Elements of a System

1
Elements of a System
2
Play, Game, System

• Play jumping
• System highway system (no artificial conflict)
• Game
• Rules are the most common element
• Least mentioned characteristics
• Art
• Conflict or contest

3
Digital Games, non Digital games

• Automated complex systems capability to maintain
  and execute sophisticated processes (e.g.,
  maintaining the state of the world in
  Civilization)
• Semi-automated non-digital complex systems
  Dungeons and Dragons. Board, cards are used in a
  clever way to maintain lots of information
• Anatomy of choice
• What happened before the player was given a
  choice?
• How is the possibility of a choice conveyed to
  the player?
• How did a player make a choice?
• What is the result of choice? How affects future
  choices?
• How are the results of choice conveyed?

4
Meaningful Play

• Meaningful play players actions have a
  discernable and integrated outcome
• Example of meaningful play Tekken
• Discernable When Nina lands a hit you see it
• Integrated Opponent looses hps when hp reach 0
  Nina wins
• Example of non meaningful play
• Squashing rodents in Diablo, Word of Warcraft
• Relation between Lusory Attitude and Meaningful
  play
• If there is no meaningful play, player will not
  be willing to overcome artificial obstacles in
  the game. Therefore, looses the Lusory Attitude

5
Game as Open and Closed Systems

• As a closed system (no interaction with outside
  environment), rules are the formal schema of the
  system
• Playing is an experiential schema.
• Play can be both closed (following the rules of
  the game) and open (social experience)
• Culture is the contextual schema of the game
• (word zerging. From here)
• Magic circle is the time and space where game
  occurs
• Separates the game from the real world
• Contains everything relate dot the game as a
  closed system
• And the experiential part of the game as an open
  system

6
Final Words

• Average 79/100
• This time I took a lusory attitude correcting
  the test
• For Test 2 and Final exam, Ill be looking for
  clarity and precision in your answers