How are Crafting Systems...Crafted? | Dissecting Crafting in Minecraft and Other Games

we've all been here before the feeling of starting a new minecraft seed breaking wood and inexpectably turning wood blocks into sticks with your bare hands before you know it you have an empire made by your own two hands and this isn't just restricted to minecraft satisfactory factories subnautica aquatics astroneer moon bases and more games catered to embrace this feeling it seems like survival crafting or mmorpg crafting is where crafting's expected but you do this in almost every video game without even realizing it but nobody really talks about it so let's answer how are crafting systems crafted this is pengu's or you can just call me donny and we're going to talk about crafting today sheesh take a shot every time i say crafting this video while making this video i realized how long it would be if i mentioned every single resource i used to research this topic out of interest of time i will only be heavily referencing an academically backed paper directly but if you're curious to learn more please check the description for full references speaking of that paper here it is on screen from digital humanities quarterly this was one of the only well researched articles specifically in depth about crafting if you find more please let me know they list what they consider core dimensions to crafting i will go over them in this video with some my own conclusions drawn and apply these concepts to other games to broaden the scope of how far crafting goes in the industry to make sure i keep your attention and not turn this into a lecture i will use minecraft as a baseline and out of convenience of the fact that unless c418 doesn't get you in the feels and you have no childhood or soul then most of you watching should be able to use this system as past experience when i talk about other games let's start off by answering how do you know how to craft in minecraft how do you know to place two wooden blocks on top of each other to make sticks are there any other ways to mix sticks is there a manual a hidden unlock well some games do and some games don't and husa measures such definitions to recipes the recipe definition dimension refers to the flexibility of the ingredients used as input to the crafting process well what is a recipe a recipe is a representation of the knowledge necessary to transform a collection of game objects ingredients or raw materials into a new object factorio shows us what strongly defined recipes are there is no different way to make for example this turret in the game besides what is listed here furthermore recipes are given to the player literally as soon as they start the game there is no guessing what the recipe is it simply exists and the player already knows where to find it simple enough in contrast minecraft is a much more open-ended crafting game much like terraria the recipes aren't given unless already discovered by the player and encourages discovering recipes by intuition and trial but minecraft has an extra layer of undefinedness to the recipes because even if you know what you need you need to know how to make it with their classic 2x2 or 3x3 crafting grid which brings us to the concept in defining recipes known as a parametric recipe before i gave you the definition let me show you an example so in minecraft different pickaxes can be made wood stone iron gold and diamond another right but that's not applicable here all players pretty much already know how to make these pickaxes by now but pretend it's 2012 and you're playing minecraft for the first time again so answer me this if you figured out how to make a wooden pickaxe and knew there were higher tiers of pickaxes how would you try out to make next tier naturally replacing the wood with stone makes sense the two sticks just stay because all pickaxes need the same handle or some sort relief logic apply this to all pickaxes and you have a parametric recipe thus it can be defined as a recipe with multiple possible inputs and in the words of the paper i'm referencing the pickaxe recipe in effect is parameterized by those materials the pickaxe isn't completely defined the player has room to enact the recipe in different ways trust me i know all these big words are pretty boring but this is actually a really important part of crafting in games i mean defining the recipe is the core aspect of how you even begin to craft i think that's why it's really important to start the video with this definition after all this does lead us to the very natural next step of crafting after knowing how to craft let's answer how you craft fidelity of action represents how detailed those player perform actions are within the game world how accurate those actions are to applicable real life actions and how embodied the player performance of those actions is let's break this down into some real english it means how involved the player is in actually performing the act of crafting this graphic from the paper compares fidelity of dancing high fidelity would mean physically dancing like in just dance while a low fidelity is simply pressing a button to dance like slash dance and league of legends considering this definition virtual reality is probably the highest form of fidelity of action in video games for example the ark shop or however you pronounce that is a vr game literally about building you cut the materials yourself and craft the final project with your own two ritual hands there's nothing more real than that than going to your local home depot you dad minecraft in comparison is pretty low in fidelity of action besides placing items in a somewhat logical orientation the game's main crafting aspects future simply placing materials and seeing it completed immediately with no other mechanics like workshop displays this doesn't necessarily mean crafting is hollow in minecraft far from it but quite obviously the process of crafting isn't minecraft's focus versus the fidelity of action and workshop is their selling point all of this is something to consider in your next experience when you click the craft