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Play-Persona: Modeling Player Behaviour in Computer Games

Play-Persona: Modeling Player Behaviour in Computer Games

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Procedural description:<br />

Shoot<strong>in</strong>g: -<br />

Jump<strong>in</strong>g: -<br />

Problem solv<strong>in</strong>g: +<br />

5 PLAY-PERSONAS AS RELATIONS BETWEEN GAME PARAMETERS<br />

Now that all the possible comb<strong>in</strong>ations have been manifested it is possible to plot them as relations<br />

between parameters (Fig. 4).<br />

The personas as metaphors, def<strong>in</strong>ed as one-sided accentuations, form the hypotheses around<br />

which game and level designers plan, produce and test their work. Because of the historical legacy<br />

of the Tomb Raider franchise, it could be expected that there will be a bias of players expect<strong>in</strong>g<br />

physical and mental challenges <strong>in</strong> the form of jump<strong>in</strong>g and puzzle solv<strong>in</strong>g experiences. Even though<br />

the shoot<strong>in</strong>g component has always been a part of the Tomb Raider series of games, it has never<br />

been the ma<strong>in</strong> focus, and players look<strong>in</strong>g for a full fledged shoot<strong>in</strong>g experience would probably pick<br />

a different title, nevertheless the developers consciously decided to strengthen the combat<br />

elements and <strong>in</strong>clude a varied array of enemy NPCs for players to express shoot<strong>in</strong>g tendencies.<br />

The next step consists of <strong>in</strong>dividuat<strong>in</strong>g which game mechanics and variables translate as high or<br />

low puzzle solv<strong>in</strong>g, shoot<strong>in</strong>g and jump<strong>in</strong>g skills, and how these can be tracked via gameplay<br />

metrics.<br />

Fig. 4: <strong>Persona</strong> hypotheses emerge as relations between parameters that have been derived from gameplay mechanics.<br />

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