AuditionSEA - Toys of Biopolis

This week's reading is really insightful and interesting. I particularly liked how the reading uses the Japanese animation as a "case study" or a reference point because it really gave a clearer idea about the whole discussion and was really interesting and easy to follow through. :)

Augmented reality can have effect on very realistic issues such as control vs freedom. The division between virtual and reality is becoming so blurred that I thought it might turn to become a problem in future. With reference to my game, even though it is not an augmented reality game at all, I thought there are some relevance in terms of the two main concepts I will be discussing.

Control vs Freedom
Control and freedom are seemingly opposite concepts but it is funny how people want to achieve both at the same time. Augmented realities provide us with more freedom in game play but at the same time, the actions, data, information etc are constantly monitored and recorded by game moderators or developers. This shows one of the contradictions in the concepts of control and freedom.

In reality, we seek freedom in the things we do and we however, set rules for ourselves to follow and eventually, it turned into control for ourselves. An example off head now would be the skipping rope game. It's a really paidic game with almost no rules involved and players can basically play with it any way they like. This is freedom. Then, they proceed to decide how the game should be played and eventually set rules and winning criteria etc, and thus, it became a ludic game. This is what I see as a contradicting and ironic yet playable situation whereby freedom is given yet players somehow set some control and restrict the freedom eventually.

In AuditionSEA, I thought it shows this kind of irony as well but it is at different levels - the level of game developers and moderators and also, the level of players. Players demanded freedom in the game and thus, game developers modified the game such that there will be freestyle movements every now and then in a battle.

Free style movements allow players to play with any keys they like in order to create any movements. However, as much as what freedom is said to be given to the players, there is actually a huge part of control on the part of game developers. Why do I say so? It is because the number of arrows that you can press according to your wish is still limited. Eventually, there will be a preset set of keys appearing when you are about to finish that move. And by then, you won't be able to press any arrows as you wish. You will need to follow what's given on the screen, key in accordingly in order to complete that move.
Here, we see how control and freedom works together, thus creating a somewhat pseudo-freedom that gives the players a fake idea about how free their game play is when it actually is even more highly controlled.

Control is not necessarily bad and freedom is not necessarily good! In my opinion, I thought a good balance is very important. Having certain amount of control is important in game play in order to ensure that the game is not misused and to track if there's any loopholes broken through by the players. In this case, we can see control as a form of monitoring and ensuring that the game is working well and working the way it is. Thus, control is definitely necessary. Freedom is important as well because it provides the players with more options to their game play experience and allows more exploration of the game, which might lead to better improvements of new suggestions for the game. Therefore, I see both negative and positive in control vs freedom and I believe a balance is important. Just like AuditionSEA as discussed above, I thought the combination of control and freedom is successful because game developers have control over the freestyle part event though it is a freestyle move. If without control, players might type a long long stretch of arrows without restrictions and hence, might cause problems to the game play. Thus, it can be considered as a good example of control + freedom instead of control vs freedom.

Division between virtual and reality
The division between virtual and reality is indeed blurring with the inventions of augmented reality games, applications, functions, etc. Other than how reality and virtual can be played together as though they belong to the same world,  the virtual can also be used to guide and/or modify the reality. For example, the 3D movies give us a sense of realism. Sometimes, when water splashes on the 3D screen, we shun as though the water will splash onto us! This is an example of how the virtual affects the reality. It affects our behaviour and if the division between the two worlds is blurred, I strongly believe that people's behaviours will be affected and adjusted.

In my game, virtual does not really merge together with reality during the game play itself but I thought it is incorporated into the online chats and the commitment level of the players.

In online chats, users usually speak in their normal conversation style, which helps other users create an impression of their avatar. Since we can't see the actual player, we direct all the impressions and made-up understanding of the user to his/her avatar and form certain judgement on him/her. For instance, when my friend got defeated by other players, he started criticizing the avatar's dressing and its character, ignoring the fact that there is actually someone in reality behind that avatar. This made me think that the online personas have slowly became who we are despite not showing your face or even your real name on the game. This then shows a merge between virtual and reality when we discuss about self identity.

Commitment level wise, I think it depends on individual players. I know of a friend who is super addicted to AuditionSEA for a few years and he really commits himself to the game as though it is part of his life, just like how bathing is part of our life. He also refers to the avatar as "me" or "I". If he needs to play Audition, he would say "I need to dance now" instead of "I need to play Audition now". From here, we can see how the game has an influence in the reality especially when it is gradually being woven into the daily lives.

