Social Play Robin Burke GAM 224

Outline Admin Rules paper Design project Social Play

Rules paper Grades AA----- BBB+++- CC++-- DDD+ RWRW

Rewrites Must May Rewrite due date Grading RW grade or C- or below anybody but grade is not guaranteed to go up Rewrite due date 2/27 Must submit original graded assignment and new hard copy As well as to turnitin.com Grading (2 * rewrite_grade + original_grade) / 3 example: Rewrite = A, Original = C- (2*4 + 1.67) / 3 = 3.22 = B / B+

Problems Citation 2nd citation Unsupported assertions Correct Grand Theft Auto III Rockstar Games, 2001, Playstation 2. Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman, Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2004), 390. Incorrect anything else 2nd citation none necessary for the game Salen and Zimmerman, 232. Unsupported assertions "World of Warcraft is the most popular MMORPG ever." Might be true needs to be supported with a citation – according to whom?

Thesis More specific is better In many cases Blah Better "Halo 2 shows a lot of emergence." Better "The weapons systems in Halo 2 are tightly coupled with many aspects of the game generating emergent gameplay at both the strategic and tactical levels." In many cases the conclusion of the paper contained a good thesis statement grab this and put it in front

Focus Do not "brain dump" Example Warning sign the description of the game's premise should be just enough to get the reader started should focus on those areas that matter for your argument Example Unfocused "Madden has rules about .... [2 pages of description]" Focused "The main conflicts in Madden are set up by the standard rules of NFL football and the operational rules for controlling the game.... [2 or 3 paragraphs about these rules]" Warning sign Your paragraphs are too long 10 lines maximum otherwise you probably don't know what your point is

Focus cont'd A 5-page paper is very short You cannot argue persuasively for more than one or two points Many papers tried to do too much every conflict in a game every game theoretic decision Pick the most significant points that support your case argue them in depth with concrete examples from the game Don't slavishly follow my outlines if it doesn't apply, don't mention it

Proofreading The spellchecker is no substitute for human judgment loose (happens to shoelaces) lose (happens in a game) their (belonging to them) there (location reference) intact (together) in tacked (?)

#1 Tip Read your paper out loud You will learn if your overall argument holds together if your syntax is garbled if you are rambling on and on if your transitions are abrupt

Schemas Emergence Game theory Conflict ≠ finding two object coupled together the start button is coupled to the beginning of the game you are looking for a system in which one object / behavior / variable is highly coupled to many other things Game theory ≠ finding decisions that balance risk / reward what is the larger system of such decisions? how does the player learn about the risks and rewards? Conflict ≠ identifying one or two types of conflict that are present what is the system of conflict? how do different types of conflict interact?

Halo

Social Play What is going on here? The play is not just on the screen it is in the room between the players between the audience and the players

Social Play This is the foundation of most pre-computer games the only way to have an opponent Important factor in play experience how else to explain "Thunderstorm"?

Social organization Internally-derived Externally-derived the game assign social roles to players or game roles with social consequences Externally-derived the players bring their own relationships to the game

Play community We talk about the community that forms around a game an instance of a game (a game in play) Can be large Players + spectators + referees + hot dog vendors + .... bounded game community Different from the community that forms around a game in order to promote it and share experiences unbounded game community

Roles Roles are sets of characteristic behaviors Example enabled or required by the game rules taking a role often requires other players to assume opposing roles Example "it" vs the rest in a game of tag offensive vs defensive team in football

Roles cont'd Games let players assume many social roles Sometimes very different from their normal ones thug cyborg warrior king But with distance with low risk "it's only a game" Some people (usually non-gamers) find social role experimentation disturbing but this is not different from informal play

Roles in MMORPGs Achievers Explorers Socializers Killers / Griefers want to achieve the highest levels and best gear will explore in order to do so will socialize to learn more Explorers want to see more of the game know the most about the map know all of the spells and abilities Socializers want to make friends and engage in group activities will accumulate levels as necessary to keep up with group Killers / Griefers want to exercise power over others will accumulate levels / gear in order to be able to cause more harm

Designing for roles Game design can enhance or inhibit roles Turn off / allow player vs player combat = discourage / encourage the "killer" role Enhance player to player communication = encourage "socializer" role Release constant geographic expansions = keep "explorer" types busy Make some quests unachievable by single individual = require socializing by "achievers" Some games do all of these things to try to satisfy all of the audiences

Emergent social phenomena Rules have social consequences Not always predictable how they will be realized May result in unexpected gameplay scenarios Some games try to eliminate this Bridge partners are screened from each other to prevent signals other than standard bidding conventions

Assassin (Fall 2005) individual vs individual Consequences Explanation one target per person randomly assigned restrictions on kill locations Consequences after an initial burst of kills nothing no movement for weeks numerous rule changes to speed things up ultimately dropped players with no kills left active players Explanation "lying low" was very successful social networks too sparse

Assassin (Winter 2006) team vs team Consequences Explanation assimilation rule zombie rule no location restrictions Consequences faster paced game (may be over by next week) students skipping class Explanation social networks larger possibilities for teamwork

Emergence Couplings occur not just with in-game objects and behaviors But also with external individuals and relationships Can be hard to predict

Rules as social contract Remember that play exists as a safe space for conflict Rules mutually-agreed upon binding repeatable Play requires agreement agreement generates a social relationship social relationships require "negotiation" to maintain

Rule negotiation The game becomes a place where social relationships are expressed "House rules" Players agree to follow their own rules may allow violations of standard rules may enforce normally implicit rules Social tensions in the play community may be expressed as conflict over rules Book's example Foursquare "Rooie Rules"

Rule negotiation cont'd Not available (yet) in single-player games But always possible in multi-player games limiting factor: tools for communication Example WoW communication with opposite faction very, very limited gameplay reason sense of distance and hostility to opposing side

Rule breaking Unsportsmanlike Cheater Spoil-sport follows the rules but doesn't acknowledge the play community violates the spirit of the game Cheater violates the rules in order to win wants unfair advantage but is still playing Spoil-sport violates the magic circle denies the game its space

Forbidden play Play with social relationships can turn into play that explores taboo areas of behavior The game creates distance in which (otherwise) unacceptable acts are contained and removed Example "I killed my professor today"

"Spin the Bottle" Rules What does the kiss mean? 1 player in the middle, the rest in a circle center player spins a bottle kisses the player pointed to What does the kiss mean? execution of an operational rule play relationship satisfaction of a desire for intimacy romantic relationship The game generates deliberate ambiguity

"Spin the Bottle" cont'd Play with social roles allows "trying on" social possibilities with lower risk without all of the normal consequences

Cybering using the socialization mechanics of an on-line game to create forbidden romantic / sexual play

Unbounded community How wide does the social network of a game spread? can be very large 5 million World of Warcraft subscribers (1/6) Not all on-line together or in the same realm But there are other means of connection blogs fan sites guilds

Guilds social organizations mutual support in-game group activities specifically for ORPG players mutual support in-game group activities might have tens or hundreds of members

Design questions What kinds of social relationships do you want the game to support / discourage? What tools do players need to enable these relations? Can social networks help market the game and draw in new players?

Monday Presentations submit the powerpoint slides by Sunday night