Well Played 2.0: Video Games, Value and Meaning - OpenLibra

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understand the gaming situation, the “combination of ends, means, rules, equipment, and manipulative action” required to play through the game (Eskelinen 2001). That said, I kept my analysis with both diagrams at a general, high-level progression of the plot and the stages of interactivity. I think this was useful, but I also believe it could be interesting to get even more granular with both diagrams and really dig into units that show the details of the diversity of peaks and valleys of interest curve in the development of the plot of the story as well as the moments of engagement, disengagement and reengagement that occur during the progressive stages of interactivity. I think both macro and micro perspectives would be worthwhile to pursue in analyzing and interpreting interactive experiences. A good game can and should teach players what they need to know and do in order to succeed. Ideally, the very act of playing the game should enable players to master the gameplaying units of the gaming situation so they can successfully master the rising challenges and complete the experience. If a game gets too hard, too confusing, or if it just is too long and seems never-ending, players may not finish. For these reasons and more, players can reach a point where they drop off the curve and lose their sense of engagement, becoming bored, frustrated and tired of playing the game. But if a game enables players to stay on course and continues to hold their attention, players will advance to a point where their immersion develops into an investment in which they truly want to successfully complete the game experience. And when there is a lack in the balance of the interactivity, the story can actually help keep the player engaged in order to move from involvement, through immersion to investment and successfully complete the game. A game can be well played in two senses. First, well played as in well done, so a game can be looked at in terms of how well it is created. Second, well played as in well read, so through the experience of playing games you can develop a literacy of games. Manovich (2001) notes, when engaging new media (or playing a game), we oscillate “between illusionary segments and interactive segments” that force us to “switch between different mental sets” demanding from us a “cognitive multitasking” that requires “intellectual problem solving, systematic experimentation, and the quick learning of new tasks.” So, when the units of story are effectively intertwined with the units of gameplay, the rising action of the plot can parallel the rising challenges of the gameplay, and enable us to have a compellingly engaging experience. While the story in the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was mostly related in cinematics, there was 44
an attempt to inject it into gameplaying moments through the Prince’s voice-over asides, and certain pivotal actions the player has to take that move the plot forward. And the gameplay is influenced by the story in the way characters share advice on what to do and how plot points become gameplaying goals. The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time may have had a few faulty moments of dissonance, but overall, it did an elegant job of combining its narrative and gameplay to provide a fulfilling interactive experience. It is a game well played. References Aarseth, E. (2003). Play Research: Methodological approaches in game analysis. Delivered at the Digital Arts and Culture Conference, Melbourne, Australia. Bloom, H. (1973). The Anxiety of Influence: A Theory of Poetry. New York: Oxford UP. Bogost, I. (2007). Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Bogost, I. (2007). Unit Operations: An Approach to Videogame Criticism. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press. Byatt, A. & Burton R. (2004). The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights. New York: Modern Library. Costikyan, G. (1994). I have no words & I must design. Interactive Fantasy, 2. Available at: http://www.costik.com/nowords.html Costikyan, G. (2001). Where stories end and games begin. Available at http://www.costik.com/gamnstry.html Crawford, C. (1984). The art of computer game design. Mcgraw Hill. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1991). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York: Harper Collins. Davidson, D. (2007). Interactivities: From involvement through immersion to investment. Available at: http://waxebb.com/writings/interact.html Davidson, D. (2005). Plotting the Story and Interactivity of the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Delivered at the Media in Transition 4, MIT, Cambridge, MA. Davidson, D. (2007). Well Played: Interpreting Video Games. Delivered at the Games, Learning, and Society Conference 3.0, Madison, WI. 45
Page 1 and 2: Well Played 2.0: Video Games, Value
Page 3 and 4: Table of Contents Thank You. Well P
Page 5 and 6: Introduction Well Played 2.0 More P
Page 7 and 8: Cloudmaker Days: A Memoir of the A.
