Stories as instruments

In my literature review search on the keyword "fiction", I get an immediate sense that "game design" is another keyword I need to include. There seems to be transactive processes whereby neither gamers nor designers have full agency over the game experience, and I believe that much of what players draw from playing also have their roots in how the game is designed. And hence you cannot disregard game designers and developers' role here.

There is a lot of interest in experimenting with different approaches in integrating narrative with game design. I came across an interesting post in Gameology that touch on Erik Loyer's talk entitled Stories as Instruments. The post brings to light how Loyer views game design when it mentions (bold added):

" Loyer explained his design philosophy that games should break free of the restrictions of plot-centric progression and character focused instrumentality (his recent innovative iPhone game Ruben and Lullaby is a particularly illustrative example of this trajectory). Loyer points to the genre of the musical as an important influence and model for new forms of storytelling in games. Musical arias feature characters that step just outside the world in moments of intense expression. Loyer analogized this as a blend of first and third person perspective. The singing character in the musical is locked into the narrative space contextually yet elaborating that context. The best games, according to Loyer, allow the player to assume this role: doing things as they should be done logically in the world but also knowing what one is doing.

In this way, the best moments in games happen when a player does what the developer wants them to do, without explicit narrative prompting, and does it in a way that fits within the context and expressive aims of the game. He cited an example of his own experience with the N64 classic Goldeneye where, after having just learned to use the sniper rifle, he was presented with a situation where he got to surreptitiously eliminate a few targets from afar in a building. The revelation was that he had done exactly what James Bond would have done and that’s what made it so exhilarating. He was simultaneously doing something and knowing what he was doing. He was character, fan, and player all in one.

Loyer’s central critique is of the obsessive push in game design toward large branching plot-driven stories centered on the freedom and autonomy of a character (think: Mass Effect) which often denigrate the Goldeneye experience. He argues that the focus should be on the potential for dynamic experiences of subjectivity, affect, and emotion rather than thousands of potential choices. Characters and stories should be considered the facilitators of these experiences not the ultimate focus or endgame as in plot-centric design. "

A demo of Loyer's iPhone game is below and its review is here.

Epistemic Games: Can this work in MMOG environment?

I have read Shaffer's book on How computer games help children learn and for Dr M's class, two required readings are by him which talk about epistemic games and their links to COP and informal learning. Great idea and nice work, I must say.



Said that, often games for learning are meant for certain audience and by that I mean very specific group of people. Take for example the Whyville.net by Kafai (I am great fan of Kafai and I see Whyville as an ambitious attempt and Kafai is leading the way to push the boundary of research on games in education beyond educational gains into the socio-cultural issues - like race and cheats, that I feel receive little attention) and River City by Harvard Uni as examples and oh yes, local game projects by Dr CYS, you find they share one thing in common - while they are meant or have potential to be multi-user, these games are hardly open beyond students in their experiments.

I wonder whether there is a minimum number of players limit where beyond it, community dynamic comes in and affect players' game play. What would impact interactions and conversations that would determine community dynamic when this happens. Can spontaneous and unintended community events (like players demonstrations and unrests) and social phenomenon (like grief play) happen if the number of players are large enough. How will they impact on the design of the games? Can epistemic games work under these conditions?

While I am confident that Shaffer, folks at Harvard Uni and Dr CYS, have thought through about social aspect of game play, I wonder whether the social structures they have created for their games will stand good and continue to promote interactions that are favourable for learning regardless the number of players.

Well, I can only be certain if I ask them. I know Shaffer will be coming to Singapore soon. Perhaps I will ask him this question.