From Introduction to Game Studies Chapter 7

The Real and the GameThe Third Millennium

MontanaTech

Thanks to Frans Mäyrä & SAGE Publications

21 Century: Learning the Lexicon

Big Boom is Internet and Smartphones.

Games at the Turn of the CenturyInterest in digital games has continued quite steadily,

even during the ‘IT bubble crash’ years (2000-2002).Yet, the average time spent with games remains small

when compared to television viewing (69 hours vs. 1,745 hours of tv in the US during 2003).

Rather than being revolutionary, the development of digital culture has taken place quietly, as mobile phones and home Internet connections have gradually become more common.

Social PlayAll play takes place within social contexts, whether

overtly social or as apparently more solitary activity.

As children’s access to public space is being limited, ‘digital playgrounds’ appear as an escape from adult regulation (Henry Jenkins, 1998).

As social networks used to be constructed in physical play, now social forms of digital play have also become important.

Online PlayHistorically, online gaming became possible as the early

Internet was developed.Multiple players could join the same game in mainframe

computers, or play turn-based games by email.As home computers got modems, dial-up multiplayer

services appeared (e.g. DWANGO, see next slide).Internet Service Providers (ISPs) replaced such

dedicated services during the late-1990s.

“DWANGO”Stands for Dial-up Wide-Area Network

Game Operation.DWANGO was early online gaming service

developed for the support of Doom.Ever wonder what 16 players in Doom 2

deathmatch would be like on a small map?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mhUOor_p1U&feature=related

The Birth of Online Game WorldsEarly ‘multi-user dungeons’

(MUDs) were text-based games where characters, game worlds and actions were handled by text and typing.

The first MUD was developed by Roy Trubshaw and Richard Bartle at Essex University in 1978.

Graphically more advanced AVATAR and other similar games were available for the users of PLATO computer system at the University of Illinois during the late-1970s.

AVATAR screen. Image credits: Wikipedia, www.wikipedia.org.

Richard Bartlehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVu4PdZs69M

Bartle received a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence from the University of Essex, where he created MUD with Roy Trubshaw, in 1978.

Bartle did research on player personality types in massively-multiplayer online games. In Bartle's analysis, players of mmorgs can be divided into four types: achievers, explorers, socializers and killers.

Auteur

Conflicts in Online Lives pgs 122 - 125

An early example of online controversy took place in Habitat (LucasFilm, 1985). (Morningstar and Randall) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVpulhO3jyc

The role of guns and ‘player-killing’ was the focus of debate: would Habitat be an exiting action game, or an online society?

Julian Dibbell made famous the ‘rape in cyberspace’ event that took place in LambdaMOO in 1993.

Player-character Mr. Bungle used a ‘Voodoo Doll’ object to play out sadistic sexual fantasies on other characters, creating controversy.

Online PsychologyResearchers of CMC (computer-mediated

communication) have noticed how the anonymity and distance can lead to uninhibited behaviour.

Online communication can also be used to develop trust and close relationships. (Nancy Baym, pg 125.)

Online “Social presence” is related to various contextual, game system, group and participant-related factors.

Online Player Types and Motives

Richard Bartle (1996) divided MUD players into four basic types:achievers (motivated by achieving in the game)explorers (motivated by exploration in the game)socialisers (enjoying social interaction)killers (enjoy using their power over others).

Bartle acknowledged types crossing over each other – alternative models of player motivations have also been developed.

Sherry Turkle (1993) interpreted online play as identity experimentation and escapism.

Graphical Virtual WorldsAs MUD-style games gained more realistic

graphical interfaces, it became easier to see the game as an alternative ‘virtual world’

Known as MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games), these games typically focus on the progress of player characters, collecting virtual items, and various social interaction.

Often time spent and achievements gained in game translate to more experience points and levels.

Evolution of Interfaces

The evolution of game interfaces in online role-playing games: clockwise, Meridian 59 (3DO, 1996), EverQuest (Verant Interactive, 1999) and a beginner and advanced player’s screen from World of Warcraft (Blizzard, 2004).

Image credits: 3DO/NearDeathStudios, Verant/Sony, Blizzard, Frans Mäyrä, Markus Montola; sources: www.drewslinks.com, Arstechnica.com.

MMORPG FeaturesThe sense of place in MMORPGs is

heightened by the persistence of the game world ( the game world continues to develop even while logged out).

Continuous world and online social relations make these games suitable for cultivation of online persona and community.

MMORPGs are mostly subscription-based, the flat-fee further encouraging long play sessions.

Player-run organisations such as guilds are a common feature in them.

