Mime is considered to be the earliest form of expression. Before language was developed, people would communicate with each other through gestures. Instead of being completely discarded after the development of language, it was practiced through entertainment. In Ancient Greece, Mime had become a theatrical form where performers acted out everyday scenes supported with elaborated gestures. The principle mimes were called ethologues who taught moral lessons through their scenes (Tripod par.1). Their most elaborate form of mime was called Hypothesis, which was more concerned with the development of characters than the plot itself (Tripod par.2).
As Greece also influenced the future of the art of the world, it also did with Western Drama. The Romans, who conquered Greece, made mime their own as they did with Greek art (Tripod par.3). After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the Christian Church was opposed to adopting mime but started slowly accepting it by incorporating it into their religious plays (Tripod par.6).
The practice of mime continued throughout the middle ages and was rose to its peak within the sixteenth century in Italy as the form of Commedia dell’ Arte. This form of Mime was originally performed in market places in the early 1500’s. The performers, called Zanni, wore masks with comical features to attract attention to themselves and their acrobatic skills. They could relate to all classes with their contemporary subject matter. Due to their hidden identities, they could also ridicule any aspect of society. Their acts were also not limited by any language barriers so they could perform in any country (Tripod par.7-9).
In the 18th century, Jean Gaspard Batiste Deburau, improved the art of mime into the art form that it is known as today. He was a master of the art and created the character Pierrot’, the eternal seeker (Tripod par. 10).
After the First World War, Etienne Decroux and his student, Jean-Louis Barrault, developed the first elements of modern mime. Barrault after following his own route developed the first mimodramas.(Tripod par. 11). After the Second World War, Marcel Marceau, who was a pupil of Decroux was influenced by silent film actors such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. He created modern mime, as it is known today by developing a whole new style and tradition of mime (Tripod par.12).
There are two major types of mime, Literal and Abstract mime. Literal mime is the telling of a story with a conflict through the use of a main character. The gestures are used to clearly tell humorous stories. Abstract mime does not normally have a plot or a character. It is used to generate feelings, thoughts and images from a serious topic or issue. It is considered an intuitive experience rather that a literal one.
Though animation can include both Literal and Abstract mime, the following will discuss the use of mime in an animation of a character trapped in an imaginary box.
Since mime is a universal language that doesn't require translation, any individual with any language or background should be able and to understand and relate to a mimed preformance. If it is applied to animation then subjects within it could commicate with any viewer from anywhere in the world. For example, by using an animatable character’s hands to indicate that he is trapped in a box, the viewer understands the situation without being informed of it verbally. All people understand limitations and boundries from jail cells to farm fences.
According to Marcel Marceau, when he is asked if he is delivering a text, even though you doesn't say a word on stage:
Yes indeed, I feel that I am both an author and an actor at the same time. Although my performance is silent, I am not acting by means of gesture alone. I am using the power of thought. I communicate with the audience by means of the thought that goes into every movement and every pose. Writers make contact with their readers by means of words and the way they give form to words through a story. (Fargeon par.9)
Therefore one can convey a character’s thoughts without informing the viewer verbally of what they are thinking. For example, if a character is trapped in an imaginery box, one can express their claustrophobia through bodily movements of panic. By the character slamming and ramming on the interior of the box, one understands the desperation in a manner that words cannot.
Marceau comments on how mime can communicate in a manner that transcends words:
Mimes are always, by definition, wordless, but they present the fable of human life on stage by means of an art that transcends words. I often make use of themes that transcend language, such as The Heart Eater, The Cage, or The Mask-Maker, which are the titles of some of my sketches. They are actually parables that express deep thoughts. (Fargeon par.9)
The viewer understands more of the character’s fear more through bodily expression than if one was informed about verbally, because the sitation is presented to them in a manner that they can related to. The viewer can picture themselves within the situation physically because the character interprets and expresses the situation physically.
According to Marceau, on the quesion if he believes if the viewer’s recreate within themsleves what he is doing on stage:
Yes, exactly. Unless the audience is drawn into the action, the mime has failed to get his message across the footlights, his performance is closer to mimesis than to the true art of mime. He has not succeeded in radiating the poetical aura that evokes in the spectator what I would describe as a "zen" identification with the character portrayed. Laughter is aroused by what appear to us as distortions or discrepancies in relation to what is "normal", but the laughing stops when the outcome is tragic, when death intervenes. (Frageon par. 11)
So if the animated character cannot get the viewer engulfed into action within a situation, then the animater has failed. The animater would have only represented a situation without the viewer feeling as if they were within it themselves, by not being emotionally involved. Therefore the character should be expressing themselves in a manner that attracts the viewer to become emotionally involved. This by portraying the character’s thoughts an emotions through movement such as the fear of a being trapped in a box.
In conclusion, the art of miming, may it be literal or abstract, is an artform and a manner of expression through movement and without words that allows the viewer to recreate themselves into an action. One can communicate through body language without being restricted by any language barriers. Not only can one communicate to any individual through mime, one can communicate themes that transcend words. The art form of mime can contribute to an animation by allowing any viewer to understand and relate to it and effectively express a character’s thoughts and emotions through movement.
Works Cited:
Fargeon, Micheal. “The art of silence - interview with mime artist Marcel Marceau – Interview”. BNET. May 1998. < http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1310/is_1998_May/ai_20825361> [accessed 11 02 2003]
“The History of Mime”. Tripod.com. <http://members.tripod.com/~kiko_mime/history.html>. [accessed 11 03 2008]
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Secondary Animation
Another term for secondary animation is ‘follow through’ animation (Hogue par.1) (Lightfoot par.6). This principle of animation concerns the secondary movement that follows after the primary movement. This is so that animation can be believable despite involving movements of a subject that are exaggerated and impossible within real life. ‘Secondary’ or ‘follow through’ animation therefore allows the animator to make the audience believe that what they are viewing is real. Examples are, clothing, hair, extremities or any other object that is connected to another object that dictates its movement. Even though secondary animation is not distinctly noticeable, it compliments the whole animation.
According to Ollie Johnson and Frank Thomas who were Disney animators, “DRAG," in animation, for example, would be when Goofy starts to run, but his head, ears, upper body, and clothes do not keep up with his legs (Lightfoot par.6). They state ‘Drag’ as example of how secondary animation is an important aspect of their animations created within the Disney studio.
Hogue describes secondary animation further according to Newton’s first law of motion, “Objects in motion tend to stay in motion, and objects at rest tend to stay at rest unless an outside force acts upon them” (par.2). If one understands how objects move within reality, even a basic understanding of physics, they will have more capability to create believable animation. He also mentions that secondary animation is, “Slightly delayed due to the natural laws of physics and gravity” (par 1). Understanding gravity and the laws of physics will allow the movement to be resemble movement within the viewers reality allowing them to believe what they are viewing is a reality.
