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网络游戏与现实互动中的人际关系
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3秒自动关闭窗口探索游戏世界与现实生活之间的联系
发布时间： 16:52:00
作者：Jonas Johansson
对于我来说，游戏最吸引人的地方就在于我们能够在其中扮演着各种不同的角色。玩家能够根据不同的游戏故事选择不同的角色，可以是不起眼的小人物也可以是了不起的大人物，而且这种角色也可以随着情节的发展而变化。实际上不管玩家做出何种选择，这些都将影响他们的游戏体验。
我之所以认为扮演角色是游戏中一个举足轻重的部分，是因为它让我们融入游戏背景中，经历现实生活中不曾尝试过的体验。一款好游戏能让玩家主动思考自己的行动，并预测可能出现的结果。
游戏的一大乐趣就在于它所体现的生活元素，并且将这种元素贯穿于整款游戏中。游戏中所体现的生活元素主要表现于：策略，体验和社交；它们都尝试着用生活方式去表现游戏中的经典场景。首先我要谈谈策略因素，因为它可以称得上是游戏中最全面且最基本的一部分。
几乎在所有游戏中，游戏策略和战略都是推动或阻碍玩家前进的重要因素。如果玩家能够预见这一因素，并擅于应对它，那么便能够快速且精确地做出游戏决策了。我将以《星际争霸》为例子，分析游戏中的术语是如何体现游戏策略。《星际争霸》是一款快节奏的即时战略游戏，玩家可以在游戏中选择三种不同的竞赛。而每一种竞赛都带有自己特征，并且随着游戏的进行，玩家可以建造更多先进的建筑和单位。在主建筑的关卡中玩家必须按照游戏的设置建造特定的建筑物，而这些关卡在游戏中称之为1-3级。如果玩家在游戏中一直持续到最后，那么这1-3级就可以解释为游戏中的早期，中期和后期阶段。
Starcraft(from download24.com)
在游戏的第一阶段只有一座主建筑，玩家开始收集能源。在这一阶段，玩家的任何行动都很重要。为了更具有策略性，玩家应该了解周边的情况，并使用其中一个部队进行探险。这除了能帮助他们找到敌人，也能够为他们在后面几部分游戏中争取到更有利的战略位置。
依靠自己在游戏早期所探索到的信息，玩家必须决定自己的开局策略，并迅速对敌人发起偷袭，或者做出一定的防御，且关注于对建筑和部队的宏观管理（如基础建设）。当然了，玩家可以既进攻又防御，但是因为在游戏早期玩家所拥有的收入来源还很低，所以最好的情况还是只关注于其中一部份。
在这一阶段，玩家能够低价获得单位和建筑，虽然这些单位和建筑的功能都较低，但是却能帮助玩家在数量和速度上取得一定的优势。但是，随着游戏的进一步发展，玩家必须变得更加强大，要不将不能够应对最后强大的敌人。
搜索行动很重要，如果玩家能够在初期取得不错的成绩，那么对于他在接下来的游戏阶段都会有很大的帮助。在游戏中期，玩家不只需要考虑资源和周边环境，还需要考虑并做出主要决策。在《星际争霸》中，每一个竞赛都有自己主要的部队和特点，玩家需要对此进行分析和思考。策略性玩家会预测游戏中的情景，并且拥有一定的应对策略。因此，在游戏中最好不要执拗于一种解决方法，游戏中可能会出现一些不可预见的势力，你必须更加灵活并且结合不同策略对其做出反应。
在这一阶段，单位的能量变得越来越强大，游戏的发展趋势也越来越快，所以玩家应该小心谨慎地前行和反击。如果敌人彻底袭击了玩家的单位，那也不能意味着游戏的彻底失败。因为玩家可以通过智慧和速度弥补战略的失败。微观管理单位即意味着放弃那些负伤的单位，不去关注那些无力的单位。通过侧面袭击或反复攻击，玩家可以沉重打击敌人的部队。
在游戏中期，不论是宏观管理还是微观管理都能够帮助玩家在各种情况下赢取胜利，即使玩家极具战略性，但是这种管理技巧更能够推动他们游戏的发展。
在游戏的最后一部分，每一名玩家都被或者将被各自的竞赛累跨。来到这一阶段玩家便不能再回头了，而且也不会轻易因为一些策略失误而遭遇惨痛的失败。这时候搜索行动也变得更加重要了，因为玩家很容易会因为敌人的突袭而瞬间结束游戏。
擅于防守并不能帮助玩家取得胜利，更重要的是他们必须清楚什么时候该发动袭击，什么时候该适时停止袭击等。一如既往的，游戏的后期主要是考验玩家的抗压能力以及强烈的思想斗争。如果玩家的“大本营”遭到了破坏，那么游戏也就结束了，而对手便坐享胜利果实。
通过不断的自我挑战，我们才能获得成长。在游戏中我们也能够因此成长壮大。通过提高游戏角色的级别，能够让他们获得更多道具，进入更复杂的关卡或者学习适当的策略等。
合作与交流
虽然有时候独自玩游戏也很有趣，但加入团队游戏将对你更有帮助。当然了，独自玩游戏有可能让你幸免于游戏新手（游戏邦注：指那些还没有能力的玩家）或者忍者（指那些喜欢偷道具的玩家）的侵扰，但是如果你能够加入游戏团体，你将有可能获得更多有益的奖励。在游戏初期，有些挑战对于你来说也许太困难了，但是如果有1至两名伙伴一起游戏，他们将能够与你合作，帮助你发动各种袭击。比起只是单独挑战一些低难度的任务，这种团队协作能帮助玩家获得更多奖励。