Page 9 and 10: abbreviations from the Periodic Tab
Page 11 and 12: that curtain was. This decision was
Page 13 and 14: experience. The ambivalence I felt
Page 15 and 16: special treat: in very faint text w
Page 17 and 18: storytelling where the topic is act
Page 19 and 20: 16 It’s striking that an experien
Page 21 and 22: 57 http://www.argn.com 58 http://ww
Page 23 and 24: the level of interactive engagement
Page 25 and 26: he wants the honor and glory for hi
Page 27 and 28: cinematics are units that go beyond
Page 29 and 30: differs from the first checkpoint).
Page 31 and 32: oom that you just saw in the vision
Page 33 and 34: Figure 10. Screenshot of the Castle
Page 35 and 36: fight, the space is large enough th
Page 37 and 38: scenes have more of a pounding elem
Page 39 and 40: going to have a successful ending (
Page 41 and 42: Interestingly, it doesn’t rewind
Page 43: note, I actually let myself get kil
Page 47 and 48: Team XBox. Prince of Persia: Sands
Page 49 and 50: Gray discs require two adjacent bre
Page 51 and 52: my own music,[72] or more often, I
Page 53 and 54: allows five discs before a new row
Page 55 and 56: Chain Factor functioned as the “t
Page 57 and 58: I think, what well-designed virtual
Page 59 and 60: The genius of this system is that t
Page 61 and 62: haunting (and haunted) games I’ve
Page 63 and 64: Compared to “Sabre Wulf” and
Page 65 and 66: altitude) depending on the moment o
Page 67 and 68: Aside from that thread that explora
Page 69 and 70: would make anyone feel eager to pla
Page 71 and 72: learn on how to jump and take the o
Page 73 and 74: DREW DAVIDSON et al. (2008). Beyond
Page 75 and 76: her picture. When opening the locke
Page 77 and 78: The story advances with the explora
Page 79 and 80: Favorite moments Nothing would stop
Page 81 and 82: than yourself. Your character is re
Page 83 and 84: on presence, flow, and learning. Ho
Page 85 and 86: oach did not serve as a distraction
Page 87 and 88: game. However, some players felt pr
Page 89 and 90: sugary sweets from the picnic blank
Page 91 and 92: Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Findin
Page 93 and 94: 30 square kilometers around the Che
Page 95 and 96:
Deus Ex and System Shock to set the
Page 97 and 98:
the dreams,” muses this nameless
Page 99 and 100:
fails to realize that the Zone is n
Page 101 and 102:
leak, empty land-scape highlights t
Page 103 and 104:
The storyline, characters, and even
Page 105 and 106:
enough. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warf
Page 107 and 108:
developers utilize environmental es
Page 109 and 110:
The title of the novel is a referen
Page 111 and 112:
And yet the same sun, the same moon
Page 113 and 114:
(www.perimeterpartners.com), Bill H
Page 115 and 116:
Actraiser Andy Jih While many other
Page 117 and 118:
simple to dive into: run left and r
Page 119 and 120:
the only task left is to go to the
Page 121 and 122:
have ended the game simply with an
Page 123 and 124:
For an adventure game to succeed, i
Page 125 and 126:
cinematic, Manny despairs of his lo
Page 127 and 128:
normal day-to-day life to reach new
Page 129 and 130:
weren’t completed due to budget a
Page 131 and 132:
mechanic Elementals that look like
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gameplay mechanics in Fallout 3. Th
Page 135 and 136:
with moral dilemmas is done with th
Page 137 and 138:
contained vignette will also make m
Page 139 and 140:
One of the most discussed Quests in
Page 141 and 142:
the grove to help the Wasteland whi
Page 143 and 144:
weapons lost will change playing st
Page 145 and 146:
nonexistent, and few gamers I talk
Page 147 and 148:
Cyan is notorious for baffling play
Page 149 and 150:
Figure 2: The Cleft in the desert,
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“writing” Ages, housed in “li
Page 153 and 154:
ook, that book appears in your Relt
Page 155 and 156:
visits to solve, each player needs
Page 157 and 158:
them prideful and greedy. The impli
Page 159 and 160:
midst and walking down the path. If
Page 161 and 162:
Figure 17: Decoding the door in Ede
Page 163 and 164:
As mentioned earlier, central to Ur
Page 165 and 166:
Immersive Game Design: Indigo Proph
Page 167 and 168:
compartmentalizes all of the conten
Page 169 and 170:
immediate connection between player
Page 171 and 172:
initiating a similar game-ending ev
Page 173 and 174:
interactions have even greater sign
Page 175 and 176:
was trying to concentrate on inputt
Page 177 and 178:
Lions & Jackals: The Politics of Fa
Page 179 and 180:
Banga, meaning “the all-powerful
Page 181 and 182:
ealization of what he turned into.
