Video Games Are the Rules

This a rebuttal to Yehuda's post: Why Don't Video Games Tell You the Rules?

Firstly, a declaration: I am a video gamer and a board gamer. I love to explore any system that has rules and systems. However, there are fundamental differences between the organization and execution of each type of game that alters not only how we perceve them, but also how we play them. Most of these have to do with the social spaces of the games.

Walking The Path
I am going to object to the use of The Path as an example of video games because it does not represent even a fraction of experimental (and I hate to have to make this particular distinction) "art" games. I have not had the chance to play The Path, but from eveything I have read it is less a game and more a narrative exploration of a theme with in a environmental framework. Like a living story.

The rules of the game are deliberately hidden because the entire game is about exploration of the space as part of the underlying metaphor. As you discover how the world works you are also discovering the narrative that has been hidden, and are able to piece together your experiences (fabula) into a cohesive story that is unique to your understanding of the game space. That includes how you understand the game world's rules.

The Path is to most video games what Mao is to most card games: a deliberate exploration of rules and game space.

(For those of you who don't know, Mao is a card game for a moderately large group of people that primarily involves making up and figuring out the rules without explaining them out loud. It can get very strange, be very confusing to someone who doesn't know how to play, and will always be different. You may not even understand all the rules in play during a single session until it ends.)

Reason 1: Don't Tell, Show
I love complicated rule systems in my games. I own one board game that has a 30 page rule book. It's so complicated that it comes with an 8 page comic as a Quick Start Guide. I would rather explain the rules first than (or at least the basics) than just jump in with a confused (and often bewildered, wide-eyed) new player. However, the thing I most often hear is, "Let's just get started and they can pick it up as we go". So I wind up explaining both rules and strategy periodically as we progress and new situations come up.

But what if I could not only explain as we went, but show you without pausing? What if I could make strategies easy to understand by putting them in context as we play? In a board game I'd have to explain that Unit X can move 3 spaces and Unit Y can move 4 (but only over water tiles), but in a video game you could see that when you clicked on Unit X that 3 spaces in every direction were lit and allowed you to move there and that 4 spaces were lit for Unit Y, but only over water. Sure, both games might have a little icon with a 3 or 4 and a little wave icon for Unit Y, but the video game enforces the rules whether you know them or not. But I suppose that leads to Reason 2...

Reason 2: Crunching the Math
In Settlers of Catan you know exactly what the probability of rolling to get resources from any single hex is every time you roll (so long as you understand some basic probability and statistics). That doesn't mean you understand how the math plays into the overall strategy of the game. 6s and 8s are mathematically the best tiles to own, but if you don't diversify you may wind up just as stuck as if you chose 2s and 11s. Of course, the rules don't explain that, you have to play the game to understand the strategy.

In a video game you may not know the exact probability of hitting an enemy, or the exact damage you will do. The math may be hidden or obsured by other numbers or mitigating factors (like resistance). Same games may show this, some may not. This does not mean that you cannot make educated guesses and intuit strategies that work. All the while, developing a deeper understanding of the systems that underlie the combat. Of course that can't happen until you start to play. Whether the rules are detailed and understood before or hidden and revealed later, strategy only develops from playing and experience.

Any game you play (video or otherwise) that has poorly defined goals, indications of progress, or insufficient feedback is squarely in the fault of the design and not the medium. However, that does not mean you have to understand the math or the entire underlying system to play (or even to win). As a new game player, I would only know all the cards in Pandemic if I looked at them first and read the rules on how they worked. Many games have similar resources, should you be interested enough to look.

Reason 3: Concession is a House Rule
I will freely admit that one drawback to playing a video game over a board game (especially when playing a video game remake of a board game) is that there is no support for house rules. The computer will always mediate the situation; it is immutable. Variations must be added by the designers, but even these cannot be strayed from.

Concession is one such variation. Is there a way to concede in the rules of Monopoly? Risk? Only if the players agree. Is there a way to concede in a video game? Only if it is programmed in. My suggestion: tell your designer friend that it is good option to add.

Are there thoughtful video games, with explicit rules and goals, where the game is played, round by round, to calculated victory?
Short answer: Yes, of course there are.

