RULES Part I

1
RULESPart I

• Victor Kaptelinin
• October 4, 2006

2
Outline

• Defining rules (ch. 11)
• Rules on three levels (ch. 12)
• The rules of digital games (ch. 13)
• Games as emergent systems (ch. 14)

3
Rules

• Why are rules so important to games? ltgt They put
  us inside the game world by letting us know what
  is in and out of bounds
• Mark Prensky (SZ p. 122)
• Every game has its rules, says Huizinga in Homo
  Ludens. But we may go further and say Every game
  is its rules, for they are what define it.
• David Parlett (SZ, p. 134)

4
What defines a world

• The real world
• Games
• Digital games

5
The real world

• Laws of nature (do not need to be enforced)
  e.g., Newtons laws, Archimedes law
• Social laws and regulations, formal e.g.,
  constitutions, laws of the state, formal dress
  code (enforced)
• Unwritten social rules (may or may not be
  enforced) informal dress code, eating

6
Laws/rules of the real world

• Impose constraints
• Can be explicit or implicit
• Apply to everyone
• Are (relatively) stable
• Are supposed to be followed
• Can be found in different concrete situations
• Cannot be designed by an individual
• Do not define persons intentions and goals
• Are NOT persons experience, strategies, etc

7
Game rules

• Impose constraints -- Limit player action
• Can be explicit or implicit --Explicit and
  unambiguous (?)
• Apply to everyone -- Shared by all players
• Are (relatively) stable -- Fixed
• Are supposed to be followed -- Binding
• Can be found in different concrete situations--
  Repeatable
• Can be designed by an individual
• Do define persons intentions and goals
• Are NOT persons experience, strategies, etc

8
Defining rules summary

• Foundations of the real world and the magic
  circle laws vs. rules
• Game rules vs. Game experience
• Game rules vs. Rules of strategy and Social rules
  (norms)
• General characteristics of all game rules
• Limit player action
• Explicit and unambiguous (?)
• Shared by all players
• Fixed
• Binding
• Repeatable

9
Game rules on three levels -- I

• Constitutative rules (laws of nature?)
• the abstract, core mathematical (formal,
  logical) rules of the game contain the essential
  game logic but do not explicitly indicate how
  players should enact these rules
• Operational rules (social laws and rules?)
• the rules of play that players follow direct the
  players behavior and are usually described in
  instructions and rolebooks for games
• Implicit rules (unwritten rules of social
  conduct?)
• unwritten rules of etiquette and behavior
  similar rules may apply to many different games

10
Rules on three levels -- II

• Operational rules build on constituative rules
• The boundary between operational and implicit
  rules is fuzzy
• Formal identity of a game emerges from the
  interplay between constituative and operational
  rules
• The formal meaning of a game emerges as a result
  of an interplay between the three levels
• Elegant rules allow players focus on experience
  rather than logic

11
The rules of digital games (RDG)

• Are generally the same as the rules of
  non-digital games determine the relationship
  between players actions and their outcomes
• Constituative RDG handle internal events
• Operational RDG handle external events
• Implicit RDG -- extend non-digital ones by
  including implicit assumptions of the game
  platform
• Are constituted by the aspects of the program
  code that control inputs and determine outcomes
• Include the internal functioning of formal game
  logic
• Usually (not always) do not include audio/visual
  implementation of the game
• The three level framework can be difficult to
  apply to concrete games the purpose is to
  provide a general insights into how games produce
  meaningful play

12
Games as emergent systems

• Complex systems
• Example Snake Battles
• Example A modified TTT