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Smile medicine: the playful approach to failing fast

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Smile medicine: the playful approach to failing fast

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SMILE MEDICINE

THE PLAYFUL APPROACH TO FAILING FAST

by

Nicholas Linares, EdM

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF CINEMATIC ARTS
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF FINE ARTS
(INTERACTIVE MEDIA)

May 2020

Copyright 2020 Nicholas Linares, EdM

ii
DEDICATION
I dedicate this work to Logan Heinz, a dear friend who fundamentally changed the course
of my life. Had it not been for him, this work would have never existed.

iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I owe my deepest gratitude to my advisor and committee chair, Richard Lemarchand,
whose advocacy, friendship, and guidance has been paramount throughout my time at USC.
Thank you for believing in me, challenging me, and reminding me to be human. You have
helped me find my creative identity, shown me how to be a dynamic leader, and taught me how
to cultivate supportive communities. Because of your mentorship, I am a healthier developer,
stronger designer, and eager to continue being a lifelong learner.
Thank you to my amazing advisors, Tracy Fullerton, Garry Schyman, Robert Nashak,
and Emil Pagliarulo. Tracy, you have prepared me to think critically, and reminded me that the
stories we find hard to tell are the stories we need to be telling. Garry, you have shown me how
to think outside of my domain, and enabled me to explore a different craft. Robert, you have
given me skills necessary within the games industry, and have made yourself available regardless
of convenience. Emil, your games single handedly made me want to be a game designer. Being
involved in the kind of work you do is the goal of my lifetime, and having the opportunity to
learn about your experiences has been humbling, inspiring, and motivating.
No one in my family would have guessed I was heading in this direction, yet somehow
they all got me here. Mom, thank you for never giving up, tirelessly figuring out ways to keep
me still through my most turbulent times. Dad, thank you for teaching me the virtues of patience
and humility, and for shaping me into the person I am today. Christian, my hermano, you have
set the standard for what it means to work hard, and seeing where you are now makes me the
proudest little brother. Rebecca, you are the reason I have been able to make it this far. You are
my hero, my other half, and the best sister a brother could ask for.

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To my friends Logan, Greg, and Jake, thank you for putting up with me, and remaining a
part of my life. Thank you for being so patient, reminding me of our friendships despite the long
stretches of time where I forgot a world existed outside of work. To my girlfriend and partner,
Sonia, thank you for loving, supporting, and dealing with me. You were there from that start,
pushed me to do my best, and have helped me day in and day out ever since.
Producing this project would not have been possible without some developers, something
of which I am lucky to have. Ari, our writer, you have given our story meaning; Kris, Hallie,
Patrick, Reshma, and Shon, or artists, you have our story beauty; Matthew, our composer, you
have given our story atmosphere; and Yuanpeng, our programmer, you have made our story
playable. Each of you were critical contributors, and the saving grace of this project. It means the
world to me.

v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii
LIST OF FIGURES vi
ABSTRACT vii
INTRODUCTION 1
SURVEY OF PRIOR ART 5
GAME DESIGN ABSTRACT 8
ART DIRECTION 15
POSTPARTUM 18
REFERENCES 23

vi
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 — The cyclic, iterative process 3
Figure 2 — BioShock Remastered (Virtuos, 2020) 6
Figure 3 — Firewatch (Campo Santo Productions, 2018) 7
Figure 4 — GRIS (Nomada Studio, 2018) 8
Figure 5 — Old Man’s Journey (Broken Rules, 2018) 9
Figure 6 — Florence (Mountains, 2020) 10
Figure 7 — OXENFREE (Night School Studio, LLC, 2017) 11
Figure 8 — Gone Home (Fullbright, 2018) 12
Figure 9 — Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall, 2018) 13
Figure 10 — The First Tree (David Whele, LLC, 2017) 13
Figure 11 — Gameplay Loop 14
Figure 12 — Representation of directed keywords 15
Figure 13 — Exploring foliage 15
Figure 14 — Exploring animal protagonists 15
Figure 15 — Exploring environmental contexts 16
Figure 16 — Exploring horizontal layers 16
Figure 17 — Exploring the look of open spaces 16
Figure 18 — Exploring distant attention points 16
Figure 19 — Future Time 16

