[MUD-Dev] DGN: Reasons for play [was: Emergent Behaviors spawned from...]

[cruise]

John Buehler spake thusly...

> It's time to define "game", because that word is used
> axiomatically all through this exchange, and I have no idea what
> is meant by it.

Probably a good idea :P

>   "Anything requiring decisions falls under the heading of game."

>   "Once you include interaction, it is a game."

>   "You don't need competition if you don't want it - but it's not
>   a game without it."

>   "That doesn't mean it has to be about virtual achievement."

> These three seem to equate to the logical statement that

>   game == decision-making == interaction == competition

Yes.

> But that achievement is not part and parcel of the definition of a
> game.

Again, yes.

> Amanda Walker just quoted a URL that very much supports what I've
> been trying to say, and I'm curious as to your read:

>   http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/001299.php?page=2

> Is the data on that page consistent with your view of how games
> entertain us?

Absolutely.

> I'd like to add that pure observation as the sum total of
> experiencing a game (or finding entertainment) was never a point I
> was trying to make.  I was using observation-as-entertainment as a
> means of describing a contrasting way of players finding
> entertainment.  Contrasting with competition, specifically.  A
> woman can be highly entertained by observing something with
> somebody else.  That's called "sharing".  And that is why eight
> times more women were interested in relationships than were
> interested in competition (per the information in the link).

Relationships are interaction with another person. Therefore they
are a form of game. In fact, they even include achievement - gaining
a friend.

Pure "observation" - seeing new and beautiful scenery - is perfectly
possible in current MMOG's - big landscapes, using all the latest
graphical wizardry, provide plenty of scope for would be
explorers. The problem is, other forms of enjoyment, such as
advancement, are rewarded within game (as well as being their own
reward), and in many ways required.

I'm firmly on the side of removing levels (whether through levels or
loot). I heartily support the idea of looking for new forms of
entertainment. I just don't see the need to abandon "games" - at
least as I classify them. I think we're arguing on the same side -
we're just debating what that "side" should be called :P

--
[ cruise / casual-tempest.net / transference.org ]
   "quantam sufficit"
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