DM2004

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Final poster.

Done using Adobe Illustrator. All images are original.

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Midterm Poster. Done using Adobe Illustrator.

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Week 7

Write two paragraphs on the relationship between Games and Architecture. Illustrate your post with 3 screenshots of your favorite in-game places side by side with AFK referents.

Both architecture and games can be considered spatial systems that enable, regulate and limit anything that takes place within them. Space is key to games. In games, game space itself can be considered as architecture, and within the game space itself, there are architectural elements present. Game space is an artificially built space or environment, constructed by humans, and fabricates spatial dimensions and properties. The representations of urban settings and natural landscapes are architectonic objects. The primary function of gamic architecture is to support gameplay. In a way, while game space is an imaginary space, it can be considered a product of architectural design processes for the fact that it is also constructed by humans. Since it is designed or built by humans, the operator or player can interact or exert some form of control over the built environment or architecture. For example, players can interact with architecture in games through indirect acts such as the player’s character opening a door or destroying a building within the game itself. As such, architecture can be a way of analysing game space, while game space is a representation of architecture, the player activity and rules. In fact, architecture is reliant on the rules of the game; the interaction between player and world because the action of the player is linked to his character’s position in space. Architecture also plays a part in a game narrative by acting as a setting for well-known narratives, by acting as part of the narrative, by being the space in which narrative happens and by providing the resources for players to create their own story. For example, in the picture below, the real world “Los Santos” building is used in Grand Theft Auto, and acts as a game setting where a narrative happens. The game space Los Santos need not necessarily be 100% like the real world. 

Sometimes architecture is constructed to support “culturally defined practices”. Understanding the architecture in the game space and how to navigate our way in it will depend on our perspectives and inherent cultural influences in the real world. Therefore, some games include culturally significant buildings so that we can relate to it in the game space, linking the player space to the game space. An example is the Fitchburg’s castle reference used in Super Mario Bros.

Space and architecture in games is intertextual, self–referential and dependant on convention. The architecture of games is also evoked from primary space, copying conventions of architectural use and constantly referring to aspects of spatial usage in buildings. Doors are changeable states of open and closed in both games and primary space; they act as passageways or portals to different spaces, or “dividers of program” where clicking on the door will lead to a new interior or exterior space. This is illustrated in Monument Valley where the architecture is inspired by a sketch of M.C. Escher in this case, the “endless waterfall”. Opening a new door or unlocking a new portal will change the space situated in Monument Valley which will help the story progress forward. 

However, all qualities of space and architecture in games have to be applied and are not exactly identical to materials and structure in primary space or real space. Game space could be just a representation of space and different from real space. Applying real architectural knowledge to games can also be ineffective because gamic architecture can include cheats, hacks or codes that changes our expectations of architecture in game space. The player gains control over the architecture through virtual or digital conventions that cannot happen similarly in real space. Cheating gives more control to the player and thus, unlike real space, the game space architecture is mutable. *note: pictures are found on the net.

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Week 6

The game I have chosen to diagrammatize is Bejeweled Blitz, a puzzle-action-strategy game with tile-matching mechanics and a compulsory timed mode of 60 seconds. It also incorporates a high score table despite being a single player game so it generates a sense of competition with other players in the player’s friend list. Unlike its predecessors, Blitz allows the player to build up clusters of “super gems” and detonate them all in a chain-like explosion which resemble celebratory fireworks. The fireworks (payback) with minimal input (swipes) make players feel good and tend to go back to the game more. The score resets every week and the 60 seconds time limit pushes the player to keep striving harder and thinking of better strategies to beat their own or their friends’ high scores. It’s the sense of feeling unaccomplished that make the player want to aim for more and keep playing the game. Basically, the 60 seconds game sessions make it easy for the player to get into the game, leave and return to the game any time because of the short game sessions. It’s cleverly designed for people who have short periods of time to play.

