Form Follows Gameplay Situationist Spaces and Reprise of Plasticity We all have had that fleeting moment of absolute trance in virtual experience. It takes you away from worries and responsibilities into a new environment with new exciting roles to play. Virtual space is partly what gives meaning to our experience. Compositions, sequences and even how we interact using mechanics. Mechanics are evolving or more accurately merely changing from text-based to virtual reality. For the most part history of “game spaces” involves spaces specifically ruled which allow for unique implantation of the space. There has been an abundant rendition of game space in history since in contrast to inherently sequential spaces of real life, virtual spaces are processed by computers and need to be represented. Although they need a system for their existence, it does not mean they cannot be actively diegetic towards gameplay. Situationist space in this essay refers to intelligent spaces able to adjust their characteristics and circumstances in reaction to players input. Towrds that intelligent they definitely need a brain that allows for emergence. Taxonomy of emergent systems give us a glimpse into such commodity.
figure 1.) Situationist Spaces : A responsive plastic system able to create a unique spatial narrative based on player input.
“Computer games are allegories of space: they pretend to portray space in ever more realistic ways but rely on their deviation from reality in order to make the illusion playable.”
As much as some virtual spaces try to be uniquely representatives of another world, they still need evocative spaces or familiar objects to relate to players. In other words, designers push it towards realism. but is it necessary to treat virtual creations as real objects? Although we ignore real-life laws like gravity, not getting hurt jumping from high ground, carrying a dozen heavy guns and still running fast. So why see architecture as bricks and mortars while knowing they are bits of data? Before 3d modeling tools come to the fore, 2d presentation of levels made it possible to reimagine the Z dimension or leave discrepancies to the lack thereof. Pixels representing real objects could be added on or partially removed either of which meant a different spatial alteration. However, the graphical representations in 3d modeling software are so appealing that perfect overall look of buildings or interiors is taking away from the genuine extreme spatial experience in every point of the space. Put simply the constant process of data should apply to virtual space as well so there would be a reaction in space to nuance of the gameplay.
So far there has been three formats of displaying virtual world: • nodes ( text-based worlds like Zork ) • grids ( isometric ) • polygons for 3D worlds World building is the primary mission of level designers which involves making connections between narrative and embodied cultural models and game space with geographic and cultural
details. Game levels as chief communication tool between game maker and player must reach a balance between ludic or gameplay aspects and narrative elements by establishing sublime mechanics, game space and asset configurations. Creating rules for worlds then allowing players to explore their possibilities is a powerful tool for in-game world building. Stress on the possibility spaces is conducive to the creation of interactive elements that can be given narrative context through art, writing, and other expressive methods. This creates a world that is not only narratively expressive in the way Tolkien’s Middle Earth was, but also interactively expressive in ways that only interactive designed spaces can
According to Warren Spector, possibility spaces ought to “provide compelling problems within an overarching narrative, afford creative opportunities for dealing with these problems, and then respond to player choices with meaningful consequences.”
Figure 2) Player is not exploring the space, only experiencing it in exactly the way intended.
Figure 3) Player is decomposing the space of possibility.
. History of architecture has been concerned with what and how to build something. Technical and cultural approaches have changed from Greek architecture which assembles separate parts as columns and beams to Gothic that resembles a seed growing consistently out of the ground with strong interrelations within itself. Eventually Modern architecture came about declaring reprise of expression into architecture. Almost every piece of architecture can be simplified to its constituents like corridor, foyer, room, stair, veranda. They are basically a point of access ( node ) or a passageway ( path , line ). However information era has started a trend in which Architects of the digital age are trying to incorporate certain features of virtual world, most importantly interactive aspects into our present approach to design and inspire a new type of architecture. As processing powers in computers surged forward, virtual worlds started to converge in a mutually influential way with the real world. Beginning with Wolfenstein 3D (1992) the plot and spatial context of games were linked which allowed for quite real experience of a virtual world. Quake also evolved this feeling by bringing objects, mostly columnar and huge into the game space which enabled exteriority of objects in interior space. Increasing Processing powers and storage in digital mediums have played significant roles in both contents like gameplay and representations like preference for realistic appeals. Such hegemony of graphic visualization has shifted the concentration on the core gameplay and the vital difference between the game space and the real world to the emphasis on realistic renderings. “video games should focus on calculation over data, on process intensity over the storage of data”. Chris Crawford Narrative takes many forms in games, cut scenes or text that is separate from gameplay or through the art in the game itself or on the packaging. Instead of expressing narrative through cut scenes in an essentially labyrinthine pattern (Figure 2: recent approach to level design ) , we can let the player decompose the maze-like space as in many of old games like Doom ( figure 3, an old game from 1993 ). To add appeal to such navigation or eliminate confusion or futility, we can use evocative spaces to relate our design to a familiar space in user’s memory. Embedded spaces like
“ the computer’s plasticity makes it an intrinsically interactive device. Yet the potential inherent in the computer can easily go unrealized if a game is programmed poorly. A program emphasizing static data is not very dynamic. It is not plastic, hence not responsive, hence not interactive. A processintensive program, by contrast, is dynamic, plastic, responsive and interactive. Therefore, store less and process more.”
Figure 4) Hobbit : This map might arguably spoil the imagination of some readers but conversely can add to the details of the world envisioned by Tolkien.
stories engraved in frieze or pediments of ancient buildings can also add to sense of exploration. Essentially there are three types of travel: labyrinth ( meander) , maze and rhizome. By prolonging the travel between point A and B , there is an opportunity to expose the player to a certain quality in space, to emphasize on narrative or etc. . Classic labyrinth consists only of one single winding path that creates a meander between A and B. Maze is a special type of labyrinth is more complex than classical labyrinths; they are multicursal, meaning that there are many ways in which they can be traversed. They are characterized by branching paths and dead ends so that the walker is forced to choose his direction. Video games favor maze structures since navigating them already constitutes a challenge.The rhizome, a concept initially proposed by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari refers to spaces that seemingly reproduce physical spaces but actually use unstable ever-changing features creating interconnected points. If we incorporate partly rhizome’s qualities in digital spaces, we can increase variability and challenges of navigation, since the inherent confusion caused by navigating the maze is combined with the confusion caused by encountering digital elements that have no real-world equivalents. For example, Silent Hill 2 has a rhizomatic openness that potentially can instigate an infinite process partly because of the three labyrinthine architectures. Architect Christian Norberg-Schultz applied Heidegger’s thinking to architectural space, arguing that spaces should be understood for their own elements rather than through the lens of previous experience. This statement can cast a doubt on our perception of space as a sequence. The most likely challenge posed by this rhetoric is how to give a uniform feeling of space or whether it is necessary to do so. The following are a few cases that take advantage of flexibility and plasticity of visual representations. Space invaders: Due to simple graphics, player can create a new playing field by shooting objects which produces new strategies right on the spot. A lot of new-fangled game engines like Frostbite in Battlefield 4 or Bad Company have tried to render a relatively flexible environment.
Shining : in this film, Stanley Kubrick managed to create a hotel with contradictory plan and spatial experience. By emphasizing on the bottom-up behavior of interior space, he boldly disregarded the spatial logics. A window facing a wall or a room that actually goes beyond its top-down limits on the plan. Authentic sense of inside outweighed the rigid lines of architecture. Portal : Portal is a game that represents an algorithmic space that makes us generic test subjects tasked with solving the puzzles. You can create two portals at a time connecting two points in the space. Basically Portal dismisses the logic of spatial rigidity hence creating free subjective configurations.
Figure 2) Portal’s logic of puzzle solving and mechanics can allow one to follow themselves. An unprecedented experience in gaming world.
Situationist Space The type of navigation proposed in this essay is founded on the main three types discussed before.
“Situationism is a psychological theory that places emphasis on external and situational factors in personality and behavior. Rather than focusing on the importance of innate traits on influencing personality situationists believe that the current and immediate situation is the most influential. Because behaviors change in different scenarios situationism focuses on how the situational and environmental factors influence behavior. “ [ Wikipedia ]
By employing the virtual plasticity, navigation can happen not only in a rhizome but in a Situationist space. Space can intelligently build and adjust itself based on player’s pattern of behavior and decisions. It does not take a visual or passive role anymore; it aims to actively create an ambience different in every sitting. Situationist spaces can be conceived as a series of interlinked mazes that allow for numerous mazes by jumping from one maze to another. You might have briefly encountered such paradigm a few times. In Batman Arkham Knight by walking up and gazing at a wall, you will not know of the sudden shift of space until you turn back and face a new environment. Even though Situationist spaces are likely to be used in confusion, trance or jumping narratives, they can be applied to usual cases as well. Only by recognizing the interactivity and plasticity of virtual world can we consider this approach and with today’s high details in modeling and aspiration to real life simulation which make it hard to deviate towards situationism, we must revive the semiotic relationships in game where not everything has to represent its actual real life equivalent. Subsequently the mainstream notion of games as simulation could be supplanted with the idea of free spatial narrative or situationism.
Situationist spaces have their mind of their own and need rules to respond to behaviors in game. So how can we create Emergence power in space? When we make a sentence, we are putting together words within the limits of that language. We can quantify words in a grammar-based language but sentences are infinite which proves that meaning is an emergent concept. As with games,
rules are not necessarily complex but they create representation in relation to free play of meaning in game space. Meaningful play is a concept that emerges from player constant input and system feedback. Competency and autonomy are two main parts of a meaningful gameplay. To conjure these feelings not only need we procedural literacy but also procedural rhetoric. Developing both procedural literacy and rhetoric helps players understand game spaces and their possibilities better. Procedural literacy is a familiarity with the rules of a game and how they function within an established possibility space but procedural rhetoric refers to using game rules as a system of communication between the designer and player. Players learn that certain level surfaces are solid or responsive while others may cause damage. They may learn the identity of items, gates, puzzle elements, objects that can decide the strategy. In terms of pure mechanics, this can also translate into an understanding of character abilities, or when players may encounter obstacles in games. These assets are components of levels and also the procedural language of game spaces. It is through complexity as a prerequisite of meaningful play that a system can support a large spectrum of meaningful play as a result of a vast space of possibility. In essence games are also emergent systems that gain meaning through player interaction in the context of representational possibility. If a system [ e.g. virtual space ] aims for diegetic self-generation based on selective inputs like player decisions, it needs to provide complex possibilities resulting from a simple set of rules. Games are able to represent by setting complex interrelationship within the system of meaning. "Emergence is above all a product of coupled, context-dependent interactions." Holland
“Emergence can come about through complex programmed mechanisms that simulate adaptive agents and systems, but it can also happen on an experiential level, where extremely simple rules give rise to complex social or psychological relationships among players.”
However, games are also representations reflecting a more convoluted concept, for example Mortal Kombat as a street fight or Go as territorial conflict. Every representation carries a certain meaning within the game but also contributes to the overall meaning of the game as a representational object. For example, internal representations in Sim City amount to its single solid representation as game of urban planning. "A modest number of rules applied again and again to a limited collection of objects leads to variety, novelty, and surprise. One can describe all the rules, but not necessarily all the products of the rules—not the set of all whole numbers, not every sentence in a language." Jeremy Campbell Four kinds of systems: • Fixed: remains unchanged • Periodic: simple systems that repeat the same patterns constantly. • Chaotic: elements are constantly in motion with random relationships • Complex: a combination of all above.
Interactions within a complex system are coupled: We can dissect a system into objects, internal relationships, attributes and environment. Once the rules of an emergent system take effect, there is a loop wherein objects interrelationships start to transform which in turn transforms the attributes of elements causing changes in internal relationships. This coupled synergy will create global patterns of behavior. Essentially, the whole is more than the sum of its parts. For example, listing all the rules or movements in Chess will not produce all the possible outcomes. Interactions within a complex system are context-dependent : changes in the system are not the same every time. Because of pervasive coupled links among objects, there are not isolated transformation and configurations of patterns are dynamically changing. All in all, with the mainstream passion for realism in video games, we should capture those primordial feelings of games again, when we visualized virtual space using representatives of objects in the game space.
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