游戏伙伴间可以分享观点，讨论策略并培养相互间的信任感。
在游戏中总是存在着一定的竞赛，以决定谁最厉害。并不是每个人都想充当最强者，更多玩家更想通过发挥自己的技能进行竞赛而测试自己的水平。很多人喜欢邀请他人作为友好竞赛的对手，而发起直接挑战更是绝大多数游戏中普遍采用的方法。
在游戏中，创造性经常容易被遗忘。而那些懂得合理利用创造性的人经常能够成为社区中的佼佼者。那些富有创造性的玩家敢于挑战新事物，他们会将一些意想不到的事结合在一起获得全新的事物。
这是我的经验之谈，创造性能够帮助玩家们变得更专业，而不需要依靠任何引导或者有效的策略自行判别是非好坏。当出现两个拥有同等技巧和级别的玩家时，创造性便成为了区分他们的最好方法。唯一能够体现玩家创造性的方法便是不断尝试新事物，乐于各种实践。
熟能生巧是定理，但是在游戏中，只有我们知道什么时候才能进入下一关卡时这一定理才有效。这么做玩家便能够轻易理解自己需要做什么以及多久才能到达下一步等。同时让玩家知道自己能够在游戏中获得什么，将成为吸引他们的一大法宝。不论明确的情况对玩家是否有影响，这都是一种很重要的游戏体验，同时它也能够让玩家感受到一种更强大的成就感。不论是让玩家清楚每一阶段需要花费的时间，还是让他们了解这些因素对于游戏角色的影响都是非常重要的。
除了游戏中的一些行动充斥着社交因素，游戏中的很多重要决策也能够体现社交性。你是如何对待别人，就意味着别人是否愿意加入你的团队或者帮助你抵抗敌人。
与他人合作或者加入团体活动时，我们必须了解对方，并确定他们是否值得信任或值得共事。当我们在玩一款社交性很强的游戏时，比起游戏本身，也许我们能获得更多无价的东西。通过在游戏中并肩作战，或者只是保持长时间的交谈，很多人因此找到了自己的终身伴侣，或者成为了现实中的真正朋友。
当玩家在与对手进行言辞交流时，礼貌的言行很重要。不论输赢，玩家都应该在游戏中展露出自己的好风度。不要因为对方的一点小错误就闹翻脸，而是应该鼓励他人如何做出改善。每个人在一开始都是个菜鸟，而且都希望能够得到尊重，所以和颜悦色地对待每一名玩家真的很重要。尽管游戏中做出行动的是游戏角色，但是别忘了，在幕后控制这些角色的都是真正的血肉之躯。
绝大多数情况下（并非所有），一名成功的玩家必须同时也是一名生活中的赢家。而对于游戏来说，内容越简化游戏便越有趣。如果玩家想知道游戏将如何进行，那就需要了解自己该怎么走，并且需要花费多少时间才能达到特定的目标。学习游戏中的简单性，即在开始和结束期间有一个明确的计划和特定的时间安排，并将其用于现实生活中能够帮助玩家更好地解决一些实际问题，如压力或担忧等。
将电子游戏应用于现实生活中确实是个很有趣的尝试，并且在一些机制中也得到了成功的实践，如学校创建了与游戏中类似的分级系统。尝试着将游戏带到现实生活中去，你将会有不一样的体验和感受，带着这种特殊体验，你将能够朝着未知的前方奋力前行。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）
Playing Life
by Jonas Johansson
For me, the most alluring part of gaming is the opportunity to play and act out different roles. Depending on the game, the player can be faced with options that each have its individual take on the story, and each choice, be it minor or major, changes how it proceeds. As a person, we act in a certain way which dictates our in-game character. The fact that each choice has consequences and that we are the person making that choice is what makes us feel immersed and connected to a game,
The reason why I believe role-playing is the strongest part of games, is because we can apply ourselves to any surrounding or context, and be drawn in to an experience where we try and think things we would never do in “real” life. A good game makes the player think about his or her actions, and consider the possible consequences.
