Start

THE OTHER SIDE OF GAME DEVELOPMENT
US $10
#324
APRIL 2012
GAME OF THE YEAR: SKYRIM
1

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS
Heather Mendonca, Andy McNamara, Mr. Toledano, Sean Baron, Mike Stout,
Mike Rose, Leigh Alexander, Paul Tassi, and Gamasutra.com
ART CONTRIBUTORS
Thatgamecompany, Zynga, Nintendo, Konami, Valve Software, EA Games,
Bethesda Game Studio, Niblebit, Chandelier Quentin, Steven Andrew Photography.
SPECIAL THANKS
The makers of Red Bull, Under Eye Concealer, Gamasutra.com, Cloudkid LLC
All submission to start magazine are made on the basis of a licence to publish the submission in start
magazine and its licensed editions worldwide. Any material submitted is sent at the owner’s risk and
although every care is taken, neither Gray Rainbow Press nor its agents shell be liable for loss or
damage. All contents © Gray Rainbow Press 2012. While we make every effort possible to ensure that
everything we print in start is factually correct, we cannot be held responsible if factual errors occur.
Please check any quoted prices and specifications with your supplier before purchase. I’m trying to think
of something funny to put here. But people might not even read this, so who knows.
© Gray Rainbow Press 2012. All rights reserved.
No part of this magazine may be used or reproduced without the written permission of the publisher.
Start is the registered trademark of Gray Rainbow Press. All rights reserved.
2 START

video killed
no radio star
APRIL 2012
I often witness first-hand the strange fascination
gamers have with defending a game
or system with zealous enthusiasm— as if it’s
impossible to like both Xbox 360 and the
Playstation 3. It’s easy to admire the passion
and excitement gamers have for the medium,
but at the same time these juvenile arguments
are no better than “my dad is stronger
than your dad.” They are as interesting and
engaging as watching a battery recharge.
I often put a game developers above
such reproach, but as the battle rages between
console, PC, handheld, and games on
social platforms, I get the feeling that developers
themselves are starting to be blinded by
their own beliefs and thoughts on the matter
and are falling into traps about the delivery
system rather than focusing on the ingenuity
and innovation of the games themselves.
Free-to-play companies claim without
hesitation that all games must be free-to-play,
and that games that come with a price tag
simply can’t exist in the future market. Some
industry analysts say no handheld system
can ever survive in a world dominated by
phones. Social platforms and cloud services
claim they will soon make consoles obsolete.
Developers can’t survive with used games.
Piracy is good. Piracy is bad. Digital eats
retail. Nintendo is dying. There is fine in the
streets and cats and dogs are living together.
Some prophecies will come true as
the world continually evolves, but all these
prognostications remind me of the Buggles’
1979 hit “Video killed the Radio Star.” I
love free-to-play games and I love triple-A
blockbusters;why must things be either/or?
Why do people believe that one fish must
always eat the other?
If only free-to-play existed and I had
to deal with the annoying game concepts
designed to milk every dollar one penny at a
time from my wallet, I would literally go insane.
If the gaming world was composed only of the
biggest and loudest blockbusters then video
game gaming would truly be a boring hobby.
Saying there is only one future is shortsighted.
Gamers, game publishers, and developers
should realize there is more than one way to
skin the proverbial cat. Then we can let the
silly arguments fade away and focus on the important
things in life, like how games with
entertain people around the world from now
till the end of time.
Enjoy the issue.

CONTENTS
#324
APRIL 2012
10
15
18
FARES
010 Behind the flOw
A behind the scenes look at thatgamecompany’s
hit game flOw for
browser and Playstation.
015 Katamari Forever
The newest game in the katamari
series has just come out and we
have the scoop!
018 Game Face
Mr. Toledano takes portraits of
people during there epic wins.
4 START

22
36
48
53
THOUGHT
CREATE
SPOTLIGHT
INDUSTRY
022 Cognitive Flow
Ever wonder why
time flys when your
playing a great
game?
026 Understanding
Balance in Games
Know that imbalance
is actually bad.
033 Masuda
on Complexity
& Simplicity
From the mind
behind Pokemon.
036 The Boss Battle
A detailed walk
through on creating
an epic boss battle.
041 Gamification
Dynamics
Which ones work
and which ones
don’t.
045 Building A
Fantasy World
Tim Coman & 38
Studio’s philosophy
toward art direction.
048 Journey
A look into Thatgamecompany’s
newest
masterpiece.
050 Skyrim
Bethesda Game
Studio creates this
year’s biggest game.
053 Angry
Birds Space
What a pleasant
surprise!
054 Zynga’s Evil
Copycat Strategy
A leaked memo justifies
stealing ideas.
058 What’s Happening
To Kids’ Games
How are iPhones,
iPads, and Computers
affecting them?
060 The End of
Used Games
With this be the end?
5

GAME WERE PLAYING...
fez
Xbox 360 Online Arcade
Published by: Polytron
Developed by: Polytron / TrapDoor
Release Date April 13, 2012
MSRP: $10
An innovative platforming game, Fez allows players to manipulate
2D platforming worlds in three dimensions—with a quick tap, you can
spin your flat world around to give you a new perspective and allnew
gameplay area. Find hidden items placed on the opposite side
of solid walls or bring a platform from miles away to right underneath
your feet with just a simple spin of the world. There’s a mutual awe
between people discussing the deep secrets and mystery of Fez.
Curiosity, envy, and excitement dominate conversations about bewildering
thematic patterns, creative solutions to intelligent puzzles,
and unforgettable level design.
6 START

