
a little bit about the thing

1742
01:10:02,200 --> 01:10:03,660
we're supposed to talk about.

1743
01:10:03,660 --> 01:10:05,720
Picking a game engine
is super important.

1744
01:10:05,720 --> 01:10:08,060
Everything involved in
your game relies on it.

1745
01:10:08,060 --> 01:10:12,660
But again, contradictorily,
don't worry about it.

1746
01:10:12,660 --> 01:10:14,660
Because you have four projects.

1747
01:10:14,660 --> 01:10:17,055
And the first one doesn't
count for game engines,

1748
01:10:17,055 --> 01:10:18,680
because you're not
using a game engine.

1749
01:10:18,680 --> 01:10:20,710
But for two and three,
I'd say experiment.

1750
01:10:20,710 --> 01:10:21,920
Try some stuff out.

1751
01:10:21,920 --> 01:10:23,425
By the time you
hit project four,

1752
01:10:23,425 --> 01:10:25,300
you should have some
opinions about what game

1753
01:10:25,300 --> 01:10:27,580
engine works well for you.

1754
01:10:27,580 --> 01:10:28,745
And try to get there.

1755
01:10:28,745 --> 01:10:30,870
Try to use the one you're
comfortable with by then.

1756
01:10:30,870 --> 01:10:34,729
But experiment on the first two.

1757
01:10:34,729 --> 01:10:36,270
No game engine's
going to be perfect.

1758
01:10:36,270 --> 01:10:37,130
They all have flaws.

1759
01:10:37,130 --> 01:10:38,330
They all have advantages.

1760
01:10:38,330 --> 01:10:40,282
And your job is to
find the game engine

1761
01:10:40,282 --> 01:10:42,490
whose advantages you like
and whose disadvantages you

1762
01:10:42,490 --> 01:10:44,860
can live with.

1763
01:10:44,860 --> 01:10:48,570
And that will be different
for different people.

1764
01:10:48,570 --> 01:10:49,070
All right.

1765
01:10:49,070 --> 01:10:49,730
Here we go.

1766
01:10:49,730 --> 01:10:50,830
So the most important
things we're

1767
01:10:50,830 --> 01:10:52,100
talking about for
game engines-- this

1768
01:10:52,100 --> 01:10:53,120
is not an issue for this class.

1769
01:10:53,120 --> 01:10:54,910
We're only recommending
free game engines.

1770
01:10:54,910 --> 01:10:56,920
But in general, if you're
trying to pick a game

1771
01:10:56,920 --> 01:10:59,330
engine or a software of
any kind to help you,

1772
01:10:59,330 --> 01:11:01,420
these are the three
categories of cost.

1773
01:11:01,420 --> 01:11:04,960
I call things free if you
don't care about the cost.

1774
01:11:04,960 --> 01:11:08,140
If it's $20, it's
practically free.

1775
01:11:08,140 --> 01:11:11,680
But if it's $1,000 and
you're a college student,

1776
01:11:11,680 --> 01:11:12,400
that's not free.

1777
01:11:12,400 --> 01:11:13,490
That's painful.

1778
01:11:13,490 --> 01:11:16,160
And if you're corporation,
however, $1,000 is free.

1779
01:11:16,160 --> 01:11:17,960
So these categories change.

1780
01:11:17,960 --> 01:11:20,670
For us, we're
talking about free.

1781
01:11:20,670 --> 01:11:24,115
Impossible is CryENGINE
or something brutal

1782
01:11:24,115 --> 01:11:26,340
where you get the source
license and do everything.

1783
01:11:26,340 --> 01:11:28,160
But we're not going to do that.

1784
01:11:28,160 --> 01:11:30,118
So this is the first one
that actually matters.

1785
01:11:30,118 --> 01:11:31,840
It's does your game
have requirements

1786
01:11:31,840 --> 01:11:33,644
that the game
engine has to meet?

1787
01:11:33,644 --> 01:11:36,060
And for most part, in this
class, this also won't be true.

1788
01:11:36,060 --> 01:11:39,272
Because you can choose your
requirements based on the game

1789
01:11:39,272 --> 01:11:40,230
engine you're choosing.

1790
01:11:40,230 --> 01:11:41,771
And our games are
pretty small scope.

1791
01:11:41,771 --> 01:11:44,360
But basically, if you
need a special input,

1792
01:11:44,360 --> 01:11:47,140
if you want to
publish to iOS, if you

1793
01:11:47,140 --> 01:11:53,630
need to support network play--
which you don't, remember--

1794
01:11:53,630 --> 01:11:56,700
then that might affect which
game engine you choose.

1795
01:12:01,260 --> 01:12:04,310
This one is actually my
biggest important thing.

1796
01:12:04,310 --> 01:12:06,270
Whatever you choose
for your game engine--

1797
01:12:06,270 --> 01:12:07,810
and we're actually going
to give you a short list.

1798
01:12:07,810 --> 01:12:09,610
So it's not quite
the open free-for-all

1799
01:12:09,610 --> 01:12:11,250
you might be worried about.

1800
01:12:11,250 --> 01:12:13,160
It should be easy to learn.

1801
01:12:13,160 --> 01:12:14,920
And there's a couple
reasons for that.

1802
01:12:14,920 --> 01:12:17,964
But the main reason is simply
the amount of time you've got.

1803
01:12:17,964 --> 01:12:19,130
We don't have a lot of time.

1804
01:12:19,130 --> 01:12:21,590
You don't want to spend time
mastering a game engine.

1805
01:12:21,590 --> 01:12:24,270
You want to spend time mastering
the art of creating games.

1806
01:12:24,270 --> 01:12:26,492
So you want to pick something
that's well-documented,

1807
01:12:26,492 --> 01:12:28,200
that's got a good
online community that's

1808
01:12:28,200 --> 01:12:29,670
going to help you out.

1809
01:12:29,670 --> 01:12:31,170
Even if you don't
ask the questions,

1810
01:12:31,170 --> 01:12:32,770
in a big enough
online community,

1811
01:12:32,770 --> 01:12:34,750
someone's already asked
the question you have.

1812
01:12:34,750 --> 01:12:36,130
I suspect you're all
familiar with this point.

1813
01:12:36,130 --> 01:12:38,650
We can do a search for the
question you have on something.

1814
01:12:38,650 --> 01:12:40,880
And some forum post pops up
where someone else has already

1815
01:12:40,880 --> 01:12:42,050
asked the question you have.

1816
01:12:42,050 --> 01:12:43,660
And you just read the
answers and think, yay!

1817
01:12:43,660 --> 01:12:44,493
There was an answer.

1818
01:12:44,493 --> 01:12:46,080
Or probably, there
wasn't an answer.

1819
01:12:46,080 --> 01:12:47,592
I'll look at a
couple more of those.

1820
01:12:47,592 --> 01:12:49,550
And so you can get an
idea for your game engine

1821
01:12:49,550 --> 01:12:52,810
as to how robust the community
is, how good the support is,

1822
01:12:52,810 --> 01:12:55,050
by sort of looking and
seeing how much support there

1823
01:12:55,050 --> 01:12:55,980
is online for it.

1824
01:12:58,580 --> 01:13:01,500
One thing on in-house experts--
it's very common for a team

1825
01:13:01,500 --> 01:13:03,420
to come together and
say, well, we all

1826
01:13:03,420 --> 01:13:05,580
know this game
engine a little bit.

1827
01:13:05,580 --> 01:13:07,430
But there's this one
person on our team

1828
01:13:07,430 --> 01:13:09,637
who's just an expert
in this other one.

1829
01:13:09,637 --> 01:13:11,970
So we're going to rely on
that person to really teach us

1830
01:13:11,970 --> 01:13:12,840
how to do it.

1831
01:13:12,840 --> 01:13:15,620
That only, only works if
that person is really willing

1832
01:13:15,620 --> 01:13:16,590
to be a teacher.

1833
01:13:16,590 --> 01:13:19,670
And it's not a bad
thing if they're not.

1834
01:13:19,670 --> 01:13:22,440
But don't choose their engine
based on their expertise

1835
01:13:22,440 --> 01:13:24,360
if they're not willing
to really be a teacher.

1836
01:13:24,360 --> 01:13:26,740
And what I mean by that
is that that person will

1837
01:13:26,740 --> 01:13:30,405
have to be willing to not
write code a lot of the time.

1838
01:13:30,405 --> 01:13:32,780
Because their time is better
spent teaching everyone else

1839
01:13:32,780 --> 01:13:34,810
how to write code.

1840
01:13:34,810 --> 01:13:36,900
And that really means
that if you find yourself

1841
01:13:36,900 --> 01:13:38,316
in that situation,
where you think

1842
01:13:38,316 --> 01:13:40,380
that you are the expert
in a particular engine,

1843
01:13:40,380 --> 01:13:42,254
and you're trying to
get your team to use it,

1844
01:13:42,254 --> 01:13:45,640
really think about yourself and
how you're feeling about that.

1845
01:13:45,640 --> 01:13:48,270
Make sure that you are willing
to not dive in and write

1846
01:13:48,270 --> 01:13:48,770
the code.

1847
01:13:48,770 --> 01:13:50,894
Make sure that you're
willing to help everyone else

1848
01:13:50,894 --> 01:13:51,990
do it instead.

1849
01:13:51,990 --> 01:13:54,630
Because that is going to
leverage more of your team.

1850
01:13:54,630 --> 01:13:56,960
On a small enough
team, that's not true.

1851
01:13:56,960 --> 01:13:59,419
So on your two- or
three-person team,

1852
01:13:59,419 --> 01:14:01,210
you can probably get
away with that expert.

1853
01:14:01,210 --> 01:14:02,950
On an eight-person
team where five of you

1854
01:14:02,950 --> 01:14:06,330
are coding something, you really
can't lean on that one person

1855
01:14:06,330 --> 01:14:06,890
that heavily.

1856
01:14:06,890 --> 01:14:08,306
You're going to
need to spread out

1857
01:14:08,306 --> 01:14:09,950
the knowledge as best you can.

1858
01:14:13,180 --> 01:14:16,006
And so some game engines are
easier to learn than others.

1859
01:14:16,006 --> 01:14:17,880
It's not just a matter
of the online support.

1860
01:14:20,450 --> 01:14:23,390
But we'll get to
that in a little bit.

1861
01:14:23,390 --> 01:14:25,850
On a team programming
project-- and this

1862
01:14:25,850 --> 01:14:27,277
is a personal bias of mine.

1863
01:14:27,277 --> 01:14:28,860
And I admit that
some people disagree.

1864
01:14:28,860 --> 01:14:32,110
But I personally think that
a strongly typed programming

1865
01:14:32,110 --> 01:14:34,460
language is a must.

1866
01:14:34,460 --> 01:14:39,310
If you're talking about
five to eight programmers,

1867
01:14:39,310 --> 01:14:41,170
there's an additional problem.

1868
01:14:41,170 --> 01:14:42,882
Whenever I write a
function, and you're

1869
01:14:42,882 --> 01:14:44,340
going to call my
function, you have

1870
01:14:44,340 --> 01:14:46,610
to know what the arguments are
to know what's going to happen.

1871
01:14:46,610 --> 01:14:48,830
And a strongly typed language
will enforce that contract.

1872
01:14:48,830 --> 01:14:51,121
It will make sure that we're
on the same page, at least

1873
01:14:51,121 --> 01:14:53,960
a little bit, as to what
that function is doing.

1874
01:14:53,960 --> 01:14:56,040
A lot of you are probably
used to-- MIT teaches,

1875
01:14:56,040 --> 01:14:57,540
in a lot of the
programming classes,

1876
01:14:57,540 --> 01:14:59,970
it uses Python, which is
awesome for quick work.

1877
01:14:59,970 --> 01:15:02,410
And it's awesome for a
single person doing work.

1878
01:15:02,410 --> 01:15:04,190
But it does kind of
start to fall apart

1879
01:15:04,190 --> 01:15:07,080
on a larger team, when you have
to read someone else's code

1880
01:15:07,080 --> 01:15:08,800
to know what their
function is doing,

1881
01:15:08,800 --> 01:15:11,870
what the arguments
are supposed to be.

1882
01:15:11,870 --> 01:15:14,680
If instead, you have a strongly
typed from the beginning,

1883
01:15:14,680 --> 01:15:17,780
the compiler will enforce
this communication.

1884
01:15:17,780 --> 01:15:20,880
And we're going to talk a lot
about teams and communication.

1885
01:15:20,880 --> 01:15:23,690
It turns out your code is one of
your methods of communication.

1886
01:15:23,690 --> 01:15:26,770
The actual written
text in your code

1887
01:15:26,770 --> 01:15:28,554
is a way you talk to
your team members.

1888
01:15:28,554 --> 01:15:29,970
And a strongly
typed language sort

1889
01:15:29,970 --> 01:15:33,740
of forces you to keep that
communication line clearer

1890
01:15:33,740 --> 01:15:37,740
than a weakly typed
language will.

1891
01:15:37,740 --> 01:15:40,250
And again, this is one
of those things where

1892
01:15:40,250 --> 01:15:43,080
programmers might have battles
over whether or not it's true.

1893
01:15:43,080 --> 01:15:44,780
But I'm pretty
confident of this one.

1894
01:15:44,780 --> 01:15:47,113
I would say it's a noose to
use a weakly typed language.

1895
01:15:50,740 --> 01:15:54,140
A lot of our game engines are
going to be talking about C#,

1896
01:15:54,140 --> 01:15:56,760
or ActionScript or whatever.

1897
01:15:56,760 --> 01:15:59,895
And I'm going to tell you
that if you know one of those

1898
01:15:59,895 --> 01:16:02,020
languages-- if you already
know Java, for example--

1899
01:16:02,020 --> 01:16:04,160
it's really easy to
transition to C#.

1900
01:16:04,160 --> 01:16:07,100
It's pretty easy to
transition to ActionScript.

1901
01:16:07,100 --> 01:16:10,400
ActionScript and Haxe
are very similar.

1902
01:16:10,400 --> 01:16:12,470
So I would say any
of those top four,

1903
01:16:12,470 --> 01:16:15,320
you can transfer back
and fourth pretty easily.

1904
01:16:15,320 --> 01:16:17,390
JavaScript, kind of.

1905
01:16:17,390 --> 01:16:21,980
But don't try to transition
to C++ from those quickly.

1906
01:16:21,980 --> 01:16:25,140
I mean obviously, you should
someday learn C++ if you are

1907
01:16:25,140 --> 01:16:27,480
considering yourself a
Course 6 major or whatever.

1908
01:16:27,480 --> 01:16:31,035
But don't assume you could pick
up C++ in a weekend because you

1909
01:16:31,035 --> 01:16:33,130
already know Java.

1910
01:16:33,130 --> 01:16:37,940
They're just gotchas in C++ that
don't exist in those languages.

1911
01:16:37,940 --> 01:16:40,370
And other important
note, if you know Java--

1912
01:16:40,370 --> 01:16:42,972
[LAUGHTER]

1913
01:16:42,972 --> 01:16:45,263
ANDREW GRANT: It really looks
like you know JavaScript.

1914
01:16:48,440 --> 01:16:49,390
And you kinda do.

1915
01:16:49,390 --> 01:16:50,880
But you don't.

1916
01:16:50,880 --> 01:16:53,740
And that's not to say that you
shouldn't make that transition.

1917
01:16:53,740 --> 01:16:56,073
But be aware that it's going
to take a little bit longer

1918
01:16:56,073 --> 01:16:57,032
than you think.

1919
01:16:57,032 --> 01:16:58,490
There's a lot of
synthetic sharing.

1920
01:16:58,490 --> 01:17:00,740
But JavaScript is a
weakly typed language

1921
01:17:00,740 --> 01:17:03,330
that has a lot of weird,
very web-specific features.

1922
01:17:03,330 --> 01:17:06,255
And just be aware that that's
not as easy a transition.

1923
01:17:09,280 --> 01:17:14,149
I talked about ease of
understanding and learning.

1924
01:17:14,149 --> 01:17:16,190
Actually using the engine
is also very important.

1925
01:17:16,190 --> 01:17:18,570
How are you going to
get stuff done in it?

1926
01:17:18,570 --> 01:17:22,142
If the engine has an interactive
debugger, that is wonderful.

1927
01:17:22,142 --> 01:17:23,850
If it doesn't, then
you're relying mostly

1928
01:17:23,850 --> 01:17:25,190
on print statements.

1929
01:17:25,190 --> 01:17:26,940
And that's hard.

1930
01:17:26,940 --> 01:17:29,840
If you've never really had the
joy of using a debugger before,

1931
01:17:29,840 --> 01:17:31,210
I recommend you try to learn.

1932
01:17:31,210 --> 01:17:33,730
Because it's really an
extremely powerful tool.

1933
01:17:33,730 --> 01:17:36,322
We're not going to get into
that in detail right now.

1934
01:17:36,322 --> 01:17:38,530
And source-control-friendly
is another important one.

1935
01:17:38,530 --> 01:17:40,113
If you're on a team
with eight people,

1936
01:17:40,113 --> 01:17:41,700
you're all going to
be making changes.

1937
01:17:41,700 --> 01:17:43,650
We're going to talk more about
source control in the future.

1938
01:17:43,650 --> 01:17:45,370
We're not going to go
into details on that now.

1939
01:17:45,370 --> 01:17:46,700
But basically, it's
a way for your team

1940
01:17:46,700 --> 01:17:48,824
the team to communicate
and make sure you're always

1941
01:17:48,824 --> 01:17:51,340
in the same, up-to-date
source code for your project.

1942
01:17:51,340 --> 01:17:53,380
And if your engine
doesn't support that,

1943
01:17:53,380 --> 01:17:55,130
then you can be in trouble.

1944
01:17:55,130 --> 01:17:57,600
In the past, for
example, people have

1945
01:17:57,600 --> 01:18:00,300
talked about some of the cool,
sort of hobbyist game engines,

1946
01:18:00,300 --> 01:18:04,330
like GameMaker, or back in
the day, just bare Flash.

1947
01:18:04,330 --> 01:18:06,297
And those are really cool tools.

1948
01:18:06,297 --> 01:18:07,880
But they would save
the entire project

1949
01:18:07,880 --> 01:18:10,430
as one monolithic binary file.

1950
01:18:10,430 --> 01:18:13,016
And so if one person
makes a change,

1951
01:18:13,016 --> 01:18:15,390
no one else can change the
code while they're doing that.

1952
01:18:15,390 --> 01:18:18,370
Because there's no way
to merge our changes.

1953
01:18:18,370 --> 01:18:21,390
Whereas with code or text
files, or a good game engine

1954
01:18:21,390 --> 01:18:23,020
that separates things
out a little bit,

1955
01:18:23,020 --> 01:18:24,440
one person can
change an art asset

1956
01:18:24,440 --> 01:18:26,130
while someone changes a code
file, while someone else

1957
01:18:26,130 --> 01:18:27,610
changes yet another code file.

