Properties of Living Structures
Christopher Alexander was an Austrian architect known well for his theories and philosophies on design. In the world of game design, he is probably best known for his 15 properties of living structures and how these can even be applied to game worlds, as well as mechanics and dynamics present in most video games. This week we discussed Alexander's properties in great detail using the example of Portal 2's story, challenges, entities and environments which do a good job of reflecting these properties in the manner that they interact amongst each other and with the player.
In this blog we begin by exploring the Visual Experience as we talk about optical impressions, visceral reactions and visual direction. This sets the stage for Alexander's work which we will delve into further, defining his properties and outlining how they work in game design.
The Visual Experience
When we speak about the visual experience, we're focusing on how our brains perceive certain patterns, shapes or expressions that aim to pull our attention towards a specific areas the designer might want us to see. Our brains send signals that help us put together shapes and recognize patterns. This also helps us track motion and follow paths we intrinsically want to follow based on their aesthetic appeal. Game designers aim to appeal to players on a sensory level by making use of our aesthetic sensibility to draw our attention towards a point of focus. Often games when enemies are shot, blood will splatter everywhere or spill out onto the screen. This overly expressive mechanism is used to engage our direct primal reactions causing players to re-direct their attention. The more we fear something, the more we choose to engage in conflict with it. This comes out of a need to stand up against our fears in an unrealistic game environment.
As game designers, it is important for us to constantly be thinking about what the player is seeing at the moment. This ties into how their path in the game world will form around the architecture of the level itself. How humans perceive visual impressions in the environment has a huge impact on how these impressions influence gameplay. If a player is uninterested in certain areas due to their lack of aesthetic appeal, they are inclined not to explore there. On the other hand, a welcoming and comfortable environment automatically invites the player to discover something hidden or crucial to story or level progression. Humans allow their visual perception to influence every decision they make and this is especially true in the world of games. Interface and level design have a lot to do with how the player chooses to play the game, where they decide to go and what they decide to do.
Christopher Alexander
Let's begin this discussion by talking about Alexander's so-called "nameless quality" which should be represented in all living structures or environments. Since the quality couldn't be named, certain characteristics meant to describe it come forth in Alexander's theory. One of the first characteristics is liveliness. In that, the space should feel alive and have some sort of positive energy. It should make the person feel comfortable to be in this places as they get the feeling of entirety in seeing the place as one whole living, breathing ecosystem.
The place should also be free with no constraints. However if there are to be constraints, they should feel exact and as if they were supposed to be there. Being ego-less identifies the place as being connected to the entire universe or in our case, the entire game world. At no point should the space in its own spotlight elevated or illuminated separately from the rest of the world. It should feel eternal - as if it was always there and will always be there and that nothing can take it away. Furthermore, the space should be free from inner contradictions, in that, it can't be meant to help but be difficult to use at the same time.
These characteristics help us see exactly what Alexander was getting it in his work on design. There are several lessons to learn about design here and several more from to learn from Alexander's theories. An environment or mechanism should always be fun but can't have the potential to get boring once someone's gotten used to it. If this inner contradiction exists, it must be sought out within your game and eliminated. The best designs come through iteration and observation. You must observe how something is used by players and then remove any friction associated with interaction. Form follows function is the golden rule here as well. It is important to remember that paths are formed by a human need to go places - therefore, allowing people to find their own path is the best way to build one. Strive to place mechanisms that feel suitable for your game and then observe how people interact with them. This is at the heart of user-driven design.
The 15 Properties of Living Structures
1) Levels of Scale: This may be in terms of social structures, difficulty, enemies or objectives. Telescoping goals are a good example of levels of scale where a player must reach the short terms goal and then reach the mid-term goal and then reach the long-term goal. Everything you do essentially builds on to what you did before. This employs a fractal interest curve where player is never bored because the goal changes before interest drops. There must be a balanced range of size in terms of environments, entities, challenges, and even player actions.