The line between virtual and reality is blurring and my stand is that it has both negative and positive effects. It is considered negative when users or players get so engrossed and that they became lost in the combined world. They might lose their direction and get confused. It also instills a form of identity which might differ from their actual self. It also ensures certain level of commitment, which players might feel obliged and the need to play the games since it is already part of the life.

Reflections
In my opinion, I thought that even though AuditionSEA is not an augmented reality game, we can still find certain similar points as discussed in the reading. Also, AuditionSEA is a close to reality game because (like mentioned is earlier posts), the setting of the game is in a city and having dance battles at such places is still realistic since we can see it in real life. Even though it is not augmented reality yet, at least it is has the potential to become an augmented reality game. For example, it could go mobile and the game setting could be the reality taken by the players. Then, atmosphere, colour schemes and song types changes with the type of images taken. For example, picture of sushi shop --> use japanese music. Something like that. Might be rather interesting right!! Haha.

My suggestion might work but problems will arise. One that I can think of now is how absorbed the players will be into the game play when it becomes augmented reality. Players will randomly stop at places to take photo of the place and start battling with other people. Reality cannot be considered reality anymore because the reality is "sync-ed" into the virtual world and at the same time, the virtual world is not virtual anymore because realism is included. This brings us to the question of control and freedom once again. The ability to change the background setting provides us freedom but the choice of music, colour schemes, etc is still controlled and determined by the developers. Thus, this summarizes my entire blog entry about the contradiction between control and freedom and augmented reality.

My question
So who exactly is the controller of freedom?
Who enjoys freedom most in an augmented play? Is it the developers/moderators? Or the players?

AuditionSEA - City as Military Playground

This week's reading discusses about how cities can be made into military playground for different purposes - for the fun of it, for military trainings, for war, for activists to voice their views, etc etc. Since Audition is not really a military game, I shall first blog about a few interesting insights I got from the reading, followed by some links I managed to find between the reading and my game, AuditionSEA.

From the readings
'Militainment'
The word 'militainment' is defined to be "state violence translated into an object of pleasurable consumption,” and as a melding of “the mercurial and the martial" by Roger Stahl. This means that warfare strategies and realities is being modified into games, to be consumed by the public. 

In these games, the public are able to experience war and deploy warfare strategies in their games in order to win the war. This shows that events that happen in reality (like wars) can now be played in games, and similarly, things that we do in games can be translated into the reality. 

For instance, according to the reading, military games have been used for military training for the soldiers. I see this as a two-way thing whereby game developers develop the games based on what the reality can offer them and on the other hand, players learn from the games and use the strategies in reality. From such games, soldiers can learn to hide in places that are safer than others, learn to use weapons wisely in different situations, etc etc. Therefore, I believe that 'militainment' is not just a pleasurable consumption developed from state violence, but it can also result in actual learning about the reality for the players too. 

For different purposes
1. For activists to get their voices heard
Not only do games using city as a military playground have effects of teaching warfare skills, they also provide a space for activists to get their voices heard. For instance, the reading mentions that hackers hack some games to get their voices heard. An example stated was the anti-military digital graffiti intervening in the game 'Counter-Strike'. This was done by the activists to raise anti-military sentiments and gain support for their cause. 

I feel that hacking for a cause is reasonable and at the same time, effective, especially if the cause is relevant to the game. For instance, the anti-military graffiti were to discourage war while the game Counter-Strike encourages fighting and shooting. Therefore, if hactivists were able to "publicize" their cause through this means, it might generate a greater impact because of the vastly opposite nature of the message and the game.

Also, I feel that the link between reality and game becomes more meaningful now since game play or game intervention can help to do something for the reality. And the hacks happening online may be translated to the offline cities as well! Anti-military graffiti might be painted in actual streets and the logo/icon might become widely spread in the society to generate greater sentiments and support for the cause. Might be a good thing afterall when used to promote positive cause. 

However, we definitely need to consider the impacts when it this happens in a terrorism organization. Negative impacts will definitely be generated online and in the offline.

2. Therapeutic effects
It seems like game play has therapeutic effects as presented in the reading - treating Boyd's trauma after being a war veteran in the Middle East. 