1958
01:18:27,610 --> 01:18:29,533
And it all merges together
pretty seamlessly.

1959
01:18:29,533 --> 01:18:31,533
And that's what you're
looking for, if possible,

1960
01:18:31,533 --> 01:18:32,300
on a team project.

1961
01:18:35,281 --> 01:18:37,030
I talked about this
before, but you really

1962
01:18:37,030 --> 01:18:39,170
want a product that's
been around a little bit.

1963
01:18:39,170 --> 01:18:42,750
It's cool as a hobbyist
thing or a solo product

1964
01:18:42,750 --> 01:18:44,530
to take on something
really brand new.

1965
01:18:44,530 --> 01:18:46,206
But I think for a
class where you're

1966
01:18:46,206 --> 01:18:48,080
trying to get stuff done
really, really fast,

1967
01:18:48,080 --> 01:18:50,030
and you're working
with a team, you really

1968
01:18:50,030 --> 01:18:54,249
don't want to go too far in the
direction of the new, latest,

1969
01:18:54,249 --> 01:18:55,040
and greatest thing.

1970
01:18:55,040 --> 01:18:56,330
Because you want to
have a game engine

1971
01:18:56,330 --> 01:18:57,940
that people have
put some miles on.

1972
01:18:57,940 --> 01:19:00,190
They've tested it and
shaken out some of the bugs

1973
01:19:00,190 --> 01:19:01,090
before you get to it.

1974
01:19:04,570 --> 01:19:05,884
All right.

1975
01:19:05,884 --> 01:19:07,300
Those are things
that I consider--

1976
01:19:07,300 --> 01:19:09,260
you've got to have
them for a game engine.

1977
01:19:09,260 --> 01:19:12,607
Here's some stuff
that's kind of nice.

1978
01:19:12,607 --> 01:19:14,690
Yeah, it's nice to be able
to easily import images

1979
01:19:14,690 --> 01:19:16,810
and sounds and stuff like that.

1980
01:19:16,810 --> 01:19:20,360
It's nice to be able to get
the source code to the engine.

1981
01:19:20,360 --> 01:19:23,730
But it's not essential if
the engine's well documented.

1982
01:19:23,730 --> 01:19:24,530
Let's see.

1983
01:19:24,530 --> 01:19:26,150
It's nice if you have an
integrated development

1984
01:19:26,150 --> 01:19:27,950
environment that can help
you with auto-completion

1985
01:19:27,950 --> 01:19:29,866
of various functions and
really help you along

1986
01:19:29,866 --> 01:19:30,850
with your development.

1987
01:19:30,850 --> 01:19:33,660
Definitely nice,
but not necessary.

1988
01:19:33,660 --> 01:19:36,400
And then finally, an
editor of some kind--

1989
01:19:36,400 --> 01:19:38,410
if I want to lay out
my levels in some way,

1990
01:19:38,410 --> 01:19:40,760
is there a graphical
editor for me to do that?

1991
01:19:40,760 --> 01:19:41,677
That's certainly nice.

1992
01:19:41,677 --> 01:19:44,051
And a profiler that would tell
me where my game is slow--

1993
01:19:44,051 --> 01:19:45,040
that's also nice.

1994
01:19:45,040 --> 01:19:47,738
But without these things,
you could probably get by.

1995
01:19:51,129 --> 01:19:52,670
Bells and whistles--
this is actually

1996
01:19:52,670 --> 01:19:57,080
relatively unimportant,
especially for a small project,

1997
01:19:57,080 --> 01:19:59,630
prototype-style stuff that
we're going to be talking about.

1998
01:19:59,630 --> 01:20:01,102
For the most part,
you don't need

1999
01:20:01,102 --> 01:20:03,310
all the fancy stuff like
particle systems and shaders

2000
01:20:03,310 --> 01:20:04,890
and physics and all that stuff.

2001
01:20:04,890 --> 01:20:06,810
You might use physics
in this class.

2002
01:20:06,810 --> 01:20:09,624
But be careful.

2003
01:20:09,624 --> 01:20:10,790
So that's one of the things.

2004
01:20:10,790 --> 01:20:12,664
You don't need that
stuff in your game engine

2005
01:20:12,664 --> 01:20:15,680
for most small games, at least
in the scope of this class.

2006
01:20:15,680 --> 01:20:17,180
These are things
that I really don't

2007
01:20:17,180 --> 01:20:19,951
care about-- scripting languages
that your designer might use.

2008
01:20:19,951 --> 01:20:22,450
Why is your designer not writing
code in your strongly typed

2009
01:20:22,450 --> 01:20:23,040
language?

2010
01:20:23,040 --> 01:20:25,070
I never understood that one.

2011
01:20:25,070 --> 01:20:27,040
Some designers are
afraid of writing code.

2012
01:20:27,040 --> 01:20:28,498
But hopefully in
this class, you're

2013
01:20:28,498 --> 01:20:31,852
at least willing to
try writing some code.

2014
01:20:31,852 --> 01:20:33,810
And then finally, just
because someone has made

2015
01:20:33,810 --> 01:20:35,299
a beautiful game
in a game engine,

2016
01:20:35,299 --> 01:20:36,840
that has no bearing
on whether or not

2017
01:20:36,840 --> 01:20:40,180
your game will be beautiful
in that game engine.

2018
01:20:40,180 --> 01:20:43,520
The vast majority of the time,
a game built in a game engine

2019
01:20:43,520 --> 01:20:47,130
is beautiful because they
have a really good art team.

2020
01:20:47,130 --> 01:20:49,810
And we don't have a
really good art team here.

2021
01:20:49,810 --> 01:20:51,330
We don't have the
time to do that.

2022
01:20:51,330 --> 01:20:53,038
And we don't have the
resources to do it.

2023
01:20:53,038 --> 01:20:55,780
So you shouldn't
measure your game up

2024
01:20:55,780 --> 01:20:57,664
against the beautiful AAA games.

2025
01:20:57,664 --> 01:20:59,080
You should be
measuring your games

2026
01:20:59,080 --> 01:21:01,330
up against some indie, quick,
prototype type of games.

2027
01:21:04,200 --> 01:21:08,916
All right, so
Flixel is the thing

2028
01:21:08,916 --> 01:21:10,790
we've been recommending
for many, many years.

2029
01:21:10,790 --> 01:21:16,030
This is the game engine that
is easiest, has the quickest

2030
01:21:16,030 --> 01:21:17,730
learning curve I've seen.

2031
01:21:17,730 --> 01:21:19,010
It gets everything done.

2032
01:21:19,010 --> 01:21:22,080
It's very quick
to learn, to use.

2033
01:21:22,080 --> 01:21:23,820
And it runs on the web.

2034
01:21:23,820 --> 01:21:24,360
Great.

2035
01:21:24,360 --> 01:21:26,970
That's pretty good easy stuff.

2036
01:21:26,970 --> 01:21:30,440
It was developed by Adam Atomic
for a game called Canabalt,

2037
01:21:30,440 --> 01:21:33,800
that you can see up there.

2038
01:21:33,800 --> 01:21:36,230
The game that, as far
as I know, sort of

2039
01:21:36,230 --> 01:21:39,580
popularized the infinite
runner genre, which we've seen

2040
01:21:39,580 --> 01:21:41,160
clone after clone
after clone of.

2041
01:21:41,160 --> 01:21:43,035
But I believe this
is at least where

2042
01:21:43,035 --> 01:21:44,300
it entered my consciousness.

2043
01:21:44,300 --> 01:21:47,920
And therefore, it must be where
it came into the world, right?

2044
01:21:47,920 --> 01:21:49,041
But anyway.

2045
01:21:49,041 --> 01:21:51,290
The cool thing about it is
it's got a very, very, very

2046
01:21:51,290 --> 01:21:55,120
simple object-oriented
state-based system.

2047
01:21:55,120 --> 01:21:58,430
It's really, really good
for 2D sprite stuff.

2048
01:21:58,430 --> 01:22:00,930
Last year, we had a bunch of
game engines for people to try.

2049
01:22:00,930 --> 01:22:03,320
By the end, pretty much
everyone just used Flixel.

2050
01:22:03,320 --> 01:22:05,170
Because it was easier to use.

2051
01:22:05,170 --> 01:22:08,767
And this kind of
says it all to me.

2052
01:22:08,767 --> 01:22:10,350
Even if you haven't
used ActionScript,

2053
01:22:10,350 --> 01:22:13,820
the learning curve
on Flixel is awesome.

2054
01:22:13,820 --> 01:22:15,890
You'll spend a day
or two staring at it.

2055
01:22:15,890 --> 01:22:18,510
And then you'll know most of
everything there is to know.

2056
01:22:18,510 --> 01:22:20,146
And you'll just be
able to do stuff.

2057
01:22:20,146 --> 01:22:22,100
You won't be able
to do all the cool,

2058
01:22:22,100 --> 01:22:24,160
awesome stuff other game
engines will let you do.

2059
01:22:24,160 --> 01:22:26,480
But you'll be able to do
pretty much everything you'll

2060
01:22:26,480 --> 01:22:28,840
need to do on the scale
and scope of games you're

2061
01:22:28,840 --> 01:22:29,881
looking at in this class.

2062
01:22:34,090 --> 01:22:35,570
Let's see.

2063
01:22:35,570 --> 01:22:37,827
It doesn't so good at GUI.

2064
01:22:37,827 --> 01:22:39,910
If you wanted a fancy GUI--
lists and lots of text

2065
01:22:39,910 --> 01:22:41,540
and buttons and
sliders and stuff--

2066
01:22:41,540 --> 01:22:45,530
it's kind of a pain
to code that up.

2067
01:22:45,530 --> 01:22:46,370
Right.

2068
01:22:46,370 --> 01:22:50,110
So Flixel is also unfortunately,
in its current form, kind

2069
01:22:50,110 --> 01:22:51,300
of in an end of life cycle.

2070
01:22:51,300 --> 01:22:53,060
And I've been saying that
for two or three years now.

2071
01:22:53,060 --> 01:22:54,280
And it's still holding on.

2072
01:22:54,280 --> 01:22:56,610
Because Flash is
still holding on.

2073
01:22:56,610 --> 01:22:58,370
Adobe is trying
to sort of get out

2074
01:22:58,370 --> 01:23:00,760
of the business of maintaining
Flash as a web development

2075
01:23:00,760 --> 01:23:02,370
place.

2076
01:23:02,370 --> 01:23:03,657
And I'm not really sure why.

2077
01:23:03,657 --> 01:23:05,240
Apparently, Adobe
decided a while back

2078
01:23:05,240 --> 01:23:08,060
that HTML5 was the future.

2079
01:23:08,060 --> 01:23:09,730
But it's been four
or five years now,

2080
01:23:09,730 --> 01:23:12,790
and HTML5 is still
not the future.

2081
01:23:12,790 --> 01:23:14,570
In the meantime, we're
sort of hanging on

2082
01:23:14,570 --> 01:23:17,605
with Flash and the occasional
JavaScript HTML5 thing.

2083
01:23:17,605 --> 01:23:19,730
I suspect it was actually
more of a financial thing

2084
01:23:19,730 --> 01:23:22,080
than any actual HTML5
preference thing.

2085
01:23:22,080 --> 01:23:23,960
But anyway, we're trying
to get out of Flixel

2086
01:23:23,960 --> 01:23:27,390
a little bit in the long term,
because Flash is going to be

2087
01:23:27,390 --> 01:23:28,961
a dying platform pretty soon.

2088
01:23:28,961 --> 01:23:31,790
PHILLIP TAN: Can I just
add something to that?

2089
01:23:31,790 --> 01:23:33,400
ANDREW GRANT: Please.

2090
01:23:33,400 --> 01:23:34,370
Stand near me.

2091
01:23:34,370 --> 01:23:36,002
Because I have a microphone.

2092
01:23:36,002 --> 01:23:36,960
PHILLIP TAN: All right.

2093
01:23:36,960 --> 01:23:37,760
I'll stand right next to him.

2094
01:23:37,760 --> 01:23:39,100
So the mic can pick up.

2095
01:23:39,100 --> 01:23:44,960
One thing to keep in mind-- that
are free versions of the Adobe

2096
01:23:44,960 --> 01:23:48,430
compiler for Flash, called
Flex, that you can download

2097
01:23:48,430 --> 01:23:51,630
for Linux, Mac, and PC.

2098
01:23:51,630 --> 01:23:54,500
However, there is also
this licensed version,

2099
01:23:54,500 --> 01:23:57,580
which you can download
for a 30-day trial,

2100
01:23:57,580 --> 01:23:59,920
called Flash Builder.

2101
01:23:59,920 --> 01:24:04,350
Unfortunately for Mac
users in particular,

2102
01:24:04,350 --> 01:24:09,060
if you want to get
those, I use it.

2103
01:24:09,060 --> 01:24:11,440
I like writing code in it.

2104
01:24:11,440 --> 01:24:14,050
But as soon as that
30-day free trial is over,

2105
01:24:14,050 --> 01:24:16,990
you are on an annual
subscription paying Adobe money

2106
01:24:16,990 --> 01:24:18,380
every year.

2107
01:24:18,380 --> 01:24:20,990
So "free" with an asterisk.

2108
01:24:20,990 --> 01:24:26,280
If you want to do free
development on a Mac

2109
01:24:26,280 --> 01:24:30,550
and use Flixel, be
very, very careful.

2110
01:24:30,550 --> 01:24:34,276
And use this upcoming
exercise to actually ensure

2111
01:24:34,276 --> 01:24:35,900
that the things that
you're downloading

2112
01:24:35,900 --> 01:24:37,608
and the things that
you're signing up for

2113
01:24:37,608 --> 01:24:41,680
are actually free, and not
free for the first 30 days.

2114
01:24:41,680 --> 01:24:44,470
For PC users, you have
the advantage of using

2115
01:24:44,470 --> 01:24:46,310
FlashDevelop, I believe.

2116
01:24:46,310 --> 01:24:48,494
That's what it's called.

2117
01:24:48,494 --> 01:24:50,620
That is actually a
tool that you get

2118
01:24:50,620 --> 01:24:52,466
without having to pay for it.

2119
01:24:52,466 --> 01:24:54,590
For Linux, you are
pretty much stuck

2120
01:24:54,590 --> 01:24:56,640
to using command-line compilers.

2121
01:24:56,640 --> 01:25:00,240
And if you really want to do
free development on a Mac,

2122
01:25:00,240 --> 01:25:01,990
you're also using
command-line But there's

2123
01:25:01,990 --> 01:25:04,500
all kinds of clever things that
you can do with text editors

2124
01:25:04,500 --> 01:25:07,440
to sort of make that a
little bit more comfortable.

2125
01:25:07,440 --> 01:25:08,760
But just keep that in mind.

2126
01:25:08,760 --> 01:25:10,700
That's another reason
why Flixel isn't

2127
01:25:10,700 --> 01:25:14,130
our number one choice, nowadays,
is because Adobe's really

2128
01:25:14,130 --> 01:25:17,450
trying to squeeze money out of
everybody, including students.

2129
01:25:17,450 --> 01:25:19,247
Adobe's insane.

2130
01:25:19,247 --> 01:25:20,663
ANDREW GRANT: One
can't blame them

2131
01:25:20,663 --> 01:25:21,520
for trying to make a
little bit of money.

2132
01:25:21,520 --> 01:25:23,811
However, it's no longer as
attractive as it used to be.

2133
01:25:23,811 --> 01:25:26,150
That's certainly true.

2134
01:25:26,150 --> 01:25:27,740
Unity is the next
one on our list

2135
01:25:27,740 --> 01:25:29,260
that we've had
good success with.

2136
01:25:32,945 --> 01:25:34,570
It's a free,
full-featured game engine.

2137
01:25:34,570 --> 01:25:36,977
It's got all the bells and
whistles you could want.

2138
01:25:36,977 --> 01:25:38,560
It's a little bit
dangerous to use it,

2139
01:25:38,560 --> 01:25:40,690
because it has all the bells
and whistles you could want.

2140
01:25:40,690 --> 01:25:42,400
And you should probably
only use some bells, and not

2141
01:25:42,400 --> 01:25:43,890
the whistles, and whatever.

2142
01:25:43,890 --> 01:25:45,680
You should be very
careful and judicious

2143
01:25:45,680 --> 01:25:47,050
in your use of the features.

2144
01:25:47,050 --> 01:25:49,216
Because the tinker
toy model of, only

2145
01:25:49,216 --> 01:25:51,590
do what the engine lets you
do is a little bit dangerous.

2146
01:25:51,590 --> 01:25:53,630
Because it lets you do
pretty much everything.

2147
01:25:53,630 --> 01:25:55,379
So you have to be very
careful about which

2148
01:25:55,379 --> 01:25:57,550
features you choose to use.

2149
01:25:57,550 --> 01:25:59,020
However, it's great.

2150
01:25:59,020 --> 01:25:59,570
It's free.

2151
01:25:59,570 --> 01:26:02,140
It does a whole
bunch of neat stuff.

2152
01:26:02,140 --> 01:26:04,620
There are paid versions.

2153
01:26:04,620 --> 01:26:07,480
But you won't need them
for the class, certainly.

2154
01:26:07,480 --> 01:26:09,150
I call these disads.

2155
01:26:09,150 --> 01:26:11,770
3D is harder than 2D.

2156
01:26:11,770 --> 01:26:14,980
And 3D is at least three
times as hard as 2D, really.

2157
01:26:14,980 --> 01:26:16,170
It's rough.

2158
01:26:16,170 --> 01:26:17,690
If you've never
done 3D before, it

2159
01:26:17,690 --> 01:26:19,914
takes a while to get
your head into it.

2160
01:26:19,914 --> 01:26:21,580
Even if you're doing
a 2D game in Unity,

2161
01:26:21,580 --> 01:26:24,038
sometimes you have to think in
3D a little bit, which makes

2162
01:26:24,038 --> 01:26:25,660
it a little bit harder to use.

2163
01:26:25,660 --> 01:26:28,790
On the other hand, Unity
does have this nice editor.

2164
01:26:28,790 --> 01:26:30,630
And it's possible
for a non-programmer

2165
01:26:30,630 --> 01:26:32,690
to get some stuff done
in Unity in a way that's

2166
01:26:32,690 --> 01:26:33,940
not possible in others.

2167
01:26:33,940 --> 01:26:35,090
You spend more time
learning the GUI.

2168
01:26:35,090 --> 01:26:37,048
But you can actually get
some more things done.

2169
01:26:37,048 --> 01:26:40,430
So it's an interesting
little trade-off there.

2170
01:26:40,430 --> 01:26:43,950
It is also, again,
not good at GUI work.

2171
01:26:43,950 --> 01:26:46,140
They're starting to
address that a little bit.

2172
01:26:46,140 --> 01:26:47,290
But it's hard.

2173
01:26:47,290 --> 01:26:49,581
You have to kind of hand code
your buttons a little bit

2174
01:26:49,581 --> 01:26:50,160
sometimes.

