Gaming I.R.L.

'Gamers' can be seen as a cultural group that some people do not want to belong to. In an 'IGN' interview the massively popular video game franchise 'Call of Duty' (2003 - 2013) creators 'Infinity Ward' stated that their fans and players "aren't hardcore gamers, or even gamers, but they play Call of Duty every night." (IGN, 2013) This throws up a question of what a gamer is, which differs to what person you ask. Jane McGonigal would argue that games make us better and she dies so in her book 'Reality is Broken'.

When describing a game McGonigal states, "When you strip away the genre differences and technological complexities, all games share four defining traits: a goal, rules, a feedback system, a voluntary participation" (McGonigal, 2011: 21). If we look at an  example we can easily see what she is talking about, let's look at the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) title 'Super Mario Bros.' (1985). The goal in Super Mario Bros. was to rescue the Princess, the rules were that you have a certain number of lives, creatures can kill you and you can get power ups for your character. A feedback system was in place that told us how we got on, how many coin we have collected and how far into the game we are. As for voluntary participation, at anytime we can walk away from the game if we choose. McGonigal's explanation of a game in this sense seems spots on though what if we looked deeper into why we play the games?

Video Games can be viewed as an escape from real life, a common new media term when talking online and even when in person is 'I.R.L.' (in real life). Even this term suggests that we view games as another 'universe', somewhere were our lives are different. Our own realities are not as satisfying as within our games, no stimulation, challenge or goals. This could end in no enjoyment in our life, although with games we can have immediate gratification, whether it be saving the universe in 'Mass Effect 3' (2012) or living a fantasy life of adventure in 'World of Warcraft' (2004).

Games can have a good effect on our lives in real situations, take the game 'Tetris' for example, this improves our puzzle solving skills while we play, or our team building in the 'Halo' series (2001 - 2013) while playing team objective game types. There are even games designed to improve us, like 'Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training' (2006) which tries to improve our reaction time, mathematics, spelling and more.
"A game is an opportunity to focus our energy, with relentless optimism, at something we're good at." (McGonigal, 2011: 22)


Bibliography

Bioware, 2012, Mass Effect 3, Computer and Console Game, Multiple Formats, Electronic Arts.

Blizzard Entertainment, 2004, World of Warcraft, Computer Game, PC and OS, Blizzard Entertainment.

Bungie, 2001, Halo: Combat Evolved, Console Game, Xbox, Microsoft Studios.

IGN (2013) Call of Duty Players 'Aren't Hardcore Gamers', Says Infinity Ward [Online]. Available at: http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/10/21/call-of-duty-players-arent-hardcore-gamers-says-infinity-ward (Accessed: 13 November 2013)

Infinity Ward, 2003, Call of Duty, Computer and Console Game, Multiple Formats, Activision.

McGonigal, J (2011) Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better And Why They Can Change The World. Penguin Press HC.

Nintendo, 2006, Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain?, Nintendo DS, Nintendo.

Nintendo EAD, 1985, Super Mario Bros., Console Game, NES, Nintendo.

Pajitnov, A, 1984, Tetris, Computer and Console Game, Multiple Formats, Spectrum HoloByte.

McGonigal: Gameness of games

McGonigal states that we have taken games into our culture and use it in our language.  She mentions that we use the words 'game' and 'player' in our everyday language. Other terms such as "Don't play games with me" and  "This isn't a game" are all things that I along with friend, family and other people that share in the same culture as me have used. (McGonigal 2011, pg: 19 & 20)  "This admonishment implies that games encourage and train people to act in ways that aren’t appropriate for real life." I think that McGonigal is making a valid point here, when we think about it we are actually aware of what we may become due to playing games. Even though these metaphors so not 'reflect' what it means to play a well-designed game, they are just reminders of our 'worst fears' about games. (McGonigal 2011, pg 20)


Gaming is becoming more and more popular year on year. "Games today come in more forms, platforms, and genres than at any other time in human history." (McGonigal 2011, pg: 20) There are many forms of games and gaming platforms in the 21^st century. There are many forms of gaming around like video games, board games, internet games, arcade games and much more, too much to mention really. This just shows the sheer size of the market for gaming. A game invites the ‘gamer’ to come up against needless hurdles which involve hard work and optimistic engagement. McGonigal believes there are four defining traits of games. They are the goal, the rules, feedback system and voluntary participation. (McGonigal 2011, pg: 21)

McGonigal points out to us that ‘winning’ and ‘competition’ are features which enhance the gaming experience. However, they are not considered as defining traits of gaming. The defining traits are broken down;

The Goal: The end achievement, the purpose of starting the game there must be a triumph

The Rules: The restrictions that the gamer must obey to get to ‘The Goal’

Feedback system:  A personal/unique reflection of the gamers performance which include levels and scores, unlocked items etc.