Jones explains the aspects of secondary animation in detail:
Follow Through depends on:
• Primary action of the character
• Weight and degree of flexibility of appendage
• Air resistance• Follow Through is how you terminate the motion (par. 7)
Not only does the speed, direction and weight of the primary motion effect the secondary motion but the environment it is situated within does as well.
Overlap depends on:
• Force transmitted through a flexible joint
• Progressively Breaking Joints
• No complete stop, before another action is started
• Nothing happens at the same time, this will give a feeling of solidity and weight (Jones par.7)
By placing the begging and end of secondary animation on separate keys than the primary animation, the animation as a whole will be more believable because secondary movement in reality. Also, because it ends after the end of the primary movement it continues despite if the primary object has stopped dead. According to Ollie Johnson and Frank Thomas, “Overlapping action is when the character changes direction while his clothes or hair continues forward” (Lightfoot par. 6). The animation not only is more believable but more visually stimulating because of the extra movement.
Follow Through: Posing Overshoot
Posing Overshoot:
• Natural motion does not stop abruptly or it will look mechanical
• Organic motion moves a little past the termination point before the “settle” pose…this is called “overshoot”
• Like a pendulum swing, the joints will over compensate for the motion and settle; then come to a complete rest
• Overshoot and Settle add accent and weight to your moves
• General Rule: 6-8 frames to settle, and at least 8 frames for the overshoot. If its only a hand gesture use less time (Jones par.10)
Here Jones explains where to situate the keys of the secondary movement on the timeframe. ‘Settle’ is the end of the secondary animation situated after the primary motion.
Overlapping Motion: Progressively Breaking Joints
Using Timing for Overlap:
• Each part of the hierarchy must stop at a different time to achieve overlapping motion = Progressively Breaking Joints
• The “lag” in timing of each joint in the hierarchy creates a whipping motion
• The breaking of each joint works well for cloth or appendages that are light enough to demand the fluid action
• The end of the tree is the last thing to come to rest and usually moves more than the rest of the tree
• Can help eliminate twinning, through delayed parts (Jones par. 12)
The object that is secondary in motion to the primary object will more than likely be long and flexible. Therefore movement will start from the beginning to end of the object, with more motion towards the end of it like a whip. Extremities such as the hand and head may require such secondary animation. The following part of the object will overlap the previous part. For example, the movement of the head will overlap movement of the neck or movement of the hand will overlap movement of the forearm.
In conclusion, there are many elements within secondary animation. ‘Drag’ where the movement of secondary objects are determined by the movement of the primary object. ‘Overlap’, when the motion of the secondary object ends or ‘settles’ after the end of the motion of the primary object. In addition, not only does the aspects of the primary object such as its speed, direction and weight determine the motion of the secondary object. The environment does as well such as its weather conditions and physics. Secondary animation not only compliments the primary motion of objects by allowing them to be more believable but also makes the animation more visually stimulating as a whole.
Works Cited:
Hogue, Mike. “The Importance of Secondary Animation”. G4 Tech Tv. 2006. <http://www.g4techtv.ca/callforhelp/shownotes/0420.shtml?regular> [accessed 01 May 2008]
Jones, Angie. “Traditional Principles Applied to CG”. Scratch Post Artist Resource. July 2001. <http://www.thescratchpost.com/features/july01/features1d.shtml> [accessed 03 May 2008]
Lightfoot, Nataha. “Principles of Physical Animation”. FrankAnOllie. 2002. http://frankanollie.com/PhysicalAnimation.html [accessed 03 May 2008]
According to Ollie Johnson and Frank Thomas who were Disney animators, “DRAG," in animation, for example, would be when Goofy starts to run, but his head, ears, upper body, and clothes do not keep up with his legs (Lightfoot par.6). They state ‘Drag’ as example of how secondary animation is an important aspect of their animations created within the Disney studio.
Hogue describes secondary animation further according to Newton’s first law of motion, “Objects in motion tend to stay in motion, and objects at rest tend to stay at rest unless an outside force acts upon them” (par.2). If one understands how objects move within reality, even a basic understanding of physics, they will have more capability to create believable animation. He also mentions that secondary animation is, “Slightly delayed due to the natural laws of physics and gravity” (par 1). Understanding gravity and the laws of physics will allow the movement to be resemble movement within the viewers reality allowing them to believe what they are viewing is a reality.
Jones explains the aspects of secondary animation in detail:
Follow Through depends on:
• Primary action of the character
• Weight and degree of flexibility of appendage
• Air resistance• Follow Through is how you terminate the motion (par. 7)
Not only does the speed, direction and weight of the primary motion effect the secondary motion but the environment it is situated within does as well.
Overlap depends on:
• Force transmitted through a flexible joint
• Progressively Breaking Joints
• No complete stop, before another action is started
• Nothing happens at the same time, this will give a feeling of solidity and weight (Jones par.7)
By placing the begging and end of secondary animation on separate keys than the primary animation, the animation as a whole will be more believable because secondary movement in reality. Also, because it ends after the end of the primary movement it continues despite if the primary object has stopped dead. According to Ollie Johnson and Frank Thomas, “Overlapping action is when the character changes direction while his clothes or hair continues forward” (Lightfoot par. 6). The animation not only is more believable but more visually stimulating because of the extra movement.
Follow Through: Posing Overshoot
Posing Overshoot:
• Natural motion does not stop abruptly or it will look mechanical
• Organic motion moves a little past the termination point before the “settle” pose…this is called “overshoot”
• Like a pendulum swing, the joints will over compensate for the motion and settle; then come to a complete rest
• Overshoot and Settle add accent and weight to your moves
• General Rule: 6-8 frames to settle, and at least 8 frames for the overshoot. If its only a hand gesture use less time (Jones par.10)
Here Jones explains where to situate the keys of the secondary movement on the timeframe. ‘Settle’ is the end of the secondary animation situated after the primary motion.
Overlapping Motion: Progressively Breaking Joints
Using Timing for Overlap:
• Each part of the hierarchy must stop at a different time to achieve overlapping motion = Progressively Breaking Joints
• The “lag” in timing of each joint in the hierarchy creates a whipping motion
• The breaking of each joint works well for cloth or appendages that are light enough to demand the fluid action
• The end of the tree is the last thing to come to rest and usually moves more than the rest of the tree
• Can help eliminate twinning, through delayed parts (Jones par. 12)
The object that is secondary in motion to the primary object will more than likely be long and flexible. Therefore movement will start from the beginning to end of the object, with more motion towards the end of it like a whip. Extremities such as the hand and head may require such secondary animation. The following part of the object will overlap the previous part. For example, the movement of the head will overlap movement of the neck or movement of the hand will overlap movement of the forearm.
In conclusion, there are many elements within secondary animation. ‘Drag’ where the movement of secondary objects are determined by the movement of the primary object. ‘Overlap’, when the motion of the secondary object ends or ‘settles’ after the end of the motion of the primary object. In addition, not only does the aspects of the primary object such as its speed, direction and weight determine the motion of the secondary object. The environment does as well such as its weather conditions and physics. Secondary animation not only compliments the primary motion of objects by allowing them to be more believable but also makes the animation more visually stimulating as a whole.