2175
01:26:50,160 --> 01:26:51,390
That is improving, as I say.

2176
01:26:51,390 --> 01:26:54,350
But it's not quite there yet.

2177
01:26:54,350 --> 01:26:56,870
It suffers a little bit
from the problem of merging.

2178
01:26:56,870 --> 01:26:59,490
Unity uses particular
objects that you really

2179
01:26:59,490 --> 01:27:02,540
wish you could merge-- just so
they're text files or code--

2180
01:27:02,540 --> 01:27:05,290
but you have a whole scene
of objects, for example.

2181
01:27:05,290 --> 01:27:07,775
And only one person can
really work with it at a time,

2182
01:27:07,775 --> 01:27:09,200
unless you're
really very careful.

2183
01:27:09,200 --> 01:27:10,466
So when you're using
Unity, you have

2184
01:27:10,466 --> 01:27:11,910
to be extra careful
with your team

2185
01:27:11,910 --> 01:27:13,630
to make sure that
people aren't messing

2186
01:27:13,630 --> 01:27:15,300
with the same files
at the same time.

2187
01:27:15,300 --> 01:27:17,465
The code, however, works
the way you want it to.

2188
01:27:17,465 --> 01:27:18,970
And source control works fine.

2189
01:27:18,970 --> 01:27:20,470
So you've got to be careful.

2190
01:27:20,470 --> 01:27:21,981
But you can work around it.

2191
01:27:25,310 --> 01:27:28,885
Moving on to the ones that--
you know, we want some of you

2192
01:27:28,885 --> 01:27:29,920
to practice with these.

2193
01:27:29,920 --> 01:27:32,750
But-- oops, that's
the wrong one.

2194
01:27:32,750 --> 01:27:36,245
I left a slide in
I shouldn't have.

2195
01:27:39,154 --> 01:27:39,945
I will ignore that.

2196
01:27:43,412 --> 01:27:46,420
Let me see if I
can find it here.

2197
01:27:46,420 --> 01:27:46,946
All right.

2198
01:27:46,946 --> 01:27:48,570
Apparently I did not
include the slides

2199
01:27:48,570 --> 01:27:51,000
I thought I included about
the two other game engines.

2200
01:27:51,000 --> 01:27:52,610
So I'll talk about
those instead.

2201
01:27:52,610 --> 01:27:55,370
So there's another engine
call Haxe Flixel, which

2202
01:27:55,370 --> 01:27:59,830
is sort of a port of Flixel
to a language called Haxe.

2203
01:27:59,830 --> 01:28:02,535
This is an engine that
we have not used yet.

2204
01:28:02,535 --> 01:28:04,177
We've looked over
it a little bit.

2205
01:28:04,177 --> 01:28:05,760
And it certainly
looks very promising.

2206
01:28:05,760 --> 01:28:07,635
It's using the very
same Flixel style.

2207
01:28:07,635 --> 01:28:09,510
It is, however, using
an interesting language

2208
01:28:09,510 --> 01:28:11,650
named Haxe, which is mostly
based on ActionScript.

2209
01:28:11,650 --> 01:28:15,130
But it has some Java and
C#-like features to it.

2210
01:28:15,130 --> 01:28:16,710
It does some crazy
stuff, though.

2211
01:28:16,710 --> 01:28:18,780
So it might be a little
bit interesting to use.

2212
01:28:18,780 --> 01:28:21,520
Haxe compiles down to a language
of your choice, which it then

2213
01:28:21,520 --> 01:28:22,270
compiles.

2214
01:28:22,270 --> 01:28:26,526
So for example, if you want
to export your Haxe to Flash,

2215
01:28:26,526 --> 01:28:28,900
you'll compile your Haxe to
ActionScript, which will then

2216
01:28:28,900 --> 01:28:30,580
get compiled to a Flash app.

2217
01:28:30,580 --> 01:28:32,990
Or if you want to
make an iOS app,

2218
01:28:32,990 --> 01:28:39,500
you'll probably compile it to
the [? XCode ?] Objective-C,

2219
01:28:39,500 --> 01:28:40,660
and then compile that.

2220
01:28:40,660 --> 01:28:43,070
But basically, it tries to
be all things to all people.

2221
01:28:43,070 --> 01:28:44,552
Which is really
kind of dangerous.

2222
01:28:44,552 --> 01:28:46,760
But hopefully, for the kind
of smallish project we're

2223
01:28:46,760 --> 01:28:48,370
talking about, that'll be find.

2224
01:28:48,370 --> 01:28:51,850
I call that one a noose,
because we haven't used it much.

2225
01:28:51,850 --> 01:28:55,370
But it has all the simplicity of
Flixel for the Haxe Flixel game

2226
01:28:55,370 --> 01:28:55,870
engine.

2227
01:28:55,870 --> 01:28:58,274
So that is a good thing.

2228
01:28:58,274 --> 01:29:00,190
The other one we're
looking at using this year

2229
01:29:00,190 --> 01:29:04,286
is called Phaser, which we know
not too much about in this lab.

2230
01:29:04,286 --> 01:29:05,660
The Education
Arcade is using it.

2231
01:29:05,660 --> 01:29:07,040
And they seemed to like it.

2232
01:29:07,040 --> 01:29:12,540
And it is an ActionScript,
HTML5 style of engine.

2233
01:29:12,540 --> 01:29:14,775
That is not the
most mature platform

2234
01:29:14,775 --> 01:29:16,900
to build on, because of
all the browser differences

2235
01:29:16,900 --> 01:29:17,733
and stuff like that.

2236
01:29:17,733 --> 01:29:19,110
But it is certainly possible.

2237
01:29:19,110 --> 01:29:21,279
I recommend if you
end up using Phaser

2238
01:29:21,279 --> 01:29:23,070
that rather than coding
in pure JavaScript,

2239
01:29:23,070 --> 01:29:26,080
you code in TrueScript,
which is basically a strongly

2240
01:29:26,080 --> 01:29:28,729
typed version of JavaScript.

2241
01:29:28,729 --> 01:29:30,020
We'll get on to the rest of it.

2242
01:29:30,020 --> 01:29:31,020
PHILLIP TAN: TrueScript?

2243
01:29:31,020 --> 01:29:32,089
TypeScript?

2244
01:29:32,089 --> 01:29:33,380
ANDREW GRANT: Sorry TypeScript.

2245
01:29:33,380 --> 01:29:34,150
Yes, TypeScript.

2246
01:29:38,290 --> 01:29:40,810
So when you're
learning an engine,

2247
01:29:40,810 --> 01:29:41,930
you start with tutorials.

2248
01:29:41,930 --> 01:29:43,530
That's the easiest thing to do.

2249
01:29:43,530 --> 01:29:45,280
Once you've learned
three or four engines,

2250
01:29:45,280 --> 01:29:46,530
you might not use tutorials.

2251
01:29:46,530 --> 01:29:47,940
But until then, I would
say you should actually

2252
01:29:47,940 --> 01:29:50,231
go through something that
someone's written and thought

2253
01:29:50,231 --> 01:29:52,910
about how to progress.

2254
01:29:52,910 --> 01:29:54,270
Do something extremely small.

2255
01:29:54,270 --> 01:29:56,770
Don't start with the be-all and
end-all game of awesomeness.

2256
01:29:56,770 --> 01:29:59,610
Start with something
very, very easy.

2257
01:29:59,610 --> 01:30:01,310
And then after you've
done that, you're

2258
01:30:01,310 --> 01:30:03,464
going to discover that
you've done some things.

2259
01:30:03,464 --> 01:30:05,380
Then read the documentation
a little bit more.

2260
01:30:05,380 --> 01:30:07,338
Because you're going to
be better at picking up

2261
01:30:07,338 --> 01:30:09,300
stuff after you have
questions in your head.

2262
01:30:09,300 --> 01:30:12,770
Even if you don't realize
what questions you've got.

2263
01:30:12,770 --> 01:30:14,350
And we're warming
up to an assignment

2264
01:30:14,350 --> 01:30:15,590
where we're going to
hand you a game engine

2265
01:30:15,590 --> 01:30:17,881
and you're going to take a
look at it over the weekend,

2266
01:30:17,881 --> 01:30:18,740
or over the week.

2267
01:30:18,740 --> 01:30:20,260
But the thing you
need to remember

2268
01:30:20,260 --> 01:30:24,550
is that all software
really does suck.

2269
01:30:24,550 --> 01:30:26,125
And game engines
are no exception.

2270
01:30:29,290 --> 01:30:31,733
At this point,
invariably, somebody

2271
01:30:31,733 --> 01:30:35,370
will claim that
Linux doesn't suck.

2272
01:30:35,370 --> 01:30:38,110
To which I'll have to
claim that it does.

2273
01:30:38,110 --> 01:30:39,500
But it's also awesome.

2274
01:30:39,500 --> 01:30:42,560
And that's the thing about
software and game engines.

2275
01:30:42,560 --> 01:30:45,490
You have to really
understand and appreciate

2276
01:30:45,490 --> 01:30:47,990
the ins and outs of Linux to
understand the ways in which it

2277
01:30:47,990 --> 01:30:50,573
really does suck, but there are
ways in which it's really also

2278
01:30:50,573 --> 01:30:52,520
really awesome.

2279
01:30:52,520 --> 01:30:56,540
Operating systems all, really,
are pretty bad, I suspect.

2280
01:30:56,540 --> 01:30:58,590
Windows and Mac-- you
can make huge arguments

2281
01:30:58,590 --> 01:30:59,350
about all of them.

2282
01:30:59,350 --> 01:31:00,766
Photoshop we talked
about earlier.

2283
01:31:00,766 --> 01:31:02,360
It's an awesomely powerful tool.

2284
01:31:02,360 --> 01:31:04,776
But to sit down and actually
start using it as a beginner,

2285
01:31:04,776 --> 01:31:06,697
as a newbie, is a
miserable experience.

2286
01:31:06,697 --> 01:31:09,030
I think you've probably all
had very similar experiences

2287
01:31:09,030 --> 01:31:09,840
with software.

2288
01:31:09,840 --> 01:31:10,540
It's buggy.

2289
01:31:10,540 --> 01:31:12,040
It's painful.

2290
01:31:12,040 --> 01:31:13,570
This is true for
game engines, too.

2291
01:31:13,570 --> 01:31:14,840
You're going to try
out a game engine.

2292
01:31:14,840 --> 01:31:16,290
And you're going to probably
come back to class thinking,

2293
01:31:16,290 --> 01:31:17,000
I tried Unity.

2294
01:31:17,000 --> 01:31:17,750
It was terrible.

2295
01:31:17,750 --> 01:31:19,333
I didn't understand
what was going on.

2296
01:31:19,333 --> 01:31:20,140
It was really hard.

2297
01:31:20,140 --> 01:31:21,830
And then you'll hear someone
else talk about Flixel.

2298
01:31:21,830 --> 01:31:24,288
And you'll think, wow, I didn't
have any of those problems.

2299
01:31:24,288 --> 01:31:25,590
And so this is the trick.

2300
01:31:25,590 --> 01:31:27,590
All software sucks.

2301
01:31:27,590 --> 01:31:29,820
And your job is to find
the software that sucks

2302
01:31:29,820 --> 01:31:32,820
in ways that you can handle.

2303
01:31:32,820 --> 01:31:33,960
Right?

2304
01:31:33,960 --> 01:31:35,800
You don't mind so
much that you have

2305
01:31:35,800 --> 01:31:37,620
to think in 3D for
Unity, because you're

2306
01:31:37,620 --> 01:31:39,810
willing to put up
with that because you

2307
01:31:39,810 --> 01:31:42,490
get these cool,
nice, rendered look.

2308
01:31:42,490 --> 01:31:44,200
Or maybe you have to
deal with the fact

2309
01:31:44,200 --> 01:31:46,890
that, yeah, Flixel's
written in ActionScript 3.

2310
01:31:46,890 --> 01:31:48,260
And ugh, I hate that language.

2311
01:31:48,260 --> 01:31:50,120
But boy, it sure is easy to
put stuff up on the screen,

2312
01:31:50,120 --> 01:31:51,869
and have spaceships
moving around shooting

2313
01:31:51,869 --> 01:31:53,703
each other in, like, a
day, with no problem.

2314
01:31:53,703 --> 01:31:55,535
And these are the kinds
of trade-offs you're

2315
01:31:55,535 --> 01:31:56,754
going to have to look at.

2316
01:31:56,754 --> 01:31:58,420
So when you're trying
to evaluate a game

2317
01:31:58,420 --> 01:31:59,625
engine, or any piece
of software, really,

2318
01:31:59,625 --> 01:32:01,292
but game engines for
this class, you're

2319
01:32:01,292 --> 01:32:03,500
going to think about the
ways in which it's terrible.

2320
01:32:03,500 --> 01:32:05,583
But also think about the
ways in which it's great.

2321
01:32:05,583 --> 01:32:08,370
And when you get together and
talk with a team for projects

2322
01:32:08,370 --> 01:32:11,480
two through four about
what game engine to use,

2323
01:32:11,480 --> 01:32:13,860
you're going to want to be
able to say intelligently,

2324
01:32:13,860 --> 01:32:16,700
I don't like Flixel
because of these things.

2325
01:32:16,700 --> 01:32:18,880
But actually I can
live with those things.

2326
01:32:18,880 --> 01:32:22,220
Or, I don't like Unity
because of this thing,

2327
01:32:22,220 --> 01:32:23,877
and I really just
can't get past it.

2328
01:32:23,877 --> 01:32:25,960
And if your team's insisting
on using that engine,

2329
01:32:25,960 --> 01:32:28,170
and you really know you
really don't like it,

2330
01:32:28,170 --> 01:32:29,860
consider another team.

2331
01:32:29,860 --> 01:32:30,652
And that's not bad.

2332
01:32:30,652 --> 01:32:32,985
Different people are going
to have different preferences

2333
01:32:32,985 --> 01:32:33,910
for different styles.

2334
01:32:33,910 --> 01:32:35,910
And that's part of what
we're going to be doing.

2335
01:32:35,910 --> 01:32:37,010
Any time you're going
to be forming a team

2336
01:32:37,010 --> 01:32:38,580
or trying to work
with a team, you're

2337
01:32:38,580 --> 01:32:39,760
going to have to
figure out what works

2338
01:32:39,760 --> 01:32:42,060
for you, what's hard for
you, what's easy for you.

2339
01:32:42,060 --> 01:32:44,470
And match yourself up with
tasks or software that

2340
01:32:44,470 --> 01:32:46,800
matches your set of skills.

2341
01:32:46,800 --> 01:32:49,490
Or, if you want to
challenge yourself, OK.

2342
01:32:49,490 --> 01:32:51,490
Be ready to challenge
yourself and try something

2343
01:32:51,490 --> 01:32:53,540
that you thought was
too hard or too painful.

2344
01:32:53,540 --> 01:32:54,820
But be aware that
you're doing that.

2345
01:32:54,820 --> 01:32:56,100
Because you need to
let your team know,

2346
01:32:56,100 --> 01:32:58,350
hey, I'm going to be on
a learning curve here.

2347
01:32:58,350 --> 01:33:00,600
You're going to
have to help me out.

2348
01:33:00,600 --> 01:33:02,920
So as you look at
a game engine, be

2349
01:33:02,920 --> 01:33:05,340
aware that it is going
to disappoint you.

2350
01:33:05,340 --> 01:33:06,770
That's just the way it is.

2351
01:33:06,770 --> 01:33:10,890
But try to figure out where
the disappointments are.

2352
01:33:10,890 --> 01:33:16,442
To that end, one of
our assignments-- yes.

2353
01:33:16,442 --> 01:33:19,388
AUDIENCE: Which 2D game engine
would you suggest for those who

2354
01:33:19,388 --> 01:33:22,340
are comfortable
with Java and C#?

2355
01:33:22,340 --> 01:33:24,125
ANDREW GRANT: With Java and C#?

2356
01:33:24,125 --> 01:33:25,625
It kind of depends
on the situation.

2357
01:33:28,510 --> 01:33:32,797
I would actually still
suggest, for most simple--

2358
01:33:32,797 --> 01:33:34,380
which game engine
should I use for 2D?

2359
01:33:34,380 --> 01:33:37,010
And the answer is, if
you have no 3D experience

2360
01:33:37,010 --> 01:33:43,330
whatsoever, I would still
recommend Flixel today.

2361
01:33:43,330 --> 01:33:46,460
If you are comfortable with 3D
and some of the barriers there,

2362
01:33:46,460 --> 01:33:47,770
I would go with Unity.

2363
01:33:47,770 --> 01:33:51,490
I personally use Unity
for my own development.

2364
01:33:51,490 --> 01:33:53,730
That said, what
we're going to do

2365
01:33:53,730 --> 01:33:56,135
is everybody's going to take
a look at a game engine.

2366
01:33:56,135 --> 01:33:57,760
So you'll have at
least one of the four

2367
01:33:57,760 --> 01:33:59,200
that we're talking
about for the class

2368
01:33:59,200 --> 01:34:00,283
that you're familiar with.

2369
01:34:00,283 --> 01:34:02,490
And hopefully in the
next couple of weeks,

2370
01:34:02,490 --> 01:34:05,120
you'll get your own preference.

2371
01:34:05,120 --> 01:34:06,750
Because I can easily say, sure.

2372
01:34:06,750 --> 01:34:08,380
Flixel's great for 2D games.

2373
01:34:08,380 --> 01:34:10,900
And it is, for the
right kind of 2D games.

2374
01:34:10,900 --> 01:34:12,470
It's not good for
all the 2D games.

2375
01:34:12,470 --> 01:34:15,090
An isometric thing with
lots of farms and stuff--

2376
01:34:15,090 --> 01:34:16,330
you might be able to do it.

2377
01:34:16,330 --> 01:34:18,590
But you might be more
comfortable using a 3D approach

2378
01:34:18,590 --> 01:34:19,440
or whatever.

2379
01:34:19,440 --> 01:34:21,870
So in other words, it really
depends on the game, too.

2380
01:34:21,870 --> 01:34:22,970
I wish I could give
you an easy answer.

2381
01:34:22,970 --> 01:34:24,803
But I can't, which is
why the whole lecture.

2382
01:34:27,360 --> 01:34:29,830
So we have an assignment, which
we'll hand out to you now.

2383
01:34:33,480 --> 01:34:37,370
And we're going to talk
about it one week from now.

2384
01:34:37,370 --> 01:34:38,310
And do stay tuned.

2385
01:34:38,310 --> 01:34:41,345
Because we're not done talking
at you, or giving assignments.

2386
01:34:41,345 --> 01:34:43,470
PHILLIP TAN: Do we
hand these out, too?

2387
01:34:43,470 --> 01:34:45,933
ANDREW GRANT: Oh, the
game engine tutorial?

2388
01:34:45,933 --> 01:34:48,100
Yes.

2389
01:34:48,100 --> 01:34:53,430
What I want you to do is pick
a game engine out of this hat.

