Information Analysis of Gameplay - jeutn/omg-research-project GitHub Wiki

(Olle Skold, Suellen Adams, J. Tuomas Harvianen, Isto Huvila) - All games provide information implicitly and explicitly. How information is presented influences the player's actions and consequences. It is useful to analyse information as it will inform programming decisions when digitising. Information can be categorised into open, hidden, derived or social information. These categories directly influence how players make decisions, form strategies, and evaluate outcomes. In the context of digitisation, maintaining clarity and visibility of this information is critical to supporting player reasoning.

Open information

Open information refers to all elements that are fully visible to all players at any given time.

This includes:

  • Cards revealed in the shared market display
  • Buildings constructed on each player’s building site
  • Available/active workers and assistants
  • Current resource availability (from the market and visible production chains)

This information allows players to:

  • Assess what resources are currently accessible
  • Evaluate possible production outcomes
  • Compare visible progress between players

Clear presentation of open information is essential for supporting informed decision-making. Players rely on this visibility to plan production, choose workers, and anticipate outcomes, perhaps even using other player's plays as a marker to work harder or take a more relaxed approach. This is information that must be invariant in digitisation.

Hidden information

Hidden information includes elements not immediately visible to players, and also includes information only known to the individual player.

This includes:

  • Cards remaining in the deck (future market reveals)
  • Cards in other players’ hands
  • Face-down or unbuilt building choices
  • Future production outcomes before resolution

Hidden information introduces uncertainty, requiring players to:

  • Make assumptions about future resource availability
  • Anticipate possible outcomes of the final market display reveal
  • Infer opponent strategies based on limited cues

This uncertainty is central to the game’s strategic depth, as players must commit to decisions without full knowledge, balancing risk and reward. In digitisation, there must be a balance between open and hidden information, as we don't want to reveal too much or too little at any point in time. Too much information might make the game 'too easy' and not cognitively challenging enough, or too little might render the game unplayable as players are unsure of how to progress.

Derived information

Derived information is not directly shown but can be inferred from available data.

This includes:

  • Probabilities of certain resources appearing based on revealed cards
  • Likelihood of successful production
  • Efficiency of different production chains
  • Opponent strategies based on their building choices and actions

This type of information is critical for strategic planning and optimisation, as players mentally simulate outcomes and evaluate trade-offs. This is the main focus in this study of digitisation of a physical game, since derived information influences player's decision-making and thought processes. Even with players who don't necessarily play strategically, a digital implementation could help them in their gameplay with the final aim of producing the most profit.

In digitisation, derived information can be supported by:

  • Probability indicators
  • Production previews
  • Visual links between resources and outputs
  • 'Recommended' decisions using visual cues

These tools can reduce cognitive load while maintaining the need for strategic reasoning.

Social information

While the game Oh My Goods! is not necessarily a social collaborative game, it does involve some sort of sociality. Social information arises from observing other players’ actions and behaviours.

This includes:

  • Which buildings opponents choose to produce from
  • Worker types selected (risk-taking vs safe play)
  • Timing of decisions and hesitation
  • Long-term patterns in building and resource choices

Players use this information to:

  • Infer opponent strategies
  • Predict future actions
  • Adjust their own decisions accordingly

In digital environments, social information is often reduced due to the lack of physical cues. To compensate, digitisation can:

  • Clearly display opponent actions
  • Provide action logs or summaries
  • Highlight key decisions made by other players