02. Platforms and Modes

Video Game Development: Platforms and ModesA. Babadi 1 of 26
In The Name Of God
Video Game Development
Amin Babadi
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Isfahan University of Technology
Spring 2015
Platforms and Modes

Outline
 Game platforms
 Effect of platforms on game industry
 Time intervals in games
 What are time interval options?
 Game modes

Game Platforms
 Each game system with distinct characteristics is known as a
game platform.
o Tabletop,
o Arcade,
o Console,
o Computer,
o Online,
o Handheld,
o Mobile.
 Games developed for each platform differ in several
important respects.

Tabletop Platform
 Traditional analog (rather than digital) game platforms!
 The game elements literally consist of pens (or pencils) and
paper!

Tabletop Games
 It’s extremely important to study tabletop games to
understand the underlying gameplay challenges and
strategies behind games in general.
 Many game development companies create preliminary
versions of their games in tabletop form to ensure that the
gameplay is functioning properly.

Arcade Platform
 Stand alone game systems found in
public venues.
 Arcade games evolved from black
and white/grayscale to full-color
displays.
 Developers focused on fast-
moving, time-limited games that
did not involve detailed story or
character development.

Arcade Games
 Action is one of the main elements of this platform.
 Arcade games gave birth to action genre that still focuses
primarily on speed and certain type of skills (e.g. aim and
navigation as in shooting and racing games)
o More about genres in next lecture
 Other elements such as story or character development, have
been emphasized more in the action genre on other
platforms.

Arcade Game Development
 3 main entities associated with arcade game development:
1. Hardware manufacturer: Owns the rights to the hardware and has
control over what content is played on it.
2. Game developer: Often develops the game for the manufacturer,
but is sometimes the same company as the manufacturer.
3. Venue operator: Licenses or purchases the game from the
manufacturer and collects revenue from the players.

Console Platform
 Game consoles are usually played in the home, hooked up to
a TV set.
 Consoles (usually) support 4 controllers.
 The Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii are the dominant console systems
on the market.

Console Platform
 Like arcade platform, console hardware manufacturers such
as Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo have control over what
software is developed for their respective platforms.
o The hardware will not vary from player to player.
 Game consoles are created specifically for playing games;
although all of them are not just for playing games.
o Most are used for playing DVDs, MP3s, streaming movies, and
television content.

Computer Platform
 Unlike console and arcade platforms, PC platform is not
proprietary.
 There is so much variation in hardware setups between
players.
 Both minimum and recommended tech specs should also be
available to the player.

Online Platform
 Online games are played on a computer platform or through a
console system connected to the internet.
 Players need an Internet connection to play, and game
information might be stored on a server.

Online Games
 The largest online games involve thousands of simultaneous
players, which sometimes requires that the information for
the game be stored on several servers.
o Multiplayer massive online (MMO) games are widely used 24/7 all
over the world.
 Another technical issue related to online games includes
connection speed.
o Bandwidth is how many bytes per second the connection can transfer.
o Latency is the time it takes for packets to be transferred to you.

Handheld Platform
 The small size of handheld devices makes it convenient for
them to be taken with the player almost anywhere.
 This platform’s focus was initially on kids, but recently it has
become much more popular with adults.

Mobile Platform
 In addition to handhelds which were
created specifically for playing games,
other portable devices such as mobile
phones and PDAs have also been used as
platforms for games.
 Nokia made the first effort to combine a
cell phone with a handheld platform with
the release of its N-Gage in 2003.
 “always on/always connected”

Time Interval
 Time intervals are time-dependent elements that affect the
pacing of the game.
 This pacing affects whether the game is played reflexively or
reflectively.
 Are players allowed to spend an unlimited amount of time
responding to challenges? Or should them react quickly?
What about something between these 2 extremes?
1. Turn-based games
2. Real-time games
3. Time-limited games

Turn-based Games
 Each player takes a turn.
 Players have as much time as they need to plan their moves
and decide how to play their hands (reflective thought).

Real-time Games
 The opposite of a turn-based game is known as a real-time
game. There are no turns at a real-time game.
 Winning a real-time game requires having quick reflexes.

Time-limited Games
 A time-limited game is a compromise between turn-based
and real-time games.
 Each player has a limited time for his/her turn.

Player Mode
 Player mode directly correlates to the number of people
playing a game.
1. Single-player games
2. Two-player games
3. Local multiplayer games
4. LAN-based multiplayer games
5. Online multiplayer games
 What platforms might work better in certain modes?
 How many ways can you combine intervals and modes to
create a unique game?

1. Single-player Games
 Only one person can play a single-player game.
 Any additional players (usually opponents) in the game are
known as artificial intelligence (AI) characters or non-playable
characters (NPCs).
o More about AI and NPCs comes in the next lectures.

2. Two-player Games
 Two-player games initially evolved from arcade games.
 In 1970s, there wasn’t enough computational power to drive
the artificial intelligence (AI).

3. Local Multiplayer Games
 In local player mode, all players sit in the same space and play
the game on the same machine, sharing the same screen
using separate input devices (controllers).
 Each player can see what the other players are doing.
 Players can’t hide information from each other.

4. LAN-based Multiplayer Games
 Players share the game on a local area network (LAN) without
sharing the screen or controller.
 Players might bring their personal computers to one location
plug them into the LAN, and play games together as one large
group.

5. Online Multiplayer Games
 Like LAN-based games, online games represent a form of
networked play.
 In the case of online games, the network is the Internet.
 Online multiplayer games can be played by thousands of
players simultaneously.

References
 Novak’s textbook,
 Wikipedia, and
 Some other sources on the Internet.

02. Platforms and Modes

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02. Platforms and Modes