Long answer: I'm actually a little disappointed that this is even asked. Are there board games with any depth and strategy? Ones that don't just have a rule system with a theme slapped on them? Of course there are, if you care to look for them. But if all you've seen are Hasbo games at Toys-R-Us, then you're not seeing the whole picture.

Judging video games by a scant few on the edge (an Art/High Concept game, a web game in development, and some second-hand FPSs) is hardly fair to the depth and breadth of gaming.

What would you like to play? Tactical game, management game, action game, strategy game? Real-time, turn-based, online? How much time do you have?

Monday Report [July 14-20]

Wii
Wii Fit

3.5 hours

Wii fit is interesting. It has mini-games, but I don't think it qualifies as a game itself. In the same way that Brain Age isn't really a game. It's a trainer program. You use it the same way that you used to use Typing Tutor. Only to help improve and track your body. Mostly it's great. There is just one glaring deficiency: no guided workouts. I'll explain more when I do a full review. I still have some things to unlock. One thing to note is Wii Fit Time Dilation: 30 minutes of workout in Wii Fit can actually be upwards of 45 minutes in real time.

LEGO Indiana Jones

7.5 hours

Wanted to get a LEGO game, and since I don't own a X360 yet, I had to get it for the Wii. Morgan prefers Indiana Jones over Star Wars, so we went with that. Because I want to play it with her. Ad we did. The game is LEGO fun, LEGO irreverent, and bloody annoying in some places. A lot of the world is "realistic", where realistic means not made of virtual plastic. This is good for helping you figure out what to smash (everything made of LEGO), and really good at helping you fall off of platforms. More review as we get further. So far it's fun, but slightly annoying. Two movies down, one to go. Then a whole load of extra things to unlock and find.

Flash
You Don't Know Jack, Episodes 80 & 81

7 minutes, each

More Jack. Basically I like my trivia.

Board Games
Zombies!!!

2 hours  (2 games, 4 players)

Yes, those exclamation points are necessary. It's a board game about, you guessed it, Zombies. Basic premise includes fighting your way through a horde of zombies while trying to make it to the Helipad and escape. This is not a co-operative game. You can also win by offing (and collecting) 25 zombies. Every turn reveals a little more of the city, which is built tile-by-tile, Carcassonne-style. Then you move, kill, and try to survive. Then you move some zombies. Most of the action cards are weapons to help you or events you can use to hinder your fellow players.

At the core, this is a simple game. You can learn it in 5 minutes, and set it up in about the same amount of time. The randomness of the city, and the sheer joy of being able to blast your way through a building full of zombies to get that health you need are what make this game shine. Sometimes the dice work for you, sometimes they don't. Either way, you can tell some neat survival (or horrible death) stories from the events that happen. Oh, and there are 7 expansions which cover the gamut of zombie tropes. This will be a game to just pull out an play with friends: simple, quick, and a lot of fun (who doesn't like killing zombies?).

Monday Report [July 7-13]

Wii Games
Wii Fit

1.5 hours

Bought this on Friday. So far have used it three days. I don't really have much to say about it. The quality of the balance board itself is good. It feels solid and sturdy. The "game" itself is well designed and has a pleasing aesthetic. I wanted to get it as a motivational tool to working out and tracking my weight. I don't have the time or money to spend on a gym membership, but I don't have the motivation by myself to research, design, and maintain a workout regimen. Hopefully Wii Fit will provide a source of direction and motivation as it tracks my progress.

PC Games
Beyond Good & Evil (via GameTap)

2.5 hours

The second assignment hasn't been posted yet. Although I figure that it will be somewhere after the second mission (the one in the Nutripils Factory). So I played some of the side-stuff, collected a few more pearls, and had the game crash every time I tried to go into something called "Vorax's Cave". I'll have to look into that. I'm part way into the mission, and taking my time to collect all the extra animals and pearls I can.

Flash Games
You Don't Know Jack, Episodes 78 & 79

7 minutes, each

This week brought back a personal favourite type of Jack moment. It's called the Bring Back. Or rather, the lead-in and follow-up. The full games did this sometimes, and The Netshow used it extensively. It's where it'll set something up, a joke or a clue to another question, and then follow through. Appropriately mocking if you failed to listen to the advice given. Monday's show was the lead-in and Friday's had the follow-up on the last question.