What is interesting in this grand play, is the imitation of life, and the learnings that lie within. I have broken up the various learnings in four key sections: Strategy, Experience and Social where each section is focused on bringing up typical scenarios seen in games, and then applying them to a way of life. I will start out with Strategy since it is the most holistic and fundamental part.
In almost any game, strategy and tactics can make or break the player. At its core it is nothing more than being able to think ahead, and the better you are, the faster and more wise are your decisions. As an example I will talk about Starcraft and how strategy is applied to its terminology. Starcraft is a fast-paced real time strategy game where the player can choose between three different races. Each race has its own characteristics and as the game proceeds the player can construct more and more advanced buildings and units. The level of the main building decides which units and buildings are available for construction, and these levels are usually explained as Tier 1-3. If the game is played during a longer time one can also talk about the levels of the game progression, Tier 1-3 are then itself part of the early, mid and late game.
While starting out with just a main building at its first level, the player begins gathering resources. During this part of the game a few key moves are of great importance. To be strategic, the player needs to know its surroundings, and must therefore use one of its units to explre. Besides finding the opponent, it is also a good way to get a grip of promising strategic positions for the later parts of the game.
Depending on what is found during the early scout, the player must decide his opening strategy and can either push and stress the enemy by launching a quick and unexpected attack, or defend and focus on the macro management (i.e. the infrastructure). It is of course possible to do both but it usually is more effective to focus on one part, at least in the early parts when the resource income is low.
Units and buildings that are available during this phase are usually cheap weak, but can be proven effective in numbers and speed. However, since the game progresses the player must evolve and advance if not to be overrun by eventual opponents.
Scouting is always important, and the more advanced the player gets, the more of an active explorer he must become. During mid-game, the player needs to not only think about his resources and his surroundings, but make decisions that will shape the main strategy. In Starcraft, each race has its own key units and strong points, which must be analyzed and thought of. A strategic player knows what might come ahead, and has a counter for it, it is therefore important to not focus only on one path, but be flexible and combine different, and sometimes unexpected, forces.
It is in this phase where the player must also carefully consider his moves, and counter moves, since the power of the units gets stronger, the tide of the game can turn quickly. If it would happen that the opponent has countered the players units perfectly, it is still not a sure defeat. If the strategy has failed, one can make up for it with wit and speed. Micro managing ones units means falling back with wounded units and focusing down weak ones. By flanking or doing multiple attacks, the player can create havoc and scatter the enemy’s units.
Being both strong in macro and micro management during mid game will in most cases ensure a win, and even though a player has a very strategic mind, this is where the actual skill comes to play.
In the last part of the game, each player is maxed out at its respective path, or should be. There’s almost no looking back and a change of strategy can prove fatal. Scouting is now even more important than before, since a sneaky enemy attack can end the game within seconds.
No one wins by defending, but knowing when to attack and when to stand down is crucial. As always, the later parts of a game is a game between who can keep the stress down the most, and a battle of the minds is fought. When a players base is destroyed, the game is over and the victor can sit back and enjoy.
