Rawan

2007-03-09T04:30:00.001-08:00

Rhetoric

The word Rhetoric is derived (from Greek ῥήτωρ, rhêtôr, orator, teacher). “ Rhetoric is a method or expression that contains underlying values or beliefs, a method that attempts to persuade others that it is correct” salen & zimmerman(2004:p.517). It is an art, technique or practice of persuasion. Dixon(1971:p.3) says that “ rhetoric is a convenient label for all the most trivial and unworthy ways of attempting to move or influence an audience.” Rhetoric can be sometimes very crud or subtle. Thus rhetoric is a language of expressing and propagating one’s particular values and beliefs.
So these beliefs and values can also be observed through people’s behavior and clothing style etc.
When applied to games rhetoric reveals how games represent broad patterns of ideological value. We all know about the game GTA- vice city. Lets apply it to two ways of examining rhetoric i.e. Rhetoric of representation of game: if we look at the way GTA was represented or marketed like in the preview they showed Tommy shooting, a view of Californian city, the kind of hard music, the girls roaming , cars and the clothing style. All this in itself was a persuasion that the game was of a violence nature and isn’t made for kids.
Rhetoric within games themselves: In GTA the objective is to complete the missions and challenges by doing crimes like killing, robbing & stealing cars and bursting them. The game emphasizes on aggression, killing, combat. The values of the game are like kill people who come between you and accomplishment of mission, stealing cars, breaking the law. Sometimes what I used to do that apply cheat codes and start killing the cops and then destroying the cars and get away by applying another cheat code. The rhetoric in the game is that killing, robbing people, stealing cars, indulging in prostitution is okay as the game itself facilitates the necessity of doing all this to survive in the game.

Bibliography:
Dixon,P. (1971) Rhetoric. New Fetter Lane, London.
Salen, K. and Zimmerman, E. (2004) Rules of Pay: Game Design Fundamental. Cambridge, MA:MIT

2007-03-09T04:29:00.001-08:00

Homo Ludens- Magic Circle and Lusory Attitude

Huizinga (1945:p.10)defines play as “an activity which proceeds within certain limits of time and space, in a visible order , according to rules freely accepted , and outside the sphere of necessity”. Which basically relates to the concept of Magic Circle which has been defined as a frame which according to Salen & Zimmerman(2004:p.94) is “ a concept connected to the question of reality of a game, of the relationship between the artificial world of the game and the real life context that it intersects.” It is a games special context or frame which can be either physical or psychological along with some special rules that apply to the frame. It is like an enchanted zone with fixed boundaries of time and space. In other words the magic circle of a game is where a game takes place. “To play a game means entering into a magic circle” Salen and Zimmerman(2004:p.95). It simply means that as soon as you start playing the game according to its rules you enter into a magic circle.
If we look at Road Rash then as we start playing it we ultimately enter into a magic circle as you are now in the world of game bike racing which has certain rules and boundaries and you cant go beyond them like: you have to compete against other opponents, there are fixed tracks and you cant go beyond them, you cannot turn around your bike to opposite direction and you don't have freedom to do anything you want. So even if you start playing game and do nothing then too you are in a magic circle because you abide by the rules and boundaries of the magic circle.
Lusory attitude: According to salen and Zimmerman(2004:p.99) “ the lusory attitude is the state of mind required to enter into the play of a game”. It is when a player accepts the rules, obstacles and goals in order to make a play possible. It is a kind of contract within the players like accepting the artificial authority of the magic circle to experience a play and become a part of the play. In road rash we adopt a lusory attitude by accepting the rules and then riding fast unlike the ordinary life.

Bibliography:
Huizinga, J.(1945) Homo Ludens: A Study of Play Element in Culture. London: Temple Smith
Salen, K. and Zimmerman, E. (2004) Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamental. Cambridge, MA:MIT

2007-03-09T04:28:00.001-08:00

Wittgenstein: Family Resemblance

How do define ‘game’? Wittgenstein argues that there is nothing common to all games, but rather that games held certain similarities and relations with each other. He says that the concept of game is like a rope where the fibres overlap each other. He uses the expression family resemblances to characterise the different similarities in games as like in a family there are resemblances between members e.g. eyes, nose, build etc. So his idea of games is that there is no precise way of defining games, rather he admonished his reader not to think, but to look at the vast range of things that we call games. He argues that for e.g. that some games may require skills, competitive spirit but not luck and on the other hand some may no skills but luck and competitive spirit, as they have overlapping similarities. According to Wittgenstein we should try to work out the family resemblances.
If we take e.g. of few games like: Doom II which is shooting game, Need for Speed II which is a car racing game with some opponents and basic rules and Chess master 2000 which is a normal game of chess with all similar rules. All these games are very different from each other and applying Wittgenstein’s concept to these games then all these games share some similarities like they all have a win or lose situation, they all require skills. Similarly they have some overlapping features among themselves like Doom II and Need for Speed share an element of luck as in doom 2 there might be possibility that you get saved from the enemy or find the door to the next level quickly and in need for speed the opponent might get stuck somewhere and you may get a chance to overtake him. Likewise chess master and need for speed share a common element of competitiveness as in both of these games you have competitors fighting to win the game. So Wittgenstein concept of family resemblance hold to most of the games that I have come across.

Bibliography:Retrieved from the world wide web on 8 march: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_resemblance

2007-03-09T04:27:00.001-08:00

Pleasures of Play: Reward

Games offer its players with various kinds of pleasures: Reward, Flow and Iteration. I will be looking at the pleasures of play derived from Reward. Rewards play a very crucial role in motivating players to continue playing. Rewards build a sense of pleasure in the player. As salen & zimmerman(2004:p.345) suggests that “Hallford & Hallford are absolutely correct that players need to be rewarded, that they need to accomplish tasks and feel satisfaction as they play”. In any game reward like: extra health, weapons, new levels etc. are very important to maintain characters interest and make him perform better.
Hallford& Hallford suggests four kinds of reward in digital games and now looking at them in the light of my gaming experience of playing a game called Total Overdose. It is basically an action game which becomes becomes more interesting with the rewards you get within the game as Poole(200:p.21) says “most elemental videogame pleasure is the heathen joy of destruction.”
The first one is the reward of glory. While playing total overdose I got stuck at many places. There are missions where you are unable to figure out how to complete because they are based on some tricks and some special moves, which you might not have done earlier and you keep on failing every time but after many tries you finally succeed and that moment is like reward that builds your confidence. The reward of glory is basically the happiness experience after completing any particular difficult level or finishing the game.
Second is the reward of sustenance. These are the things you get which help you maintain the status of your avatar and keep all the things you have gained so far. In total overdose there are many such rewards like: health package, extra life in form of a rewind and special weapons which are at corners and are hidden inside the vending machines. These rewards make your avatar more strong and resourceful.
The third reward is the reward of access. These are the rewards that allow a player to unlock new locations and resources. In total overdose you can unlock new missions or challenges, unlimited ammos for a particular weapon if you score more points than the required in a mission.
The fourth is the reward of facility. These are the ones which enable a player’s avatar to do some new things or enhance abilities and skills. There are such rewards you get in total overdose. While you are fighting with gangsters you get some special moves called loco moves in the game which increase your skills and makes you perform some amazing moves while fighting.
Therefore rewards are a very dominant concept of games.

Bibliography:
Poole,S. (2000) Trigger Happy: Videogames and the Entertainment Revolution. Newyork: Arcade
Salen, K. and Zimmerman, E. (2004). Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. Cambridge, MA: MIT