Rules of Play chapters 22 – 24

Chapter 22 – More play definitions
Again we go over the games are a subset of play and play is an element of games circle
Play can be organized into three categories: 1 game play formalized and focused 2 Lucid activities none game behaviors 3 being playful – playful state of mind / spirited play
Another definition: play is free movement within a more rigid structure
Review of Caillois four fundamental categories – agon: competitive play alea: chance based play mimicry: simulation or make believe ilinx: vertigo or physical game play

Chapter 23 Games as the play of experience
Participation is key to play experience
Sutton-Smith model for psychological processes of videogames: 1 concentration 2 visual scanning 3 auditory discriminations 4 motor responses 5 perceptual patterns of learning
System of any game: 1 input 2 output 3 internal processes
Core mechanic is the moment by moment experience of a game player
Game experience is directly defined by the rules

Chapter 24 Games as the play of pleasure
Pleasure is intrinsic to games
They provide autoletic pleasures – experiences persured for their own sake
Players must be seduced into the magic circle and held there
Flow is the pleasure one continues to get as they play the game
Effects of flow include 1 merging of action and awareness 2 concentration 3 loss of self conscious 3 transformation of time
To have flow a game must have: 1 challenging activity 2 goals 3 feedback 4 feeling of no control in an uncertain situation
Goal of the game helps create and experience pleasure
Games must have short term goals
Games can condition and reinforce behaviors
Games must be challenging
Addiction is a positive outcome of games

Squire, K. (2002). Cultural Framing of Computer/Video Games. the international journal of computer game research

Past research suggests students did no better after playing a game. Games must be closely tied to learning outcomes and learning characteristics must be paid attention to. Understanding how learning occurs during game play and how it can be used to support traditional learning environments should be a key focus of educational research. Activity Theory – theoretical framework for understanding how human activity is mediated by tools and cultural contexts.

Costikyan, G. (1994). I have no words but I must design. Interactive Fantasy #2.

More what is a game discussion: Its not a puzzle, or a toy or a story, it must have participation, decision making, goals, opposing forces, a player must manage resources, include game tokens or artifacts. Diplomacy, simulation, good use of color, variety, socialization, role playing and narration all make games stronger.

Gee, J.P. (2006). Learning and Games. In K. Salen (Ed.), The Ecology of Games, pp. 21–40. Cambridge, MIT Press.

Learning in a game helps attract and keep players in the magic circle.
Situated Learning Matrix  – brings game design and modern learning theory together : includes goals, interpretation, feedback, explanation, practice and social interaction. Models and modeling are important in learning games as they are in traditional practice.  Representation is a key component of both learning spaces.  Microcontrol in a learning game is important as it has well-known cognitive effects. It gives humans new experiences they normally wouldn’t have. Distributed intelligence: use of tools and your own knowledge. Motivation and ownership and motivation are evident and important in games. Situated meanings / environments allow transfer to real-life situations.

Game play analysis for this week: Playing a console game

Rules of Play: chapters 3,7,8,9,11-13

Chapter 3
Meaningful play is the goal of successful game design. MP can be described as descriptive – how games create meaning through play – and evaluative – describes why some games are more meaningful than others.
Official definitions:
Descriptive MP: comes about when a player takes action within the game and the game responds to that action.
Evaluative MP: occurs when relationships between actions and outcomes are evident and integrated in the game.

Chapter 7
Games are a subset of play – lots of playful activities but not all of them are games
Play is a subset of games – games are complex and contain rules, play and culture – play is contained within games.
Games: A system with conflict, rules and an outcome.

Chapter 8
Digital games are one aspect of a larger game system
Digital games have four traits: 1 immediate but narrow interactivity 2 manipulation of information 3 automated complex systems 4 networked communication
It doesn’t matter what type of game one is designing – core elements of games remain the same

Chapter 9
Magic circle: space in which a game takes place where rules create meaning.
Lusory attitude: state of mind one needs to have to enter a game where one subjects themselves to the rules of the game.

Chapter 11
Rules of a game make up its formal structure. They limit player action, are explicit and unambiguous, shared by others, are fixed and binding and are repeatable

Chapter 12
Three levels of game rules
1 constitutive – abstract mathematical  2 operational – general ones that are followed during play 3 implicit – house rules / etiquette that is understood

Chapter 13
Rules of the game are generally the same as non-digital games

Game Design Reader

What is a game? pp. 77-81
Discusses different philosophers definitions of a game: Bjork Holopainen: the definition is a design tool. For Suits it is a philosophical device. For Juul, Caillois. The definition creates a new field of study. For Costikyan it justifies creative practice. In the end, there are many different, overlapping game definitions.

Definition of play and classification of games. pp 122-155
More tennents of play – they must be activities that are free, separate, uncertain, unproductive, governed by rules, make-believe.
- Leyden J. Huizinga “The Cultural Limits of Play and the Serious”

Nature and Significance of Play as a Cultural Phenomenon pp. 96-120
Essay that served as the opening chapter of Huizinga’s book Homo Ludens: A study of Play Element in Culture.  Published in 1938, the title is a play on Homo Sapiens where Ludens means player – thus man the player.  He discusses more elements of play – that it is free and not ordinary. Discusses the magic circle, play-ground with rules, limited time and space. Players must be absorbed in gameplay. Play includes action, representation and recreation.

The Game, the Player, the World Looking for the Heart of Gameness – J, Juul

This article reviews previous definitions of games and then proposes a new definition with six game features: 1 Games are rule based, 2 have variable quantifiable outcomes  3 with value, 4 players must put forth effort,  5 the player is attached to the outcome and 6 there are negotiable consequences.

Game play analysis for this week: Physical Poker vs. Online Poker