Games are Pretty Social
When two people play a game together, they are engaged
in a social activity. What that social activity looks like,
however, can depend on a number of factors.
One set of factors is who the players are, what their existing
relationship is, where they are, etc. This game doesn't
look at those factors (but it's in my future plans.)
Another set of factors is the game itself. What is this game?
How much do one player's actions affect the other player?
Are the players working together, in opposition, bargaining?
How much choice do they have about what they can do?
In what ways can they communicate with each other, both
through the game itself and in conversation around the game?
Moving Parts sets up a tension between communication and
solitary play . Players face each other and can communicate
freely through speech, body language, etc. Meanwhile, they
are playing a digital game that has encoded rules, requires
very focused attention, allows the players very few inputs
and choice within the game, and in which events are often
outside one or both players' control.
By allowing players different degrees of in-game control,
drawing their attention toward and away from each other,
and creating different in-game relationships (cooperation,
competition, etc.), the game elicits different interactions
between the players. In different versions, players strategize
and apologize; focus very intently on the other player's
movements within the game; laugh and banter; and practically
ignore each other.
Using Interactions with Players to Guide Game Design
Another way this game proved to be social arose from
the game's iterative design process. As I developed the
basic game and its rule variations, I continually user tested
by playing and watching other people play. I would begin
a version by trying to create a desired feeling or social
interaction, but the way that players used the game
essentially influenced how the versions evolved.
By listening to what players expected or wanted and by watching
how people actually played the game, I was able to iterate versions
that more effectively achieved my initial intentions. Further, from
play testing and observation I was able to develop new ideas for
social interactions based not on my own ideas, but on what players
were already doing (or trying to do) with the game.