button on many games or play in vr some people want a hands-on experience like in cooking simulator and some would be content just lighting up their furnace and minecraft what if it gets a job done to get the player their items so this is where wtb mats comes into the picture all the long arduous hours grinding monster parts or relics is followed by the finale of crafting that very next item you've been looking forward to in the skillshare item list next up completion constraint is defined as everything that is required for an entity to be crafted is encapsulated within this dimension constraints on crafting are defined in several aspects so let's quickly define these with examples from our baseline game minecraft consumed resources are materials that are consumed in minecraft this is when ore is consumed when you make a tool simple enough present resources are resources that are needed to craft but not consumed this distinction is important and relevant to many crafting systems once you look for them you'll see this everywhere in minecraft this is one unique crafting table to craft certain items it's not used up but still a resource you need present to craft time is self-explanatory i have a heavier example coming up in a minute but in minecraft this restraint is clear when you use a furnace even though you have all the resources present and correctly placed you must wait physical real life time to wait for the outcome to fruition location is also self-explanatory what's notable minecraft is that location is technically exempt because literally any crafting station table enchant table fairness etc can be brought along with the player of course though these stations still need a virtual space to be used in games so minecraft still presents some level of location constraint so let's take a look at a very different game and its completion constraints as a whole warframe warframe is a good example of having a lot of completion constraints you grind for potentially hours or days for consumed resources present resources would be different ship parts like the foundry incubator helmet segment etc where you do all of your crafting and preparations warframe's crafting is notoriously time gated meaning it takes waiting real life days for your items to finish crafting or you can pay a platinum the premium currency location for crafting is extremely limited you can only craft in your ship knowing this concept let's keep in mind completion constraints aren't a negative thing or just a way for some developers to draw content and play time for their games it's a working incentive system that allows players to feel more worthwhile progression satisfaction we'll talk more about progression later bless the rng gods and your new waifu gotcha because we all know how frustrating it is to feel very unlucky grinding for materials and resources sometimes there are even several levels of rng like an rng item that then has another rng value for the next item you need introducing what is known as variable outcome variable outcome is how two players can have the same tools have the same resources be at the same location take identical actions and still end up with two different results one game i have some experience in with notable variability is path of exile some quick context is this armor in the game has sockets you put skill gems in sockets which then allow you to use different skills augment them and other impressive things saying they're just important is an understatement the number of sockets isn't the only thing you need however they also need to be linked getting an armor piece that is commonly called a six link is very hard to craft on your own you use these orb refusings to link sockets together the chance on this is not explicitly stated but many have done heavy research with odds roughly about 1 out of one thousand or 0.1 percent chance in certain posts i can find of course as with games with this kind of rng you can get lucky with the six link on your first try or your 188th try as seen here by this poor soul even minecraft has some crafting rng here's an enchanting website that shows you the chance to obtain specific attributes i am not familiar with this aspect of the game so dive in this website and relay to wiki to learn more i think it's worth noting once more that rng is not bad in games used correctly this aspect lets players feel really good about getting an item they need my experience is grinding for days for just the last ivvar prime part in warframe seeing it pop up in the relic awards screen was just so so satisfying maybe too satisfying [Music] i don't have a good segue into this concept it requires a little explaining so bear with me the concept of system of recognition of outcome refers to the manner and degree to which a larger game system models and represents the results of crafting this one's a little complicated basically this talks about how much your creation will impact the game let's explore this with some examples to make it clear this example and source gif is from the reference paper kittens game by bloodrizer is the most bare bones an autoclicker can get it is also the lowest form of recognition of an outcome that a game can demonstrate for example crafting a slab here is represented by simply increasing 22.62 to 24.10 that is the only recognition this act of crafting gets no epic text level up sound server announcement stone texture nada this basically tells the player this item now exists and that is that let's move up the spectrum of recognition of outcomes i think monster hunter world can fairly be assessed as medium recognition you see crafting weapons in this game is just like any other rpg however this choice in crafting a specific weapon has a lot of consequences let's dive in and examine how the game changes for me when i use an insect blade versus a charge blade an inside glaive is this long double bladed staff that also uniquely features what is known as a kinsect this insect plays a role into this weapons gameplay and has its own upgrade tree the only way for me to get these colored essences shown in the upper left-hand