Tets 3
Interactivity
(just because you are doing something does NOT make it interactive) Chris Crawford says there are three parts to it 1. Speaking: inputting commands into the computer 2. Listening: computer receives the commands 3. Thinking: computer processing All three of these work as a cycle & works on a spectrum Video games vary in interactivity Low interactivity: food game High interactivity: Watson (more interactive), Doki Doki
Taby Arthur's presentation
-Targeted accepted students for what its like to be at denison -Changed logos→ wrong colors are everywhere -Social media→ strategies, publishing, community management, paid, analysist -Digital marketing→ events, paid, band, congruence, email, SEO, local, consult, crisis, communication -Engagement → denison rate, reaction, comments, shares, posts click -Cultivate brand ambassadors → including individuals among campus --> Students, class, faculty -Reaching future Denesonians: -->Goals: meet students where they are, feels like denison, convert in to applicants -->Strategy: social media ads (look alike audience), landing page, interest and behavior based -A1 machine learning: all done through machine -->Ie. filters out the word president etc Few thousand dollars a year on social media -Organically grown posts: signals to facebook that it is interesting and then spreads to more people -Paid grown posts: boosting -Different goals for each posts: comments→ nostalgia, content to use elsewhere ie. magazine or other ads Rhythm: keep people engaged Brand awareness and reach consideration : considering taking action Video views Conversion: bookstore link to purchase -Can have a frequency limit to only see an add a specific amount of times
The three previous perspectives on game work (and what they mean)
1. Real-world monetary value Game work: work when making money Selling game items 2. Taylorism and behavioral conditioning repetitive , boring Grinding: performing a repetitive in game task Farming Leveling up Taylorism: scientific management and rewards MMORPGs: mindless and repetitive to the extent that it verges on taylorism Game work: only work when boring, tedious to get "past" 3. Political economy of game production Making games, fan creations Online multiplayer game: Players put in a staggering amount of work Their involvement improves their experience Work is based on multiple players→ enjoyment Modding: players producing game content Game work: players time/energy contributes to game companies end goals
The casual revolution
A term coined by Jesper Juul Describes cultural emphasis on games such as motion controlled (Wii) & with mobile games (App Store) Happened in 2006 with the release of the Nintendo Wii Easy to pick up & mostly causal games Furthered by the launch of the Apple App Store in 2008 (released on July 10th) Started with 500 applications In 2017 the store had 2.1 million applications Big deal because the revolution made it so everyone could play & it reintroduced to the world that gaming was not exclusive to gamers
Utility as a theory
BBB: beyond the burden of boredom Confront play as a word/concept head on Cultivation theory: includes play into the definition of work
Chinese labor camps/World of Warcraft
Chinese labor camps → forced to play video games (world of warcraft) Collect resource (ie. gold) then they sell resources for real money Gold farming Works: stuff you make money off of
Podcast
Combination of pod and cast (IPod and Broadcast) episodic series of digital audio or video files which a user can download in order to listen
Stardew Valley
Concerned Ape 2 million copies first year Legit farming Improve skills perform tasks Progress bars - level 5 + 10 → prizes Upgrade farm: central game mechanic → progression task No endgame
Audacity
Created by the audacity team Live demo time for audacity Recording app/product
Types of stories told in the Dark Souls community Metaphor
Dark Souls: a community of fans on Reddit that tell stories about playing games Storytellers (gamers) Story (gameplay) Victory, appreciation, failure, community itself
The Three Podfathers
Dave Winer Blogger and software developer Developed a system in RSS to enclose files to deliver them Christopher Lydon Media personality based in Boston Sent out interviews he had done at the incentive of Winer Adam Curry MTV host and computer enthusiast Developed idea for IPodder while listening to Lydon's interviews IPodder: software to deliver recordings to IPods to make them portable
Three types of sound
Dialogue: speaking, human voice Music: Sound effects:
The Witcher 2 and the Witcher 3
Geralt: name of character Witcher 2 (sky's favorite) May 2012 CD Projekt Red Highly popular Character progression task: skill tree: where you can upgrade to gain XP→ talent points→ can assign points to a tree In order to unlock this ability you unlock X first Witcher 3 4 mill copies CD Projekt Red Has sequential upgrade system that looks like a spreadsheet and adds skill points to abilities 4 rows x 5 columns so many points in each to advance→ have to have so many point in each column to advance
99% Invisible
Host: Roman Mars Explores different topics from perspective of Design (sky listens to this)
This American Life
Hosts: Ira Glass NPR style Default of podcasts Serial "acts" that tell about the american experience
My Favorite Murder
Hosts: Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark True crime, survivor story to recount and discuss hometown murders
Player control/storyteller control
Inverse relationship between the two Both exist on a spectrum Storyteller control(storytelling) ---------------------------player control (interactivity) More storytelling → less interactivity Some games have little player freedom of choice (traditional narrative) Some games: have great player freedom of choice (interactive narrative)
Autonomy
Motivates gameplay work shared→ mobile game play Freedom → motivated to customize the central purpose of the game: no deadline in the game, no punishment Relaxing, engrossing, rewarding Put in hours
iPod
October 23, 2001 Developed and sold by Apple Accessible and audio editing software Anyone could start recording a podcast Garageband (APPLE) Audacity (audacity team)
Farming
Performing repetitive in game actions to receive in game items or currency
Podcasting
Practice of circulating and listening to serialized (regular) audio online
Serialize
Publish or broadcast a story or event in REGULAR installments
Attention economy
Rather than rely on the exchange of money for goods or services, digital media exchanges the attention of the viewer, player, readers, users Ex. free tv with commercials and free website services with ads (facebook)
Grand Theft Auto 5
Rockstar North Gagillion copies→ 11.2 mill copies in first day Online bank Do things→ improve skills 8 skills move through game play Improve by practice Progress bars
Serial
Sarah Koenig investigating crime there is an SNL parody of this podcast with Christmas and "Chris/Santa"
Freakonomics
Stephen Dubner (journalists) and Steven Levitt (economics) First a book, then a documentary, now a podcast Change how you see the world NPR style
Evan's five freemium game design features
Strategy-based simulation: Game centers around making money & acquiring as many in-game assets as possible, this gets rewarded with in-game currencies Never ending game world: Although games have caps on levels you can reach, they are often raised periodically, or the player can keep going once the top level is reached Short, frequent playing times: Concept of mobile gaming fills in dead time because it can be played on the go In-game currency: virtual currency used in video games, can enhance gameplay Sociability: games where you can play or visit your friend's worlds, usually connected by social media, (Farmville, other Facebook games)
Player agency
The degree to which a character's actions are based on players decisions The degree varies by the game because some give more than others Necessary for players to create their own stories
The magic circle
The separation between "play" and "life"
GarageBand
This is Apple's free recording and synthesis program.