Game’s were dying to play...
I was the first on my block to get the Nintendo 3DS, I was also one of the few people to actually be super pumped about the new
handheld. And I will say that the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time kept me busy for a while and all of the
awesome AR games that came with it and a few of the other games that came out for it. But that was it only a few games were
really exciting and ready for the launch of the handheld. Maybe it was because Nintendo wanted the get the jump on Sony’s
Vita? But anyway, there finally coming! Well, almost. Titles like Paper Mario, Lugui’s Mansion, and (my personal favorite) Animal
Crossing will hopefully be released sometime this year! I know what I’m asking for Christmas!
Paper Mario 3DS
Release Date: TBA 2012
Not since the Wii first came out some
years ago have we gotten to play Paper
Mario, I’m looking forward to it!
Animal Crossing 3DS
Release Date: TBA 2012
Rumors of your being able to edit the
town and be the top dog sure is exciting.
And you get to swim!
Luigi’s mansion 2
Release Date: TBA 2012
I did not see this coming! The first
Luigi’s Mansion was on Gamecube,
a million years ago! I’m so pumped!
this just in: Western 3DS development slow to start
but catching on says Nintendo president
Nintendo believes Western companies
waited longer than Japanese to support 3DS
because it took them longer to realize the
handheld would be a success in their regions.
While many major publishers in Japan,
such as Capcom and Square Enix, have
released or announced big games for 3DS,
few Western companies have revealed any
big titles for the system. Even on the original
DS, its Japanese hits seem to outnumber the
amount of blockbusters from the West.
“There may appear to be fewer commitments
from the U.S. and the European
software publishers than those of their Japanese
counterparts,” admitted Nintendo CEO
Satoru Iwata during a Q&A session with
investors last week. He argued, “This is due
to the different timing (between Japan and
overseas) when they noticed that the Nintendo
3DS would surely expand widely into
their markets and, thus, the different timing
when they started the actual development of
the Nintendo 3DS software.”
3DS hardware sales didn’t really pick up
until the system’s 30% price cut in August—
and they exploded in Japan during the
holiday as Nintendo rolled out Mario Kart 7,
Super Mario 3D Land, and Capcom shipped
Monster Hunter 3G.
While 3DS hardware has outsold all other
consoles in Japan, it hasn’t had the same
runaway success in the West. Iwata told investors
that the portable’s sales are “far below
the level that it could potentially reach” in the
U.S. Despite 3DS’s challenges in Europe and
North America, Iwata is confident Western
publishers will show their support for the
system soon: “You will ... notice a change
in this situation when a richer Nintendo 3DS
software lineup in the overseas markets is
announced around the time of the E3 show.”
Strong support from Japanese publishers
will continue. “In Japan, we have this solid
feeling that the Japanese publishers will
continuously support the Nintendo 3DS,” he
said. “Accordingly, I have no pessimistic view
on the Nintendo 3DS software lineup.”
7

THOUGHT
Cognitive Flow:
The Psychology of
Great Game Design
BY SEAN BARON
Microsoft Studios user experience researcher Sean Baron
takes a look into the often discussed, but rarely concisely
defined, concept of Flow, and offers a succinct definition
and suggestions for implementing conditions to help
players get into the zone.
Good flow in
game design is the
reason why time
flies when you
play and you just
can’t put it down!
8
START

ou sit down, ready to get
in a few minutes of gaming.
Hours pass and you suddenly
become aware that
you’re making ridiculous
faces and moving like a contortionist while
trying to reach that new high score. You ask
yourself: Where did all the time go that I
had? When did I sprain my ankle?
Maybe you didn’t sprain your ankle, but
if you consider yourself a hard-core gamer,
you’ve probably ended up in similar situations.
They happen because you’ve reached
a critical level of engagement with whatever
game you’re playing.
More often than not, these types of gaming
sessions occur when you’re playing a
great game. If game developers were able to
characterize and add design considerations
that facilitate these engaged states they’d create
more enjoyable and better selling games.
Luckily, these heightened levels of engagement
have been studied by psychologist.
They even have a name for it: Cognitive Flow.
In what follows, I will introduce Flow and
the four characteristics of tasks that promote
it and the concept of flow. For each
characteristic, I will provide some basic
psychological perspectives and relevant
recommendations for game developers.
Introduction
In the 1970s a psychologist named Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi experimentally evaluated
Flow. He found that a person’s skill
and the difficulty of a task interact to result
in different cognitive and emotional states.
When skill is too low and the task too
hard, people become anxious. Alternatively,
if the task is too easy and skill too high,
people become bored. However, when
skill and difficulty are roughly proportional,
people enter Flow states (see Figure 1 on
the following page).
APRIL 2012
9

While in these states, people experience many things like: Extreme
focus on a task, a sense of active control, merging of action and
awareness, loss of self-awareness, distortion of the experience of time,
the experience of the task being the only necessary justification for
continuing it, all this things make them worth continuing.
Csikszentmihalyi also outlined four characteristics found in tasks that
drive an equilibrium between skill and difficulty, thus increasing the
probability of Flow states. Specifically, these are tasks that: have concrete
goals with manageable rules, demand actions to achieve goals
that fit within the person’s capabilities, have clear and timely feedback
on performance and goal accomplishment, and diminish extraneous
distraction, thus facilitating concentration.
It is these four task characteristics that game developers should
consider and strive for in there games if they want to increase the
likelihood of causing Flow states in gamers playing their games. I
will now go into more detail about each characteristic.
Characteristic 1:
Games should have concrete goals with manageable rules.
“I’m lost. An NPC just told me what I was supposed to do, but I was
distracted by the loot in the middle of the room and the super evil
Giant Spiders coming at me from all directions and all over. It doesn’t
help that I can’t access the NPC anymore, or that all of the rooms
in this dungeon are the same shape and color. Lost. I have no idea
where to go or how I’m supposed to get there. Fifteen minutes pass
before I find the puzzle I need to complete. But now I have no idea
which of the 20 quest items in my inventory I should use to solve it.
After a while, I give up in frustration.”
Flow breaks down when a player doesn’t know what their goals
are, how they’re expected to accomplish them, or which new game
techniques they’re supposed to use to solve a puzzle. When this happens,
gamers disengage and are more likely to stop playing.
Why do people need concrete goals and
manageable rules in games?
We have limits on our information processing and attentional
capabilities. Not all of the information coming from the screen or out
of the speakers gets processed. While we are capable of handling
a lot of visual and auditory information at one time, we do have
limitations. Critical processing restrictions occur when our attention is
divided. This can happen when task-relevant information is presented
too quickly or when multiple sources of stimulation are competing for
our attention. In either case, task performance can drop dramatically.
When this happens, people become anxious about accomplishing
their goals, thus inhibiting Flow.
Another aspect of information processing that can be overlooked
is the congruency between directions and task. People are best able
to understand and apply relevant information to a task when there is
congruency between the task and the information/instructions.
Our ability to problem solve and make decisions is directly affected
by information processing and attentional issues. When there
are breakdowns in information processing, comprehension of task
goals and rules also suffers. If people do not understand the nature of
a problem and what caused the problem, they can become frustrated
attempting to solve it. These peaks in frustration decrease Flow and
also affect problem-solving techniques.
When overwhelmed with too much stimulation, people will often
revert to methods of problem solving that have worked in the past.
These reversions may or may not be what the developers had in mind.
Concrete goals with manageable rules are achievable. The act
10 THOUGHT
START