Totem Destroyer

30 minutes (complete)

This is a fun little physics game. You have to remove block from the (often unstable) towers while trying not to drop the golden idol on the ground. Challenging, but not too hard. I on;y got stuck on one level until I started to really pay attention to how the tower was swaying. The game's graphic design is simple and elegant, staying out of the way for the gameplay. the music also works nicely with the theme and doesn't manage to get too annoying. I'd recommend playing through. Also, the game has achievements. While some of these are just for filler (play for X amount of time) some do provide a sense of fulfillment.

Open Doors

30 minutes (incomplete)

This is an interesting game about movement. Draw as a blueprint, this game has you moving around a grid trying to get to the exit space. Doors are in your way, and are designed to only operate in certain directions. You can push doors open only certain ways and passing through an open door will close it behind you. I'm pretty sure that I was playing mostly on intuition. Eventually I got stuck and frustrated, maybe you can do better.

Real Games
Arkham Horror

About 3 hours

If you play board games at all seriously, there is a good chance you have heard of Fantasy Flight Games. They make the World of Warcraft, StarCraft, and upcoming Gears of War board games. They make games with ridiculous numbers of pieces and whole buckets full of miniatures. Arkham Horror is based on Call of Cthulhu, and the whole Lovecraft Mythos in general. Played over several hours, the game is a cooperative effort as the investigators (from 1 to 8 players) try to stop a Great Old One from awakening and killing them (and everyone else). This is not an easy game. Lots of bad things can happen, and you only have a short time to stop it.

This was my first time playing it, and I had a blast. There were four of us, and only one (the game owner) had actually played before. Fortunately the rest of us were familiar with many of the game conventions used in Arkham Horror, so we were able to pick it up easily. Part RPG, part miniature-style combat, and part open-path board game; you pick a character, get some stuff, and start wandering Arkham trying to close gates to other dimensions and killing (or evading) the monsters that emerge from them.

We all died. We were unable to seal any of the gates and prevent them from re-opening. This meant that we were constantly moving towards awakening the Old One and our doom. He woke up and promptly devoured us all. It is the most fun I've ever had losing a game. It's not like you go in expecting to come out whole: it is a Cthulhu game after all. I can't wait to play this again (maybe with expansions) and I hope to get it for myself.

Going Home

Holidays are weird for me. Especially Christmas. It is, of course, all my parent’s fault. They had to move out, taking my brothers with them, just as I was starting my post-secondary education, winding up an 8-hour drive (10-12 hours by bus) away in what amounts to the middle of nowhere. Well, next door to the middle of nowhere anyhow. This pretty much leaves all the other holidays open for my wife’s family to own.

Not to say that this is a bad thing. I like my wife’s family. I even have delusions that they like me too. Well, they at least accept me. Or put up with me. At any rate, I’m pretty sure that I’m welcome (I kid, we get on well). We always find things to talk about. I can help set the table, or help in the kitchen. I always find that the time passes without too much tedium, and the food is always good.

But, (you knew there was a but, right?) something is still missing.

Oh yeah, games. My family has always played games. One of the reasons that I have a deep seated love of gaming is the time I spent playing when I was younger. Even more now, when we gather we give games, we share games, and we play games. Going home isn’t so much about the location, which never was home, it’s about finding the time and people to play with.

So my holiday trip home this year was filled with games and these are them

Deflexion (link)

Gave this as a Christmas/birthday gift to my youngest brother. A strategy game with lasers, what could be more perfect? It turned out to be quite a bit of fun. Very spatial, thinking about all those mirrors and bounces. A whole lot of potential for strategic depth in there. Overall, a good gift, and a fun game.

Killer Bunnies (and the Quest for the Magic Carrot) (link)

The funniest card in the whole game (to this point) is the weapon “Green Jello (with Evil Pineapple Chunks)”, because nothing is more evil than killing a bunny with dessert. This is an overly complex game with a slightly distorted sense of reality. I like it, and I’ll go into it more later.

