A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO WINNING AND LOSING HOW PLAYERS DEAL WITH SHAME, GLORY, AND EACH OTHER

1. A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO WINNING AND LOSING HOW PLAYERS DEAL WITH SHAME, GLORY, AND EACH OTHER GAME LECTURE JONAS HEIDE SMITHSMITH@ITU.DK

4. AGENDA THE THEORY OF WINNING AND LOSING THE REALITY OF PLAY WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

5. WHAT DO PLAYERS WANT? 1: A Challenge 2: To socialize 3: A dynamic solitary experience 4: Bragging Rights 5: An emotional experience 6: To explore 7: To interact RICHARD ROUSE TO WIN?

6. HOW DO PLAYERS BEHAVE? “[letting] the objective guide our behaviour in the game [is] the basic transaction we make with Games” GREG COSTIKYAN “Gamers’ own thinking about styles of play and the identities they underwrite are a conflation of design characteristics and emergent culture of the context of the MMOG they inhabit, situated within the myriad of contexts they themselves encounter with others, with some configurations of constructs evoked for sense-making in some social/material contexts, other configurations evoked in order to explain others. They are therefore complicated and necessarily messy.” CONSTANCE STEINKUEHLER

7. HOW DO PLAYERS BEHAVE? Game design Game studies Rational Player model (Game-centered approach) Active Player model (Player-centered approach)

8. GOALS OBJECTIVE GOALS SUBJECTIVE GOALS Proximate Ultimate

9. AGENDA THE THEORY OF WINNING AND LOSING THE REALITY OF PLAY WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

10. A STUDY OF PLAYER BEHAVIOUR Fifa 2004 Champions of Norrath Mashed: Drive to Survive Fully competitive Fully cooperative Semi-cooperative

11. A STUDY OF PLAYER BEHAVIOUR

12. A STUDY OF PLAYER BEHAVIOUR 3 types of test Player 1: ()... Sådan! Nu ved jeg hvordan man gør. Det er bare r1 lige så snart I har et våben. Player 2: (kigger på sin controller) Player 1: Bare den her (viser knap på controller) Player 2: Okay Player 3: Hvad så bruger man det? Player 1: Så bruger man sit våben Player 2: Det synes jeg ikke fungerer () Player 1: () Player 3: Nå det virkede meget fint, nå okay Player 1: He. Arrh come on (ærgerlig, læner hovedet tilbage). Pis. Jeg glemmer hele tiden det der fucking sving. Observation of model-contradicting behaviour Statistical test of relationship between code and game Reflections on code function and particular instances

13. Do players want to win? Yes, but fairly Victory should not be a consequence of information assymetry

14. Magic circles?

15. How do you win and lose? • Previous research suggests: • Conspicuous self-handicap • Goal redefinition

16. How do you win and lose?

17. How do you win and lose? My research supports the idea that: Losers become very frustrated

18. SUPERIOR PLAYERS Nobility handicap Concrete handicap Play to win Visible sacrifice

19. How do you win and lose? Rational play is mitigated by verbal communication.

20. But the ”game contract” defines the inter-player relationship

21. What have we learned? • Players understand and accept objective goals • Players seek a level playing field • Winners may handicap themselves • Losers may lose interest (or redefine the game goals)

22. AGENDA THE THEORY OF WINNING AND LOSING THE REALITY OF PLAY WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

23. WHAT YOU NEED TO DO Study the dynamics of goal redefinition Study the effects of group size Study the effects of competitiveness (vs. casualness) Study how player perceptions match player behaviour Study the effects of gender distribution

24. WHAT YOU NEED TO DO Design interesting handicaps for superior players Design interesting activities for inferior players

25. Thanks for your attention smith@itu.dk www.jonassmith.dk