Theory & Design of Games: Reflection Journal 3
Mateas and Stern. “Interaction and Narrative”
I’m a little biased on this topic since taking the directed readings on interactive narrative and attending the AAAI conference last year which both Mateas and Stern were present. The final survey paper can be found here and is definitely a pedestal where my research interests are focused.
From an AI perspective, Façade is a groundbreaking first step in that the system was deployed robust enough for most audiences to experience. From a scientific and interactive fiction perspective there is a great sense of achievement, but from a game developer sense the game received moderate and “fair” reviews, certainly not a hit. Why so?
We discussed this topic at great length and come up with an interesting hypothesis: The problem of interactive narrative is a cultural and design problem (human) not an AI problem. Presently a user model for interactive narrative is lacking in games. We traced that innovation in interactive narrative as a phenomenon was uncovered via computer sciences, but the result in terms of an interactive humanistic model of storytelling is a recent phenomenon and medium.
Speaking to Stern, he mentioned Façade sparked interest but not that much else from large game developers. There is renewed hope “The Party” will sway more interest.
From the readings, Façade is one of the more established approaches in interactive narrative modifying Aristotelian drama with Murray attention to tension between interaction and story. As we discussed in class, Laurel’s distinction between dramatic and literary narrative is also worth noting yet this only emphasizes that there no single notion of the manifestation of interactive narrative in games.
Everyone seems to have their take on it and Artificial intelligence technologies is not a requirement since storytelling as an art form has been around for ages. Storytelling is seen differently in genres such as creative writing, theater, film, games, etc… There will probably need to be many more developed examples, even after The Party before this genre takes hold.
Bateson. “A Theory of Play and Fantasy”
This article shares much with Fine’s Fames and Games chapter. I very much liked Bateson’s understanding of how play emerges in the natural (animalistic) world such as threat, deceit, etc. Here play seems less contrived and a regular phenomena that we can all connect to on an instinctual level. This notion embraces his theory of play as metalinguistic & metacommunicative.
I also enjoyed the ending where he almost serendipitously discusses frames coinciding with therapy in a productive (rehabilitation) sense. What a coincidence-my other area of interest in health and games! He discusses psychopathology as a client/therapist relationship whereby the shifting and repositioning of frames and boundaries help illuminate and reveal illness.
For me this hits my main interest that games are not bound to play in strictly an entertainment sense.
My only concern is that frames are relatively arbitrary and abstract constructs – which are tough enough to replicate for humans (and practitioners). To what extent can games alleviate and facilitate this burden is still an open question. One possible avenue is for Health Education – and I am hoping to work with Dr. Cao at Virginia Tech’s Trauma Center Simulation project for a qualitative study.
One last note, Veronica sent me further info on therapeutic techniques for “waking dream” and “guided daydream” techniques”
The other one was psychodrama.
And Rogerian “Person-Centered Psycho Therapy”
Gary Alan Fine. “Frames and Games”
Fine uses Goffman’s notion of frame analysis “finite worlds of meaning that have the potential for allowing human beings to be encapsulated in them”. Similar to Bateson’s Theory of Play and Fantasy, the limitation to Fine’s work is the inherent ambiguity (or perhaps multi-modal nature) of frame interpretations.
How is one able to reduce our own unique assortment of frames running concurrently, juggled, hidden, nested, and altogether simultaneous? Aside from this, overall I appreciate his ethno-grounded theory approach to D&D play. The anchor for me is that through social-awareness of our context we are able to mutually construct and share frames.
When I think about Fines methodology in relationship to health/educational games (serious games) I’m seeing there may be interesting avenues for “play” within a serious context. Such as a participant (say a med student) has the pretense of being a doctor in an emergency or if a client in therapy is asked to reverse roles and embody their fear within the context of the system. In these instances, the notion of a primary framework starts to break down– where our common understanding of the real world is not so far off from the fantasy presented.
Lastly I want to point to previous literature on Presence as another way of measuring engrossment in fantasy. This notion has particularly been addressed in Virtual Reality and Human Factors/Computer Interaction communities.
Henry Jenkins. “Game Design as Narrative Architecture”
Jenkins no doubt broadened the implications of narrative in games in every dimension. The mutually inclusive categories he mentions (spatial, evoked, embedded, & emergent), are helpful markers to address these dimensions. I believe any great story will have all these aspects combined or reference in one point or another.
I took a closer look at Grim Fandango and Monkey Island since these were discussed in class. Perhaps because these games are 5+ years or older I immediately saw a strong visual resemblance to Façade which came out a few years later. From the reviews that I read the creative writing component was deemed a huge success in addition to sound, voice acting, distinct sound effects, and a diverse and subtle score. It seemed like these games resonated for audiences because the various narrative story elements were woven together so well. For Grim Fandango and Monkey Island, although the emergent characteristic was drastically constrained, the player is protagonist in a well authored peice. For Façade, limitations on the supporting role of the player in addition to a weak Spatial Story reveal its shortcomings although there is a breadth of outcomes in one act.
