“Placeholder” in discussing the 'not-games' of Juul that sit outside ... Juul
concentrates on what .... [2] Juul, J., Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules
and.
17th International Conference on Artificial Reality and Telexistence 2007
Playing in a Virtual World: Exploration and Aspects of Play Alison Gazzard University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield, Herts, AL10 9AB, UK
[email protected] 1. What are rules and how do they differ in computer games as opposed to virtual worlds? 2. How do goals in computer games differ from those in virtual worlds?
Abstract My research is concerned with ‘explorable virtual worlds’, usually those that are ‘artworks’, dealing with aesthetic and affective domains. Whilst developing theoretical enquiries I have come across a number of issues of terminology and word use. Particularly problematic are terms such as ‘game’, ‘games’, and ‘play’. This paper is a broad survey of some of those issues and key theorists in the field.
In entering a ‘play space’, whether in a computer game or a virtual world, we need to recognise we are doing so, and read the signs associated with that space. Play in computer games is authored by game designers (making them more ruled in how we ‘explore’ them). This will now be referred to as ‘author-driven’ play. They come with sets of instructions of what button to press, maybe a small back-story setting the scene of what’s to come and various other ‘rules’ such as what happens if the character dies, etc. After putting the game disc into a console/computer and watching the graphics appear on the television screen, we are aware that we are entering the game world. Many games allow us to play straight away, with the level of difficulty increasing as we advance through them. Different patterns start to emerge as to how we should continue. These sets of rules are pre-determined by the game designer in order for players to reach goals set in the game whether these are to beat your high score, progress to the next level or complete the game in full. This contrasts with the experience of play in virtual environments that are ‘authored’ by the user/player. We have the signs of knowing we are entering a virtual space, such as putting on a headset or viewing a screen, but beyond that we have little knowledge of what to expect or what will happen. The controls may be explained to us before hand but we can start to create our own play through exploring. This will now be known as ‘user-driven’ play. The act of playing has not been pre-determined by the creator, but the boundaries of where we can and can’t explore have. Not only are there different types of play but there are different types of rules e.g. rules that are created by games designers which I will term ‘authored rules’. The boundaries of the artefact are rules within themselves, as the technology cannot make the worlds infinite, therefore we also have ‘technological rules’. All of these rules, whether created by game designers,
1. Introduction In describing Placeholder, Brenda Laurel states that the piece allows, “…two participants to explore and play in three connected virtual environments” [1] In terms of exploration and play, what can we learn from the virtual reality artworks of the 1990s such as Char Davis’ “Osmose” or Brenda Laurel’s “Placeholder” in discussing the ‘not-games’ of Juul that sit outside the area of computer games? As both computer games and virtual reality artefacts are built around the same display and decision technologies, the real questions are about the similarities and differences between the two in the area of play, rules, goals and authorship.
2. Game or Not Game Ludology has become an established academic way of discussing computer games issues but there is still not a definitive vocabulary surrounding works that sit outside the area of ‘games’. Juul concentrates on what he believes are the main components of computer games, leaving anything that doesn’t fit into those categories either as ‘borderline cases’ or ‘not games’. Accordingly, explorable virtual worlds, such as ‘artworks’ fit into the category of ‘not games’ with games being seen as, “…a rule-based system with a variable and quantifiable outcome…”[2] This statement leads to the main themes of this paper.
0-7695-3056-7/07 $25.00 © 2007 IEEE DOI 10.1109/ICAT.2007.27
289 288
or made up by ourselves along the way, all sit within us, within our own minds. We recognise these signs of ‘ruleness’ and apply our own meanings and response to them. The game designers tend to make these signs clearer and more obvious than creators of virtual worlds who are not concerned with the rules. We will want to put rules there in some way, as it is an inbuilt part of our nature. The physical world can be understood as an environment of rules and we recognize these ‘ruled’ signs. We apply these ‘rules of the world’ or ‘local rules’ known to us, to areas we play or explore in.
driven’ game the way (or one of the ways) it was intended. This highlights another difference between virtual worlds and games, the issue of motivation and goal creation. Through being able to explore virtual worlds, users/players can create their own goals depending on individual motivation. Being ‘autotellic’[6], these explorable worlds allow users/players to create their own rules specific to their needs. This strengthens the idea of ‘user-driven’ play within the virtual play space. In contrast, computer games tend to be more ‘allotelic’[6], . The ‘author-driven’ nature of games means they are an intrinsic part of the way the game is played.
3. Game Vs Play
4. Conclusion
One problem in discussing games and play are the words, ‘game’ and ‘play’. These two words are therefore used interchangeably, ‘Game’ may be the noun of what you are describing and ‘play’ the verb of the play activity that occurs within the game. Not all play results in a game, although there is usually a general shift in this direction when rules start to become apparent. It is this play activity that takes on different meanings depending on the game or world you are playing in/exploring. Ludology can be drawn from Caillois typology of play, that of ludus and paidia. In looking at play, Caillois distinguishes these two concepts with ludus being more rule-bound play and paidia being, “…wild, free-from improvisational play…”[3] In exploring virtual worlds, we are exploring ‘technological rules’ and figuring out what ‘rules of the world’ we can bring to the space, if any. As virtual worlds are centred on exploration or ‘geographic discovery’, the term ‘exploration play’ can be used in contrast to ‘games play’ that is seen as the type of play associated with computer games. In seeing play as different types of activity with different levels of rule-ness, expanding on Caillois’ theories of paidia and ludus, we can start discussing the play formed out of exploration in virtual worlds in a different way to ‘author-driven’ games. Even though computer games have progressed and players are now offered larger, more explorable games such as “The Sims”[4] and “Grand Theft Auto”[5], these are both still essentially games. Whether the player chooses to accept them or not, there are still inbuilt goals such as creating a large house, or exploring a neighbourhood to gain points. These goals give the player something to work towards. As with any game though, the player is not always bound by the rules/goals. We can create our own play aside from the play dictated by the game, but in the end, we are more than likely to play an ‘author-
One approach to discussing virtual environments in terms of play is to realize that discussing rules is not as straight forward as ‘rule-less’ and ‘ruled’ artefacts. Although play can start out being paidic in developing through exploration, rules will become added, as we will always be tied by boundaries. Boundaries create and sign rules, which in turn affect play. We may choose to ignore this and start to move back to creating a new type of play. This sequence will start again, creating an oscillation between paidic and ludic play. Play in explorable worlds differs through how the play is structured and who by. The goals in computer games are always more author-driven therefore already placing a set of rules on to the artefact. In virtual environments, it is we, the users/players, who set our own individual goals. We are the authors of the play and goals in the environment, and this is the only decision made for us by the creator of the virtual space.
References [1] Brenda L., Strickland, R., and Tow, R., Placeholder: Landscape and Narrative in Virtual Environments. Vol 28. 1994: ACM Press, 118-126 [2] Juul, J., Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds, MIT Press, Massachusetts 2005 [3] Caillois, R., Man, Play and Games, University of Illinois Press, Chicago, 1958 [4] The Sims, Electronic Arts , 2000, [5] Grand Theft Auto, Rockstar Games, 2001 [6] Klabbers, J.H.G., The Magic Circle: Principles of Gaming and Simulation, Sense Publishers, Rotterdam, 20
289 290
