Activity 4: Theoretical Foundations of Play
In this time of pandemic-induced self-isolation, my partner and I have been happy hermits playing and discussing video games. I took the opportunity to watch him play and connect my observations with Huizinga’s and Caillois’s theoretical concepts of what defines games and play.
At first, Max booted up Okami (a game where you play a Japanese wolf with a magical Sumi brush), though after a break he switched to Kingdom: Two Crowns, a game on which we had just completed the campaign together. Both of these games are what Caillois terms ludos, whos pleasure stems from successfully completing a challenge. They are also agôn (competitive), in that the pleasure comes from demonstrating one's skill and overcoming the opponent (in this case, the computer).
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Below are how Max's act of playing videogames tie in with the main Characteristics of Play:
FREEDOM
Max has the freedom to choose when to start and stop playing. He also has the freedom to choose what to play.
Max plays for the sake of it. He gets no financial or material reward for doing so. If anything, he has to pay for it, in terms of time, and of purchasing the games and paying for hydro.
INTRINSICALLY MOTIVATING
OUTSIDE "ORDINARY"
LIFE
Max became engrossed in playing the games, momentarily unbothered by the growing pandemic or the responsibilities of life and work. He was very quiet during Okami, focused on learning a new game. However, this was not the case for Kingdom: Two Crowns, during which we steadily discussed his strategies and choices (which ties in with Huizinga's description of play as something that brings people together).
BOUND BY TIME & SPACE
Playing is bound by time because it only occurs while Max has the game booted up, gamepad in hand, and ends when he exits the game. It is bound by space because he can only play the game on one of our computers, either the one in our living room or the one in his office.
RULES & MAKE-BELIEVE
Both games have rules set by the designer on what the player can and cannot do regarding combat, movement, interactions, etc. I argue that all video games have an element of make-believe, despite Caillois’ claim that these are exclusive. Many video games involve controlling a character (such as the wolf and rulers Max played) or being an omnipotent leader. I believe the latter is especially open to make-believe, as much of my childhood was spent pretending to a human princess who was kidnapped by, and now ruled over, my Horde in Warcraft.
TENSION
In Okami, the tension Max faced was the desire to fight the Evil forces and restore the villages. In Kingdom: Two Crowns, the tension was created by goblinesque Greed, which attacked his keep each night. Max had the added tensions of playing solo (when he is used to playing this game with co-op) and on a Challenge Island where he had to protect a dire-wolf pup; as a dog-lover, this had the potential to be extremely upsetting if he failed (he hasn't yet!).
Citations:
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Caillois, R. The Definition of Play and the Classification of Games. In K. Salen and E. Zimmerman (Eds.) The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology (pp. 122-155). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
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Huizinga, J. Nature and Significance of Play as a Cultural Phenomenon. In K. Salen and E. Zimmerman (Eds.) The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology (pp. 96-120). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.