Hail! And, err, whatever

Greetings, Teeming Millions.

The purpose of this blog is to explore various avenues and techniques for the construction of games. That is quoted because what is known within the industry as a game is actually a set of several distinct activities. What is the difference between a toy and a puzzle? Can a game be made from one or more toys? These questions can only be answered if we first examine some definitions.

Victory Condition

An objective rule which stipulates when play is to cease. If "winners" and "losers" are required, additional objective rules are required.

Game

To be a game, the activity must have at least one Victory Condition. Play must be completely described by objective rules. Play must involve two or more players. Play must be mutually competitive between at least two of the players. Ex: Baseball is a game because it satisfies all of the above conditions, and requires no further conditions.

Puzzle

To be a puzzle, the activity must have at least one Victory Condition. Play must be completely described by objective rules. Play must involve at least one player. If multiple players are involved, play must be mutually cooperative for all players. Two people collaborating to complete a crossword would be a puzzle, even though more than one person is involved because it satisfies all of the above conditions, and requires no further conditions.

Toy

To be a toy, the activity must not have any objective rules of any kind. Subjective rules are required. At least one player is required. Players may or may not be cooperative or competitive. Ex: A doll or action figure is a toy because it does not stipulate any objective rules (play consists of solely subjective rules) and does not require more than one player.

MUD

We will call any virtual environment a MUD because it is easier to type than MMORPG, and readily pronounceable.

The definitions are required because there exist within current MUD's serveral modes of play. MUD's (such as the Diku-inspired WoW) often have game elements (implemented as quests), with core play treated as a toy (play continues indefinitely, with players free to decide their own goals). Other virtual environments (such as the United States Army's Unreal-inspired AA) have but a single mode of play: it is thoroughly a game. These differences between WoW and AA are substantial, and the purpose of this blog is to explore said differences and examine the implications of differing combinations with a hope that as modalities are identified, new implementations can be introduced to further the art and science of game design. Ultimately, I would like to see new games developed which do not suffer from the more of the same disease.

Children often display distinct modes of play with pure toys. Some will gather together for a social event (a tea party) and maintain toy modality, whereas others will mutually organize play into game modality (an army men war), and still others might seek to create puzzle modality (a base/house building exercise).

Sometimes the trick is purely in the distinction between a subjective rule and an objective rule. If one player's goal (a subjective rule) is agreed to by all other players then it becomes an objective rule, and thusly game modalities of play can enter into almost any situation. A puzzle can easily become a game or, for example, a game might degenerate into a toy via the abandonment of rules.

Perhaps next I will tell you of THDOK-BRYG-AHHH.