Experience
By challenging ourselves, we grow. And in a game we can even keep the count on our growth. Improving in a game is often portrayed by raising the level of the character, or with some other reward. Gaining a higher level gives a character the opportunity to carry more demanding items, gain entrance to places of higher difficulty or learn spells that before was beyond reach.
Collaboration & Communication
Playing by oneself can be fun at times, but it is always stronger to work in a group. Of course, being alone saves one from the occasional newb (a player with almost no competence), or ninja (someone that steals all the good items on first sight) but a strong team can reap great rewards. Some challenges are a bit to hard to face early on, but with an ally or two they can be cleverly taken down by complementing attacks and combinations. By doing this the player will be gain rewards that are worth more than he would get by taking on challenges of a lower difficulty.
It is also between allies that we can share ideas, discuss strategies and forge bonds of trust.
Competitions
In gaming there are often competitions to decide who the best is. While not everyone may be interested in being number one, most should be interested in trying their skill against others in order to get an understanding of ones position. Asking someone to be a sparring partner is often well received and direct challenges are the most common way to play most games.
Creativity
Something that is often forgotten, and not promoted in games, is creativity. But those who take advantage of their right side of the brain are usually highly embraced by the community. Being creative in a game is about experimenting, and combining unexpected things to achieve something new.
For experience, creativity is what allows a player to become professional, learning what is good and what is bad, without relying on a guide or a well-known strategy. Creativity is the difference between two players of the same skill and level and the only way to reach it is to practice and try new things.
Determination
As with everything, practice makes perfect, but it is only in games that we can directly see when we will achieve the next level. Games are created in such a way that the player can easily understand what needs to be done, and how long it will take to reach the next step. This is also a way to hook the player in to an addiction, because the realization of what is accomplishable becomes addictive. Regardless of how it affects the player, being determined is important for experience, and it makes accomplishments so much stronger. Knowing all the time that has been spent in to a certain fields, and then seeing how it affects ones character is something special.
Besides what happens during the action filled parts of a game, a lot of important decisions are made on a social level. If someone decides to join you in your cause, or help you out with a difficult enemy is hugely based on how that person has been treated.
By knowing someone, and what they stand for we place trust and comfort, which is highly required when collaborating and putting ones life in those of an ally. By playing a strong social game we gain resources that are invaluable and larger than the game itself. A lot of people find their future husband or wife, or friends for life within a game because they have faced great adventures together, or just chatted for a longer time.
Being well mannered is shown most often in what is verbally communicated towards an opponent. When gaming it is important to take losses in a good way, as well as wins. Not putting anyone down because a mistake, but suggesting how they can improve. Everyone is a beginner at first, and if the player wants to gain respect, having a strong manner is of the outmost importance. Even though actions within a game speak for itself, it is still people behind the characters.
Most things, if not all, that are required to become a successful player exists for us in our private lives as well. And the great thing with games is how simplified they make everything. For instance if thinking about learning as how a game would do it, it easy to understand what steps needs to be taken, and what time needs to be spent to reach the particular goal. By taking the simplification from games, and applying it to real life we can easily avoid issues such as stress or worry, because there is a clear plan with a beginning and an end, and in between is just a set time.
