Play is a bigger concept than what often happens strictly inside the game and what game designers imagine for their product. This is particularly true when examining my chosen artefact and media, Gen4. Our Virtual Reality software and game, although targeted as a training tool and built to compliment traditional classroom training – it has evolved past what we had developed it for. Lately, we notice the software is very much productive play in the form of ‘choose your own adventure’ style training.
The participatory elements I will be focussing on for my game media text will be virtuality, interactivity and participation culture. These elements are discussed in Joost Raessens book chapter, ‘Computer games as participatory media culture’ where he explains that these elements are “specific characteristics or principles of computer games as a form of digital media.” I feel these elements form the most beneficial lens to view my chosen media through and I will detail my findings below. I will be detailing more examples and use cases tying back to my own DA in the attached video.
Virtuality:
Raessens explains that one specific characteristic of computer games (as opposed to film or television) is virtuality and the “possibility to simulate virtual worlds a gamer can explore” or as Michael Heim described it, ‘‘an event or entity that is real in effect but not in fact’’ (Heim, 1993, p. 109). Observing players in our VR scenarios is often a great example of how real our virtual environments, scenarios and actions are. We need them to be a “digitally produced reality that can have effects which are comparable with effects of factual reality” as Raessens so neatly put it.
Interactivity:
Computer games are offering players ‘leading roles’, we are first person shooters, main characters, leading ladies and heroes – as we are able to immerse ourselves in a three dimensional world where we either step into these roles or remain “close to the POV of the main character” (Rushkoff, 1997). Raessens chapter goes a little too in depth on the term “interactivity” and the varying opinions on the term itself. For the purpose of my text, ‘interactivity’ is the communication, influence and actions between an individual and the digital device or content. Which is how it is framed when you are in VR. Often the individual with the most control and interactivity, is the trainer, who is ‘driving’ the scenario using the ‘trainer menu’ which is essentially a master controller. Or when single player mode is enabled, each player becomes the ‘trainer’ and can navigate the scenario at their own pace and engage with the content as they choose.
Participation Culture:
Johan Huzinga published Homo Ludens in 1949, in this book which translates to ‘the playful human’, Huzinga argued that culture and play are synonymous. Raessens looks at this too, but argues that participatory culture concerning games are more active and productive as opposed to passive and consumptive. I agree and believe that play and games are not passive but are active and productive – even when they are not always your cup of tea.
We often see examples of play being a participation in culture, when people are hesitant at first to participate in a VR scenario or module but flip once seeing a few of their peers jump in and start to interact with the content, have fun and start calling out hazards or interactive visuals. I often call this FOMO (fear of missing out) but I think the more academic term would be participatory culture.
References:
Rushkoff, D. (1997). Children of chaos: Surviving the end of the world as we know it. London: Flamingo.
Heim, M. (1993). The metaphysics of virtual reality. New York: Oxford University Press.
Huzinga, J (1949), Homo Ludens, Gallimard, Beacon press.
Media Maddy 