Games as Social Activities
staffan.bjork@chalmers.se
But first some practical stuff

Exercise 3 later today


Use supervision time


Same procedure as last time
Find me in my office
Remember low fidelity testing next week



10.00-15.00 Tuesday
Contact me if you need specific materials
Meet at Torg 3 (here)
Today’s lecture




How Can Games Affect Us?
Ethics and Games
Serious Games
Today’s lecture focuses on the aspects of playing games
where it is important that humans are playing it
But first a game… or three…
By Edward Castronova
Game #1
N coins in the middle
3 Players
Object: Get coins
Each round, each player may remove coins from the middle
A player cannot take more than N/3 coins
Start
Moves are written on a piece of paper
The papers are shown at the same time
The coins left in the middle are doubled
If N < 3, the game ends, see who wins
Otherwise play again, go to Start
Game #2
As game #1 but …
A extra player
Player 4 taxes each player 1 coin per round
Player 4 commands the other players before moves are recorded
Players who disobey are “killed” and replaced with new players
Game #3
As Game #1 but…
All players may suggest 1 rule per round in clockwise order
All players vote on the proposed rules, first rule with a majority
vote goes through (and no more suggestions that round)
Any player may accuse another player of breaking the rule after
coins have been distributed
Trial by jury of the other players
Condemned players are killed and replaced
Which game do you prefer?
Why?
What is the most efficient regime for banning
players who break (implicit|social) rules?
Response A:
“I do not care that players break the rules”
Response B:
“I should be free to do whatever I want.”
Response C:
“The group must not decide.”
What if these games are models for
anarchy, dictatorship and democracy?
Do you want to change your opinions or arguments?
Games can model reality

Players can bring opinions to the game, and depending on the
rules approve or disapprove with what happens


Is this true?
The experiences within the game can affect the players
outside the game if they are aware of the connection

Is this true?
Games can model reality, cont.

Game mechanics

Common resources




Tragedy of the commons
Voting
Banning
Castronova uses these games to make points about real-world
laws

And blurry lines, e.g. property in MMORPGs
Some game-like cases
Stanford Prison Experiment

Students volunteers




Rules



½ guards
½ prisoners
Random selection
No physical violence
Paid $15/day
Dehumanization




Given a number
Physical exercise
Stripped naked
Sleep deprivation
The Lucifer Effect (2007), Zimbardo. P
www.lucifereffect.com
Milgram’s Obedience Experiment




Paid to be technician
Help in a study of memory and
learning
Apply shocks to trial people when
told to by supervisor
Range from 15 to 450 volts




150: strong shock
315: extremely intense shock
450: XXX
Trial people actors
The Lucifer Effect (2007), Zimbardo. P
www.lucifereffect.com
Milgram’s Obedience Experiment,
cont.

2/3 of the test people went to 330
volts

where no sounds came from the
actors

Nearly all continued to 450 volts

Pre-experiment poll


few (average 1.2%) were prepared to
inflict the maximum voltage
Colleagues believed very few subjects
would progress beyond a very strong
shock
How Can Games Affect Us?
or Can Games Affect Us?
Two views from Media Studies

Active media theory

The media affects the user



Through its content
Typically studied through empirical experiments
Active user theory

The user interprets the media


Based upon previous experience
Typically studied through studying/interviewing the users
Raph Koster

A Theory of Fun


Games are about cognition,
and learning to analyze
patterns
Fun is the body’s way of
rewarding the brain for
learning something
Jonas Linderoth – creating
meaning

Study of children playing games

Focus on how they create meaning while playing games


Using the concept of frames (from Goffman)
Five patterns of interaction





Frame oriented towards Rules
Frame oriented towards Theme
Frame oriented towards Aesthetics
Frame oriented towards Internal Dynamics (between the other
Frames)
Frame oriented towards External Dynamics (primarily how other
activities relate to the Theme frame)
James Paul Gee – learning
principles


Looks at games as specialized activities
All specialized activities develop own set of meaning –
becomes a semiotic domain (similar to the concept of frames)
James Paul Gee – learning
principles
1.
Active Critical Learning
Principle

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Agency
Design Principle
Semiotic Principle
Semiotic Domains Principle
Metalevel Thinking about
Semiotic Domains Principle
“Psychosocial Moratorium”
Principle

Crawford’s and other’s
points about safety
7.
8.
9.
10.
Committed Learning
Principle
Identity Principle
Self-Knowledge Principle
Amplification of Input
Principle

11.
Achievement Principle

12.
Special Effects
Closures
Practice Principle
What Video Games Have to
Teach Us About Learning and
Literacy
James Paul Gee – learning
principles, cont.
Ongoing Learning
Principle
“Regime of
Competence” Principle
13.
14.