Works Cited:
Hogue, Mike. “The Importance of Secondary Animation”. G4 Tech Tv. 2006. <http://www.g4techtv.ca/callforhelp/shownotes/0420.shtml?regular> [accessed 01 May 2008]
Jones, Angie. “Traditional Principles Applied to CG”. Scratch Post Artist Resource. July 2001. <http://www.thescratchpost.com/features/july01/features1d.shtml> [accessed 03 May 2008]
Lightfoot, Nataha. “Principles of Physical Animation”. FrankAnOllie. 2002. http://frankanollie.com/PhysicalAnimation.html [accessed 03 May 2008]
Monday, April 28, 2008
The Abstract Aesthetics of Final Fantasy VII
Compared to the latest games of the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy VII has distinctly more abstract aesthetics. Over time the games of the series have become more realistic in their overall appearance. This pursuit of realism in the games is because it acts as a means for the general public to visually benchmark the quality of the game (Wolf pg 53).
Though one cannot benchmark the quality of appearance of games through abstraction (Wolf pg.53), it is a neglected aspect of games (Wolf pg. 62). To understand the use of abstraction within more modern games, the following essay will discuss the use of the abstract aesthetics within Final Fantasy VII in relation to Mark J. P. Wolf’s article, Abstraction in the Video Game. This was one of the more modern games of the series that has had more abstract aspects rather than realistic qualities.
FFVII (Final Fantasy VII) adapted the Japanese anime and super deformed style. For example, Cloud’s simplified facial features, enlarged eyes and spiky hairstyle are typical traits of the anime genre. Also, particularly within the gamely, the characters have smaller bodies; shorter limbs and larger heads which is how super deformed characters are designed.
Though one cannot benchmark the quality of appearance of games through abstraction (Wolf pg.53), it is a neglected aspect of games (Wolf pg. 62). To understand the use of abstraction within more modern games, the following essay will discuss the use of the abstract aesthetics within Final Fantasy VII in relation to Mark J. P. Wolf’s article, Abstraction in the Video Game. This was one of the more modern games of the series that has had more abstract aspects rather than realistic qualities.
FFVII (Final Fantasy VII) adapted the Japanese anime and super deformed style. For example, Cloud’s simplified facial features, enlarged eyes and spiky hairstyle are typical traits of the anime genre. Also, particularly within the gamely, the characters have smaller bodies; shorter limbs and larger heads which is how super deformed characters are designed.
Figure 1: Goku from the anime Dragon Ball Z designed with spiky hair with simplified and abstracted facial features
Figure 2: Cloud also designed with features typical of anime
FFVII was the first of its series to be released on the Playstation, which was a console that could render far more visual information than previous systems. Because of this, the designer’s incorporated the anime style that players were already accustomed to (fig.2) from T.V. such as in fig.1 (Wolf pg.47). Though the Playstation had more capability of representation, the game was only released two years after the console itself was released. Therefore skills of the programmers would not yet have been advanced enough to represent more realistic characters. Adapting the anime style was a substitute for this. Later games such as FFVIII would adapt a more realistic style such as in fig.3 despite being developed for the same system.
Figure 3: Squall from Final Fantasy VIII is highly realistic as compared to characters of Final Fantasy VII
The use of Super-deformed characters on the other hand is also an adaptation from anime. According to Anime News Network:
"Super-deformed characters, SD for short (also called "Big Head", SD Mode, CB or Chibi Body or Chibis for the plural) exaggerates this deformation in the goal of appearing cute and funny.Artists often Super Deform characters in order to show an extreme change in the characters' mood. While the characters' mood may change to anything, seriousness, anger, embarrassment, feigned cuteness; the goal of the animators is always comedic cuteness. Often done at the punch line of a joke for an extra comedic oomph." (par. 1-2)
Figure 4: Ryu from Street Fighter designed in the Super-deformed Style
Figure 5: Cloud from Final Fantasy VII in a Super deformed style
FFVII uses this style to make a contrast between the gameplay and battle scenes (fig.5). Within the gameplay, characters are represented in the SD (Super-Deformed) style and are represented in the usual amine style within the battle scenes. This allows the seriousness of the battle event to be more apparent.
Though this is also a style that the player can identify with, it has already been used within the FF series. Because of the graphical limitations of previous consoles that the series where played on. They also depicted characters in SD so that the player could see their features within the limited pixels that the console could only display (fig. 6).
Figure 6: A scene from Final Fanasy VI where the characters are represented in the SD style
The use of these styles for the visual aesthetics of the game are forms of abstraction besause they simplify characters to their most distinct features instead of representing as realistically as possible (Wolf pg.48).
FFVII is not only abstract within it’s appearance but also with the behavior of the game This is according to Wolf’s different catagories of the elements of behavior. The player’s presence is surragate based and changes it’s appearance according its within gameplay or a battle scene. Also the player has a Limit Break where they can perform special moves within battle scenes depending on weather a bar is full on the battle menu. The enemys controlled by the computer are not always reprepresented within the gameplay yet they are present. As a one travels across scenes, a enemy my surprise the characters and will only be visible once the battle scene begins. Objects in the game that can be collected stand out from the pre-rendered background as real time graphics such as potions, save points or chests. The background environments are less abstract and more realistic than the characters of the game. This may be so that the player’s experience of the surroundings are more intuitive (Wolf pg. 52). The random battle scenes, chests and save points are traits adopted from previous FF games (Wolf pg. 49-50).
Because of these abstract qualities of behaviour, the game provides explanations for them during the course of the game where NPC's (Non-playable characters) explain their purpose and function (Wolf pg. 52). This is so that player’s that are not accustomed to these elements can be informed.
According to Wolf, abstraction can increase identification with the games diegetic world (pg. 60). The world of FFVII is a threating place and abstraction is used to express the character’s in comparison to what is external to them. For example, the character’s are represented as SD character’s within the gameplay yet they appear more defiant in appearance within the battle scenes (fig.7). Abstraction enhances the player’s experience of the world that the characters are within by expressing their interpretation of it.
FFVII is not only abstract within it’s appearance but also with the behavior of the game This is according to Wolf’s different catagories of the elements of behavior. The player’s presence is surragate based and changes it’s appearance according its within gameplay or a battle scene. Also the player has a Limit Break where they can perform special moves within battle scenes depending on weather a bar is full on the battle menu. The enemys controlled by the computer are not always reprepresented within the gameplay yet they are present. As a one travels across scenes, a enemy my surprise the characters and will only be visible once the battle scene begins. Objects in the game that can be collected stand out from the pre-rendered background as real time graphics such as potions, save points or chests. The background environments are less abstract and more realistic than the characters of the game. This may be so that the player’s experience of the surroundings are more intuitive (Wolf pg. 52). The random battle scenes, chests and save points are traits adopted from previous FF games (Wolf pg. 49-50).
