Continuing with the 2nd semester of the Mario Maker Workshop, the next two weeks will focus on understanding player skill. We use the DKART system (dexterity, knowledge, adaptation, reflex, and timing) for evaluating the skill players can exert through their gameplay. This week is all about REFLEX skills.

With WarioWare speed is everything, people have five seconds at most to grasp the way they have to play. How to best communicate this became the first problem we were confronted with. — Sakamoto

REFLEX is the skill of a moment. It deals with how you perceive the world in a moment and what you do with that information in the moment. Human sight makes up more than 80% of our key sensory information intake. Video games rely on visuals to a greater degree. For this reason, much of our breakdown of REFLEX skills deals with vision.

Sub-Facets of REFLEX

• Raw Reflex — Reacting to a single stimulus with a single input. The most basic kind of reflex test.
• Choice Reflex — Reacting to multiple stimuli (situations) with a different input required for each. In other words, if it does A, do B. If it does X, do Y.
• Dynamic Visual Acuity — The ability to clearly track moving objects, especially while your body/head is moving.
• Momentary Vision — The ability to instantly identify objects in your vision.
• Eye Movement — The ability to rapidly switch focus between targets.
• Peripheral Vision — The ability to spot objects that are outside the focus of vision.

The DKART system and the sub-facets of these skills give us a framework to compare effortful activity. The sub-facets build on top of the established science of human vision. (see video above for more details on DKART REFLEX).

For Mario platforms we express our REFLEX skill thusly...

• Raw Reflex — Surprise enemy appearances when moving quickly through a course (Piranha Plants, Lava Bubbles, Fire Bars). Also, reacting to the basic layout obstacles and pits when traveling quickly and jumping. The more momentum Mario has the less time there is to avoid dangerous landings.
• Choice Reflex — Most enemies and challenges in Mario are very simple and deterministic. Enemies typically do one thing and they do it without reacting much to the world around them. But a few enemies have variation to their attacks that create choice reflex situations: Magikoopa, Hammer Bros., Bowser Jr., Bowser.
• Dynamic Visual Acuity — A Mario challenge can have many elements moving and bouncing around. Properly tracking objects and anticipating where they will be stresses this sub-facet.
• Momentary Vision — Taking in the entire screen at a glance. Sometimes Mario enters rooms or moves into areas so quickly that the player must see everything instantly and make an informed decision.
• Eye Movement — Mario games do not typically feature enough detail that requires players to hard focus on an individual element to stay informed. However, to be the most precise with spacing, players have to determine distance with pixel accuracy. This often requires shifting focus between objects rapidly.
• Peripheral Vision — Mario generally stays in the center of the screen. Players constantly use peripheral vision to stay informed as they rapidly adjust their focus.

Assignment#7: DKART - Reflex

To learn more about RELFEX skills, the Workshop took on assignment #7. The challenge is to find examples in existing courses that stress a particular sub-facet of REFLEX skills. For the DKART Bingo, we had to scan through 2D Super Mario Bros. platformers in search of gameplay challenges (big or small) that stressed a particular sub-facet. And like the previous assignment, we had to create a triple-spread of examples while increasing the stress of the skill.

Recap Stream for Week 9

An extemporaneous stream in which KirbyKid recaps the week in detail. Content includes a walk through the DKART: Reflex submissions for Assignment #7.