Moreover, unlike other linear/level based games which impose a penalty or punishment mechanic if a player fails to complete a level or game in time (or if there are no more moves left), Blitz does not make the player lose. The player still wins but can continue challenging himself. This increases Blitz’ replay level, where the player will go back to try the game again. Seeing another players’ high scores can also make one realise that perhaps one hasn’t employed strategies to the best capacity – that there could be better strategies. Sometimes, players have to invest a lot of time to improve their speed and reaction skills. This brings us to the point of utilising strategies given the time pressure in the game itself.

The time pressure in the game is entirely up to the player – if he chooses to go slow to plan for long-term or fast within the 60 seconds limit. The game encourages creativity, quick-thinking and experimentation, and also improves the player’s reflective capacities (thinking) and translating that to reflexes (the physical act of swiping the tiles). How the game works is that there is an 8x8 grid full of coloured gems all over the board and the player will have to find a match from any coloured gem in order to get the score moving. A match consists of placing similar pieces (same coloured) pieces on a straight line by switching the tiles. There are 3 ways to go about it. First, is move the piece in the middle between 2 similar pieces to detonate it. Second is move the piece to anywhere along the end of the length of a potential match. Third is move the piece diagonally from a pair of similar pieces. The easiest way to make a match is match-3 patterns. There are of course match-4, match-5, L-match and T-match which will allow the player to be awarded with special objects or multipliers because of the longer and larger matches. The score in Blitz is highly dependent on multipliers and “combos” which equates to detonating and clearing a large part of the board at one go. There is another way to get high scores which is to attain the “blazing speed” mode where any tile the player detonates multiplies in score. Thus the player will have to balance his speed-reaction patterns with long term strategic thinking. Should the player allow himself time to look for large matches at the start of the game or just make a lot of fast and small matches to get to the Blazing speed mode? And how long should the player spend searching for a large match if there is a match-3 available? It is all about combining speed bonus versus getting the score multiplier gems, and whether one wants to get both or forgo one.

The time pressure factor also helps the player to start evolving his reaction pattern and think several steps ahead to create combinations that will keep generating favourable tiles and explosions. After all, the tiles are generated by random and every game is different so no moves can be repeated. It requires constant experimentation and planning ahead of time. The player can make matches at the bottom, storing the multipliers and detonate them all in one go. Or he can make a match to move the next match into position. He can also either prioritise creating massive “combos” over mindless quick swaps, or both. Furthermore, the end board is always better compared to the starting board, which means that the algorithms make it more favourable for players as the game progresses – more detonations and matches. There is also the monetary factor which helps to boost a player’s gameplay – the player can use coins to buy “power-ups” and use up to 3 for each game turn. The power-ups include stalling for time, switching the board around for a variation, or removing certain colours from the board just for a turn. The fewer the colours, the easier the game play.

Lastly, there also exists the “zero time” factor which makes the game more enjoyable and have lesser time pressure. “Zero time” occurs when an explosion is happening and the time meter pauses. Creating more combos with multipliers and detonating them will also increase the time limit slightly (as the time continues to decrease thereafter) but there is still the 60 second cap.

All in all, the player experience is substantial even though the game design is simple within a grid because it keeps challenging the players with the time factors and random auto-generation present in the game. Each game is always different. In a way, Bejeweled Blitz is timeless.

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Week 5

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Week 4

Read “The Playful and the Serious”. Reflect, in a couple paragraphs, on Serious Games as elements of education and social change. Refer to the Rodriguez's reading of Huizinga.

Serious games could be regarded as training or teaching tools to make learning processes more fun, accessible and entertaining for students even if playing or gaming has no intrinsic connection to the core content. In a way, serious games are believed to make teaching or education more effective when students are engaged and absorb more.

However, according to Huizinga’s vision of culture and learning, there is a difference between using games to teach various subjects and treating the subjects as play. It might be more effective if the subjects are already playful. Teaching should not be about the acquisition of “truths” or correct answers. This would make learning unproductive, unfocused and destructive. Instead, it should be playful and focused on the learning process rather than the endpoint. After all, students crave for experience and instead of using play in order to learn, now students would think of learning as a form of play. Such exploratory learning would develop students who are curious and willing to take risks. It also benefits the students as they strengthen their self-restraints, and cultivate moral and cognitive skills necessary for adult life.