Because of these abstract qualities of behaviour, the game provides explanations for them during the course of the game where NPC's (Non-playable characters) explain their purpose and function (Wolf pg. 52). This is so that player’s that are not accustomed to these elements can be informed.
According to Wolf, abstraction can increase identification with the games diegetic world (pg. 60). The world of FFVII is a threating place and abstraction is used to express the character’s in comparison to what is external to them. For example, the character’s are represented as SD character’s within the gameplay yet they appear more defiant in appearance within the battle scenes (fig.7). Abstraction enhances the player’s experience of the world that the characters are within by expressing their interpretation of it.
Figure 7: A battle scene from FFVII
The ‘player’s mind is forced to complete or imagine game details, which engages and involves them more in the game’ (Wolf pg.64). By conversations being represented as text, players represented in a simplified manner, and the exclusion of the appearance of enemys, the player has to use their imagination to interpret the events and build a temporal view of the world within the game. This would be much like what occurs when one reads a book where one gets engaged into the story through their own imagination.
It is understandable that FFVII adopted the anime style within the battle scenes instead of more realistic representations of subjects because of the limitations during the time of it’s development. Despite this it also carried conventions from the previous games of the FF series, particularly within the gameplay when character’s could have been displayed in a more naturalistic manner.
Not only does the game have an abstract appearance but also abstract behaviours adopted from the previous FF games. This brings a nostalgia from previous games if the player has played them before otherwise the player is informed about their function and purpose through the gameplay.
These elements all allow players to be more actively engaged with the game by using their imagination to interpret them. FFVII is an example of a successful game that uses abstraction to its advantage instead of an only using it as an alternative. Games do not have to be created to be as realsitic and represenational as possible.
Works Cited:
Super Deformed. Anime News Network. < http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/lexicon.php?id=44>
Wolf, Mark J.P., “Abstraction in the Video Game”, The Video Game Theory Reader, 2003, Routledge.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Are Games a Waste of Time?
Games have been scrutinized and accused for influencing tragedies such as massacres that have occurred. People are skeptical about games because of the violent nature that some of them have. The perpetrators of the Columbine high school massacre, on the 20th of April 1999, played Doom and even created their own levels for the game. Since that tragedy, questions have been raised by the media about the extent of which video and computer games may have influenced such events to occur. Another example is when Kimveer Gill killed a woman and injured 19 other people during his shooting spree at Montreal College and then committing suicide on the 13th of April 2006. Before the incident, he wrote on online journals about his love for films, television shows and other popular elements of popular culture. (Lavender pg.1)
Out of most media of the modern age, lately games have been accused the most for influencing such people to commit these crimes because of how they allow the player to act in violent manners within virtual worlds instead of only viewing violent scenes.
Mike Strobel, who is a Canadian journalist for the Toronto Star, stated:
"How many times must a video game turn up as evidence at a crime scene before we wake up? Dawson College is the latest. Killer Kimveer Gill was a fan of Super Columbine Massacre, a lovely bit of Internet fun. ‘Life is a video game and you gonna die sometime,’ was young Gill's usual blog signoff." (Lavender pg.1)
It’s easier for video and computer games to be used as a ‘scape goat’ instead of being people objective and focusing on the other more relevant influences that may have incurred these tragedies. It is like accusing the medium of painting for causing an artist to act on the content he depicts in the artworks that he creates. Instead there should be more focus on why the artist painted such images. Such can also be said for computer and video games because they are more of a medium to act on, than a reason and stimulus for the act.
Though the objective of the following essay is not to determine whether or not games were a primary influence for these tragedies, some attitudes towards video and computer games are negetive without considering the positive apsects of those games. This is why the following essay will discuss if games are a ‘waste of time’ and what can be understood by the term, meaningful play.
According to studies by Mcdonald and Kim,
”the evidence suggests that children identify quite closely with electronic characters and that these identifications have implications for childrens emotional well being and the development of their personality” (pg.5)
This allows games to include positive effects for the individual playing them (Lewis and Weber pg.1). They can be used to develop a child through teaching as educational games. They also can teach the player personality and social skills/ Self esteem (pg 5 Lewis and Weber)
Gee also aggrees and games promote active and critical learning for other semiotic domains other than itself. Though games do not teach the player facts, they teach the player skills such as problem solving skills through embodied experiences and how to handle the structrue of real and imagined social relations (Gee pg.1). In other words, they teach the player to how handle socializing with people in the real world from practice in simulated worlds depsite them existing in different semiotic domians.
When people learn games they are learning a new literacy (Gee pg.1). Then if games are semiotic domians then they should not be considered a waste of time. Games are “good for people to learn to situate meanings through embodied experiences in a complex domian and mediate on the process (Gee pg. 2). Though semiotic domains may be completely different from eachother, the player learns the basic structures of them, how to function within these structures and therefore will be more capable of becoming accustomed to other different domains.
In video games, people and their social interactions determine the content they contain. Since social interactions always change so does content. These two elements are constantly influencing eachother. Therefore the design and content of games are determined by the needs of the affinity groups of games who decline or accept it (pg.3). Games then reflect the current cultures in society because if people define culture and also content of games then games and culture will both be interrellated.
If players play games to learn actively and critically then they:
1. “Learn to experience the world in new ways;
2. gain potential to join or collaborate with affinity groups;
3. develop resources for future learning and problem solving in semiotic domain the game is related to; and
4. learn to think of semiotic domians as design spaces that they can engage with and manipulate, help tp create certain relationships in society among people and groups, some of which have important implications for social justice.” (Gee pg. 6)
In conclusion, Lewis, Weber and Gee have indicated the positive aspects of games because of the skills they contribute to the player. By people using games as a scape goat as the cause for horrible tradegies, they disregard the opportunities for them to used for good and also the good they have done for society already.
When the player plays a game, the individual learns the basic structures of learning and problem solving. They have to handle a challenge by creatively finding alternative solutions. This is what can be understood as meaningful play because the player cognitively processes information in the semiotic domain of a game instead instead of only regurgitating the information form it.
Works Cited:
Gee, James Paul, “Semiotics Domains: Is Playing Video Games a ‘Waste of Time?” The Game Design Reader, 2006, MIT Press.
Lavender, Terry. “Games Just Wanna Have Fun… Or Do They? Measuring the effectiveness of persuasive games”. Canadian Game Studies Association. 21 September 2006 <http://www.wetcoast.org/drupal-5.1/files/games_just_wanna_have_fun.pdf>
Lewis, Melissa, Weber, Rene. “The Creation of Character Attachment in Video Games”. (accessed 20 April 2008)
Out of most media of the modern age, lately games have been accused the most for influencing such people to commit these crimes because of how they allow the player to act in violent manners within virtual worlds instead of only viewing violent scenes.