2390
01:34:53,430 --> 01:34:56,250
And pass it on.

2391
01:34:56,250 --> 01:34:59,550
If you do not like the game
engine that you get, trade.

2392
01:35:05,275 --> 01:35:06,070
Um, sure.

2393
01:35:06,070 --> 01:35:08,880
Feel free.

2394
01:35:08,880 --> 01:35:11,520
Take a handful.

2395
01:35:11,520 --> 01:35:13,280
If I run out, I
have more tokens.

2396
01:35:13,280 --> 01:35:15,710
But this is what
I start with, just

2397
01:35:15,710 --> 01:35:17,706
to make sure there's
a good distribution.

2398
01:35:17,706 --> 01:35:19,080
Just go ahead and
hand this back.

2399
01:35:19,080 --> 01:35:20,205
I don't need to be with it.

2400
01:35:29,940 --> 01:35:35,160
So one of the things we're
going to do next Wednesday

2401
01:35:35,160 --> 01:35:39,969
is try to do a source
control exercise, which

2402
01:35:39,969 --> 01:35:41,510
will introduce you
to source control,

2403
01:35:41,510 --> 01:35:43,590
and hopefully
refresh some of you.

2404
01:35:43,590 --> 01:35:45,284
So ideally, if you
can, we want you

2405
01:35:45,284 --> 01:35:47,075
to bring in a development
machine, a laptop

2406
01:35:47,075 --> 01:35:50,450
if that's what you're
using, on that Wednesday.

2407
01:35:50,450 --> 01:35:51,900
If you only have
a desktop, don't.

2408
01:35:51,900 --> 01:35:53,940
If you've got no
computer, don't.

2409
01:35:53,940 --> 01:35:56,630
But you know, try to
bring in a development

2410
01:35:56,630 --> 01:35:59,560
machine of some kind that you
can actually use on Wednesday.

2411
01:35:59,560 --> 01:36:03,880
Ideally, it's the machine
you used to do the tutorials,

2412
01:36:03,880 --> 01:36:05,801
so you have your code on it.

2413
01:36:05,801 --> 01:36:06,390
Let's see.

2414
01:36:06,390 --> 01:36:09,240
What else do we
want to say there?

2415
01:36:09,240 --> 01:36:11,250
We don't want you to
spend more than four hours

2416
01:36:11,250 --> 01:36:12,530
on this exercise.

2417
01:36:12,530 --> 01:36:15,596
There is no "turn in"
for this exercise.

2418
01:36:15,596 --> 01:36:17,096
What we want is,
on Wednesday, we're

2419
01:36:17,096 --> 01:36:18,420
going to be able to talk
about the game engine

2420
01:36:18,420 --> 01:36:19,212
that you looked at.

2421
01:36:19,212 --> 01:36:21,711
We want to be able to talk about
its pluses and its minuses,

2422
01:36:21,711 --> 01:36:22,770
and what was frustrating.

2423
01:36:22,770 --> 01:36:24,186
If it took you all
four hours just

2424
01:36:24,186 --> 01:36:26,269
to install the stupid
thing in the first place,

2425
01:36:26,269 --> 01:36:27,060
that's information.

2426
01:36:27,060 --> 01:36:28,510
We want to know that.

2427
01:36:28,510 --> 01:36:30,680
Because that will help
people choose to not use

2428
01:36:30,680 --> 01:36:34,020
that game engine, for example.

2429
01:36:34,020 --> 01:36:36,959
But basically, we want to be
able to talk intelligently

2430
01:36:36,959 --> 01:36:39,000
in the groups, amongst
yourselves, about the game

2431
01:36:39,000 --> 01:36:39,970
engine pros and cons.

2432
01:36:39,970 --> 01:36:40,880
That's the main goal.

2433
01:36:48,080 --> 01:36:49,050
OK.

2434
01:36:49,050 --> 01:36:52,195
Any questions or
comments so far?

2435
01:36:52,195 --> 01:36:54,278
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE] can't
just pick just any one

2436
01:36:54,278 --> 01:36:56,175
of those [INAUDIBLE].

2437
01:36:56,175 --> 01:36:57,050
ANDREW GRANT: Pardon?

2438
01:36:57,050 --> 01:36:57,150
AUDIENCE: So we can only trade.

2439
01:36:57,150 --> 01:36:58,974
But once you have
the [? others ?]

2440
01:36:58,974 --> 01:36:59,849
you can't [INAUDIBLE]

2441
01:36:59,849 --> 01:37:00,730
ANDREW GRANT: Right.

2442
01:37:00,730 --> 01:37:01,229
Correct.

2443
01:37:01,229 --> 01:37:03,010
Do not pick a game
engine at random.

2444
01:37:03,010 --> 01:37:04,900
You may trade the one
you've got in your hand

2445
01:37:04,900 --> 01:37:07,233
with someone else who has a
different one in their hand.

2446
01:37:07,233 --> 01:37:09,742
This is not just-- it's
partially arbitrary.

2447
01:37:09,742 --> 01:37:11,950
But mostly it's to make sure
that all the engines are

2448
01:37:11,950 --> 01:37:14,000
covered about equally.

2449
01:37:14,000 --> 01:37:15,660
Also, there's two
entries for Unity.

2450
01:37:15,660 --> 01:37:17,284
One is sort of thinking
about it in 3D,

2451
01:37:17,284 --> 01:37:20,420
and one is thinking about it 2D.

2452
01:37:20,420 --> 01:37:23,967
And because Unity has recently
added sort of a 2D layer

2453
01:37:23,967 --> 01:37:25,550
on top of it that
you can sort of use.

2454
01:37:25,550 --> 01:37:27,780
It's a sprite-based engine.

2455
01:37:27,780 --> 01:37:29,770
So we want you to put
that through its paces,

2456
01:37:29,770 --> 01:37:32,967
too, to compare to the
other 2D engines, to Java.

2457
01:37:32,967 --> 01:37:33,800
[INTERPOSING VOICES]

2458
01:37:33,800 --> 01:37:36,250
ANDREW GRANT: So I've
never had much of a problem

2459
01:37:36,250 --> 01:37:38,621
transitioning between the two.

2460
01:37:38,621 --> 01:37:42,360
[SIDE CONVERSATIONS]

2461
01:37:42,360 --> 01:37:44,945
ANDREW GRANT: Let's see.

2462
01:37:44,945 --> 01:37:46,320
Yeah, I would
trade if you could.

2463
01:37:49,130 --> 01:37:51,400
RIK EBERHARDT: So,
like we said, this

2464
01:37:51,400 --> 01:37:55,470
is a video game development or
video game production class.

2465
01:37:55,470 --> 01:37:58,300
It's about team management,
project management.

2466
01:37:58,300 --> 01:38:00,750
We're spending a lot of time
on those kind of topics.

2467
01:38:00,750 --> 01:38:04,210
We aren't spending a ton of time
talking about design in class.

2468
01:38:04,210 --> 01:38:05,290
But we were jerks.

2469
01:38:05,290 --> 01:38:07,790
And we're giving you a really,
really hard design constraint

2470
01:38:07,790 --> 01:38:10,240
to work with for product four.

2471
01:38:10,240 --> 01:38:13,720
So we're going to have
some optional assignments,

2472
01:38:13,720 --> 01:38:16,152
optional reading--
basically things that we're

2473
01:38:16,152 --> 01:38:18,110
going to list on Stellar,
and a couple lectures

2474
01:38:18,110 --> 01:38:20,420
we're going to give--
basically just kind of opening

2475
01:38:20,420 --> 01:38:22,210
your minds towards design.

2476
01:38:22,210 --> 01:38:25,540
So you can think through some
of the big, hairy problems when

2477
01:38:25,540 --> 01:38:27,760
it comes to designing
some of these things.

2478
01:38:27,760 --> 01:38:31,290
The first thing is talking
about the theme for the course

2479
01:38:31,290 --> 01:38:32,000
for the semester.

2480
01:38:32,000 --> 01:38:34,208
So we're talking about
meaningful decisions in games.

2481
01:38:36,547 --> 01:38:39,130
So we're asking you, when you're
creating these four projects,

2482
01:38:39,130 --> 01:38:41,870
to think about what
decisions your players

2483
01:38:41,870 --> 01:38:45,090
are making during the
game at all times,

2484
01:38:45,090 --> 01:38:47,870
and to make sure that all
those decisions they make

2485
01:38:47,870 --> 01:38:50,030
are meaningful.

2486
01:38:50,030 --> 01:38:52,557
And this is going to be
the foundation for the four

2487
01:38:52,557 --> 01:38:53,890
projects that you're working on.

2488
01:38:53,890 --> 01:38:57,410
All the constraints are going to
be based on this kind of thing.

2489
01:38:57,410 --> 01:39:00,520
So first off, what do we
mean by meaningful decisions?

2490
01:39:00,520 --> 01:39:02,500
This is what I
mean when I say it.

2491
01:39:02,500 --> 01:39:04,110
There's other
definitions out there.

2492
01:39:04,110 --> 01:39:06,290
But this is the bare minimum.

2493
01:39:06,290 --> 01:39:07,370
It should do this.

2494
01:39:07,370 --> 01:39:09,040
It should have this.

2495
01:39:09,040 --> 01:39:13,480
So three things-- any decision
a player makes in a game

2496
01:39:13,480 --> 01:39:17,470
has an effect on the
game's overall state.

2497
01:39:17,470 --> 01:39:18,840
So I make a decision.

2498
01:39:18,840 --> 01:39:20,494
Something changed.

2499
01:39:20,494 --> 01:39:22,410
Not only did something
change, but that change

2500
01:39:22,410 --> 01:39:25,420
ripples through the
systems within the game.

2501
01:39:25,420 --> 01:39:27,000
It affects the
entire game state,

2502
01:39:27,000 --> 01:39:31,220
the entire game world-- not
just what the player might have,

2503
01:39:31,220 --> 01:39:33,120
not just the
player's performance,

2504
01:39:33,120 --> 01:39:35,180
not just the player's abilities.

2505
01:39:35,180 --> 01:39:37,880
So a jump in these
games-- it can

2506
01:39:37,880 --> 01:39:39,340
be meaningful in some games.

2507
01:39:39,340 --> 01:39:42,960
But for this particular game
and this particular use,

2508
01:39:42,960 --> 01:39:47,166
if the jump affects everything
else in the game in some form,

2509
01:39:47,166 --> 01:39:48,290
that was really meaningful.

2510
01:39:48,290 --> 01:39:50,244
And I'd be surprised
to see a jump do that.

2511
01:39:50,244 --> 01:39:51,160
But it probably isn't.

2512
01:39:51,160 --> 01:39:54,637
It's probably just a way
to get over an obstacle.

2513
01:39:54,637 --> 01:39:55,720
So there's something else.

2514
01:39:55,720 --> 01:39:58,095
There's some other kind of
decision a player has to make,

2515
01:39:58,095 --> 01:40:02,220
rather than just that
one small decision.

2516
01:40:02,220 --> 01:40:04,249
Third-- there should be
sufficient feedback--

2517
01:40:04,249 --> 01:40:06,540
and we'll talk about feedback
later on and what exactly

2518
01:40:06,540 --> 01:40:11,440
we mean by that-- that lets
the player be aware that they

2519
01:40:11,440 --> 01:40:12,290
made that decision.

2520
01:40:12,290 --> 01:40:13,660
Not only did I make
a decision, but I

2521
01:40:13,660 --> 01:40:14,830
knew that I made a decision.

2522
01:40:14,830 --> 01:40:16,400
There was something
that happened

2523
01:40:16,400 --> 01:40:18,670
in the game that prompted
me to make that decision.

2524
01:40:18,670 --> 01:40:20,506
And I actively
made the decision.

2525
01:40:20,506 --> 01:40:22,130
I made the choice to
make the decision.

2526
01:40:22,130 --> 01:40:23,750
I know I made the decision.

2527
01:40:23,750 --> 01:40:28,820
And I actually see all those
effects happen in some form.

2528
01:40:28,820 --> 01:40:31,450
At the bare minimum,
I make a decision.

2529
01:40:31,450 --> 01:40:32,950
I see some short-term effects.

2530
01:40:32,950 --> 01:40:35,650
There might be long-term effects
that I don't see right now,

2531
01:40:35,650 --> 01:40:37,964
but I will have the
opportunity to see later.

2532
01:40:37,964 --> 01:40:39,380
That's a little
bit more advanced.

2533
01:40:42,722 --> 01:40:44,180
So basically this
lecture is really

2534
01:40:44,180 --> 01:40:46,240
just going to be talking
about some example games

2535
01:40:46,240 --> 01:40:49,400
that, when we're talking about
the games we would like you

2536
01:40:49,400 --> 01:40:53,288
to make in class, these are kind
of the exemplar games for this.

2537
01:40:53,288 --> 01:40:54,996
These are the games
that we think of when

2538
01:40:54,996 --> 01:40:56,850
we think of this kind of thing.

2539
01:40:56,850 --> 01:40:59,312
And the problem that I
think is going to come up

2540
01:40:59,312 --> 01:41:01,770
is we're going to sometimes
call them strategy games, which

2541
01:41:01,770 --> 01:41:05,050
is a really loaded term.

2542
01:41:05,050 --> 01:41:06,050
What is a strategy game?

2543
01:41:06,050 --> 01:41:09,072
Does anybody have a definition
for what a strategy game is?

2544
01:41:13,250 --> 01:41:14,994
Somebody who took-- yeah.

2545
01:41:14,994 --> 01:41:16,994
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]

2546
01:41:16,994 --> 01:41:18,410
RIK EBERHARDT:
Yeah, a game that's

2547
01:41:18,410 --> 01:41:20,380
going to require
a lot of thinking.

2548
01:41:20,380 --> 01:41:22,990
A game that's going to require--
and by thinking, there's

2549
01:41:22,990 --> 01:41:24,420
a lot of actions
that happen when

2550
01:41:24,420 --> 01:41:25,669
we talk about player thinking.

2551
01:41:25,669 --> 01:41:27,370
Like all right, so I'm thinking.

2552
01:41:27,370 --> 01:41:29,562
So if I'm thinking, I
might not be taking action.

2553
01:41:29,562 --> 01:41:31,270
So I might be thinking
to take an action.

2554
01:41:31,270 --> 01:41:32,520
I might be planning.

2555
01:41:32,520 --> 01:41:34,270
That's going to be part of it.

2556
01:41:34,270 --> 01:41:35,140
I might be thinking.

2557
01:41:35,140 --> 01:41:38,180
But there's something that's
distracting me for thinking.

2558
01:41:38,180 --> 01:41:40,600
Maybe I have to make
actions really, really fast.

2559
01:41:40,600 --> 01:41:43,430
Or I can make actions and I can
think a long period of time.

2560
01:41:43,430 --> 01:41:45,450
All that is the
big wide spectrum

2561
01:41:45,450 --> 01:41:47,610
of what we're talking
about with strategy games.

2562
01:41:47,610 --> 01:41:49,990
Can anybody list some
strategy games they've played

2563
01:41:49,990 --> 01:41:51,169
or have heard about?

2564
01:41:51,169 --> 01:41:52,210
AUDIENCE: Age of Empires.

2565
01:41:52,210 --> 01:41:53,959
RIK EBERHARDT: Age of
Empires-- which one?

2566
01:41:53,959 --> 01:41:55,190
AUDIENCE: The second one.

2567
01:41:55,190 --> 01:41:56,231
RIK EBERHARDT: Yes it is.

2568
01:41:56,231 --> 01:41:57,640
[LAUGHTER]

2569
01:41:57,640 --> 01:41:58,870
Civilization.

2570
01:41:58,870 --> 01:41:59,370
Yes.

2571
01:41:59,370 --> 01:42:00,090
Which one?

2572
01:42:00,090 --> 01:42:00,640
AUDIENCE: V.

2573
01:42:00,640 --> 01:42:01,390
RIK EBERHARDT: OK.

2574
01:42:01,390 --> 01:42:02,370
I like that one, too.

2575
01:42:02,370 --> 01:42:05,080
[LAUGHTER]

2576
01:42:05,080 --> 01:42:07,410
More.

2577
01:42:07,410 --> 01:42:09,490
What's that?

2578
01:42:09,490 --> 01:42:11,560
No?

2579
01:42:11,560 --> 01:42:12,430
AUDIENCE: StarCraft.

2580
01:42:12,430 --> 01:42:13,471
RIK EBERHARDT: StarCraft.

2581
01:42:13,471 --> 01:42:15,018
Which one?

2582
01:42:15,018 --> 01:42:16,375
AUDIENCE: I've only played II.

2583
01:42:16,375 --> 01:42:18,500
RIK EBERHARDT: I played I.
But I haven't played II.

2584
01:42:18,500 --> 01:42:19,166
But he plays II.

2585
01:42:19,166 --> 01:42:19,810
A lot.

2586
01:42:19,810 --> 01:42:21,638
More.

2587
01:42:21,638 --> 01:42:22,610
AUDIENCE: Fire Emblem.

2588
01:42:22,610 --> 01:42:25,068
RIK EBERHARDT: Fire Emblem--
ooh, that's a really good one.

2589
01:42:25,068 --> 01:42:26,280
Which one?

2590
01:42:26,280 --> 01:42:28,396
All of them, yeah.

2591
01:42:28,396 --> 01:42:28,895
Yeah.

2592
01:42:28,895 --> 01:42:29,340
AUDIENCE: Go.

2593
01:42:29,340 --> 01:42:30,140
RIK EBERHARDT: Go.

2594
01:42:30,140 --> 01:42:31,510
Ooh.

2595
01:42:31,510 --> 01:42:35,250
You took the board game class.

2596
01:42:35,250 --> 01:42:36,440
AUDIENCE: I play MOBAs.

2597
01:42:36,440 --> 01:42:37,981
RIK EBERHARDT:
MOBAs-- so which ones?

2598
01:42:37,981 --> 01:42:39,560
What's a MOBA, really?

2599
01:42:39,560 --> 01:42:40,970
AUDIENCE: Like, [? Noldor ?]
or League of Legends.

2600
01:42:40,970 --> 01:42:42,190
RIK EBERHARDT: So what
does MOBA stand for,

2601
01:42:42,190 --> 01:42:43,398
for people who don't play it?

2602
01:42:46,340 --> 01:42:48,220
AUDIENCE: Massive
Online Battle Arena.

2603
01:42:48,220 --> 01:42:48,700
RIK EBERHARDT: Massive
Online Battle Arena.

2604
01:42:48,700 --> 01:42:50,160
And you were talking
about League of Legends.

2605
01:42:50,160 --> 01:42:51,743
How many people
here-- raise your hand

2606
01:42:51,743 --> 01:42:54,485
if you played League of Legends.

2607
01:42:54,485 --> 01:42:55,200
OK.

2608
01:42:55,200 --> 01:42:58,680
Riot's coming September 24 to
talk about to us about that.

2609
01:42:58,680 --> 01:43:02,260
How many people have played
DotA, Defense of the Ancients?

