├── 40-common-game-verbs.md ├── LICENSE ├── README.md ├── assets ├── boards.jpg ├── games │ ├── bomberman │ │ ├── props-bomberman.png │ │ └── reference-bomberman.jpg │ ├── frogger │ │ ├── props-frogger.png │ │ └── reference-frogger.jpg │ ├── lemmings │ │ ├── props-lemmings.png │ │ └── reference-lemmings.jpg │ ├── mario │ │ ├── props-mario.png │ │ ├── props-mario2.png │ │ └── reference-mario.png │ ├── pacman │ │ ├── props-pacman.png │ │ └── reference-pacman.png │ └── space-invaders │ │ ├── props-space-invaders.png │ │ └── reference-space-invaders.jpg ├── in-a-nutshell.png ├── mda.pdf ├── mid-session.jpg ├── poster.jpg ├── presentation.jpg ├── presentation │ ├── cod-aliens.jpg │ ├── damsel-in-distress.png │ ├── darfur-is-dying.png │ ├── eco.png │ ├── entertainment-real-city-atlanta.jpg │ ├── entertainment-sim-city.gif │ ├── entertainment-will-wright-of-atlanta.jpg │ ├── entertainment.jpg │ ├── facebook-farmville-mcdonalds.jpg │ ├── farming-simulator-accident.jpg │ ├── farming-simulator.jpg │ ├── hacked.jpg │ ├── knights-and-dragons.png │ ├── mcvideogame-corrupt-nutritionist.png │ ├── narratives-prevent-tomb-raider-rape.png │ ├── narratives-tomb-raider-rape.jpg │ ├── narratives.jpg │ ├── paconashi.png │ ├── representation-sims-black.png │ ├── representation-sims-white.jpg │ ├── representation.jpg │ ├── rock-paper-scissors.jpg │ ├── rock-paper-scissors.png │ ├── roleplay-darfur.png │ ├── roleplay-second-life.jpg │ ├── roleplay.jpg │ ├── second-life.png │ ├── september-12.png │ ├── simpsons-chess.jpg │ ├── simulation-racial-tension.png │ ├── simulation-war.png │ ├── simulation.jpg │ ├── space-invaders-cod-aliens.jpg │ ├── story-ball.png │ ├── systems-farmville.png │ ├── systems-mcdonald.png │ ├── systems.jpg │ ├── toledano-gamers-he.jpg │ ├── toledano-gamers-she.jpg │ ├── verbs-scrabble.jpg │ └── world-of-warcraft.png ├── props.jpg ├── prototyping.jpg └── verbs.jpg ├── cheatsheet.md ├── games.md ├── issues.md ├── observations.md └── presentation.md /40-common-game-verbs.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # 40 common game verbs 2 | 3 | From [*Games without Frontiers : Methods for Game Studies and Design*](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25601685-games-without-frontiers) by Aki Järvinen (2008, p.385-394). 4 | 5 | 1. Accelerating / decelerating 6 | 2. Aiming & shooting 7 | 3. Allocating 8 | 4. Arranging 9 | 5. Attacking/ defending 10 | 6. Bidding 11 | 7. Browsing 12 | 8. Building 13 | 9. Buying / selling 14 | 10. Catching 15 | 11. Choosing 16 | 12. Composing 17 | 13. Conquering 18 | 14. Contracting 19 | 15. Controlling 20 | 16. Conversing 21 | 17. Discarding 22 | 18. Enclosing 23 | 19. Expressing 24 | 20. Herding 25 | 21. Informatin-seeking 26 | 22. Jumping 27 | 23. Manoeuvring 28 | 24. Moving 29 | 25. Operating 30 | 26. Performing 31 | 27. Placing 32 | 28. Powering 33 | 29. Sequencing 34 | 30. Sprinting / slowing 35 | 31. Storytelling 36 | 32. Submitting 37 | 33. Substituting 38 | 34. Taking 39 | 35. Trading 40 | 36. Transforming 41 | 37. Trading 42 | 38. Upgrading / downgrading 43 | 39. 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For 432 | the avoidance of doubt, this paragraph does not form part of the public 433 | licenses. 434 | 435 | Creative Commons may be contacted at creativecommons.org. 436 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /README.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Hacking games with verbs 2 | 3 | Whether it is running or collecting, shooting or trading, **games are driven by verbs**. In this workshop we pick out the verbs that make up a game and explore how these verbs express certain messages and values. Then we **hack the game** with new verbs, so that it communicates our own messages and values. 4 | 5 | ![Poster](assets/poster.jpg) 6 | 7 | I *forked* this **workshop recipe** from [this one](http://www.molleindustria.org/blog/a-computerless-videogame-modding-workshop), prepared by [Paolo Pedercini](http://www.molleindustria.org) + [Una Lee](http://unalee.net/) and inspired by [Grow-a-Game](http://www.tiltfactor.org/grow-a-game). 8 | 9 | Please take this recipe and try it at home, with your class, club or organisation, and share your results with all people _upstream_ (as per [license](LICENSE)). 