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Figure 20 — Present Time 16
Figure 21 — Past Time 1 16
Figure 22 — Past Time 2 16
Figure 23 — Consideration for the spring season 17
Figure 24 — Consideration for the winter season 17
Figure 25 — Nila 1 17
Figure 26 — Nila 2 17
Figure 27 — Nila 3 17

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ABSTRACT
This thesis project is an examination of two key disciplines in the field of interactive
entertainment: video game design; and video game production. With mobile games on the rise,
both Android and iOS are seeing their proprietary digital distribution platforms flooded with
games. Developers of casual games target mobile devices because they have simpler controls,
increasing the number of potential in-app purchases. Developers of independent games target
mobile devices because they are the most popular game console, meaning more eyes might see
their title. The primary objective of Smile Medicine is to overcome a design constraint: bring
accessible gameplay and novel experiences together without in-app purchases. The secondary
objective of Smile Medicine is to overcome a production constraint: get it made on time. The
primary goal is met by developing a narrative adventure game for iOS devices, using the Unity
Engine. The second objective is met by prototyping, planning, and scoping a complete project
pipeline following what I describe as the playful approach . My proposed production philosophy
is the central component of the project, and is primarily informed by the Cerny Method (AIAS,
2012) and the Concentric Development (Lemarchand, 2020) processes. This paper will discuss
the basis for my production method and its synthesis and application of Richard Lemarchand’s
and Mark Cerny’s frameworks, provide an early game design document, and close with a
postpartum reflection.
Keywords: agile, casual games, Cerny Method, Concentric Development, mobile games,
play, scrum, Unity, video game design, video game production

1
INTRODUCTION
Video games are one of the few things that have remained a part of my life since as far
back as I can remember. Despite being a 90’s child, I somehow found a first-generation Game
Boy in my hands, a piece of hardware before my time. While titles like Super Mario Bros.
(Nintendo, 1985), Super Mario Land (Nintendo, 1989) and Super Mario World (Nintendo, 1991)
were my core sources of interactive entertainment, my life fundamentally changed during the
winter of 1996 when I met my Nintendo 64 for the first time.
There was nothing like it. Nothing came close to realizing what my innate imagination
looked like. Performance was technologically ahead of its time, the graphics set a new standard
with its ability to render more than 15 million colors, and included a gamepad overloaded with
buttons (Loguidice & Barton, 2014). Although the Sega Saturn preceded it, the Nintendo 64
dominated the fifth-generation of video game consoles in every way (Hatfield, 2009). With only
six years of life experience, these things were unknown to me. Nonetheless, the Nintendo 64
came with one crucial piece of software: Super Mario 64 (Nintendo, 1996).
Albeit fictitious, Mario’s homeworld of the Mushroom Kingdom seemed to be a nearly
verbatim, vibrant rendering of my dreams. One evening in my parent’s basement, I was wildly
convinced it could not be a coincidence, and that the television was the portal I had been waiting
for all along. So I took to the corner ensuring myself maximum distance, and took a running start
straight towards the screen. Undoubtedly, my foolish attempt was a colossal failure, and left me
on the ground beneath an undamaged 50-pound piece of solid glass and plastic.
Life went on and I eventually found myself in the field of education advocating the arts,
eventually exploring software development and interactive media. My portfolio grew, my

2
network expanded, and the lifelong fantasy of developing games transformed into a winnable
gambit. With a goal in mind and a plan in motion, I made the decision to harvest my creativity
from my youthful dreams, a common trait found in many game designers (Paumgarten, 2010).
I am now at the culmination of my formal training in the theory of interactive media and
the practice of producing interactive entertainment. My studies have overwhelmed me with
discovery, radically transforming my creative convictions. USC Games presents a curriculum
bearing multiple dynamic and versatile modules, three of which have impacted me the most:
collaboration, the most central element of any pursuit grounded in teamwork; expression, an
imperative confrontation with unknown crafts and dissimilar methods; and introspection, the
footing for self-sufficiency and the ability find solutions to unanswered questions.
Fusing these traits has generated an amalgam of positions, furnishing a new credo I hope
to exercise throughout my career. Purposely centered around an aesthetic confrontation with
unknown territory, this thesis is a creatively hostile attempt to develop an experience beyond my
repertoire, and test my ability to apply an unpracticed ideology to an unpracticed genre. With this
paper I aim to describe the methods I have assembled, and the consequences of its application to
the intended product. To describe this schema, I will give a brief survey of the prior art and
relevant work that has inspired, informed, and guided the project, followed by the game design
abstraction, presenting a high-level description of the game footprint, as well the art direction.
Furthermore, it is my belief that play is of design. The lens through which development looks
refers to what I describe as a playful approach, a synthesis and application of Concentric
Development (Lemarchand, 2020). In closing, I will provide a postpartum reflection of the
project and the game it bore.