18.
21.
22.
Reflection in Action
Interesting Choices
Situated Meaning
Principle
Text Principle
Intertextual Principle
Multimodal Principle
“Material Intelligence”
Principle

Multiple Route Principle
16.
17.
20.
Flow
Probing Principle
15.
19.
Intuitive Knowledge
Principle

23.
24.
Tool use
E.g. “Muscle memory”
Subset Principle
Incremental Principle

Flow
James Paul Gee – learning
principles, cont.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
Concentrated Sample
Principle
Bottom-up Basic Skills
Principle
Explicit Information OnDemand and Just-InTime Principle
Discovery Principle
Transfer Principle
Cultural Models about
the World Principle
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
Cultural Models about
Learning Principle
Cultural Models about
Semiotic Domains
Principle
Distributed Principle
Dispersed Principle
Affinity Group Principle
Insider Principle
Different types of learning?

Tacit knowledge


Explicit knowledge



Craft skills
Can be readily transmitted to others
Typically tested in educations…
For experiences to become explicit knowledge one must
become aware of them

After-action reports
Ethics and Games
What possible ethical
problems exist with games?
Questionable content





Sexist
Racist
Homophobic
Bigotry
Inappropriate for the target
audience
Questionable purpose

Advergaming


Militainment




Product placement
America’s Army?
Spreading the attitudes
shown in the content
Making Money?
Wasting Time?
Addiction

Types



Typically refers to



Substance misuse, but sometimes to
activities
Negatively affects social and
professional relations
Requires negative effects


physical dependence
psychological dependence
“if there is no harm being suffered
by, or damage done to, the patient
or another party, then clinically it
may be considered compulsive, but
to the definition of some it is not
categorized as ‘addiction’”
Activity done to get endorphins |
dopamines

Released by the brain when activity
is done
Video Game addiction (Wikipedia)
Ways to classify addiction






Salience

Importance of experience in life
Mood modification

Activity affects mood
Tolerance

Increased doses required
Withdrawal symptoms

Unpleasant emotions when
separated from experience
Conflict

User enters conflicts with
surroundings, other activities,
and self due to experience
Relapse

User quickly reenters habits even
after substantial breaks
“a form of psychological addiction related to a compulsive use of computer and video games,
most notably MMORPGs”
Historical perspective on the
critic of games


Most new media have been seen as
problematic in some way

Video games

Social networking sites (e.g. My Space)

Rap music

Role-playing games

Videos

Heavy Metal

Arcade Halls

Comic Books

Rock’n’Roll

Swing

Jazz

Goethe

Literacy (re: Phaedrus by Plato)
Moral Panic

Can be described as not understanding the
semiotic domain of the new medium
Ways of looking at Ethics

Utilitarianism


What good does an act
do
Different forms






Act-utilitarianism
Rule-utilitarianism
Some duties requires one
to always act in a certain
way
Rights



Deontology

Contemporary Ethics
Negative Rights
Positive Rights
Absolute Rights
Prima Facie Rights


Principalism



400 rules
Several Prima Facie
Rights
May lead to different
outcomes due to
interpretation
Communitarianism

Emphasize community
over individual
Ethics in relation to design


Changes in society can put
ethical values into focus as
they are challenged
Jones’ definition of design


“initiate change in manmade things”
Introduction of new designs
affect individuals and
society

Examples of Values

Privacy




Accountability (culpability)




In Gameplay
In Theme
Autonomy




Of Actions
Of Effects on Others
(freedom of) Bias


Physical
Informational
Decisional
Power Structures
Choice of When to Play or to
Not Play
Addiction
Universal Access
Ethical Challenge #1


What ethical challenges
can The Sims cause?
Values






Privacy
Accountability
(freedom of) bias
Autonomy
Universal Access
What principles lie
behind these objections?
Ethical Challenge #2


What ethical challenges
can World of Warcraft
cause?
Values






Privacy
Accountability
(freedom of) bias
Autonomy
Universal Access
What principles lie
behind these objections?
Ethical Challenge #3


What ethical challenges
can Mind's Eye Theatre
(Vampire LARP) cause?
Values






Privacy
Accountability
(freedom of) bias
Autonomy
Universal Access
What principles lie
behind these objections?
Possible causes for conflicts
regarding games