Mike Strobel, who is a Canadian journalist for the Toronto Star, stated:
"How many times must a video game turn up as evidence at a crime scene before we wake up? Dawson College is the latest. Killer Kimveer Gill was a fan of Super Columbine Massacre, a lovely bit of Internet fun. ‘Life is a video game and you gonna die sometime,’ was young Gill's usual blog signoff." (Lavender pg.1)
It’s easier for video and computer games to be used as a ‘scape goat’ instead of being people objective and focusing on the other more relevant influences that may have incurred these tragedies. It is like accusing the medium of painting for causing an artist to act on the content he depicts in the artworks that he creates. Instead there should be more focus on why the artist painted such images. Such can also be said for computer and video games because they are more of a medium to act on, than a reason and stimulus for the act.
Though the objective of the following essay is not to determine whether or not games were a primary influence for these tragedies, some attitudes towards video and computer games are negetive without considering the positive apsects of those games. This is why the following essay will discuss if games are a ‘waste of time’ and what can be understood by the term, meaningful play.
According to studies by Mcdonald and Kim,
”the evidence suggests that children identify quite closely with electronic characters and that these identifications have implications for childrens emotional well being and the development of their personality” (pg.5)
This allows games to include positive effects for the individual playing them (Lewis and Weber pg.1). They can be used to develop a child through teaching as educational games. They also can teach the player personality and social skills/ Self esteem (pg 5 Lewis and Weber)
Gee also aggrees and games promote active and critical learning for other semiotic domains other than itself. Though games do not teach the player facts, they teach the player skills such as problem solving skills through embodied experiences and how to handle the structrue of real and imagined social relations (Gee pg.1). In other words, they teach the player to how handle socializing with people in the real world from practice in simulated worlds depsite them existing in different semiotic domians.
When people learn games they are learning a new literacy (Gee pg.1). Then if games are semiotic domians then they should not be considered a waste of time. Games are “good for people to learn to situate meanings through embodied experiences in a complex domian and mediate on the process (Gee pg. 2). Though semiotic domains may be completely different from eachother, the player learns the basic structures of them, how to function within these structures and therefore will be more capable of becoming accustomed to other different domains.
In video games, people and their social interactions determine the content they contain. Since social interactions always change so does content. These two elements are constantly influencing eachother. Therefore the design and content of games are determined by the needs of the affinity groups of games who decline or accept it (pg.3). Games then reflect the current cultures in society because if people define culture and also content of games then games and culture will both be interrellated.
If players play games to learn actively and critically then they:
1. “Learn to experience the world in new ways;
2. gain potential to join or collaborate with affinity groups;
3. develop resources for future learning and problem solving in semiotic domain the game is related to; and
4. learn to think of semiotic domians as design spaces that they can engage with and manipulate, help tp create certain relationships in society among people and groups, some of which have important implications for social justice.” (Gee pg. 6)
In conclusion, Lewis, Weber and Gee have indicated the positive aspects of games because of the skills they contribute to the player. By people using games as a scape goat as the cause for horrible tradegies, they disregard the opportunities for them to used for good and also the good they have done for society already.
When the player plays a game, the individual learns the basic structures of learning and problem solving. They have to handle a challenge by creatively finding alternative solutions. This is what can be understood as meaningful play because the player cognitively processes information in the semiotic domain of a game instead instead of only regurgitating the information form it.
Works Cited:
Gee, James Paul, “Semiotics Domains: Is Playing Video Games a ‘Waste of Time?” The Game Design Reader, 2006, MIT Press.
Lavender, Terry. “Games Just Wanna Have Fun… Or Do They? Measuring the effectiveness of persuasive games”. Canadian Game Studies Association. 21 September 2006 <http://www.wetcoast.org/drupal-5.1/files/games_just_wanna_have_fun.pdf>
Lewis, Melissa, Weber, Rene. “The Creation of Character Attachment in Video Games”. (accessed 20 April 2008)
Walk Cycles
All people vary in the manner that they walk and mostly because of subconscious reasons. They reveal aspects of themselves without being completely consciously aware. It allows people external to them understand what may be in their thoughts through their body language. With animation one can make a character act out movements and body language to convey it’s thoughts to viewers.
‘Believability is in the realm of art, not purely the result of CPU power and memory bandwidth’ (Porter and Susman par.14). This statement is made by Tom Port and Galyn Susmam people who work at Pixar in response to questions from people concerning the believability in Pixar’s animations. Therefore one can’t solely rely on software and hardware but rather mainly on the animator’s ability to bring life into character’s
According to Porter and Susman:
The underlying notion of Pixar and Disney animation is that action is driven by the character's cognitive processes—that it reflects intelligence, personality, and emotion. The animator is constantly challenged to depict in an unmistakable yet compelling way that the brain is driving the action’ (par. 11)
Toby Gard, the character designer of Tomb Raider agrees that:
The way people walk suggests vasts amount of information about them, such as how they feel about themselves and their surroundings. (pg.5)
Therefore a character’s walk cycle should represent that the character is cognitively controlling their body to express their personality consciously and subconsciously. This instead of replicating what a character may appear as when they walk but also what they are thinking during their stride.
Mike Brown who is currently principal artist at High Moon Studios says that when he watches walking cycles in animation reels, he's looking for four key things: weight, timing, anticipation, and emotion’ (Duffy par.8). Though there are other animation principles, these seem to be the key elements the game company he works at is looking for in walk cycles.
What this essay will focus on is the emotion or personality of walks cycles.
‘Animation is acting’ (Porter and Susman par.15). The objective is not to simply mimic how a real person would walk but to rather abstract the key elements that express emotion and reveal personality though acting. Studying a live person’s walk can be used as source material for animation even if it is recorded. The primary movements, weight transitions, timing, anticipations and emotion of the character’s walk can then be exaggerated in the animation for a believable walk cycle. The following will be a description of three different personality walk cycles.
‘Character and personality are what make the walk real and make the audience identify with it on an emotional level’ (thinkinganimation.com). Disney animator’s were the first to get the audience emotionally captivated with their storylines by expressing characters in a way so that the viewer could relate to them. The objective is to encapsulate the viewer into the narrative of an animation through the conveying of expression through character’s body language.
Happy
A happy character would be full of life and. It would have light steps to express the lack of stress in on their mind. The high steps would be at a medium pace to show that their stride is not deferred by any negative thoughts. It would have a flexible posture to show a relaxed attitude towards its surroundings. There would be a large contrast between each low and a predominantly high step to show its liveliness. Arms would swing with high elbows in front of the body while the head bobs to express lack of tension. The movements of the character’s walk would generally express the happy thoughts of the character as it interacts with its surroundings
Sad
A sad character would have a lack of liveliness. It would have low steps that hit the ground harder than a happy character. They would move at a slow pace to express the lack of motivation. A hunched posture would show its self-exclusion from its surroundings. There would be less contrast between the predominantly low stance and the higher stance. The dragging arms and hanging head would express its lack of will. The movements would express unhappy thoughts and lack of hope.