FIGURE 1
of achieving goals is rewarding and reinforces actions that allow
individuals to continue completing goals. Whether it’s leveling your
character or earning points for head-shots, the very act of accomplishing
something reinforces your desire to keep accomplishing. This
goal-achievement-reward cycle can keep gamers glued to a game
and facilitates Flow states.
FIGURE 3
How can game designers fix problems with goals & rules?
If designers take into account the psychological factors mentioned
above, they can easily address issues with rules and goals.
Everything from the user interface to the play screen should clearly
direct or cue the gamer to their task. Situational cues, HUD information,
NPCs, etc. should make goals plainly comprehensible.
Because divided attention hurts comprehension, goals and directions
should not be given to a player during high-stimulation times
(e.g., while a player is fighting an infestation of the Flood in Halo 2
or fending off Draugr in Skyrim).
Provide important information so that congruency between the
information and the task/goal is achieved. The directional cues used
in Dead Space are a wonderful example of this. By overlaying an illuminating
path to the next objective on the player’s immediate surroundings,
the developers left no ambiguity regarding where to navigate.
Regarding rules, the gamer may be expected to try new variations
of gameplay techniques developed throughout the game. However,
introducing new mechanics mid-level or mid-game may inhibit
Flow. Sometimes this is necessary and leads to increasingly fun and
dynamic game-play (e.g., when Gordon Freeman is first given the
Zero-point energy field manipulator in Half-Life 2).
(above) Flow, boredom, and
anxiety as they relate to task
difficulty and user skill level.
(upper left) Left for Dead
When this happens care should be taken to train the player on new
skills (e.g., when Gordon used the Zero-point energy field manipulator
to play catch with Dog). The completion of small goals (e.g., clearing
a field of boars) links to larger goals (e.g., getting enough XP to
level up), which in turn link to even larger goals (e.g., getting access
to level-specific gear). This linkage creates a series of rewarding
experiences that can hook gamers to a game and create the goalachievement-reward
cycle. If players are readily able to accomplish
goals, they are more likely to continue playing. Though, as previously
mentioned, there must be a balance between the player’s skill and
the difficulty of task, it is very important.
11

Characteristic 2:
Games should only demand actions that fit within
a player’s capabilities.
“I know I’m supposed to swipe in the opposite direction of the Fiend’s
attack. This should parry his attack, opening him up for my own
counter. But I just can’t do it. Whether it is lack of reflexes, or the fact
that I just started playing the game, or even that I just suck at this, I’m
hopelessly inept. I’m also seriously frustrated.”
Understanding the limits of player ability and cultivating player skill
is of critical importance. If players are unable to accomplish goals—
even if goals and rules are clear—then they will find their gaming
experience dissatisfying.
Why should games only demand actions that fit within
a player’s capabilities?
Even beyond the obvious answer—“Because players will stop playing!”—there
exist many psychologically based considerations worth
enumerating. Here are a couple of them:
Stress and performance affect Flow. If a player isn’t skilled or capable
enough to accomplish game-based goals, they may experience
stress-provoking drops in performance. This kills Flow states and drives
down the overall enjoyment of the gaming experience. Goal difficulty
and player perseverance. As goals become increasingly difficult to
accomplish (in relation to player skill), commitment to accomplishing
these goals diminishes. If this happens, a gamer will stop playing.
How can game designers fix problems related to skill
& difficulty?
Each gamer has a unique performance-stress curve (see Figure 2).
This means that for some people +7 stress (an arbitrary value) causes
them to operate at their highest level of performance, but for a different
person +7 stress results in them failing spectacularly.
This also means that coarse gradations of game difficulty (e.g.,
Easy, Normal, Hard) may not lead to an optimal experience for many
gamers. Game developers could include AI that are able to dynamically
adjust the in-game conditions affecting difficulty, thus positively
affecting player performance (e.g., AI Director in the Left4Dead series).
One critical consideration for such an AI is the relationship
between performance and enjoyment. Some players may perform
extremely well when dynamic difficulty is increased; however, they
may not enjoy being under such high levels of challenge. In this case,
they may feel anxiety (e.g., Fig. 1). Game developers could identify
this by marking players who have high performance and high quitrates
(i.e. the player quits in response to changes in difficulty, but their
performance remains steady).
Another consideration is how these AI handle difficulty for multiplayer
teams (e.g., four players in a Left4Dead 2 campaign). In these
cases it is important to recognize that dynamic changes to difficulty
may affect players of varying ability in different ways. Thus, it is
crucial to determine how to optimally change difficulty without ruining
the game for very good or very bad players on the same team.
Certain game-specific skills must be slowly taught to players. If a
game does not leverage skills commonly used in gaming (e.g., typical
FPS controls and aiming), players must be gradually taught the new
game-specific skills.
Characteristic 3:
Games should give clear and timely feedback
on player performance.
“I did that right, right? Is the axe I just made actually in my inventory? Is
this action adding to my enchantment abilities?”
Whether the feedback is in the form of sound coming off of a
virtual golf club, the omnipresent experience bar in an RPG, or the
flash of red simulated blood in the vision of a FPS avatar, players need
to know how they’re doing.
Why do gamers need timely feedback?
Our innate learning and conditioning mechanisms. Feedback that
occurs directly after (200 to 400 milliseconds) or midway through the
12 THOUGHT
START

