Author Archives: lankoski

Character Related Gameplay Design Patterns

Staffan Björk is building version 2.0 for game design patterns (http://www.ninja.sics.se/gdp2/). Staffan is also updating and adding patterns from my Character-Driven Game Design. I am looking forward to seeing how the patterns will change after Staffan’s update. Petri Lankoski likes Character-Driven Game Design Create your Like Badge

Lectio Praecursoria 12.5.2010

Introductory speech at my defense: Honoured Custos, honoured opponent, ladies and gentlemen. My research is about designing single player character-based computer games. With character-based games, I mean games such as Thief II: The Metal Age, Fahrenheit, Ico, and Half-Life. From the design point of view the player character, the character controlled by a player, isContinue reading “Lectio Praecursoria 12.5.2010”

Public Examination of my Doctoral Thesis at May 12

Academic dissertation to be presented for public examination with the permission of the Research Board of the Aalto University School of Art and Design Helsinki, in Sampo auditorium (Media Centre LUME), Hämeentie 135 C on May 12th, 2010, at 12 noon. MA Petri Lankoski “Character-Driven Game Design: A Design Approach and Its Foundations in CharacterContinue reading “Public Examination of my Doctoral Thesis at May 12”

Character-Driven Game Design is Out

| Buy the book | Free PDF | Updated 14.5.2010: Added download link. Back cover says: In the Character-Driven Game Design, Petri Lankoski presents a theory that illuminates how game characters contribute to shaping the playing experience. Based on this theory he provides design tools for character-based games which utilize methods and theories derived fromContinue reading “Character-Driven Game Design is Out”

CFP: Experiencing Games: Games, Play, and Players

Research on games has grown into a research area of its own. This conference aims to bring together researchers in the Nordic countries that focus on the study of games and gaming, be it on-line, computerised, or in the physical world. Based on the Nordic tradition on user-centered design, the first Nordic DIGRA conference willContinue reading “CFP: Experiencing Games: Games, Play, and Players”

Reward Systems in Univesities

Now as my university is building a reward system, I need to voice my concerns on reward systems. First, how do you judge what is good research? One might not be able to comprehend the value of research beforehand. As an example, could anyone at George Boole’s time predict the importance of his work onContinue reading “Reward Systems in Univesities”

The tribulations of adventure games: integrating story into simulation through performance by Fernandez Vara

Note for myself: read this: Fernandez Vara, C. (2009). The tribulations of adventure games: integrating story into simulation through performance. Doctoral Dissertation, Georgia Institute of Technology. URL=http://hdl.handle.net/1853/31756.

Game and Cognitive Skills

A study reports enhanced attentional resources of action game players: This work further documents the enhanced attentional resources of action video gamers and establishes faster reaction times in that population without a notable loss in accuracy. These effects were seen throughout the age range studied suggesting similar effects of action game playing from the earlyContinue reading “Game and Cognitive Skills”

Player Character Engagement in Computer Games

My paper Player Character Engagement in Computer Games was accepted to Games and Culture. Here is the abstract: This article argues how players can control a player character influence interpretation and facilitate engagement within a game. Engagement with player characters can be goal-related or empathic, where goal-related engagement depends on affects elicited by goal-status evaluationsContinue reading “Player Character Engagement in Computer Games”