Introduction to Computer Game Studies

Week 7, lecture 2

Today

• Questions on 3rd paper?

• Discuss political games and Bogost reading

• Discuss plans for next week

Paper #3

Paper #3

• 2K words again (at end of paper again)

• Procedural rhetoric or narrative structure

• Unpack for one game, compare w/ another

• Game publication citation (as last paper)

• Come to a conclusion

• Extra week of writing/research time

What is a political game?

What does this mean?

• September 12th, newsgaming.com, 2003

• Let’s try playing it...

September 12th

• Fictional world: Village of civilians and terrorists, bomb targeting

• Rules: People move continually, bombs take time to fall, dead civilians inspire mourning, mourning inspires terrorism

September 12th

• Gameplay:

• Targetted bombing hits civilians, sprouts as many new terrorists as it kills

• Indiscriminate bombing creates a wasteland w/ more terrorists than others

• Procedural rhetoric: Bombing is a poor tool for addressing terrorism

Persuasive games

• September 12th is a political game, making a policy argument

• What about other kinds of persuasion?

Serious games

• Political games

• Advertising and promotion games

• Education and training games

• Even interview games

• All, of course, can be viewed politically (military investment in promo and education games, and latter as former)

The Landlord’s Game

“intended to demonstrate how easy it is for property owners to inflict financial ruin on tenants”

Monopoly’s game

• Juul argues that gameplay emerges from player effort to achieve winning situation

• In September 12th the presumed winning situation cannot be achieved, forcing reflection

• We don’t know about The Landlord’s Game, but in Monopoly it can be

Monopoly’s rhetoric

• Fictional world: Real-estate speculation and development, plus random events

• Rules: Land monopolies required for development, allows bankrupting rivals

• Gameplay: Buy land as fast as you can, trade aggressively, develop first

• Rhetoric: Strategies for capitalism? Parody?

The Sims• Fictional world: Stylized suburban life, work

elided, home decoration, moody “sims”

• Rules: No set goal, must manage moods, basic needs and relationships require work

• Gameplay: Queuing up tasks, compromise, fighting time constraints, paths to goals

• Rhetoric: Suburban life as constant struggle for the basics, w/ unclear goals, but...

Updated Monopoly

Brands as cultural currency — not placement

Disaffected!

In one view, an “anti-advergame” — using brand power toward social comment, also...

Darfur is Dying

Political awareness, and empathy, not policy

Darfur is Dying

• Fictional worlds: Water foraging & village, individuals (not “lives”)

• Water rules: Can run & hide, confrontation is death

• Water gameplay: Being slow, fearful works

• Water rhetoric: Just basic living harrowing

Playing weakness

E.T. and another view of Disaffected!

Intended rhetoric?

• In America’s Army, you play as member of military — following rules of engagement

• Other team doesn’t look like US forces, but is playing same game

• Result is a presentation in which sides are equal in training, use the same rules, etc

• Is this the intended rhetoric?

Next week

• Read e-reserve articles (listed in syllabus)

• Screenings as usual, Façade

• If you have big questions about the paper, try to ask at least a week before it’s due