Game development

A method of designing a unit of gameplay comprising:

• i) making a choice about the properties of a number of structural elements of said unit of gameplay to be designed to give a plurality of candidate structural element properties;
• and
• ii) generating a schematic representation the unit of gameplay comprising a representation of each of the candidate structural element properties chosen in step i), wherein representing said structural elements includes:
• representing a topology of selected points of interest to be comprised in said unit of gameplay;
• representing a rhythm of said unit of gameplay;
• representing a number of actions that will be available to a participant of said unit of gameplay;
• and
• representing a probability that an objective result will be achieved by said participant.

A method of visualising the properties of a number of structural elements of a unit of gameplay, wherein said method comprises generating a representation of each of a plurality of structural element properties of said unit of gameplay, and wherein representing said structural elements includes:

• generating a topology of selected points of interest comprised in said unit of gameplay;
• generating a rhythm of said unit of gameplay;
• generating a number of actions available to a participant of said unit of gameplay;
• and
• generating a probability that an objective result will be achieved by said participant.

A method of analysing a unit of gameplay, comprising:

• i) receiving gameplay information about:
• a plurality of points of interest comprised in said unit of gameplay and the connectivity between said points of interest;
• a style and speed of gameplay;
• actions available to a participant of the unit of gameplay;
• a probability that a particular result will be obtained by a participant when taking part in said unit of gameplay;
• and
• ii) using said gameplay information to generate a schematic representation of the structure of said unit of gameplay.

An apparatus for generating a schematic representation of a number of structural elements of a unit of gameplay, said apparatus comprising:

• i) a topology generation means for generating a topological representation of points of interest in said unit of gameplay;
• ii) means for generating a notational representation of the rhythm of said unit of gameplay;
• iii) means for generating a notational representation of the number of actions available to a participant of said unit of gameplay;
• and
• iv) means for generating a notational representation of the probability that an objective result will be achieved by said participant.

An apparatus for analysing the structural properties of a unit of gameplay, comprising:

• i) a data receiving portion for receiving gameplay information about:
• a plurality of points of interest comprised in said unit of gameplay and the connectivity between said points of interest;
• the style and speed of gameplay;
• the actions available to a participant of the unit of gameplay;
• and
• the probability that a particular result will be obtained by a participant when taking part in said unit of gameplay;
• and
• ii) a data processing portion operable to use said information input to said data receiving portion and to generate a schematic representation of the structure of said unit of gameplay.

An apparatus for designing a unit of gameplay comprising:

• i) selection means for allowing a user to select the properties of a number of structural elements of said unit of gameplay to be designed to give a plurality of candidate structural element properties;
• and
• ii) means for generating a schematic representation of the unit of gameplay to be designed comprising a representation of each of the candidate structural element properties chosen in step i), wherein said means for generating said schematic representation comprises:
• a topology generation means for generating a topological representation of points of interest in said unit of gameplay;
• means for generating a notational representation of the rhythm of said unit of gameplay;
• means for generating a notational representation of the number of actions that will be available to a participant of said unit of gameplay;
• and
• means for generating a notational representation of the probability that an objective result will be achieved by said participant.

A schematic representation of a unit of gameplay comprising

• a topological representation of points of interest in said unit of gameplay;
• a notational representation of the rhythm of said unit of gameplay;
• a notational representation of the number of actions available to a participant of said unit of gameplay;
• and
• a notational representation of the probability that an objective result will be achieved by said participant.

A schematic representation of a unit of gameplay, comprising:

• a plurality of node symbols, each representing a point of interest in said unit of gameplay;
• at least one path symbol, the or each path symbol representing the connectivity of at least one point of interest;
• a notational representation of the rhythm of said unit of gameplay;
• a notational representation of the number of (different types of) actions available to a participant of said unit of gameplay;
• and
• a notational representation of the probability that an objective within said unit of gameplay may be achieved by said participant.

An apparatus comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• a memory coupled to the processors comprising instructions executable by the processors, the processors operable when executing the instructions to:
• identify elements of a unit of gameplay, the elements including at least selected points of interest included in the unit of gameplay, a rhythm of the unit of gameplay, a number of actions available to a participant of the unit of gameplay, and the probability that an objective result will be achieved by the participant during the unit of gameplay;
• and
• output a visual representation of the unit of gameplay to be displayed, the visual representation characterizing the unit of gameplay using the identified elements.