2) Strong Centers: This means that the environment should have a good design at its center. Essentially the layout should be reminiscent of a fish-eye lens to let the player know where the action is (at the center of a strong focal point). Strong areas of focus could be found in environments, entities, challenges and even the story (characters). It is your job to focus the player's attention on what needs to change in order to solve a puzzle, as is the case in Portal.
3) Boundaries: It tends to be the case that boundaries aren't very clear in existing designs while your job as a designer is to make it clear to the player what is possible and what isn't. What's there, what's necessary, etc. A good example of this could be a keyboard which is limited by the number of keys on it so the user knows the boundary of their possibilities when typing. On the other hand, most users wouldn't know the boundaries of say a Dictionary or a Thesaurus. As a game designer, it is your job to make the scope of the action visible to the user/player. Boundaries don't only apply to space, but are just as important in terms of rules and actions. They are essential outlines that help focus attention in the game.
4) Alternating Repetition: Repeating elements creates a sense of order and harmony in terms of environments and challenges. This means cycles such as level/boss/level/boss or the pacing of tense/release/tense/release or even the cycle present in most FPS games of attack/cover/attack/cover. This essentially assists with understanding the functionality of certain mechanisms in the game.
5) Positive Space: This refers to complementary shapes or an overall well-balanced game. Challenges must complement their rewards and the background must reinforce the foreground and strong centers.
6) Good Shape - Simple good shapes help us feel connected to them and are aesthetically pleasing. This idea of good shape should be reflected in environments, entities and challenges. You can create powerful centers from the simplest things with good shape to keep a steady balance.
7) Local Symmetries - Usually small internal symmetries can be seen working well together in game systems. It gives players a better feeling for the environment as everything is naturally in its place and comfortable. A break in symmetry draws the player's attention but if too many things aren't symmetrical, it's a lot harder to explore the environment.
8) Deep Interlock and Ambiguity: This means that mechanisms and elements are so intertwined that the player is intrinsically aware that taking one piece away would cause the rest of it to make no sense. Looping and interconnected structures promote unity and grace. This is true in the real world as well.
9) Contrast: This is usually found between opponents, things you can control and rewards and punishments. Contrast can be achieved using strong opposites to create unity, focus and emphasis. In most games, like Portal, contrast is demonstrated between stable structures and organic environments.
10) Gradients: This describes qualities which change gradually as the game progresses. This also refers to the proportional use of space and patterns that promote harmony. It tends to be that difficulty and challenges gradually increase to match your skill level as you move through the game.
11) Roughness: This is a good form of contrast against stable environments. It makes the game feel more alive through textures, environments, entities, challenges and story. It essentially helps with telling the story of the game throughout the world. It draws players attention away from smooth and shiny parts of a level and towards the rougher edges that must be explored.
12) Echoes: These are pleasing and unifying repetitions of mechanics and dynamics. Extending one of of the more important functionalities that the player has performed earlier.
13) The Void: The infinite depth amongst surrounding clutter. It creates calmness as a contrast to the chaos surrounding it. Alexander used a church or the human heart to describe the concept of a void - a big structure surrounded by clutter. Large open spaces help focus the player's attention on few important objects.
14) Simplicity and Inner Calm: This stresses the use of only essentials in favor of avoiding extraneous elements that won't be needed. It is important to only have elements that are visually necessary. Good examples of this are passive game design components that are well-balanced with simple rules.
15) Not-separatedness: This ensures that all rules are central elements of the game. If it's not essential then you should get rid of it. Every environment is specifically designed for a particular challenge and all elements are connected and complementary.
In Conclusion
Christopher Alexander's theories and 15 properties of living structures are simple guidelines at the end of the day. They will help with level and game design, but aren't hard and fast rules for it. While some games might have all the properties, others might be lacking some. This doesn't mean they've been designed better or worse than any other game. While Alexander's properties will help you create a well-designed game it is no formula for guaranteed success. All the same, there are many lessons to be learnt about not only game design, but overall structural design. He was an architect after all.
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