Understanding Culture in Games: Perception, Analysis, Decision, and Execution

1. Culture Robin Burke GAM 224

2. Outline • Quiz #2 • Culture • Cultural Rhetoric

3. Quiz #2 • Most did well • low score = 23 • 12 perfect (30 points)

4. Core mechanic • This is about the moment-to-moment unfolding of game play • not about the rules • not about the game in the abstract • Perception • what does the player see? • Analysis • analysis ≠ game rules • analysis = understanding of the game situation at the moment • Decision • moment by moment decision making • Execution • joystick or arrow keys • what else can the player do?

5. Culture paper • Due 3/15

6. 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"

7. 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

8. 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

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

10. Games and Culture! • Race • Class • Nationality • History • Global Business

11. 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 male and female bodies and identities are rendered in games

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

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

18. 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 • but the "web of significance" is always tied to the larger culture in some way

19. Examples • Culture  Game  Meaning • Marxism • Katamari Damacy • capitalist consumption gone mad • Game  Culture  Meaning • Missile Command • Cold war America • Concrete manifestation of the inevitability of nuclear destruction

20. 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

21. 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: Kung-Fu chess • the game makes certain activities and events pleasurable • implying that certain things are or should be enjoyable • Example: Katamari Damacy

22. 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 • can indicate acceptance of its rhetoric by those players • but not always

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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.

26. 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.

27. 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

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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

31. Example IV • Olympic speed skating • “Rocky” • to be a hero is • to commit oneself to arduous training • to develop extraordinary and specialized physical strength and skill • to reject illegal performance enhancements • to be recognized as the best in the world

32. Rhetorics of play • Standard conceptualizations of play • may or may not be invoked by a given game • Sutton-Smith • Progress • Fate • Power • Identity • Imaginary • the Self • Frivolity

33. Play as Progress • Stance • Play is how we (especially children) learn • Enabled by • core mechanic emphasizing desirable skills • moralistic narrative • Games • Chutes and Ladders • Zoombini's Logical Adventure

34. Play as Fate • Stance • To play is submit to chance, to depend on luck • Enabled by • rules dependent on uncertainty • little or no skill or knowledge necessary • Games • roulette • "Sorry!"

35. Play as Power • Stance • To play is to display prowess and defeat lesser players • Enabled by • play involving skill or strategic reasoning or both • Games • sports • Counter-Strike

36. 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 • Games • team sports (including spectatorship) • "Go Sox!" • most MMORPGs

37. Play as the Imaginary • Stance • To play is to demonstrate creative and imaginative responses • Enabled by • complex and emergent rule systems • open game systems • Games • "Cranium" games • Sims

38. Play as Rhetoric of the Self • Stance • To play is to engage in solitary appreciation and development • Enabled by • single-player gaming • "deep" game content • Games • solitaire • classic adventure games

39. Play as Frivolity • Stance • To play is to goof off • Enabled by • use of humor and parody • deliberate subversion of other rhetorics • Games • WarioWare

40. Multiple rhetorics at work • Sims 2 • Power • the player demonstrates power over the Sims world by having successful Sims, amassing wealth and status • Imaginary • the player has nearly limitless opportunities to customize their Sims house and environment • Identity • the player can interact with other players and share their customized artifacts

41. Rhetoric as Interpretation • Part of interpreting a game • is attributing a rhetoric to it • What is the game trying to do? • This is an interpretive act

42. Conflicting Rhetorics • Video games are subject to conflicting cultural rhetorics • 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" • especially for MMORPGs

43. Gender • There is a "web of significance" associated with gender identity • normative expectations • the valuation of qualities • signs and their interpretation • A virtual character cannot escape this web • "Alex"

44. Wednesday • Culture / • Gender

45. Wednesday • Culture / Gender • In-class activity