Gamers_as_Co-Creators
Erin Tainsh 16:07, 15 Oct 2004 (EST)
Traditionally the media industry has followed a linear production cycle beginning with an author who creates the text and finishing with the audience who consumes the text. In the past this production cycle has had no difficulties as each step has been seen as a distinct area of analysis. Marketing towards this type of production cycle was also seen rather straight forward. It was appropriate to look at the audience as a mass market which involved no more than a one-way communication process and therefore delivering one message that fitted all. The aim was often to aggregate numbers around a particular interest area, forming a stable ‘market share’. (Banks, 2002)
Internet technologies and the users forming around them are in the process of constructing a very different “audience�. With new practices, expectations, materials, tools and technologies the internet based communication is creating an empowered consumer. The former one-way communication process is giving way to more open-ended exchanges between the consumer and producer. The consumer is expecting that corporations will not only listen to their views, but also enter active dialogue with them. (Banks, 2002) Gaming corporations are eagerly seeking feedback from the consumers and audiences via internet and interactive websites. Fans expect that game companies will provide forums in which they can express their views and opinions about the game development and games released. Consumers expect to be increasingly involved in the game production process through companies releasing editing tools. (Steinkuehler, 2003) Overall gamer fans expect that game development companies will build a collaborative relationship with them.
Because of this structural difference that multiplayer online gaming has adopted, the player is no longer part of a linear trajectory. Multiplayer online games are structurally different texts that exploit the multi-directional feedbacks loops offered by the medium, which recently has been more exploited thanks to the developments in technology. This convergence of ‘old’ to ‘new’ technology is enabling consumers to shape and vary their engagement. As opposed to television, film and books, multi-user online gaming is a highly interactive engagement and is often a social media. (Humphreys, 2003) Online gaming has the ability to draw on its audiences’ inputs, and create an engagement which serves to establish new interactive text each time it is engaged with. Flew and Humphreys (2002) believe that while computer games do employ aspects of narrative, often in a somewhat instrumental way, it can be seen to lack the elements of narrative that makes stories compelling and successful in old media such as characterisation, plot and closure immanent in each element of the story. (p.9) The elements that tend to drive video games seem to be more focused towards character and plot development. Although in the past there have been some games developed such as Tetris that don’t even have a plot, characters, or even much of a setting but where still considered a highly reputable game and keep people all around the world entertained for hours. It is these types of games that prove this media does not rely on narrative.
So what is it that video games do rely on?
In a game the action is occurring at the time of consumption and is continued to be constructed whilst the consumer is at play. Games are a present tense medium, unlike conventional narrative forms where the story is being retold and is considered a past tense form. (Flew and Humphreys, 2002)
Games also rely on a different relationship with the consumer compared to conventional narratives. Flew and Humphreys (2002) suggest that because of the goal-driven nature of games the emotional engagement of text comes from the player adopting a performer role. The player is an involved actor whose performance is evaluated and then adapted to by the games structural format. This is where the interactivity lies as the challenge and skills match and the player achieves a certain flow of play.
Game texts fall in two broad categories, linear and emergent.
Linear games are highly structured with limited options offered to the player and the trajectory of a player through the game environment follows a set pathway. There is only one direction to progress through the game with a predefined pathway. This game text category is used less by MMOG’s as the developers have retained control over most of the game play. (Flew, 2002)
Emergent games are the most popular style of game structure. This structure offers environments rather then the dictation of play. There are a set of rules, yet not a hard and fast direction in which play must proceed. This results in a form of interaction where the players have the freedom to make their own decisions about what to do within that environment. Although there are certain constraints with rules in emergent games there is an endless variety of player created events and unpredictable outcomes. It is in this sense that multi-user online game text is added to and changed by the player rather than being finished by the developer. (Jenkins, 2002) Player creativity is becoming part of the game production cycle. As players produce various elements of game text, progressively the consumer becomes co-creator.
Reference List
Banks, J. (2002) "Gamers as Co-creators", in Balnaves, M., O'Regan, T, and Sternberg, J. (ed.) Mobilising the Audience, Queensland: University of Queensland Press, pp. 188-212.
Jenkins, H.(2002) Interactive Audiences? 'The 'Collective Intelligence' of Media Fans, retrieved August 10, 2004, from http://web.mit.edu/21fms/www/faculty/henry3/collective%20intelligence.html
Flew, T. & Humphreys, S. (2002) Games: Technology, Industry, Culture, South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford Press
Steinkkuehler, C.(2003) Learning in Massively Multiplayer Online Games, Madison: Teacher Education Press
Humphreys, S. (2003) Online Multiuser games:Playing for real, Australian Journal of Communication 30(1):79-91
Erin Tainsh 14:53, 28 Oct 2004 (EST)
