Culture

1. Culture Robin Burke GAM 224

2. Outline • Culture • Cultural Rhetoric

3. Play paper • Due today

4. Culture paper • Due 3/16

5. Design project • Katamari Damacy level • Theme • "Election" • Tasks • Map design • Item inventory • Item placement / trajectory planning • Very interrelated

6. Teams • Team A • Adreani,Ray • Echo,John • Garcia,Cesar (L) • Pellman,Scott  • Team B • DiMaso,Michael • Baldwin,Michael • Bare,Travis • Hodgson,Brady (L) • Team C • Martin,Bryce • Meyer,Grant  • Carlsen,Alec (L) • Team D • Pina,Albert  • Mulvey,Kalli • Avalos,Llecenia (L) • Team E • Pawlak,Joseph  • Wit,Sam • Gitchell,Mathew (L)

7. Culture • undefineable term • Geertz • "Man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun...I take culture to be those webs, and the analysis of it to be therefore not an experimental science in search of law but an interpretative one in search of meaning"

8. Social vs Cultural • A given group might play a game regularly • Friday night poker game • we would probably call this a “social” phenomenon • limited in impact and scope • small well-defined group of participants • A cultural phenomenon is one with broader impact • all of a city’s regular poker players • all of the people who watch World Series of Poker

9. Culture • for our purposes • everything outside the magic circle • what comes • before the game • after the game • surrounds the game • the context of the game

10. Games and Culture! • Shani Davis • 2006 Olympics • Race • Class • Nationality • History • Global Business

11. Games and Culture! • Business • Medicine • Law • History • Race

12. Games and Culture! • September 12th • http://www.newsgaming.com/games/index12.htm

13. Many Relevant Contexts • popular culture • the images in games • the ties between games and movies, manga, etc. • business • the ways in which games are made and marketed • the ancillary businesses around games (magazines, retailers, etc.) • fan-dom • the ways that devotees invest energy and creativity into particular games • the communities that rise up around games • technology • the technical requirements of games and their effect on the evolution of computer systems • gender • the way that masculine and feminine identities are rendered in games

14. Culture-before I • Designer borrows from the wider culture • signifiers • the red cross • themes • the hero tale • images • the witch • sounds • fanfare • This background is (ideally) shared with the player • players from other cultures may need to learn some things

15. Culture-before II • Designer borrows from specific movies, books and/or games • licenses / sequels • Knights of the Old Republic II • adaptation • Sly Cooper = Splinter Cell for kids • Player's expectations are shaped by references to other cultural artifacts

16. Culture-after I • Designers may license game characters to other media • movies • Lara Croft • Designers may let users build onto their games • new levels • UnrealEd and tools • new content • Sims tools • Counter Strike • Users may do unexpected things with games • machinima

17. Culture-after II • Players may organize communities around games • trading tips, hacks, cheat codes, FAQ files • trading mods, player-created content • group play • organized competitions

18. Culture-surrounding I • Players interpret the game • using their individual knowledge and cultural background • Players play the game • using techniques and expectations derived from other games • using expectations derived from real-world experiences

19. Culture-surrounding II • Players may play in a variety of environments • arcade or Internet cafe • solitary • group setting • public competitive setting

20. Game Culture • Any of these aspects are fair game for a cultural understanding of games • Designers can choose to ignore culture • but that doesn't mean they are free of it • it just means they will be ignorant about it • Observers • can use culture as an avenue to interpret a game's meaning, its "web of significance" • can use the game as an avenue to interpret the culture that gives rise to it • the "web of significance" is always tied to the larger culture in some way

21. Cultural Rhetoric • rhetoric • The art or study of using language effectively and persuasively. • We mean • the way that a game contains an implicit argument for a set of cultural presuppositions

