PLATO: a coordination framework for designers of multi-player real-time digital games

Abstract

Player coordination is a key element in many multi-player real-time digital games, and control over the design of these coordination requirements is an important part of developing successful games. However, it is currently difficult to describe or analyze coordination requirements in game situations, because current frameworks and theories do not mesh with the realities of video game design. We developed a new framework (called PLATO) that can help game designers understand and manipulate coordination episodes. The framework deals with five atomic aspects of coordinated activity: Players, Locations, Actions, Time, and Objects. PLATO provides a vocabulary, methodology and diagram notation for describing and analyzing coordination. We demonstrate the framework's utility by describing coordination situations from existing games, showing how PLATO can be used to understand and redesign coordination requirements.