Angry
An angry character would walk in a focused manner on what it is pursuing. The pace would be faster than the other movement’s because of it’s pusruit of whatever made it angry in the first place. The character would lean more forward than a happy character. The stance would be lower than the happy character yet higher than the sad character. Its posture would be hunched and firm yet not as low as a happy character. The arms would be curved and stiff and the elbows would be raised higher towards the character’s posterior. The head will be more stiff and focussed on it’s objective. The movements would generally express the anger of the character about what it is focussed on and what it is not focussed on.
In conclusion there are endless interpretations one could express though walking cycles in animation. These are determined by the animators understanding of animation principles and their acting abilities.
Works Cited:
Duffy, Jill. “Ask the Experts: Animations Show Reels”. Game Career Guide. 13 April 2008 http://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/494/ask_the_experts_animation_show_.php
Gard, Toby, “Building Character”. 2000. Gamasutra. 13 April 2008 www.gamasutra.com/features/20000720/gard_pvf.htm
Porter, Tom, and, Susman, Galyn. “On site: Creating lifelike character’s in Pixar movies “. Portal: Greater Western Library Alliance. Association for Computing Machinery. 13 April 2008 http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/330000/323839/p25-porter.html?key1=323839&key2=0501018021&coll=GUIDE&dl=GUIDE&CFID=23989445&CFTOKEN=40584935
http://thinkinganimation.com/walkcycles.php
‘Believability is in the realm of art, not purely the result of CPU power and memory bandwidth’ (Porter and Susman par.14). This statement is made by Tom Port and Galyn Susmam people who work at Pixar in response to questions from people concerning the believability in Pixar’s animations. Therefore one can’t solely rely on software and hardware but rather mainly on the animator’s ability to bring life into character’s
According to Porter and Susman:
The underlying notion of Pixar and Disney animation is that action is driven by the character's cognitive processes—that it reflects intelligence, personality, and emotion. The animator is constantly challenged to depict in an unmistakable yet compelling way that the brain is driving the action’ (par. 11)
Toby Gard, the character designer of Tomb Raider agrees that:
The way people walk suggests vasts amount of information about them, such as how they feel about themselves and their surroundings. (pg.5)
Therefore a character’s walk cycle should represent that the character is cognitively controlling their body to express their personality consciously and subconsciously. This instead of replicating what a character may appear as when they walk but also what they are thinking during their stride.
Mike Brown who is currently principal artist at High Moon Studios says that when he watches walking cycles in animation reels, he's looking for four key things: weight, timing, anticipation, and emotion’ (Duffy par.8). Though there are other animation principles, these seem to be the key elements the game company he works at is looking for in walk cycles.
What this essay will focus on is the emotion or personality of walks cycles.
‘Animation is acting’ (Porter and Susman par.15). The objective is not to simply mimic how a real person would walk but to rather abstract the key elements that express emotion and reveal personality though acting. Studying a live person’s walk can be used as source material for animation even if it is recorded. The primary movements, weight transitions, timing, anticipations and emotion of the character’s walk can then be exaggerated in the animation for a believable walk cycle. The following will be a description of three different personality walk cycles.
‘Character and personality are what make the walk real and make the audience identify with it on an emotional level’ (thinkinganimation.com). Disney animator’s were the first to get the audience emotionally captivated with their storylines by expressing characters in a way so that the viewer could relate to them. The objective is to encapsulate the viewer into the narrative of an animation through the conveying of expression through character’s body language.
Happy
A happy character would be full of life and. It would have light steps to express the lack of stress in on their mind. The high steps would be at a medium pace to show that their stride is not deferred by any negative thoughts. It would have a flexible posture to show a relaxed attitude towards its surroundings. There would be a large contrast between each low and a predominantly high step to show its liveliness. Arms would swing with high elbows in front of the body while the head bobs to express lack of tension. The movements of the character’s walk would generally express the happy thoughts of the character as it interacts with its surroundings
Sad
A sad character would have a lack of liveliness. It would have low steps that hit the ground harder than a happy character. They would move at a slow pace to express the lack of motivation. A hunched posture would show its self-exclusion from its surroundings. There would be less contrast between the predominantly low stance and the higher stance. The dragging arms and hanging head would express its lack of will. The movements would express unhappy thoughts and lack of hope.
Angry
An angry character would walk in a focused manner on what it is pursuing. The pace would be faster than the other movement’s because of it’s pusruit of whatever made it angry in the first place. The character would lean more forward than a happy character. The stance would be lower than the happy character yet higher than the sad character. Its posture would be hunched and firm yet not as low as a happy character. The arms would be curved and stiff and the elbows would be raised higher towards the character’s posterior. The head will be more stiff and focussed on it’s objective. The movements would generally express the anger of the character about what it is focussed on and what it is not focussed on.
In conclusion there are endless interpretations one could express though walking cycles in animation. These are determined by the animators understanding of animation principles and their acting abilities.
Works Cited:
Duffy, Jill. “Ask the Experts: Animations Show Reels”. Game Career Guide. 13 April 2008 http://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/494/ask_the_experts_animation_show_.php
Gard, Toby, “Building Character”. 2000. Gamasutra. 13 April 2008 www.gamasutra.com/features/20000720/gard_pvf.htm
Porter, Tom, and, Susman, Galyn. “On site: Creating lifelike character’s in Pixar movies “. Portal: Greater Western Library Alliance. Association for Computing Machinery. 13 April 2008 http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/330000/323839/p25-porter.html?key1=323839&key2=0501018021&coll=GUIDE&dl=GUIDE&CFID=23989445&CFTOKEN=40584935
http://thinkinganimation.com/walkcycles.php
Monday, April 14, 2008
Psychoanalysis of the Player’s Avatar
As games advance in their capabilities to give the player more options in creating their distinct avatar, more space is open for that individual to express aspects of themselves that is not visible to others, the ego. Interpretation of that person’s self-perception is possible by analysing their avatar. The following discusses the role of the avatar in the games Oblivion and Never Winter Nights 2 and the player’s decisions in the creation of their own avatar.
An avatar is not only a being in a game that a player controls but a being that they can become. According to Toby Gard: in games with a first person point of view, the player plays as if they are personally experiencing the game and unlike third person games where the character is distinctly separate from the character. The person becomes the avatar instead of controlling an actor (pg. 1). This may not be the case of that avatar is designed by the player themselves such as in Never Winter Nights 2 and Oblivion.
According to Bob Rehak concerning cinema, ‘spectator’s are “stitched into” the signifying chain through edits that articulate a plenitude of observed space to an observing viewer’ (pg. 121). Film expresses the subjects to the viewer by depicting the relevant scenes to them and by excluding the irrelevant ones through editing.
Rehak also states how “development should presage a new type of psychological film in which the camera will reveal the human mind, not superficially but honestly in terms of image an sound.”(pg. 120). Though this is a goal for cinema to express the subject’s psychological status through the type of images instead of only through editing, games can already do this through the player’s design of their avatar. For example games such as Oblivion and Never Winter Nights 2 allow one to customize the appearance of their avatars (Fig. 1.1-2.2) so that they players can reveal their ego how they perceive themselves.