2610
01:43:02,260 --> 01:43:05,054
The same people,
for the most part.

2611
01:43:05,054 --> 01:43:05,980
Cool.

2612
01:43:05,980 --> 01:43:08,080
So that's a really good spread.

2613
01:43:08,080 --> 01:43:10,220
And actually, that's
exactly what I expected--

2614
01:43:10,220 --> 01:43:12,190
except for the Go
person-- to hear,

2615
01:43:12,190 --> 01:43:15,971
are games about war, and
games about conflict,

2616
01:43:15,971 --> 01:43:17,970
and games about fighting
against another player,

2617
01:43:17,970 --> 01:43:20,370
or against a
computer-controlled opponent.

2618
01:43:20,370 --> 01:43:22,220
That's not exactly
what we mean when

2619
01:43:22,220 --> 01:43:24,560
we talk about strategy
games for the broader

2620
01:43:24,560 --> 01:43:25,397
aspect of the class.

2621
01:43:25,397 --> 01:43:26,730
But it's a great place to start.

2622
01:43:26,730 --> 01:43:28,870
And that's where
we're going to start.

2623
01:43:28,870 --> 01:43:34,356
So here's Civilization V,
and here's StarCraft II.

2624
01:43:34,356 --> 01:43:36,230
I'm going to use these
for a couple examples.

2625
01:43:36,230 --> 01:43:38,120
And then we're
going to split off.

2626
01:43:38,120 --> 01:43:39,911
And each of us are
going to talk about some

2627
01:43:39,911 --> 01:43:42,737
of our favorite games that
we think of when we say,

2628
01:43:42,737 --> 01:43:44,070
this was a really cool mechanic.

2629
01:43:44,070 --> 01:43:46,380
This is a really cool thing
I've seen in a strategy

2630
01:43:46,380 --> 01:43:49,002
game, or an aspect of strategy
or an aspect of tactics

2631
01:43:49,002 --> 01:43:50,460
that I've seen,
and I'd love to see

2632
01:43:50,460 --> 01:43:53,240
happen in some of the game we
make over the next semester.

2633
01:43:55,860 --> 01:43:58,080
So there's two types of
decision-making that I see.

2634
01:43:58,080 --> 01:44:00,779
And again, this is all just
me in my head a couple days

2635
01:44:00,779 --> 01:44:02,070
ago putting a lecture together.

2636
01:44:02,070 --> 01:44:04,780
It's not an academic taxonomy.

2637
01:44:04,780 --> 01:44:06,960
It's to help us out
when we're thinking

2638
01:44:06,960 --> 01:44:09,540
about the kinds of decisions
we're making in these games.

2639
01:44:09,540 --> 01:44:11,956
There's two kinds of decisions
that happen in these games.

2640
01:44:11,956 --> 01:44:14,680
There's a micro-level
decision-- short-term decisions

2641
01:44:14,680 --> 01:44:17,800
I make that help
me out right now.

2642
01:44:17,800 --> 01:44:21,680
There's macro decisions
or long-term decisions.

2643
01:44:21,680 --> 01:44:24,040
And I'm using micro
and macro because I'm

2644
01:44:24,040 --> 01:44:26,620
obsessed with economics, even
though I don't understand it.

2645
01:44:26,620 --> 01:44:29,780
But also because
you see the games

2646
01:44:29,780 --> 01:44:31,120
represented that way sometimes.

2647
01:44:31,120 --> 01:44:32,450
There's the micro,
where I'm looking really

2648
01:44:32,450 --> 01:44:34,360
tight at this one
aspect of the game,

2649
01:44:34,360 --> 01:44:37,820
and the macro, where
I can see a bigger,

2650
01:44:37,820 --> 01:44:39,320
expanded version of the world.

2651
01:44:39,320 --> 01:44:41,800
I can see the systems
and the gears that

2652
01:44:41,800 --> 01:44:43,710
are happening behind the world.

2653
01:44:43,710 --> 01:44:45,400
And they're represented
in many ways.

2654
01:44:45,400 --> 01:44:47,284
And I'll talk about a
couple examples there.

2655
01:44:47,284 --> 01:44:48,950
ANDREW GRANT: People
often use "tactics"

2656
01:44:48,950 --> 01:44:53,087
to describe micro, and
"strategy" to describe macro.

2657
01:44:53,087 --> 01:44:55,670
So there's actually a difference
between strategy and tactics.

2658
01:44:55,670 --> 01:44:57,170
That's one way of
thinking about it.

2659
01:44:57,170 --> 01:44:59,440
RIK EBERHARDT: Yeah.

2660
01:44:59,440 --> 01:45:01,920
So for the micro--
exactly, tactical.

2661
01:45:05,260 --> 01:45:07,214
The way this is
often represented

2662
01:45:07,214 --> 01:45:09,130
in these kind of war
games or strategy games--

2663
01:45:09,130 --> 01:45:11,463
there's usually some kind of
spatial component going on.

2664
01:45:11,463 --> 01:45:13,484
There's some kind of
placement going on.

2665
01:45:13,484 --> 01:45:15,400
There might be some
direct conflict happening.

2666
01:45:15,400 --> 01:45:17,250
So I've got an army.

2667
01:45:17,250 --> 01:45:18,800
And it's facing
off another army.

2668
01:45:18,800 --> 01:45:21,820
And we're throwing spears
or shooting each other

2669
01:45:21,820 --> 01:45:25,250
with lasers-- basically
the same thing.

2670
01:45:25,250 --> 01:45:26,690
But there's also firefighting.

2671
01:45:26,690 --> 01:45:28,010
There's another kind of
conflict that happens.

2672
01:45:28,010 --> 01:45:29,676
And by firefighting,
I don't mean fires.

2673
01:45:29,676 --> 01:45:32,745
But I've got a problem
that just happened.

2674
01:45:32,745 --> 01:45:33,934
And I need to solve it.

2675
01:45:33,934 --> 01:45:34,850
I need to react to it.

2676
01:45:34,850 --> 01:45:37,530
So it's reactive.

2677
01:45:37,530 --> 01:45:40,760
I might have this really
long long-term strategy.

2678
01:45:40,760 --> 01:45:43,470
But unfortunately I've
got to make some decisions

2679
01:45:43,470 --> 01:45:46,169
right now that may or may not
hurt my long-term strategy.

2680
01:45:46,169 --> 01:45:48,210
There are some tactical
decisions I need to make.

2681
01:45:50,775 --> 01:45:52,150
It's not always
reactive, though.

2682
01:45:52,150 --> 01:45:53,450
Sometimes what
we're talking about

2683
01:45:53,450 --> 01:45:54,630
is you're executing a plan.

2684
01:45:54,630 --> 01:45:56,800
I've set up a
long-term strategy.

2685
01:45:56,800 --> 01:45:58,680
And now here's the
final dramatic moment

2686
01:45:58,680 --> 01:46:00,780
where I get to actually
implement the thing

2687
01:46:00,780 --> 01:46:06,390
and see if it works--
throw the dudes on the map,

2688
01:46:06,390 --> 01:46:09,467
and they're going to die or not.

2689
01:46:09,467 --> 01:46:11,050
And when we're talking
about tactical,

2690
01:46:11,050 --> 01:46:13,490
there's always a
short-term resolution.

2691
01:46:13,490 --> 01:46:15,830
So I do a thing-- feedback.

2692
01:46:15,830 --> 01:46:16,780
I know it happened.

2693
01:46:16,780 --> 01:46:18,794
There could be
long-term ramifications.

2694
01:46:18,794 --> 01:46:20,710
But there's definitely
a short-term resolution

2695
01:46:20,710 --> 01:46:23,940
to the decision I just
made at that point.

2696
01:46:23,940 --> 01:46:26,370
So my example, because
I am a huge Civilization

2697
01:46:26,370 --> 01:46:31,760
nerd-- Civilization V brought
some very tactical game

2698
01:46:31,760 --> 01:46:33,990
play to the series
that wasn't really

2699
01:46:33,990 --> 01:46:37,140
there in previous installments.

2700
01:46:37,140 --> 01:46:39,350
So in the past, you could
stack units on a tile.

2701
01:46:39,350 --> 01:46:41,700
So Civilization is
basically a game

2702
01:46:41,700 --> 01:46:44,870
made of tiles where you're
placing items on tiles.

2703
01:46:44,870 --> 01:46:47,832
And the tiles give you
bonuses or whatnot.

2704
01:46:47,832 --> 01:46:49,740
That's the very, very
basic version of it.

2705
01:46:49,740 --> 01:46:51,990
In this case, what we have--
and it's kind of blurry--

2706
01:46:51,990 --> 01:46:54,230
but you have a city
in the center, where

2707
01:46:54,230 --> 01:46:56,020
that arrow is pointing to.

2708
01:46:56,020 --> 01:46:58,940
You have these blue units
surrounding the city,

2709
01:46:58,940 --> 01:47:01,900
and a couple small
yellow units going on.

2710
01:47:01,900 --> 01:47:04,682
Can anybody describe what's
going on in this scene?

2711
01:47:04,682 --> 01:47:05,390
AUDIENCE: A raid.

2712
01:47:05,390 --> 01:47:05,860
RIK EBERHARDT: What's that?

2713
01:47:05,860 --> 01:47:06,600
AUDIENCE: A raid.

2714
01:47:06,600 --> 01:47:07,516
RIK EBERHARDT: A raid.

2715
01:47:07,516 --> 01:47:09,130
So we're fighting.

2716
01:47:09,130 --> 01:47:10,600
What kind of
decisions is a player

2717
01:47:10,600 --> 01:47:13,280
being asked to do right now?

2718
01:47:13,280 --> 01:47:15,090
And the player is
the blue player

2719
01:47:15,090 --> 01:47:16,571
that has the red arrow there.

2720
01:47:16,571 --> 01:47:18,680
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]

2721
01:47:18,680 --> 01:47:19,886
RIK EBERHARDT: What's that?

2722
01:47:19,886 --> 01:47:20,760
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]

2723
01:47:20,760 --> 01:47:20,980
RIK EBERHARDT: So yeah.

2724
01:47:20,980 --> 01:47:22,690
You're trying to
implement the strategy.

2725
01:47:22,690 --> 01:47:24,898
Can you kind of see--
apologies if you can't make out

2726
01:47:24,898 --> 01:47:28,770
the quality of the slide.

2727
01:47:28,770 --> 01:47:33,280
Can you see what is
exactly going on?

2728
01:47:33,280 --> 01:47:33,943
Yeah.

2729
01:47:33,943 --> 01:47:36,568
AUDIENCE: They're about to make
a ranged attack with the cannon

2730
01:47:36,568 --> 01:47:37,797
against the city.

2731
01:47:37,797 --> 01:47:38,630
RIK EBERHARDT: Yeah.

2732
01:47:38,630 --> 01:47:40,440
So first thing is,
all right, so I've

2733
01:47:40,440 --> 01:47:45,140
got a range attack that
is really diagonally away

2734
01:47:45,140 --> 01:47:46,400
from the city.

2735
01:47:46,400 --> 01:47:47,940
It's two hexes away.

2736
01:47:47,940 --> 01:47:49,190
I can do a range attack on it.

2737
01:47:49,190 --> 01:47:51,330
The cool thing about
this is that the city

2738
01:47:51,330 --> 01:47:53,240
can't attack me right now.

2739
01:47:53,240 --> 01:47:54,510
Well, actually it can.

2740
01:47:54,510 --> 01:47:57,169
But I'm making a mistake there.

2741
01:47:57,169 --> 01:47:58,460
But it's not the knight's turn.

2742
01:47:58,460 --> 01:48:01,210
So the knight can't attack
the ranged attack right now.

2743
01:48:01,210 --> 01:48:03,219
The other thing that's
happening is the player

2744
01:48:03,219 --> 01:48:05,510
had a long-term strategy,
which meant that they brought

2745
01:48:05,510 --> 01:48:08,980
some foot soldiers in
to surround the city,

2746
01:48:08,980 --> 01:48:11,900
protecting the ranged attacker.

2747
01:48:11,900 --> 01:48:14,030
They've also got this thing
called Zone of Control

2748
01:48:14,030 --> 01:48:14,800
going on in this.

2749
01:48:19,728 --> 01:48:23,022
All right, here's
an enemy person.

2750
01:48:23,022 --> 01:48:23,980
Here's an enemy person.

2751
01:48:23,980 --> 01:48:25,390
Here's an enemy person.

2752
01:48:25,390 --> 01:48:27,620
If any of these
people try to attack

2753
01:48:27,620 --> 01:48:29,710
any of these blue
people, there's

2754
01:48:29,710 --> 01:48:32,020
some kind of negative
modifier going on.

2755
01:48:32,020 --> 01:48:35,430
Because the blue player
has set it up such that

2756
01:48:35,430 --> 01:48:37,120
they're being flanked.

2757
01:48:37,120 --> 01:48:38,930
So there's some
spatial placement

2758
01:48:38,930 --> 01:48:41,080
going on that's been decided.

2759
01:48:41,080 --> 01:48:43,370
Not only did they have to
get all the units over here,

2760
01:48:43,370 --> 01:48:44,300
but once they were
here, they had

2761
01:48:44,300 --> 01:48:46,200
to put those units
in the right places

2762
01:48:46,200 --> 01:48:50,800
for this tactical
maneuver to happen.

2763
01:48:53,350 --> 01:48:54,990
So really, in
Civilization V, we're

2764
01:48:54,990 --> 01:48:57,420
talking about tactical
in one aspect of it.

2765
01:48:57,420 --> 01:48:59,250
In the combat
aspect of it, we're

2766
01:48:59,250 --> 01:49:03,590
talking about flanking, army
positioning, Zone of Control,

2767
01:49:03,590 --> 01:49:06,970
preventing other players
from entering into tiles,

2768
01:49:06,970 --> 01:49:10,920
controlling areas, and making
this area basically more

2769
01:49:10,920 --> 01:49:13,320
effective for the
blue player to attack

2770
01:49:13,320 --> 01:49:17,710
the city than for the
yellow player to defend it.

2771
01:49:17,710 --> 01:49:19,640
So how did the player get there?

2772
01:49:19,640 --> 01:49:22,800
How did blue get
into that situation?

2773
01:49:22,800 --> 01:49:26,590
They had an operational
or strategic plan

2774
01:49:26,590 --> 01:49:27,860
that they set forth.

2775
01:49:27,860 --> 01:49:30,425
They were able to develop
those weapons that they had.

2776
01:49:30,425 --> 01:49:33,250
They were able to make
them in the right location.

2777
01:49:33,250 --> 01:49:36,030
And then they were able
to transport them over

2778
01:49:36,030 --> 01:49:37,410
to the right location.

2779
01:49:37,410 --> 01:49:42,500
So if we're talking
about military strategy,

2780
01:49:42,500 --> 01:49:47,530
tactics, that might be
closer to logistics,

2781
01:49:47,530 --> 01:49:51,515
supply chain, getting
supply into the area.

2782
01:49:51,515 --> 01:49:53,390
The strategy that might
actually be happening

2783
01:49:53,390 --> 01:49:55,050
is even bigger than that.

2784
01:49:55,050 --> 01:49:57,670
So this is where it
gets into the realm

2785
01:49:57,670 --> 01:50:00,230
that I really nerd
out in is spreadsheets

2786
01:50:00,230 --> 01:50:02,400
of numbers and modifiers.

2787
01:50:02,400 --> 01:50:05,900
There's resources
you need to manage.

2788
01:50:05,900 --> 01:50:08,900
I need to anticipate what's
going to be there and have

2789
01:50:08,900 --> 01:50:11,510
the right things
built in time for them

2790
01:50:11,510 --> 01:50:14,450
to be useful in that situation.

2791
01:50:14,450 --> 01:50:17,360
There's an economic system
I need to manipulate and do

2792
01:50:17,360 --> 01:50:20,992
well with in order to afford the
units that I want over there.

2793
01:50:20,992 --> 01:50:23,450
If I'm playing well, I need to
be proactive in my strategy.

2794
01:50:23,450 --> 01:50:26,330
All strategy really
should be proactive.

2795
01:50:26,330 --> 01:50:29,250
And someone can argue with
me if there is such a thing

2796
01:50:29,250 --> 01:50:30,440
as reactive strategy.

2797
01:50:30,440 --> 01:50:33,310
But really, it could
be proactive and wrong.

2798
01:50:33,310 --> 01:50:35,390
But you did it beforehand.

2799
01:50:35,390 --> 01:50:37,675
You set up the gears
in motion for it

2800
01:50:37,675 --> 01:50:38,990
to play out the way it did.

2801
01:50:38,990 --> 01:50:41,650
And you're always planning
for some long-term future.

2802
01:50:41,650 --> 01:50:46,160
So in Civilization V, one way
that this plays out non-combat

2803
01:50:46,160 --> 01:50:49,060
is city placement.

2804
01:50:49,060 --> 01:50:52,040
Where I put my city is
incredibly important.

2805
01:50:52,040 --> 01:50:56,770
Using the real world map of
Africa, what they've done

2806
01:50:56,770 --> 01:50:59,960
is the designers put
these resources--

2807
01:50:59,960 --> 01:51:07,225
those circular items-- spices,
bananas, silk, diamonds, oil.

2808
01:51:07,225 --> 01:51:10,490
Some of the resources
are luxury resources.

2809
01:51:10,490 --> 01:51:12,950
So they help my cities be happy.

2810
01:51:12,950 --> 01:51:16,120
They help my citizens work
well and be productive.

2811
01:51:16,120 --> 01:51:19,940
There's agricultural
resources that help

2812
01:51:19,940 --> 01:51:22,090
my cities grow and be healthy.

2813
01:51:22,090 --> 01:51:24,310
And then there's
strategic resources--

2814
01:51:24,310 --> 01:51:25,900
and I could be mixing
these terms up.

2815
01:51:25,900 --> 01:51:28,420
They're things that are going
to help me build things.

2816
01:51:28,420 --> 01:51:33,840
So oil or steel or iron will
help me build better units.

2817
01:51:33,840 --> 01:51:36,440
So my strategy here--
there's a little bit

2818
01:51:36,440 --> 01:51:38,240
of tactics going on,
where when I actually

2819
01:51:38,240 --> 01:51:39,680
get my settler in
the right place,

2820
01:51:39,680 --> 01:51:43,185
I need to then find a
very specific place to go.

2821
01:51:43,185 --> 01:51:45,310
But long-term, if I'm
thinking about the long term,

2822
01:51:45,310 --> 01:51:47,310
I want to place
my cities in a way

2823
01:51:47,310 --> 01:51:49,410
where they're near resources.

2824
01:51:49,410 --> 01:51:51,020
They're near my friendly cities.

2825
01:51:51,020 --> 01:51:51,979
They have room to grow.

2826
01:51:51,979 --> 01:51:54,186
Because if I group my cities
too close to each other,

2827
01:51:54,186 --> 01:51:55,790
they're not going
to be as efficient.