I feel that the design of games settings as cities might be an explanation to the therapeutic effects.  To replicate the reality into the game as best as possible, it allows players to immerse themselves in the pseudo-reality, and allows them to feel that they are in reality even though it is actually a virtual world. For instance, it has always been said that some people immerse themselves in games because games help them escape the harsh reality. It makes them feel better! Some other people see themselves as failures in reality and hence, seek the virtual world for confidence and for meaning in life. All these are some of the typical explanations why some people choose to stay in their virtual world instead of living in the real. And these can be seen as therapeutic effects for players. 

Relevance to AuditionSEA
The city as a battleground
It has also been mentioned that the city as the game setting is increasingly welcomed by game developers and players. I agree with this because we can see games set in cities very often, some even with things like trains, shopping centres, vending machines, etc. 

However, I realize that for FPS games, the setting is usually, but not always, in barren lands or forests kind of setting. This might be because these places give a more "war-like" atmosphere, which coincides with FPS games because these games are usually war-oriented. Below are some images I found from Google regarding FPS games, which mostly showed images of forests or deserts. 

In relation to AuditionSEA, it takes the setting of a city as well! It is designed with buildings and lights and the dance floor is designed to be in a stadium-like place. 

In my opinion, there are several reasons to the city setting of AuditionSEA.

1. Since the game is targeted at youngsters, a city setting with colouful lights and graphics may be able to portray a youthful and energetic image of the game, hence, attracting more players to the game.

2. Since youngsters like hanging out in shopping malls with their friends (assumption), it might be another reason why game developers choose this setting for AuditionSEA - to create more relevance between the game and the youngsters' lives.

3. Dancing is a casual activity, especially in terms of street dance. Thus, AuditionSEA is designed in a city to bring out the idea that dance battles can take place anywhere as long as you meet like-minded people. 

These are some of the reasons I can think of that fulfills the idea of having a city as a "playground" and in the AuditionSEA context, as a close-to-reality battleground.

Flaws of AuditionSEA game design
According to the reading, it mentions that "the underlying “ludaform” of a multi-player game is a heart with looping, arterial tunnels that always return players to centralized open conflict zones". It also states that "Building dead end alleyways and streets is discouraged, for a player might hide in seclusion for the entire round. The architecture should encourage balanced confrontations against other players."

With reference to that definition of a good game design, I am doubtful about the success of AuditionSEA game design. Why do I say so? Because a player can actually create a private room for himself/herself, hiding away from battles with others. That was what I did actually.

Because I am a newbie, and because I always get forced out of people's room (due to my super low level), I have no choice but to "lock" myself in a room and play by myself, in the hope of gaining levels and experience so that I will be able to battle with others in future. However, this might be a flaw because it might encourage seclusion of newbies and domination of the game by the "pros". Also, interaction between strangers may not be well promoted because rooms can be created with a password - only friends who know the password can enter.

Linking back to the definition of a good game design, I feel that AuditionSEA does not fit into that definition but somehow I feel that such a design is for a reason. The seclusion might be for self-training purposes and passwords might serve as a way for friends (regardless online or offline) to play, battle and chat privately in the game. If so, then AuditionSEA's design is not flawed but instead, well thought out. 

My reflection
I feel that using city as a military playground may a good or a bad thing for different reasons, mainly because of the different effects it can have on players and on their realities. Like mentioned above, some effects like therapies, or getting activists' voices heard might be able to bring about actual social/political/environmental change, which might be beneficial for the society. However, if being manipulated by terrorists for example, such strategy can help train terrorists their military skills and warfare tactics which might result in serious impacts on the society.
In general, I feel that using city as military playground is actually effective in training military soldiers in their military skills and strategies. Especially when the world is increasingly 'technologicalized' and 'machinerized', having training in such city-like games is actually very close to reality, that puts soldiers in a almost real game world and hence, training them in pseudo reality. Such training might be effective eventually because it helps soldiers see and think from different perspectives which might enhance their military strategies. Also, with the increased use of machines in warfare, having trainings in games might be able to improve soldiers' use of technology and machines. Therefore, city as military playground has its effectiveness when put to correct and legitimate use.

My question
How do you think can a game like AuditionSEA can have effects I've mentioned above. For example, how can my game promote certain environmental change? Or result in any impacts on the society? Or even affects the dance scene in reality?

AuditionSEA - Modding

General definition of "Modding"
Modding is defined as the "modification or transformation of a computer game by players" according to the reading. Various types of modifications can be considered as mods such as the changing of skins, changing of character's appearance, changing of game world scenes, and more problematic mods could be modifying how the game works, and even creating cheats for the game such that rules become useless and game play becomes meaningless.