Video games in arcades:
Typical game: Pac man, space invaders, centipede Video games introduced to amusement arcades in the late 1970's in the US
In-class game examples
Watson on Jeopardy → computer made by IBM High end of interactivity Witcher 3 (three games of Witcher) All interactive story wise Energy to process what is happening
Engagement
With story and the writing Experience points→ playing through the story Conversations - experience points CPT: upgrade character helps to get engaged with story Witcher: Geralt (name of character)
Freemium Isn't Free" - South Park episode we watched in class
You can download apps for free, but they require in-game purchases Companies use these to make profits off getting people hooked on their games
Symbolic convergence theory
a communication theory developed by Ernest Bormann where people share common fantasies and these collections of individuals are transformed into a cohesive group
RSS
a type of webfeed which allows users to access updates to online content in a standardized, computer readable format
ARGs
alternate reality games Weave the real world into a video game The best of these games have no marketing Real world games about conspiracy, code, & hidden meanings Ex. Dys4ia: hormone replacement therapy
Addiction
compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli, despite adverse consequences IGD (internet gaming disorder) Adverse consequences: losing sleep, ignoring obligations, not sustaining important relationships, & poor health mentally/physically
Fantasy themes
contents of stories that are retold by group members
Casual game
distinguished by simple rules/reduced demands on time/learned skills
Kill screen
donkey kong→ does not have an ending and the game will crash
Exit points
easily designated stopping point on video games (end of a chapter/episode) The term coined by extra credits:a game design video series Ex. middle earth shadow of mordor → feel satisfied by completing small tasks and can leave
Hardcore game
emphasizes action, competition, complex gaming communities, as well as advanced hardware
WinAmp
free media player in the late 1990s-2000s People started sharing their audio with each other through WinAmp
SHOUTcast
free software, developed by Nullsoft (makers of WINAMP) released in 1990's to stream media across the internet
Free-to-play game
games that are free & give players full access to game content
Character progression tasks- (CPT-SKY)
leveling up, skill assignment, upgrading
Impatience economy
monopolizes players desire to avoid waiting
Freemium game
only can exist due to causal revolution, offered for free but exploits in-game commercial strategies by requiring payment for a better experience
Grinding
performing a repetitive in game task
Modding
players producing game content
Metaphor
referring to one thing by referencing another thing, consists of 2 parts Ex. this class is a beast The ground: the vehicle being described (class) The vehicle: the thing whose attributes are being borrowed (a beast) Also visual metaphors: the movie: Gravity→ and rebirth
Extraludic narrative
stories players tell about their experience playing a game Ex. gaming communities on Reddit Dark souls game: 160K Tellers → players Stories → gameplay
Praxis
the work = gameplay mechanics Do things in the game → Game improves those abilities Praxis: doing of something other than reading or theorizing about it The game rewards you after playing time & investing time/energy Grand theft auto 5 and stardew valley 1. Intentional labor 2.background labor→ casually should not be discounted (labor is still taking place)
Mechanics
things you could do in a game Game mechanics: all games use mechanics Rules or methods designed for interaction with the game What you are allowed to do 1. Identify what you are allowed to do. 2. Identify what you're not allowed to do 3. How they convey meaning Ex. Loneliness game→ 1. Allowed to approach other characters 2. Not allowed to interact/reach/touch other squares 3. Convey rejection and allows players to respond to rejection
The "purpose of all video games"
to train a player to work harder while still enjoying it.
Dead time
wait in between gameplay
Yee - The Labor of Fun:
work can be a form of play Gamework: labor as it emerges from play, development and analysis Playbor: play and labor, work done by modders (people who modify games) Productive play: players produce creative works/design the game experience (fan creations)
Playing games is like cultivating a garden
work exists as play resembles endgame task / goal The more you practice the more you upgrade etc. all types of interaction are labor
Cultivation play
work that exists purely as an element of play that enables players to pursue their in-game objectives