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Ball to buddy on making meaning

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Ball to buddy on making meaning

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Content Ball t o Buddy
on Making Meaning
By
Jacob Ruttenber g
A Thesis Pr esented t o the
F A CUL T Y OF THE USC SCHOOL OF CINEM A TIC AR T S
UNIVERSI T Y OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNI A
In P ar tial F ulfillment of the
Requir ements for the Degr ee
M ASTER OF FINE AR T S
(IN TERA C TIVE MEDI A)
Ma y 2023
D e d i c a t i o n
T o my y ounger self who dr eamt of imaginativ e worlds and immersiv e
experiences, who t ook two decades t o find the confidence and wisdom t o sa y , y es, this
is what driv es me.
i i
A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t s
This essa y would not be possible without the cr eativ e contributions and
f eedback fr om the following people and many , many mor e:
The USC M.F .A. IMGD Cohor t ‘23
USC Games F aculty , in par ticular P eter Brinson, Scott Easle y , Mar tzi Campos,
Lair d Malamed and T r acy F uller t on
The talented and har dworking de v elopment team for Bloobo
My par ents, Tina and Buzz Ruttenber g
and my beautiful par tner Jackie for ex er cising the utmost patience
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T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s
Dedication ................................................................................................................................ i i
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ i i i
List of T ables .......................................................................................................................... v i
List of Figur es ........................................................................................................................ v i i
Abstr act ................................................................................................................................. v i i i
Chapter 1: Intr oduction ........................................................................................................... 1
1.1 The F r amework ........................................................................................................... 1
1.2 About the F ollowing P ages ......................................................................................... 4
Chapter 2: Pla y er Experience Goals ....................................................................................... 6
2.1 Ov er view ...................................................................................................................... 6
Chapter 3: The Curiosity t o Experiment ................................................................................. 7
3.1 Narr ativ e Design .......................................................................................................... 7
Aligned Motiv ations ..................................................................................................... 7
The Agentic State ........................................................................................................ 7
Ov er whelming P ositivity .............................................................................................. 9
3.2 Systems and Mechanics .......................................................................................... 10
Cor e Systems and Visual Aids .................................................................................. 10
F ailur e Counters and the Final Le v el ........................................................................ 13
P acing and A ut o T est ................................................................................................ 15
Chapter 4: The Jo y of Guiding Y our Bloobo ........................................................................ 20
4.1 A W or d on Puzzle Design ......................................................................................... 20
Good vs. Bad F rustr ation .......................................................................................... 20
Completing Puzzles .................................................................................................. 21
Designing Puzzles ..................................................................................................... 24
4.2 IVM That Mak es Y ou Sa y “Go Bloobo!” ................................................................... 25
F r om Ball t o Buddy .................................................................................................... 25
Thinking T echnically About Bloobos ........................................................................ 26
Thinking Aesthetically About Bloobos ..................................................................... 29
Bloobos as Low F antasy ........................................................................................... 30
4.3 Other W a ys t o Suppor t the Bloobo Connection ...................................................... 32
Giv e Pla y ers Ownership ............................................................................................ 32
It’ s In Y our P ock et ...................................................................................................... 33
Chapter 5: Other Explor at or y and Obser v ational Findings ................................................. 34
5.1 IVM and PPM Recap ................................................................................................. 34
5.2 Looking at Conflict .................................................................................................... 34
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Chapter 6: F utur e Explor ations ............................................................................................. 40
6.1 Resear ch Difficulties ................................................................................................. 40
6.2 Quanti fi able Metrics .................................................................................................. 40
Chapter 7: Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 43
7.1 Closing Remarks ....................................................................................................... 43
7.1 On T ruth ..................................................................................................................... 44
Bibliogr aphy ........................................................................................................................... 46
v
L i s t o f T a b l e s
1 Pla y er Pr ogr ession b y Le v el....................................................................................16
2 Bloobo Expr essions and T ools / Hazar ds.............................................................28
3 Bloobo Expr essions and Gamepla y E v ents...........................................................28
4 Hypothesiz ed PPM vs. De v eloper Pr escribed Meaning.......................................37
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L i s t o f F i g u r e s
1 Figur e 1. Heider and Simmel Experiment.................................................................2
2 Figur e 2. Understanding Comics..............................................................................3
3 Figur e 3. The Milgr am Experiment............................................................................8
4 Figur e 4. The T ubeT ech Ex ceptional Cr eativ e Blooboneering ND A........................9
5 Figur e 5. Cor e Game Elements and User Inter face................................................11
6 Figur e 6. Le v el 14 and Designing............................................................................12
7 Figur e 7. Le v el 30 and Boss....................................................................................14
8 Figur e 8. Le v el 20 and P or tals................................................................................17
9 Figur e 9. Le v el 09 and Blackholes..........................................................................17
10 Figur e 10. Le v el 28 and the P enultimate Puzzle....................................................18
11 Figur e 11. Le v el 26 with Disperser and Densifi er ...................................................18
12 Figur e 12. Hall of Her odiana Quest........................................................................21
13 Figur e 13. Le v el Redesign.......................................................................................24
14 Figur e 14. Early Bloobo Logo..................................................................................27
15 Figur e 15. F ear Expr ession......................................................................................29
16 Figur e 16. Bloobo IRL..............................................................................................31
17 Figur e 17. Pr ofi le Scr een.........................................................................................32
18 Figur e 18. Fla v or T ext..............................................................................................33
19 Figur e 19. Spectrum of V acuousness....................................................................36
20 Figur e 20. T ech Demo.............................................................................................44
v i i
A b s t r a c t
Ball t o Buddy is an explor ation of how humans natur ally seek and cr eate meaning. The
essa y builds upon the fr amework established b y the lik es of Jonathan Gottschall, F ritz
Heider and Marianne Simmel, Scott McCloud and others - that, thr ough pattern
r ecognition and the human condition - we construct st ories fr om a sequence of
other wise arbitr ar y e v ents that in turn define our r eality and what we per ceiv e t o be true.
Thr ough the lens of the physics puzzle mobile game Bloobo , the essa y explor es how
pla y ers first establish a confi dent understanding of their pla y experience then,
subsequently , how one r econciles their r eality when confr onted with con fl icting
information fr om the de v elopers. The essa y off ers a v ariety of technical and aesthetic
design decisions for cr eating an empty canv as - or instances of v acuous meaning ( IVM )
- upon which the pla y er can most easily apply a pr escribed, personal meaning ( PPM) t o
their experience. Theor etical and pr actical appr oaches t o understanding, designing and
r edesigning puzzles based on obser v ational user experience data ar e also pr esented.
Ball t o Buddy r epr esents an acceptance of video games as ar t. Much lik e punk music or
Dadaism sharply r ejected or sub v er ted their cultur al pr edecessors, so t oo does Bloobo .