Voluntary participation: The gamers ability to follow the above traits in order to play the game correctly

Games have lots of benefits like being a form of physiotherapy, improve hand-eye co-ordination, induce decision making, team building and communicating, enhance creativity and can teach you problem solving, motivation and cognitive skills. I agree with gaming for all the above benefits but not all is so positive. Gaming can encourage violence, crime, alcohol and drug misuse as well as that it can effect academic studies and can even lead to addiction.

 

 

Defining 'Game'

 

Although the majority of us have played or participated in numerous different games, not many of us consider the actual definition of the word 'Game'.

According to McGonigal, "Games come in more forms, platforms, and genres than at any other time in human history" (McGonigal: 2011: pg.20). Whether it is a card game, online game, board game or a games console, it is still a game, but the only thing making it different is the format which we play the game in. In this day and age, you can play board games such as monopoly and the popular card game 'Uno' online.

McGonigal argues that "all games share four defining traits: a goal, rules, a feedback system and voluntary participation" (McGonigal: 2011: pg.21) each trait system has a function.

1. Goal: gives a "sense of purpose" to the player
2. Rules: "place limitations" on the way the player can accomplish his goal, making the game more challenging
3. Feedback system: indicates to the player "how close they are" to finally achieving their goal
4. Voluntary participation: where "everyone accepts the goal, the rules and the feedback" (McGonigal: 2011: pg. 21)

According to McGonigal, regardless to the format of the game, it must share those four traits in any way for it to be a game. Bernard Suits, a great philosopher, according to McGonigal provides the best concluded definition of a game, "playing a game is the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles" (McGonigal: 2011: pg. 22)

 

"Many gamers would rather keep playing than win" (McGonigal: 2011: pg. 25)

 

In her book, McGonigal refers to several examples of games which support her theory amongst which was the 'addictive' game Tetris, which "awaits for you to fail" and one is "gauranteed to lose" but we continure playing the game because as we lose, we "feel the urge to climb back on" (McGonigal: 2011: pg. 24), attempting to beat our high score.

 

Another example that would support her theory is the Candy Crush Saga which became increasingly popular over the past 2 years, where there are different goals for each level and you are given tasks which become increasingly challenging as you go through the levels, and the moves you are allowed become limited, where in some cases causes the player to lose the level and becomes addictive in the sense that one feels the urge to pass the level and the next and so on.

 

References:

 

McGonigal, J. 2011 'Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change The World' ,The Penguin Press

Reality is Broken But Games Are Fun!

"Games today come in more forms, platforms and genres than at any other time in the human race." (McGonigal; 2011, pg. 20)

With this quote McGonigal simply states that in today's world there is many many forms of games available to the population, these range from Board games, Card games, Puzzle games, Quiz games, Computer games and Console games. She goes onto tell us that even though there is all these kinds of games out there they all share the same attributes that essentially make them games.

"When you strip away the genre differences and technological complexities, all games share four defining traits: a goal, rules, a feedback system and voluntary participation." (McGonigal; 2011 pg. 21)

These four defining traits are what make games what they are, each one of these traits add another level of structure to a game and each one makes them entertaining for the participant. Each trait has its own purpose for a game.

The first trait the Goal is what any participant strives to achieve when they first start to play whichever game they tackle. With the Goal it gives every gamer a purpose to play.

The second trait Rules, this trait is what binds the participant to what the restraints of the game and also gives it a purpose otherwise there would be no challenge for the gamer.

The third trait Feedback System, this is the trait tells the participant how they are doing in the game and how close they are to their main objective. It comes in forms of levels, scores and progress bars.

The final trait is Voluntary Participation, the last trait is the one that combines the first three traits, this one is accepted by every player who starts the game as they agree to abide by the first three.

"A game is an opportunity to focus our energy, with relentless optimism  at something were good at and enjoy" (McGonigal; 2011 pg. 28)

McGonigal goes on to talk about the effects that games have on people outside of the gaming world. She believes that taking all the benefits that video games give to the participants and utilizing them in the real world would make the human race is some way thrive as everyone would be testing their limits daily and enjoying what they do.

Bibliography: 

McGonigal. J (2011) - Reality is Broken