2828
01:51:55,790 --> 01:51:57,570
This is really
apparent if anybody's

2829
01:51:57,570 --> 01:52:00,760
played Civilization
II, where there's

2830
01:52:00,760 --> 01:52:02,050
one real strategy to the game.

2831
01:52:02,050 --> 01:52:04,809
And that's just build a
city every three hexes.

2832
01:52:04,809 --> 01:52:05,850
That's just how it works.

2833
01:52:05,850 --> 01:52:08,681
And in the later games, they
tried to introduce some nuance

2834
01:52:08,681 --> 01:52:09,180
to that.

2835
01:52:12,545 --> 01:52:16,204
And again, I'm mixing
strategy and tactics

2836
01:52:16,204 --> 01:52:17,370
as we're talking about this.

2837
01:52:17,370 --> 01:52:18,880
They all go hand in hand.

2838
01:52:18,880 --> 01:52:21,300
A lot of the games
that we've played,

2839
01:52:21,300 --> 01:52:24,510
and that are these strategy
games that you talked about,

2840
01:52:24,510 --> 01:52:26,270
are actually more
tactical games.

2841
01:52:26,270 --> 01:52:29,810
There's much more emphasis
placed on the short-term thing

2842
01:52:29,810 --> 01:52:31,969
I do now than the long term.

2843
01:52:31,969 --> 01:52:34,260
That's not to say there isn't
long term in these games.

2844
01:52:34,260 --> 01:52:38,375
If anybody's played
League of Legends,

2845
01:52:38,375 --> 01:52:43,940
the metagame about the pick
process, so what champ to pick

2846
01:52:43,940 --> 01:52:45,110
or not.

2847
01:52:45,110 --> 01:52:47,150
That's a strategic maneuver.

2848
01:52:47,150 --> 01:52:48,890
You're planning for
a long-term strategy

2849
01:52:48,890 --> 01:52:51,029
that you're going to
play out within the game.

2850
01:52:51,029 --> 01:52:52,570
And not only are
you planning for it.

2851
01:52:52,570 --> 01:52:54,444
You picked it, and then
you're stuck with it.

2852
01:52:54,444 --> 01:52:56,620
So those decisions last.

2853
01:52:56,620 --> 01:52:58,079
With StarCraft II
it's build order,

2854
01:52:58,079 --> 01:52:59,745
which can be a little
bit more flexible.

2855
01:52:59,745 --> 01:53:01,360
There are build
orders that you can--

2856
01:53:01,360 --> 01:53:03,580
that's build order
in that you are

2857
01:53:03,580 --> 01:53:08,960
building units and buildings
and upgrades in the right order,

2858
01:53:08,960 --> 01:53:11,530
such that you're prepared for
multiple different strategies

2859
01:53:11,530 --> 01:53:12,560
coming into them.

2860
01:53:12,560 --> 01:53:13,851
And I could be butchering that.

2861
01:53:13,851 --> 01:53:14,547
I'm not a

2862
01:53:14,547 --> 01:53:16,588
PHILLIP TAN: That's
definitely a good [INAUDIBLE]

2863
01:53:16,588 --> 01:53:17,569
RIK EBERHARDT: Cool.

2864
01:53:17,569 --> 01:53:18,610
But that's more flexible.

2865
01:53:18,610 --> 01:53:21,000
Because I actually have
time within the game

2866
01:53:21,000 --> 01:53:24,440
to make some tactical changes
to that long-term strategy

2867
01:53:24,440 --> 01:53:25,909
that I decided on early.

2868
01:53:25,909 --> 01:53:27,450
Unless you're playing
professionally.

2869
01:53:27,450 --> 01:53:28,340
And then I've just
seem that they just

2870
01:53:28,340 --> 01:53:29,570
GG after five minutes.

2871
01:53:32,560 --> 01:53:36,490
So anybody recognize this quote?

2872
01:53:36,490 --> 01:53:39,040
Sid Meier, the developer
for Civilization,

2873
01:53:39,040 --> 01:53:43,640
famously said, "a good game is a
series of interesting choices."

2874
01:53:43,640 --> 01:53:45,580
It's very much the
case for the games

2875
01:53:45,580 --> 01:53:47,340
that we're making in this class.

2876
01:53:47,340 --> 01:53:51,270
The thing I want to note is
strive for interesting choices

2877
01:53:51,270 --> 01:53:52,840
in your games.

2878
01:53:52,840 --> 01:53:55,690
Be prepared for your choices
not to be interesting.

2879
01:53:55,690 --> 01:53:59,050
Try to iterate through them
and make them more interesting.

2880
01:53:59,050 --> 01:54:01,192
But we don't have a ton
of time to really help

2881
01:54:01,192 --> 01:54:02,900
you make the greatest
games in the world.

2882
01:54:02,900 --> 01:54:03,400
Right?

2883
01:54:03,400 --> 01:54:05,725
So we want your choices
to be meaningful.

2884
01:54:05,725 --> 01:54:07,850
And if one or two of them
are interesting, awesome.

2885
01:54:07,850 --> 01:54:09,510
You did a really,
really good job

2886
01:54:09,510 --> 01:54:12,890
with the game development
process of it.

2887
01:54:12,890 --> 01:54:15,590
I'm going to do a really,
really quick talk about how you

2888
01:54:15,590 --> 01:54:17,220
can make things interesting.

2889
01:54:17,220 --> 01:54:19,660
And we're going to come back
to it in later projects.

2890
01:54:19,660 --> 01:54:23,570
But I just want to kind of
get these two terms out there.

2891
01:54:23,570 --> 01:54:27,070
We're going to talk about
conflict and tension.

2892
01:54:27,070 --> 01:54:32,470
So what is conflict?

2893
01:54:32,470 --> 01:54:34,860
If I say the words
conflict and tension,

2894
01:54:34,860 --> 01:54:38,070
what's the definitions
you're more familiar with?

2895
01:54:41,010 --> 01:54:43,117
Anybody heard it in
drama or writing?

2896
01:54:43,117 --> 01:54:44,950
Like the narrative arc--
there's a conflict.

2897
01:54:44,950 --> 01:54:48,330
There are two people
who want the same thing.

2898
01:54:48,330 --> 01:54:50,724
Or there's an internal conflict.

2899
01:54:50,724 --> 01:54:52,682
And that's really what
I'm thinking of when I'm

2900
01:54:52,682 --> 01:54:53,890
saying conflict in this case.

2901
01:54:53,890 --> 01:54:56,910
It's, what is the conflict
in the player as they're

2902
01:54:56,910 --> 01:54:58,460
making these decisions?

2903
01:54:58,460 --> 01:55:00,960
What are the trade-offs
they're making?

2904
01:55:00,960 --> 01:55:03,600
Do I send an army this way?

2905
01:55:03,600 --> 01:55:05,200
Or do I send an army that way?

2906
01:55:05,200 --> 01:55:07,340
Or do I not fight at all?

2907
01:55:07,340 --> 01:55:09,720
If that is a really hard
decision for the player

2908
01:55:09,720 --> 01:55:12,570
to make-- if they can't
calculate it beforehand,

2909
01:55:12,570 --> 01:55:16,037
if they have enough information
to know that one may be better

2910
01:55:16,037 --> 01:55:17,870
than the other, but
they're not quite sure--

2911
01:55:17,870 --> 01:55:19,786
that's what we're talking
about with conflict.

2912
01:55:19,786 --> 01:55:21,400
With what Pablo was
playing with us,

2913
01:55:21,400 --> 01:55:24,877
the conflict in the
individual teams of,

2914
01:55:24,877 --> 01:55:25,960
we know the probabilities.

2915
01:55:25,960 --> 01:55:28,160
We can calculate that.

2916
01:55:28,160 --> 01:55:29,707
But are we sure?

2917
01:55:29,707 --> 01:55:31,540
Are we sure it's going
to play out that way?

2918
01:55:31,540 --> 01:55:33,180
I really wish he
had used to cones.

2919
01:55:33,180 --> 01:55:34,970
Because I really want
to know how often

2920
01:55:34,970 --> 01:55:39,170
the cone's going
to fall on its end.

2921
01:55:39,170 --> 01:55:42,062
And then tension are ways
we can modify that conflict.

2922
01:55:42,062 --> 01:55:43,520
Maybe there's no
conflict existing.

2923
01:55:43,520 --> 01:55:46,160
And we need to use tension
to create some conflict.

2924
01:55:46,160 --> 01:55:48,390
Maybe there's a little
bit of conflict going on,

2925
01:55:48,390 --> 01:55:51,730
and tension's going to amplify
that and make it more dramatic.

2926
01:55:51,730 --> 01:55:54,470
And there's just some basic
things you can change.

2927
01:55:54,470 --> 01:55:57,120
And when we talk about
the example games,

2928
01:55:57,120 --> 01:55:59,500
and if you play these example
games over the weekend,

2929
01:55:59,500 --> 01:56:02,030
think about these terms.

2930
01:56:02,030 --> 01:56:04,230
If I were to change
the timing in a game,

2931
01:56:04,230 --> 01:56:06,370
or the speed with which
you can make decisions,

2932
01:56:06,370 --> 01:56:09,850
or the precision that's required
to make those decisions--

2933
01:56:09,850 --> 01:56:11,340
would that increase
the conflict?

2934
01:56:11,340 --> 01:56:13,790
And by increasing
the conflict there,

2935
01:56:13,790 --> 01:56:15,300
are the choices
more interesting?

2936
01:56:15,300 --> 01:56:18,500
Is the game more engaging,
or the game more fun?

2937
01:56:18,500 --> 01:56:20,750
Limitations are
awesome in games.

2938
01:56:20,750 --> 01:56:25,400
Limitations are really how you
can design and control where

2939
01:56:25,400 --> 01:56:27,000
and what a player can do.

2940
01:56:27,000 --> 01:56:29,380
So how many options do
you give the player?

2941
01:56:29,380 --> 01:56:33,429
Do you give them two, or
three, or five, or infinite?

2942
01:56:33,429 --> 01:56:34,470
I can tell you right now.

2943
01:56:34,470 --> 01:56:36,650
Having infinite choices is
really, really difficult,

2944
01:56:36,650 --> 01:56:38,340
but not that interesting.

2945
01:56:38,340 --> 01:56:44,350
Space, costs, economics,
information, fog of war--

2946
01:56:44,350 --> 01:56:46,390
we've seen in some of
these strategy games

2947
01:56:46,390 --> 01:56:48,250
where you can only
see things that are

2948
01:56:48,250 --> 01:56:49,250
around where your units.

2949
01:56:49,250 --> 01:56:51,920
And you can't see
things outside of that.

2950
01:56:51,920 --> 01:56:55,300
These are all methods we use as
designers to create conflict,

2951
01:56:55,300 --> 01:56:57,467
to make those choices that
we're asking our players

2952
01:56:57,467 --> 01:56:58,300
to make interesting.

2953
01:57:01,080 --> 01:57:05,712
So example games-- what
I'd love for you to do--

2954
01:57:05,712 --> 01:57:06,920
and this is totally optional.

2955
01:57:06,920 --> 01:57:09,370
But if you're interested in
design, I totally recommend it.

2956
01:57:09,370 --> 01:57:10,786
Over the weekend,
play some games.

2957
01:57:10,786 --> 01:57:12,562
We're going to talk
about these games.

2958
01:57:12,562 --> 01:57:13,770
And think about these things.

2959
01:57:13,770 --> 01:57:17,254
And the slides are on Stellar.

2960
01:57:17,254 --> 01:57:18,670
Think about the
types of decisions

2961
01:57:18,670 --> 01:57:20,750
you can make, the
timing of the decisions,

2962
01:57:20,750 --> 01:57:23,170
whether the game is
single-player or multiplayer,

2963
01:57:23,170 --> 01:57:26,670
if there's competitive
or co-op play, if there's

2964
01:57:26,670 --> 01:57:29,750
teams or alliances, and what
kind of conflict and tension

2965
01:57:29,750 --> 01:57:31,054
exists in the game.

2966
01:57:31,054 --> 01:57:32,470
All of these are
things that we're

2967
01:57:32,470 --> 01:57:35,130
going to be asking you as
designers over the semester

2968
01:57:35,130 --> 01:57:38,540
to decide on, to design,
to craft, to create

2969
01:57:38,540 --> 01:57:41,810
a very particular experience
that you're trying to create.

2970
01:57:41,810 --> 01:57:45,920
So Drew's going to kick
us off with this game.

2971
01:57:45,920 --> 01:57:48,080
ANDREW GRANT: Who's
played backgammon?

2972
01:57:48,080 --> 01:57:49,330
Wow, really?

2973
01:57:49,330 --> 01:57:51,070
No one plays backgammon anymore.

2974
01:57:51,070 --> 01:57:52,511
All right.

2975
01:57:52,511 --> 01:57:54,010
Backgammon is a
pretty classic game.

2976
01:57:54,010 --> 01:57:58,060
It was invented a good,
oh, 5,000 years ago or so,

2977
01:57:58,060 --> 01:58:01,100
about the time that we
learned how to write.

2978
01:58:01,100 --> 01:58:03,420
It's got a lot of
planning, oddly enough.

2979
01:58:03,420 --> 01:58:05,560
There's a lot of probability
and randomness to it.

2980
01:58:05,560 --> 01:58:07,060
But you can plan
for that randomness

2981
01:58:07,060 --> 01:58:08,970
by setting your pieces
in the right spots.

2982
01:58:08,970 --> 01:58:10,470
You can choose
different strategies.

2983
01:58:10,470 --> 01:58:11,970
Are you going to be aggressive
to take the other person's

2984
01:58:11,970 --> 01:58:12,480
pieces?

2985
01:58:12,480 --> 01:58:13,580
Or are you going to
be defensive, and just

2986
01:58:13,580 --> 01:58:14,800
try to protect yourself?

2987
01:58:14,800 --> 01:58:16,560
Are you going to leave something
in the opponent's backfield,

2988
01:58:16,560 --> 01:58:18,018
so if you're losing
at the end, you

2989
01:58:18,018 --> 01:58:20,080
can maybe mess them up somehow?

2990
01:58:20,080 --> 01:58:22,350
Or when do you change from
trying to mess them up

2991
01:58:22,350 --> 01:58:23,710
to shooting for the end goal?

2992
01:58:23,710 --> 01:58:25,720
There's a couple different
ways to play backgammon, oddly

2993
01:58:25,720 --> 01:58:26,000
enough.

2994
01:58:26,000 --> 01:58:27,700
And it actually is
a fairly deep game.

2995
01:58:27,700 --> 01:58:29,400
There's a lot of
probability involved,

2996
01:58:29,400 --> 01:58:31,820
but some tactics
and some strategy

2997
01:58:31,820 --> 01:58:34,030
going on in there, too.

2998
01:58:34,030 --> 01:58:36,940
If you haven't played it
and you like board games,

2999
01:58:36,940 --> 01:58:38,020
it's well worth playing.

3000
01:58:38,020 --> 01:58:39,130
Because I think a
lot of the things

3001
01:58:39,130 --> 01:58:41,046
that you're going to see
in modern board games

3002
01:58:41,046 --> 01:58:43,840
really owe a lot to this game
right here, especially when you

3003
01:58:43,840 --> 01:58:45,830
add randomness as a mechanic.

3004
01:58:45,830 --> 01:58:47,627
Go and chess are
obviously really,

3005
01:58:47,627 --> 01:58:48,710
really awesome games, too.

3006
01:58:48,710 --> 01:58:50,501
But they're a very
different style of game.

3007
01:58:50,501 --> 01:58:52,570
Because they don't have
the randomness in there.

3008
01:58:52,570 --> 01:58:56,699
It's a very, very different
way of thinking about it.

3009
01:58:56,699 --> 01:58:58,990
This is another one where I
think there's more planning

3010
01:58:58,990 --> 01:59:00,710
than people give it credit for.

3011
01:59:00,710 --> 01:59:02,540
Who's played Twister?

3012
01:59:02,540 --> 01:59:03,410
That's more like it.

3013
01:59:03,410 --> 01:59:04,460
OK.

3014
01:59:04,460 --> 01:59:06,870
So in Twister you
actually can plan ahead.

3015
01:59:06,870 --> 01:59:08,300
You probably don't.

3016
01:59:08,300 --> 01:59:10,990
But if you played Twister
a lot, you might start.

3017
01:59:10,990 --> 01:59:13,310
You might realize, if I
put my right foot there

3018
01:59:13,310 --> 01:59:15,369
I'm really screwed if
they call red next time.

3019
01:59:15,369 --> 01:59:16,160
So I guess I won't.

3020
01:59:16,160 --> 01:59:17,210
I'll put it over there.

3021
01:59:17,210 --> 01:59:18,380
It kind of depends on how
many people are playing.

3022
01:59:18,380 --> 01:59:20,440
If there's enough people
playing, you can't do that.

3023
01:59:20,440 --> 01:59:21,460
You just have to be fast.

3024
01:59:21,460 --> 01:59:22,500
So Twister is an
interesting game

3025
01:59:22,500 --> 01:59:24,840
where sometimes you have to
make your decision extremely

3026
01:59:24,840 --> 01:59:25,340
quickly.

3027
01:59:27,770 --> 01:59:29,970
Is there strategy in Twister?

3028
01:59:29,970 --> 01:59:31,880
Anyone?

3029
01:59:31,880 --> 01:59:33,090
I see some nods.

3030
01:59:33,090 --> 01:59:34,897
What decisions would you make?

3031
01:59:34,897 --> 01:59:36,438
AUDIENCE: Maybe to
go under somebody,

3032
01:59:36,438 --> 01:59:40,310
if you have to reach and
lift them off the board.

3033
01:59:40,310 --> 01:59:41,310
ANDREW GRANT: All right.

3034
01:59:41,310 --> 01:59:41,809
Yes.

3035
01:59:41,809 --> 01:59:44,220
So there's a strategy to
Twister if you want to play

3036
01:59:44,220 --> 01:59:48,150
Twister to win, darn it.

3037
01:59:48,150 --> 01:59:50,842
And maybe you're thinking
that I've got better balance.

3038
01:59:50,842 --> 01:59:52,800
Or maybe I'm a little
bit bigger than they are.

3039
01:59:52,800 --> 01:59:54,150
I bet I can nudge
them a little bit.

3040
01:59:54,150 --> 01:59:54,816
That would work.

3041
01:59:54,816 --> 01:59:55,430
Right?

3042
01:59:55,430 --> 01:59:56,227
That does work.

3043
01:59:56,227 --> 01:59:58,560
Or maybe you want to play off
in your own little corner?

3044
01:59:58,560 --> 02:00:01,670
That works, too, unless no
one else lets you do it.

3045
02:00:01,670 --> 02:00:03,497
Or if you get yourself
too tangled up,

3046
02:00:03,497 --> 02:00:05,330
you can't move even
when you're by yourself.

3047
02:00:05,330 --> 02:00:06,620
Have you done that or seen that?

