Social Play

1. Social Play Robin Burke GAM 224

2. Outline • Admin • Rules paper • Design project • Social Play

3. Rules paper • Grades • A: A— • B: +++ • C: ++-- • D: DD- • R/W: RRRR • F: FFFFF

4. Rewrites • Must • RW grade or • C- or below • May • anybody • but grade is not guaranteed to go up • Cannot • if no original paper • Rewrite due date • 5/22 • 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+

5. 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?

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. Proofreading • The spellchecker is no substitute for human judgment • their (belonging to them) • there (location reference)

10. #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

11. Schemas • Emergence • ≠ finding two object coupled together • the start button is coupled to the beginning of the game • you are looking for a system in which one object / behavior / variable is highly coupled to many other things • Game theory • ≠ finding decisions that balance risk / reward • 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? • Breaking the Rules • not just the fact that the game has cheats • how are the cheats integrated into the game? • what rules systems do they impact?

12. Design project • Due today • First draft of card game • Next Monday • Presentations • Completed game

13. Halo

14. 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

15. Social Play • This is the foundation of most pre-computer games • the only way to have an opponent • Important factor in play experience • how else to explain "Thunderstorm"?

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. Roles in MMORPGs • Achievers • want to achieve the highest levels and best gear • will explore in order to do so • will socialize to learn more • Explorers • want to see more of the game • know the most about the map • know all of the spells and abilities • Socializers • 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. Emergence • Couplings occur not just with in-game objects and behaviors • But also with external individuals and relationships • Can be hard to predict

26. 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

27. 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"

28. 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

29. Rule breaking • Unsportsmanlike • follows the rules but doesn't acknowledge the play community • violates the spirit of the game • Cheater • 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

30. Forbidden play • Play with social relationships • can turn into play that explores taboo areas of behavior • The game creates distance • in which (otherwise) unacceptable acts • are contained and sanitized • Example • "I killed my professor today"

31. "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

32. "Spin the Bottle" cont'd • Play with social roles • allows "trying on" social possibilities • with lower risk • without all of the normal consequences

33. Cybering • using the socialization mechanics of an on-line game • to create forbidden romantic / sexual play

34. MMOEG • "Massively Multi-player On-line Erotic Games" • At least four titles in the next year or two • Rapture On Line • Spend the Night • Naughty America • Heavenly Bodies • others in the works • Games that exist (almost) entirely for the purpose of forbidden play • trailer • But it appears that every known on-line game has been re-purposed for sex

35. Gender Bending • On-line games allow forbidden play in the crossing of gender boundaries • risky to do in real life • On WoW • ½ of female characters are played by men • 1/100 of male characters are played by women

36. Unbounded community • How wide does the social network of a game spread? • can be very large • 5 million World of Warcraft subscribers (1/6) • Not all on-line together • or in the same realm • But there are other means of connection • blogs • fan sites • guilds

37. Guilds • social organizations • specifically for ORPG players • mutual support • in-game group activities • might have tens or hundreds of members

38. 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?

39. Wednesday • Case study • Katamari Damacy