3

Figure 1 — The cyclic process
Production Philosophy
Games are for players, and therefore, game development must start with the player in
mind. The formal, divisional, and dynamic phases of the development process serve as clear,
unambiguous guides from the start of development, all the way through to release. However,
while a variety of methodologies to inform this process, clear, precise direction is dependent on a
central objective, something of which is informed by the player. These are two big questions:
who is your target audience; and what are your experience goals?
Knowing the player means knowing the audience, and with knowledge of the audience
comes with insights regarding their ideal experience. A strong sense of this provides a developer
the ability to formulate the audience experience goals and carry them over into ideation. With the
target audience in mind and the experience goals set, the cyclic process can begin.
Design like a writer . Christian Cantamessa, lead designer and writer of Red Dead
Redemption (Rockstar San Diego, 2010), suggested I design like a writer, and write like a

4
designer. This seemingly plain advice had immense impact, and compelled me to revisit my
design practice. Rather than apply this literally to designing or writing, I instead reconsidered the
breadth of iteration and applied the conventions to the phase as a whole. I then chose to expand
it, and embed a critical facet of game design: audio.
Write like a composer . It’s highly unlikely any reader would understand a story if after
reading the third paragraph they realize the fourth is missing and it goes right to the fifth. Genres
like branching narratives or nonlinear interactive fictions might contain such a mechanic, but the
feature would otherwise likely be absent. Games with involved stories have limited fluidity,
posing a variety of risks with a range of implications. Music and story are inherently connected,
and there are many similarities between writing sounds and writing words, built upon outlining
phrases and finding voices capable of eliciting the experience goal.
Compose like a designer . Designers often stub content as a way to plant placeholders,
ensuring development can continue with fewer roadblocks. This technique resembles both
temping, the placement of temp assets to assist in communicating vision, as well as spotting, the
process of collaboratively reviewing material to determine where content should be added, and
discussing how it should function. With the compositional process coming full circle and
connecting back to any design method, the cycle will begin to repeat itself.

5
SURVEY OF PRIOR ART
The bodies of work I wish to expand upon are those that highlight art, liminal arcs, and
impactful relationships. For purposes of this section, I have created three categories, each of
which can extract discernible traits found in interactive media. At a high level, these three areas
pertain to artistic expression, modes of storytelling, and joint protagonism.
Artistic Interdisciplinarity
While art direction and artistic expression is found in nearly all commercial games,
modern games have taken novel approaches, formulating an identity so unique, some styles of
visual art have become off limits. In my opinion, this is a major success, and is likely to be the
ultimate goal of any art director. Many games on the market have a distinct look, easily
discernible from its commercial counterpart, but few behold that aesthetic for a lifetime. Having
watched games grow for nearly three decades now, I have seen games come and go, and rise and
fall. Similarly, I have seen some games reach the top, and then never come down.
Commercial games continue to dominate the market, and will continue to do so as long as
their studios provide a stream of resources. Going up against a giant is hard, which is why many
independent developers have struggled to participate in the development of popularized games,
as their production values are objectively unattainable. Many games succeed purely because of
brand recognition, or the clout their studio might have, while others succeed because of their
creative prowess. Game development is increasingly accessible, putting tools in the hands of
many. Some might get published, others might be self-published, and some might be good, while
others might be amazing. What separates the better from the best is artistic interdisciplinarity ,
and interconnectedness between art, environmental design, and game design.