completion of an action leads to the formation of the strongest associations
between action and outcome. Interestingly, simultaneous timing
of feedback with the onset of an action does a poor job of facilitating
associations. (See Figure 3, on the right).
Back to goals... For medium and long-term goals (completing a
level, or the game) feedback on progress can drive further engagement
and eventual accomplishment. This means that players who get
feedback will want to play more.
FIGURE 3
Examples of good (A and B) and bad (C) timing
between player action and game feedback.
How can game designers address feedback concerns?
If designers want to create lasting connections between a gamer’s
actions and the outcomes within the game, they must be sensitive to
the timing issues mentioned above (and in Figure 3).
If there is a critical disconnect between an action and an outcome
the gamer will fail to understand how their action affected their ingame
performance. Establish mechanisms and displays of both longterm
and short-term goal accomplishment early on, and then maintain
these throughout the game.
Characteristic 4:
Games should remove any extraneous information
that inhibits concentration.
“These animated spell and item icons across the bottom and top of my
screen sure look cool! See the particle effects on my Ice Storm spell...
Wait—is someone attacking me?”
As sensory and informational clutter increases, the gamer’s ability
to find and evaluate important stimuli diminishes greatly. This means
that designers should strive to maintain a level of simplicity across all
aspects of their games (from UI to HUDs).
Why do gamers need extra information to be removed?
Again, there are inherent limitations on how much information we
can parse at any moment: As detailed in the discussion about the first
characteristics of tasks that invoke Flow, we are limited in how much
information we can process. Cluttered visual fields disrupt information
processing. These disruptions can then negatively affect goal comprehension
and rule learning, which ultimately affects Flow.
How can game designers address extraneous information? HUDs
and in-game menus should be as simple as possible (e.g., Dead
Space or Fallout).
APRIL 2012
13

Game skills or options should only be included if they are relevant
to the story of the game or are purposefully being used by the developer
to push artistic and technical boundaries.
Conclusion
Tasks that induce Flow states tend to have concrete goals with
manageable rules, goals that fit player capabilities, clear and timely
feedback on performance, and are good at eliminating distractions.
If game developers are able to include design considerations that take
these characteristics into account they will drastically improve player
engagement (and likely game sales).
The example design considerations that I provided for each
characteristic are just that: examples. The same can be said for the
psychologically-based rationales I provided. Depending on the type
of game a developer is making, and whether it is high- or low-concept,
different ways of addressing these characteristics are eminently
possible -- just as there are many more psychological factors driving
how each characteristic contributes to Flow.
It’s also worth noting that, for the most part, good game designers
and good game companies are already explicitly (or implicitly) taking
these Flow characteristics into account.
In the end, I only hope to provide developers and designers with
some food for thought on improving player engagement. It is up to
those involved in creating games to decide how best to apply this
information given here.
14 THOUGHT
START

THE SCIENCE
AT WORK...
flOw is an indie video game created
by thatgamecompany. Originally
released as a free Flash game in ‘06,
it was reworked into a ‘07 PlayStation
3 game. In flOw, the player navigates
a series of two-dimensional planes with
an aquatic microorganism that evolves
by consuming other microorganisms.
The game’s design is based on Chen’s
research into dynamic difficulty adjustment
at the University of Southern
California’s Interactive Media Division,
and on psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s
theoretical concept of mental
immersion or flow. The game takes into
consideration all of Mihaly’s studies of
cognitive flow.
Make sure
you have a
few hours set
aside before
playing, this
is scientifically
proven to be
addicting!
15

CREATE
The final battle
between Link and
Gannon in The
Legend of Zelda:
Ocarina of Time for
N64, Wii ware and
the 3DS.
16 START

THE BOSS
BATTLE
BY MIKE STOUT
In his latest design feature, Activision and former Insomniac
designer Mike Stout breaks down the boss battle into eight
different beats, and runs two notable ones—The Legend of
Zelda: Ocarina of Time’s Ganon &Portal’s GladOS—through
a thorough analysis to illuminate their designs.
he boss battle is one of the
oldest and most beloved
traditions in video games.
Everyone has fond memories
of their favorites.
According to Wikipedia, the first boss battle
ever featured in a game was the Gold
Dragon in the 1975 RPG and the practice
has been going strong ever since. Coming
up as a designer in this industry, some of my
most difficult (but also most interesting) challenges
have been boss battle designs.
Each time I was assigned one I felt a mixture
of excitement and dread. Sure, they’re
cool, but where do you start?
Hard-Learned Lessons
The first boss battle I ever designed was the
“Terror of Talos” fight for Ratchet and Clank:
Going Commando. Still a junior designer, I
agonized over that design for weeks. I poked
and prodded, I added features, and by the
time I was done with it I was sure I had the
coolest boss battle ever! It was a six-armed
Godzilla-esque monster with a robot standing
on its head. It stormed around a giant movieset
version of a large metropolis, destroying
everything it came across. It could fly, walk,
breathe fire and shoot missiles and… well
pretty much everything. I was so proud of it.
And it was bad. Not just bad, in fact,
it was it awful! Oh sure, the final product
turned out very well—thanks primarily to my
talented, patient colleagues—but that first
rough-draft design was an absolute disaster.
The idea was cool, but I didn’t really think
through the gameplay behind it. Since then,
I’ve designed a ton of boss battles, and with
each one I’ve learned new tips and tricks that
have made each go much more smoother.
APRIL 2012
17

M O R T O N K O O PA J R .
Intro to Boss Battles
One of the first questions I like to ask myself when beginning a design is this: “What are my
goals?” I try to make it clear to myself what my design needs to accomplish so that every
decision I make can hearken back to my goals. For boss battles, my goals are like this:
InTEnSITY
The boss should feel
like a reward
A boss battle is a
reward from the
game designer to the
player. The player
gets to take a break
and do something
new! Boss battles
tend to be intense
and feel “larger than
life.” Players look
forward to boss
battles, and getting
to them feels good.
LARRY KOOPA
Bosses should feel
like milestones
Like chapters in a
book, players reach
a goal when they
reach a boss battle.
The anticipation
leading up to a boss
battle and the feeling
of having attained a
goal when the boss
is defeated provides
story and some
emotional milestones
for a player.
WENDY O. KOOPA
I GGY KOOPA
Fighting the boss,
the player can
show his mastery
of the game
A boss battle is a
good place for the
player to demonstrate
the skills he
has learned so
far by playing the
game. In that sense
a boss battle is
like a test.
ROY KOOPA
L EMMY KOOPA
Boss fights can
help build &
release tension in
a satisfying way
It’s important for the
designer to build &
release tension and
difficulty. The idea
that a boss battle is
coming is the time
to build intensity over
the course of levels.
Closer the fight, the
more the anticipation
grows. (See chart
below)
LUDWIG VON
KOOPA
bOSS PACInG
BOWSER
A Boss,
in a Nutshell
When designing a boss, I try to
keep all of this in mind, but that’s a
lot to remember! Because I like to
keep things simple for myself, I like
to boil all that information down to
two points:
1. A boss is a test.
The player can demonstrate mastery
of the skills he has learned so far.
Like a test at the end of a semester in
school, a boss represents a goal—
an important milestone for the player
to pass. And passing the milestone
needs to feel rewarding.
2. A boss is a story.
In addition to being a goal, a boss
battle itself contains a number of
smaller goals and milestones, like a
traditional narrative. A boss battle
is structured to provide a similar to
traditional storytelling. By knowing
the archetypical “story structure” of
a boss battle, and why each beat is
important, you can use the beats to
create a memorable boss fight.
TIME
18 CREATE
START