W ell-established tr opes of mobile game design paint a clear pictur e of friendliness,
accessibility and univ ersality but within this cute tr ojan horse lies a masochistic pla y
experience.
v i i i
C h a p t e r 1 : I n t r o d u c t i o n
1 . 1 T h e F r a m e w o r k
“ T h e s t o r y t e l l i n g m i n d i s a l l e r g i c t o u n c e r t a i n t y , r a n d o m n e s s , a n d c o i n c i d e n c e . I t i s a d d i c t e d t o
m e a n i n g . I f t h e s t o r y t e l l i n g m i n d c a n n o t fi n d m e a n i n g f u l p a t t e r n s i n t h e w o r l d , i t w i l l t r y t o
i m p o s e t h e m . I n s h o r t , t h e s t o r y t e l l i n g m i n d i s a f a c t o r y t h a t c h u r n s o u t t r u e s t o r i e s w h e n i t c a n ,
b u t w i l l m a n u f a c t u r e l i e s w h e n i t c a n ’ t . ”
- J o n a t h a n G o t t s c h a l l , T h e S t o r y t e l l i n g A n i m a l : H o w S t o r i e s M a k e U s H u m a n ( 2 0 1 2 )
Gottschall sa ys that humans ar e st or ytelling machines. Whether the medium is ca v e
paintings depicting the end of the world, widespr ead liter atur e lik e the King James Bible,
or someone ’ s Instagr am st or y of a seemingly mundane da y , we - and I mean “ we ” in the
br oadest sense possible - ha v e not just a capacity , but an innate tendency t o tell and
seek out st ories. While st ories can be a social construct, the y t oo pr edate or al and
written hist or y . Hist or y and hist oriogr aphy v er y well ma y be one of the earliest
documented forms of our st or ytelling mind - mapping past e v ents t o systems of
meaning.
F ritz Heider and Marianne Simmel inv estigated the meaning-making mind with their
sociological study An Experimental Study of Appar ent Beha vior (1944). Their study
inv olv ed showing par ticipants a shor t film that f eatur es two triangles, a cir cle, and a
v ariety of lines.
After war ds, par ticipants wer e ask ed t o explain what the y just watched. One triangle
became an aggr essiv e antagonist, the other a lo y al def ender of the helpless cir cle who
hides within the saf e confi nes of the house composed of lines. On the sur face, none of
these concepts wer e pr escribed t o the par ticipants - a cir cle is just a shape without
emotable human qualities, and lines composed in the shape of a squar e do not mak e a
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house - but, when faced with a seemingly meaningless series of e v ents, we cr eate
meaning.
Figur e 1. Heider and Simmel experimental study film f eaturing two triangles, a cir cle and a “house. ”
Another example of our st or ytelling natur e is illustr ated in Scott McCloud’ s comic book
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Ar t (1993) . A face composed of only basic shapes
is as blank a canv as as one might compr ehend as still a face. With this v acuous identity ,
de v oid of specifi c details lik e hair , e y e or skin color , fr eckles, glasses or scars - r eaders
ar e able t o mor e easily see themselv es as - or at least better r elate t o - the char acter .
Had this person been highly detailed, the y would ha v e meaning all the same, but the y
would not be of our unique cr eation. Ther efor e our connection t o them would be lesser .
The uncer tainty of who this person is or what the y ’r e f eeling triggers our st or ytelling mind
t o fi ll in the gaps .
2
Figur e 2. Understanding Comics demonstr ating the st or ytelling mind.
These instances of v acuous meaning - basic shapes mo ving about on a white
back gr ound or a seemingly lif eless stick figur e face - trigger something deep within us.
“Sur ely , these e v ents must ha v e some meaning!” W e utiliz e pattern r ecognition t o mak e
sense of what we ’v e experienced. W e personally pr escribe meaning and form a
connection on our own terms. Things must mak e sense in a wa y that r esonates with us.
Once our st or ytelling mind has been able t o meaningfully flex itself, we ’ ll bend o v er
backwar ds, lying t o ourselv es, t o maintain this truth as r eality .
This thesis is the pr emise of the mobile game Bloobo , de v eloped within the Inter activ e
Media and Games Division M.F .A. pr ogr am at the Univ ersity of Southern California. What
if we, the de v elopers, ga v e pla y ers all the oppor tunity in the world t o use their
st or ytelling mind t o see their actions as holistically good while also building a
meaningful connection with the pr otagonist? Assuming the pla y er has successfully
done so, what if we then giv e them another pr escribed meaning t o their actions that
conflicts with the r eality the y ’v e cr eated? What if their lo ving actions wer e actually
harmful? W ould pla y ers be open t o r edefi ning the st or y the y ’v e personally cr eated, or
would the y double down on their concocted r eality no matter how true it ma y be? Prior
3
ar t cer tainly would suggest the latter is not only most lik ely - but par t of what it means
t o be human.
1 . 2 A b o u t t h e F o l l o w i n g P a g e s
A t the moment of this writing, Bloobo is still in its late Alpha stages of de v elopment.
Cer tain ar t assets ar e incomplete, some user inter face elements ar e tempor ar y , and
much of the script is still being iter ated upon. Some of the scr eenshots and terms
f eatur ed in this essa y ma y not r e flect the finished pr oduct of Bloobo . A ttempting t o
quantify the pla y er experience has also pr o v en difficult as ther e ar e t oo many
compounding v ariables t o contr ol for . This essa y ’ s examination of making meaning and
r econciling conflict is instead meant t o be explor at or y and obser v ational.
Concluding Chapter 1 , let it be clear the terms and fr amework for Ball t o Buddy:
CONSUMERS’ need t o st or ytell
+ CREA T ORS’ instances of v acuous meaning (IVM)
= CONSUMERS’ pr escribed, personal meaning t o a person, place or thing (PPM)
Chapter 2 pr esents an o v er view of Bloobo ’ s thr ee pla y er experience goals and their r ole
in the pa y off that pr oduces PPM and the conflict of truths.
Chapter 3 ser v es as an in-depth explor ation of the first experience goal -
experimentation - off ering insight int o both narr ativ e and mechanical design decisions.
Chapter 4 ser v es as an in-depth explor ation of the second experience goal - jo y -
off ering insights int o puzzle design and char acter design thr ough the lens of IVM.
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Chapter 5 off ers an analysis of hypothesiz ed pla y ers PPM and the externally pr escribed
meaning and a number of obser v ations on how pla y ers r esolv e con fl ict in their
experience.
Chapter 6 looks at the issues surr ounding this explor ation and a v ariety of a v enues for
futur e r esear ch.
Chapter 7 off ers a conclusion t o the subject of how we cr eate meaning and r econcile
conflict.
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C h a p t e r 2 : P l a y e r E x p e r i e n c e G o a l s
2 . 1 O v e r v i e w
While PPM is exactly that - personal - pla y ers ar e nonetheless guided in some capacity
based on decisions we, as de v elopers, mak e in the de v elopment pr ocess. T o best
understand how pla y ers inter face with IVM which e v entually pr oduces their PPM, it is
impor tant t o first e v aluate Bloobo ’ s pla y er experience goals:
1. The curiosity t o experiment in a saf e space that seemingly doesn ’t punish failur e
2. The jo y of successfully guiding y our Bloobo int o the tube, thus completing a
puzzle
3. The lighthear ted confl ict of r econciling one ’ s desir e t o experiment in the face of
new , conflicting information about what it means t o fail
These ar e the goals and f eelings the majority of pla y ers will experience. The fi rst two
ar e designed and v er y much the setup for the thir d, emer gent experience goal - the
par ticular subject at the hear t of this essa y; how do pla y ers r econcile their st or ytelling
machine-made r eality in the face of new , conflicting information? Without a str ong
enough setup, ther e is no pa y off in the form of conflict and thus no meaningful
information t o inv estigate.
So what is that setup?
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C h a p t e r 3 : T h e C u r i o s i t y t o E x p e r i m e n t
3 . 1 N a r r a t i v e D e s i g n
A l i g n e d M o t i v a t i o n s
The narr ativ e pr emise of Bloobo places the pla y er in the r ole of a v olunteer hir ed b y
T ubeT ech, a physics r esear ch lab that’ s disco v er ed a new subat omic par ticle named the
Bloobo par ticle. Y ou and T ubeT ech quickly disco v er that Bloobos ar e liter al sparks of
inspir ation and allow for the cr eation and sharing of cr eativity . Inspir ed b y The Milgr am
Experiment (1961), the pla y er conducts a series of experiments on the Bloobo in an
effor t t o help T ubeT ech better understand the par ticle ' s natur e in an effor t t o mak e the
world a mor e cr eativ e place and adv ance science worldwide. The pla y er is onboar ded t o
the world of Bloobo under positiv e pr etenses wher e the y belie v e their actions mak e a
positiv e impact. The motiv ations of the pla y er , Bloobo and T ubeT ech ar e seemingly
aligned.
T h e A g e n t i c S t a t e
Another k e y component t o the narr ativ e setup is subtlety nudging pla y ers int o an
agentic state. Coined b y Stanle y Milgr am during his contr o v ersial Milgr am Experiment ,
the term r ef ers t o “ a psy chological condition that occurs when individuals, as
subor dinates t o a higher authority in an or ganiz ed status hier ar chy , f eel compelled t o
obe y the or ders issued b y that authority . ” Establishing a r elationship with clear lines of
authority between the pla y er (a v olunteer) and T ubeT ech (the emplo y er) is vital and is
done in the v er y first f ew beats of the game.
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Figur e 3. Diagr am of the Milgr am experiment. The experimenter (E) or ders the teacher (T), the subject of the
experiment, t o giv e what the teacher (T) belie v es ar e painful electric shocks t o a learner (L), who is actually an act or
and conf eder ate.
Upon launching Bloobo for the first time, pla y ers ar e pr esented with a “T ubeT ech
Ex ceptional Cr eativ e Blooboneering Non-Disclosur e Agr eement. ” This text popup
f eatur es language that specifically denotes the pla y er as a subser vient v olunteer and
T ubeT ech as the superior emplo y er and pr opriet or of the so-called Bloobo Experiment
and the mobile game itself. The contr act being titled an ND A of sor ts also suggests that
the pla y er is being clued in on confi dential information - a privilege gr anted t o them b y
the authoritativ e fi gur e, T ubeT ech. The pla y er also inputs their name, adding mor e
weight t o this initial experience.
8