6

Figure 2 — BioShock Remastered (Virtuos, 2020) is an example aesthetic interdisciplinarity
1
Thinking of art through the lens of art will give you art, just as thinking through the lens
of design gives you design. The next AAA shooter will be great, whether or not we like shooters,
but it is unlikely to remain relevant forever. Though more importantly, it is not about the genre, it
is about interdisciplinarity. BioShock is an example of artistic interdisciplinarity, as it is both
gorgeous, and robust. We might walk away thinking it is gorgeous, but its beauty is all
encompassing as the art pertains to every facet of the game’s design. As a result, Art Deco is now
off limits, because it will just look like BioShock — though the style did not stick with us as a
result of its beauty, but rather because it told us the story.
Narrative Adventure
Independent games are at the forefront of narrative adventure, setting the standard for
games being one of the most powerful storytelling devices. Games like Firewatch (Campo Santo
Productions, 2018) and Gone Home (Fullbright, 2018) changed the playing field of narrative
games, and redefined the genre of exploratory fiction.
1
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/old-mans-journey-switch/

7

Figure 3 — Firewatch (Campo Santo Productions, 2018) tells a story using nothing but a handheld radio
2
The success of these games have been so monumental, reaching audiences of sizes that
were once unfathomable, and larger studios are looking to participate in the development of
these games. Ubisoft was an early participant in the genre narrative adventures, with Ubisoft
Montreal and Ubisoft Montpellier developing Child of Light: Ultimate Edition (Ubisoft, 2018)
and Valiant Hearts: The Great War (Ubisoft, 2018), respectively.
Electronic Arts Inc. followed suit, offering support in finishing and polishing Unravel
(ColdWood Interactive, 2016). The title was a major success, giving the publisher confidence to
support the development of Unravel Two (ColdWood Interactive, 2019). In the meantime, the
publisher supported the development for Fe (Zoink, 2018) under the moniker EA Originals.
Many mid and large-size studios have become involved in the emergent subgenre of stylized
story-driven games, and it goes to show there is a special power in narrative adventure, and
player retention in games with rich, expansive, and iconic worlds.
2
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/old-mans-journey-switch/

8
GAME DESIGN ABSTRACT
As a budding producer and director, this project seeks to execute my production
philosophy and the playful approach. Inspired by a talk pertaining to the harmony of story and
design, I began structuring the idea of designing like a writer, writing like a composer, and
composing like a designer. It is through Smile Medicine I will model this production technique in
conjunction Concentric Development (Lemarchand, 2020) and Method (AIAS, 2012).
Target Audience
This single-player platformer could be summed up as F irewatch (Campo Santo
Productions, 2018) meets GRIS (Nomada Studio, 2018) meets Valiant Hearts : The Great War
(Ubisoft, 2018). Smile Medicine is for mid-core gamers who like simple platformers.

Figure 4 — GRIS (Nomada Studio, 2018) is an evocative interactive painting
3
Experience Goals
Four emotional components make up the primary player experience goals. The purpose
of these criteria are to provide a reference point at which initial design decisions will be based.
3
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/gris-switch/

9
Empathy . The characters in this story are inspired by real people, and their experiences
are influenced by true events. Because of the direct relationships I have had with these
individuals, their experiences provide inspiration and motivation, which I use as a foundation to
drive the narrative through empathy. This is the primary experience goal as feelings of
‘sympathy’ and ‘empathy’ often overlap, and differentiating between the two is necessary. I
intend to refrain from all forms of ableism that could leave players feeling sorry for a character.

Figure 5 — Old Man’s Journey (Broken Rules, 2018) is story about the special moments in life
4
Humility . This goal is driven by the intention of giving understanding, and encourages us
to remember our privileges and abilities, being ultimately drawn from the narrative.
Sentiment . The world in which this game is situated is filled with a myriad of items and
relics. The notion of sentiment is often challenging to establish, but can be done by intertwining
evocative storytelling and playful design. By offering collectible and consumable items bearing
significance to the player-character’s journey, players can develop a relationship with such
artifacts, choosing to retain items that are unnecessary in moving the narrative forward.
4
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/old-mans-journey-switch/

10
Serenity . The sensation of serenity is a core goal, and will ideally be driven by the
harmony between art direction, musical composition, and simple gameplay. Many design choices
will be assessed by their ability to motivate players, put them at ease, and encourage them rather
than intimidate them, put them in danger, in fear, or with hesitation.
Pillars
Accessibility . The plausibility for any player to pick up this game and play is a
foundational element of the design approach, as well as the game itself. Using simple controls,
trimmed mechanics, and layouts not structured around skill, players might feel motivated to
move through the narrative with the same leisure they would feel when reading a book.