Applying video games to ones on life is not only a very interesting experiment that has been successful for several institutions such as schools recreating their grading system to match those in games. Try it for yourself and you will begin seeing new garments as carriers of attributes, and new learnings as gaining experience towards the next level.（）
CopyRight Since 2010 GamerBoom All rights reserved &&闽ICP备&号-1阐述游戏与现实生活之间的关系
发布时间： 17:01:49
Tags：,,,,
作者：Kevin
虽然有时感觉生活就像是一场游戏，但是就发生在我身上的事情而言，游戏与现实生活还是有很大差距。是否有可能或者值得拥有能够真正反映现实生活的游戏呢？
生活就像游戏
在生活中，我们总是遵从某些规则。我们在与他人一起用餐、乘坐公共汽车、在街道上步行、工作、上学和参加葬礼时，其中都有一定的“可接受行为”规则。而且，还有法律确保社会的正常运转和安全性（游戏邦注：比如规范行车的交通法）。大多数的规则中都包含有奖励和惩罚，比如同龄人的赞赏、在公共汽车上让座后看到可爱小女孩的迷人笑容、试图占某人便宜时挨揍或者在高速公路上因超速而收到的罚单。
而且，在生活中我们也有可以“升级”的技能。如果我们不断做某件事情，最终就会做得更好并获得“升级”。如果你频繁演奏吉他或者经常烹饪，你的技能就会得到提升。在这些方面，生活有时就像是游戏。
games vs life(from ionoi.it)
游戏并不像生活
但是，游戏只是对生活的简化，不含有许多让游戏显得真实的关键层面。虽然某些游戏成功的营造了与生活相一致的感觉，而且这种感觉强烈到足够让我们相信，感觉游戏角色是有生命的实体，但是依然无法呈现出现实生活中事物的复杂性。
事件的必然性
游戏为我们提供了自由，自由地逃避现实生活，以另一种方式生活在游戏世界中。每款游戏都能够提供不同的自由。比如，移动的自由和动作选择的自由。有些游戏让玩家觉得可以选择自己的命运或者选择将成为怎样的人（游戏邦注：比如《神鬼寓言》）。有时它们甚至会让你影响某些关键事件，让你尽量去改变游戏的结局（游戏邦注：比如实验性游戏《Fa?ade》）。
在现实生活中，单个人几乎不可能拯救世界。事实上，很少人能够完全掌控自己的生活，更不用说我们所居住的这个世界了。有些人将其称为命运或者天数。无论我们做了什么，最终都只会达到命中注定的那个点。现在，我不认为我们对生活中的东西没有控制权，我相信我们可以通过选择和行动来创造自己的命运。但是，创造命运所需的东西不只是我们的决定和行动，还有许多外在的影响因素。我们的行为受文化、情感、信仰、教育、性格、恐惧、过往经验以及我们所处的环境驱动。影响因素还包括与其他人的互动，而这些人也都会受到同样的影响。所有这些影响因素使得生活相当复杂，很难甚至不可能追踪事件发生的所有前因后果。
让我们来举个例子。你有个好友在某项可能改变生活的决定上犹豫不决，假设这个决定是辞职重返校园。这个想法他考虑了很长一段时间，但是仍然难以做出决定。你认为做出这个决定对他有好处，因而你尝试去说服他。你可以和他谈论这种做法能够产生的诸多优势，尝试让他接受这个充满挑战和风险的选择，为他提供从自己生活中提炼出的各种建议。虽然你们之间的谈话有可能对他产生巨大的影响力，指引他做出某种选择，但是可能性更大的是，你告诉他的所有事情都是他已经听说过或者考虑过的，因而这番话对他的决定产生的影响很小。选择权仍然在他自己手上，还存在许多可以影响他的决定的因素，而且其中许多因素的影响力比你们之间的谈话要大得多。
但是，我们可以通过行动来给其他人和环境留下深刻的印象。简单地说，我们的行动对世界产生的影响要比说话或思考要大得多。
Video-Games-vs-Real-Life(from likecool.com)
游戏就像生活？
那么，游戏中所呈现出来的是什么状况呢？让我们看看《Fa?ade》这款游戏。尽管游戏有很强的艺术性而且玩家有可能对情况的结局造成影响，但是恐怕依然不能如实地反映生活。你扮演的是一对关系紧张的夫妻邀请来的好友，你与他们交谈并尝试对他们产生影响，可能导致二人关系破裂或者和好。在他们相互争吵之时，能否倾听你的言论都是个问题，更不用说让你提出意见。在现实生活中，可能发生的情况是你会尝试与他们交谈，让他们意识到自己的错误，但是他们会认为你的建议有碍于自己的认知过程。你的意见有可能产生影响，但是这种影响只停留在表面上并会被迅速遗忘，因为争吵中双方强烈的情感完全会将其掩盖。《Fa?ade》确实是款强大的游戏，但是它只是为了实现某个目标而将人类间的关系简化了。
虽然游戏是简单化的生活，但是为了让玩家从游戏中享受快乐或者使游戏得以构建起来，这种简单化却是必要的。我们如何能够在保留某些角色心理真实性的前提下简化人类间的互动呢？毫无疑问，我正在讨论的是游戏的互动层面，并非固定的叙事或者过场动画。
影响游戏世界
正如我们之前已经看到的那样，某个人的观点和看法对其他人的选择的影响微乎其微，除非前者是某个领域的专家。在未来的对话机制方面，我们已经看到了一种可能的发展趋势。如果角色让玩家提出意见，玩家给予了自己的意见（游戏邦注：比如通过从多个答案中做出选择的方式），角色会根据他对玩家的看法来做出响应。如果玩家在问题所属领域并不受人关注，那么他的答案可能只有些许影响甚至完全没有影响，角色可能不会考虑玩家的意见，做出自己的选择。
这种方法有效吗？是否会显得有趣？这取决于执行方式和互动所处的环境。但是这仍然是游戏向玩家推荐做出某种行动的强大工具。问题和可能得出的答案确实指向玩家。选择的每个答案都应该对应某种行动，使得玩家需要考虑到游戏剩余部分可能发生的事情，而不只是这次对话而已（游戏邦注：这使得互动成为贯穿游戏的机制）。因而，并非玩家去影响游戏中的角色，游戏角色反倒有机会影响玩家。
因为有着不同的行动过程，这会给我们带来第二个和影响他人的最强大的方式：通过我们的行动，通过我们的范例。一旦玩家得到线索知道自己可以做什么，他就会开始在世界中展开行动。他的行动影响了角色，而角色决定了玩家能够做什么事情。正是这种行动能够影响到其他角色在游戏中的行为。如果你恐吓游戏中的某个角色，他就很有可能仿效你的做法，开始恐吓其他比自己更弱小的角色。难道这不是现实生活中发生的事情吗？如果你做的事情绝大多数是好事，展现出仁慈和宽宏大量的一面，人们会很快将你视为伟人。如果他们认为你是个伟人，那么他们便更有可能倾听你的意见并且以你为榜样。但是，需要注意的是，坏行为的传播通常比好行为要快得多。好行为能够产生更大的影响力，但是相比坏行为而言需要更多的时间才能传出口碑。
我原本想列举某些有关命运和游戏的想法，但是这样做可能会使得文章篇幅过长，再将其归纳成一个想法较为困难。我想说的是，生活是很复杂的，要想成功地理解，我们必须创建心智模型，也就是审视复杂互动系统的简单方法。游戏是现实生活的模型，也是个帮助我们理解生活的强大工具，但是如果想要让我们从中获得的理解能够发挥作用，那么游戏本身需要准确地反映生活。