Figur e 4. The T ubeT ech Ex ceptional Cr eativ e Blooboneering Non-Disclosur e Agr eement. Pla y ers ar e intr oduced t o the
r elations of power between themselv es as a subor dinate v olunteer and T ubeT ech as their superior emplo y er in the
v er y first beat of Bloobo .
While the stak es ar e fairly low at the star t of the game - with the ex ception of the “ we ’v e
disco v er ed a decr ease in cr eativity worldwide - that’ s why we need y our help !” call t o
action - this is a per f ect time t o induce the agentic state. The motiv ations of the pla y er ,
Bloobo and T ubeT ech ar e seemingly aligned such that the pla y er lik ely does not e v en
f eel any sor t of coer civ e pr essur e. The r elationship between the pla y er and T ubeT ech
howe v er is still v er y much defined in terms of power . This mak es the later intr oduction
of conflicting information at the midpoint all the mor e surprising and meaningful t o
pla y er agency as the y na vigate their r elationship with their Bloobos and T ubeT ech.
O v e r w h e l m i n g P o s i t i v i t y
After this r elationship has been harmlessly established, the agentic state is le v er aged in
such a wa y t o encour age the pla y er t o experiment and mak e mistak es. Joining the
pla y er on their journe y thr ough 30 le v els is Aandr o, T ubeT ech ’ s vir tual assistant who
ser v es as a ment or fi gur e and moder at or t o the experiment - filling a similar but not
quite identical r ole t o GLaDOS in P or tal (2007) or the moder at or in the Milgr am
Experiment . Aandr o o v er whelms the pla y er with positiv e f eedback upon their completion
9
of each puzzle. Mor e impor tantly though, at cer tain inter v als of failur e within a giv en
le v el, Aandr o will again chime in with statements such as “Just tak e a deep br eath,
ther e ' s no punishment for failur e on the path t o inno v ation!” and “ The scienti fi c method
thriv es on experimentation!”
These components - (a) the pla y er , T ubeT ech and Bloobos doing good in the world, (b)
establishing a r elationship between pla y er and T ubeT ech t o foster an agentic and (c) an
o v er whelmingly positiv e ment or char acter in Aandr o - comprise the narr ativ e setup that
allows for pla y ers t o experience a curiosity for experimenting in a saf e space that
seemingly doesn ’t punish failur e.
3 . 2 S y s t e m s a n d M e c h a n i c s
C o r e S y s t e m s a n d V i s u a l A i d s
This first experience goal is ex ecuted at the most cor e le v el in Bloobo ’ s systems and
mechanics. Reminiscent of other physics-puzzle titles lik e Bridge Construct or P or tal
(2017) or the hit flash game Line Rider (2006), Bloobo ’ s cor e game loop is all about trial
and err or and iter ation. Pla y ers alternate between Designing and T esting in an effor t t o
help the Bloobo r oll, bounce, shoot, swirl, z oom and dunk itself int o the End-of-Le v el
T ube.
1 0
Figur e 5. Cor e game elements and user inter face.
When Designing, pla y ers mo v e and r otate Line and T ools - objects that off er a
mechanical adv antage Bloobos don ’t inher ently ha v e - in such a wa y the y hypothesiz e
the Bloobo might r each the T ube. Pla y ers also ha v e two visual aids at their disposal:
(1) The Ref er ence T r ail which illustr ates Bloobo ' s exact tr aject or y on the most r ecent
T est, allowing pla y ers t o mak e mor e informed decisions when r e vising their
Designs.
(2) The Rotate Anchor and its dashed gr a y line off er a gr eater degr ee of pr ecision
when r otating objects as some mor e challenging puzzle solutions ma y inv olv e a
fair bit of accur acy t o help the Bloobo for ge the right path.
1 1
Figur e 6. An example of Designing on Le v el 14 wher e the pla y er must use a combination of Lines and T ools t o help
Bloobo a v oid colliding with the Annihilat or Hazar ds. Pictur ed is also the Ref er ence T r ail and Rotate Anchor with its
dashed line, f eatur es intended t o mak e experimenting and iter ating mor e enjo y able.
When a pla y er is satisfied with their Design, the y pr ess the Pla y Butt on in the
bott om-right corner t o begin T esting. While T esting, a Bloobo falls fr om the t op-left tube
and physics happens. If nothing’ s in its path, the Bloobo will continue t o fall downwar d
until it’ s no longer on-scr een, thus r esulting in a F ailed T est which then r eturns the pla y er
t o Designing. A F ailed T est can also occur if the pla y er manually ends the T est b y
pr essing the St op Butt on in the corner or if the Bloobo collides with an Annihilat or , one
of the Hazar ds - a counterpar t t o T ools, objects that ar e not mo v able and ar e meant t o
add complexity and a sense of danger t o puzzles.
Not only does a F ailed T est bring y ou closer t o completing a puzzle, ther e ’ s also
seemingly no gamepla y punishment for failing. Upon completing a le v el, the pla y er
r eceiv es a letter Gr ade - similar t o the popular star system in mobile games - based
upon their number of failed tests in that giv en le v el. The Gr ade y ou r eceiv e impacts the
number of Bloobits and Bloobuddies y ou r eceiv e - the former of which is r edeemed for
cosmetics which don ’t impact mechanical gamepla y . The latter is an example of IVM
r elated t o Le v el 30 wher e the pla y er has an ultimate showdown with the Boss.
1 2
Upon r eturning t o Design Mode for one r eason or another , a new Ref er ence T r ail is
dr awn and the two Counters in the t op-right corner incr ement up b y 1. The left,
blue-faced Counter r ef ers t o the number of F ailed T ests on a par ticular le v el (since
y ou’v e last completed it, if e v er) and the right, r ed-faced counter r ef ers t o the number of
F ailed T ests all time acr oss all le v els.
F a i l u r e C o u n t e r s a n d t h e F i n a l L e v e l
Despite their simple mechanical use, the counters ar e a bit nuanced experientially . If the
experience goal of car e-fr ee experimentation hasn ’t been suppor ted enough for a
par ticular pla y er , the y might see this - and le v el Gr ades, b y extension - as negativ e
r einfor cement, eff ectiv ely quantifying their inabilities in their e y es. A number of pla y ers
r epor t the Gr ades being “judgemental” giv en their primar y meaning in an academic
context. Upon completing a par ticularly challenging le v el, similar pla y ers r epor t earning
a low gr ade as “ punishing” and a sour ce of cognitiv e dissonance in contr ast t o the
sense of accomplishment the y might other wise f eel.
On the other hand, whether it’ s simple idle games lik e Cookie Click er (2013) or an MMO
lik e W orld of W ar cr aft (2004), pla y ers lik e t o see numbers get bigger and Bloobo is no
ex ception. F or the type of pla y er who has been most mo v ed b y this first experience goal,
failur e is seen as mer ely a r equisite step in achie ving success. T o quote Michael Jor dan,
“I’v e failed o v er and o v er and o v er again in my lif e. And that is why I succeed. ” (1994).
Bloobo being a fr ee mobile game tar geted in par t t o a casual audience howe v er , means
that this ar chetype of pla y er is not the most common and the failur e counters ha v e
potential t o cause friction v er y early in the pla y experience.
A pla y er ’ s lif etime failur es also ser v e a mechanical function. Upon entering the 30th and
final le v el, the pla y er is pr esented not with a typical puzzle f eaturing an end tube in the
bott om-right corner . Instead, the y see a giant mass of r ed Bloobos (cr eativ ely named
Redbos) , its r espectiv e health bar and a f ew new user inter face elements that allow
1 3
pla y ers t o add or r emo v e any T ool or Hazar d t o use in their solution. Pla y ers then
arr ange any and all objects t o their liking in an attempt t o collide with the Redbo - and
the faster their Bloobo is tr a v eling, the mor e health the Redbo loses.
As it r elates t o the counters howe v er , the pla y er ’ s lif etime failur es seen in the r ed
counter dir ectly corr esponds t o the health of the Redbo. Also, unlik e other le v els wher e
y ou ha v e an infinite number of Bloobos t o use, the pla y er is only able t o T est a finite
number of times befor e ha ving t o r etr y the le v el alt ogether - that number dir ectly
corr esponding t o the number of Bloobuddies earned based on y our prior Gr ades. In
other wor ds, the mor e pla y ers fail in the pr e vious 29 le v els, the mor e challenging the
final le v el will be. While this might immediately appear incr edibly punishing, the Redbo is
tuned such that the pla y er is meant t o f eel v er y power ful and this le v el a vict or y lap. Sa y
the Redbo pr o v es t oo challenging initially for a pla y er though: the pla y er is then
encour aged t o r eturn t o pr e vious le v els and earn higher Gr ades and thus mor e
Bloobuddies for mor e T ests. This also means mor e failur es though, again empowering
the boss - y et perhaps the gr eatest benefit of r eturning t o pr e vious le v els is not a
quantifiable game mechanic but instead the pr actice or master y of game systems.
Figur e 7. Le v el 30 wher e the pla y er faces off against the Redbo. This final le v el sub v er ts many expectations and
intr oduces a v ariety of new mechanics.
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P a c i n g a n d A u t o T e s t
While the cor e loop and visual aids pr o vide pla y ers with a v ariety of t ools t o encour age
experimentation, equally as impor tant is what is not pr o vided t o the pla y er . Ther e is no
r ailr oaded tut orial, a log t o see tips, menus t o r ead about each of the 7 T ools and 3
Hazar ds and how the y oper ate individually - or inter act with each other - or anything of
the sor t.
Or dinarily , especially for a mobile game with a wide intended audience, this is a big ask
for pla y ers. Cle v er use of Noah W ar drip-F ruin ’ s “SimCity E ff ect' ', documented in
Expr essiv e Pr ocessing (2009), howe v er mak es understanding Bloobo ’ s mechanics
accessible despite the complex, infi nitely-v ariable physics and mathematical systems
running beneath the hood. This is achie v ed b y two primar y means.
First is a car eful look at pacing and pla y er pr ogr ession. With f ew ex ceptions, each of the
30 le v els intr oduce only one new mechanic or inter action at a time. Additionally , new
mechanics ar e typically only intr oduced e v er y 3 le v els.
L v l # M e c h a n i c I n t r o d u c e d A d d i t i o n a l I n t e r a c t i o n F o c u s
0 1 D e s i g n i n g a n d T e s t i n g , L i n e s , M o v i n g -
0 2 R o t a t i n g -
0 3 A c c e l e r a t o r ( T o o l ) -
0 4 - “ B u m p i n g ” a L i n e
0 5 E j e c t o r ( T o o l ) -
0 6 - I m m o v a b l e L i n e s
0 7 - “ D u n k i n g ” t h e B l o o b o
0 8 B l a c k h o l e ( H a z a r d ) -
0 9 - A c c e l e r a t o r s b o o s t t h r o u g h
