3.01: Recognize social game interaction

Introduction The purpose of this unit is to introduce students to the social aspect present in popular game culture. One of the motivating factors in game playing is the social interaction achieved with multiplayer game environments. Players can play online with many other players creating a social aspect to the game. Games such as Sims Online created a community- building aspect as players worked through scenarios and role-play to maintain character health and happiness.

Types of social game formats Seven types of social interaction related to games  Two Player Games  Local 2-Player  Co-op Games  LAN-based multiplayer games  Online Multiplayer  Player vs Player  MMOGs, MMORPGs, MMORTSs and MMOFPs

Two-player Games: Two-player Games, also known as head-to-head games, pit one player again another. These games developed from single player arcade games. Players could select one or two players at the start of the game. Players take turns playing again the game and the winner is the player with the higher score or more successful against the game. The game, Double Dragon, changed this concept allowing two players to play against each other at the same time.

Local 2-Player In local player mode, all the players play at the same time on the same machine. They share the same input screen using multiple controllers. The game Rampage is an example.

Co-op Games In Co-op games, two or more players work together against the game. An early example MicroSurgeon, allowed player to find and destroy viruses in the body. Gauntlet, another example of a Co-op game, allowed players to assume different roles in order to kill monsters, ghosts, and demons.

LAN-based multiplayer games LAN-based multiplayer games used a local area network. Each player had his or her own input screen and controller. Game Boy could create a simple network using “gamelink” cables. Players could now hide information from other players unlike the old two-player arcade games. Players could now use their personal computers to play a multiplayer game. Many lunch breaks were spent this way.

Online multiplayer Online multiplayer is a type of network play where players connect their home PC’s to the Internet. These online games can be played by thousands of players at the same time. Crazy Arcade is an example of an online multiplayer game. These games usually run 24/7 and use a subscription-based system where players play a monthly fee to continue playing the game. These games also encourage players to form groups to solve problems together. Developers have learned these relationships formed while playing the game are strong insensitive for continuing the game experience. PVP

PVP or player vs. player Pits two players against one another usually in a combat scenario. The high interest develops when the players is actually working against another player instead of a computer generated monster.

MMOGs, MMORPGs, MMORTSs and MMOFPs. One of the biggest issues related to these types of games is how to balance social interaction with immersion. One of the benefits is the ability to meet new people from around the world. A problem associated with MMOG’s is player misbehavior. The Internet allows a player anonymity resulting in this rude, cheating, or fraudulent behavior. Puzzle Pirates is an example of a MMOPG.

MMOGs, MMORPGs, MMORTSs and MMOFPs Continued MMOG stands for massively multiplayer online games. It usually consists of thousands of players playing from around the world playing at the same time. MMORPG stands for massively multiplayer online role-playing games. MMOFP stands for massively multiplayer online first-person shooters games. MMORTS stands for massively multiplayer online real-time strategy games.

Player Roles As players inter a social network of the game they assume a role. Examples might include the archenemy, team leader, or a partner- in-crime. These roles continually shift as the game develops. These social roles are crucial to the games as play may shift and develop as the roles change. Even a simple game such as Trouble, players race around the board, some are trying to stay ahead, others chase players, and others are the bump backers. The chart below lists social roles taken from Brian Sutton-Smith’s “ A Syntax for Play and Games” in Child’s Play, a book he edited with R.E. Herron. Each role is created from the formal system of game playing.

