Week 3 – Games for Change

Thoughts on what we played in class

Dumb Ways to Die

This is a classic game that I played when I was younger. A mobile game testing your quick-thinking skills, as well as your reflexes. Best of all, the game is a reflection from the YouTube video “Dumb Ways to Die.” I used to like watching that video with my friends, and it brings me a sense of nostalgia to see us interact with this game during class. Although my parents always thought DWTD was inappropriate, me and my friends got a good chuckle out of it. Anyways, the game itself starts off easy. The longer you play it, the harder it gets. It seemingly never ends, using a point-based system to give you the next number to beat. One of the best features of the game I enjoy is the description of rule before the minigame starts. Let me elaborate…when you are met with a quick time event, before the minigame starts, you have a sense of direction. There is a short description of the rules in what to do, so the player isn’t panicking. Each trial is different, but the player will know what to do.

5 Empathetic game ideas

1. Savior’s Passion – This is a religious game, pertaining to Christ’s death on the cross. You are Jesus’ mother, Mary, who is trying to make it to the crucifixion. During this time, there is discourse and chaos making it hard for you to find your son. Crowds of people blocking your way, Romans trying to control the crowd, and disciples trying to find Jesus, account for what you endure. You can find Jesus through clues by the disciples, and news on the street. It’s hard to navigate, but through more hints and navigation, you can find your son on the cross.
2. Sinking Sailor – Inspired by the Titanic, you are a sailor who is trying to stay afloat. As the life rafts are being prepared, you must avoid sliding tables and people running around. As you are sinking with the ship, you must also make sure to save people yourself. It is your duty to fight for your life, while saving the lives of others. There is a chance you may not be able to find a life raft, so spend your time wisely.
3. Mother’s Wish – Your mother is very sick, and she asks of you one thing – to grab her medicine/groceries from the store. Unfortunately, the store is also about to close, and you are limited on time. each isle has different items in it. Your job is to navigate the isles accordingly, before the time runs out. At the start of every game, the items are randomized, making each game different.
4. Puppy Pals – A game making the player feel empathetic for adopting puppies. This experience involves adopting the right puppy in need, based on description. Players are given vague descriptions of the puppies that they are trying to find, and based on what they read, they have to make the right decision. When they make the decision, they turn over the card to determine if they chose the right puppy.
5. Com. Compassion – A communication game, but also a mystery solving game in which a character must console someone going through a hard time. This is not only empathetic towards others but also increasing our communication skills. A player might be perfectly fine, but that is for the other players to find out. An interactive experience between two different players, one trying to find out answers and the other one trying to help the player guess.

Mother’s Wish Wrinkle

There are tiny little model shelves on a board, each with intricate tiny pieces. The Shelves can be organized in any way, in any order and same applies to the items on the shelves. On a player’s turn, they choose a card to see what item their mom wants them to get off the shelf. When they are ready, they flip over the timer (probably a sand timer), and they start looking on the shelves visibly. When they find an item, they pick another card and choose the next item. The player who was able to put the most items in their shopping cart before the store closes wins.

Week 3 questions

Chapter 1

1. How does Mary Flanagan’s definition of game differ from Chris Crawford’s as well as the definition crafted by Katie Salen and eric Zimmerman?
   • Flanagan brings in a linear and broad definition of games, more open to non-traditional forms of play. Crawford focuses on decision-making and interaction within structured systems. Lastly, Salen & Zimmerman stress the importance of rules, systems, and artificial conflict leading to quantifiable outcomes.
2. What is an activist game?
   • Activist games are characterized by their emphasis on social issues, education, or even intervention. Games that engage in a social issue through themes, narratives, roles, settings, goals, and characters.

Chapter 3

1. Go and chess are examples of games that feature “perfect information”, what other games share that feature?
   • Mancala, picture games and checkers are other examples of “perfect information” games.
2. Why might chance or gambling games hold spiritual or religious importance to ancient cultures?
   • The random outcomes symbolized influence of fate, divine will, or the unpredictable nature of life itself. Gambling was not just for entertainment but could be correlated with religious and social fabric of ancient societies, serving as a means to interpret fate, seek divine guidance, and reinforce communal beliefs.
3. When was the earliest battle between government/ religious groups and games? what modern games can you think of that have been banned or demonized?
   • Tables was a game played with dice, played on a backgammon board. Europeans in the Middle Ages were captivated, and the church fought to forbid its play. 1254 Is when St. Lous IX forbade Tafl at court, calling the game “inhonesti ludi.” Modern games that have been banned or demonized are “Mobile Legends, Bang Bang” and “Marvel Snap” due to national security or data privacy.
4. What is a fox game, and what would be a modern example?
   • Unequal opponents, where the games are characterized by an unbalanced set of game goals and a rather abstract board. One player controls numerous geese, sheep or mice, whereas the opponent controls the fox, or aggressor. A modern example of a fox game could be Dead by Daylight. In this game, four survivors work against one powerful killer, fixing generators to escape through the gate.
5. What was the purpose or intent of the game: Mansion of Happiness?
   • The Mansion of Happiness explored morality and virtue. Success is earned through honesty, temperance, gratitude, sincerity, humility, and so on. The intent of this game, with these qualities, is to hope that children would understand and take these principles to heart. Furthermore, children could connect their thoughts to the secular joys of competing for positions, fighting against the wages of good vs evil.
6. Why do artists from the Fluxus and Surrealist movements play games? Why did Surrealists believe games might help everyone?
   • They played games as a form of recreation and research. Surrealists emphasized the playfulness of Dada through the use of chance and juxtaposition. They were also concerned with the internal workings of the mind and believed that games encouraged a deep focus on the subconscious.
7. Changes in what can signal profound changes in games? How were pinball games reskinned during WW2?
   • Changes in any larger social situation, such as economic depression can signal profound changes in games. Pinball games typically updated graphics, pertaining to the ongoing wars at the time. They were made “politically relevant.”
8. What statements did Fluxus artists make by reskinning games like monopoly and ping pong?
   • Fluxus artists wanted to reexplore and open up the concepts of the current concepts of these games, questions how different things would be. The artists intend that the meaning of the work and its spatiality be infinitely interpretable when “put into play.”
9. How are artists like Lilian Ball, Marcel Duchamp, Takako Saito, Yoko Ono, Gabriel Orozco and Ruth Catlow using war games?
   • These artists use war games in response to think about global conflict, and how games can investigate ways to express different kinds of aggression. Furthermore, these different forms of expression can teach principles of nonviolent conflict resolution.
10. Why is it important for players to have agency in a critical or serious game?
    • Artists can employ contexts for play which include empathy and learning, as well as activating metaphorical or actual action.