the final hurdle

In her paper "The Puppet Master Problem: Design for Real-World, Mission Based Gaming", Jane McGonigal suggests that "the success of the puppet master challenges our assumptions about the kinds of action and interaction that qualify as gameplay, reveal dramatic interpretation to be a viable game mechanic, and demonstrate the value of a dramaturgical perspective for pervasive game design." Discuss how these ideas could be applied to designing elements of narrative and gameplay in interactive media systems.

in games like "i love bees", the inquisitive and exploratory nature of the players are used for "dramatic submission" and creating a sense of immersion in reality. these power plays have created a new realm to games and play, as they bestow much control to the puppet master as opposed to the optionality endowed upon and valued by players in conventional interactive media. this control that the puppet master possess is almost absolute, with the exception occuring when players do not interpret the commands as intended by the puppet master. this idea of control is however not new to interactive media systems. mystery solving and mission based adventure games are examples. these adventure games often require the player to solve puzzles and uncover mysteries, and consequently unveil that one unique path towards the ending of the game. in the process of playing the game, clue after clue motivates the player and he pieces up these bits of narrative to help him complete the adventure. in these games, the ultimate control lies in the programmer as the game can only be completed if the player follows that unique path stipulated by the programmer. the difference between these games and power plays are that the commands issued by the game master (programmer) is much more subtle than that for power plays. another difference is that the possibility of real-time feedback is possible in power plays but not so often in adventure games. additionally, adventure games, whether computer-based or as choose-your-own-adventure books, construct narratives in virtual realities. power plays attempt to remove this virtuality by placing its players into the real everyday-life environment. this need for dramaturgical realism masks the need for interactivity among the players.

such ideas can probably be utilized in constructing immersive narratives in games. the difference between power plays like "i love bees" and conventional rpg games is the environment of the gameplay. having an environment that the player can identify with constructs that realism crave for, and this makes creates the drama in realistic context more immersive. thus is the idea of a "gaming cubicle". the gaming cubicle endeavours to simulate environments around the player, and the player with his 3-D glasses can "physically" walk through different places in the game. another way to incorporate dramatic interpretation is to exploit the player's existing environment of the home or office or the internet. these games may include elements that need the user to surf the net for information or to observe a common phenonmenon in his home to advance in the game. these attempts to realize the gaming environment may enhance the immersiveness of gameplay. another idea used by power plays is the overt submission from the gamers. this may be achieved through daring the player, like to enter a haunted house and perform certain tasks in there. to the player, such submission to the commands of the game master is required for the completion of the game and he will perform the mission or risk being removed from the game. thus, game design can probably include elements that provoke and challenge people to go the extreme or do things they normally wouldn't do. and the need for people to be part of a dramaturgical experience will motivate them. finally, psychology has shown that humans respond to rewards (e.g. satisfying one's curiosity or intellect) more effectively than to the fear of punishment (e.g. being disqualified in a game). thus, there must be substantial rewards to encourage players to complete the game. this will result in a better immersive gameplay and game masters will also have better control of the game when players are more focused on the rewards.

jenkins' narrative architecture

Markku Eskelinen, an independent scholar and self-professed "ludologist", in his response to Jenkins' paper "Game Design as Narrative Architecture", says:

According to the well-known phrase of David Bordwell, narration is "the process whereby the film's sjuzet and style interact in the course of cueing and constraining the spectator's construction of the fabula." In games there are other kinds of dominant cues and constraints: rules, goals, the necessary manipulation of equipment, and the effect of possible other players for starters. This means that information is distributed differently (invested in formal rules, for example), it is to be obtained differently (by manipulating the equipment) and it is to be used differently (in moving towards the goal).
By systematically ignoring and downplaying the importance of these and other formal differences between games and narratives as well as the resulting cognitive differences, Jenkins runs the risk of reducing his comparative media studies into repetitive media studies: seeing, seeking, and finding stories, and nothing but stories, everywhere. Such pannarrativism could hardly serve any useful ludological or narratological purpose.

Do you agree with Eskelinen's dismissal of Jenkins' approach? Why/why not?

I feel that Eskelinen casts too huge a generalization about Jenkins’ article. In the article, Jenkins attempts to show the concurrence of game and narratives in response to the typical perception that the two are antitheses. He does so by emphasizing the similarities between the two, but simultaneously acknowledges their differences. In fact, he states that it is common knowledge that “not all games tell stories”, “playing games can never be simply reduced to the experience of a story” and games that tell stories are “unlikely to tell them in the same ways that other media tell stories”. He even gave examples like Pong or Pac-Man, which are games that are devoid of narrative elements. Evidently, Jenkins is not “ignoring and downplaying the importance” of the differences between games and narratives as Eskelinen claims.

Jenkins approached the argument that narratives and games are not immiscible from the narrative perspective. He gave the model of narratives a larger scope, from one that extends beyond the conventions of classical linear narratives to one that allows spatial exploration and transmedia storytelling. He then classifies games according to their narrative architectures: spatial stories and environmental storytelling, evocative spaces, enacting stories, embedded narratives and emergent narratives. Eskelinen’s concern an overemphasis in merging games and narratives may have arose from this. However, Jenkins did not simply reduce games into narratives but to show the emergence of narrative ambitions in many games. For instance, Super Mario Bros. is a game with spatial storytelling and terming it as a “scroll game” aptly reveals its similarity to linear storytelling in Japanese scroll paintings. The narrative hook in the game (to rescue the princess) being found as the game’s goal or motivation shows that narratives complement and give meaning to gameplay.

Another valuable and interesting idea which Jenkins addresses is transmedia storytelling, by which the spectator’s fabula (story) is constructed via multiple media such as books, film, comics and games. This suggests that narratives need not be whole or complete in any particular medium as the spectator, reader or player can seek other channels to complete the narrative in the way he desires. Thus, the common worry of the inability of some games to depict whole narratives is dispelled.

I realize that today’s games are increasingly becoming inseparable from narratives but not narratives from games. Numerous games have spun from epic movies like Lord of the Rings, and these games need the narrative element to make the game experience more enriching. Conversely, narratives can exist in their individual forms like in any classic novel or script. Thus, it is essentially the narratives that motivate some games. The immense importance of narratives may hence be the reason for Jenkins’ great interest in narratives.

The value of Jenkins’ work lies in redesigning the model of narratives and exploring games with narrative elements through narrative architectures. His focus also drew much attention to narrative qualities in games. Such effort should not be easily belittled. Jenkins could, however, also address the issues of the gaming experience rather than discussing only the narrative aspect. He could have discussed on how the gaming experience is enhanced with the different narrative architectures, in addition to his focus on how games can convey different degrees of narrative satisfaction.