Games Defined Robin Burke GAM 224 Spring 2004

Outline Administrativa Games and play Design Systems Interactivity Definitions The Magic Circle Primary Schemas Rules Play Culture

Admin Homework #1 Design groups

Reminders 1 st Design Milestone Group members today 1 st Reaction Paper Wednesday 1 st Analysis Milestone Choose your game next week

Games and Play What is this all about?

Why do we play? Many approaches to this question evolutionary psychological sociological cultural/historical

Why does it matter? If we are going to analyze and design games we need to understand what they are for How can we design without knowing why? How can we evaluate something without having a basis?

A Working Hypothesis Play is the exercise of our physical and mental capacities in a constrained, low-risk environment To play is to learn to get better at something in an environment of reduced stress Evolution has wired us to enjoy playing so that we work to master skills so that we learn a skill in a safe environment before needing it in a high-stakes one

Requirements Play must be low risk war is high-risk chess is low risk Play must be constrained rules for what is and is not part of the game Play must provide feedback otherwise no learning is possible

Characteristics of Play clearly separated from real life primary outcomes non-consequential freely engaged governed by agreed-upon rules Examples Tag, "House", "Cowboys and Indians" Chess, Monopoly, Old Maid Unreal Tournament, Sims Götterdammerung, Hamlet

Play  Game Play as part of a game a football "play" Play activities that aren't game-like playing "house"

Characteristics Game-like Beginning and end Fixed rules Central objective Play-like No game objective Rules may be improvised

Design We will approach games from the standpoint of design What do designers of games do? What do they think about?

Designing a Game "Design is a process by which a designer creates a context to be encountered by a participant, from which meaning emerges." Designer individual or larger group Context physical: spaces, objects non-physical: behaviors, rules Participants players possibly spectators Meaning the relationships between actions and outcomes

Meaningful Play Relationship between action and outcome always present the quality of this relationship makes the play meaningful Discernability can the player tell that an action has been successful? Integrated each action should impinge on the final outcome

Counter-examples Blindfolded Tennis players have regular tennis rackets, court and rules but they have to play blindfolded Songball players play slow-pitch softball but when a runner reaches a base, he/she must sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" before proceeding to the next

Meaning Game behaviors are more meaningful if the player can discern success and failure the behavior has a direct connection to the overall outcome The game must communicate to the player "you did it wrong" "you're close to winning" How to do this?

Semiotics 1 Meaning is encoded in signs verbal, gestural, sartorial, etc. Example architectural configuration the necktie a yellow ribbon

Semiotics 2 The sign has two parts signifier the expression that is made signified what the expression represents The meaning of a signifier is conventional "ya" means "I" in Russian, but "yes" in German hitchhiker's gesture

Semiotics 3 Decoding a sign is interpretation How the sign is interpreted depends on the interpreter the context Games establish a context for signs words, actions, symbols, visual cues the designer creates signifiers for the important elements of the game the player must learn to extract their meaning

Semiotics 4 Meaning is created by the interpretation of signifiers in context A game designer creates a new context with new meanings using particular signifiers But not in a vacuum signifiers are usually borrowed from the wider culture the design may rely on aspects of their conventional meaning

Example: Chess Signifiers shapes of pieces names for pieces Cultural Meanings powerful societal roles In-Game Meanings ability to move ability to control space Think about the "King"

Game Design What does the designer design? rules, yes but also materials, constraints The designer builds a game system a system of meaning rules are a part

System We will treat games as systems

Systems System a group of interacting, interrelated elements forming a complex whole Components Objects Attributes Relationships Environment

Game Objects The "pieces" what the player manipulates Also the "board" the space in which manipulation occurs Examples chess pieces a 3-D rendered avatar a basketball court

Object Attributes The potentialities of the piece where can it go to what effect The characteristics of the play space what can be done and where Examples the characteristic "L" move of the knight the "health" meter for a game character the number of points scored when a ball goes through the hoop

Relationships The actual state of game at any time how the elements are situated in the play space Examples a "fork" in chess a cleared level in a computer game a full-court press in basketball

Environment The context of the game who is playing what parameters have been established Example a chess match in a public park a gaming session in someone's dorm room a high-stakes college tournament

Open vs Closed A closed system is one in which there is no interchange with the environment An open system is one in which the system changes in response to its environment Example You might allow an inexperienced opponent to "take back" a move in Chess

Systems at Different Levels Formal systems defined by symbols / objects the rules for their manipulation Experiential systems the players their experience of the game Cultural systems the game itself its role in society

Example Tag

Definition Game a game is a system in which players engage in an artificial conflict defined by rules that results in a quantifiable outcome

Conflict Is conflict important?