corner is using my insect on specific parts of a monster's body for example red is obtained from the monster's attacking parts like its head or arms this buff gives you different but more powerful combos thus you must be vigilant in keeping these up and running for maximal dps another signature aspect of this weapon is its aerials the inside clave can most easily maneuver in the air out of all the weapons in monster hunter world this lets insect glaive users to be able to mount monsters much easier resulting in knockdowns and tons of damage the charge blade and aesthetics is a huge contrast this traditional looking sword and shield transforms into a huge [ __ ] axe instead of a slim sleek looking blade this contraption seems bulky and blunt while in sword and shield mode you gain these finals in the upper left in order to then expunge elemental damage in axe form these files are considerably easier to obtain than the insect wave as files are not body part specific also you can charge your sword and shield also also you have a shield so guard pointing or basically perfect countering is a very important mechanic for charge blade players in axe form the main combo super amped elemental discharge yes the full name of this move is the bread and butter of charge blade players a slow but epic move with dynamic camera and this sense of smashing the monster with raw power is signature to his weapon now let's compare the insect lathe dashes around the battlefield hacking and slashing with his insect meanwhile the charge blade uses shield to advantage and slowly builds charge and then quickly unleashes it in a few swings of the axe the playstyles between these weapons are vastly different and is the true beauty of monster hunter world and i only scratch the surface there are 14 weapon types all with of course different elementaries and attributes you can upgrade and craft my point here being recognition of the outcome of crafting in this game clearly affects how the player approaches and plays a game after they craft the desired weapon it's how your decision to craft this one item really matters and affects the virtual world and its players and even monsters now let's go even deeper in simulation heavy games like besiege and spore the recognition of crafting outcomes is extremely relevant your crafted items are basically the objective of the game and the amount of recognition it gets is subject to nearly all forces in the game in the form of a simulation your machine interacts with the world and the way you build your spore dictates most of the good gameplay this is probably the highest form recognition a craft gets in a video game the craft itself deals with tons of calculations in its physics and how other entities will see it acknowledge it and interact with it let's bring this whole discussion back to the ground with our favorite game minecraft the amount of recognition of outcome is higher than kittens game but lower than monster hunter world this is because the mechanics of the game don't change much by crafting certain items a pickaxe is still pickaxe and a wool block is still a block of course certain items are key but that's for another topic [Music] crafting games would be remiss without their customization features if you noticed it's a little oxymoronic to define recipes and customization in the same system but they are integral to a player experience and crafting player expressiveness refers to the amount of reasonable choice the player has given the game setting and the tools provided to them during the process of crafting this is a little ambiguous this is not necessarily creativity in the system itself but the ability for players to express themselves let's take a look at some games i believe we can loosely attach the definition to path of exile's immense skill tree i would not attempt this math but a user in the forums apparently did there are 1 octalian 237 septillion 940 sextillion 39 quintillion 285 quadrillion 380 trillion 274 billion 199 million 104 224 combinations for this immense skill tree this is only for one class and there are six classes so this number should be multiplied by six i think it's safe to say this contends for a good amount of potential expressiveness you can argue that this isn't necessarily crafting but i will touch upon that in a follow-up for now take my word that coming out with a viable build and path of exile is actually implicit crafting for the player of course there are also tons of ways to express yourself in minecraft in terms of ways to influence crafting die combinations is a good example of a way for players to customize their crafting experience there is a whopping 12 million twenty six thousand three hundred ninety one combinations to dying leather armor in games like minecraft building creatively comes to mind as a core foundation to this game i think it's important to note even a game like path of exile has its own creative outlets let me just spell now however that this is not the same as simply customizing your character this has no crafting element to it don't worry i still think spending hard-earned money on six bananas are hella worth it [Music] though lastly progression is exactly what it sounds like the experience of interacting with the crafting system over time there are several aspects to progression like leveling resource unlocking recipe unlocking prerequisite crafting and mechanics changes but i think we can leave those out for this discussion and generalize progression to crafting systems as a whole of course like i said earlier if you really are curious then please look down in the description for other resources i used in the making of this video diving into progression let's actually talk about a meta level to this progression dimension that is how player skill increases with progression kerbal space program can be mastered quicker by a real life rocket engineer than an average player this is highly subjective and not really integral to a game's crafting system but i think it's still worth mentioning with respect to progression systems a more concrete demonstration of progression is