Embedded Files
In fulfillment of the requirements for EDUC 5863
TASK:
TASK:
Definitions of games. Pick two or three compelling definitions you find compelling and expand on what interests you about the definition in relation to your own experiences playing (games) or thinking/theorizing about games and play.
Consider: What are the implications of the ‘definitions’ about the opportunities of games and play? What do these definitions say about the many possibilities of games, or learning opportunities? Any contradictory definitions that reveal interesting tensions about what games ‘are’ or what they can do? You may also draw upon the Zimmerman manifesto if you see connections or relationships between the ‘manifesto’ and the definition generator. You may also draw on our interactions within the website making environment, if those tend toward some definition of games or play!
GAME DEFINITIONS:
GAME DEFINITIONS:
Molleindustria is an independent game developer whose projects attempt to reimagine and re-appropriate video games to radicalize popular culture. Game Definitions is curated list of definitions which helps to consider alternate perspectives about the construction, use, and impact of a game. I have taken three definitions from this site to analyse:
I appreciate the word architecture to represent a creative yet engineered set of rules and boundaries for the activity. The gamemaker constructs the set of conditions which facilitates and engages the participant in moving forward, and it’s this architecture that others can appreciate, replicate, and emulate. I am unsettled by the word exploration, however, because often a game is a straightforward competition or narrative that does not require exploration. Many sports offer creativity of choice and decision making, but I would not go as far as to say that it’s an exploration of a journey.
Similar to the first definition’s use of the word architecture, this definition uses an artful system to represent the creative process in the design of a game. The principles of design include contrast, balance, emphasis, proportion, hierarchy, repetition, rhythm, pattern, white space, movement, variety, and unity, and all games would have these principles embedded somehow in the playing of the game. I appreciate the connection between art, design, and game making, and the successful games are the ones that can seamlessly integrate these principles as the game progresses. The word “empathy” assumes that the game has at least two audiences: the participant and a recipient (which could be the participant through a reflective process). The conflict between the two allows for the possibility of emotional development. For many single-player games, this reciprocal action forces a feedback loop that attempts to engage the participant in continuing the game. Is “empathy” a stretch when a single-player game becomes a repetitive sequence of actions?
This definition dives into social psychology where a value system is established with the game. One of the principles of design is hierarchy, where choices and effects can contribute to a sorting system within the game. Whether its levels, ranks, points, or badges, the player can be validated for their progression in the game, and they can also compare themselves with other players of the same game. I appreciate the word “self-contained” because it reiterates the boundaries within which the rules (rituals in this case) are followed and played out.
Because of the variety of these definitions, there could be some interesting ways to interpret games in different ways. One of the earliest examples that made me reflect upon this possibility is the classic science fiction thriller WarGames. The movie comments on the balance between play as a simulation and war as a social game. When the boundaries of the game are unclear, the audiences can extrapolate the hierarchies in different ways. This phenomenon has happened to me when my teammates or my competitors take the game “too seriously”, causing a dissonance between the intentions and emotional attachment to the game.
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