{"id":48,"date":"2012-08-21T19:36:39","date_gmt":"2012-08-21T23:36:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mycours.es\/gamedesign2015\/?page_id=48"},"modified":"2015-09-02T08:45:42","modified_gmt":"2015-09-02T12:45:42","slug":"48-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/mycours.es\/gamedesign2015\/48-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Games vs. Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBrainstorm: <\/strong>let’s create a cloud of words and concepts along an hypothetical games – stories axis.<\/p>\n

This dichotomy created a lot of discussion among designers and theorist in the last 10 years or so regarding the best approach to the study of videogames.<\/em><\/p>\n

Ludology vs Narratology<\/h1>\n

If I throw a ball at you, I don’t expect you to drop it and wait until it starts telling stories
\nMarkku Eskelinen – Towards Computer Game Studies<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\nLudology was in part a response to what was perceived as an ideology within academia:<\/p>\n

Narrativism<\/strong>
\nStorytelling is the only mode we have to communicate, express and make sense of the world.
\nGames tell stories, architecture tells stories etc\u2026<\/em>
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\nAnd a response to a more “political” stance:<\/p>\n

Academic colonialism<\/strong>
\nComputer games can by studied with the same conceptual tools as literature, theater and film, we only need to redefine the term narrative to include interactivity rather than creating a new discipline.\n<\/p>\n

The Gaming Situation<\/h1>\n

The unique features of interactive texts, cybertexts, and games can be better understood if we analyze the “gaming situation” (Eskelinen) from the side of the player.\n<\/p>\n

\nInterpretation<\/strong> (shared with linear media)
\nWhat’s happening?
\nWhat does it mean?
\nHow do I feel about it?
\nWhat does the author want to convey?\n<\/p>\n

\nExploration<\/strong>
\nInteractive like a banana?
\nNon trivial actions (such as turning or scrolling a page) are required to reveal “hidden” content\n<\/p>\n

\nFormation of goals<\/strong>
\nWhat do I have to do to win?
\nWhat I’m expected to do?
\nHow can I cheat\/break the game\/find the limits of the system?\n<\/p>\n

\nIntermission: do players formulate goals all the times? What’s the goal in the Sims?
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Will Wright talks about a challenge landscape. The player is free to decide HOW to pursuit success (or to settle, or to explore the range of possibilities of the game).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The impulse toward goal formation in games is incidentally a big challenge for Artgame\/notgame designers. The ideal player of an art game should ask herself: What’s the best way to experience this?<\/em><\/p>\n

Recombination<\/strong>
\nPlayers reconfigure the internal state of a game according to predefined rules.<\/p>\n

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Creation of new content<\/strong>
\nA more extreme case of recombination in which the players modify content and mechanics or create their own.<\/p>\n

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\nMinecraft systems emerging from simple building blocks. Role-playing games, players tell a story together…<\/em><\/p>\n

Agency<\/h1>\n

Most of these unique features of the gaming situation (or cyberdrama or interactive literature\u2026) relate to the concept of agency, popularized by media theorist Janet Murray.<\/p>\n

Agency: the satisfying power to take meaningful action and see the results of our decisions and choices<\/strong><\/p>\n

Murray sees immersion and agency as central elements for the enjoyment of games.<\/p>\n

Every expressive medium has its own unique patterns of desire; its own way of giving pleasure, of creating beauty, of capturing what we feel to be true about life; its own aesthetic.
\nJanet Murray – Hamlet on the Holodeck 1997\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\nThe issue of agency will come up frequently while discussing story-based and art\/arty games.<\/p>\n

Can there be a game without agency?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let’s examine 3 extreme cases: The Graveyard by Tale of Tales, a Call of Duty “pacifist speedrun”, and Progress Quest.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TKwZ6oZybCA<\/p>\n