that minecraft has several progression mechanics encompassing some of the ones i mentioned earlier leveling resource unlocking and mechanics changes the first two are self-explanatory but to explain mechanics changes look at these different crafting uis between the player inventory crafting table furnace and enchanting table as the player unlocks more complex crafting stations the crafting mechanics differ but at those points in the game the players should already be familiar with intuitively freaking out how it works here and hence they progress developing a sense of fun progression in games is difficult but many crafting systems lend to that in a natural way with different resource barriers and crafting hub requirements kerbal space program again is a good way to think out the box in terms of progression in real life and how players progress themselves through game mechanics that are present from the start i don't really expect us to become survivor man when finishing minecraft but that's food for thought [Music] one finishing up our definition of crafting let's recap recipe definition fidelity of action completion constraints variable outcome system a recognition of outcome player expressiveness and progression are all specific and broad explanations of what make up crafting systems that may seem like a cop-out or catch-all conclusion however think about the breadth of games i have briefly mentioned i even forced myself to exclude minigames because this video would just be too damn long but these elements of crafting are ever present in a ton of games and i suggest you deep dive into your own favorite games and perhaps why you enjoy them crafting systems are just one small mechanic in video games usually but knowing how much work and thought process goes into designing a complex yet intuitive system that closely resembles real life allows us to appreciate the grind much more allow me to discuss two more topics i think are worth mentioning with regard to crafting before i close this video automation i will not go too deep into this as i think animation games can be discussed by themselves but to touch upon this quickly it is obvious that crafting in automation games is arguably the whole point of the game taking materials and making stuff but a whole hell of a lot of it and automatically remember fidelity of action automation games like sas factory astroneer and factorio function simply as pressing a button and placing down buildings this dimension actually further decreases to producing materials by literally doing nothing but the very act of making your own how it's made esque factory of mass production is focusing on crafting the production line rather than handcrafting the items it's common amongst these automation games that recipe definitions are rated highly so that players can plan the process efficiently these games get dank very quick so i will leave discussion for perhaps some other time a player's goals crafting systems do not exist in a vacuum the other aspects of gameplay immensely affect how a player approaches crafting and in my opinion is what makes crafting systems an understated part of games for example final fantasy 14 online has a famously intense complex and engaging crafting system and many players do not even touch it while still sinking hundreds or thousands of hours into the game i know that is certainly how i played mmos simply because i'm too lazy to get into crafting or professions i mean look at these excel sheets and macro rotations for final fantasy 14. the game has many other elements of course pvp socialization exploration etc some external aspects are integral to crafting like gathering resources while exploring which demonstrates intersectionality between mechanics and games that support each other which is also super complicated the reason why i bring this up is to show you that player goals can overshadow priorities in other areas of a game think about minecraft there is just no avoiding crafting stuff in that game like eventually you will go into your inventory and at the very least make sticks or wooden planks compare that to some mmos you can experience most of the game without crafting a player's goal may be to make money or the best gear and thus a player's goals and why they should craft will influence their perception of how useful a crafting system is to them personally [Music] finally let me leave you with this why do you just listen to me talk about crafting for 20 minutes well this essay turned out to be much longer than i anticipated there is so much depth to crafting systems that game developers maneuver into games yet i do not see enough people talking about it i hope i shed some light into defining crafting systems in drafting this video i actually initially want to talk a little more abstractly about crafting systems and how they affect player experience and how players perceive them but honestly just discussing concrete definitions of what makes up crafting has already been mouthful i hope you could take away some new information about some aspects of your favorite games if you guys found this interesting i will follow up with more about this topic finally this has been my first video essay as well so please let me know in the comments if you'd like to see anything change or any ideas to cover i'm definitely no game dev i'm just a guy that really likes video games so if i got anything wrong please let me know this video took a long time to draft record and craft but the end product is something i'm proud of subscribing takes one click and lets you know when i come out with another video so please consider supporting the channel don't craft too hard and i'll see you next time you

Channel: Pengoose

Views: 8,784

Keywords: Minecraft, Gaming, Video Essay, Crafting, Genshin Impact, Video Game Essay, Game Analysis, Game Dev, Video Game Analysis, Monster Hunter, Warframe, video games, video game, crafting table, crafting system, crafting game, crafting games, twitch, twitch emote, twitch emotes

Id: TH3Jla2HGUc

Length: 22min 58sec (1378 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 12 2020