RULES Com 427 Sept. 10

1. RULES Com 427 Sept. 10 EULA

2. QUIZ!

3. 1. Koster’s article expounds on the "Declaration of the Rights of _______". A) non-player charactersB) gold farmersC) online game administratorsD) avatars

4. 2. The first “self-evident truth” in Koster’s “Declaration” is that: A) “avatars are the manifestation of actual people in an online medium” B) “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander” C) “avatars are just fictional entities with no bearing on real life” D) “there’s no such thing as a free lunch”

5. 3. The sections of the article in written in italics are: A) totally random B) paraphrased feedback on the “Declaration” from other virtual world administrators and designers C) meant to address shortcomings in different parts of the “Declaration” D) B & C

6. 4. Which hypothetical ‘real world’ situation does Koster compare to creating and administering an online game? A) hosting a keg party at which many unwanted people show upB) going on a blind date with 10000+ people at oncec) inviting squatters to use your empty house/apartmentD) playing fantasy football

7. BONUSWhat does mud stand for? A) mandatory user documentB) multi-user dungeonC) males under duressD) massive underground domain

8. Administrivia • Online questionnaire • please fill in by end of week. • Worth 2 participation points (2%) • “Scavenger Hunt” journal • A number of games we’ve played in class have met 1 or more of the requirements • “Exploration of a Toolset” • Bring HARDCOPY to class next Tuesday • Screenshots are welcome, but they don’t count towards (4-5) page total • Don’t just look at online help resources – explore them, become familiar with them.

9. Recap of last week -- Play as “assemblage”: The contexts in which we play are made up of hundreds of “actors” that shape our interactions with the game Play as “cybernetic circuit”: We are not the only things that ‘act’; we are also acted upon. -- “we don’t just play, but are played” (Giddings & Kennedy)

10. “The Landlord’s Game” “created by Lizzie Magie, inspired by Henry George, who believed in the abolition of land-ownership and created a powerful movement to make this a reality” Cory Doctorow, “Monopoly was stolen from socialist land-reformers and perverted” http://boingboing.net/2012/11/05/monopoly-was-stolen-and-perver.html

11. “The Landlord’s Game” vs “Monopoly” “In the game’s original version, players could choose to behave like monopolists and drive their adversaries to financial ruin …. or they could agree to cooperate with each other, pay rent into a common pool, and achieve an arguably happier shared prosperity. ” “As the game evolved, though, subsequent iterations cast aside the communitarian cooperative option.” http://www.salon.com/2013/02/09/how_monopoly_turns_us_into_uncreative_capitalist_vultures_partner/

12. “The Landlord’s Game” vs “Monopoly” “In the game’s original version, players could choose to behave like monopolists and drive their adversaries to financial ruin …. or they could agree to cooperate with each other, pay rent into a common pool, and achieve an arguably happier shared prosperity. ” “As the game evolved, though, subsequent iterations cast aside the communitarian cooperative option.” http://www.salon.com/2013/02/09/how_monopoly_turns_us_into_uncreative_capitalist_vultures_partner/

13. NEW MONOPOLY RULE! • 1 player is the “Housing Inspector” • They don’t pay rent when they land on other player’s properties • Instead, the property owner has to do a dice roll to determine whether or not their properties pass inspection • The more properties the player has in total, the higher the roll needs to be. • Fail inspection: they can either give up one of their houses, or they can pay $200 • Players can avoid inspection by paying “maintenance” every two turns How would this change the game?

14. RULES ARE TO GAMES AS _____ ARE TO “REAL LIFE”

15. RULES ARE TO GAMES AS Laws ARE TO “REAL LIFE”

16. “CODE IS LAW” Lawrence Lessig, “Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace” “This code, or architecture, sets the terms on which life in cyberspace is experienced. It determines how easy it is to protect privacy, or how easy it is to censor speech. It determines whether access to information is general or whether information is zoned. It affects who sees what, or what is monitored. In a host of ways that one cannot begin to see unless one begins to understand the nature of this code, the code of cyberspace regulates.”

17. “Declaration of the Rights of Avatars” • Published 2000; work in progress for years earlier • Most Internet communities were text-based • “Rights of Avatars” primarily addressing role-play communities Star Wars: Galaxies (2003) LegendMUD (1993) How should we conduct ourselves online? Who should be in charge?

18. Julian Dibbell “A Rape in Cyberspace: How an Evil Clown, a Haitian Trickster Spirit, Two Wizards, and a Cast of Dozens Turned a Database Into a Society” http://www.juliandibbell.com/texts/bungle_vv.html

19. “And thus, as if against its will, the question of what to do about Mr. Bungle began to shape itself into a sort of referendum on the political future of the MOO (Multi-user dungeon, Object=Oriented)” (Dibbell, 1993, n.p.). • How do we balance expression & freedom from “rl” with safety? • What are the responsibilities of designers? • What kind of laws should be in place?

20. SERENITY NOW Funeral in World of Warcraft http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHJVolaC8pw “A girl who played World of Warcraft died in real life and the friends she had met in the game planned an in-game funeral for her. They posted about the event on the message boards and urged people not to bust it up. I don't think I need to explain what happened; the video speaks for itself.”

21. GROUP WORK How to govern games? Scenario: “The Pack” – new online role-playing game. Players can band together into packs, fight for leadership of their pack, and band together with other packs to take over territory controlled by evil blue imps, drunken pirates, and conniving goat people Players pay a monthly fee which entitles them to create, customize and play as their wolf characters; they can also design their packs symbols and outfits, weapons armor, and sell these to other players or packs for in-game currency (called "hoops“).

22. The designers of the game want to protect their product and make sure it keeps making money, whereas the players – many of whom have spent years playing - want to make sure their investment in the game is taken into consideration. Group 1. DesignersWhat are your interests wrt your product?What are the social, economic, legal, technological threats to your interests?What can you do to protect the integrity of your product?Group 2. PlayersWhat are your rights?What kinds of threats will arise with regard to your rights? From what/whom?What can you do to protect your rights?