nordiclarpyearbook2015

The aftermath of the symbolic killing. (Photo: Jay Sylvano)
Use of power in play
Shame uses a variety of techniques to express
the gender and power dynamics of
this situation. For example, the patriarch introduces
a speaking stone and instructs the
group to pass it around in order to speak.
Men may resolve disputes for women, take
the stone from women, and women who
speak out of turn may be sent away by the
patriarch. There are minimal, if any, consequences
for the men should they speak out
of turn, and for the patriarch, observing
these rules at all is almost entirely optional
in practice.
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Additionally, the “crime” committed by the
youngest daughter (the middle child) was
discovered by the oldest son (the youngest
child), who reported this information to
their parents. The son did not know what
exactly was going to happen, as he is simply
too young, and finds himself torn between
the pressure placed upon him by other
male family members and compassion for
the sister he loves. This structure expertly
describes multiple dynamics of patriarchal
“honor” culture. Even the son, the youngest
child, the heir, has more say over the fate
of the women of the family than they do
themselves. Yet, if he does not cooperate
he will be treated no differently than the
women. Though Shame is not about this
boy per se, it is also important to observe
how boys are coerced into violent models
of masculinity.
Our experience
The player who selected “M,” the daughter
to be put to death, noted that she “didn’t
feel like killing anyone today,” and chose the
role because, despite being the centerpiece
of the entire scenario, being the victim was
a more comfortable space for her. Similarly,
two male players chose to play women
characters so that they would not be playing
dominant and aggressive roles; though
in the debrief, both of these players commented
that their perceptions of gender
dynamics as men likely influenced their play
of those characters in this context.
During our play it became apparent that the
game rules and proceeds exist in an ambiguous
space that is both within and without
the fiction; we know as players that engaging
with the rules is an essential element
of play, but the fact that they are delivered
and enforced (unequally) by the patriarch
as a character leaves it unclear if the patriarch’s
directions are game rules or simply
demands made by the character.
This created an uncertain relationship to the
game procedures for the players. In almost
any other game this would be a flaw, but in
this case this seeming ambiguity emulates
the social pressures that motivate practices
such as “honor” violence in the first place.
These social practices are created and enforced
by groups of people, and though
they might be prejudiced or arguably arbitrary,
the consequences are still real. The
game text the patriarch references while
guiding the game had the dogmatic weight
of a traditional sacred text, which is a thematically
appropriate element for the play
experience.
To facilitate the intensity and sensitivity of
this game, the text includes a tool called
Support Signals that is specifically designed
with the goals of this game in mind. Support
Signals is a non-verbal communication
tool that gives players a means of asking for
more or less of a behavior during play, and
of responding to requests made by other
players without interrupting play. This technique
was very effective for our play and
helped us to be more aware of the boundaries
of other players, especially in the most
intense moments of the game.
Reflection
Shame is a particularly strong example of
recent games that scrutinize social injustice
and oppression, because it uses several
key mechanics that are both procedural
and representational of “honor” violence
culture and motivations. More importantly,
Shame refuses to apologize or back down
in both concept and design. Shame leaves
players painfully aware of the fact that it is
up to us to raise our voices and take responsibility
for what takes place in our culture.
Perhaps the most moving section of the
game text comes at the end, where the designer
shares her own multifaceted relationship
to “honor” violence. The point is very
clear: “Honor” violence and other forms
of shame-based oppression are an expression
of the global issue of violence against
women. Women are people, and that makes
the issues that women face problems that
all people must act to solve.
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