3 Components of a Game Interaction

• E.G.1 | RACING GAME | The Player sees a turn ahead and he needs to steer his car to clear it
• E.G.2 | FIGHTING GAME | The opponent executes an attack, and the Player executes a block

1. INFORMATION

must be presented for a player to react. There must be appropriate information for a person to understand what something is for, or to anticipate what would happens next, and so be able to execute a proper reaction. Without information the Game would fail even before it starts. It applies to any events.

• E.G.1 | LEVEL DESIGN | For a climbable surface, the climbable surface needs to convey the information that it is climbable, by giving it some distinct features, if not, the Player would not be able to recognize it and may not be able to progress the game.
• E.G.2 | COMBAT | There is a need to have an anticipation an animation principle, to allow the Player a chance to react. In this context, information refers to the anticipation
  
• E.G.3 | ACCESSIBLE GAME FOR BLIND GAMERS | The information would be a sound that tells of something recognizable happening.

2. INTERACTION

describes how the gamer controls the game. INTERACTION considers (default) key assignment, contextual crosshairs, mouse controls, gamepad configuration, motion sensing equipments, interfaces… anything that lets the Player interact with the game. Is the interaction means straightforward? Does it uses established controls convention or does it require learning? Are the configurations awkward? Is it easy to understand? It covers a wide range of topics, ranging from ergonomics to established conventions.

• E.G.1 | FPS | The default movement controls have been widely established as “WASD”, so it should not be changed unless really necessary.
• E.G.2 | CONTEXTUAL SYSTEMS | Most noteably “Fable 2” by Lionhead Studios, the purpose is to have a simplified control where a single button could be used to execute a number of different actions depending on the environment and situation that the Player is in.
• E.G.3 | LONE WOLF | We ultilized contextual systems in a few areas to simplify the controls and improve Player’s knowledge about the environment.

3. FEEDBACK

refers to the result of the Player’s INTERACTION according to the INFORMATION. A satisfying feedback would let the Player know that something right was done and provide the motivation for the Player to keep going, while a poor feedback would destroy the overall experience. Feedback would refer to a combination of sounds, effects, animation, movement, points etc… or just one of the components, depending on the situation.

• E.G.1 | COMBAT | If the opponent does not react, you will not know if you have hit him.
• E.G.2 | TREASURE BOX | If the Box does not break nor show any signs of damage or effects after the Player hit it, the Player would assume that the Box is not interactable and would move on.