Page 183 and 184:
Maybe 80% of our players are just l
Page 185 and 186:
Jeffries, L.B. “Far Cry 2: The He
Page 187 and 188:
Looking beyond the moments, it is i
Page 189 and 190:
prowess. There is some level of apt
Page 191 and 192:
solid short-term goal, much like fi
Page 193 and 194:
time or exploring the same game lev
Page 195 and 196:
and seamless; the player is whisked
Page 197 and 198:
Rasmus: I have an absolute love for
Page 199 and 200:
feeling that there is something int
Page 201 and 202:
sessions make it easy to get into t
Page 203 and 204:
the game sometimes. Isn’t this a
Page 205 and 206:
Jesper: I would argue that the disc
Page 207 and 208:
incredibly exciting and rewarding,
Page 209 and 210:
playing games — ironic, I suppose
Page 211 and 212:
Sutton-Smith, Brian. 2008. Play The
Page 213 and 214:
dilemma itself. Should I, the playe
Page 215 and 216:
Pool of Radiance Sam Roberts Pool o
Page 217 and 218:
play experience of Pool of Radiance
Page 219 and 220:
probably at what might be called th
Page 221 and 222:
containing a moment of choice, is a
Page 223 and 224:
interpreted, without remaining hide
Page 225 and 226:
Making and Unmaking Place in The Da
Page 227 and 228:
technical accomplishments, the play
Page 229 and 230:
understanding.”[160] Time of day
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ears).[167] Videogames take advanta
Page 233 and 234:
the orphanage, church, warehouses,
Page 235 and 236:
Golden Arm and His Girl Friday, tel
Page 237 and 238:
directions except toward the goal.
Page 239 and 240:
This dynamic is played out in a sho
Page 241 and 242:
169 Celia Pearce, “Narrative Envi
Page 243 and 244:
ilovebees: Playing and Designing in
Page 245 and 246:
Curious parties falling through the
Page 247 and 248:
Columns of paired numbers appear, l
Page 249 and 250:
may be, they may still need to be n
Page 251 and 252:
strength of its developers and its
Page 253 and 254:
Resident Evil 4: The Mercenaries Mi
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skills at RE4 have earned you the p
Page 257 and 258:
Another important factor that adds
Page 259 and 260:
The strongest pressure on the playe
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• Do I have enough health left to
Page 263 and 264:
New Section Francisco Souki It was
Page 265 and 266:
the game stayed true throughout the
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a reflective Mamma mia! You only ne
Page 269 and 270:
point it all took shape in my head.
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neutral planet, the attacking ships
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want to attempt to play at an exper
Page 275 and 276:
abusive language. Most importantly,
Page 277 and 278:
Stephen Jacobs is an Associate Prof
Page 279 and 280:
granted by the EPSON Ibérica’s
Page 281 and 282:
and Second Person. He is cited in m
Page 283 and 284:
of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Sim
Page 285 and 286:
designing and developing cross-medi
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