Figure 6 — Florence (Mountains, 2020) is an example of accessible gameplay
5
Diversity . Representation pertains to the development team as well as the game’s design.
Focusing on characters from minority populations, our team aims to tell the stories that are too
often untold. By doing so, we hope those from underrepresented people groups can feel they are
appropriately represented in modern transmedia.
5
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/florence-switch/

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Musicality . Through music, players can connect cues with characters, stories, instances,
and mechanics. This approach to design will therefore influence the development of characters,
stories, and worldbuilding, ultimately impacting the delivery of the core player experience goals.

Figure 7 — OXENFREE (Night School Studio, LLC, 2017) uses a radio mechanic to integrate music
6
Replayability . Motivated by simple mechanics, players engage with the world
two-dimensionally, giving players simple, horizontal controls. Many players unfamiliar with
games find themselves intimidated by complicated control schemes, and therefore apprehensive
to approach games with such sophistication. With most three-dimensional games requiring two
thumb sticks to control character movements and camera movements, they are often built for
players who are familiar with games rather than new to games.
Platform . Built for Apple iPhone running iOS 13 and up, containing an eight to twelve
minute experience. It is a single-player experience with one playable character, and will contain
six playable scenes. The core mechanics are engaging in dialogue with a non-playable character,
and exploring the levels. Release is scheduled to hit the iOS App Store in May 2020.
6
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/oxenfree-switch/

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Summary
Nila, unexpectedly learns a great distance has been placed between her and her mother.
With the little will she has left, Nila struggles to find a way she can bring the two back together.
Smile Medicine is a narrative adventure where you must awaken your surroundings. As the little
reminders start to add up, players will reveal the trail on which her most fond memories follow.
Story . Play as Nila, an avid hiker, camper, and overall outdoorswoman, who held a
special connection with her mother, the only family she had left. Troubled, alone, and still in her
twenties, life at home is not just lonely, but filled with reminders that are difficult to confront.

Figure 8 — Gone Home (Fullbright, 2018) broke new ground with its take on exploration games
7
Genre . In this magical realist exploration game, a woman looks to shorten the distance
placed between her and her mother. Smile Medicine is a 2D adventure game where players
control Nila as she hikes and climbs through the natural wonders of southeastern Idaho.
References . Adventure — Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall, 2018); Environmental
Storytelling — The First Tree (David Whele, LLC, 2017)
7
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/gone-home-switch/

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Figure 9 — Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall, 2018) is direct influence for level design
8
Level Design . Using layers, players move horizontally, and shift along the z-axis.

Figure 10 — The First Tree (David Whele, LLC, 2017) capitalizes on environmental storytelling
9
Narrative Design . Two storylines overlap, at which point the narrative focus shifts.
Core Mechanics
Gameplay . Players will loop between exploration, traveral, progression, and interaction.
8
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/night-in-the-woods-switch/
9
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/the-first-tree-switch/

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Figure 11 — Gameplay Loop
Dialogue . By interacting with an NPC, players will have guidance throughout the world,
and gain access to an expositional device through which they will consume the story. In doing
so, a relationship will develop, encouraging the player to proceed.
Exploration . Players will traverse a three-dimensional world using two-dimensional
platformer controls. Through side-scrolling movements, the levels are assembled and interacted
with through slices, providing a unique, engaging move of exploration.
First Five Minutes
Over black, we hear the sounds of birds chirping. The camera pans and we see Nila throw
on her pack, and start walking. Nothing much to do; enjoy the hike, see the sights, and feel the
spirits. Hiking. Still hiking... Now she is at the base of a hill. The top comes quickly, but she
slides down a small slope as the dirt seems to loosen. No big deal, but now we know. She keeps
going and comes across a small ledge. Her pack is too heavy, so jumping really isn’t an option,
but the ledge is low enough to climb. It was a breeze. A couple more come our way, none of
which are too difficult. However, Nila trips and falls to the ground.

