2. Chapter 7
Play and Game Culture

3. Objectives Outline the three driving factors that lead to game design.
Describe what is meant by the purpose and soul of a game.
Define the term play.
Explain the ways in which play is important for people.
Describe how play provides balance to life.
List the primary player types.

4. Objectives (Continued)
Describe online economies and community building offered by video games.
Define video game addiction.

5. Driving Design
There are three driving factors that lead to game design
Market
Designer
Technology
In a market-driven design, the game is designed to meet the needs of the target customers

6. Driving Design (Continued)
A player-centric design is built to focus on what the player experiences in the game
Market research is done by surveys, focus groups, and sight studies
Designer-driven games are made to show off artistic and programming skill
It is important to design games with improved graphics, realistic physics engines, and new user interfaces

7. Driving Design (Continued)
Technology-driven games implement new technology
Hardware
User interfaces
Game platforms
Often, a new technology entices designers to build games that test the new technology just to see how it works

8. Purpose and Soul
Many games have stood the test of time because of the purpose of play
The central component that makes a game come alive and become important to the player is called the soul of the game
A game with soul has
Importance of play
Emotional, thought-provoking connection with the game choices

9. Purpose and Soul (Continued)
Many social networking or social interactive games use the idea of soul to keep players coming back and playing more
An example of a game with soul is a car-racing game in which the racer is an ambulance driver
With the development of strategic and thought-provoking games with soul comes the dilemma of how to define play

10. Play At the heart of play is the concept of fun or fantasy
Play is a break from reality that can take shape as any number of different activities
To engage in recreation is play
Play is a term that can be used to define participation
Play can take the form of a fantasy

11. Play (Continued)
As you get older, you think of play as a structured activity with a goal or purpose
Play can mean to act foolish or to pretend
The most literal meaning of the word play comes from the world of theater
In this use, play means a dramatic performance or show
Still another version of play implies the role or part someone undertakes

12. Various Forms of Play

13. Importance of Play
To balance the amount of stress from work and everyday environments with entertainment, people use play activities
In a video game, a player faces obstacles and challenges
But these challenges do not carry the same kind of stress as found in the real world
Dealing with the challenges in a game may actually cause a calming effect over time

14. Game Addiction
There must be a balance of work and play to have a fulfilling life
Game addicts are people who cannot stop playing games
A video game addiction is a psychological disorder in which a person feels he or she must play all the time
One of the greatest contributors to the video game addiction phenomenon is the massively multiplayer online (MMO) games

15. Game Addiction (Continued)
There are four categories of MMO games
Role-playing games
Real-time strategy games
First-person shooter games
When selecting an MMO class, players consider which type of character fits them best
Killer
Talker
Explorer
Achiever
Social games

16. Examples of Avatars
Shutterstock.com

17. Player Types
Core gamers are players that frequently play video games and actively devote time to playing games
This player type will primarily play games that involve action and skill
Casual gamers infrequently play video games
They are usually not dedicated to a specific game or genre of games

18. Online Community
A community is considered to be any social structure in which people exchange ideas
Members are the people who contribute to the conversation
The end user license agreement (EULA) is a set of rules that every member must agree to
Abusive players can be removed and not allowed back into the community

19. Online Economy
The provider economy describes how the game manufacturer obtains money for games and services
When a company advertises on a site, it pays for each time the advertisement is shown
Many sites call these advertisers sponsors
Some online communities accept an online account service

20. Online Economy (Continued)
In the player economy, players can trade for game weapons, skills, land, or other items
Players can buy or sell with money from an online account service
In some games, players receive game credits from other players, which can later be exchanged for actual cash
With actual money involved, online communities face some interesting legal issues

21. Most game characters are a combination of four primary character elements (killer, talker, explorer, and achiever). What percentage of each of the elements would make a game avatar that appeals to you?
Do you think a video game that involves the use of actual money would be more or less effective at relieving stress than other games? Why?