Munchkin (and Munchkin Fu) (link)

If you have not played this game, please find a friend who has it. Failing that, find a local game or comic shop and get a great game to play with everyone you know. Munchkin not only epitomizes all that is great about social card games, but it’s hilarious while it does it. And there is a Munchkin for everyone. Every true and pure geek with fall madly in love with this game and want to collect all of the various expansions and off shoots. This game will remain a favourite for years.

Seafarers of Catan (link)

I’ve played Settlers, so getting the rest of the Catan expansions is pretty much a no brainer. You wouldn’t think it, but just adding the ability to cross the water and a single, rare, land type really does alter the whole strategy of the game. I played this a bunch of times, and I had to rethink my whole Catan domination plan. I can’t wait to get Knights and Cities.

Crib (link)

A classic of my family, something that was passed down from my Grandfather. Wherever two or three of us gather, the cards and board usually come out.

Backgammon (link)

There is nothing like being schooled in a classic board game of strategy and luck by your mother to make you realize that there may yet be something to learn. I’m pretty sure that the thing I have to learn is that I’ll never be better at Backgammon than my Mom. It’s one of her favourites and I love getting to play with her.

Kirby: Canvas Curse (link)

I couldn’t wait to spend my Best Buy gift monies on new games for my DS. I ploughed through about half the game (maybe a little more) in the time I spent away. The game is simple, fairly short, but very well produced. Going back through the time and line trials really hones your skills and makes you think about efficient moves.

Elite Beat Agents (link)

I couldn’t say no to a game where synchronized dance is the answer to all the inconsequential problems of the world. I’d read so much about this game I had to play it. I still can’t beat the final level (even on easy), but It’s probably because my tapping and dragging skills are not what they should be. This one turned out to be too much fun not to share.

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Last year I reconnected to a lot of things. I reconnected to people on the internet, through their blogs and the creation of mine. I reconnected to my love of games and design. I reconnected to drama and storytelling. I reconnected to programming. Last year, as fast and peculiar as it was, was about reconnection.

This year is about games.

Re-imagining Board Games

Of all the things that I've read over the past couple of weeks since I last posted (I know, I'll work on it), this has bothered me the most. GregT at The Dust Forms Words is forecasting the death of boardgames. I disagree. And I agree. Ok, I'm just conflicted about it. Here's why:

I love board games. (In this definition I'll also include PnP RPGs, Card Games, Social Games and anything that requires people to be present, or has physical components. That definition is about as broad as Video Game these days.) I love being able to gather my friends together to socialize and play games. I love the setup, explaining the rules, teaching new games, playing old favourites, everything. I crave the physicality and presence.

I also have a killer imagination. For years I have waited for the holographic display, the table top screen, physical interfaces (can you say multi-touch screen?), limitless communication, and a raft of other technologies that would enable me to play across distance without losing the feeling of close social contact. I can imagine a time when I sit in front of my coffee table, call up a friend in (say) Australia, pick a game, and play. Even with them thousands of miles away the technology removes the distance, they might as well be on the other side of the table. High fidelity video-chat, or holo-presence brings them into my living room, and me into theirs. The board displays a virtual matrix of pawns and pieces on a board and interacts to our touch, allowing us to set, move, capture, steal, win, and lose from either side. Seamless interface leading to pure social play, just as good as reality.

But all I've described is a board game rendered by a digital interface, and unhindered by communication restrictions. The gameplay hasn't changed. Perhaps some design restrictions would be lifted: Settlers of Catan could be re-envisioned as a real-time exploration and construction game, ala WarCraft. Or it could be played with traditional turn-based rules and resource collection. Games could be played with animation and sound, realistic or cartoon art-styles, free-form or strict rule adherence. The computer as board, dice, moderator, bank, enemy, stand-in player.

Not that any of that is a stretch. I've been looking at Clubhouse Games for my DS. Over 30 traditional games, playable with the touch interface. Up to 8 players via wireless communication. No setup, no take-down. Is this, perhaps, the next step to re-imagining board games? Can all board games be digitized, removing restrictions on rules, art, sound, communication, and play? Of course they can, that's the easy part. If the game can be played with chips can dice it can be played with virtual ones just as easily.

It doesn't mean that I wouldn't play on a real board if you came over.

Sometimes physical is just plain better than virtual.