3048
02:00:06,620 --> 02:00:07,750
Someone's off by
themselves doing Twister

3049
02:00:07,750 --> 02:00:09,590
and they fall over
with no one near them?

3050
02:00:09,590 --> 02:00:11,634
It totally happens.

3051
02:00:11,634 --> 02:00:13,550
There's other strategic
decisions for Twister.

3052
02:00:13,550 --> 02:00:14,650
Are you trying to win?

3053
02:00:14,650 --> 02:00:18,800
Are you trying to stay near
someone, or away from someone?

3054
02:00:18,800 --> 02:00:21,780
There are totally other
game goals to Twister.

3055
02:00:21,780 --> 02:00:25,590
And they're up to the
people who are playing it.

3056
02:00:25,590 --> 02:00:26,791
What is next?

3057
02:00:26,791 --> 02:00:27,624
RIK EBERHARDT: Sara.

3058
02:00:27,624 --> 02:00:28,374
SARA VERRILLI: OK.

3059
02:00:28,374 --> 02:00:30,516
That would be me.

3060
02:00:30,516 --> 02:00:32,926
So this is not what
everybody thinks of when

3061
02:00:32,926 --> 02:00:33,580
they think of strategic games.

3062
02:00:33,580 --> 02:00:35,371
But I want to point
out that decisions come

3063
02:00:35,371 --> 02:00:37,760
in a lot of different styles.

3064
02:00:37,760 --> 02:00:40,900
You're not going to ever ruin
your game by any decisions

3065
02:00:40,900 --> 02:00:42,399
you make in FarmVille,
particularly.

3066
02:00:42,399 --> 02:00:44,169
But it is a game
that makes people

3067
02:00:44,169 --> 02:00:45,710
make a lot of choices
about what they

3068
02:00:45,710 --> 02:00:46,959
want to do, relatively freely.

3069
02:00:49,740 --> 02:00:52,680
The strategy-- where strategy
and resource management

3070
02:00:52,680 --> 02:00:55,680
comes into FarmVille is
you have a limited number

3071
02:00:55,680 --> 02:00:56,680
of actions you can take.

3072
02:00:56,680 --> 02:00:58,460
Which means you can only
play the game for so long.

3073
02:00:58,460 --> 02:01:00,650
Assuming you do not want to
become one of those people who

3074
02:01:00,650 --> 02:01:02,775
spends a big pile of money
playing FarmVille, which

3075
02:01:02,775 --> 02:01:05,930
I'm going to assume you are.

3076
02:01:05,930 --> 02:01:07,600
So you need to
manage your actions,

3077
02:01:07,600 --> 02:01:09,110
and think about how many
actions you're taking,

3078
02:01:09,110 --> 02:01:11,409
and think about when you want
to come back to the game.

3079
02:01:11,409 --> 02:01:12,950
And the way they do
that, and the way

3080
02:01:12,950 --> 02:01:14,360
that you can game
that system, is

3081
02:01:14,360 --> 02:01:16,760
by looking at how long
it takes things to grow,

3082
02:01:16,760 --> 02:01:18,760
what you want to grow,
what you want to make.

3083
02:01:18,760 --> 02:01:20,968
FarmVille is actually at
this point kind of outdated,

3084
02:01:20,968 --> 02:01:22,910
because they've
moved to FarmVille 2.

3085
02:01:22,910 --> 02:01:25,140
But I did not actually
want to go there and play

3086
02:01:25,140 --> 02:01:27,762
it to have the expertise
to tell you about it.

3087
02:01:27,762 --> 02:01:29,470
I did spend enough
time playing FarmVille

3088
02:01:29,470 --> 02:01:31,650
to know that there's
actually a whole lot

3089
02:01:31,650 --> 02:01:33,755
of interesting decisions
you get to make there.

3090
02:01:33,755 --> 02:01:35,630
And it's not a game
people think of when they

3091
02:01:35,630 --> 02:01:36,610
think of meaningful decisions.

3092
02:01:36,610 --> 02:01:38,151
Because they've
heard a whole lot of,

3093
02:01:38,151 --> 02:01:41,340
oh my god, it's that click game.

3094
02:01:41,340 --> 02:01:43,450
Just because it's
a game that doesn't

3095
02:01:43,450 --> 02:01:46,480
have a lot of deep
consequences doesn't

3096
02:01:46,480 --> 02:01:49,632
mean it can't have
a lot of deep play.

3097
02:01:49,632 --> 02:01:51,340
Am I hitting the right button?

3098
02:01:51,340 --> 02:01:52,730
Let's find out.

3099
02:01:52,730 --> 02:01:56,630
So Plants vs. Zombies is
essentially a really popular

3100
02:01:56,630 --> 02:01:57,510
tower defense game.

3101
02:01:57,510 --> 02:01:59,140
And tower defense
was not very popular

3102
02:01:59,140 --> 02:02:00,997
until Plants vs.
Zombies came out.

3103
02:02:00,997 --> 02:02:02,830
Because most people
hadn't done it very well

3104
02:02:02,830 --> 02:02:05,390
or presented it very well.

3105
02:02:05,390 --> 02:02:09,060
But in Plants vs. Zombies,
you've got tons of choices.

3106
02:02:09,060 --> 02:02:10,940
Who here has played
Plants vs. Zombies?

3107
02:02:10,940 --> 02:02:11,910
Let me ask the first question.

3108
02:02:11,910 --> 02:02:12,290
OK.

3109
02:02:12,290 --> 02:02:13,998
So yeah, you know what
I'm talking about.

3110
02:02:16,790 --> 02:02:18,500
They got the UI
right, absolutely.

3111
02:02:18,500 --> 02:02:20,360
So it's easy to play.

3112
02:02:20,360 --> 02:02:23,870
And every time you go in to
play a level, you get to choose.

3113
02:02:23,870 --> 02:02:25,750
Which strategy are
you going to use?

3114
02:02:25,750 --> 02:02:27,601
You've got sort of
the long-term strategy

3115
02:02:27,601 --> 02:02:29,100
choice for each
level, where you get

3116
02:02:29,100 --> 02:02:30,300
to choose which
creatures you're taking

3117
02:02:30,300 --> 02:02:31,540
or which plants you're taking.

3118
02:02:31,540 --> 02:02:32,920
And you can go back
and play each level

3119
02:02:32,920 --> 02:02:34,770
with a completely
different set of plants,

3120
02:02:34,770 --> 02:02:36,900
and still succeed,
or fail at it.

3121
02:02:36,900 --> 02:02:40,280
In my case, it's
often more failing.

3122
02:02:40,280 --> 02:02:41,830
They give you just
enough information

3123
02:02:41,830 --> 02:02:43,913
so you can think about
what you're going to bring.

3124
02:02:46,350 --> 02:02:47,970
You can see what's coming in.

3125
02:02:47,970 --> 02:02:49,520
You don't know how many of
those are going to come.

3126
02:02:49,520 --> 02:02:51,269
You don't know when
they're going to come.

3127
02:02:51,269 --> 02:02:54,087
So you have to both
plan for, I know there's

3128
02:02:54,087 --> 02:02:55,170
going to be a zombie need.

3129
02:02:55,170 --> 02:02:56,530
But I don't know how
much of them it is.

3130
02:02:56,530 --> 02:02:58,113
How much resources
do I need to devote

3131
02:02:58,113 --> 02:03:03,810
to worrying about the
zom-- zom-- zombies.

3132
02:03:03,810 --> 02:03:06,164
I'm not getting that
right at all, am I?

3133
02:03:06,164 --> 02:03:08,330
How much resources do I
have to worry about devoting

3134
02:03:08,330 --> 02:03:10,663
to that versus all the other
threats I've got coming in?

3135
02:03:13,330 --> 02:03:16,114
Now I have to admit
something terrible.

3136
02:03:16,114 --> 02:03:17,280
My daughters play this game.

3137
02:03:17,280 --> 02:03:18,904
And I have watched
them play this game.

3138
02:03:18,904 --> 02:03:20,640
But I haven't actually
played this game.

3139
02:03:20,640 --> 02:03:24,360
And I was going to play it last
night so I could talk about it.

3140
02:03:24,360 --> 02:03:27,230
And then my daughters
hid my iPad on me.

3141
02:03:27,230 --> 02:03:29,400
It's very hard to
download a game

3142
02:03:29,400 --> 02:03:32,140
when you don't have the
device to download it onto.

3143
02:03:32,140 --> 02:03:34,440
So has anybody else
played this game?

3144
02:03:34,440 --> 02:03:34,940
OK.

3145
02:03:34,940 --> 02:03:35,689
A few people have.

3146
02:03:38,970 --> 02:03:41,590
Your goal in this game
is you're a virus.

3147
02:03:41,590 --> 02:03:43,610
You would like to evolve
and hopefully take out

3148
02:03:43,610 --> 02:03:45,960
all of humanity.

3149
02:03:45,960 --> 02:03:48,610
And as you're playing the
game as the player guiding

3150
02:03:48,610 --> 02:03:52,960
the virus's development, you
get to make a lot of choices.

3151
02:03:52,960 --> 02:03:54,240
How lethal is it?

3152
02:03:54,240 --> 02:03:56,020
What kind of
symptoms do you have?

3153
02:03:56,020 --> 02:03:58,200
How easy is it to spread?

3154
02:03:58,200 --> 02:04:00,460
My daughters are
working on the infect

3155
02:04:00,460 --> 02:04:04,020
the whole planet with a
completely symptomless disease

3156
02:04:04,020 --> 02:04:06,760
tactic, and then evolve
quickly up to lethality

3157
02:04:06,760 --> 02:04:09,709
and take everybody out.

3158
02:04:09,709 --> 02:04:11,000
They haven't succeeded at this.

3159
02:04:11,000 --> 02:04:12,580
It sounds like the
perfect strategy.

3160
02:04:12,580 --> 02:04:14,038
But they haven't
succeeded at this.

3161
02:04:14,038 --> 02:04:16,790
Because you kind of need
symptoms to cause damage.

3162
02:04:16,790 --> 02:04:18,819
And they can't evolve
the symptoms fast enough.

3163
02:04:18,819 --> 02:04:20,360
Once they've gotten
everyone infected

3164
02:04:20,360 --> 02:04:22,940
and they're going from
completely harmless to deadly,

3165
02:04:22,940 --> 02:04:26,600
they can't manage to
evolve it fast enough.

3166
02:04:26,600 --> 02:04:29,496
So it's got a lot
of interesting play

3167
02:04:29,496 --> 02:04:31,620
there, where you've got a
lot of different tactics.

3168
02:04:31,620 --> 02:04:33,940
I think they can get it
someday, but they haven't yet.

3169
02:04:33,940 --> 02:04:37,350
They'll need to try
a different tactic.

3170
02:04:37,350 --> 02:04:40,710
And finally, a game I have
played an awful lot of

3171
02:04:40,710 --> 02:04:41,680
is Pandemic.

3172
02:04:41,680 --> 02:04:43,840
Who here has played Pandemic?

3173
02:04:43,840 --> 02:04:45,560
OK.

3174
02:04:45,560 --> 02:04:48,960
So what is the main
tactic and resource

3175
02:04:48,960 --> 02:04:51,580
you have in this game,
if you've played it?

3176
02:04:54,350 --> 02:04:55,030
AUDIENCE: Turns.

3177
02:04:55,030 --> 02:04:57,300
SARA VERRILLI:
Turns-- well, time.

3178
02:04:57,300 --> 02:04:57,890
Time.

3179
02:04:57,890 --> 02:04:58,750
Yeah.

3180
02:04:58,750 --> 02:05:00,560
In a lot of ways, in this game,
what you're playing against

3181
02:05:00,560 --> 02:05:01,060
is time.

3182
02:05:01,060 --> 02:05:03,010
Because when you
run out of the deck,

3183
02:05:03,010 --> 02:05:06,930
if you haven't managed to
clear things, the game is over.

3184
02:05:06,930 --> 02:05:09,600
And the resource you've got,
and the choices you've got,

3185
02:05:09,600 --> 02:05:14,014
is where people are going and
which area they're fighting.

3186
02:05:14,014 --> 02:05:15,680
The overall plan of
the game, of course,

3187
02:05:15,680 --> 02:05:19,280
is there are four
epidemics raging.

3188
02:05:19,280 --> 02:05:20,330
You're the CDC.

3189
02:05:20,330 --> 02:05:23,110
You need to find cures
for all the plagues

3190
02:05:23,110 --> 02:05:29,160
before they take out
the rest of humanity.

3191
02:05:29,160 --> 02:05:31,770
And so you have to balance
both your long-term strategy

3192
02:05:31,770 --> 02:05:33,786
of finding a cure
for each of diseases

3193
02:05:33,786 --> 02:05:35,410
with the short-term
strategy of keeping

3194
02:05:35,410 --> 02:05:38,529
the diseases under
control, so that you

3195
02:05:38,529 --> 02:05:41,024
don't end up with
everything being destroyed.

3196
02:05:44,517 --> 02:05:47,012
PHILLIP TAN: All right, my turn.

3197
02:05:47,012 --> 02:05:52,991
[INAUDIBLE] Who's
played Dominion?

3198
02:05:52,991 --> 02:05:54,010
OK, pretty popular.

3199
02:05:54,010 --> 02:05:57,600
I certainly recommend it
as a good introduction

3200
02:05:57,600 --> 02:06:01,170
to the basic idea of
deck-building games.

3201
02:06:01,170 --> 02:06:04,710
Actually, how many people
have played Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh!,

3202
02:06:04,710 --> 02:06:06,150
Pokemon card game?

3203
02:06:06,150 --> 02:06:06,910
OK.

3204
02:06:06,910 --> 02:06:09,270
All right, a lot of that.

3205
02:06:09,270 --> 02:06:12,115
In many of those games, and
in Dominion, a lot of the fun

3206
02:06:12,115 --> 02:06:14,380
is just building
your own machine,

3207
02:06:14,380 --> 02:06:16,490
your own little
engine, that is going

3208
02:06:16,490 --> 02:06:18,000
to execute out your strategy.

3209
02:06:18,000 --> 02:06:20,314
Now your engine happens
to be a deck of cards.

3210
02:06:20,314 --> 02:06:22,730
You get shuffled up, so it's
in some sort of random order.

3211
02:06:22,730 --> 02:06:26,025
But you get to choose
what cards go in there.

3212
02:06:26,025 --> 02:06:28,520
In a collectible card game
like Magic: the Gathering,

3213
02:06:28,520 --> 02:06:31,080
you are buying those cards,
and then assembling the cards,

3214
02:06:31,080 --> 02:06:33,150
or there's a draft
[? mechanic ?].

3215
02:06:33,150 --> 02:06:35,340
In a game like
Dominion, there is

3216
02:06:35,340 --> 02:06:38,330
a way where you buy more cards
while you're playing the game.

3217
02:06:38,330 --> 02:06:41,140
But in the end, what
it all comes down to is

3218
02:06:41,140 --> 02:06:44,310
as you play this game, you get
cards that go into your deck.

3219
02:06:44,310 --> 02:06:46,747
They are going to end up
being shuffled in your deck.

3220
02:06:46,747 --> 02:06:48,330
And at some random
time in the future,

3221
02:06:48,330 --> 02:06:49,640
it's going to get played out.

3222
02:06:49,640 --> 02:06:52,270
And so the cards that you
choose to put into your deck

3223
02:06:52,270 --> 02:06:55,820
turns out to be your main
means of motivating you

3224
02:06:55,820 --> 02:06:58,490
towards a [INAUDIBLE] strategy.

3225
02:06:58,490 --> 02:07:01,540
There are a range of different
ways to play this game,

3226
02:07:01,540 --> 02:07:05,620
and different possible
success criteria.

3227
02:07:08,600 --> 02:07:11,070
And the really interesting
thing about the Dominion deck

3228
02:07:11,070 --> 02:07:15,170
is I think it gets something
like over 20 different kinds

3229
02:07:15,170 --> 02:07:18,270
of cards in a box of Dominion.

3230
02:07:18,270 --> 02:07:23,630
But you only play with 10 of
them-- 10 plus victory points.

3231
02:07:23,630 --> 02:07:27,660
So every time you play
the game, the strategy

3232
02:07:27,660 --> 02:07:29,370
starts by just seeing,
what are the 10

3233
02:07:29,370 --> 02:07:33,880
cards I've got in front of
me for this session of play?

3234
02:07:33,880 --> 02:07:36,270
And then you choose, out
of these 10 cards, what

3235
02:07:36,270 --> 02:07:39,489
are the cards that I'm going to
select and in what proportion,

3236
02:07:39,489 --> 02:07:41,280
in order to build this
engine that is going

3237
02:07:41,280 --> 02:07:43,134
to motivate me towards victory?

3238
02:07:43,134 --> 02:07:44,300
So it's an interesting game.

3239
02:07:44,300 --> 02:07:45,841
I would strongly
recommend it, if you

3240
02:07:45,841 --> 02:07:47,824
know someone who's got
a copy of this game

3241
02:07:47,824 --> 02:07:48,865
or any of the expansions.

3242
02:07:48,865 --> 02:07:50,031
They're all interchangeable.

3243
02:07:55,260 --> 02:08:01,180
Drop7-- mostly played on mobile,
although I think there is also

3244
02:08:01,180 --> 02:08:03,250
a browser version of this game.

3245
02:08:03,250 --> 02:08:04,790
How many of you
have played this?

3246
02:08:04,790 --> 02:08:05,600
Yeah.

3247
02:08:05,600 --> 02:08:09,140
Perfect for a T ride, I find.

3248
02:08:09,140 --> 02:08:12,970
You can finish a session
in a single trip on the T.

3249
02:08:12,970 --> 02:08:15,950
The idea is that you're
just dropping one number

3250
02:08:15,950 --> 02:08:17,770
from the top of the screen.

3251
02:08:17,770 --> 02:08:21,440
And that number ranges
anywhere between one to seven.

3252
02:08:21,440 --> 02:08:25,320
And if you manage to
make a row of numbers

3253
02:08:25,320 --> 02:08:31,880
that add up to-- let's
say I have a row of sixes.

3254
02:08:31,880 --> 02:08:33,800
And I have six sixes in a row.

3255
02:08:33,800 --> 02:08:35,950
Then all of the sixes
are going to disappear.

3256
02:08:35,950 --> 02:08:37,580
And it's going to
also clear out some

3257
02:08:37,580 --> 02:08:40,100
of those gray circles where
you don't know the numbers yet.

3258
02:08:40,100 --> 02:08:42,680
It's going to review the
numbers behind these gray tiles.

3259
02:08:42,680 --> 02:08:45,450
You can think of them as tiles
that were turned upside down.

3260
02:08:45,450 --> 02:08:48,390
So what you really, really
want to make is chains.

3261
02:08:48,390 --> 02:08:53,440
Chains are where, if I have a
six, five, four, three, two,

3262
02:08:53,440 --> 02:08:56,295
one, then what happens is
that six is going to burst.