"New Games" Movement Group founded by Stewart Brand in the late 60s invented the "Earth Ball" and "parachute" games Promotion of play and improvision De-emphasis of competition

Conflict 1 Conflict is not the same as competition Conflict is the struggle to win It may be struggle against the game itself against nature and human limits against other individuals against other teams

Conflict 2 Many play activities do not involve conflict no sense of struggle no sense of a goal to be sought Conflict means struggle towards a central aim without the aim, no meaningful action without struggle, no challenge

Basic Forms of Conflict Indirect (Race) try to out-do the other player no interfering with performance Direct (Fight) try to inhibit the other player's performance

Artificial Conflict What makes game conflict artificial is its boundaries Consequences in the game are not real Loss is not permanent The game is repeatable What about gambling?

Interactivity Interactivity distinguishes a game from a movie the player takes actions that affect the way the game proceeds Can be interpreted at different levels

Modes of Interaction Cognitive psychological, emotional, and intellectual involvement "I am a cyborg warrior" Utilitarian involvement with a specific interface "Which button changes weapons?" Explicit interaction with designed choices and procedures "I have to kill all these enemies to get to the next level: External interaction outside of the system "I'm writing a walk-through for this game"

Choice An interaction is made up of choices small-scale choices that may add up to larger ones Tactics individual actions and outcomes Strategy the overall plan of action

"Choice Molecules" What are the lowest level explicit choices that the player can make? What are the central action  outcome pairs?

Decomposing choice State of the game what is the context in which the choice is available? Choice affordance how does the player know what is possible? Action mechanism how is the player's choice communicated to the game? Results what are the results of the choice? Result expression how does the player know the result?

Example Pac-Man

Breakdowns of Interaction A game may fail because it doesn't manage choices well Problems what do I do now? affordance problem arbitrary choice results problem unexpected failure expression problem

Characteristics of Computer Interaction Tight feedback high velocity without risk Multi-media video, sound, animation Complex game system machine can keep track of complex state and rules Automated opponent possible to play against the machine Communication possibly to play against remote opponent

Boundaries Distinction between games and other play activities beginning and end definite state of playing vs not playing Boundaries are crucial "magic circle"

"Magic Circle" A game is defined by its boundaries space: court, game board, display time: game clock To play the game you enter the "real world" is excluded When the game is over you exit real world takes over

Entering Entering the magic circle begins play The game system takes hold Objects inhere with their meanings signified by the game rules Outside objects are ignored You adopt the "lusory" (player's) attitude

Lusory Attitude Playing a game requires a certain attitude willingness to adopt the rules willingness to cooperate in keeping it "fun" willingness to accept the experience as "just a game" Without the attitude there is no play: "spoilsport"

Example Monopoly To become a player means not stealing from the bank it might satisfy the game's goal but it is not part of the game not quitting / disrupting when losing prevents the other players from playing not being vindictive afterwards

Real World In the real world you may prepare to play you may study the rules you may exercise

Boundary-challenging games Some games challenge the magic circle Extend the game through everyday life "Assassin" Force players to interact with non-players LARP Establish real-world consequences for game actions gambling professional sports

Where do we go from here? Decompose the game design problem into dimensions

Primary Schemas Different ways to understand games Different considerations in design Schemas Rules what is the formal structure of the game? Play what is the players' experience of the game? Culture what are the cultural contexts in which the game is embedded?

Our Units Rules 4/11-4/27 Play 5/2-5/16 Culture 5/18-6/1

Wednesday Game case study Reaction paper