A good boss battle is one that gives you this kind of face. You know the face. A boss
battle that is designed well and is effective at being an instense boss battle should
draw the player into the game.
A Boss is a Test
As I mentioned below, one of a boss battle’s primary duties is to test players on the skills
they’ve learned, and to allow them to demonstrate mastery of those skills. It’s the designer’s responsibility
to administer this test, but figuring out how to do that can be overwhelming at first.
1. Make a list of the skills you want to
test the player on
At a minimum, all the basic controls of your
game should be on this list—but often you’ll
want to test the player on something specific.
In the Legend of Zelda games, the player
will often obtain a weapon during the course
of a level. During that level, he will be taught
how to use the weapon and use it again and
again. When the level is over, the boss at the
end tests him on the use of that weapon.
2. Make a list of attacks or challenges
that will test that skill
The next step is to brainstorm and make a list
of attacks that will test those skills.
It’s important to brainstorm these attacks
independently from any preconceived notions
of what the boss can do, or what he is. Think
instead only of what the best attacks are that
can test the skills you want to test. By keeping
this step separate from the next, you can
avoid limiting yourself based on your boss’
appearance or theme. Once we know what
the attacks are at their basic level, we can
them appropriately in the next step.
3. Decide how to theme the attacks
you brainstormed
Figure out how to theme the boss attacks so
that they’re appropriate for the boss character
you’re using and that the player is fighting.
4. Decide how the boss defends himself
A weakness in many boss battle designs is
that the players damage the boss repeatedly.
When the player can do that, the battle begins
to feel dull and unsatisfying. You need to
design the boss with defensive capabilities
that will serve as a test.
19

A Boss is a Story
As I mentioned earlier, boss battles tend to
be structured based on a series of “story”
beats. I’ve identified eight beats that I like
to use when designing boss fights. Below,
I’ve stated the nickname I use for each beat,
how it works, why it’s a good thing to do,
and then cited two examples of each.
Beat 1: Build-Up
This beat happens before the player even
gets into the fight. Just like with pay-per-view
wrestling, or MMA fights, a boss fight needs
to be promoted. The player needs to be
informed how awesome, dangerous, vile,
etc the boss is through cutscenes, dialog,
or any number of other methods. The player
also needs to be trained on the skills he’ll
need to beat the boss.
Why is it a good idea? A boss fight
is a test of the player’s skills. It is, therefore,
important to train your players on how to
fight the boss. Most often, this is done
during the build-up to the fight.
1A The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Ocarina of Time has a number of great
examples of the “Build-Up” beat. Ganon
(the evil wizard behind everything bad in
the game) makes a number of appearances
in cutscenes, kidnaps princess Zelda, and
otherwise makes a nuisance out of himself
for most of the game.
My very favorite instance of this beat
is the “Phantom Ganon” boss battle. The
designers of this game are so hardcore that
they created another boss battle just to train
you on how to eventually defeat Ganon at
the end of the game.
Beat 2: Intro / Reveal
At the beginning of the boss fight, the boss
needs to do something to introduce himself
with a big BANG.
In many games a boss will rear back,
let out a huge roar, and blow something up.
It’s a gaming cliché, but it gets the player’s
attention, that’s for sure. This beat is a good
idea no matter what you decide to do.
Why is it a good idea? It’s important to
sell the player on how awesome, quirky, or
otherwise interesting the boss is. Following
this simple step greatly increases the player’s
sense of tension and anticipation, and thus
the game’s intensity. At this point you’re still
trying to promote the boss—you want the
player to desire nothing more than to take
him down and win.
2A The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The player finally encounters Ganon face to
face. Ganon casts a horrible spell at him,
rises into the air and cackles maniacally.
The words “Great King of Evil: Ganondorf”
appear on the screen below him. This is an
extremely memorible moment for any player.
Ever since I first played this game, the part
where the Boss’s name appears never fails
to give me goose bumps! Out of all the
games I’ve played, this is awesome.
2A
1A
20 CREATE
START

Beat 3: “Business as Usual”
“Business as Usual” is when the boss gets to
use the most basic attacks you created in the
attack design phase earlier. During this phase
the player can get used to the pattern and
understand how the boss can be defeated.
Why is it a good idea? “Business as
Usual” sets an intensity baseline for the boss
fight. The player knows that from this point
on, there’s nowhere to go but up! Further,
if you absolutely need to teach your player
something new, this is the phase to do it.
3A The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
As he learned during the “Phantom Ganon”
boss fight I described in Beat 1, the player
must use his sword to return Ganon’s yellow
energy attacks and then fire an arrow at
him while he’s stunned in order to beat him
for that round. Even though this kind of boss
battle happens in many games, it is a good
and classic type of battle.
3B Portal (2007) The player has to take
GladOS’ personality core and throw it into
the incinerator, just like he was trained to do
with the Companion Cube.
During this whole episode, the player is
under no threat of damage or death. This
was a wise decision on the part of the
designers. Though they’ve used the incinerator
before, the player has never thrown a
personality core into one of these before,
so they are technically learning something
new. Which is a good thing, like what we
discussed earlyer in this article. It’s important
for a player to have a chance to learn what
they are suppost to do in each challenge
that comes to them.
Beat 4: Escalation
During this beat, the boss will introduce new
attacks and complications. The difficulty,
intensity, and drama begin to rise here.
Choose a few more attacks from the list you
made during the attack design prep-work
you did earlier—now’s the time to use them!
In addition to “ramping up” difficulty over
the course of a boss fight, introducing new
attacks or complications during this beat helps
with the battle’s pacing. As crazy as it gets
during this beat, the player knows it will only
get crazier, and that anticipation will drive
him forward with fervor.
4A The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Ganon gains two extra attacks during this
phase: 1. He can slam down into the floor,
which causes the blocks that the player is
standing on to fall down into the abyss, and
2. He can fire five yellow energy bolts at the
player simultaneously.
The first tests the player’s basic movement
abilities (he needs to move to a safe place
before the ground falls away beneath him).
Gives the player a choice between executing
a dodge-roll to avoid the bolts and attempting
to return them, which is very difficult.
4B Portal After the player throws GladOS’
personality core into the incinerator, she goes
even crazier. First, she begins to flood the
area with nerve toxin (which gives the player
only six minutes to defeat her). Then she
deploys a missile launcher robot. The player
needs to employ the training he received and
use the missile robot against GladOS.
3A
A Brief Spoiler
4AWarning!
For the rest of the article, I’m going
to draw examples from two of my
favorite boss fights: Ganon from The
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
and GladOS from Portal. I am going
to spoil these fights pretty thoroughly.
Proceed to the next page with caution
to avoid spoilers.
3B
21