Misunderstanding




Actually Different Ethnical Principles



Different Semiotic Domains (re: Gee)
“This time I’ll kill you!”
“He killed me. No, I can’t say that. If he killed me I
could not have said ‘He killed me’ as I would have
been dead. [laugher]” (re: Linderoth)
Is this then a problem of medium or content?
Do games have some inherent ethical principles?
Sensationalism

Making money or gaining attention to pointing
something out to be a problem
Positive (or neutral) voices
on video games
From www.theesa.com …
Some views on the effect of video
games

"VIDEO GAMES AND REAL-LIFE AGGRESSION: A REVIEW OF
THE LITERATURE" -- Washington State Department of Health:
Office of Epidemiology
"At present, it may be concluded that the research evidence is not
supportive of a major public concern that violent video games
lead to real-life violence."

"YOUTH VIOLENCE: A REPORT OF THE SURGEON GENERAL“
"[t]aken together, findings suggest that media violence has a
relatively small impact on violence." Specifically with regard to
the research on video games, the report stated that, "The
overall effect size for both randomized and correlational
studies was small for physical aggression and moderate for
aggressive thinking....The impact of video games on violent
behavior has yet to be determined."
Some views on the effect of video
games


Many of the games with violent content sold in the United States
– and some with far more violence – are sold in foreign markets.
But the incidence of violent crime in these markets is considerably
lower than in the United States. This suggests that the cause of
violent crime lies elsewhere.
Violent crime, particularly among the young, has decreased
dramatically during the 1990s while video games have steadily
increased in popularity and use. From Killing Monsters (2002):
 Certainly video games haven’t had any significant impact on real-
world crime. “The research on video games and crime is
compelling to read,” said Helen Smith, forensic psychologist,
youth violence specialist, and author of The Scarred Heart. “But it
just doesn’t hold up. Kids have been getting less violent since
those games came out. That includes gun violence and every
other sort of violence that might be inspired by a video game.”
(p167)
Some views on the effect of video
games


Durkin, K., & Barber, B. (2002). Not so doomed: computer game
play and positive adolescent development. Applied Developmental
Psychology, 23, 373-392.
On several measures – including family closeness, activity
involvement, positive school engagement, positive mental health,
substance abuse, self-concept, friendship network, and disobedience
to parents – game players scored more favorably than did peers who
never played computer games. It is concluded that computer games
can be a positive feature of a healthy adolescence. (p.376)
Durkin, K. (1999). Computer Games and Australians Today.
Australian Government Office of Film and Literature Classification.
Despite several attempts to find effects of aggressive content in either
experimental studies or field studies, at best only weak and
ambiguous evidence has emerged…. …the accumulating evidence –
provided largely by researchers keen to demonstrate the games’
undesirable effects – does indicate that it is very hard to find such
effects and that they are unlikely to be substantial. (p.36)
Negative views on video
games
Mainly referenced by other side
(the esa) or Wikipedia
Some views on the effect of video
games

The present research demonstrated that in both a correlational
investigation using self-reports of real-world aggressive
behaviors and an experimental investigation using a standard,
objective laboratory measure of aggression, violent video game
play was positively related to increases in aggressive behavior. In
the laboratory, college students who played a violent video game
behaved more aggressively toward an opponent than did
students who had played a nonviolent video game. Outside the
laboratory, students who reported playing more violent video
games over a period of years also engaged in more aggressive
behavior in their own lives. Both types of studies–correlational—
real delinquent behaviors and experimental—laboratory
aggressive behaviors have their strengths and weaknesses. The
convergence of findings across such disparate methods lends
considerable strength to the main hypothesis that exposure to
violent video games can increase aggressive behavior. (Anderson
& Dill, 2000)
Some views on the effect of video
games

Jack Thompson, US Attorney




Violent video games have repeatedly been used by
teenagers as “murder simulators” to rehearse violent
plans
“In every school shooting, we find that kids who pull
the trigger are video gamers”
Points to scientific studies that show teenagers
process the game environment differently from adults,
leading to increased violence and copycat behavior
Part of the impetus for violent games comes from the
military: “for a way to disconnect in the soldier’s
mind the physical act of pulling the trigger from the
awful reality that a life may end”
Serious Games
Serious Games

Origins



Claims



Serious Games, Clark C. Abt. (1970)
“...a game is an activity among two or more independent
decision-makers seeking to achieve their objectives in
some limiting context.”
games can simulate simplified versions of reality
play these can let people understand variables,
causes, and effects
Current meaning

Games that are created for other purposed than
entertainment alone
What can Serious Games be
used for?
Training

Brain Age



IQ test made into a
game
Built upon model for
how to train brain
Common Sense DS
Adult Training


Learn etiquette
Learn vocabulary
regarding economy
and IT
Training, cont.