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ART DIRECTION

Figure 12 — Example environmental art using keywords
Keywords
Three terms used to express the art direction are: color; line; and texture.
Color Field . An abstract form of painting inspired by the works of Mark Rothco.
Line Work . Use outlines to provide distinction between color and world.
Texture . Inspired by the idea of storyboarding where objects were animated upon hand
drawings with cameras capturing the paper, it was common for the paper’s texture to show.
Aesthetic Study

Figure 13 — Exploring foliage Figure 14 — Exploring animal protagonists

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Figure 15 — Exploring environmental contexts Figure 16 — Exploring horizontal layers

Figure 17 — Exploring the look of open spaces Figure 18 — Exploring distant attention points
Figure 19 — Future Time Figure 20 — Present Time
Figure 21 — Past Time 1 Figure 22 — Past Time 2

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Temporal Study

Figure 23 — Consideration for the spring season Figure 24 — Consideration for the winter season
Character Study

Figure 25 — Nila 1 Figure 26 — Nila 2 Figure 27 — Nila 3

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POSTPARTUM
A great deal of beauty has been berthed since Smile Medicine ideation began. Features
were coming through, design tools found their way into Unity, and the initial playtests were
going great. It was only a few short weeks later when preproduction kicked off and almost
everything went south, and the rest went somewhere else. This postpartum discusses some of the
things we did well, and some of the things we did not so well.
Five Things That Went Right
There’s nothing wrong with dreaming big . Right from the start, this idea was huge.
There were awesome features in the pipeline, a couple tools had already been built, and the
composer and I had already been prototyping character themes and environmental music. Having
big dreams was incredibly valuable. It gave me things to think about, it others to check out, and
it provided us with material to share, which was ideal in recruitment. Having a big dream gave
me motivation. It let me have something in my mind, in full form, free of cuts. I think this was
very useful in the start, as it was a robust starting point in the process of worldbuilding.
Knowing how to think is the most important skill . I am fortunate to have had some
like experiences already, giving me an advantage in this regard. It is my belief that one of the
most critical life skills is simply knowing how to think. I know that if I know how to think, I can
figure anything out. A lot of things went awry this year (a lot), but I was able to find a solution. It
was never fun, was sometimes sad, and even hurt at points, but I survived.
Kill your darling to serve the player . This is a piece of advice I was given by my
industry advisor, and served me well when it came to mind at just the right time. Our playables
were not fully functional when we were nearing the end of preproduction. Some of this was an

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unstable bug hidden deep in Unity, and some of it was me, hoping to include too many
mechanics. The reason for the variety was my goal of creating more impactful interactions, but I
took too many through for too long, allowing me to put only 50% in many, rather than 100% in
one. I took the advice to heart when it came time to cut, and some just had to go.
Pessimism was the answer all along . In a literal sense, and especially in game
development, it is safest to assume the worst. Own a car? It is going to break down. Are you
using a laptop? It just broke. Oh, you have a desktop at home? Nope, not anymore. You are
healthy as can be? Not so sure, actually, I think you might catch a cold next Thursday. You have
your next three weeks of playtesting planned out? No you do not, there is a pandemic now, and
you and everyone you know is under quarantine! Working from home has its benefits? Not this
month, because your internet has no connection.
The point is this: assume the worst. This is not a suggestion to live life as a cynic and say
everything sucks, but to be realistic, and identify your risks. Make a list of them, rate them, and
see what should be prioritized in the event the risk becomes an issue. This is to be prepared, and
to have a sense of what can be done, because understanding the source of an issue lets you treat
the problem and not just the symptom.
The cake is a lie (also, the cake is your thesis) . This is graduate school, and most
notably, an MFA program. Few of us will leave here and have professionally creative
opportunities to explore exactly what we want. As a result, we commonly hear that an MFA
program is our chance to do something different, and to make an impact on our medium, and that
our work should break new ground and redefine our art. We want our capstones to be good work,
to have polish, and be perfect inside and out.

