culture robin burke gam 224. outline culture cultural rhetoric
TRANSCRIPT
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Culture
Robin Burke
GAM 224
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Outline
Culture Cultural Rhetoric
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Play paper
Due today
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Culture paper
Due 6/7
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Design project
Katamari Damacy level Theme
"Alien Abduction" Tasks
Map designItem inventoryItem placement / trajectory planning
Very interrelated
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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
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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"
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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
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Culture
for our purposeseverything outside the magic circlewhat comes
• before the game• after the game • surrounds the game
the context of the game
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Games and Culture!
Race Class Nationality History Global Business
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Games and Culture!
Business Medicine History Race
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Game and Culture!
Gender Business Fan-dom
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Games and Culture
September 12th
http://www.newsgaming.com/games/index12.htm
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Culture-after II
Players may organize communities around gamestrading tips, hacks, cheat codes, FAQ
filestrading mods, player-created contentgroup playorganized competitions
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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
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Culture-surrounding II
Players may play in a variety of environmentsarcade or Internet cafesolitarygroup settingpublic competitive setting
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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!"
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Play as Frivolity
StanceTo play is to goof off
Enabled byuse of humor and parodydeliberate subversion of other
rhetorics Games
WarioWare
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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
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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
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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
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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"
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Sam
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Homework #3
4 examples of character art2 male2 female
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Monday
Culture / Gender
ReadingIssue 17 of "The Escapist"
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Wednesday
In-class activity