“If the mirror stage initiates a lifelong split between the self-as-observer the self-as-observed, and the video game exploits this structure, then, in one sense, we already exist in an avataral relation with ourselves” (Rehak pg.123). Games allow as to reflect are perception of ourselves within the game. The computer screen then acts as a mirror as we construct our temporal view of our reflection. By doing this a player can reveal their ego to others. For example, though the avatar created in both games (Fig. 1.1-2.2) resembles the player’s appearance in reality, they may act as a mask. This is because the player’s ego is hidden behind mundane features. There is little contrast between the Avatar and the player and therefore one cannot tell how the individuals perceive themself.
“Egos are founded on the assumption of wholeness, a wholeness misperceived in the form of the symbolic other. The other that functions retroactively to bestow the authenticity on the self could be described as a living avatar” (Rehak pg 123). If we already have an avatar temporally in our minds than video games allow can us to create depict them. For example, most people’s choices in the design of their avatars are different from their physical features in reality, excluding the case of Fig.1.1-2.2.
In games we can “toy with subjectivity, play with being” such as separating oneself from other that we do in our minds called “Liminal play: an attempt to isolate and capture (fleetingly) the oscillatory motion of consciousness by which are sutured into this reality” (Rehak pg 123). Games allow us to play with being and appearance, allowing the player to express them and to others through their appearance. For example, these games allow one to choose many features that one can choose to represent them just as we would in real life in our choices of clothing. In the case of the custom avatar of Never Winter Nights 2, the choice clothing is how the player presents himself instead of through physical features.
“We create avatars to leave our bodies behind” (Rehak pg.123) The player would unlikely want to recreate their real appearance because they enter another reality as another being through the avatar. This is not the case in the avatar created in this game since it may be a subconscious attempt to hide the ego of the player.
Our extensions through various media are predicted on the body as a root metaphor (Rehak 124). The avatar created in both games acts as a metaphor for the individual that created it and therefore it’s physical features would act as metaphors of the individuals personality. Features may act as icons that represent something that they player wishes to convey and what they cannot in real life.
“The worlds we create- and the avatarial bodies through which we experience them- seem to be destined to mirror not only our wholeness, but our lack of it” (Rehak 124). Avatar’s created in the games may not only represent what is there but what is not there that makes us whole. For example one may create a being that is not human or lacking certain features that resemble them in reality revealing a large contrast between their self-perception and their appearance.
In conclusion, whereas most people reveal their ego and self perception through the avatars they design, realistically depicting oneself in the game may act as a manner to hide one’s self perception by using the avatar as a mask. This would hide their ego and that individual’s self-perception from other game player’s so to not reveal aspects of oneself such as the level of aggressiveness and skill that the player may have. It could even act as a technique to through other players off from ones own abilities. The main factor is that it is more than likely a subconscious mask created to hide ones ego.
An avatar is not only a being in a game that a player controls but a being that they can become. According to Toby Gard: in games with a first person point of view, the player plays as if they are personally experiencing the game and unlike third person games where the character is distinctly separate from the character. The person becomes the avatar instead of controlling an actor (pg. 1). This may not be the case of that avatar is designed by the player themselves such as in Never Winter Nights 2 and Oblivion.
According to Bob Rehak concerning cinema, ‘spectator’s are “stitched into” the signifying chain through edits that articulate a plenitude of observed space to an observing viewer’ (pg. 121). Film expresses the subjects to the viewer by depicting the relevant scenes to them and by excluding the irrelevant ones through editing.
Rehak also states how “development should presage a new type of psychological film in which the camera will reveal the human mind, not superficially but honestly in terms of image an sound.”(pg. 120). Though this is a goal for cinema to express the subject’s psychological status through the type of images instead of only through editing, games can already do this through the player’s design of their avatar. For example games such as Oblivion and Never Winter Nights 2 allow one to customize the appearance of their avatars (Fig. 1.1-2.2) so that they players can reveal their ego how they perceive themselves.
“If the mirror stage initiates a lifelong split between the self-as-observer the self-as-observed, and the video game exploits this structure, then, in one sense, we already exist in an avataral relation with ourselves” (Rehak pg.123). Games allow as to reflect are perception of ourselves within the game. The computer screen then acts as a mirror as we construct our temporal view of our reflection. By doing this a player can reveal their ego to others. For example, though the avatar created in both games (Fig. 1.1-2.2) resembles the player’s appearance in reality, they may act as a mask. This is because the player’s ego is hidden behind mundane features. There is little contrast between the Avatar and the player and therefore one cannot tell how the individuals perceive themself.
“Egos are founded on the assumption of wholeness, a wholeness misperceived in the form of the symbolic other. The other that functions retroactively to bestow the authenticity on the self could be described as a living avatar” (Rehak pg 123). If we already have an avatar temporally in our minds than video games allow can us to create depict them. For example, most people’s choices in the design of their avatars are different from their physical features in reality, excluding the case of Fig.1.1-2.2.
In games we can “toy with subjectivity, play with being” such as separating oneself from other that we do in our minds called “Liminal play: an attempt to isolate and capture (fleetingly) the oscillatory motion of consciousness by which are sutured into this reality” (Rehak pg 123). Games allow us to play with being and appearance, allowing the player to express them and to others through their appearance. For example, these games allow one to choose many features that one can choose to represent them just as we would in real life in our choices of clothing. In the case of the custom avatar of Never Winter Nights 2, the choice clothing is how the player presents himself instead of through physical features.
“We create avatars to leave our bodies behind” (Rehak pg.123) The player would unlikely want to recreate their real appearance because they enter another reality as another being through the avatar. This is not the case in the avatar created in this game since it may be a subconscious attempt to hide the ego of the player.
Our extensions through various media are predicted on the body as a root metaphor (Rehak 124). The avatar created in both games acts as a metaphor for the individual that created it and therefore it’s physical features would act as metaphors of the individuals personality. Features may act as icons that represent something that they player wishes to convey and what they cannot in real life.
“The worlds we create- and the avatarial bodies through which we experience them- seem to be destined to mirror not only our wholeness, but our lack of it” (Rehak 124). Avatar’s created in the games may not only represent what is there but what is not there that makes us whole. For example one may create a being that is not human or lacking certain features that resemble them in reality revealing a large contrast between their self-perception and their appearance.
In conclusion, whereas most people reveal their ego and self perception through the avatars they design, realistically depicting oneself in the game may act as a manner to hide one’s self perception by using the avatar as a mask. This would hide their ego and that individual’s self-perception from other game player’s so to not reveal aspects of oneself such as the level of aggressiveness and skill that the player may have. It could even act as a technique to through other players off from ones own abilities. The main factor is that it is more than likely a subconscious mask created to hide ones ego.