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Masterpiece syndrome is real, and it is easy to confuse master’s thesis with master’s
piece . Striving to develop our magnum opus is irrational, and thinking the project will define our
careers is simply not true. These pressures can have a negative effect, and ultimately let fear
cause stress, and let stress become a roadblock. Instead, let the capstone grant you the
opportunity to explore one thing, and explore it as intensively as you possibly can. Then, find a
way to make that one thing the best thing.
Five Things That Could Have Gone Better
There’s something wrong with dreaming big . Yeah, I already know big dreams got us
to the moon, but those big dreams were made by smart people. I dreamt however about going to
Saturn, but then they told me travelling 8.52 million miles was too much to take on and
suggested I scope down. Honestly speaking, it was not too hard, and with the magic of
spreadsheets, I quickly realized I could trim a whopping 4.2 million miles off of the project (we
are talking almost 50% here) and still make it to Jupiter! It was beyond reasonable. How dare
someone ask me to cut more. So I pretended like my headphones were turned all the way up,
loaded up my rocket ship with all the fuel in the world, and blasted off.
Things were running smoothly; the spreadsheet had me on autopilot, no asteroids flew
by, and mars looked beautiful over the horizon. Then all of a sudden, with less than halfway to
go, a fuel light starts blinking. There is not enough fuel to get us to Jupiter. Turn around, turn
around! Wait… We do not have enough to get back to Earth… Just get back to Mars, we can pull
over there. Wait what? Mars is too far? Well now what… There is nothing wrong with dreaming
big, but there is something wrong with dreaming dangerously. Overscopeing was an incredible
learning experience for me, and I am incredibly fortunate it occured in a safe environment like

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school. However, one thing I know for sure is that scoping could have gone better, and ironically
enough, some of those spreadsheets were to communicate scope.
Resources come second to culture . I am not the only one who wonders why so many
game developers do not have a job making games, when every game studio has so many jobs
open. It makes me wonder if the need to know someone is true, or if maybe the listing is old and
the webpage was left and forgotten. Maybe I forget to list all the right keywords in my résumé
and cover letter. This project required intense recruitment, to the point of following through with
minimal vetting. I quickly learned that the most critical factor in bringing someone onto a team is
their ability to be a member of a team. A chain is as strong as the weakest link, and it only takes
one for the chain to break. I may hire the most skilled, well-trained engineer in the world, but if
they are unable to work with others, they are the worst engineer in the world. Moving forwards, I
now know to prioritize people over the resources.
No one realized page five comes after page four . Most books need to be read in order if
the reader expects the story to make sense. Narrative games bring forth a unique challenge in that
the narrative informs the design. In some cases, it might be easy to cut an unfinished level, or
remove a boring mechanic, but what if that level is where our hero is supposed to find the
sword? What if that mechanic is the jump feature in your skateboarding game? The impact could
be monumental.This project showed me that narrative design is a completely different
framework. We spent a lot of our time on story, as we did with design. However, we could have
been more cautious about our timeline, and attend to our core mechanic more aggressively, and
rather than write a story and make interesting mechanics, perfect an interesting mechanic and
write a story where it can be used a lot.

22
Spreadsheets will solve all your problems . They really will. They really, really will,
Virtually every spreadsheet has yielded me incredibly valuable information, and has allowed me
to categorize and visualize data in really boggling ways. What makes spreadsheets so powerful is
that much of what they do cannot be done anywhere else, whereas I could write with pencil and
paper in lieu of some word processing software on a computer. The problem with spreadsheets is
that they do way too many cool things, and many of those cool things can either take a long time
to figure out, possibly break, probably both, and definitely show you another amazing feature.
This is a risky path, depending on how you see data. In my case, I am obsessed with
spreadsheets, and a few times I found myself making my sheets too amazing, as some edits were
unnecessary, and took too long to prepare.
Planning is impossible . Mark Cerny said it himself (AIAS, 2012), and I couldn't agree
more. Pipelines are long, teams are huge, and the success of a game is dependent on whether or
not it is fun and people want to play it. While planning a full game might not be feasible,
planning phases are. This is why the phases found in Method are so valuable, as you work in
bursts, dedicate time to what is needed, and ensure success and perfection of the smaller parts
first. Then only build upon them if worth doing so.
Like anywhere else, planning a game is not possible. However, this is a partial
requirement in a graduate program, so planning is required. The overhead of having to
unconditionally follow an externally set timeline pressed me to think about timelines too
aggressively. I caught myself making overly definitive goals during sprints, basing them off of
the timeline, and not the project.