游戏邦注：本文发稿于日，所涉时间、事件和数据均以此为准。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）
Games are not like real life – human psychology in games
While it is often true that life feels like a game, it occured to me that games are far from being like real life. Is it possible or even desirable to have games that reflect life as it really is?
Life is like a game
In life, we often follow rules. There are rules of “acceptable behavior” when we eat with other people, ride the bus, walk down the street, work, go to school, attend a funeral, etc.. There is also laws to follow for the good functionning of society and for security (like when we drive a car for example). There is rewards and punishment that comes with most set of rules. Be it encouragments from a peer, a beautiful smile from the cute girl to who we have given our seat in the bus, a punch in the face from her boyfriend if we take advantage of the situation or a speed ticket because we were in a haste on the driveway.
Also, in life we have skills that can be “upgraded”. If we keep doing something, we eventually get better at it and “level-up”. If you play the guitar a lot or cook often, your skill improves and new habilities open up. In these ways, life often feels like a game.
Games are not like life
However, games are but a mere simplification of life and miss several key aspects of it to really feel “alive”. While some games successfully create a feeling of coherence strong enough for us to believe in them and feel like the characters have a life of their own, it will never even get close to the actual complexity of things as they are in real life.
The inevitability of events
Games grant us freedom. Freedom to escape from real life and live as someone (or something) else. Every game gives a different kind of freedom. It can be, for example, freedom in movement or in choice of action. Some games give you a basic feeling of choosing your own fate or choosing who you become (like Fable). Sometimes they even let you influence key events and let you try to change the finality of the game (like the experimental “Fa?ade” for example).
In real life, a single human being seldom save the world. In fact, we seldom have full control over our own life, let alone over the world we live in. Some people call it fate or destiny. No matter what we do, we end up to a predefined point of our life. Now I don’t believe we have no control whatsoever on our life, I believe we forge our own fate by our choices and actions. But it’s not our judgement and actions alone that forge it. There is a multitude of external influences that makes us what we are. We are driven by our culture, by our emotions, our faiths, education, personnality, traumatism, phobias, past experiences and our environment, etc.. We are also driven by our interactions with other people, who are all themselves driven by their own influences and living their own lifes. All these influences make life incredibly complex and it’s difficult or even impossible to track which cause created what effect.