After reading the supplied readings, I feel that only the part on cheat codes apply to AuditionSEA as I can't find any information on other kinds of moddings for the game. Therefore in this entry, I will specifically talk about how hackers create cheats to hack the game as well as the impacts of cheats.

Cheats used in AuditionSEA

http://www.gamerzneeds.net/forums/audition/221209-icypopx-6130-auditionsea-public-hack-v4-all-off-perfect-hack-many-feature.html

These are the most common form of cheats in AuditionSEA would be the codes to get perfect moves in order to earn EXP and dens. The hacker created the cheat codes such that his avatar attains perfect moves every single time. This would then increase the number of EXP he gets and the amount of dens he receives.
This kind of cheats however is an unorthodox shortcut to higher levels and more dens. Players at level 1 could gain level very quickly with the cheat codes on hand and this might affect the overall game play experience which will be discuss below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spzUkdx3oHk

Next, this is an example of bots used by hackers in AuditionSEA. Notice the spacebar column stopped totally. This gives more time for players to key the strokes. Also, I believe that the bot actually controlled the keying of strokes as well since all strokes are perfect. Haha. And as we can see in the comments area, many people actually asked for the hack and the hacker is willing to give it to them at no costs. This will be further discussed later on as well.

Mods and its impacts
1. Distorted game play experience
The whole idea of AuditionSEA is to allow dance battles between players all over the world to play and socialize together on a platform. With the introduction of cheats (at no costs somemore), the experience will no longer be the same. The excitement value is not there anymore when people use the cheats in their games. One no longer feels excited when he/she misses a stroke, there is no longer losses in the game and players just simply enter the game world and wait for his/her avatar to reach the highest level with the most amount of dens. That's it. Thus, I believe cheats can have effects on the experience one gets when playing by himself/herself or by the cheat codes.

Furthermore, cheats are everywhere. As long as you Google for it, you can find it. And better still, most of them are FREE. :D The availability of free cheats in the Internet might encourage even more people to cheat and attain higher levels with the actual skills actually not improving. And this links back to the point whereby it distorts the overall game experience in players.

2. Hackers can earn REAL money
For instance, hackers sell cheats on the Internet for real money. I am not very sure if people actually do buy it (since I haven't seen any buyers online), but I believe that there will definitely be some Audition addicts who purchase it using real money. As mentioned in the readings, hackers then have commercial benefits through the hack created.

3. Game developers have free problem-sniffers
Hackers constantly look for loopholes in the game and create codes to break off from the restrictions of the rules set by game developers. Once cheats and hacks are developed, game developers will then realize where their loopholes were and make necessary improvements to block the hacks and to bring the game to higher level in terms of game experience.
Game "modders" are like hackers in, for example, online banking, sniffing out the potential problems, alerting the bank about the problems in order for them to develop solutions for the better of their systems. It may work the same way in games as well if the "modders" have no ill intentions of spoiling the game or to earn some hard cash out of it.

My reflection
I think that somehow, modding plays a part in the further enhancement and development of games since it picks out weaknesses in the coding of a game for the developers. On the other hand, I agree to some extent that the modders parasite on the developers when they proceed to make money from the cheats they created or destroy the game so badly that developers have to pay them to get the game fixed (is it even possible?). Game play is no longer as simplistic as the offline hopscotch or catching that we play in the past. It has become so much more sophisticated with technology and the widespread of such technology worldwide.

My question
Is modding ever unavoidable in online games?

AuditionSEA - Definition & Categories

I chose AuditionSEA as my game because I feel that it has a wide spectrum of things to discuss about throughout the module and more importantly, dance is an area of interest for me! And after a few weeks of playing, I realised it really doesn't work the way offline does - moving bodies. Not a very easy game for me! I can't co-ordinate my fingers!!

Anyway, here's my discussion of the game with regards to the game.

1. Definition of "play" in AuditionSEA

With reference to the reading's present definition of play, it includes free, separate, uncertain, unproductive, governed by rules and make-believe. I shall attempt to link AuditionSEA with these definitions.

1. Free

AuditionSEA is not an obligatory game because one is not obliged to join a battle or even enter a "room". It is free in the sense that I can either join a game or create a room by and practise and play by myself. Even if I entered a room, I have the freedom of leaving of battling with the players in that room still. Therefore, the idea of "free" applies to this game.