23
REFERENCES
AIAS [AcademyIAS]. (2012, June 21). D .I.C.E. summit 2002 - mark cerny [Video]. YouTube.
https://youtu.be/QOAW9ioWAvE .
Broken Rules. (2018). Old man’s journey [Video game]. Broken Rules.
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/old-mans-journey-switch/
Camp Santo Productions. (2018). Firewatch [Video game]. Panic Inc.
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/firewatch-switch/
ColdWood Interactive. (2016). Unravel [Video game]. Electronic Arts Inc.
https://www.ea.com/games/unravel/unravel/buy
ColdWood Interactive. (2019). Unravel two [Video game]. Electronic Arts Inc.
https://www.ea.com/games/unravel/unravel-two/buy
Fullbright. (2018). Gone home [Video game]. Annapurna Interactive.
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/gone-home-switch/
Grajqevci, Jeton (2000, October 9). Profile: Shigeru Miyamoto chronicles of a visionary . nsidr.
https://www.nsidr.com/archive/profile-shigeru-miyamoto
Hatfield, D. (2009, August 31). Top 25 consoles . IGN.
https://www.ign.com/top-25-consoles/9.html .
Infinite Fall. (2018). Night in the woods [Video game]. Finji.
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/night-in-the-woods-switch/
Lemarchand, R. (2020). A playful production process [Manuscript submitted for publication].
Interactive Media and Games Division, University of Southern California.

24
Loguidice, B., & Barton, M. (2014). Vintage game consoles: An inside look at Apple, Atari,
Commodore, Nintendo, and the greatest gaming platforms of all time . Focal Press.
Mountains. (2018). Florence [Video game]. Annapurna Interactive.
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/florence-switch/
Night School Studio, LLC. (2017). Oxenfree [Video game]. Night School.
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/oxenfree-switch/
Nintendo. (1996). Super mario 64 [Video game]. Nintendo.
Nintendo. (1985). Super mario bros. [Video game]. Nintendo.
Nintendo. (1989). Super mario land [Video game]. Nintendo.
Nintendo. (1991). Super mario world . [Video game]. Nintendo.
Nomada Studio. (2018). Gris [Video game]. Devolver Digital.
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/gris-switch/
Paumgarten, N. (2010, December 13). Master of play: The many worlds of a video game artist .
The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/12/20/master-of-play .
Rockstar San Diego. (2010). Red Dead Redemption [Video game]. Rockstar Games.
https://www.rockstargames.com/reddeadredemption/
Ubisoft Montpellier. (2018). Valiant hearts: The great war [Video game]. Ubisoft.
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/valiant-hearts-the-great-war-switch/
Ubisoft Montreal. (2018). Child of light: Ultimate Edition [Video game]. Ubisoft.
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/child-of-light-ultimate-edition-switch/
Virtuos. (2020). Bioshock remastered [Video game]. New York City, NY: Take-Two Interactive.
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/bioshock-remastered-switch/

25
Zoink. (2018). Fe [Video game]. Electronic Arts Inc.
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/fe-switch/

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Asset Metadata

Creator Linares, Nicholas (author)

Core Title Smile medicine: the playful approach to failing fast

School School of Cinematic Arts

Degree Master of Fine Arts

Degree Program Interactive Media

Publication Date 04/09/2020

Defense Date 04/08/2020

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

Tag agile,casual games,Cerny Method,Concentric Development,mobile games,OAI-PMH Harvest,Play,scrum,Unity,video game design,video game production

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Lemarchand, Richard (committee chair), Fullerton, Tracy (committee member), Nashak, Robert (committee member), Pagliarulo, Emil (committee member), Schyman, Garry (committee member)

Creator Email nicholas@nicholaslinares.com,nlinares@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-280922

Unique identifier UC11674765

Identifier etd-LinaresNic-8259.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-280922 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-LinaresNic-8259.pdf

Dmrecord 280922

Document Type Thesis

Rights Linares, Nicholas

Type texts

Source 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 a...

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