Tower Defense Generator: A Tool for Supporting Game Design Education
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The document describes a Tower Defense Game Generator (TDG) tool created to help students learn game design. The TDG allows rapid iteration of Tower Defense game maps through different map generation heuristics and an editor. It provides just enough structure to explore the design space while allowing creative freedom. The goal is to help students reflect on level and game design through playtesting generated maps. Current work involves assessing the tool's educational use and expanding its features.
![Inspirations
Constructional Design
“a type of meta-design: [that] involves the
design of new tools and activities to support
students in their own design activities”
(Resnick et al., 1996)
Mixed-Initiative Design
Computational Intelligence to Support
Designers
Resnick, M., Bruckman, A., & Martin, F. (1996). Pianos Not Stereos: Creating Computational Construction Kits. Interactions,
3(5), 41-50.
Smith, G., Whitehead, J., & Mateas, M. (2010). Tanagra: A Mixed-Initiative Level Design Tool. Paper presented at the FDG ’10:
Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/towerdefensegeneratorpechakucha-120702152857-phpapp01/85/Tower-Defense-Generator-A-Tool-for-Supporting-Game-Design-Education-8-320.jpg)
Tower Defense Generator: A Tool for Supporting Game Design Education
- 1. TOWER DEFENSE GENERATOR A TOOL FOR SUPPORTING GAME DESIGN EDUCATION Jose Zagal & Pitchatarn Lertudomtana
- 2. Supporting Game Design Education How to help students better learn and practice game design? Should be easy! Expert players Passionate about games Have lots of game ideas
- 3. Easy but…. (most) Students Expert play does not (necessarily) lead to design skills Can’t articulate design goals and intentions Have trouble coming up with innovative ideas E.g. Want to make Halo 5! How to leverage prior knowledge, yet allow for meaningful creativity? See also: Zagal, J.P., Bruckman, A. (2009) "Novices, Gamers, and Scholars: Exploring the Challenges of Teaching About Games", Game Stud
- 4. Tools For Supporting Game Design Black Box White Box Grey Box Tools Avoid overwhelming with ALL the details (white box) Avoid inaccessibility and lack of agency (black box) Let people create in powerful and meaningful ways (but with interesting constraints)
- 5. Tower Defense Game Generator Tower Defense Game? Players must Build/Position “Towers” (Static Defenses) Decide when to upgrade them Towers automatically attack enemies (creeps) that advance towards an endpoint
- 6. Tower Defense Games Desktop Tower Defense (Preece 2007) Plants vs Zombies (PopCap Games 2009 Simple to play, hard to understand deeply Deep and rich design space to explore
- 7. Tower Defense Generator (TDG) Tool for Designing Tower Defense Games Currently consists of: Map Generator Map Editor XML specification for towers, enemies & waves Game Engine (for playtesting)
- 8. Inspirations Constructional Design “a type of meta-design: [that] involves the design of new tools and activities to support students in their own design activities” (Resnick et al., 1996) Mixed-Initiative Design Computational Intelligence to Support Designers Resnick, M., Bruckman, A., & Martin, F. (1996). Pianos Not Stereos: Creating Computational Construction Kits. Interactions, 3(5), 41-50. Smith, G., Whitehead, J., & Mateas, M. (2010). Tanagra: A Mixed-Initiative Level Design Tool. Paper presented at the FDG ’10: Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games.
- 9. “Intelligence” in the tool Computational Tool Provides Input Generates Rapid Iteration , Filters, and Outputs Designer Evaluates (tests, plays, edits) Content (levels,
- 10. Learn to Explore a Design Space What makes a “good” map? How are they different? Pacing? Decisions? Unusual Dimensions Several spawn points
- 11. Map Generator Baseline Parameters E.g. Dimensions Multiple Map Generation Heuristics Random Branching Cellular Automata
- 12. Enemies want to go here (checkered flag) This is the path they’ll (currently) follow (purple) Enemies appear from here (yellow flag)
- 13. Enemies can’t walk through “brown” border tiles Enemies can walk over anything with green borders Player can build anywhere that has a “white box”
- 14. Exploring Design Space Different heuristics generate different “looking” maps
- 15. Map Editor Support for “tweaking” maps Maps that are “almost” there
- 16. Game Engine Playtest maps generated Simple AI pathfinding See what happens
- 17. Helping Learners Reflect Heuristics for Map Generation Flashlights that illuminate part of the design space Allow for rapid iteration Refine parameters Identify “not-quite-there” maps LOTS of maps “Just enough” agency
- 18. Helping Learners Reflect Towers Terrain Enemie s Focus on one of the “pillars” of a Tower Defense game while the others are invariant
- 19. Current (and future) Work Formative assessment in formal educational setting Design/development of new features Allow designers to annotate with design intentions/goals Develop new heuristics (map generation) Develop techniques for even faster playtesting (game balancing)
- 20. Thank you for your time! (“Pre-Alpha”) Available : https://www.dropbox.com/s/xw2inqa18nl2mal/TowerDefenseP roject.exe PC Only (requires .NET and XNA) Warning: Pre-Alpha means “may not work or have issues on your machine” Jose Zagal [email protected] http://facsrv.cdm.depaul.edu/~jzagal
Editor's Notes
- #7: In desktop tower defense you have a completely open map, and you create obstacles (mazes) by choosing where to build towers.In Plants vs Zombies, there are lots of different plants to choose from depending on the zombies you’ll face. In this case the map is perhaps less interesting (there are few variations).
- #10: Process of iteration, there is “intelligence” in both the designer and the tool