(Due: Nov 20 Status: Not Completed)
1.4 Games History
1. Play is a phenomenon older than humankind: it is something we share with most other mammals and arguably with a much wider circle of life. Organized gameplay, with defined rules, is present in every human society we know of. Solitary and team-based athletic competitions; board games such as chess, mancala, and go; and card and dice games all have ancient roots. There may be a connection between traditions of gameplay and storytelling, as some games are connected to fortune-telling or religious rituals, and any instance of gameplay can be retold as a narrative, be it “Queen to Bishop’s 4th” or “he shoots, he scores.” Nonetheless, most traditional games are “non-narrative” or abstract: they don’t tell a story.
2. Activity 1.5 “Games and Narrative” considers the relationship between games and narrative in detail. For the moment, it’s enough to note that most board and card games, and sports, aren’t “storytelling” media. The “Role-Playing Game” (RPG) is the major exception, combining the very old art of collaborative storytelling with a game’s rules and system. But the modern notion of the RPG is even younger than the computer, perhaps as recent as the first edition of Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) in 1974… a few years before the first “personal computers” in 1977, which helps to explain the long-standing genre of “Computer Role Playing Games” (CRPGs) and the fact that, to this day, most of them are “fantasy” (D&D or Tolkein-esque) games.
3. Watch game designer David Perry’s talk at TED on videogames, paying especial attention to the section on the history of games:
4. Consider:
a. Perry places a lot of emphasis on graphics and sound – though he is a little self-mocking about it. Others have argued that the relentless focus on improved graphics has impeded the development of more complex, original or involved games, as titles rehash old ideas in higher definition, and because the shelf-life of a game is only a few years before technology moves on. What is the relevance of graphics and sound to gameplay? What about story?
b. Were you surprised to discover that 43% of gamers are female, or that the average gamer is age 30?
c. Is it disingenuous of Perry to say that games aren’t violent because the overwhelming majority of them aren’t labeled mature? That just means that the violence wasn’t deemed graphic enough to require a “Mature” rating.
d. Perry suggests that an increasing concern is the emotional impact a game can have on a person. Have you ever played a game that made you cry? Perhaps counter-intuitively, the games that have been praised most for having the power to move players to tears are relatively low-res, including “Peacemaker” and “Passage”
e. The film about video-game addiction is well-produced and powerful. Did you find it convincing? What is the difference between a good game and an addictive one? Is “more real than real” the ultimate or highest goal of gaming?
5. Games Extra: Some Activities for this course will have “Games Extras” or “Comics Extras.” If you are doing your final project as a Game, you should consider the Games Extras to be mandatory. If you are doing your final project as a Graphic Novel or a Comic Book series, you should consider “Comics Extras” to be mandatory. Otherwise, these points are recommended but not required and you do not have to do them. Our first “Games Extra” is this article on the history of Electronic Gaming:
http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/hov/
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