Beat 5: Midpoint
The midpoint is the “emotional turning point”
of the fight. During this beat, the boss
simultaneously raises the stakes significantly
and gives the player a momentary break
in the action. Ideally, this beat will leave
the player screaming for the boss’ defeat
or questioning whether the boss can be
defeated at all.
This beat usually takes the form of
a false victory or defeat, or transformation
and this beat often involves a “death”
of some kind.
5A The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
This is a huge one for the Ganon boss
fight. The player defeats Ganon, his “death”
seems to cause his castle to collapse!
When he finally arrives at the ground,
the castle finally collapses entirely, leaving
nothing but rubble. There is a short pause
where the player is allowed to take a breath,
and then Ganon erupts from the rubble! Not
only is he still alive, but as he transforms
into a giant monster it’s apparent he’s more
powerful than ever!
Beat 6: It’s ON!
During this beat, the boss has access to
the full range of his attacks. The battle is as
intense as it is going to get, and the player is
motivated and ready to go. In some ways this
is the easiest beat of the boss battle, since
you just let the boss go wild.
6A The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
To defeat Ganon in his big monster form, the
player needs to shoot Ganon in the head
with his arrows. Then the player can dodge
around behind him and attack the weak
spot on his tail, which is a super thrill.
The player is being tested on his attacking
(both with his primary and alternate attacks),
dodging, bow and arrow shooting, identification
of weak spots, and basic movement—but
under a lot more pressure. Those swords that
Ganon is wielding HURT!
6A
Beat 7: “Kill” Sequence
During this beat, you must show the enemy
on the ropes. The boss has been struck down!
The player gets a moment to bask in his
achievements—in his mastery over the game
and the skills he’s learned. The boss doesn’t
need to actually die during this sequence, but
he should be shown as defeated (down on
one knee, breathing heavily, complementing
the player, etc.) If the boss does die, then
make sure he dies spectacularly. Make it
worth the player’s while.
You want to mark the boss’ defeat (which
we know is an important pacing milestone)
with a good feeling. This is especially important
if the boss is supposed to escape after
this beat to be fought again later. If he just
runs away before this beat has run its course,
the player might feel robbed.
22 START

7A The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The player thrusts his sword into Ganon’s
face. Zelda and all the NPCs you’ve rescued
band together and cast a spell to bind
Ganon into a prison forever. Ganon falls
into the prison screaming for revenge, but
it’s all over for him.
7B Portal After throwing GladOS’ last
personality core into the incinerator, she
explodes in a spectacular fireworks show
and is pulled out through the roof. Even
though the ending eventually makes it clear
she survives the explosion, the grandness
of her “kill” sequence makes it worthwhile.
Beat 8: Victory Sequence
While the “Kill Sequence” beat was explicitly
for rubbing salt in the boss’ wounds, this
beat is explicitly about rewarding the player
for beating the boss. This can come in many
forms, from congratulatory cutscenes to heart
containers to achievements to literal victory
celebrations. No matter what you do for
the player, as long as it is rewarding for the
player you’ve done your job.
The player won, and this is his chance to
feel awesome for a moment. By embracing
this beat, you solidify the emotional milestone
and allow the tension and anticipation you’ve
built up to release, which is a good thing.
7A
7B
Boss battles
in video
games drive
the player
to beat the
game. And
gives them
something to
brag about!
Might as well
make it hard
for them
to beat!
APRIL 2012
23

spotlight
24 START

Journey's rare and magical success
BY Leigh Alexander
or years, thatgamecompany has been driving at a
vision through its unique, often meditative and quietly
thoughtful works: To create an emotion in players.
Games like flOw and Flower faced the interesting
design challenge of providing players engaging
gameplay in spaces where the experience was more important
than the idea of task or objective. Journey, soon to be released on the
PlayStation Network, is the finest achievement yet of the visionary
studio—a game where the objective and the emotion are stitched into
the same cloth. It is truley a work of art.
Journey opens in a vast, rippling desert dotted with mysterious
gravestones. In an endless sea of sand, the player intuits that the next
object in the distance—a cluster of small, faceless monuments that
strongly suggest graves—must be the goal.
APRIL 2012
25