Product, Service or Public Space?The traditionally commercial digital game

was perceived as a product, available off the shelf.

MMORPGs are principally conceptualised as services, constantly maintained and updated for the customers.

As players continue to invest their time and energy into these worlds, they also become public spaces.

Debates and conflicts have risen over the ownership of virtual space and property.

Example: EverQuest (1999>)EverQuest (by Verant/Sony), at its peak of

450,000 players, was second most popular MMORPG around 2000-2003 (after Lineage from South Korea).

The game is located in the fantasy world of Norrath, its moon and alternate planes of existence.

The EverQuest universe is extensive, combining geographical variety with multiple races and character classes to choose from.

Not particularly tailored for casual play, EverQuest gained the nickname ‘EverCrack’ for its supposedly addictive qualities.

Example: World of WarcraftWorld of Warcraft was developed by

Blizzard Entertainment and became the most popular MMORPG soon after its release in 2004 (reaching 9 million players in 2007).

Rooted in previous Warcraft mythology, the game features several races, divided into two warring factions, Horde and Alliance.

WoW is known as the ‘more casual multiplayer game’, as its gameplay has been designed to be easily accessible and immediately rewarding.

Virtual Property SalesEven if considered ‘cheating’, real money

trading on virtual game items has expanded.Calculating the value of such transactions,

economist Edward Castronova (2001) estimated that the per capita ‘Gross National Product’ taking place within a virtual world like Norrath easily exceeds that of real countries like India or China.

Real money trading challenges the ‘magic circle’ and threatens to ruin the game for some – but there are virtual worlds like Second Life that endorse it. http://secondlife.com/destinations/arts

Further to Bartle …In Bartle's analysis, players of mmorgs can

be divided into four types: achievers, explorers, socializers and killers.

Further to Bartle, psychologist Richard Lee (2002) studied players of Everquest and other MMORGS and compacted their holding power into five desires… 1) to form and sustain supportive and meaningful relationships, 2) to accumulate power in different forms 3) to be immersed in a fantasy world 4) to taunt, annoy, irritate other people 4) to be part of a group strategy and collaboration.

Games Getting PhysicalMultimodal digital play is getting more common.Multiple senses or modes or interaction are

being used in games, including dancing, singing, drumming and playing the guitar.

Early physical gaming devices met with only moderate success in the1970s and 1980s, eg Mogul Maniac,1983.

In the early 21st century, physical and rhythm-based play has got more into the mainstream.

Dance Dance Revolution. Konami, 1998. pg 142, 143.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JzcqALklRs

The Physical Interface

Clockwise: Foot Craz pad for Atari 2600 (Exus, 1987), Eye Toy camera (Sony, 2002), Guitar Hero package by Harmonix Music Systems (2005), dance game players.

Image credits: Atari Age, Sony, Harmonix, Honolulu Star-Bulletin; sources: www.atariage.com, mag.awn.com, www.codinghorror.com, starbulletin.com

If ‘virtual reality’ involves replacing real sensations with those from a simulation, augmented and pervasive games try the opposite.

Augmented reality games aim to impose virtual elements seamlessly in physical reality (e.g. ARQuake).

Pervasive games aim to blur the boundary between the ‘real’ and the ‘game’ by expanding the place, time and participation in games in different ways.

From Virtual to Pervasive Games

Pervasive and Alternate Reality GamesAlternate reality games are often

designed as parts of advertisement campaigns, aka. Advergames.

Typically massively scaled puzzle challenges that require players to organise themselves into teams and hunt for clues in multiple media and places.

Pervasive and alternate reality games have been described to be superimposed to public, shared reality and to have personally, socially and culturally transformative power.

A.I Movie ARG ChallengeGame accompanying A.I. movie, The Beast was

created by Microsoft in 2001. Hypotheses were:

1.Narrative is broken into segments that players would reassemble.

2.Game world is fundamentally cooperative and collective because of the nature of the internet.

3.Game is cooler if nobody knows who is doing it or why.

4.Game is cooler if it comes at you through as many different conduits as possible.

More info about The Beast http://www.seanstewart.org/beast/intro/

MomentumMomentum was a pervasive game produced

by the Swedish IPerG research project in 2006.Combining larp and embedded electronics,

Momentum experimented with game design, technology, politics and alternate reality experiences.

Thirty participants took on characters as dead revolutionaries re-entering our world, this time to save their own from oblivion. The larp used a host of technology installations, mobile equipment, and an advanced system for game mastering to enable the game to be ongoing around the clock for 34 days.

Momentum Photos

Image credits: Jaakko Stenros & the IPerG project: http://iperg.sics.se .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B8XFRrhack