Posted on

Sutton-Smith

ss1

ss2

 

The Seven Rhetorics of Play: 

  1. Play as progress
  2. Play as fate
  3. Play as power
  4. Play as identity
  5. Play as the imaginary
  6. Rhetoric of the self
  7. Play as frivolous

Defintions of play: 

  1. definitions by players of their own play experiences and functions
  2. definitions by theorists of intrinsic play functions – players game-related motives for playing
  3. definitions by theorists of extrinsic play functions – the forms of play in terms of the functions they are supposed to serve in the larger culture.

Sutton-Smith, Brian., (1997) “Play and ambiguity” from Sutton-Smith, Brian., The ambiguity of play pp.1-17, Cambridge, Mass. ; London: Harvard University Press

Posted on

Back to SL

We revisited Second Life this week for an informal tutorial about the course. Some interesting discussions about what counts as gaming and play:

[03:50] Greg Zeilik (robbastin): Does SL count as a game? Lots of people would think it does, even after you explain what it is.

[03:50] Kimberley Pascal: How does it work in Minecradt Noreen?

[03:50] Simone Carlberg: I don’t think it does

[03:50] Greg Zeilik (robbastin): Agree with better than minecraft, the little I’ve seen of minecraft

[03:50] Simone Carlberg: Not that I’ve discovered yet

[03:50] Kimberley Pascal: Good question.  It is not a game.  It is just an environment.

[03:50] Greg Zeilik (robbastin): But then that is preference isn’t it

[03:50] Greg Zeilik (robbastin): ?

[03:50] Kimberley Pascal: In which games *could* be played, of course.

[03:51] Greg Zeilik (robbastin): But people perceive it to be one when I say waht I doing.

[03:51] Simone Carlberg: I find I can’t make an impact on this environment in the way I can in Minecraft

[03:51] Greg Zeilik (robbastin): Bit like WOW

[03:51] AMAPnotwithabrush: i went on an archaeological dig once…it was a sort of game

[03:51] Simone Carlberg: The building is too complex

[03:51] Kimberley Pascal: Games need rules.

[03:51] AMAPnotwithabrush: (in SL)

[03:51] Greg Zeilik (robbastin): But the world has rules

[03:51] Simone Carlberg: Even if they are just material ones like where you can place blocks?

[03:51] Kimberley Pascal: Oh yes.  There can be games *in* SL.

[03:52] Kimberley Pascal: And you don;t *need* to play in WoW.  You can just hand out.

[03:52] Simone Carlberg: Maybe ‘play’ is the key word there

[03:52] Greg Zeilik (robbastin): I like the profession side of WOW

[03:52] Simone Carlberg: If you can ‘play’ in any sense it’s a game

[03:52] Kimberley Pascal: But the “game”(WoW) will kill you if you don;t respond to the challenges it throws at you.

[03:52] Simone Carlberg: Building stuff in Miencraft is playing for me

[03:52] Greg Zeilik (robbastin): Pottering round mining, ignoring all the weird monsters and sticking to the edges

[03:53] Simone Carlberg: Yes, that’s me

[03:53] Kimberley Pascal: I guess.

[03:53] Greg Zeilik (robbastin): Fishing

[03:53] Simone Carlberg: That’s why I like to play in Creative mode – so I don’t get killed as Hamish says

[03:53] Greg Zeilik (robbastin): Ahh

[03:53] AMAPnotwithabrush: you can be killed?

[03:53] Kimberley Pascal: But yes, trying to define “game” and “play” is key here.

[03:53] Greg Zeilik (robbastin): haven’t tried that

[03:53] Simone Carlberg: We’re in creative mode in Minecraft in this module Rob

[03:53] SilverbackGrump: I’m looking forward to playin WoW – havn’t tried it yet. I have a reference point from childhood – used to play Dungeons and Dragons ON PAPER!

[03:54] AMAPnotwithabrush: do you “get more lives next time” or if you’re killed, that’s it?