With other people in the room

Playing alone

Even during the game with others or by yourself, one can choose not to play and the music will still carry on, game will still move on, except that no points will be given to the player. In other words, "one plays only if and when one wishes to" as quoted in the reading.

2. Separate

The game complies to the idea of "separate" because it is isolated from reality and is limited within the time and space in the game world.
There is a space for dance battles, a space for social networking (couple garden), showing how needs dictate the uses of different spaces in the game world.

Map in the game

As for time, there is a limited amount of time for each battle - the duration of a song. No matter how well or how badly a player is doing, he/she has to end when the music ends. 

3. Uncertain

The uncertainty in AuditionSEA does not apply to the withholding of the outcome since points are constantly updated as the game progresses. Players can easily know how many points the opponent is leading or losing by. However, the uncertainty applies to the process of the game. One might not be able to complete all strokes and hence, resulting in lower points. The process of hitting all the arrows correctly and on time is uncertain as the accuracy varies from player to player, from choice of music to choice of music and also, from level to level.

(1:10)

4. Unproductive

AuditionSEA is indeed unproductive because no new elements or goods or wealth (in reality) is generated. Only virtual points, money, clothes, etc can be obtained after playing and winning experience points (EXP) and money (Den) from battles.

5. Governed by rules

There is of course, a "correct" way of playing which is governed by the set of rules game developers set. However, as we would have expected, online games like Audition would definitely have problems of hackers who create cheat codes and share it online with other players. The cheats however, do not destroy the game, but only help a player increase level or gain more den.

6. Make-believe

My feel is that AuditionSEA has both a realistic and a make-believe side to it.
It is realistic because people really do battle with dance. This is especially so in street dance, hip hop, breakdance etc. In this sense, AuditionSEA is not really "fake" and unrealistic game. Also, who wins the battle depends on the skills of the player as well, which is similar to the offline dance battles.
However on the other hand, the way of battling is different because in the offline, people use bodies to dance while in AuditionSEA, one just needs to hit the up down left right buttons in order to battle. In this aspect, AuditionSEA is make-believe, unrealistic.

Thus, I believe AuditionSEA is well defined as a "play" since it fulfills most of the definitions with slight variations of each definition here and there.

Classifying Wahjong

With reference to the my experience and information found on other sources on the Internet, I believe AuditionSEA can be categorized as an Agon as well as a Mimicry. Also, I thought that Ludus applies more to the game as compared to Paidia. 

Agon

I feel that it is an Agon because there is competition among the players. Because the word "battle" sounds like a win-lose competition among the players. In this school of thought, I believe the game is an Agon.
However, my concern is that it is a battle but in fact, players are playing by themselves. One cannot hinder the success of the opponents using other methods except to win the opponent by skill. It is more of a test of skill on the individual rather than a competition. Thus, I think AuditionSEA should be only slightly Agon-istic.

Mimicry

AuditionSEA is mimicry as well because of its high imitation of the dancers online and the dancers offline. In terms of dance moves, music, battle setting etc, it is almost exactly like the offline. The player thus mimics how a dancer would wear (for example, might think that a dancer should dress in a cool manner, thus works even harder to earn enough den to purchase nicer and cooler clothings), how a dancer moves, and speaks, etc.
Hence, I believe there is quite a high level of mimicry in the design and the play of the game.

Ludus

In AuditionSEA, one has to make sure the arrows are hit correctly and the spacebar is hit on time in order to gain points. These are the rules of the game and are to be strictly abode by  in order to win a game. It does not entail any unrestricted play at all. Even if "freestyle" is allowed (where one can start with any arrow desired), subsequent arrows will then appear for players to follow. Here, we can see that the game is highly Ludus and not Paidia since it does not encourage unrestricted explorations or the game world.

Freestyle that is not really "free"

My reflection

The game is rather "real" in the sense that dancers really do battle with each other in reality. The special thing about AuditionSEA is that it requires quick mind to scan through the arrows shown, and quick fingers to key in the arrows presented, followed by the spacebar. As a newbie, I am really very very bad at this game, especially when it comes to recognizing whether it is a right or a left arrow. Also, I haven't had the chance to explore different rooms because I believe different rooms have different batlle types and hence, different rules. However, one thing to note is that even though they have different rules, it does not make the game a Paidia because the battles are still guided and governed by a set of rules. 

My question

Can all offline games be developed into online?