1. Choose a simple game (not found in the reading) and describe its
Constitutive Rules, Operational Rules, and (at least 3…) Implicit Rules.
In the game Othello, the constituative rules would be as follows:
 At the start of the game, each player has a current value of 2, leaving
a value of 30 each to still be played.
 Players alternate turns adding a value of 1 to their current value but
in a way that allows them to increase their total value by much more
since they can subtract from their opponent’s total value and add to
their own. The game ends when neither player can add a disk to the
board – at this time the disks are counted and whoever has the most
disks on the board wins.
 The game ends when neither player can increase their total value –
at this time the player with the highest value out of a total of 64
wins.
Operational rules:
 Players each begin with 2 disks in the middle of the board.
 At each turn, a player places a disk on an empty space on the board
so as to trap their opponent’s disk(s) between theirs and flip them so
that their color changes.
 The game ends when neither player can add a disk to the board – at
this time the disks are counted and whoever has the most disks on
the board wins.
Implicit rules:
 Players must play immediately after their opponent has played.
 The board should be placed in a way that allows both players to see
it and use it comfortably.
 Disks that are not in play must not be placed on the board.
2. In your opinion what does the element of randomness contribute to
making a game more compelling?
Randomness makes a game more compelling because it makes the players
feel like there are endless possibilities even though that might not
necessarily be the case. By making players feel like the game has endless
possibilities, randomness adds an element of unpredictability to the game,
which is exciting. That said there must be a distinction made between
randomness and the feeling of randomness. As the reading mentions, “there
are no genuinely random elements to the game” – thus, what the player may
experience and term as random, probably has a lot more logic built in to it
than they think. With all this in mind, it’s clear that randomness makes a
game compelling only if it successfully generates a feeling of randomness,
not pure randomness. If a game relies on pure randomness then it runs the
risk of feeling disorganized which makes it less compelling.
3. Pick one of the games we played in class that involves randomness and
describe how you feel personally about the role randomness plays in
the game experience? (Backgammon, Citadels, or other) (Please
incorporate concepts from the reading in your answer).
In backgammon, I think there was less of a feeling of randomness just
because a lot of the game play seemed to be in the player’s hands. By this I
mean that it felt like the game involved a lot of strategizing and meaningful
choice so no result felt totally unpredictable, perhaps only the dice roll but
even that is based purely on probability.
4. Describe examples (from any of the games we have played in class or
another game you have played) of these key cybernetics concepts: a
positive feedback loop and a negative feedback loop (this question is
not so easy).
In Monopoly a positive feedback loop exists in the way that players acquire
resources (properties) that help them get more resources. This destabilizes
the game because it gives the players that are in the lead more of a chance
to stay in the lead. As such, this positive feedback loop can result in an early
win for the leading players and the end the game.
The negative feedback loop would perhaps be the fact that in order for a
player to really get to the next level of winning in the game they have to
build and in order to build they need to buy an entire street. This means that
these players can be prevented from leading because other players can hold
off on selling properties that those players need in order to build. Hence, the
game is stabilized and prolonged .
5. In your own words explain these concepts from the field of Game
Theory:
I.
Saddle Point
A saddle point is the most favorable solution to the game and
if this exists in a game and a player figures out then there is no
point in playing the game because the player has figured out
the game. A saddle point describes a choice in the game that is
always better than the alternative and as a result creates bad
balance.
II.
Prisoners Dilemma
This concept basically demonstrates the idea that each
prisoner has a choice of two options but each cannot make a
good decision without knowing what the other one will do.
Unlike the zero-sum game concept, one player’s gains do not
always equal one’s player’s losses – there are outcomes where
each player can have the same result.
III.
Zero Sum Game
This is when one player’s gains always equal another player’s
losses.