The character, a gracefully stylized and genderless figure draped in sense of loss and loneliness that might make players long to seek one
paprika robes, glides fluidly over the rippling desert until a mountain, another out and collaborate, even in a silent world where interaction
cleft with a beacon of light, appears far in the distance. With no is limited to musical “shouts.”
sound and no word, no clue but the elegant expanse, you know
“Looking two people in a desert, I already [experience] a feeling
what you need to do: Make the journey.
of longing,” says Chen. “But if eventually [players have] to go to the
The desert land is populated by shreds of windswept fabric and mountains, then a different terrain would happen.”
glowing signals that bestow the ability to glide, swathed in a magical Thus one of the game’s most fascinating achievements becomes
scarf that grows longer with each discovery.
the subtle transformation of desert land into so many visually distinct
All of TGC’s games are aesthetically lovely in their own way; and often stunning arenas, using only color, light and the shapes of
many players found a kind of zen in flOw’s simple palette of glowing the crimson fabric that populates the world. “We’re a very small
silver organisms in fluid blue, or in Flower’s breezy landscapes dotted team, so if we spend all this time on the sand, we have to apply it
with chiming blossoms. Journey is an entirely new level of beauty, to the rest of the game,” notes Chen.
the kind of awe-inspiring that makes you sigh.
It’s pragmatic minimalism; if players don’t know what they are
The sandscape evolves subtly as you explore on your way
meant to do within the game, the direction is in the title itself. And
to the mysterious, distant goal; sometimes the
although the game is sparse at best in terms
phosphorescence of a cavern gives it a distinct
subterranean feel, and other times, radiant
sunsets and the stark shadows of stony ruins
make it gleam like fire.
“It’s a choice, and also basically a forced
choice, because of constraint,” TGC cofounder
Jenova Chen tells us. What’s most fascinating
about the studio is that although its work can
feel sentimental, even esoteric to those skeptical
about the power of emotion and storytelling
“We see emotion
as nutrition, &
a healthy human
should have a
wide variety”
of direction and instruction, the process of
really learning the world and experimenting
is naturally intuitive.
“We see emotion as nutrition, and a
healthy human should have a wide variety,”
reflects Chen. He says Journey is something
of a response to an age in which pursuit of
accessibility has meant that any information
is Google-able, hints abound, and goals
and sub-objectives are stamped with flashing
in games, it makes all of its decisions based on very practical, even beacons. “The problem with entertainment at large today is that I
traditional game design considerations.
think there’s a lack of wonder,” he adds.
The decision to set the game in the chameleonic desert ultimately But Santiago says accessibility is still a key goal of the studio,
came down to Journey’s primary directive: To create an online game hence Journey’s simplicity, its cues from theme park design, and the
where people could share the experience with one another. Although fact it’s nearly impossible for players to feel actually lost. Most key to
players can experience Journey effectively totally alone, ultimately the the experience of this game, however, is its universally-relatable narrative
of a pilgrimage through the unknown, where power and pleasure
studio hopes that the multiplayer experience will be truly meaningful.
It’s the great age of connectivity, yet most online games are more can be gained and then lost, and the hero is tempered by adversity.
like team sports, and TGC was intrigued by the idea of an online
It’s the universal archetype of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, or
game that was not a traditional empowerment fantasy, that wasn’t monomyth, which is essentially based on the concept of a protagonist
about players using weapons. That singular goal drove all of the leaving home to endure challenge and return with a new power. As
game’s design decisions; the smooth backdrop of a desert would Chen explains: “It’s a narrative structure found among all of these
make it easier for players to focus on their fellows, rather than to mythical or religious stories and folktales whether in Eastern or Western
culture... the Hero’s Journey is a common film script concept.”
become distracted by a visually-busy environment.
What the team wanted most was to create the sense of awe that “I thought, we know we want to make a game that makes two
comes with adventuring toward the unknown and to enhance the people connect... in a big company people like to do these trust
26 spotlight
START

exercises, send people out to do physical, dangerous activities and
afterward, people will have a bond,” Chen says. “But I felt, if it’s
just a difficult situation, the emotion wouldn’t really reach a high
moment. So we were thinking what if we actually put two players
going through the entire hero’s journey arc?”
“The hero’s journey essentially is a narrative structure of any life
transformation,” says Chen. “[Journey] is very much a classic parable
of life... that was totally intentional.”
That sentiment is clear in Journey’s narrative, the spectrum of emotions
involved in personal evolution enforced by the unexplained game
world and its gold-lit artifacts and mysterious relics, open to puzzle
and interpret. But might the climate that birthed what Chen sees as a
teenage empowerment fantasy also make a non-traditional game like
Journey hard for modern gamers to understand and relate to?
“Our hope was, like making a Pixar movie, it needs to be magical,
imaginative and fun for the younger generation, but it needs to
have some relevance, some deeper meaning for the adults,” he says.
“When we approached this game we were working to two particular
extremes... for the mature adults about the meaning of life, and then
for the younger generation we wanted to make it like a very magical
work that is exciting and filled with adventure.
“I think a lot of players will stop a game [when they wonder] what
they are supposed to do, but hopefully they will start to journey into
the adventure and get carried on by the feeling,” Chen adds.
On the inevitable discussions about “what it all means”, Santiago
is positive: “Hopefully, if they are asking those questions, then shortly
after, the answer can be, ‘I don’t know, but that’s okay.’ We definitely
had moments where we wanted to tell the story, but also to leave it
open for interpretation for different types of people,” she says.
In the three years from idea genesis to launching Journey, Chen
and Santiago say they experienced their own version of the Hero’s
Journey through the game’s often-challenging development. “I feel
proud,” Santiago says of the long-awaited launch, “because I remember
through the last three years, all of the questions and the doubt and
the fears that we had about making this game... it’s really scary to
make a game that is different, and I really think Journey as an experience
puts a lot of faith into its players, that the players are going to
determine their own experience.”
“I’m just glad we pulled through, to present Journey as it is today,
which I think is a very pure expression... it’s the most I’ve ever hoped
for, because we get to find out how people feel about it,” she adds.
In that regard, thatgamecompany sees its games as experiment—
not in that they are unsure or unplanned, but in that the studio creates
without necessarily knowing how players will react or receive its
work, whether its ideas will be affirmed or whether the team will be
surprised, and in what ways.
But Journey must be viewed as an inarguable success. It’s a
symphony of the very emotions its creators intended, it’s a shining example
of innovating and creating beauty within design constraint, and
it’s that rare breed of game storytelling that strikes the ideal balance
between guiding you and allowing you to discover your own story.
Thatgamecompany has constantly
fought to push the idea that video
games are a form of art. For those
of you don’t think video games can
be a true artform you have to check
out this game, it will change your
mind for sure. What do you think!
APRIL 2012
27

