Detailed Analysis of Game Resources, Economic Functions, and Mechanics

This assignment delves into the core concepts of game design, examining resources, economic functions, and mechanics within the context of various video games. The student explores both abstract and concrete resources, using examples to illustrate how they operate within a game's framework. The assignment further analyzes economic functions, such as trading systems, and their impact on gameplay. Specific game mechanics, like rubber-banding in Mario Kart, are discussed, along with the concept of deadlock and how it can be resolved in games like BATTLESTAR GALACTICA DEADLOCK. The analysis draws on academic sources to support the arguments, providing a comprehensive understanding of game design principles.

Running Head: Question and Answer 1
Question and Answers
Name
Institution

Question and Answers 2
Exercises
1. Show the resources and economic functions in a published game.
Resources
Resources in a game can be categorized as abstract or concrete. Resources that are
abstract in reality do not exist, but their computation takes place in the present status of the game
(Wei, Fan, Song, Fan, & Yang, 2018). For instance, considering the chase game you might
decide to sacrifice a piece so that you can increase benefit over your rival. In such a scenario,
“strategic advantage” is seen as a conceptual resource. Abstract resources are non-physical
resources. Wei et, al. (2018) argues that tactical advantage isn’t something that is found in a
place. Likewise, your avatars attitude might be beneficial in a game of strategy; therefore, its
logic in treating attitude similar to a resource, only if it’s a factor method as a way of capturing
particular positions. The player is not normally taught about the abstract resources; they are only
used for consumption internally.
Economic functions
An example of an economic function in games is Traders. These are mechanisms for
moving resources starting from an entity to the other and back in a reverse way as well in
accordance to rule of exchange (Spring, 2015). Suppose that a player purchases a shield form a
blacksmith at the cost of three pieces of gold, the trade mechanic transfer gold from the currency
entity of player to that of the blacksmith and also shifts the shield from the blacksmith to the
player. Spring (2015) argues that traders are not similar to converters and there is nothing created
or destroyed what happens is just exchange of things.

Question and Answers 3
2. Find an example of a game (not referred to in this chapter) that exhibits one of these
properties: negative feedback with periodic equilibrium, a downward spiral, a short-term versus
long-term investment trade-off, feedback based on players’ relative scores, or rubber-banding.
Explain which resources are involved, and show how the game’s mechanics produce the effect
you discovered.
Rubber-banding has been used more in the game known as Mario Kart. What happens
during this game is that the player who first happens to be slowed down according to the way the
game has been designed and then the player who is following him at the back gets all the best
items (Scarbrough, Panourgias, & Nandhakumar, 2015). When we go back in time a little bit in
the history of this series, it was much more subtle in the original Super Mario Kart game and the
Kart 64 where the item distribution changes, but a good driver can overcome this effect and still
win. At the time Mario Kart rolled around, this effect had been pushed so far such that good
driving had very little to do with being a winner, and in reality, the leader is pressed by the game.
For what reason would I have the interest to play a game because I have played well? The first
player is slowed down, and also, other players are capable of overtaking and you the lead player
you get useless items.
3. Find an example of a game (other than a Zelda game) in which a deadlock may occur. Does
the game provide a means of breaking the deadlock? Explain.
Deadlock is a situation in a game where the action that is of the greatest benefit is also the
one that is most dominant (Mackay, 2017). When a game is in the deadlock, the game provides
some interest to the players. This is because one has some motivation to encourage one’s
opponent to play a dominant strategy. Certain games encounter a deadlock. For instance, we

Question and Answers 4
have the BATTLESTAR GALACTICA DEADLOCK which is a game that experiences
deadlock. According to Mackay (2017) deadlock occurs when the Cylons rebels and therefore no
decisive victory can be achieved. He further explains that the deadlock finally gets broken after
the Cylons surprise attack and then followed by brutal annihilation of the Colonial Fleet
Command on Picon. Now the fate of mankind rests on the shoulders of Rear-Admiral Lucinda
Cain.

Question and Answers 5
References
Mackay, D. (2017). The fantasy role-playing game: A new performing art. McFarland.
Scarbrough, H., Panourgias, N. S., & Nandhakumar, J. (2015). Developing a relational view of
the organizing role of objects: A study of the innovation process in computer
games. Organization Studies, 36(2), 197-220.
Spring, D. (2015). Gaming history: Computer and video games as historical
scholarship. Rethinking History, 19(2), 207-221.
Wei, W., Fan, X., Song, H., Fan, X., & Yang, J. (2018). Imperfect information dynamic
stackelberg game based resource allocation using hidden Markov for cloud
computing. IEEE Transactions on Services Computing, 11(1), 78-89.