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1 0 - E j e c t o r s c i r c u m v e n t
1 1 D e fl e c t o r ( T o o l ) I m m o v a b l e T o o l s
1 2 - -
1 3 - -
1 4 A n n i h i l a t o r ( H a z a r d ) -
1 5 - G o i n g a b o v e t h e p l a y s p a c e
1 6 - -
1 7 P r o p u l s o r -
1 8 - A c c e l e r a t o r s b o o s t t h r o u g h
1 9 - L e v i t a t i n g a t o p P r o p u l s o r s
2 0 P o r t a l -
2 1 - -
2 2 - R e p e a t e d t e l e p o r t s t o b u i l d s p e e d
2 3 R a i l s -
2 4 - I m m u n e t o B l a c k h o l e a n d P r o p u l s o r
2 5 - L o o p i n g t o b u i l d s p e e d
2 6 L i g h t e n a n d T h i c k e n -
2 7 - N e g a t e o r a m p l i f y P r o p u l s o r a n d B l a c k h o l e
2 8 - -
2 9 - -
3 0 C u s t o m L e v e l C r e a t o r T o o l b a r -
T able 1. An o v er view of all 30 le v els highlighting the accessible pacing of new mechanics and inter actions.
The first le v el in the sequence is typically our “ pla y gr ound” le v el wher e the focus is that
new mechanic - typically a T ool or Hazar d - and the puzzle solution is simple once y ou
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understand how the new object functions. Occasionally , these le v els also include
another , pr e viously intr oduced T ool or Hazar d if it helps illustr ate the pr oper ties and
affor dances of the new mechanic.
Figur e 8. Le v el 20, the first le v el that intr oduces the P or tal mechanic. The left-most P or tal being the only mo v able
object, the solution pr o v es simple once the pla y er understands that v elocity is maintained when telepor ting.
The second le v el often highlights another unique inter action of the new mechanic when
used in combination with a pr e viously intr oduced T ool or Hazar d. It also ser v es t o
highlight unfor eseen affor dances of those pr e viously intr oduced mechanics giv en new
mechanical context.
Figur e 9. Le v el 09, the second le v el showcasing the Blackhole Hazar d wher e the Acceler at or is r e-intr oduced as it
allows the Bloobo t o boost its wa y thr ough the negativ e for ce of the Blackhole.
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The thir d and final le v el in the sequence is eff ectiv ely the same as the second but t o a
gr eater degr ee of complexity . E v en mor e prior mechanics ar e r e-intr oduced, fur ther
incr easing the number of unique physical inter actions the Bloobo ma y be subject t o
which also leads t o a v ariety of possible solutions t o the puzzle at hand.
Figur e 10. Le v el 28, the thir d le v el showcasing the Lighten and Thick en T ools.
Second t o pacing is the A ut o T est f eatur e and the initial setup of a le v el. When a pla y er
loads int o a le v el - no matter if for the first time or the 100th time - it will star t with a
T est. This allows pla y ers t o see “ what’ s wr ong” with the curr ent, initial setup - why the
Bloobo can ’t mak e its wa y t o the tube. An A ut o T est also highlights a new mechanic or
inter action that ma y not be immediately ob vious t o the pla y er .
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Figur e 11. Le v el 26, the first le v el showcasing the Disperser and Densi fier T ools. The r ef er ence tr ail demonstr ates the
thr ee intensities of gr a vity as the Bloobo collides with the 2 new T ools.
Experimentation is at the v er y cor e of the Bloobo pla y experience. Understanding new
mechanics and how the y inter act with others r equir es trial and err or . Designing a
solution t o a puzzle is often an iter ativ e pr ocess that isn ’t frustr ating so much as
inquisitiv e, ur ging pla y ers t o ask themselv es “ what if I just tried this… ” or “let’ s just see
what happens… ”.
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C h a p t e r 4 : T h e J o y o f G u i d i n g Y o u r B l o o b o
4 . 1 A W o r d o n P u z z l e D e s i g n
G o o d v s . B a d F r u s t r a t i o n
As with any piece of media - whether inter activ e or other wise - if people ar en ’t willing t o
activ ely engage in the experience, ther e ’ s no user data t o gather as it r elates t o any high
le v el concept the pr oject means t o explor e. In other wor ds, if pla y ers put their phone
down after a f ew minutes and uninstall Bloobo out of frustr ation, ther e ’ s no hope in
gathering meaningful data in r egar ds t o human natur e, st or ytelling, conflict and the lik e.
Games of all sor ts inv olv e two modes of frustr ation. Bad frustr ation is tr ying t o mak e
sense of the W ater T emple in Legend of Z elda: Ocarina of Time (1998), accidentally
digging up the mone y tr ee y ou just planted in Animal Cr ossing (2001) or tr ying t o r otate
an Eject or in Bloobo a single pix el because y our Bloobo just narr owly missed the tube.
Good frustr ation is getting hit with a blue shell just befor e the finish line in Mario Kar t
(1996) and subsequently scr eaming at y our friend, f eeling stumped on the fi nal puzzle in
the Hall of Her odiana sidequest in Hogwar ts: Legacy (2023), or getting stuck in an
infinite loop while testing in Bloobo .
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Figur e 12. The Hall of Her odiana quest in Hogwar ts Legacy , an example of good frustr ation.
Bad frustr ation is often unr elated t o the pla y er ’ s skill or understanding of the game and
can emer ge fr om unintentional usability flaws. Experientially , it leads t o r age-quitting
and unpleasant memories; Good frustr ation is par t of the natur al tension in game
design. It leads t o f eelings of accomplishment, a sense of master y and - in the case of
Bloobo - f eelings of jo y ha ving helped y our Bloobo r each the tube.
C o m p l e t i n g P u z z l e s
T o incr ease the odds Bloobo pla y ers will experience moments of good frustr ation - and
moments of bad frustr ation will be r educed - it’ s best t o think of puzzles and how
pla y ers inter face with them in thr ee, mostly sequential stages:
1. Identifying what’ s wr ong
2. Identifying the solution
3. Ex ecuting the solution
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Identifying what’ s wr ong is often immediately ob vious and demonstr ated b y the A ut o
T est. This stage is not wholly mo v ed on fr om once a pla y er begins t o fi nd a solution
howe v er , and “ what’ s wr ong” typically r ecurs in some fashion as one iter ates on their
Design.
Finding the solution can be achie v ed in a v ariety of wa ys. Similarly , each le v el in Bloobo
has a v ariety of solutions - that is, a v ariety of sequences containing Lines and T ools
with unique positions and r otations. Sometimes identifying the solution is as simple as
understanding a v alid sequence. Other times, when perhaps the puzzle is mor e complex,
the solution isn ’t immediately ob vious and it isn ’t until one star ts t o arr ange objects in
some or der that a mor e eff ectiv e solution pr esents itself. While, as designers, we design
le v els with a would-be optimal solution in mind, pla y ers occasionally fi nd inv entiv e,
“ meta-defying” solutions t oo. By designing puzzles t o be completed in a v ariety of wa ys,
the pla y er experience goal of f eeling fr ee t o experiment is fur ther established.
In the most magical and surprising of cases though, this second stage is skipped
entir ely; if a v alid solution hasn ’t quite pr esented itself and one is still in an
experimenting phase, occasionally pla y ers will “ accidentally ” beat a le v el. Moments lik e
this ar e some of the most memor able and emotional experiences pla ying Bloobo and
should be cherished; during pla ytests, some folks will liter ally sit up, scr eam and thr ow
their arms in the air in celebr ation. The only concern with this r ar e experience is that
pla y ers inadv er tently cir cumv ent most of a le v el and its intended teaching moments,
thus making later le v els f eel dispr opor tionally difficult. This second stage of
puzzle-solving typically fosters the good form of frustr ation as pla y ers wr ack their br ains
on how t o guide the Bloobo t o the tube.
Ex ecuting the solution begins when y ou can visualiz e a v alid solution and ends when
y our Bloobo successfully r eaches the inside of the tube. The line between this stage and
the prior one is not alwa ys clear giv en that solutions ar e often iter ativ e or occasionally
unintentional. In other cases though, par ticularly within le v els wher e a new mechanic is
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intr oduced, this stage mor e explicitly begins once a pla y er r ealiz es the affor dances of
the T ools and Hazar ds pr esent, at which time the solution can be quite ob vious. This
final stage of puzzle-solving has the gr eatest chance t o foster bad frustr ation.
Sometimes a de vised solution - and e v en a potentially v alid one - ma y ha v e an incr edibly
narr ow mar gin for err or in r egar ds t o the position and r otation of objects. The Bloobo
ma y bonk off the tube - nearly landing inside - and, in a desper ate attempt t o experience
the jo y of success, pla y ers will fiddle with an object' s placement, perhaps e v en just
pix els at a time, for 5, 10 or 15 T ests in a r ow . This is not fun, nor does succeeding with
this tactic f eel lik e much of a r ewar d so much as it’ s r elief fr om bad frustr ation.
T o combat an instance of bad frustr ation such as this, a v ariety of de v eloper r e-design
choices can be made. F r om v er y early pla ytests, we initially consider ed holistic changes
lik e r educing the bounciness of the end tube itself so the Bloobo was mor e lik ely t o r oll
in r ather than bounce out, as well as r edesigning the end tube t o be funnel shaped,
giving pla y ers a gr eater sur face ar ea upon which their solution is successful. These
choices wer e thor oughly debated but ultimately we decided t o instead mo v e for war d
with addr essing things individually - par ticularly challenging or imbalanced le v els and
looking for meaningful teaching moments prior t o said le v els.
In the case of Le v el 06, pla y ers ha v e only a line, one Eject or and one Acceler at or at their
disposal as far as mo v able objects ar e concerned. Ther e ar e also four immo v able
Eject ors par allel t o each tube, eff ectiv ely forming a wall and for cing the Bloobo t owar ds
the center . Pla y ers would often first mo v e the Acceler at or t owar ds the line and the
Eject or abo v e the end tube - a common de v eloper solution - but, if their Acceler at or
placement wasn ’t accur ate enough, it would appear as though it’ s impossible t o gain
enough speed t o r each the Eject or . F or some, the next best solution would be t o mo v e
the Eject or int o the Bloobo ’ s path and aim it mostly upwar ds, ar ching the Bloobo o v er
the wall of the four immo v able Eject ors. By r emo ving an Eject or fr om each side howe v er ,