Figure 1.1: Never Winter Nights Custom Avatar
Figure 1.2: Never Winter Nights 2 Custom Avatar Torso 
Figure 2.2: Oblivion Custom Avatar (Side)
Figure 2.2: Oblivion Custom Avatar (Front)
Works Cited:
Gard, Toby, “Building Character”. 2000. Gamasutra. 13 April 2008 www.gamasutra.com/features/20000720/gard_pvf.htm
Rehak, Bob, “Playing at Being: Psychoanalyses and the Avatar”, The Video Game Theory Reader, 2003, Routeledge.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Narratology versus Ludology
Henry Jenkin’s ‘Game Design as Narrative Architecture’ favours Narratology while Gonzalo Frasca’s ‘Simulation versus Narrative’ favours Ludology. Despite this they don’t completely dismiss the other area of studies significance altogether. Instead they describe alternatives in the analyses of games with their own appoaches. The following will indicate each theorist’s key factors to determine whether which ones concepts are more favourable.
Gonzalo Frasca, ‘Simulation versus Narrative’
According to Frasca, narrative describes while simulation includes models of behaviour that reacts to certain stimuli. Video games structure simulation while narrative structures representation. Narrative and simulation seem to be similar because people perceive the output of a medium. That is why it is easier to apply narratology to the study of games.
Games can be used as a medium through simulation to give the player a different experience to narrative. For example, games are beginning to be used for advertising so that players can get an experience of products rather than only be informed about them. Also they could be used as propaganda such as depicting urban dynamics and dictatorships.
Games also are not a binary medium with fixed sequences of events. An author can express multiple possibilities rather than one such as in a book or film. Therefore there can be multiple interpretations.
“Simauthors” can incorporate different degrees of fate while “Narrauthors” can only incorporate a predetermined and fixed fate.
Games have behaviour rules that allow each experience of the game to be different. One may play the same part of the game multiple times yet outcomes may be different because of the behavioural rules of the game’s artificial intelligence. One is responsible for their own actions. The game is not only stated info but also a model of difficulty.
Interactive narrative pretends to give freedom to the player yet still maintains narrative coherence.
Narrauthors have control of the outcome while Simathours set some rules so the outcome of the game may not be so certain.
Plaida refers to the form of play present in early children while Ludus represents games with social rules. Ludus games are more fixed like narrative because there are only two possible endings such would winning or loosing. Plaida on the other hand goes beyond this and allows games to have greater possibilities.
Interactive narrative is the most used manner of creating games, which pretends to give freedom to the player while holding onto narrative coherence.
Most games use goal rules but Frasca proposes manipulation rules which do imply a winning scenario. Games would have rules that determine how the player attains the outcome instead of determining if the player gets the outcome.
There are three different ideological levels of simulation:
1. Simulation shares with narrative and deals with representation and events.
2. Manipulations rules: what the player is able to do within the model.
3. Goal Rules: what the player must do in order to win.
4. Meta Rules: how rules can be changed
Simulation is also limited because it is an approximation. It is an alternative to narrative and not a replacement. It does not deal with what happened or is happening but rather with what may happen.
Henry Jenkins, ‘Game Design as Narrative Architecture’
Jenkins argument is that game designers tend to apply film theory to games instead of recognizing the differences between games and film. Choices about design and organization of game spaces have narratological consequences. In his article he discusses the unique forms of narrative that games can covey.
First he discusses factors of games such as:
1. Not all games tell stories. Interface design and expressive movement.
2. Many games do have narrative aspirations
3. Narrative analysis needs not to be prescriptive. The goal should be a diversification of genres.
4. The experience of playing games can never be reduced to the experience of a story. There are more elements to games that do not relate to narrative at all.
5. If some games tell stories, they are unlikely to tell them in the same ways as other media. Transitions of stories may not work well from one medium to another because they are constructed to suite the medium they were intended for.
Ludologists dismiss the idea of the use of narrative and also do not fully understand it. Therefore they do not acknowledge the relationship between narrative and games.
Spatial stories and environmental Storytelling
Game designers don’t only tell stories but also ‘design worlds’ and ‘sculpt spaces’. Game designers should be considered less as storytellers and more as narrative architects though spatial storytelling.
Environmental storytelling creates preconditions for an immersive narrative experience in at least one of four ways:
1. Spatial stories can evoke pre-existing narrative associations
2. They can provide a staging ground where narrative events are enacted
3. They may embed narrative information within their mise-en-scene:
4. They provide resources for emergent narrative.
Evocative Spaces
Through transmedia story-telling spaces can be created in a manner in that they evoke of a story from another medium by also being part of a larger narrative economy.
Enacting Stories
Because a storyline is normally fixed, ‘spatial stories’ are not regarded because they are episodic. Spatial stories are not badly constructed stories but rather are stories that respond to alternate aesthetic principles, privileging spatial exploration over plot development.
Micronarratives
These are short narrative units that intensify emotional engagement such as ‘attractions’. These are any element in a work that produces profound emotional impact.
Game designers struggle to determine how much plot will create a compelling framework and how much freedom players can enjoy without ruining the larger narrative trajectory. Game designers are yet to develop craft through a process of experimentation and refinement of basic narrative devices, becoming better at forming narrative experiences without restricting the space and freedom within the game.
Embedded Narratives
In film, the viewer pieces stories together through a mental map. In games, the player has to act upon those mental maps.
The game designer has to steer the player in the correct direction yet the player may not pick up on clues set by the designer.
The game designer can use two kinds of narrative:
1. Unstructured and controlled by the player as they explore the game space and unlock secrets.
2. Pre-structured but embedded within the mise-en-scene.
Therefore there is a balance between the flexibility of interactivity and the coherence of a pre-authored narrative.
Games are not locked into the eternal present. The art of game design come from in finding artiful ways of embedding narrative information into the environment without destroying its impressiveness or without letting the player feel as if they are being dragged trough the narrative. Using clues, artefacts and transformed spaces can do this. Game Designers could study ‘medoldrama’ because it provides a model for how the embedded story may work.
Environmental storytelling
Not retelling the story but evoking a nostolgai and an atmosphere. Working on ones pre-existing knowledge.
Emergent Narratives
The player’s have control to make determine their own results and create their own narrative.
Conclusion
Frasca favours simulation over narrative yet he does not completely disregard narrative. Though Jenkins favour’s narrative more he still also attempts to take a more of a middle ground between Ludologists and Narratologists.
I cannot identify with either Ludology or Narratology because both of these authors reveal relevant information about the structure of games. The focus of game study should not be to force the field into either Ludology or Narratology because games vary in their genre and structure. Some games do have structures that revolve more around story telling yet others may have structure that focus more on gameplay and simulation.
The focus should not be on which form of study is correct or incorrect but rather on how they are both relevant. This would allow the study if games to be far more diverse and complex because all factors would be considered instead of being dismissed. Therefore the best factors should be extracted out of both Ludology and Narratolgy and be combined into a new terms and a new area of study for video and computer games so that there would be no more discrimination.
Works Cited:
Fasca, Gonzalo, "Simulation versus Narrative: Introduction to Ludology", The Video Game Theory Reader, 2003, Routledge.
Jenkins, Henry, "Game Design as Narrative Architecture", The Game Design Reader, 2006, MIT Press.
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