Going back to Huizinga’s argument that play is essentially not a serious activity, where there is play, there is meaning. Playing is free and makes sense to the player ; for instance, one does not play because one wants to fulfil a practical task such as learning. One plays because one attached oneself to the act of playing, to the act of learning itself. The essential function of play is the modulation of experience, the players who engage in such experience for sheer play would be genuinely playful (or hungry to learn). Anything playful may become serious and anything serious could be approached in a more playful spirit. Playing should not be a moral obligation whether in the case of education or everyday life. Therefore, play or games should not be serious.

See Jane Mc Gonigal's TED speech. Write a short answer to: Can we "save the world" by playing games online?

It is not impossible, considering that there are millions or billions of gamers in the world who are currently gaming virtuosos. By applying the factors and values that gamers possess in the virtual or game world to the real world, these people would be of asset to the world. These values include urgent optimism, which is the desire to act immediately to tackle an obstacle combined with a reasonable hope of success, team bonding that builds trust and cooperation, and epic meaning. Thus gamers keep trying and do not give up, build stronger social relationships (online), are resourceful and productive when it comes to finding and discussing solutions to problems.

However, this might be possible only if people start seeing the real world as something that empowers them and give them meaning to their lives just like their games that they devote so much time to. They also need to see the world as something that they can help change and improve. This can take place if people receive more feedback about the work they have done, and are rewarded reasonably.

By playing games online, people could potentially develop the skills from their games but it really depends if the world is one they would want to change or save. There might be repercussions such as more people getting addicted to games because they still feel vulnerable in the real world while they get better at their games.

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Week 3

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Week 2

Understand the notion of magic circle and the space where gamic activity occurs. Write a paragraph or two providing examples where the magic circle might break or have its boundaries blurred.

The magic circle functions as a shield; creating a dichotomy between the play world from the outside world and protecting the former from reality which is normally deemed as serious. Paradoxically, while play is never imposed by physical necessity or moral duty (in fact it is leisure), it creates order. Within the play arena or space which is known as the magic circle, order reigns. And order is a positive feature of play or any gamic activity in which within the magic circle of the game, laws and ordinary life no longer count. Differences of rank are temporarily abolished and all players are important. The players are not allowed to leave the circle until all obligations are discharged. To flout or ignore the rules of a game is considered breaking the magic world. The magic circle breaks when a “spoil sport” refuses to acknowledge the magic circle or deviates from the magic circle on purpose, thus collapsing the play world and resuming real life. This “spoil sport” is normally known as cowardly and must be removed from the game.

The play mood is also very liable to changes, and this is what might also cause the magic circle to break. A collapse of the play-spirit exhibited by anyone in the playing arena or within the magic circle can cause the game to collapse. Likewise, any form of interruptions from the outside world will cause the game to be over.

An example when the magic circle might might have its boundaries blurred is when sacrament comes into play. There is rarely any distinction between marking out a space for a sacred purpose or for sheer play. For instance, the chess board or playing court cannot be distinguished from the temple or the magic circle. As mentioned, one of the most characteristics of play is the spatial separation from ordinary life, and a closed space is marked out for that purpose. Within the space or “magic circle”, rules and order are still maintained. This applies to both sheer play and rituals (including law and magic), and is justified by the need for isolation and seclusion from the world outside. Therefore, ritual and play in the sense of using the magic circle space could be very similar. Moreover, genuine play can also be serious, ironically. Games of chance have their serious sides too. One of which is dice-playing which also forms parts of religious practices for many people.

Another example where boundaries are blurred is war. War has not freed itself from the magic circle of play and politics have always been considered a game of chance. However, modern warfare continues to break the play-rules for the sake of prestige, and thus it should not be considered true play. The code of honour is disregarded, international law broken and rules of the game are pushed aside. Then again, while games can be serious, it is the moral content of war that makes a slight difference. When war has an ethical value to consider, it ceases to be play.