the obstructing wall becomes shor ter , making it mor e lik ely that the Bloobo can r each
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the mo v able Eject or with the common first appr oach while also easing the bad
frustr ation of micr o-adjustments if the pla y er still arriv es t o that solution instead.
Figur e 13. A le v el r edesign wher e the four th immo v able cannon on each side was r emo v ed.
D e s i g n i n g P u z z l e s
Whene v er possible, puzzles ought t o be designed in such a wa y that the second,
identifi cation stage can occup y the most time and ener gy in pla y ers’ minds. The thir d,
ex ecuting stage, while ine vitable, does not ha v e t o be so finicky as it sometimes ma y be.
Giving pla y ers mor e T ools is not the answer - t oo many can cause visual clutter or
cr eate r ed herrings. Instead, placing the emphasis on solution identi fi cation r elies
primarily on pacing. Allow pla y ers the br eathing r oom t o de v elop “ good puzzle solving
habits. ” early in the game when puzzles ar e not par ticularly complex and - in the case of
Bloobo - experimentation without f ear of failur e is encour aged b y a v ariety of narr ativ e
and mechanical systems.
Her e ar e thr ee commonly described techniques fr om de v elopers and pla ytesters alik e:
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1. If y ou narr owly miss the tube, change the last object in y our sequence or add
another after war d (if y ou ha v e one); if y ou change objects earlier in y our
sequence, y ou’ ll lik ely be e v en fur ther off and ha v e no wa y of r eturning t o y our
pr e vious design.
2. If y ou find y ourself fi ddling with the position or r otation of an object b y just a f ew
pix els, consider r e-e v aluating y our design alt ogether and shift focus awa y fr om
just that last object.
3. If y ou ha v e mor e objects t o use, use them! Ther e ’ s no mechanical r ewar d for
ex cluding objects (though succeeding with f ewer objects than the le v el pr o vides
does cr eate another , internal r ewar d).
With pr oper pacing and an accessible r amp of difficulty , pla y ers will experience a
curiosity t o experiment. The y will de v elop techniques for puzzle solving that, while
perhaps not per f ect, will mor e often lead t o moments of good frustr ation r ather than
bad. With good frustr ation - and the willingness t o experiment - comes the jo y of guiding
y our Bloobo t o success.
4 . 2 I V M T h a t M a k e s Y o u S a y “ G o B l o o b o ! ”
F r o m B a l l t o B u d d y
How does a Bloobo tr ansform fr om a ball t o a buddy? How does a v olle yball tr ansform
int o Wilson in Cast A wa y (2000)? With an agent. Humans tr ansform the inanimate int o
the socially constructed animate. W e seek instances of v acuous meaning and pr oject
upon them personal, pr escribed meaning in such a wa y that our r eality , what we belie v e
t o be true, is suppor ted. T ak e Chuck Noland, a man who - on the one hand - was lik ely
destined t o perish alone on an island, but in his own, stubborn r eality , belie v ed that he
would indeed find a wa y t o escape loneliness, sur viv e on the island, and r eturn t o
civilization. Chuck, in his quest t o suppor t this truth, howe v er unlik ely , seeks v alidation
b y tr ansforming IVM int o PPM aligned with his goals. In the case of Wilson, a v olle yball
has meaning - it’ s meant t o be inflated, ser v ed, set and spik ed. It’ s spherical though, and
2 5
so is the human head (mostly), and thus Chuck pr ojects what he needs upon this blank
canv as - a friend, company , hope. Hope that his r eality of r eturning home will indeed
become true.
Pr agmatically speaking, the diff er ence between the pla y er and Chuck is astr onomical.
The pla y er is lik ely a casual mobile gamer with limited external for ces encour aging them
t o pla y Bloobo and can put down the game and walk awa y at any moment. Chuck on the
other hand has no choice but t o r econstruct his r eality t o mak e or der and meaning t o
sur viv e. All the same, t o tr ansform a ball int o a buddy - t o use our st or ytelling mind - b y
defi nition r equir es an agent.
T h i n k i n g T e c h n i c a l l y A b o u t B l o o b o s
Bloobos ar e blue balls. Heider and Simmel’ s An Experimental Study of Appar ent Beha vior
suggest that color and shape alone would be a v alid empty canv as for pla y ers t o pr oject
meaning upon. The diff er ence howe v er between priming someone for a sociological
study that scr eens its par ticipants and selects fr om a par ticular demogr aphic and a
mobile game that could be pick ed up b y any one in the world with an iOS de vice is
significant. The st or ytelling mind is the same in both cases, but the means of
consumption is what separ ates the two. Games ar e par ticipat or y and mobile games in
par ticular can be quite tr ansient - as de v elopers, we ha v e a v er y shor t window of time in
which we can captur e a pla y er ’ s attention.
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Figur e 14. An early logo meant t o highlight Bloobo ' s cute, accessible look.
That brings us t o the fi rst set of technical design choices made r egar ding the Bloobo: it
has two e y es, a mouth, and softbody physics.
These thr ee components ar e used t o get our foot in the door t o pla y ers, but ar e
other wise entir ely meant t o be t ools for pattern r ecognition among pla y ers. As the
Bloobo mo v es about a le v el - tr a v eling in one dir ection, then suddenly in another ,
swirling about in a cir cle o v er her e, then ricocheting off the tube o v er ther e - its e y es,
mouth and shape change. While it’ s an unfor tunate r eality that a fair amount of mobile
games ar e pla y ed without sound on, these e v ents also trigger v oice-o v er effor ts that
r einfor ce the emotion expr essed visually . The Bloobo ’ s beha vior is dynamic, shifting in
r eal time based on the inter actions in a giv en test - and so t oo does the pla y er ’ s
per ception and emotions as one spectates. This is akin t o the lar ger triangle r epeatedly
bumping the smaller one in Heider and Simmel’ s film, ur ging par ticipants t o pr oject
emotable human qualities lik e aggr ession t o one and innocence t o the other .
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The expr ession of the Bloobo - its e y es and mouth - typically change when it collides
with a par ticular T ool or Hazar d. In other cases, its expr ession changes based on
pr edictiv e r a y casts or its v elocity v ariable.
M e c h a n i c H o w I t A f f e c t s B l o o b o U p o n C o l l i s i o n B l o o b o E x p r e s s i o n
A c c e l e r a t o r A p p l i e s t e m p o r a r y f o r c e i n s a m e d i r e c t i o n E x c i t e m e n t
E j e c t o r R e d i r e c t s B l o o b o i n a s p e c i fi c d i r e c t i o n E x c i t e m e n t
D e fl e c t o r A p p l i e s f o r c e i n o p p o s i t e d i r e c t i o n P a i n
P o r t a l T e l e p o r t s t o t h e o t h e r P o r t a l D i s c o m b o b u l a t e d
R a i l s C r e a t e s p a t h w a y u n a f f e c t e d b y p h y s i c s E x c i t e m e n t
L i g h t e n R e d u c e s g r a v i t y D i s c o m b o b u l a t e d
T h i c k e n I n c r e a s e s g r a v i t y D i s c o m b o b u l a t e d
B l a c k h o l e A p p l i e s c o n t i n u o u s n e g a t i v e f o r c e t o w a r d s c e n t e r N a u s e o u s
A n n i h i l a t o r R e t u r n s y o u t o D e s i g n i n g n / a
P r o p u l s o r A p p l i e s c o n t i n u o u s f o r c e i n g i v e n d i r e c t i o n N a u s e o u s
T able 2. Bloobo ’ s facial expr ession changes based on which T ool or Hazar d it’ s most r ecently collided with. After
some time, it r eturns t o its default expr ession.
G a m e p l a y E v e n t B l o o b o E x p r e s s i o n
A p p r o a c h i n g L e v e l C o m p l e t e T u b e E x c i t e m e n t
A p p r o a c h i n g A n n i h i l a t o r F e a r
S p e e d B e l o w 1 u n i t / s f o r > 3 s e c o n d s S l e e p y
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T able 3. Bloobo ’ s facial expr ession can also change based on pr edictiv e r a y cast data as it appr oaches cer tain
objects or its v elocity v ariable.
Much lik e a single mo v ement fr om a triangle in Heider and Simmel’ s fi lm, a single
expr ession such as a smile of ex citement is a far cr y fr om IVM. In fact, facial
expr essions v er y well ma y be the most univ ersal language of emotion. What ser v es as
an IVM is the sequence of expr essions - how the Bloobo, and how we per ceiv e them,
changes o v er the course of a giv en test, multiple tests or the entir e pla y experience.
What is first hear d as a comical and distant “ Aaaaaaahhhh…. ” as the Bloobo falls
off-scr een gr adually shifts int o a moment of discomfor t as pla y ers gr ow mor e inv ested
in the success and jo y of their Bloobo. As Gotschall and others theoriz e, it’ s only fr om a
series of e v ents that we ar e able t o natur ally pr oject meaning.
Figur e 15. An example of Bloobo ’ s F ear expr ession when appr oaching an Annihilat or .
T h i n k i n g A e s t h e t i c a l l y A b o u t B l o o b o s
While the expr essions and v oice-o v er system ar e two of the mor e pr ominent IVM for
pla y ers t o utiliz e in their cr eation of PPM, ther e ar e a v ariety of aesthetic decisions that
equally enable pla y ers t o form a connection with Bloobos.
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F or one, it’ s deliber ately ambiguous whether or not the Bloobo falling fr om the tube at
the star t of each T est is the same one fr om befor e or an entir ely new one. E v er y Bloobo
is identical. Within the fi rst 5-10 minutes of pla ying, the game describes some
pr oper ties of Bloobos - lik e that y our br ain pr oduces them when y ou ha v e a cr eativ e
thought, the y then seek others in need of inspir ation but can instead lose their spark if
the y don ’t find a new host - but it’ s still unclear what exactly happens t o y our Bloobo and
how the tubes function.
Is the first tube connected t o y our br ain, dir ectly extr acting Bloobos fr om y our cr eativ e
thoughts? If each Bloobo is unique, wher e do those fr om failed tests go? If each Bloobo
is not unique, how does it r eturn t o the first tube? Wher e does the second tube lead?
Does it dir ectly lead t o the next le v el and that Bloobo is r eused? Does it lead t o the
outside world wher e the Bloobo is r eleased and can find a new host? Is it k ept within
T ubeT ech ’ s facilities for fur ther r esear ch? These questions ar e deliber ately left
unanswer ed - until the midpoint - such that pla y ers can cr eate PPM fr om these IVM.
Another impor tant IVM is the Bloobo as a gibberish-speaking pr otagonist. Much lik e
