All videogames operate by using the same language of communication
to the player. It is a language dominated by physicality’s present within the
game world. ‘Do this, go here, avoid that’. At first it seems a very limiting language
where the player is at the mercy of the game’s developer. If and when the
developer has called for it something will happen. Yet, the limit on what can
be expressed by the language is only the limit of the creativity of the developer.
There is nuance and sophistication within the language of videogames. The true
art lies within the nuances of the language, not what is always written or said
but what is meant and implied.
This level of nuanced
communication requires the participation of both the developer and the player.
One must work while the other must be willing to accept. The player has to
freely surrender control of the experience for the one being given to them.
Even open world games are not truly open as they are built and follow the laws of
the game’s developer. It is a carefully crafted toy to be played with for the
player’s enjoyment. Yet there is a flaw in this process. Not a glaring one or
one that totally mars the experience. The flaw is what to do when the player does
not understand what they are being told. What happens when the player is not
fluent enough in the language to fully comprehend?
The similarity drawn here is with that of a reading class.
Students are given a book and told to read it. Every student is able to
decipher the clumps of symbols that represent letters into the words that correspond
to that specific grouping of letters. That word then calls froth from the
student’s mind the associated meaning. These are all strung together into sentences,
paragraphs and finally a total story. It is process the barely registers any
more as the students have become so accustomed to it. They can read, but can
they truly comprehend?
The class is then told to write an essay explaining what
they thought the book was about. The book was The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Some students write it is the
story of a boy and his friend as they journey down the Mississippi River. Others
will say that it is a coming of age story where young Huck learns to accept
responsibility and grow up. Another group of students will say that the book
was about deconstructing the slavery age mindset that African Americans were inferior.
All the students are correct at a certain level. However, each group shows
increasing comprehension of the nuanced story that is being told between the
conventional written texts of the book.
This level of comprehension, of fluency with a language, is
required to understand that message being given by the author. To engage with
the author the reader must be fluent within the language that the author uses
to express his or her thoughts. The same goes for videogames and their designers.
For the player to engage with the game and it’s developers in a meaningful way
the player must be fluent in the language of videogames.
Fluency is a simple concept. Play enough until you get good
and understand. Yet, just as people can dedicate a lifetime to the study of
written languages so to can the language of videogames be complex and immense.
There are different subsets of the language of videogames. Different vernaculars
are used depending upon the type of game played. Just as book written in American
English will be different form one written in Canadian or British English. Even
that is an over simplification. The language will vary from place to place as
well as from time to time. A game made in Japan will use the language differently
than an American developed game. To be fluent in the language of videogames, as
well as any other language, the player must be able to apply assumptions made
in one game to that of another.
Making assumptions during the process of observation,
experimentation and response mentioned in Part 2 is a critical step to fostering
understanding. To bridge the gap between understanding and comprehension
applied assumptions must be made. Because all videogames use the same language
to convey meaning, assumptions made in one game can be transferred to another
with little to no modification.
This works particularly well with games of the same genre as
they use the same vernacular of the language. One First Person Shooter will
control similarly to another FPS. They will operate with the same gameplay
precepts: ‘shoot this, avoid this, go here’. For example in one game the player
controlled solider is given orders to take out an armored bunker. Whenever the
player attempts to get close to it the player is mowed down in a rain of
bullets from an entrenched machine gun. The player’s typical upfront approach is
not working here. To successfully beat this challenge the player must crouch
down and avoid detection while stealthily flanking to the rear of the bunker
where the machine gunner is exposed. The player does this and remembers the tactic.
A few weeks later the player is playing a different shooter and a similar situation
presents itself. This time the player thinks ‘should I use my normal upfront approach
or should I attempt to be stealthy again?’ Using experience from the previous
game the player makes an assumption and applies to the new game. Turns out it
works perfectly and the player is rewarded. This is just a simple example of the
concept, but the use of applied assumptions to further understanding of the
game and the language it uses to communicate is paramount.
Applied assumptions can be transferred to and from games
beyond those of similar genre. There is a slight change in vernacular of the
language. A shooter game will make to more apparent as to the route a player
should take for stealth. A game built from the ground up as a stealth game will
be much harder to decipher, often offering more than one avenue for stealth
some correct and others not at all. An assumption made in the stealth section
of the shooter game can just a readily be applied to a stealth game. The meaning
is the same however the vernacular of the language, the gene of the game, is different
and therefore uses slight differences in the language to convey meaning. When
the player is able to identify those differences without losing understanding
of the meaning full comprehension, fluency, is not much further.
With more exposure to differing vernaculars of the videogame
language a greater understanding can be gained thus eventually compounding into
a comprehension that allows for the player to engage with the game and developer
in a meaningful way. A light in a door way signifies ‘go here’. And brief cutscene
showing one creature killing another signifies ‘avoid this’. That is an actually
trick developers use called “death by proxy” to convey information to the player
without killing them to do so. This information and direction given to the
player by the developer is something that can be completely missed by those without
a fluency in the language of videogames. It is vital that applied assumptions be used
to further the comprehension and fluency of the player. Applied assumptions are
the first step to critical thinking and involvement with the game. The next
step is direct engagement with the game and developers as equals who both
understand the language being used. That way it is easier to appreciate the
nuances that make a truly great videogame.
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