Rules of Play Response #4: Rules of Digital Games

         In order to analyze the rules of digital games, we must first establish what defines a rule: they limit player action, they are explicit and unambiguous, all players share them, they are fixed, they are binding, and they are repeatable. When moved to a computer or a gaming console, it is necessary that these rules be translated into the game. By playing an electronic game, we are really changing the way the game is being played. Not the rules – just the method of play. For example, playing tic-tac-toe changes when we do it on a computer because now we have an aspect of a screen, a mouse, and clicking. Instead of paper and pencil, we must learn to use the tools that the computer allows us to play the game. The rules of the game remain unchanged, but we must adapt to the digital version.

         This reading also dealt with conflict. If you think about it, there is pretty much always a conflict in a game; that’s why we play it! We want to resolve the conflict by performing certain tasks. The challenges we face in a game are the conflict. Sometimes the conflict is as simple as beating your opponent in a game of chance. Sports often take on the group v group conflict, with teams working together to try and come out on top. There is also one against many, single player competing against a game system, a group competing against a game system, or every man for themselves. Resolving conflicts is often driven by competition.

         Another major component in conflict is the goal of a game. In one game there can be many different conflicts. When we look at the game Tetris, we know that it is always the goal to try and clear the level by trying to complete lines. However there are different modes of play in Tetris. We can play to clear the board, we can play until we clear 40 lines, or we can see how many lines we can clear in a certain amount of time. These all fall under the game of Tetris, but the conflict in each of these versions differ from one another.