3263
02:08:56,295 --> 02:08:57,670
Then that five is
going to burst.

3264
02:08:57,670 --> 02:08:58,370
Then that four is
going to burst.

3265
02:08:58,370 --> 02:09:00,110
Then a three, and
so on and so forth.

3266
02:09:00,110 --> 02:09:01,870
You set up these massive chains.

3267
02:09:01,870 --> 02:09:03,539
And basically,
you're just assigning

3268
02:09:03,539 --> 02:09:04,830
how you're going to place this.

3269
02:09:04,830 --> 02:09:09,270
And if you played a
game like Puyo Puyo--

3270
02:09:09,270 --> 02:09:11,700
I'm trying to think-- certain
kinds of Match 3 games

3271
02:09:11,700 --> 02:09:17,420
like Bejeweled, you'll get this
sort of chain reaction feeling.

3272
02:09:17,420 --> 02:09:19,750
And some games more
than others encourage

3273
02:09:19,750 --> 02:09:25,070
you to set up these chains
before you drop the triggering

3274
02:09:25,070 --> 02:09:25,830
piece.

3275
02:09:25,830 --> 02:09:28,140
Drop7 is very much about that.

3276
02:09:28,140 --> 02:09:33,290
So I believe, if you can
find it on a browser,

3277
02:09:33,290 --> 02:09:34,140
it should be free.

3278
02:09:34,140 --> 02:09:37,000
I'm not so sure whether
the iOS versions are free.

3279
02:09:37,000 --> 02:09:37,700
They are?

3280
02:09:37,700 --> 02:09:38,200
Great.

3281
02:09:40,910 --> 02:09:43,880
I keep forgetting the
computer is on this side.

3282
02:09:43,880 --> 02:09:47,650
The StarCraft II visual novel.

3283
02:09:47,650 --> 02:09:49,077
AUDIENCE: Wait, is it done?

3284
02:09:49,077 --> 02:09:49,910
PHILLIP TAN: No, no.

3285
02:09:49,910 --> 02:09:52,720
It's still in development.

3286
02:09:52,720 --> 02:09:54,750
Full disclosure, I am
a Kickstarter backer

3287
02:09:54,750 --> 02:09:56,550
of this game.

3288
02:09:56,550 --> 02:09:58,870
As has been mentioned
many, many times,

3289
02:09:58,870 --> 02:10:01,430
I am a StarCraft II player.

3290
02:10:01,430 --> 02:10:04,400
But I am not encouraging
you to go and learn

3291
02:10:04,400 --> 02:10:05,350
that over the weekend.

3292
02:10:05,350 --> 02:10:08,970
Because StarCraft II is more
of a lifestyle kind of thing.

3293
02:10:08,970 --> 02:10:11,184
[LAUGHTER]

3294
02:10:11,184 --> 02:10:12,600
But if you're just
kind of wanting

3295
02:10:12,600 --> 02:10:15,590
to see what the
strategy is about,

3296
02:10:15,590 --> 02:10:18,789
this is an interesting
game where--

3297
02:10:18,789 --> 02:10:20,330
if you've ever played
a visual novel,

3298
02:10:20,330 --> 02:10:24,150
they're kind of like Choose Your
Own Adventure in digital form.

3299
02:10:24,150 --> 02:10:26,080
And they are usually
very strong narrative-

3300
02:10:26,080 --> 02:10:27,560
and character-driven games.

3301
02:10:27,560 --> 02:10:33,330
You play a teenager who has
moved to Korea in the hopes

3302
02:10:33,330 --> 02:10:35,950
to start his or her
pro gaming career.

3303
02:10:35,950 --> 02:10:39,920
And you go into a LAN center.

3304
02:10:39,920 --> 02:10:42,760
And you play random
games against people.

3305
02:10:42,760 --> 02:10:45,010
Only these are the kinds of
decisions you get to make.

3306
02:10:45,010 --> 02:10:46,920
Which strategy are
you going to go for?

3307
02:10:46,920 --> 02:10:50,890
I usually find this to be
a really, really good way

3308
02:10:50,890 --> 02:10:54,740
of conveying the macro-level
decisions, the really, really

3309
02:10:54,740 --> 02:10:56,517
high-level long-term
strategic decisions

3310
02:10:56,517 --> 02:10:57,600
that you're going to make.

3311
02:10:57,600 --> 02:11:00,040
Because you're not
actually playing StarCraft.

3312
02:11:00,040 --> 02:11:05,020
You are choosing between
two or three choices.

3313
02:11:05,020 --> 02:11:06,700
And then it plays out.

3314
02:11:06,700 --> 02:11:10,380
But it gives you a good idea of
the kind of high-level decision

3315
02:11:10,380 --> 02:11:10,880
making.

3316
02:11:10,880 --> 02:11:13,569
Whereas most people see
someone play StarCraft as like,

3317
02:11:13,569 --> 02:11:14,610
the [KEY-CLACKING NOISE].

3318
02:11:14,610 --> 02:11:18,610
And you're not seeing
that long term strategy.

3319
02:11:18,610 --> 02:11:22,090
So we do have a Let's Play up.

3320
02:11:22,090 --> 02:11:23,360
And the URL is there.

3321
02:11:23,360 --> 02:11:26,220
But if you just Google MIT Game
Lab, StarCraft II visual novel,

3322
02:11:26,220 --> 02:11:28,722
you'll see the YouTube video
and get an idea of that.

3323
02:11:28,722 --> 02:11:31,180
Because I'm not so sure if you
can still download the demo.

3324
02:11:31,180 --> 02:11:33,190
But the demo does have
some of these features.

3325
02:11:37,900 --> 02:11:39,784
ANDREW GRANT: I am last..

3326
02:11:39,784 --> 02:11:41,110
Mini Metro.

3327
02:11:41,110 --> 02:11:41,610
All right.

3328
02:11:41,610 --> 02:11:45,980
So my games that I
chose-- what's up?

3329
02:11:45,980 --> 02:11:46,690
Oh, thank you.

3330
02:11:46,690 --> 02:11:47,520
Cool.

3331
02:11:47,520 --> 02:11:50,040
So this one I really
like as an example.

3332
02:11:50,040 --> 02:11:51,800
Eww, it looks awful
on the screen, though.

3333
02:11:51,800 --> 02:11:53,425
So I really like this
one as an example

3334
02:11:53,425 --> 02:11:57,170
because it has not
yet been published.

3335
02:11:57,170 --> 02:11:59,800
On their website they
have their alpha build.

3336
02:11:59,800 --> 02:12:04,120
And if you were to buy their
game, what you would see

3337
02:12:04,120 --> 02:12:05,080
is the beta build.

3338
02:12:05,080 --> 02:12:07,880
And then later on, when it
actually does publish-- you

3339
02:12:07,880 --> 02:12:09,400
guys can even see
this on YouTube.

3340
02:12:09,400 --> 02:12:11,816
You can see what it's going
to look like when you actually

3341
02:12:11,816 --> 02:12:13,460
buy the final game.

3342
02:12:13,460 --> 02:12:15,370
It plays exactly the same.

3343
02:12:15,370 --> 02:12:18,230
It looks polished.

3344
02:12:18,230 --> 02:12:20,344
It's a really good
example of here's

3345
02:12:20,344 --> 02:12:22,260
a game that works and
is functionally perfect.

3346
02:12:22,260 --> 02:12:23,760
And they could have
just shipped it.

3347
02:12:23,760 --> 02:12:26,290
And I'm really glad that
did, because I play it a lot.

3348
02:12:26,290 --> 02:12:27,835
And when they
finally ship it, it's

3349
02:12:27,835 --> 02:12:29,460
still going to play
the exact same way.

3350
02:12:29,460 --> 02:12:30,430
It's just going to be
a little bit prettier.

3351
02:12:30,430 --> 02:12:31,070
And it really doesn't matter.

3352
02:12:31,070 --> 02:12:32,130
I don't really care about that.

3353
02:12:32,130 --> 02:12:34,620
That's something that we're
going to stress in this game.

3354
02:12:34,620 --> 02:12:37,220
We're more concerned about
that, is it playable?

3355
02:12:37,220 --> 02:12:37,900
Does it work?

3356
02:12:37,900 --> 02:12:40,510
Can I understand how to play
it-- more so than the pretty,

3357
02:12:40,510 --> 02:12:44,490
more so than the aesthetic
and visual polish.

3358
02:12:44,490 --> 02:12:49,004
So in this game, it is a
game about managing a subway.

3359
02:12:49,004 --> 02:12:50,420
All of the sudden
a subway station

3360
02:12:50,420 --> 02:12:51,560
appears in the middle of space.

3361
02:12:51,560 --> 02:12:53,018
And you have to
build a line to it.

3362
02:12:53,018 --> 02:12:54,510
So you build your line.

3363
02:12:54,510 --> 02:12:57,080
And then passengers randomly
appear on the subway trains.

3364
02:12:57,080 --> 02:12:59,580
But you don't have to actually
get them from place to place.

3365
02:12:59,580 --> 02:13:00,970
You don't control the trains.

3366
02:13:00,970 --> 02:13:02,470
You just build the lines.

3367
02:13:02,470 --> 02:13:04,170
The trains move on their own.

3368
02:13:04,170 --> 02:13:06,290
And they're moving
at a constant rate.

3369
02:13:06,290 --> 02:13:07,970
So you can kind of
guess when the train

3370
02:13:07,970 --> 02:13:10,030
is going to get to the station.

3371
02:13:10,030 --> 02:13:13,840
There are strategies
to-- you can move

3372
02:13:13,840 --> 02:13:15,534
your lines around a little bit.

3373
02:13:15,534 --> 02:13:17,700
But once your lines are in
place, for the most part,

3374
02:13:17,700 --> 02:13:18,324
they're static.

3375
02:13:18,324 --> 02:13:20,200
You can't really change
them all that much.

3376
02:13:20,200 --> 02:13:21,740
So there's some
limitations going on

3377
02:13:21,740 --> 02:13:24,930
between how much you
can move a line or not.

3378
02:13:24,930 --> 02:13:26,580
At the end, if you
last a week, it's

3379
02:13:26,580 --> 02:13:28,163
going to give you
one of three options

3380
02:13:28,163 --> 02:13:29,810
to do a power-up, basically.

3381
02:13:29,810 --> 02:13:33,410
Either you can build a
new line, add a new train,

3382
02:13:33,410 --> 02:13:34,900
increase the
capacity of a train.

3383
02:13:34,900 --> 02:13:36,650
So you're making a
permanent choice there.

3384
02:13:36,650 --> 02:13:38,400
And that's going to
affect the later game.

3385
02:13:38,400 --> 02:13:40,730
So you're making all
sorts of these decisions

3386
02:13:40,730 --> 02:13:42,169
at both a macro and micro level.

3387
02:13:42,169 --> 02:13:44,210
And there's a really good
write-up about the game

3388
02:13:44,210 --> 02:13:47,570
right there, if you
just want to read that.

3389
02:13:47,570 --> 02:13:51,150
FTL-- I lost a ton
of productivity

3390
02:13:51,150 --> 02:13:53,630
a few months ago
because of this game.

3391
02:13:53,630 --> 02:13:56,931
It is a game about
fighting in spaceships

3392
02:13:56,931 --> 02:13:59,180
without actually controlling
all the fighting so much.

3393
02:13:59,180 --> 02:14:04,470
You're actually upgrading your
ship, increasing your capacity,

3394
02:14:04,470 --> 02:14:07,730
buying crew members-- and
hoping your crew members survive

3395
02:14:07,730 --> 02:14:09,170
is a lot of it.

3396
02:14:09,170 --> 02:14:13,619
You could-- and I
do this-- manually

3397
02:14:13,619 --> 02:14:14,660
control all your weapons.

3398
02:14:14,660 --> 02:14:17,034
And actually to succeed,
you really do have to.

3399
02:14:17,034 --> 02:14:19,200
Because the interesting
thing with this game is it's

3400
02:14:19,200 --> 02:14:20,390
a perma-death game.

3401
02:14:20,390 --> 02:14:22,602
As soon as you die, it's dead.

3402
02:14:22,602 --> 02:14:23,560
You have to start over.

3403
02:14:23,560 --> 02:14:24,768
You have to restart the game.

3404
02:14:24,768 --> 02:14:28,150
Luckily the game only takes
about three hours to play.

3405
02:14:28,150 --> 02:14:30,880
But you're lucky if you get
through those three hours.

3406
02:14:30,880 --> 02:14:32,870
And when you finally
get to the last boss,

3407
02:14:32,870 --> 02:14:36,987
and you're there-- the thing
about this game is in order

3408
02:14:36,987 --> 02:14:39,570
to get to that boss, there's all
sorts of different challenges

3409
02:14:39,570 --> 02:14:40,630
you're facing.

3410
02:14:40,630 --> 02:14:42,370
And you're making
these decisions about,

3411
02:14:42,370 --> 02:14:44,000
do I buy this weapon
or that weapon

3412
02:14:44,000 --> 02:14:45,740
to help me with the thing
I know that I'm going

3413
02:14:45,740 --> 02:14:46,864
to face in the next sector?

3414
02:14:46,864 --> 02:14:48,420
Because I'm losing health.

3415
02:14:48,420 --> 02:14:50,530
I'm really dying here.

3416
02:14:50,530 --> 02:14:52,280
But is this weapon
really going to help me

3417
02:14:52,280 --> 02:14:54,720
when I get to the boss?

3418
02:14:54,720 --> 02:14:56,470
You're constantly
going back and forth.

3419
02:14:56,470 --> 02:14:59,800
So I'll often find, after three
or four, that I'm at the boss

3420
02:14:59,800 --> 02:15:02,330
and I'm completely ill-equipped
to fight this thing.

3421
02:15:02,330 --> 02:15:03,570
And I just die.

3422
02:15:03,570 --> 02:15:05,900
But I do play out to the
end, because it's fun.

3423
02:15:05,900 --> 02:15:08,200
Last game I have--
this one's free online.

3424
02:15:08,200 --> 02:15:09,570
It's called Gridland.

3425
02:15:09,570 --> 02:15:14,440
If anybody's played the game, A
Dark Room, a text-based supply

3426
02:15:14,440 --> 02:15:16,780
chain game, this is
the Match 3 version

3427
02:15:16,780 --> 02:15:19,100
of that game, a little bit.

3428
02:15:19,100 --> 02:15:21,590
There's two stages in
the game-- day and night.

3429
02:15:21,590 --> 02:15:24,070
It's Match 3, so you
just collect three gems.

3430
02:15:24,070 --> 02:15:27,580
And you get whatever the
gems represent-- resources

3431
02:15:27,580 --> 02:15:34,760
like clay, wood, and
stone, food, paper, gems.

3432
02:15:34,760 --> 02:15:38,190
You can upgrade your little
factories to make better gems.

3433
02:15:38,190 --> 02:15:39,699
Every time you
upgrade one of these,

3434
02:15:39,699 --> 02:15:41,240
though-- so if you
upgrade your wood,

3435
02:15:41,240 --> 02:15:42,450
you'll get a better sword.

3436
02:15:42,450 --> 02:15:44,045
If you upgrade your
clay, which you

3437
02:15:44,045 --> 02:15:47,170
need to make the
better wood, you're

3438
02:15:47,170 --> 02:15:49,740
going to get in the
nighttime a stronger monster.

3439
02:15:49,740 --> 02:15:52,870
So in this case, this
is immediately daytime

3440
02:15:52,870 --> 02:15:54,410
and then shifted over to night.

3441
02:15:54,410 --> 02:15:55,930
The exact same layout is there.

3442
02:15:55,930 --> 02:16:00,371
It's just the logs
have become shields.

3443
02:16:00,371 --> 02:16:03,590
The little blue things that
are supposed to be iron

3444
02:16:03,590 --> 02:16:04,720
become swords.

3445
02:16:04,720 --> 02:16:08,550
And all the other
things become enemies.

3446
02:16:08,550 --> 02:16:11,900
So a lot of the
strategy for this game

3447
02:16:11,900 --> 02:16:14,330
is, what's going to help me now?

3448
02:16:14,330 --> 02:16:16,257
What's going to help
me in the future?

3449
02:16:16,257 --> 02:16:17,840
What's going to hurt
me in the future?

3450
02:16:17,840 --> 02:16:19,465
And what's going to
hurt me immediately

3451
02:16:19,465 --> 02:16:21,670
as I switch over to night?

3452
02:16:21,670 --> 02:16:24,012
Once I get into the
night mode, I'll

3453
02:16:24,012 --> 02:16:25,970
have known exactly what
I'm going to be facing.

3454
02:16:25,970 --> 02:16:27,937
Because I set that stage up.

3455
02:16:27,937 --> 02:16:30,520
So unlike Bejeweled where you're
just constantly just clicking

3456
02:16:30,520 --> 02:16:32,040
things, or Candy Crush
where you're just

3457
02:16:32,040 --> 02:16:33,139
constantly just
clicking things, there's

3458
02:16:33,139 --> 02:16:34,430
actually no time limit on this.

3459
02:16:34,430 --> 02:16:35,950
And it took me--
it's embarrassing

3460
02:16:35,950 --> 02:16:38,282
how long it took me-- a day
or two to realize that I

3461
02:16:38,282 --> 02:16:39,490
didn't have to play that way.

3462
02:16:39,490 --> 02:16:42,495
I could just wait,
pause, and play.

3463
02:16:42,495 --> 02:16:44,370
There wasn't going to
be a time limit pushing

3464
02:16:44,370 --> 02:16:48,126
me to continue moving forward.

3465
02:16:48,126 --> 02:16:50,000
And that's an interesting
presentation thing.

3466
02:16:50,000 --> 02:16:51,466
When you're
presenting your games,

3467
02:16:51,466 --> 02:16:53,299
especially if you're
using a previous genre,

3468
02:16:53,299 --> 02:16:55,548
there's going to be genre
conventions that the players

3469
02:16:55,548 --> 02:16:56,639
are going to understand.

3470
02:16:56,639 --> 02:16:59,120
That is going to shape
their user experience.

3471
02:16:59,120 --> 02:17:03,840
And we'll be talking about
that about project three.

3472
02:17:03,840 --> 02:17:05,674
So that's it.

3473
02:17:05,674 --> 02:17:07,840
If you want to play these
games or watch these games

3474
02:17:07,840 --> 02:17:09,160
on YouTube, please do.

3475
02:17:09,160 --> 02:17:11,570
And if you want to know more
about choice and conflict,

3476
02:17:11,570 --> 02:17:13,530
there's a nine-minute
video at Extra Credits.

3477
02:17:13,530 --> 02:17:15,930
We use Extra Credits a
lot, because they're short.

3478
02:17:15,930 --> 02:17:18,851
They're fun videos
on game design.

3479
02:17:18,851 --> 02:17:20,350
I highly recommend
it for this class

3480
02:17:20,350 --> 02:17:22,558
to give you a leg up on some
of the design challenges

3481
02:17:22,558 --> 02:17:24,700
that we're facing here.