22. How is a game an argument? • Rules • the rules reward certain actions and not others • implicitly valuing one choice over another • Example: KOTOR, Fable • the rules require the player to prevail in certain types of conflict • implying what types of conflict are important and how they can be resolved • Example: Civilization III • Play • the play of the game demands certain activities be performed • implicitly valuing one type of activity • Example: Civilization III vs Warcraft III • the game makes certain activities and events pleasurable • implying that certain things are or should be enjoyable • Example: Katamari Damacy

23. Transmission / Reception • The presence of a particular cultural rhetoric • may indicate an explicit design choice by the designer • but not always • The impact of a game on its players • may indicate acceptance of its rhetoric by those players • but not always

24. What are games for? • A review will be predicated on a notion of the purpose of games • Are they • for the instruction of the young? • a frivolous waste of time? • an arena for displaying mastery? • a theater of the imagination?

25. "Rhetorics of Play" • Sutton-Smith's list of different conceptions of play • Play as Progress • Stance • Play is how we (especially children) learn • Enabled by • core mechanic emphasizing desirable skills • moralistic narrative • Play as Identity • Stance • To play is to cement group bonds and ground identity • Enabled by • emphasis on social play • rules reward collaborative effort • non-zero sum • Play as Power • Stance • To play is to display prowess and defeat lesser players • Enabled by • play involving skill or strategic reasoning or both • Also: Fate, Imaginary, Self, Frivolity

26. Controversy about Games • Many arguments about video games • reduce to a fundamental disagreement about what games are for • Play as Progress is very dominant • The premise • "games are for kids" • although most consumers are adults • Visible in controversies over mature themes in games • "games educate kids" • "Grand Theft Auto teaches what?" • Play as Identity is problematic • because the site of identity is invisible to outsiders • Visible in discussions of game "addiction" • the claim is that this identity is somehow "empty" because the game is a virtual experience

27. Game Criticism • We ask the question • "What does Katamari Damacy say?" • The same as we might ask • "What does Hamlet say?" • For literature • we call this literary criticism • For games • we might call it game criticism • not really a recognized activity yet

28. Not Reviewing • A review tells us • how a game works • whether it is "fun" • whether it is "good" • an response relative to some criteria for success • A critical response • tells us how the game may be understood • how it resonates with the culture beyond the game

29. The critical stance • To do criticism • we will start with certain aspects of the culture • relate aspects of the game to those features • and see what we find • Could be seen as a "game" • some literary theorists think so • But it is a serious game • because literary texts are given serious cultural weight in our society • for example • post-colonial interpretations of The Tempest • Many possible approaches

30. Biographical / Historical • Traditional interpretive approach • A work is the product on an individual • What does the work tell us about the creator? • What aspects of the creator's style are exemplified? • How does this object fit in with others? • Game Example • SimCity • Talk about • designer Will Wright • his other games • how we can understand SimCity as part of his evolution as a game designer

31. New Criticism / Structuralism • Emerged in 1920s • an alternative to traditional author/artist-centered criticism • Formalist approach • Who cares about the author? • What are the properties of the object itself? • formal structure • qualities of parts and whole • Game Example • Asteroids • Talk about • what we've talking about all quarter • rules, play experiences deriving from them • our book basically takes a structuralist perspective

32. Marxist • Takes social phenomena as its starting point • especially social class • Questions • How does a work reflect the society that gave rise to it? • How does a work make visible the power relationships that govern a given society? • Game Example • Missile Command • Talk about • The Cold War • how does the game reflect a particular social milieu? • who is the player and what is his role?

