The REMA model: The PAME model

Just a quick update on my latest thoughts on REMA. Reflecting more on Daniel Pink’s work (initial thoughts) and a recent blog post on gamasutra, it’s become clear to me that REMA stages might better be represented as e Purpose, Autonomy, Mastery stages, followed by a Sharing or Artistry stage. I’ve already talked a great deal about Rollercoaster and Purpose, and Mastery is an obvious link. But the connection between Autonomy and Experiment games has really been driven home to me lately, particularly looking at how games like Skyrim and Minecraft are enjoyed. “Freedom” and “Creative” are the words at the core of this play, strongly linking them to Autonomy.

I’ve also been thinking about Civ. The importance of Management play was driven home in the BrainHex 2 studies, and Civ clearly fits in that category. And while there is some Mastery appeal, from what I know the primary appeal of Civ is the freedom and autonomy aspects – build an empire that’s your version of history. Most players play only once, and play on low difficulties where they are going to stomp the AI, rather then engaging in the available multiplayer play. In fact, Civ is a great example of the conflict between Autonomy and Mastery, as for years Firaxis has maintained the Mastery side of the game, despite the continued challenges of it, such as the unsatisfying victory conditions. Stealing “losing is fun” from Dwarf Fortress would probably greatly enhance the series for the main audience, but they’d lose the Mastery group that is their most devoted.

So I’ve been confident Management gamers belong in the autonomy/experiment group – they want to do things their way, they want options to chose from, succeed at implementing them, and have extra long sessions of progress (what I think of as “cascading plans”, which is a key Experiment game reward that drives the “1 more turn” feeling and deserves its own post). Note here its not creativity linking Experiment games, it’s Autonomy.

Putting all that together, I’ve decided to focus on Purpose, Mastery, and Autonomy by naming REMA to PAME. Daniel Pink’s work is widely read, backed by applicable and interesting research, and his words are more descriptive and have broader context. I renamed Application to Expression, which I think is also clearer, and now has better alliteration.

What’s your thoughts on this? Curious how people have been using REMA in the year since I posted it and whether these changes are helpful.

The REMA Model: The Mario Conundrum con.

It might be tricky to classify Mario as one REMA genre, but Super Mario Land 3D designers definitely used REMA as the core of their design vision:

But it wasn’t really until Super Mario 3D Land that I think I really became a lot more rigorous about enforcing that in level design, where you have a clear concept in the beginning, and that’s carried through absolutely all the way.

Why do you think that that’s important?

KH: Well, I think it has a lot to do with the acquisition of a skill, which is something that often appears very similar to the way that a narrative can develop. So, if you take a single gameplay element, let’s think about the steps that happen.

First, you have to learn how to use that gameplay mechanic, and then the stage will offer you a slightly more complicated scenario in which you have to use it. And then the next step is something crazy happens that makes you think about it in a way you weren’t expecting. And then you get to demonstrate, finally, what sort of mastery you’ve gained over it.

It’s very similar to a narrative structure that you find in four-panel comics… And this is something that ends up giving the player a kind of narrative structure that they can relate to within a single level about how they’re using a game mechanic.

The reference to manga narrative using similar form is fascinating,  It hints at a deeper connection between Rollercoaster play and Mastery play.

SimCity

I can talk about what I’m working on again!  I’m one of the designers on

As you can imagine, it’s quite a thrill to be working on such a whirlwind of Rollercoaster, Experiment, and Mastery (multiplayer!) design.  I look forward to sharing details about the design through the SimCity forums and blogs.  I’ll cross-post them here when I can.

The REMA Model: Collected Links

Here’s a list of all the REMA model articles published so far.  If you’re interested in this design lens, I recommend starting with part 1 and exploring these core posts:

• The REMA Model:  Why do we play in so many different Ways?
• The REMA Model part 3: Rollercoaster Games
• The REMA Model part 4: Experiment Games
• The REMA Model part 5: Mastery Games and The REMA Model part 6: The Mario Conundrum (in which I realize my first post on Mastery Games was too narrow)
• The REMA Model part 7: Application Games
• The REMA Model part 8: Uses in Game Design

And some related posts if you’re interested in more detail:

• The REMA Model part 2: An Example
• The REMA Model part 3 con. (responding to Koster on Immersion)
• The REMA Model part 5 con.: Mastered (clarifying Mastery play is not always about dedicated practice)
• The REMA Model part 6: The Mario Conundrum con.

Interview: Andrew Doull on Procedural Games

I had the opportunity to interview Andrew Doull this week, Unangband developer, creator of the Procedural Content Generation Wiki, contributor to the podcast Roguelike Radio, and deep thinker.

We chatted about all things procedural: the role of narrative in procedural games, the impact of the indies, the problems with a Procedural Zelda, and how Roguelikes can teach us unique things about life.

Listen here:  Andrew Doull Interview (MP3).

Enjoy!

Games covered includes:

• Dwarf Fortress
• Binding of Isaac
• Minecraft
• Brogue
• 7DRL Competition
• Spelunky
• Galactic Arms Race
• Facade

 

Trait Inflections: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

I’ve been reading Daniel Pink’s book Drive, and thinking about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.  In particular, Rollercoaster games rely heavily on carrot/stick motivation (extrinsic rewards and punishments), and Experiment and Mastery games more on Autonomy, Purpose, and Mastery (his tools to create intrinsic motivation).

