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Hiding and Revealing Systems
We conclude our discussion of games as information systems by looking at some examples of digital games that successfully integrate information into the overall game design. These games take advantage of the ability of digital games to manipulate information in complex ways to engender meaningful play:
The Fog of War: A wonderful method by which digital games manipulate information is the "fog of war" feature in real-time strategy games such as Starcraft. Although a real-time strategy game level might take place on a large map of terrain, the game only reveals information about structures that are gradually revealed to players as perceived the map near a player's own units. Initially, you only know about your own local area of the playfield. Sending out scouts and spies to learn more about the terrain and the location of your enemies becomes an important part of the game. The strategic unveiling of hidden information adds suspense and tension to the game experience.
Secret Locations and Hidden Moves: Many digital games possess locations and features which are hidden to players at the beginning of a game and are slowly revealed through play. In Super Mario 64, not only does the player slowly gain enough coins to unlock new game worlds, but some of these worlds contain items that give Mario new powers and abilities. Although any level-based game could be considered a system of information revealed to players over the course of a game, Super Mario 64 masterfully integrates the uncovering of this information into the geography of the overall game space. Such an approach creates a rhythm of discovery that keeps players engaged throughout the game.
Item Economies: Many digital games feature complex. economies of items. In LEGO Drome Racing Challenge, a multiplayer online game in which players customize their cars by purchasing parts, the game limits a player's ability to purchase car parts based on their License Class: as a player progresses, they gain the ability to purchase more and more powerful parts. But the game doesn't limit the informational access to all of the parts: players can "browse" the more powerful parts, but not acquire them. Although this is the opposite design strategy that Super Mario 64 takes, it works well in the context of this particular design. By granting access to the entire set of part information, this structure gives players a better understanding of the relative value of the items available for purchase, while also allowing them to make meaningful decisions about what to buy. Rather than purchasing a currently accessible item, a player can choose to "save up" for a more expensive item that can only be purchased once he or she has advanced to another License class.
Rules as Information: The automated nature of game systems, combined with their ability to manipulate information, forms a powerful design tool: the ability to reveal not just static information, but dynamic behaviors and relationships as well. In the game FLUID,the player has little information at the beginning of the game experience. The interaction consists of poking, stroking, and prodding a touchscreen, interacting with the elements of the game. Each game element is part of a miniature ecosystem; as the player plays with FLUID,interaction and observation reveals the underlying principles of the system. In this case, the hidden information gradually revealed through play is the rules of the simulation itself. Part of the play of FLUID is the discovery of the game rules as information.
Many digital games rely on vast sets of information rewards for player interaction. Huge worlds to explore, complex economies of items, and hidden fighting moves are the "stuff" with which digital game designers fill their systems. One challenge for digital game designers is not to rely so much on hidden content in order to generate player interest. Making use of information systems within your games requires that the information be made meaningful through player interaction. If there is too much information, or if the information is neither discernable nor integrated, the design has failed to support meaningful play. In contrast, non-digital games typically consist of more limited, replayable systems: imperfect information might be a core component of Poker, but you are not going to uncover a previously hidden card in the deck after 30 hours of play.
Drome Racing Challenge
The kind of information system you design, therefore, depends on the kind of game you want to create. A simple game system that players fully know from the start can create the obsessive play of Tetris or the opportunities for mastery of Go. On the other hand, a game that contains large amounts of information —strategically unveiling informational complexity, rewarding progress via new levels, powers, or narrative segments—can let players slowly come to know the game without feeling overwhelmed. Your challenge as a game designer is to identify the kind of experience you want to create and design a system that finds the proper balance of meaningful informational play.