Minions fr om Minions (2015), Bloobos speaks a language that is incompr ehensible in
content but highly emotable in t one. Pla y ers don ’t know what Bloobos ar e sa ying, but
the y can piece t ogether - or r ather , pr oject meaning about - how the y ’r e f eeling.
Ex cluding these v ocal effor ts, Bloobos ar e other wise a silent pr otagonist. Subtitles ar e
r eser v ed for Aandr o and the se v en cutscenes at k e y narr ativ e moments between le v els
either f eatur e v oiceo v er fr om Aandr o or none at all. Much lik e tr ailblaz ers Samus and
Link, Bloobo ’ s r ole as a silent pr otagonist is t o help pla y ers - no matter what language
the y speak - identify with the char acter .
B l o o b o s a s L o w F a n t a s y
Bloobos ar e r eal - fi ctionally , of course. Bloobo the game is low fantasy , a subgenr e of
fantasy fiction in which magical e v ents intrude on an other wise-normal world. The
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pla y er is giv en e v er y r eason t o belie v e the e v ents of Bloobo could r easonably occur:
quantum mechanics is still a lar gely mysterious field of science - as an aside, the
disco v er y of the Higgs Boson in 2012 is a par ticularly str ong inspir ation for the Bloobo;
the pla y er assumes the r ole of a mer e v olunteer; the home scr een str ongly establishes a
plausible sense of time and place within an office; as a species, we ar e alwa ys seeking
answers and meaning for why we ar e the wa y we ar e (sound familiar?). Why couldn ’t we
disco v er a new subat omic par ticle that is the liter al spark of inspir ation? W e could.
This fr amework encour ages pla y ers t o see Bloobos - and, t o a lesser extent, tubes - in
the “r eal world” outside of pla y sessions. Bloobos ar e subat omic after all, invisible t o the
nak ed e y e and, lik e Star W ars’ midi-chlorians, ar e within each of us. If a blue ball on a
mobile de vice can be a Bloobo, why can ’t other blue spher es, dots, and the lik e?
Buying int o the low fantasy pr emise of Bloobo can eff ectiv ely blur the line between
moments of pla y and non-pla y - Jesper Juul’ s magic cir cle - unlocking pla y ers ability t o
per ceiv e IVM outside of the game.
Figur e 16. A gas station in nor th Glendale a user r epor ted r eminded them of Bloobo.
3 1
4 . 3 O t h e r W a y s t o S u p p o r t t h e B l o o b o C o n n e c t i o n
G i v e P l a y e r s O w n e r s h i p
Nothing giv es pla y ers a sense of ownership quite lik e cosmetics and cust omization.
Whether y ou want t o use the P eely skin in F or tnite (2017), show a sense of patriotism b y
flying y our nation ’ s flag at op y our car in Rock et League (2015) or look lik e a half-nak ed
farmer using tr ansmogrifi cation in W orld of W ar cr aft , people lo v e cust omization options.
Giving pla y ers the ability t o tr ansform their char acter fr om the default “ e v er y one looks
this wa y ” sor t of appear ance int o something that, while still limited, is of their choosing
is empowering and allows for a deeper connection with that char acter .
Figur e 17. The Pr ofi le scr een wher e pla y ers can equip cosmetic T ops and T r ails for their Bloobo.
Bloobo off ers two primar y means of cust omization: (1) T ops, which ar e eff ectiv ely hats
or anything that might r est at op the Bloobo and (2) T r ails, the r epeated textur e that
follows in the path of the Bloobo. Each cosmetic has a str aightfor war d name and, upon
opening the info butt on, also includes fla v or text inspir ed b y Hear thst one ’ s fl a v or text
(2014). Fla v or text is intended t o either (1) pr o vide mor e so-called “Bloobo Lor e ”, fur ther
deepening one ’ s understanding of Bloobo, (2) ser v e as a pop cultur e r ef er ence, fur ther
r einfor cing a sense of low fantasy or (3) be downright funny .
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Figur e 18. An example of fla v or text designed as a pop cultur e r ef er ence, fur ther r einfor cing a sense of low fantasy .
I t ’ s I n Y o u r P o c k e t
Bloobo liv es in y our phone, one of the mor e personal and omnipr esent pieces of
technology in one ’ s lif e. By the sheer natur e of sharing r eal estate with other impor tant
apps that help us sta y connected with the ones we lo v e, Bloobo immediately occupies
an impor tant digital space. Bloobo doesn ’t r equir e the intensiv e car e of a T amagotchi
(1996), nor is it an entir e, gener ation-defining fr anchise lik e P ok émon (1996) - but it
nonetheless liv es in y our pock et and is immediately accessible.
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C h a p t e r 5 : O t h e r E x p l o r a t o r y an d O b s e r v at i o n a l F i n d i n g s
5 . 1 I V M a n d P P M R e c a p
Instances of v acuous meaning ar e placed as experiential br eadcrumbs thr oughout
Bloobo . Each is designed with some v ariety of tactics t o le v er age the pla y er ' s
st or ytelling mind and need t o r ecogniz e and mak e sense of patterns - and the mor e
arbitr ar y the pattern, the mor e one will pr oduce their PPM in r espects t o understanding
Bloobo .
Now that pla y ers ha v e a br eadth of IVM t o engage with, the y can begin t o fi ll in the gaps
of Bloobo on their own terms. Is Bloobo a game just about balls? Is it about r est oring
cr eativity worldwide? Is it meant t o be as challenging as it is visually accessible? Can it
just be a series of fun systems? Is it commentar y on F ocault’ s theor y that power is
knowledge , not vice v ersa? In this curiosity and v acuum comes another sor t of answer ,
one that is of personal, pr escribed meaning. Any one answer t o these questions isn ’t
objectiv ely impor tant or any mor e right than another though - no mor e than one person ’ s
worldview is any mor e impor tant or right than another ’ s. What is impor tant howe v er is
encour aging pla y ers t o mer ely ask the question and being open t o the possibility that
something is not explicitly pr escribed b y the game.
5 . 2 L o o k i n g a t C o n fl i c t
While PPM is exactly that - personal - it’ s nonetheless an emer gent pr oper ty composed
in par t of choices made b y the designer . As it r elates t o Bloobo in par ticular , t o cr eate
conflict between the pla y ers PPM and an externally pr escribed one, it’ s r equisite t o
understand the r ange of truths pla y ers will cr eate thr oughout their pla y experience.
T o pr o vide conflict, a number of mechanical and narr ativ e twists ar e pr esented t o the
pla y er beginning at the midpoint - Le v el 14 - and ar e r epeatedly pushed and amplifi ed in
their intensity . Others might fi nd a sense of conflict as early as the first f ew le v els as
3 4
well giv en the omniscient failur e counters or the somewhat judgemental f eeling of Le v el
Gr ades r elativ e t o a star system; e v en 1 star is still a shiny , ex citing moment wher eas
earning a D Gr ade ma y f eel punishing t o some.
3 5
Figur e 19. IVM and other gamepla y elements r elativ e t o their v acuousness.
3 6
H y p o t h e s i z e d P l a y e r ’ s P P M E x t e r n a l l y P r e s c r i b e d , C o n fl i c t i n g M e a n i n g
B l o o b o i s a n e a s y , l i g h t h e a r t e d , c u t e
e x p e r i e n c e
B l o o b o i s a c h a l l e n g i n g , t r i a l - a n d - e r r o r ,
b o r d e r l i n e m a s o c h i s t i c e x p e r i e n c e
T h e B l o o b o , T u b e T e c h a n d I h a v e a l i g n e d
m o t i v a t i o n s
O n l y t h e B l o o b o a n d I h a v e a l i g n e d
m o t i v a t i o n s
T u b e T e c h a n d A a n d r o a r e m e n t o r s T u b e T e c h i s a f a l s e m e n t o r a n d A a n d r o i s a
v i c t i m t o o
B l o o b o s d o n ’ t e x p e r i e n c e p a i n B l o o b o s e x p e r i e n c e p a i n
T u b e T e c h w a n t s t o s h a r e t h e i r B l o o b o
d i s c o v e r y w i t h t h e w o r l d
T u b e T e c h w a n t s t o k e e p t h e i r d i s c o v e r y o f t h e
B l o o b o a p a t e n t e d s e c r e t
T u b e T e c h t r e a t s B l o o b o s w i t h c a r e T u b e T e c h e x p l o i t s B l o o b o s f o r t h e i r o w n g a i n
I t ’ s n a t u r a l t o B l o o b o s t o f a d e i f t h e y f a i l t o
fi n d a n e w h o s t
B l o o b o s d o n ’ t h a v e t o f a d e i f t h e y f a i l t o fi n d a
n e w h o s t
E x p e r i m e n t a t i o n i s e n c o u r a g e d m e c h a n i c a l l y
b y s y s t e m s a n d v i s u a l a i d s
E x p e r i m e n t a t i o n i s d i s c o u r a g e d m e c h a n i c a l l y
b y e m p o w e r i n g t h e B o s s
E x p e r i m e n t a t i o n i s e n c o u r a g e d n a r r a t i v e l y
b e c a u s e I t r u s t T u b e T e c h a n d t h e y s a y s o
E x p e r i m e n t a t i o n i s d i s c o u r a g e d n a r r a t i v e l y
b e c a u s e I m i s t r u s t T u b e T e c h
T able 4. A comparison of pla y ers PPM based on their own experience with Bloobo and the potentially con fl icting
information pr escribed t o them fr om the game.
The most common sour ce of confl ict for pla y ers pr o v ed t o be the most foundational -
t one and accessibility . E v er y moment fr om a pla y er ’ s first t ouchpoint until the y eclipse
appr o ximately 10 minutes of gamepla y giv es one a cer tain sense of the Bloobo
experience; Bloobo is fun t o sa y , the char acter is cute, the colors and font ar e childlik e,
the music is upbeat and inter actions with the de v elopment team all paint a pictur e of an
experience that’ s lighthear ted, happ y and casual.
3 7
In terms of t one, Bloobo initially pr esents a fair ytale world wher e almost e v er y one is kind
and innocent and whate v er e vils lurk beneath the sur face ar e easy t o def eat. As pla y ers
pr ogr ess thr oughout the 30 le v els though, the y lea v e behind the mundane, low-fantasy
setting and find themselv es in the Bloobo ’ s world - a grimdark one wher e Bloobos ar e
stripped of their natur al end and instead ar e physically exploited en masse and suff er as
T ubetech r epurposes them int o Redbo in an attempt t o monopoliz e cr eativity worldwide.
The shift begins abruptly ar ound the midpoint and gets incr easingly extr eme. Pla y ers
ar e typically caught off guar d b y the t one shift in the thir d cutscene following Le v el 13
and the subsequent intr oduction of the r ather violent Annihilat or mechanic. When
pr eparing t o T est a new Design, some pla y ers’ v erbal pr ocessing shifts fr om “let’ s just
see what happens… ” t o “ please, please, I hope this works… ”, marking a change b y putting
car e for the Bloobo o v er experimentation. Similar pla y ers ar e seen spending r elativ ely
mor e time when Designing t o piece t ogether a better solution. The other , most common
outcome fr om this confl ict is little t o no r econciliation - that is, the pla y er ' s beha vior
does not mark edly change. F or some pla y ers, this meant a weak connection with the