This is really interesting, because it provides a clue as to why these genres have evolved the way they have.  Since Rollercoaster games rely heavily on rewards and punishments, they have to be short (extrinsic rewards don’t motivate for very long), and rely heavily on giving you new and exciting rewards (since you get acclimated to them quickly), which story is perfect for.  Story also gives you very strong Purpose, above the gameplay, which probably helps sustain play over hours despite the limited Autonomy and Mastery.  They are happy to add story even if though it usually hurts gameplay.

Meanwhile, Experiment and Mastery games have deep Autonomy and Mastery, and so need less of these extrinsic rewards to get players to heavily invest.  They don’t have to make hard choices between story and gameplay.  Gameplay alone is enough.

The REMA Model part 8: Uses in Game Design

Now that we’ve covered the basics, here’s some of the things in REMA that have made me a better designer.

A Common Lexicon

REMA gives us a common lexicon to talk about why some games are designed differently and play differently.  That’s a big deal on a dev team – often one designer wants to make an Experiment game and one wants to make a Rollercoaster game, and they just talk past each other.  Understanding REMA, these debates can be resolved.

Set Expectations

It is useful for players and critics too.  Players play different games. When expectations are wrong, confusion ensues.  If developers use REMA language to communicate genres with audiences, rather then the meaningless “Action”, “RPG”, or “Sandbox”, it matches the right audience to the right game, and players can happily embrace each genre’s uniqueness.

Stay Focused

Once you know what genre you’re in, it’s much easier to understand what’s inside and outside your game.  The traits serve as a guideline to what has worked and what hasn’t, and give insight into how the audience thinks. This can be particularly helpful for developers who are new to their genre, and need something to relate to.

Find Inspiration

REMA can also help you find useful game references.  If you’re making a competitive multiplayer game, you already knew to look at Starcraft and Counter-strike and Chess.  But you might not think to explore Minesweeper or 7 Wonders or Demon Souls.

Predict Risks

The traits create powerful trait dynamics, areas where each traits has evolved to be different between the modes.  For example:

• Choices:  Rollercoaster and Mastery games have few choices, but Experiment games have tons.  And the choices change nature and get more complex as you walk from R to E to M to A.
• Length: Rollercoaster games are short, Experiment games are long, and Mastery games are extremely short.
• Replayability: Rollercoaster games are played once, Experiment games 2-3 times, and Mastery and Application games over and over and over.
• World Size:  Most often, Rollercoaster games are journeys, Experiment games are sandboxes, and Mastery games are arenas.
• Goals: Rollercoaster games and Mastery games have designer-specified end goals, and Experiment games and Application games have player-specified end goals.

You’ll see these dynamics throughout the traits I identified.  Study why they exist.  They are the most powerful part of the whole REMA model.  Pay special attention to games that successfully manipulate or break them.  Understanding these trait dynamics is key to making a good design.  If you make a Mastery game that’s a journey, you’re in risky country, so try and nail that part of the design early.

Improve the Experience

Most games are going to have parts that are Rollercoaster, parts that are Experiment, and parts that are Mastery.  It adds depth and variety to the game.  Identify these places and guide the player through the transition between them – setting the tone, changing the mood, providing rewards.  Otherwise, you’ll leave players frustrated.

In more procedural games, layer the different parts of REMA play at different time scales (eg 1 minute, 15 minutes, 1 hour).  Make these secondary REMA modes infrequent, easy, and optional. For examples, look at the cutscenes and loot game in Diablo 2, or the battles in the Total War series, or the town/wilderness/boss timing in Pokemon.  The larger arc of Diablo 2 (Normal/Nightmare/Hell) and Pokemon (Journey/”Catch them All”/Arena Fights) both brilliantly encourage R->E->M transitions over hundreds of hours.

REMA also helps predict when you might need more of one particular mode.  For example, many Mastery games lack any safe space to Experiment, which means many players fail to transition to Mastery play.  One of the my favorite features of Starcraft 2, the Challenges, addresses this problem.  The Challenges were short puzzles that teach you a skill that you need to compete in the multiplayer game.  The Challenges gave players a safe space to Experiment with key parts of the game and then Master them, making the Mastery transition significantly easier in Starcraft 2 then Starcraft: Brood War.

Discover Designs

Once upon a time Metroid was an Experiment game.  What would a game look like that went back to those roots?  Or a game that combined Metroid’s Rollercoaster nature with Application play to make a metaphorical game about surviving cancer?  REMA teaches us a lot about how players learn, and by playing with the model and its traits, we can discover new directions that haven’t been fully explored.

Be Innovative

Break the rules.  REMA is a model, not a law.  Roguelikes broke the rules of Mastery games and created a game that was about mastering the average game, not an individual game.  Braid built a new sub-genre of Rollercoaster games by sending a message that could only be heard through play.  REMA predicts that you’ll lose some percentage of frustrated players when you break the model.  But no game is for everyone.  Most of the time when you do something new you frustrate 80% of players, but the other 20% become your biggest fans.  If you didn’t want everyone to begin with, that’s a great deal.

Enjoy.