Yes, you need this chart! Copy it! Role of ActorMotives of Play Role of Counteractor To overtakeRaceTo stay ahead To catch, tackle, tagChaseTo outdistance, dodge, or elude To overcome a barrier, enter a guarded area, overpower a defense, to injure psychologically or otherwise AttackTo defend an area or person, to ward off, to be on guard To take person, symbolCaptureTo avoid being taken To tease, taunt, lure; to mistake or unsuccessfully attach HarassmentTo see through, to move suddenly and punish an attacker, to bide time. To find by chance or clue (object or person) SearchTo hide, to cover or mislead, to feign To spring prisoner, to be saviorRescueTo be jailer, to guard against escape To temp another, forbidden actionSeductionTo resist, to have self-control

The Game Community A game play community develops any time players get together to play a game. The community continually changes and may be as small as two players playing a Dance game or as large a an internet poker community. The developers control the boundaries of the community with the game rules and roles. The community will evolve depending on the player’s personality, the interactions between the players, and the larger social context of the game. The community is more like a convention where players drop in and out instead of a sports team where the players are constant.

Game Community Cont’d Games are considered closed and open systems. The rules of the game are a closed environment where there is no outside exchange with the environment. The culture of the game is described as open when the community of players continually changes. The play of the game thought can be both open and closed. A closed play game would be bounded. The community starts as the game begins and disappears as the game concludes. The rules of the game have a big influence on the outcome of the game. The game is more of an artificial environment.

Game Community Cont’d The open play game has a group of players across several games and many different game sessions. Metagames would fit into this category. Metagames refer to the game beyond the basic game. The interplay that arises outside of the rules of the game.

Audiences All game developers must consider to whom the game will be marketed toward or the target audience. In order to understand the makeup of the audience, researchers study demographics about the given population. Demographics include relevant economic as well as social statistics about the population. Age, gender, income, and so forth are called demographic variables and are used to separate the audience into target groups called markets.

Audiences Cont’d Along with the basic demographics, the players of the game have special classifications. Player interest for playing a specific game falls into categories such as explorers, collectors, competitors, jokers, storytellers, and so forth. Similarly, the game industry has divided most all game players into two main groups:  Hard Core Players  Casual Players

Hard Core Players. These types of players usually play games over many long sessions and have frequent discussions at great length about the game. Hard core players are knowledgeable about the gaming industry and usually possess all of the latest games. Hard core players have desires to extend existing games creatively. They have a higher frustration level than casual players possess. They also engage in competition with themselves, the game, and others who play the game.

Casual players. These are the rest of the game players who are not hard-core players.

Disabilities and the game market. Video games can add accessibility options making a title usable to someone with disabilities. Video games can offer a number of benefits to these users. Research has discovered that playing sports games or fighting games helps distract children and young adults suffering from chronic pain (The Edmonton Journal, Feb 13th 2006). Games are being used for cancer treatment; weight control, and improved motor coordination. The game, Dance Dance Revolution has helped many children lose weight and gain motor development. The participation in activities enjoyed by the mainstream has opened a door to normality to many children as well as young adults. Adding these accessibility features can increase sales as well as improved PR from organizations that can benefit from the games.

VR in games. Virtual reality is the simulation of reality through technology. The use of VR can lessen the dangers associated with the real experience. VR can also heighten the experience and pleasure in a virtual world not possible in the real world. One of the major areas of VR is flight simulation for combat helicopter pilots. VR can provide a training environment in which mistakes are less permanent and costly than they would be in reality. VR has many potential military applications. Pilots, submarine captains, and tank commanders can be trained in complex VR simulators.

VR In Games cont’d VR is also likely to find successful applications in many forms of combat training. In VR dangerous chemicals and machinery can be handled and operated without physical danger to the user or users. In VR, it is desirable to learn from mistakes without suffering the consequences of those mistakes. Such is the case with training for the management of nuclear power stations or dangerous chemical plants.

VR In Games Cont’d VR can also allow a user to experience a period of history. Thus providing a useful way of teaching history, either in a school or a museum. The possible freedom provided by VR can carry serious ethical implications.  For example, users might have the freedom to commit rape and murder within the VR environment.

VR In the Future In the near future, it may be technically possible to construct VR in such a way that almost every possibility of the user's imagination can be fulfilled. Will designers or society place arbitrary limits on what is possible within VR? VR thus proposes exciting, intriguing, but dangerous possibilities. New technologies such as VR often raise serious ethical problems.