Bloobo. F or another type of pla y er , this meant a str ong connection with the Bloobo, but
an e v en str onger ur ge t o experiment.
In terms of accessibility , the pr e v alence of this foundational conflict v aries based on a
f ew fact ors. On the one hand, y ou ha v e pla y ers who 'r e experienced with some
combination of mobile games, puzzle games, physics games, and masocor e games.
These pla y ers typically don ’t f eel a sense of conflict in r egar ds t o the jo y ous t one initially
pr esented r elativ e t o its gr eater degr ee of difficulty because the y ’r e used t o pla ying
challenging games or ma y ha v e a higher thr eshold for frustr ation. Alternativ ely , the
same pla y er might not experience significant conflict because the y ’r e familiar with other
instances of this sub v ersion of the norm wher e a challenging game is packaged in such
a contr asting, accessible form.
3 8
On the other hand, and for the majority of pla y ers thus far , most pla y ers anticipate a pla y
experience as inviting and friendly as the char acter itself. While the game is designed t o
ha v e a steady pr ogr ession of difficulty , the diff er ence between the jo y ous Bloobo and
the most challenging puzzle is significant. The F ailur e Counters and Gr ades t oo ar e
elements that immediately confl ict with one ’ s expectations upon first picking up Bloobo .
F or some pla y ers, Bloobo is simply not the game for them. F or others, this con flict is
r econciled with laughter and an acknowledgement of the absur d. F or another type of
pla y er , and perhaps one of the gr eater challenges for one, their goal is t o tak e both sides
of the coin at face v alue and tr y t o na vigate a r eality in which both a cute char acter and
punishing puzzles can coexist.
F or a select gr oup of pla y ers, Bloobo is simply not their cup of tea - though it’ s impor tant
t o learn as a de v eloper when t o be persistent in an attempt t o win pla y ers o v er and
when t o sa y y ou’v e done y our best.
3 9
C h a p t e r 6 : F u t u r e E x p l o r a t i o n s
6 . 1 R e s e a r c h D i ffi c u l t i e s
De v eloping a game is har d. De v eloping a game with a deliber ate and thoughtful e y e for
a fine-tuned user experience and pla y centric design is har der . As mentioned t owar ds the
end of Chapter 1, this essa y was written during the late Alpha stages of Bloobo ’ s
de v elopment, and as such, ther e wer e a v ariety of compounding v ariables that inhibited
obtaining meaningful pla ytest data - par ticularly of the quantitativ e sor t.
One of the major issues we r an int o is Bloobo ’ s dur ation and the need t o tr ack pla y er ’ s
experience at pr ecise moments, most of which ar e in the second half of the game. The
game is 1-3 hours long depending on y our skill le v el wher eas most mobile game
experiences ar e fairly tr ansient and exist in 5-10 minute bursts. If y ou design pla ytest
sessions t o be for such a shor t period of time, y ou ma y encounter other issues such as
spr eading de v elopment r esour ces (and time) thin, losing a pla ytester t o r ecurring
scheduling conflicts because of the quantity of sessions y ou need and neglecting the
other type of pr ospectiv e pla y er who wants a longer pla y experience. Alternativ ely , if y ou
design pla ytest sessions t o be longer , y ou eff ectiv ely neglect the most common form of
tr ansient consumption. That’ s not t o sa y one is better than the other , but r ather ther e
ought t o be multiple modes of pla y esting.
6 . 2 Q u a n t i fi a b l e M e t r i c s
In an effor t t o fur ther explor e this subject of how we mak e meaning and r econcile
conflict, ther e ar e a v ariety of quantifiable metrics which could be utiliz ed t o better
understand the pla y er ’ s experience. These would be tr ack ed o v er the course of one ’ s
experience pla ying fr om Le v el 1 t o Le v el 30 with a k een e y e t owar ds the midpoint and
be y ond.
4 0
1. P er centage of time spent Designing r elativ e t o T esting per le v el; if pla y ers
r econcile confl ict means caring mor e for their Bloobo and the outcome of each
test, pr esumably the y would spend r elativ ely mor e time Designing r elativ e t o
T esting as mor e masochistic mechanical and narr ativ e elements ar e r e v ealed; if
pla y ers instead pr ef er t o embr ace the fr eedom of experimentation, their time
spent Designing r elativ e t o T esting would be mostly unchanged; this metric
would need t o contr ol for v ariables such as le v el difficulty .
2. A change, or lack ther eof, in beha vior r egar ding Le v el P er formance or Gr ades;
much lik e some pla y ers ma y spend mor e time Designing r elativ e t o T esting, that
appr oach ma y also pr oduce f ewer failur es per le v el, r esulting in better Gr ades
and per formance; this metric would need t o contr ol for v ariables such as le v el
diffi culty .
3. A change, or lack ther eof, in beha vior r egar ding r epla ying le v els; pr esumably ,
pla y ers ma y st op r epla ying le v els as often once conflict is pr esented in an effor t
t o r educe the number of failur es on their wa y t o completing le v el 30; alternativ ely ,
pla y ers ma y want t o r epla y past le v els mor e t o earn mor e Bloobits so that the y
can giv e their Bloobo a nicer cosmetic in the challenging le v els ahead; this metric
ma y also ha v e a v ariety of other compounding v ariables such as a pla y er ’ s want
t o pr actice, the need for mor e Bloobuddies for the final boss, etc.
4. A change, or lack ther eof, in beha vior r egar ding time spent pla ying St or y Mode;
pr esumably , pla y ers who ar e experiencing a gr eat deal of conflict might choose
t o a v oid str essors mor e often and spend dispr opor tionally mor e time viewing
cosmetics in the Pr ofi le or tr ying out the cust om le v el cr eat or in The Lab instead.
5. A change, or lack ther eof, in beha vior r egar ding pla y session dur ation or
fr equency; we ne v er want pla y ers t o put down the game because con fl ict is t oo
str ong (v er y unlik ely t o happen) but perhaps pla y sessions ar e shor ter t o a v oid
4 1
the negativ e confl icting vibes OR pla y ers might incr ease pla y session dur ation
because the y want t o do right b y the Bloobo or , much worse, want t o be done
with it all.
C h a p t e r 7 : C o n c l u s i o n
7 . 1 C l o s i n g R e m a r k s
First impr essions matter . No matter how the first le v el of Bloobo ma y pla y out in r egar ds
t o mechanics, narr ativ e or t one, users begin t o form assumptions about media - whether
it’ s game, film or anything else of the sor t - at their earliest t ouchpoints. In some cases,
this ma y be as distant as watching a tr ailer for an in-de v elopment pr oject or it ma y be as
4 2
immediate as looking o v er the shoulder of a friend who ’ s alr eady halfwa y thr ough the
game. Pla y ers at this time ha v e countless unanswer ed questions about the experience
and thus the basis of their PPM is formed.
Bloobo has under gone two serious de v elopment cy cles in its 2-y ear lif ecy cle (thus far).
The initial v ersion made in F all of 2021 was v er y much a technical demo. It was far
mor e in-line with Heider and Simmel’ s shor t film. Ther e wer e no faces, no softbody
physics, no narr ativ e elements whatsoe v er outside of le v el names (which wer e only
intended t o be gamepla y hints in the first place), and - as simple as it ma y ha v e look ed
visually - it appear ed t o be a complete and r eady-t o-ship experience. On the one hand,
my par tner Chaor an Huang and I had something we wer e immensely pr oud of. On the
other hand, it meant e v er y one we showed the game t o immediately began t o cr eate
their own PPM of Bloobo and what it could be. F ast for war d t o April of 2022 when
applying for USC Games’ Adv anced Games Pr oject, a class that eff ectiv ely ser v es as a
game incubat or , Bloobo was r ejected in the second r ound of pitching because the game
“ alr eady looks finished. ”
4 3
Figur e 20. Early tech demo of Bloobo in F all of 2021.
Now that Bloobo ’ s under gone another y ear of de v elopment, the game is again at a point
wher e users ha v e all the r eason in the world t o find IVM and cr eate PPM. Bloobo is cute,
color ful, accessible and exudes positivity - this is the experience for pr ospectiv e and
new pla y ers alik e. The longer one pla ys for howe v er , the mor e this truth will be
challenged b y complex physics systems and a dark, twisting narr ativ e ar c. How one
na vigates this confl ict is still lar gely t o be explor ed b y the industr y alt ogether , but one
thing is cer tain: people will belie v e whate v er ’ s necessar y t o maintain their truth.
7 . 1 O n T r u t h
What’ s consider ed true is alwa ys changing. F or countless gener ations, it was belie v ed
that the Ear th was at the center of the univ erse and all planets and stars r e v olv ed
ar ound us. Not-so-ir onically , although the adv ancement of science has giv en us
o v er whelming e vidence that isn ’t the case, some people still hold that truth or ha v e
concocted equally absur dist views all the same.
The Bloobo user experience is not ex empt fr om this rule. E v en if the v ersion on the App
St or e t oda y is the last build t o e v er hit vir tual shelv es, the game will change all the same
because its pla y ers do. The Bloobo experience, championed b y the pla y er ' s personal,
pr escribed meaning, is as fluid as the cultur al div ersity of folks who pla y the game.
Bloobo isn ’t a hit cult-hit, it isn ’t a failed student pr oject, nor is it an allegor y of genocide -
but it could v er y well be anything under the sun when seen thr ough any one ’ s e y es.
Things ar e not possible until the y ar e. “No one ’ s e v er come back down 1-3 in the NBA
Finals, it can ’t be done ” thought spor ts fans until Lebr on James won in 2016. “No wa y
T rump will win the pr esidential election, ther e ar en ’t enough American v oters who
belie v e in him ” was a truth for many until others came out t o v ote. “Video games ar en ’t
ar t - in fact the y r ot y our br ain and encour age violence ” is a so-called truth that, while it
4 4
isn ’t as pr e v alent as it once was, still v er y much exists acr oss the globe and is being
challenged as we speak (2020).
Just because our r eality has shifted or changed does not necessarily mean that our new
truth is any mor e true than the last. “W e didn ’t know anything then, now we know what
we ’r e up against” is only as true as the ine vitability of that statement being r epeated and
wholly belie v ed b y e v er y pr oceeding gener ation of think ers. T o ignor e the possibility of
other truths other than one ’ s own is danger ous and irr esponsible.
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Asset Metadata