10 | 11 | 12 | ## Introduction 13 | 14 | Working in small teams, participants receive two creative constraints: 15 | 16 | 1. A topical **issue**, such as the financial crisis, global climate change, or digital literacy 17 | 2. A classic arcade **game**, such as Super Mario Bros, Pac-man, or Space Invaders 18 | 19 | The first task is to **discuss the issue** and jot down **messages** participants want to communicate and **behaviours** they want to promote. 20 | 21 | Then teams will **analyse the game by looking at its verbs**: what actions players can do, how they can interact with game characters or other players, what they should do to win the game, and what they simply can’t do. Teams will explore how these verbs express messages and morals (which *good behaviours* they promote), ideas and ideologies. 22 | 23 | Finally teams will **redesign the game so that it is about the issue**, using a different set of verbs that reflect the messages and behaviours your team wants to promote. The focus is on changing the _gameplay_[1](#-gameplay), rather than *reskinning* the game. 24 | 25 | 33 | 34 | Each team is provided with a collection of **pre-cut paper props** ripped from the assigned game, which they use to discuss and prototype alternative gameplays, as opposed to simply re-skin[2](#-re-skin) the game. 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | ## Ingredients 39 | 40 | To be prepared ahead of the workshop: 41 | 42 | 1. A **[short presentation](presentation.md)** to be delivered in a _kamishibai_[3](#-kamishibai) fashion, scribbling key concepts on a flip chart as you introduce them to participants, asking them questions and fostering an open discussion. 43 | 2. A set of **printed [game cards](games.md)**, each of them including a visual reference, a short explanation and a few questions to help teams analyse their game. 44 | 3. A set of **printed [issue cards](issues.md)**, each of them including related keywords and an example scenario to stimulate different takes on the issue. Participants can choose to approach the issue in an abstract way, in more geographically or historically specific way or anything in between. 45 | 4. A **printed [brainstorming cheatsheet](cheatsheet.md)** with tips and questions to help team discussion. 46 | 5. A set of **printed [props](assets/games)** for people to use as main movable visual modules when prototyping their new gameplays. Physical paper pieces compel participants to reason in visual and spatial terms. They also allow for a more democratic process, since all team members can rearrange elements as if they were working on a jigsaw puzzle. 47 | 48 | Additional materials needed for the paper-prototyping activity: 49 | 50 | * large format **paper**, A2 or bigger 51 | * **sharpies** in various tints 52 | * **post-its** in different colours 53 | * **scissors** 54 | * **glue** sticks 55 | 56 | ## Method 57 | 58 | This is how the workshop unfolds: 59 | 60 | 1. Start with a **[short presentation](presentation.md)**, providing people with a basic theoretical framework and case studies to discuss issues around videogames. 61 | 2. Explain the workshop team activity, **walking through all steps** from the extraction of verbs to the injection of new messages and values into the new game's prototype. 62 | 3. Give participants **hints to possible outcomes**, like _PAC-MAN + BULLYING = Pac-Man is a student, bullied by ghosts. Some of them pick on his skin colour, others on his insatiable hunger. In order to defeat the different types of bullies, you need different skills (fruit)_. Examples are crucial, it seems, for people to grasp what they will work towards. 63 | 4. **Form teams** of 3 to 5 people. 64 | 5. Ask each team to **pick a random videogame and issue cards**. This prevents participants from spending too much time thinking about the game or issue they deem more appropriate. State clearly that the example scenario on the issue card is only an example, but teams can come up with any other scenario where the issue manifests itself. 65 | 6. Provide teams with plenty of **paper, post-its and sharpies**. A couple of participants after the workshop suggested a colour-coding system for this phase (eg: green post-its for verbs that are present, yellow post-its for verbs that are not present, pink for values and so on), to make the final outcomes more readable at a glance. 66 | 6. Teams **start breaking down the game mechanics into verbs**, and think about the implicit or explicit messages that these verbs entail. The focus is on the game at this stage, yet knowing already the issue may help teams consider how it could be fed into the game later on. Or maybe not, so you could consider introducing the issue cards only after teams have analysed their game. 67 | ![Mario analysed](assets/verbs.jpg) 68 | 7. After about half an hour, ask each team to quickly present their analyses so far to everyone else. These short **mid-session presentations** allow teams to compare their thought processes and inform their work. 69 | ![Mid-session presentations](assets/mid-session.jpg) 70 | 8. Provide teams with a collection of **game props, printed and pre-cut**. If you don't cut them, people are less likely to use the props, either to negotiate with the other team members, or to visualize their game concept. 71 | ![Bomberman props](assets/props.jpg) 72 | 9. Ask teams to **explore alternative gameplays**, using verbs from their issue, and messages that represent their views. They will then **paper-prototype** one. This phase should take about an hour. 73 | ![Prototyping](assets/prototyping.jpg) 74 | 10. Ask teams to **stick their work on a whiteboard** or otherwise big support that can accommodate everything they produced, positioning elements so that it can be **read as a flow** (ie: game + issue = outcome). 75 | ![Games boards](assets/boards.jpg) 76 | 11. Each team **presents** their new game to everyone else. After the workshop people suggested that these final presentations have a 3 minutes constraint, forcing teams to simplify the prototype's gameplay or at least to present a simplified version of their concept. 77 | ![Networkman presentation](assets/presentation.jpg) 78 | 79 | 80 | ## Outcomes 81 | 82 | Three teams took part in the workshop at the [Mozilla Festival](http://lanyrd.com/2012/mozilla-festival/szkmy/). These are the game concepts they came up with: 83 | 84 | 1. #### Mario + economy 85 | Princess Toadstool is in debt, and Mario has to bail her out. The more time passes, the bigger her debt grows. 86 | So you set out to gather money and keep up with repayments, while the game keeps throwing moral dilemmas at you: mug people or burgle houses for quick bucks, or go the slower legitimate way of earning money with hard work? This idea sparkled from the thought that actions in the original Mario have no consequences, you keep jumping over turtles and breaking bricks, collecting coins that can't be traded. 87 | 88 | 2. #### Bomberman + digital literacy 89 | You have Internet connection, but your friends don't. Your first goal is to get them connected, so that you can start building things together. So you set out to find cable and build a physical network, but the network thieves drop bombs to destroy your connections. When you connect another player, they can help you make the network stronger and unlock new challenges to build the Open Web. 90 | 91 | 3. #### Pac-man + energy 92 | You (Pac-man) want to be energy efficient, but energy corporations want you to waste it. Your goal is to get out of each level's maze by consuming the least amount of energy (dots), while the shiny gadgets and juicy appliances that are thrown at you to increase your bill. This game subverts the Pac-man gameplay by turning its endless hunger and pointless accumulation into a strategic avoidance. 93 | 94 | 95 | ### The party bag 96 | 97 | * Develop your **critical thinking** brain muscles, to start playing videogames critically (not as mindless entertainment) 98 | * Practice a methodology that can be applied to game design and UX design in general: using **constraints** to channel your creativity 99 | * Get into a **hacking mindset**: inquisitive, actively hacking the new out of the old 100 | * Leave with a **prototyped concept**, which you could develop further, digitally as a videogame or physically as a board game 101 | 102 | 105 | 106 | 107 | 108 | ## Footnotes 109 | 110 | ###### Gameplay 111 | The system of rules and the ways players interact with characters and objects. [↩](#introduction) 112 | 113 | ###### Re-skin 114 | Change graphic appearances while keeping the mechanics intact [↩](#introduction) 115 | 116 | ###### Kamishibai 117 | A form of visual and participatory storytelling that combines the use of hand drawn visuals with the narration of a live presenter. [Learn more about Kamishibai](http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/2011/10/kamishibai-is-a-form-of-visual-and-participatory-storytelling-that-combines-the-use-of-hand-drawn-visuals-with-the-engaging-n.html) [↩](#ingredients) 118 | 119 | 120 | ### License 121 | 122 | This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0) 123 | 124 | [![](http://mirrors.creativecommons.org/presskit/buttons/88x31/svg/by-nc-sa.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0) 125 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /assets/boards.jpg: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/matteomenapace/hacking-games-with-verbs/6891fadd8d298f0f89ba23cc54d02f53519ce049/assets/boards.jpg -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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Discuss the issue 2 | 3 | * What do you know about this issue? 4 | * How do you feel about this issue? 5 | * Is anyone you know affected by it? 6 | * Could you (or your friends/family) be affected in the future? 7 | 8 | Jot down **messages** you want to communicate and **behaviours** you want to promote in relation to the issue. 9 | 10 | 11 | # 2. Break down the game 12 | 13 | ### Verbs > messages > morals 14 | 15 | * What **verbs** are used in the game? 16 | * Can you think of any other verbs that **could have been included** in the game? 17 | * What **messages** do these verbs communicate? 18 | * What **morals** (aka *good behaviours* ) does the game promote, more or less explicitly? 19 | 20 | ![Mario analysed](images/verbs.jpg) 21 | 22 | Think about the actions the game wants you to take in order to win it. That may give you a hint of its **messages and morals**. 23 | You don't have to agree with those morals. 24 | 25 | 26 | # 3. Hack the game 27 | 28 | ### You have an issue and a game. 29 | 30 | ### Redesign the game so that it is about the issue. 31 | 32 | Do this by using a **different set of verbs** which reflect the messages and behaviours your team wants to promote. 33 | 34 | Focus on changing the **gameplay** (the system of rules and the ways players interact with characters and game resources), rather than *reskinning* the game. 35 | 36 | An easy way to force a change of gameplay is by including **new verbs**, and excluding current verbs. 37 | 38 | Your new game may look similar but will play very differently than the original! 39 | 40 | ### Questions to help your new game design 41 | 42 | In no particular order: 43 | 44 | * What are the **messages** you want to communicate and **behaviours** you want to promote in relation to the issue? What are some **verbs** that could carry those messages and behaviours? 45 | * What real-life **system** could your game simulate? Which parts of the system could you focus on? And which elements of the system would you leave out? 46 | * Who are the **characters** involved in the issue? How do they interact with each other? Who are the *goodies* and the *baddies*? 47 | * Who is the **player** (or who are the player**s**) in your new game? What is/are the player's role(s) in the *issue*? 48 | * What role do players play in the *game*? Is it a power fantasy or a disempowered role, or something in between? 49 | * What is the **goal** of the new game? 50 | * What are the **rules** of the new game? How do players interact with these rules? 51 | * Is the new game **collaborative** or **competitive**? 52 | * Is the new game **multiplayer** or **single-player**? 53 | * Is there a **story** to provide meaning to the game? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /games.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | ## Super Mario Bros 2 | 3 | ![Super Mario Bros](assets/games/mario/reference-mario.png) 4 | 5 | You take on the role of Italian-American plumber Mario. 6 | Your goal is to save Princess Toadstool, while racing through the Mushroom Kingdom and surviving the main antagonist Bowser's forces. 7 | 8 | You move from the left side of the screen to the right side in order to reach the flagpole at the end of each level. 9 | 10 | There are coins scattered around for Mario to collect, and special bricks marked with a question mark, which when hit by Mario, may reveal more coins or a special item. Other secret (often invisible) bricks may contain more coins or rare items that give Mario special powers. 11 | Mario's primary attack is jumping on top of enemies. 12 | 13 | ## Lemmings 14 | 15 | ![Lemmings](assets/games/lemmings/reference-lemmings.jpg) 16 | 17 | Your goal is to guide the highest percentage of lemmings from the entrance to the exit by clearing or creating a safe route through the landscape. 18 | 19 | Unless assigned a special task, each lemming will walk in one direction ignoring any other lemming in its way (except blockers), falling off any edges and turning around if they hit an obstacle. 20 | 21 | A lemming can die in a number of ways: falling from a great height, falling into water or lava, disappearing off the top or bottom of the screens, being caught in a trap, being assigned the bomber skill. There are eight skills that can be assigned: climber, floater, bomber, blocker, builder, basher, miner, digger. 22 | ## Bomberman 23 | 24 | ![Bomberman](assets/games/bomberman/reference-bomberman.jpg) 25 | 26 | Your goal is to complete maze-like levels by strategically placing bombs in order to kill enemies and destroy obstacles. Exploding bombs can set off other bombs, kill or injure enemies and destroy obstacles. However, they can also kill or injure your character or destroy powerups. 27 | 28 | Bomberman games also feature a multiplayer mode, where other Bombermen act as opponents, and the last one standing is the winner. 29 | ## Frogger 30 | 31 | ![Frogger](assets/games/frogger/reference-frogger.jpg) 32 | 33 | Your goal is to guide a frog from the bottom of the screen to one of the frog houses on the top, avoiding various obstacles (vehicles, logs, crocodiles, turtles) on your way. 34 | 35 | You can only push the frog left or right, causing it to hop once in that direction. You die if the frog hits any obstacles. 36 | 37 | ## Pac-Man 38 | 39 | ![Pac-Man](assets/games/pacman/reference-pacman.png) 40 | 41 | You control Pac-Man through a maze, eating dots. Your goal is to eat them all, whilst avoiding the four ghost enemies. If an enemy touches Pac-Man, a life is lost. 42 | 43 | Near the corners of the maze are four larger, flashing dots known as power-pellets that provide Pac-Man with the temporary ability to eat the enemies: they turn deep blue, reverse direction and move more slowly. When an enemy is eaten, it returns to the centre box where it is regenerated in its normal colour. 44 | 45 | ## Space Invaders 46 | 47 | ![Space Invaders](assets/games/space-invaders/reference-space-invaders.jpg) 48 | 49 | You control a laser cannon by moving it horizontally across the bottom of the screen and firing at descending aliens. Your goal is to defeat five rows of eleven aliens that move horizontally back and forth across the screen as they advance towards the bottom of the screen shooting at the player. 50 | 51 | A special mystery ship will occasionally move across the top of the screen and award bonus points if destroyed. 52 | 53 | Your cannon is partially protected by fixed defence bunkers, which are gradually destroyed by your fire, or the enemy's. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /issues.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | ## Economy 2 | 3 | Growth, recession, financial crisis, poverty, debt, workers rights, wealth redistribution, free market, manufacturing industry, market regulation 4 | 5 | ##### Example scenario 6 | 7 | People are being evicted from their homes because they can’t afford rent increases 8 | 9 | ## Environment and energy 10 | 11 | Pollution, sustainability, environmental justice, global climate change, energy crisis, waste management, CO2 emissions, agricultural production 12 | 13 | ##### Example scenario 14 | 15 | An incinerator has been built in a low-income neighbourhood 16 | 17 | ## Human rights 18 | 19 | Tolerance, racism, sexism, homophobia, same-sex marriage, bullying, discrimination, inclusion of disabled people, women's rights, mental health 20 | 21 | ##### Example scenario 22 | 23 | The mainstream media is portraying a minority group as a social disease 24 | 25 | ## Foreign affairs 26 | 27 | Global justice, globalisation, immigration rights, national debts, diplomacy 28 | 29 | ##### Example scenario 30 | 31 | Two minority groups in a colonial state are in conflict with each other 32 | 33 | ## Security 34 | 35 | War and peace, militarism, nationalism, diplomacy, peacekeeping, military-industrial complex 36 | 37 | ##### Example scenario 38 | 39 | A wealthy industrialised state is waging war on a weaker state that is rich in natural resources 40 | 41 | ## Technology 42 | 43 | Governmental and/or corporate control over communication channels, censorship, anonymity, privacy, copyright and authorship 44 | 45 | ##### Example scenario 46 | 47 | In a certain nation access to certain online resources is blocked 48 | 49 | ## Digital literacy 50 | 51 | Information credibility, digital reputation, trust in media channels, digital divide, freedom of speech, copyright and authorship, education and learning barriers 52 | 53 | ##### Example scenario 54 | 55 | Young people in a developing country cannot afford to buy laptops or pay for internet access 56 | 57 | ## Power 58 | 59 | Democracy, money and politics, totalitarianism, surveillance, police brutality 60 | 61 | ##### Example scenario 62 | 63 | The government has passed a law that makes protest illegal 64 | 65 | ## Education 66 | 67 | Access for the less advantaged/privileged, right to learn, gender balance, Victorian system, test-driven culture, life and vocational skills, apprenticeships, students loans 68 | 69 | ##### Example scenario 70 | 71 | The government of a certain nation has risen the tuition fees for university students -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /observations.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Hacking rules, rather than stories 2 | 3 | It's rather easy to add a new narrative layer to the game, whilst changing the gameplay is more challenging. 4 | 5 | Can we find examples of hacked gameplays, where parts of the original gameplay have been kept and the rules have changed to create a new gaming experience? To show that this exercise is not about changing the back-story or the skin of an existing game, but rather changing its rules. 6 | 7 | # Remember the verbs? 8 | 9 | Must include **new verbs**, that is: new possibilities for gameplay. 10 | 11 | Could also exclude current verbs, forcing the gameplay to change. 12 | 13 | # Issues 14 | 15 | These are fine as a starting point, keep them broad and perhaps offer a few conversation starters 16 | 17 | * What do you know about this issue? 18 | * Is anyone you know affected by it? 19 | * Could you (or your friends/family) be affected in the future? 20 | * How do you feel about this issue? 21 | 22 | # Values or morals? 23 | 24 | Morals seem to be more *actionable*. 25 | 26 | How about we ask them to specifically state what the moral(s) of the modded game will be, before they start prototyping? 27 | 28 | How about we get them to discuss the issue before the game? 29 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /presentation.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | ## Warnings! 2 | 3 | ### No experience? No problem. 4 | 5 | You won't need any experience in game design or *coding* in this workshop: I will assume **zero knowledge**. 6 | 7 | In fact, you're probably more experienced *gamers* than myself. 8 | 9 | 10 | # Verbs? 11 | 12 | This session is about hacking games using a tool we are all familiar with: *verbs*! We're all familiar with verbs, right? 13 | 14 | ![](assets/presentation/verbs-scrabble.jpg) 15 | 16 | > Ever tried to talk to a monster in a first-person-shooter, instead of shooting it? 17 | 18 | Whether it is running or collecting, shooting or trading, **games are driven by verbs**. 19 | 20 | Verbs determine what you can do in a game, how you can interact with its characters or other players, what you should do to win it, and what you simply can't do. 21 | 22 | #### Think of a game you've played recently. 23 | 24 | What actions does the game **let** you do? 25 | 26 | And what does the game **not let** you do? 27 | 28 | 29 | # What the hack? 30 | 31 | This workshop is about **designing games** with a hacker's mindset. 32 | 33 | [![](assets/presentation/hacked.jpg)](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=hacking&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=CZguVeynIIOqafWlgLAK&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1379&bih=782#q=hacking&tbas=0&tbm=isch&tbs=isz:l) 34 | 35 | What does hacking mean to you? 36 | 37 | What does hacking mean [according to Google](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=hacking&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=CZguVeynIIOqafWlgLAK&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1379&bih=782#q=hacking&tbas=0&tbm=isch&tbs=isz:l)? 38 | 39 | Why does hacking have such **negative** connotation? 40 | 41 | Can we look at hacking as a **neutral**, or even **positive** practice? As in **modifying** something, possibly to **improve** it. 42 | 43 | > Whatever code we hack, be it programming language, poetic language, math or music, curves or colourings, we create the possibility of new things entering the world. Not always great things, or even good things, but new things. 44 | 45 | > [A Hacker Manifesto](http://subsol.c3.hu/subsol_2/contributors0/warktext.html) by Mackenzie Wark 46 | 47 | #### A hacker practices creativity as **hacking the new out of the old** 48 | 49 | 50 | # How do you *hack a game*? 51 | 52 | Let's hack [rock-paper-scissors](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock-paper-scissors). 53 | 54 | [![](assets/presentation/rock-paper-scissors.png)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock-paper-scissors) 55 | 56 | Some ideas: 57 | 58 | * **Add** or **remove** one element 59 | * **Rename** the elements 60 | * Change the **number of players** 61 | * Change the **rules** 62 | * Use the whole **body** 63 | * Use **noises** or **smells** 64 | * Is there a **strategy** to win this game? 65 | * Change the **goal** of the game 66 | * Turn it into a **collaborative** game 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | ## What can you hack? 71 | 72 | One way to understand games is to analyse their **mechanics**, **dynamics** and **aesthetics**, aka the [MDA framework](assets/mda.pdf). 73 | 74 | 1. **Mechanics** are the *rules* of a game. 75 | 2. **Dynamics** are what players tend to do in order to reach their game goals. 76 | 3. **Aesthetics** are what players experience and feel while playing. 77 | 78 | For example, in *Chess* 79 | 80 | 1. *Mechanics*: if your king is put into check, you are forced the move it out of check 81 | 2. *Dynamics*: you may start your game with pawns, then as the board clears, shift your focus on more powerful elements (there isn't a rule that forces you to do that, but you may have noticed it's a better strategy) 82 | 3. *Aesthetics*: you play the role of a medieval commander, trying to outsmart your opponent in an open battle between two armies 83 | 84 | **Mechanics shape dynamics, which in turn shape aesthetics.** 85 | 86 | It's relatively easy to hack the aesthetics of a game (aka **re-skin** it) but that leaves the underlying mechanics and dynamics unchanged. It doesn't really make it a better or a different game. 87 | 88 | ![](assets/presentation/simpsons-chess.jpg) 89 | 90 | We could argue that many contemporary videogames are re-skins of old arcade games, just with more sophisticated graphic and sound effects. For example most FPS (first-person shooter) games are still based on shooting and dodging mechanics, like [Space Invaders](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Invaders)). 91 | 92 | ![](assets/presentation/space-invaders-cod-aliens.jpg) 93 | 94 | Here's where **verbs** can come in handy. They are connected to the very mechanics of a game. If you change the verbs of a game, it may look similar but will play very differently than the original. 95 | 96 | 97 | # What will your game simulate? 98 | 99 | A *simulation* is an abstraction of real life, which necessarily **leaves out** some of real life's complexities to focus on certain aspects only. 100 | 101 | Which parts of real life do videogames generally leave out? 102 | 103 | [![](assets/presentation/simulation-racial-tension.png)](http://imgur.com/gallery/4B1Jq) 104 | 105 | 106 | 107 | ![](assets/presentation/simulation-war.png) 108 | 109 | 112 | 113 | ![](assets/presentation/facebook-farmville-mcdonalds.jpg) 114 | 115 | **What** system does [Farmville](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FarmVille) simulate? **How** does it simulate business processes? 116 | 117 | Endless accumulation, endless expansion. But is that how things work in real life? 118 | 119 | Can you exclude the byproducts of industrial food production: pollution, deforestation, worsening labour conditions? 120 | 121 | ![](assets/presentation/mcvideogame-corrupt-nutritionist.png) 122 | 123 | On the other hand there's [McVideoGame](http://www.mcvideogame.com/index-eng.html), which simulates how the fast food giant operates: 124 | 125 | * Your goal is to make money and avoid bankruptcy. 126 | * During the game you choose whether or not to feed the cows genetically altered grain, or plough over rainforests, or feed the cows to other cows. 127 | * You can also choose advertising strategies and public official corruption to counteract opponents of your actions. 128 | 129 | 130 | # What roles will your players play? 131 | 132 | Most mainstream games use roleplay in function of **escapism** and they tend to be *power fantasies*. 133 | 134 | ![](assets/presentation/world-of-warcraft.png) 135 | 136 | ![](assets/presentation/second-life.png) 137 | 138 | Can you challenge players to experience the world from a different perspective? A **disempowered perspective**? 139 | 140 | [![](assets/presentation/darfur-is-dying.png)](http://www.darfurisdying.com) 141 | 142 | There are some experiments, like [Darfur is dying](http://www.darfurisdying.com) in which you play as a refugee, or [Spent](http://playspent.org), in which you experience daily life below the poverty line. 143 | 144 | [![](assets/presentation/september-12.png)](http://www.gamesforchange.org/play/september-12th-a-toy-world/) 145 | 146 | You can use awkward roleplay to create **moral dilemmas**, forcing the player into embarrassing, unusual roles. 147 | 148 | 149 | # Your turn 150 | 151 | Form teams of 2-3 people. 152 | 153 | You will receive two creative constraints: 154 | 155 | 1. An **issue** such as the financial crisis, climate change or digital literacy. See [all issues here](issues.md). 156 | 2. An arcade **game** such as Super Mario Bros, Pac-man or Space Invaders. See [all games here](games.md). 157 | 158 | Head over to [**bit.ly/games-with-issues**](http://bit.ly/games-with-issues) to get your combo of issue and game! 159 | 160 | 161 | ### 1. Discuss the issue 162 | 163 | Your first task is to discuss the issue and jot down **messages** you want to communicate and **behaviours** you want to promote. 164 | 165 | * What do you want people to **know** about the issue? 166 | * How do you want people to **feel** about the issue? 167 | * What do you want people to **do** about the issue? 168 | 169 | ### 2. Analyse the game 170 | 171 | Then you will **analyse the game by looking at its verbs**: what actions players can do, how they can interact with game characters or other players, what they should do to win the game, and what they simply can’t do. 172 | 173 | You will explore how these verbs express messages and morals (which *behaviours* they promote). 174 | 175 | ### 3. Hack the game with the issue 176 | 177 | Finally you will **redesign the game so that it is about the issue**, using a different set of verbs that reflect the messages and behaviours your team wants to promote. 178 | 179 | Focus on changing the *mechanics*, rather than *re-skinning* the game. 180 | 181 | ### Examples 182 | 183 | #### Mario + food politics 184 | 185 | Mario sets on a mission to collect and bring food to a hungry neighbourhood, whilst fighting Bowser, who controls a monopoly of restaurants and sends out Goombas to destroy the food. 186 | 187 | #### Pac-Man + bullying 188 | 189 | Pac-Man is a student, bullied by ghosts. Some of them pick on his skin colour, others on his insatiable hunger. In order to defeat the different types of bullies, you needed different skills (fruits) 190 | 191 | #### Space Invaders + international affairs 192 | 193 | Space Invaders turns into a multiplayer game, using a Lemmings-like guidance mechanic to infiltrate the G20 meeting. You can play cooperatively or competitively. 194 | 195 | #### Mario + economy 196 | 197 | Princess Toadstool is in debt, and Mario has to bail her out. The more time passes, the bigger her debt grows. 198 | So you set out to gather money and keep up with repayments, while the game keeps throwing moral dilemmas at you: mug people or burgle houses for quick bucks, or go the slower legitimate way of earning money with hard work? This idea sparkled from the thought that actions in the original Mario have no consequences, you keep jumping over turtles and breaking bricks, collecting coins that can't be traded. 199 | 200 | #### Bomberman + digital literacy 201 | 202 | You have Internet connection, but your friends don't. Your first goal is to get them connected, so that you can start building things together. So you set out to find cable and build a physical network, but the network thieves drop bombs to destroy your connections. When you connect another player, they can help you make the network stronger and unlock new challenges to build the Open Web. 203 | 204 | #### Pac-man + energy 205 | 206 | You (Pac-man) want to be energy efficient, but energy corporations want you to waste it. Your goal is to get out of each level's maze by consuming the least amount of energy (dots), while the shiny gadgets and juicy appliances that are thrown at you to increase your bill. This game subverts the Pac-man gameplay by turning its endless hunger and pointless accumulation into a strategic avoidance. 207 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------