Generative Game Design, Part 3: Mechanics
How to create variety and force creativity in game mechanics
A framework for designing games inspired by Leonard Bernstein’s Harvard lecture series The Unanswered Question and transformational grammar. Bernstein is a conductor, composer, and much more, whose most famous work is songwriting for West Side Story.
Part 1: Game (Surface Structure)
Part 2: Attributes
Part 3: Mechanics
Part 4: Prose (Deep Structure)
Part 5: Applications
1. Game (Surface Structure) — the sensory form in which the game is experienced
2. Prose (Deep Structure) — the underlying structure that configures player behavior
3. Mechanics (Underlying strings) — the smallest units that have meaning
4. Attributes (Chosen elements) — a discrete unit that distinguishes one interaction from another
Mechanics
When we talk about mechanics in generative game design, we are talking about a collection of attributes that represent an idea. A quantitative attribute on its own is just a number. Combine it with an identity attribute, and we can create a concept like currency, e.g. 200 Rupees, or health, e.g. 5 Hearts. The meaning of mechanics (like the difference between 200 Rupees and 5 Hearts) will be explored more in the next part with deep structure. In this part, we will investigate how we can use attributes to build new mechanics.
For reference, here are the attributes again:
A common pattern in creating variety within mechanics is to modulate their attributes. My favorite example of this is in Chrono Trigger. The combat makes use of time attributes in the Active Time Battle system and input attributes through menus. Both of which are popular in classic JRPGs. But the system that sets Chrono Trigger apart from the others is the techs, special attacks that the characters can perform. We’ll look at 3 in particular: Flamethrower, Fire Whirl, and Cyclone Sweep.
Flamethrower damages enemies in a line, starting from Lucca and ending at the target selected. In the GIF below, if there is another target between Lucca and the mushroom enemy, then the target will have been hit as well.
Fire Whirl is a combo tech with Crono and Lucca that deals damage in a circle around the target. Notice that the mushroom to the left of the target is being hit as well:
Cyclone Sweep is another combo tech, this time from Crono and Robo. This tech deals damage in a circle around Robo. Notice that the bottom-right mushroom is the only one within range:
If we want to create new techs that will “feel” different for the player, we focus on modulating their attributes. Some of the main ones we are working with are: the shape of the damage (geometric), the origin of the shape (geometric), the required characters (identity), and the damage value (quantitative). By listing these out, it becomes much more apparent what tools we have to work with.
For instance, we can very easily rattle off different kinds of shapes like rectangles and cones, so long as the game can support them. In the case of Fire Whirl and Cyclone Sweep, they both use circles as their shape, but notably the origin of this shape is placed on the enemy for Fire Whirl versus on Robo for Cyclone Sweep. This has the uncommon effect of making a party member’s position matter to the player. Cycling through attributes is an effective tactic for forcing creativity.
It is worth mentioning that creating mechanics is equally viable by building down from the surface. They’re usually statements that start with “wouldn’t it be cool if…”. Wouldn’t it be cool if Crono and Robo can combine together to do some big lightning attack? It would be! And there is with Megavolt.
The key here is that whether we create mechanics up from attributes or down from the surface, we will always need to arrive at the top or bottom layers. How are we going to represent this mechanic in a way that is clear and resonates with the player (top layer)? How are we going to implement this mechanic (bottom layer)? Generative game design breaks down this design problem into smaller, more digestible parts.
This combat mechanic from Chrono Trigger is just one example of many. Many other games with combat, such as Monster Hunter or Dark Souls, utilize similar attributes. Economy mechanics, like having a currency and entities to purchase, utilize identity and quantitative; action and physics mechanics rely on geometric and time; puzzle mechanics leverage quantitative, geometric, and identity; the list goes on. Creating variety within mechanics is driven by our understanding of attributes, their affordances, strengths, and weaknesses. Devising new, innovative mechanics rides on our creativity in manipulating attributes. In the next part, we will explore deep structure— how we organize and structure mechanics together to configure player behavior.
This continues in Part 4: Prose (Deep Structure). You can find me on Twitter @stephentrinha.