Creator Ruttenberg, Jacob (author)

Core Title Ball to buddy on making meaning

School School of Cinematic Arts

Degree Master of Fine Arts

Degree Program Interactive Media

Degree Conferral Date 2023-05

Publication Date 04/17/2023

Defense Date 04/16/2023

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag apparent behavior,ball to buddy,ball to buddy on making meaning,bloobo,bloobo mobile,Games,IMGD,instance of vacuous meaning,ivm,jacob ruttenberg,jonathan gottschall,kuleshov effect,Mobile,mobile games,mobile puzzle games,OAI-PMH Harvest,on making meaning,Personal,ppm,prescribed meaning,puzzle,puzzle games,puzzle video games,ruttenberg,scott mccloud,Storytelling,storytelling animal,storytelling mind,understanding comics,USC games,video games

Format theses (aat)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Nealan, Andy (committee chair), Bolas, Mark (committee member), Fullerton, Tracy (committee member)

Creator Email hijakeruttenberg@gmail.com,jacob@jruttenberg.io

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC113015584

Unique identifier UC113015584

Identifier etd-Ruttenberg-11640.pdf (filename)

Legacy Identifier etd-Ruttenberg-11640

Document Type Thesis

Format theses (aat)

Rights Ruttenberg, Jacob

Internet Media Type application/pdf

Type texts

Source 20230417-usctheses-batch-1023 (batch), University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright. The original signature page accompanying the original submission of the work to the USC Libraries is retained by the USC Libraries and a copy of it may be obtained by authorized requesters contacting the repository e-mail address given.

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu