Culture

Robin Burke

GAM 224

Outline

Culture Cultural Rhetoric

Play paper

Due today

Culture paper

Due 6/7

Design project

Katamari Damacy level Theme

"Alien Abduction" Tasks

Map designItem inventoryItem placement / trajectory planning

Very interrelated

TeamsTeam T

Lane,Marcellus (L)Hitpas,MichaelSteacker,Liam

Team USmolyar,Alec J (L)Castellanos, RobertoDoran,Timothy M

Team VGuida,Nicholas (L)Rothberg,AdamAyala,Andres

Team WQuintana,Jasmine LLuna,Jonathan  Mendelsohn,Max

Team XGerber,Brian (L)Tahir,Rashad Chokshi,Jay

Team YMota,Juan (L)Haley,William Nielsen,Paul

Team ZNieves,Miguel (L)Behrens,ScottOrtega,Lester 

Culture

undefineable term Geertz

"Man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun...I take culture to be those webs, and the analysis of it to be therefore not an experimental science in search of law but an interpretative one in search of meaning"

Social vs Cultural

A given group might play a game regularly Friday night poker game we would probably call this a “social”

phenomenon• limited in impact and scope• small well-defined group of participants

A cultural phenomenon is one with broader impact all of a city’s regular poker players all of the people who watch World Series of

Poker

Culture

for our purposeseverything outside the magic circlewhat comes

• before the game• after the game • surrounds the game

the context of the game

Games and Culture!

Race Class Nationality History Global Business

Games and Culture!

Business Medicine History Race

Game and Culture!

Gender Business Fan-dom

Games and Culture

September 12th

http://www.newsgaming.com/games/index12.htm

Many Relevant Contexts

popular culture the images in games the ties between games and movies, manga, etc.

business the ways in which games are made and marketed the ancillary businesses around games (magazines, retailers, etc.)

fan-dom the ways that devotees invest energy and creativity into particular

games the communities that rise up around games

technology the technical requirements of games and their effect on the

evolution of computer systems gender

the way that male and female bodies and identities are rendered in games

Culture-before I

Designer borrows from the wider culture signifiers

• the red cross themes

• the hero tale images

• the witch sounds

• fanfare This background is (ideally) shared with the player

players from other cultures may need to learn some things

Culture-before II

Designer borrows from specific movies, books and/or gameslicenses / sequels

• Knights of the Old Republic II

adaptation• Sly Cooper = Splinter Cell for kids

Player's expectations are shaped by references to other cultural artifacts

Culture-after I

Designers may license game characters to other media movies

• Lara Croft Designers may let users build onto their games

new levels• UnrealEd and tools

new content• Sims tools• Counter Strike

Users may do unexpected things with games machinima

Culture-after II

Players may organize communities around gamestrading tips, hacks, cheat codes, FAQ

filestrading mods, player-created contentgroup playorganized competitions

Culture-surrounding I

Players interpret the gameusing their individual knowledge and

cultural background Players play the game

using techniques and expectations derived from other games

using expectations derived from real-world experiences

Culture-surrounding II

Players may play in a variety of environmentsarcade or Internet cafesolitarygroup settingpublic competitive setting

Game Culture

Any of these aspects are fair game for a cultural understanding of games

Designers can choose to ignore culture but that doesn't mean they are free of it it just means they will be ignorant about it

Observers can use culture as an avenue to interpret a

game's meaning, its "web of significance" can use the game as an avenue to interpret

the culture that gives rise to it• but the "web of significance" is always tied to the

larger culture in some way

Examples

Culture Game Meaning Marxism Katamari Damacy capitalist consumption gone mad

Game Culture Meaning Missile Command Cold war America Concrete manifestation of the inevitability of

nuclear destruction

Cultural Rhetoric

rhetoricThe art or study of using language

effectively and persuasively. We mean

the way that a game contains an implicit argument for a set of cultural presuppositions

How is a game an argument? Rules

the rules reward certain actions and not others• implicitly valuing one choice over another• Example: KOTOR, Fable

the rules require the player to prevail in certain types of conflict

• implying what types of conflict are important and how they can be resolved

• Example: Civilization III Play

the play of the game demands certain activities be performed

• implicitly valuing one type of activity• Example: Kung-Fu chess

the game makes certain activities and events pleasurable• implying that certain things are or should be enjoyable• Example: Katamari Damacy

Transmission / Reception

The presence of a particular cultural rhetoricmay indicate an explicit design choice

by the designer• but not always

The impact of a game on its playerscan indicate acceptance of its rhetoric

by those players• but not always

Plot

Game plots are almost always very simple rescue the princess battle the monsters save the universe from the evil mastermind rule the world

Common plot elements betrayal approval of older mentor magical aid acquisition of magic and strength

Hero tales

Hero tales are often tales of heroism simple in structure involve magical aid involve betrayal lack detailed characterization can be retold

Examples Theseus and the Minotaur Aladdin and the Lamp The Goose-Girl Jack and Beanstalk

Psychology of the hero tale

Coming of age The hero tale represents the transition from a youthful

inward-focused perspective to a mature engagement with the world.

Recognition of evil Mature engagement with the world requires the recognition

of evil and the resolve to confront it. Interdependence

The hero needs the help and (sometimes) the approval of others.

Archetypal characters The characters are drawn from a standard set of

archetypes. "The Misfit"

The transition from being different/outcast to being part of society.

Psychology, cont'd

What is the psychological function of the hero myth?Template for the issues of maturationA way to externalize difficult emotional

issues• tension between comfort/safety of home

and excitement/danger of the world• tension between growing physical and

intellectual capacities and practical powerlessness.

Consequences

Hero tale plots have most intense appeal to adolescents and children also, good fit with technological limitations

Adults (theoretically) have tolerance for more complex plots but complex plots difficult to create

Also plot is only one component of the game game needs to be engaging for other reasons

We can "read" hero-oriented games by looking at how they "construct" heroism

Example I

Asteroids "Space: The Final Frontier" To be a hero is

• to be alone against hostile and unfeeling nature, • to use speed and intelligence to battle mounting and

eventually insurmountable odds. Why

detailed examination of the game• the avatar• the space of play• the nature of the conflicts• the core mechanic• the dramatic structure

Example II

Civilization“Great Man"to be a hero is

• to be the major decision-maker• to lead a nation to dominate the world, • to balance the forces of economics,

politics, and military power

Example III

Wind Waker "Jack and the Beanstalk" to be a hero is

• to engage in a solitary quest• to start from humble and unpromising beginnings

and vanquish significant enemies• to accept magical aid• to learn from the consequences of one's mistakes• to triumph over evil on the basis of inner strength

and goodness

Example IV

Olympic speed skating “Rocky”

to be a hero is to commit oneself to arduous training to develop extraordinary and specialized

physical strength and skill to reject illegal performance enhancements to be recognized as the best in the world

Rhetorics of play

Standard conceptualizations of play may or may not be invoked by a given game

Sutton-Smith Progress Fate Power Identity Imaginary the Self Frivolity

Play as Progress

Stance Play is how we (especially children) learn

Enabled by core mechanic emphasizing desirable skills moralistic narrative

Games Chutes and Ladders Zoombini's Logical Adventure

Play as Fate

Stance To play is submit to chance, to depend on

luck Enabled by

rules dependent on uncertainty little or no skill or knowledge necessary

Games roulette "Sorry!"

Play as Power

Stance To play is to display prowess and defeat

lesser players Enabled by

play involving skill or strategic reasoning or both

Games sports Counter-Strike

Play as Identity

Stance To play is to cement group bonds and ground

identity Enabled by

emphasis on social play rules reward collaborative effort

• non-zero sum Games

team sports (including spectatorship)• "Go Sox!"

most MMORPGs

Play as the Imaginary

Stance To play is to demonstrate creative and

imaginative responses Enabled by

complex and emergent rule systems open game systems

Games "Cranium" games Sims

Play as Rhetoric of the Self

Stance To play is to engage in solitary appreciation

and development Enabled by

single-player gaming "deep" game content

Games solitaire classic adventure games

Play as Frivolity

StanceTo play is to goof off

Enabled byuse of humor and parodydeliberate subversion of other

rhetorics Games

WarioWare

Multiple rhetorics at work

Sims 2 Power

• the player demonstrates power over the Sims world by having successful Sims, amassing wealth and status

Imaginary• the player has nearly limitless opportunities to

customize their Sims house and environment Identity

• the player can interact with other players and share their customized artifacts

Rhetoric as Interpretation

Part of interpreting a gameis attributing a rhetoric to it

What is the game trying to do? This is an interpretive act

Conflicting Rhetorics

Video games are subject to conflicting cultural rhetorics

Play as Progress is very dominant The premise

• "games are for kids"• although most consumers are adults

Visible in controversies over mature themes in games• "games educate kids"• "Grand Theft Auto teaches what?"

Play as Identity is problematic because the site of identity is invisible to outsiders Visible in discussions of game "addiction"

• especially for MMORPGs

Gender

There is a "web of significance" associated with gender identitynormative expectationsthe valuation of qualitiessigns and their interpretation

A virtual character cannot escape this web"Sam"

Sam

Homework #3

4 examples of character art2 male2 female

Monday

Culture / Gender

ReadingIssue 17 of "The Escapist"

Wednesday

In-class activity