Let’s make up an example. One of your friend hesitate to take a life changing decision, say quit his job and go back to school. He thought about it a long time but he still can’t decide. You think it would be a good thing for him so you try to convince him. You can talk with him about the several advantages, try to comfort him in this challenging and risky choice and give him some advice taken from your own life. While it is possible that you will have a strong influence on him and direct him toward one particular choice, what is more likely is that everything you say to him he will have already heard or thought of and will bear but little effect on his decision (unless he has you in very high regard). The choice is still up to him and there is several other factors that influence his choices, a lot of them having way more effect than a short conversation with you.
However, where we can make the best impressions on others and on our environment is through our actions. Words are cheap and weights little but giving the example bears a lot of weight on those who surround us. In short, we shape the world through what we do a lot more than through what we say or think.
Games like life?
So how is this represented in games? Let’s look at Fa?ade. While it is a strong piece of art and explores with some success the possibility of influencing the outcome of a situation, I’m afraid it does not reflect life as it really his. You are a friend invited by this couple that have problems in their relation and you talk to them and try to influence them to either break-up or try harder. It’s a real wonder they even listen to you, not withstanding ask your opinion, while they argue together. What would probably happen in real life is that you could try to talk to them and make them realize their mistakes but they will be far too enclosed in their feelings and beliefs for your opinion to make it’s way in their cognitive process. Your opinion CAN have an effect but it will mostly stay on the surface and be forgotten quickly as the stronger emotions and patterns push it back out. Fa?ade is a strong game but it over simplifies human relations in order to achieve a particular goal.
However games ARE a simplification of life, and simplification is necessary in order to make games playable, enjoyable or just buildable. How could we simplify human interactions and still keep some feeling of authenticity in the psychology of the characters? It goes without saying that I’m talking about interactive portions of games, not fixed narrations or cut-scenes.
Influencing the game world
As we have seen, a person’s opinion and arguments often bear little weight in another’s choice and beliefs unless he is highly regarded as an expert or reference in a particular field of knowledge. We already have a lead on possible dialogs’ mechanics. If a character asks the player his opinion and the player gives it (through multiple choices of answers for example), the reaction of the character should reflect his view of the player. If the player is not highly regarded in the subject of the question, his answer will bear little or no effect and the character will probably make the same choice no matter what the player say.
Is it useful? Is it fun? It depends how it is implemented and what surrounds this single interaction. But it’s still a powerful tool for the game to suggest actions to the player. The question and the possible answers are actually targeted at the player. Every choice of answer should suggest a particular course of action and allow the player to think about different possibilities linked to the rest of the game, not just to this single conversation (which make it an integrated mechanic). Thus, it is not the player that influence the game’s character, but the game character that has a chance of influencing the player, even if it can feel like the opposite to the player (which is good, because it empowers him).
Since different course of actions are suggested, this brings us to the second and strongest way of influencing other people: through our actions, through our example. Once the player has hints about what he can do, he can set out and act in the world. His actions shape his character and the character shape what the player can do. It the actions that should influence the other characters’ behavior in the game. If you bully one character in the game, there is good chance that he will resent it and start bullying another inferior character. Isn’t it what happens in real life? If you mostly do good deeds around you and show humanity and magnanimity, people will quickly start regarding you as a great man (or woman). If they regard you as a great man, they might be more enclined to listen to your opinion and follow your example. However, be aware that bad behaviors often spread more quickly than good behaviors do and vile characters might be inclined to take advantage of the righteousness of another character. “Good” behaviors can have a very strong influence but takes more time to spread in the environment than bad behaviors do.
Ok, I firstly intended to display some thoughts about fate and games but this could easily become the subject of a master degree and it’s hard to conclude with a single thought. What I do want to say is that life is a complex thing and that to successfully understand it we have to create mental models of it, which are simplified ways of looking at complex systems of interactions. Games are models of real life or of aspects of real life and a powerful tool to help us understand it, but it must reflect it accurately if our understanding is to useful. ()
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