industry
Leaked Zynga Memo Justifies
Copycat Strategy
BY Paul Tassi
or years now, social
games giant Zynga has
taken a lot of heat for
copying its competitors’
popular titles and releasing
almost identical games under their own
brand. What drew the most ire recently was
the release of Zynga’s Dream Heights, a
clone of Nimblebit’s Tiny Tower, which also
happened to be last year’s iPhone Game of
the Year. The company released a sarcastic
congratulatory message, with side-by-side
images showing just how insanely similar
the two games were.
I picked up the story, as did countless
other news outlets, and though normally
Zynga pays no mind to such accusations, as
it’s almost their entire business model, CEO
Mark Pincus wrote an internal memo that
has now been leaked to the web. Pincus
once famously said “I don’t f***ing want
innovation. “You’re not smarter than your
competitor. Just copy what they do and do
it until you get their numbers.” This memo
isn’t quite as brazen, but echoes a similar
sentiment. Read the full text here:
“Everyone, there’s press today about one
of our mobile games, Dream Heights, that
just launched. As Zynga grows by further
innovating on best of breed social mechanics,
we should expect the industry to sit up erated the game industry, its 30 year body
and take notice of our growing portfolio. I’m of work has inspired us too.
proud of the mobile team’s hard work and And, this has always been the case for
the industry has taken notice.
the company and the rest of the industry.
Google didn’t create the first search Zynga Poker, FarmVille, CityVille and Words
engine. Apple didn’t create the first mp3 with Friends, none of these games were the
player or tablet. And, Facebook didn’t first to market in their category but we made
create the first social network. But these them the most fun and social, and the most
companies have evolved products and popular. Our teams continue to improve
categories in revolutionary ways.
these games every week which has been an
We don’t need to be first to market. We important part of our success model.
need to be the best in market. There are
As I’ve said, our strategy since the beginning
has been to develop the best game—
genres that we’re going to enter because
we know our players are interested in them most fun & social—for every category. We
and because we want and need to be are rarely first since categories in games go
where players are. We evolve genres by back decades, but we aim to be the best.
making games free,
A few of you
social, accessible and
highest quality.
With regard to
Dream Heights and
the tower genre, it’s
important to note that
this category has existed
since 1994 with
“We don’t need to
be first to market.
We need to be the
best in market. ”
have asked how
our approach to
genres relates to the
situation we faced
with Vostu. There
are rules of engagement
in our industry.
Companies have to
games like Sim Tower and Tower of Babel respect each other’s legal and IP ownership
in 2009 which achieved 15 million DAUs. rights in the form of copyrights and trademarks.
In the case of Vostu, you can see
On iOS there has been Yoot Tower, Tower
Up, Tower Town, Tower Blocks and Tiny for yourself that Vostu crossed the line and
Tower. Just as our games, mechanics and chose to use our copyrighted IP and artwork.
social innovations have inspired and accel-
a Play in the form of social and mobile gam-
28 START

ing has become a mainstream activity, but
it has the potential to be so much more. It
can be one of the primary ways we connect
with other people. It can surpass TV as the
most popular and engaging medium of the
21st century. In order to make this vision
real, we need to work as a company and
an industry to continue innovating, improving
and hopefully revolutionizing every
major genre of games for social play. Every
successful game from developers big and
small has pioneered some important new
facet of this experience. We are proud
of the mechanics we have pioneered that
are now industry standards.
Part of what makes our industry cool
and dynamic is the idea that small teams
can build successful games. But at Zynga
we will continue to innovate and expand
our possibility space in order to delight
our player base too.
Finally, I want to thank everyone who
emailed me. Part of what makes our
company special is the open transparent
dialog we can all have, and it’s your
passion that is shaping our future. —Mark”
That’s a much more eloquent statement of
purpose than “I don’t want f***ing innovation,”
I suppose, and I wouldn’t be surprised
if this was meant to be leaked showing
“nice guy” Mark motivating behind the
scenes. But I don’t buy it.
As I’ve said before to Zynga defenders
who happen upon my articles (many of
which turn out to be employees), this is not
a case of “inspiration.” Even though every
product and IP on the market is generally
a derivative of some other concept in almost
all cases, but what Zynga’s doing is a
shocking step beyond.
The company scavenges through the
most popular titles on the social market
and harvests them for their own. To use an
analogy I’ve drawn on before, the gap
between Tiny Tower and Sim Tower might
be the difference between James Cameron‘s
sci-fi Avatar and the similarly themed Dances
with Wolves. The space between Tiny
Tower and Zynga’s Dream Heights would be
the difference between Dances with Wolves
and another film set in 1800s about Native
Americans with the exact same plot, lookalike
actors and titled “Cavorting with Bears.”
You can repeat that idea for tons of
Zynga titles, Farmville with Farmtown,
Hidden Chronicles with Gardens of Time,
Zynga Bingo with Bingo Blitz, Words with
Friends with Scrabble. There’s no “inspiration”
here, only thievery. Yes, they change
the code and draw up new artwork to
avoid any legal trouble (after getting in hot
water for not doing that when they stole
Farmville), but it’s the bare minimum to avoid
legal retribution. And if someone did sue
them? The powerful company (now with a
billion dollar IPO) would crush them with
a dogpile of lawyers.
Pincus would have us believe he’s just
continuing in the great tradition of all tech
pioneers, drawing on past products to make
future ones, but there’s something different
with Zynga. Something wrong. And to have
a brand that is this creatively bankrupt does
not bode well for its long term prospects.
Continue to the next page for a timeline
of Zynga and thoughts from Nathan
about the morals behind the company
(left) Mark Pinicus
smiling like
an idiot (right)
A side by side
comparasion of
Tiny Tower and
Dream Heights,
you can see
they are pretty
much the same.
APRIL 2012
29

HISTORY OF ZYNGA
Hopefully it ends soon..
30 INDUSTRY
START

pure evil...
Now, is it fair to say Zynga is in the
wrong it has better luck and business
sense than these other game developers?
Maybe, but Zynga CEO Mark
Pincus has a definite answer. When
asked about what innovations Zynga
was bringing to the virtual battlefield,
Pincus responded, ”I don’t f***ing
want innovation. You’re not smarter
than your competitor. Just copy what
they do and do it until you get their
numbers.” This quote brings me to the
heart of my argument: while immoral
to say the least, should this practice of
game copying even be legal? Should
there be laws to prevent this virtual
“survival of the fittest?” While one
could cite the numerous cut and paste
first person shooters of video gaming
today as evidence that the practice
of game copying is harmless, these
games are produced by large, multibillion
dollar companies who could stand
to take a slight revenues dip if their
game gets outsold by their competitors.
In the case of Zynga, however, Mark
Pincus effectively preyed on smaller
gaming startups to claw his way to the
top of the social gaming world, and
real damage was done. Have you
ever heard of Slashkey before this
article? I’m guessing not. This isn’t
survival of the fittest; this is Zynga terrorizing
the social gaming universe.
APRIL 2012
31