33. Psychoanalytic • Derives from the works of Freud • Questions • How does the work reflect subconscious experience? • How do typical psychological themes manifest themselves? • Game Example • Windwaker • Talk about • "The Hero's Journey" • typical fairy-tale motif and archetypes • template for psychological maturation • more later

34. Feminist • Takes questions of gender to be paramount • Questions • What gendered relationships appear in the work? • What cultural assumptions about gender are inherent in it? • Game Example • Katamari Damacy • Talk about • gendered characterizations • King • Prince • boy and girl • mother and father • More on Wednesday

35. Post-structuralist • Seeks to "turn the work against itself" • to demonstrate that interpretation is in some sense "undecidable" • Questions • What "instabilities" appear in the object? • Where can we find ambiguity where the work would try to imply certainty? • Game Example • Guitar Hero • Talk about • the simulation of rock guitar performance • yet third-person perspective • the avatar is the idol • the player is too focused on the note stream to be really "immersed" • experience "mediated" by MTV video conventions

36. Post-colonial • From the 1970s (Edward Said) • Questions • How does a work reflect the experience of colonialism? • Either from the point of view of colonized peoples or from the colonizers • Game Example • Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow • Talk about • the player's role – disrupt a third-world terrorist's plot • the infiltration of a camp in Indonesia • reminiscent of Vietnam war movies • Lone high-tech hero vs hordes of poorly-equipped local partisans

37. Which one of these is right? • Wrong question • These are different lenses through which to view a work • they show us different things • We could apply all of them to the same game

38. Psychology and narrative • One idea to explore in greater depth • Key narrative concepts in games • Relationship to psychological theories

39. Plot • Game plots are almost always very simple • rescue the princess • battle the monsters • save the universe from the evil mastermind • rule the world • Common plot elements • betrayal • approval of older mentor • magical aid • acquisition of magic and strength

40. Hero tales • Hero tales are often • tales of heroism • simple in structure • involve magical aid • involve betrayal • lack detailed characterization • can be retold • Examples • Theseus and the Minotaur • Aladdin and the Lamp • The Goose-Girl • Jack and Beanstalk

41. Psychology of the hero tale • Coming of age • The hero tale represents the transition from a youthful inward-focused perspective to a mature engagement with the world. • Recognition of evil • Mature engagement with the world requires the recognition of evil and the resolve to confront it. • Interdependence • The hero needs the help and (sometimes) the approval of others. • Archetypal characters • The characters are drawn from a standard set of archetypes. • "The Misfit" • The transition from being different/outcast to being part of society.

42. Psychology, cont'd • What is the psychological function of the hero myth? • Template for the issues of maturation • A way to externalize difficult emotional issues • tension between comfort/safety of home and excitement/danger of the world • tension between growing physical and intellectual capacities and practical powerlessness.

43. Consequences • Hero tale plots • have most intense appeal to adolescents and children • also, good fit with technological limitations • Adults • (theoretically) have tolerance for more complex plots • but complex plots difficult to create • Also • plot is only one component of the game • game needs to be engaging for other reasons • We can "read" hero-oriented games • by looking at how they "construct" heroism

44. Example I • Asteroids • "Space: The Final Frontier" • To be a hero is • to be alone against hostile and unfeeling nature, • to use speed and intelligence to battle mounting and eventually insurmountable odds. • Why • detailed examination of the game • the avatar • the space of play • the nature of the conflicts • the core mechanic • the dramatic structure

45. Example II • Civilization • “Great Man" • to be a hero is • to be the major decision-maker • to lead a nation to dominate the world, • to balance the forces of economics, politics, and military power

46. Example III • Wind Waker • "Jack and the Beanstalk" • to be a hero is • to engage in a solitary quest • to start from humble and unpromising beginnings and vanquish significant enemies • to accept magical aid • to learn from the consequences of one's mistakes • to triumph over evil on the basis of inner strength and goodness

47. Example IV • Half-Life 2 • George Washington • to be a hero is • to confront an occupying alien force • to survive dangers • to lead like-minded patriots • to destroy traitors

48. Interpreting games • Interpretation = • the application of an interpretive framework • to an artifact • to generate meaning • Many possible frameworks • choice of framework depends on what you want to show / argue

49. Homework #3 • 4 examples of character art • 2 male • 2 female

50. Wednesday • Culture / • Gender • Reading • Issue 17 of "The Escapist"