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What is a Game? - Coggle Diagram
What is a Game?
Henry Jenkins and the Art of the Game
Games are seen as a new form of popular art
Game designers are the artists of our century
The social commentary regarding games mirrors that of film previously
Games follow well-known recipes of creation instead of innovating (shovelware)
Hardware changes frequently cause designers needing time to catch up on new skills
Aesthetics (aspects) can provide a strong emotion to the player
Games are about player control and opportunity to do things not possible before
Chris Crawford in Art of Computer Game Design
Four common features of games
Representation - being about something else
Interaction - games appeal through activities the player can perform
Conflict - goal blocked by obstacles
Safety - less consequences versus real life
have quantifiable outcomes
Games as systems
Influenced Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman
Rules of Play
Seen games as "an artificial conflict"
Influenced Jesper Juul
Concerned the player
The players attitude influences the activity
Tried to define a "classic game model"
Fixed rules
Variable Outcomes
Placing value in the outcome
The effort the player exhibits
Player attachment and caring of the outcomes
Adaptable consequences
Games as stories
narrative
drama
types of play
Seen as film or literature
Roger Caillois and the Sociology of Play
In "Man, Play, and Games"
Four essential qualities of play
Voluntarily
Unproductive
Uncertain
Consist of make-believe
Four categories of games
Agôn (competition)
Player skills determine sauccess
Competition is critical
Can apply outside of games
Alea (Chance)
They felt chance was the most important element
Most games have some element of chance or randomness
Mimicry (imitation)
The act of pretending to being someone or something else
Ilinx (Vertigo)
The experience of pleasure that a player gets
Can be from physical experiences
Felt that the features could be combined
Paidia and Ludus
Paidia - Non rigid rules
Ludus - Formalized rules
Marshall McLuhan and Games as Cultural Reflections
Games reflect the culture they are in
Games can be seen as popular art
Social reaction to games are driven by culture
Games can help release tension
Brian Sutton-Smith and Games as Play
Games are multifaceted in nature
Game emerge as a society matures
Games are a reflection of the society in which they are in
Games are finite, fixed and goal-oriented
Sid Meiser
Games are a series of interesting choices
More of a casual look at games
From a game creator instead of theorist
More suitable for strategy games
Mark J. P. Wolf's The Medium of the Video Game
Concerned with categorization of games
Finely defined areas
Didn't account for changes
Itneractivity is an important aspect
Edward Castronova and the Virtual World
Games have real-world consequences
Require Time
Affect Mood
Affect Behaviour
Useful for Communication
A part of human Existance
Echoed Huazinga's work
George Herbert Mead and Role Training
Play as a part to the view of themselves
Social activity
Communicate
Share ideas
An act of pretend
Wittgenstein and the Problem of Games
use other content as inspiration
resemblances of other games
overlapping similarities
Johan Huizinga and the Magic Circle
Homo Ludens "Man the Player" - Individual as a player
Intention to praise the act of play
Magic Circle - Game separate from the outside world
Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc, and Robert Zubek and the “MDA model"
Mechanics
A vast amount of information that goes into constructing a game world
Dynamics
The way the game plays
Aesthetics
The emotional response of the game
Further divines this as
Expression (game as self-discovery)
Fellowship (game as social framework)
Challenge (game as obstacle course)
Discovery (game as uncharted territory)
Narrative (game as drama)
Submission (game as pastime)
Fantasy (game as make-believe)
Sensation (game as sense-pleasure)
David Parlett - Ends and Means
Mostly focused on physical / non-electronic games
Focused on content and rules
Gregory Bateson and Play as Communication
An alternative to reality