{"id":444,"date":"2009-11-06T22:25:27","date_gmt":"2009-11-06T20:25:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/isabout.wordpress.com\/?p=444"},"modified":"2020-01-02T20:25:30","modified_gmt":"2020-01-02T20:25:30","slug":"games-and-toys-and-defeat-horizons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arkenstonepublishing.net\/isabout\/2009\/11\/06\/games-and-toys-and-defeat-horizons\/","title":{"rendered":"Games and Toys and Defeat Horizons"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve continued playing Wesnoth<\/a> and trying to figure out what it is that annoys me in the game. I think I’ve got at least a part of the answer here: the issue is that what we call “games” actually consists of two different types of interactive objects, and mistaking them for each other is a recipe for disaster. Just an idle thought, let’s see if it goes anywhere.<\/p>\n

Games<\/h3>\n

A game<\/em> is (for our purposes here) a ritual space with simplified rules and objectives – simplified in comparison with reality. A good game has goals and performance, the players derive enjoyment from performing the skills necessary for the game. We can talk about good play and bad play, and about strategy and technique of play. Chess and tennis are games.<\/p>\n

Toys<\/h3>\n

Some things called games are actually virtual experiences of various sorts of multimedia art. Playing them is not a matter of performance, but of experiencing content. Much of what passes for video “game” design is actually about designing toys. The issue is blurred by the fact that many of these software toys provide a default game embedded inside; it’s just that often this game is not very fun or functional, or it might be arbitrary, or it might simply get ignored by the player. Console rpgs are almost always foremostly toys in this sense of the word.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

OK, so that didn’t turn out as sublime as I thought it would – a pretty routine analysis. Still, back to Wesnoth: the reason for why I wouldn’t want to resolve the annoying issue of dying units by simply making unit death a non-issue in campaign play is that it’d turn the game more toy-like. It would make improving units into a grind – a routine process with psychological values that is very typical of toys, but rare in games, and often reviled.<\/p>\n

The fundamental problem of computer war game campaigns (and tabletop as well, in fact) is very important – it would actually deserve to have a name… let’s call it the Defeat Horizon<\/em>. That deserves its own heading.<\/p>\n

Defeat Horizon<\/h3>\n

Defeat horizon is the limit that prevents us from introducing genuine loss into certain types of games. It is caused by conflicting assumptions:<\/p>\n