Guess my Robot




“Program” sequences
Create challenges
Test challenges by
sending robot to
creator of challenge
Rabbit Numberline


Limited set of actions
Collect all carrots in
minimum numbers of
move
Training, cont.

America’s Army




teach values
recruitment tool
propaganda device
Class-based Team play


Always play US army
Strict penalties for team
killing
Training, cont.

Foreign Ground




Single side played




Teach cultural conditions
Teach environment
conditions
Allow dialogue and action
Fuzzy results
Intended for use with afteraction review
No reward system
Make a point that


Simulations are about what
is happening
Games are about players
experience of what is
happening
Games for Change

September 12th


Statement about war on
terrorism
Gameplay



Can destroy terrorism with
weapons
Innocent bystanders likely to
be killed
Each innocent bystander
killed generates more
terrorist
Games for Change, cont.

A Force More Powerful



Teach non-violent
methods to overthrow
dictatorships, colonizers,
etc.
Secure political and
human rights for
minorities
Can also be seen as a
training game
Games for Change, cont.

Food Force


UN games about food
distribution
Several different types
of missions




Scouting
Delivering #1
Delivering #2
Resource Management
Games for Change, cont.

Global Conflicts:
Palestine


Reporter in Palestine
from neutral country
Gameplay




Explore environment
Talk to members of
both sides
Create stories
Maintain journalistic
neutrality?
Games for Change, cont.

UnderAsh



UnderSiege


“To turn Arab children away from
American video games featuring US
soldiers killing Iraqis and Afghans, a
Syrian publishing house has designed a
video game on the Palestinian uprising,
or intifada.”
“The new game is called Underash, and
its hero is a young Palestinian stonethrower, Ahmed, fighting Israeli
soldiers and settlers.”
“UnderSiege is about the modern
history of Palestine and it focuses on
the lives of Palestinian family between
1999-2002 during the second Intifada.
All levels are based on true stories and
we look forward to publish it all over
the world on PC/windows platform.”
Can also be seen as a training game?
Games for Change, cont.

Darfur is Dying



Play family member in
refugee camp
Described not as a
game but as a
“"narrative based
simulation."
Two modes


Fetching water while
avoiding militia
Handle crops & build
huts
Games for Healthcare

School Food Trust


UK-based organization
Sonic-style gameplay


Junk food makes you
slower
Healthy food faster
Games for Healthcare, cont.

Rehabilitation of
stroke patients



Diagnosis
Personalized training
Gameplay extremely
easy



Manual Dexterity
Memory
Neglect
Games for Healthcare, cont.

Therapy



Virtual Reality Exposure
Therapy
Controlled environment
to face siutations
Examples



High Anxiety
Experiences of bus
bombs
9/11
Games for Healthcare, cont.

Emergency 112 (911)



Mobile phone game
Teaches first aid
techniques
Gameplay



keep vital functions in
emergency situations
prevent cardiac and
respiratory arrest
know how to access to
the medical emergency
services system
Advergaming

Sudoku


With a theme
Monopoly - star wars
saga edition
Advergaming, cont.

Burger King games





Sneak King
Pocket Bike Racer
Big Bumpin‘
Costs $4 each
One review

“I really expected them to
be more "Ad-like" in that
BK crap would become
annoying quickly. Instead
they happen to simply
have BK crap in them.”
Advergaming, cont.

In game advertising


Simply inserting ads
into games in fitting
places
Example company

Massive, Inc.
Where more examples can be
found

Wikipedia under “serious games”

www.watercoolergames.org

What has not been covered

Games for political campaigns


E.g. used in American elections and by Centern in the
latest Swedish election
Persuasive games

Games that try to change players’ opinions or habits
More reading

An overview





“Datorspel och skadlighet – en
forskningsöversikt”
Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen & Jonas Heide Smith
Exists translated from Danish to Swedish
"Att leva i World of Warcraft" av Jonas
Linderoth och Ulrika, Mediarådet (2007)
Personal account

Dear, William C. The Dungeon Master: The
Disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III,
1984.