Social Play Robin Burke GAM 224
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Transcript Social Play Robin Burke GAM 224
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
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
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
Blah
• "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"
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
≠ finding two object coupled together
• the start button is coupled to the beginning of the game
Game theory
≠ finding decisions that balance risk / reward
you are looking for a system in which one object / behavior /
variable is highly coupled to many other things
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 precomputer games
the only way to have an opponent
Important factor in play experience
how else to explain "Thunderstorm"?
Social organization
Internally-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
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
want to see more of the game
know the most about the map
know all of the spells and abilities
Socializers
want to achieve the highest levels and best gear
will explore in order to do so
will socialize to learn more
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
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
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
follows the rules but doesn't acknowledge
the play community
violates the spirit of the game
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
The game creates distance
can turn into play that explores taboo areas
of behavior
in which (otherwise) unacceptable acts
are contained and removed
Example
"I killed my professor today"
"Spin the Bottle"
Rules
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?
Not all on-line together
can be very large
5 million World of Warcraft subscribers (1/6)
or in the same realm
But there are other means of connection
blogs
fan sites
guilds
Guilds
social organizations
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