noitCARetni-interACTion

exercise 10

In her paper "The Puppet Master Problem: Design for Real-World, Mission Based Gaming", Jane McGonigal suggests that "the success of the puppet master challenges our assumptions about the kinds of action and interaction that qualify as gameplay, reveal dramatic interpretation to be a viable game mechanic, and demonstrate the value of a dramaturgical perspective for pervasive game design." Discuss how these ideas could be applied to designing elements of narrative and gameplay in interactive media systems.


The puppet master game appears to void players of a sense of control and agency in the game and they merely take instructions and act upon them. However, despite their perceived notion, players are not exactly puppets in such a game as they do have some degree of control. The control that they have may not be one that is obvious to the player. The concept behind a puppet master game also involves the construction of scripts or stages that meet the expectations of the player. By modifying the game to suit the expectations of the player, the experience of the game play may be more fulfilling, satisfying and immersive. Therefore, if we apply this to designing elements of narrative and gameplay, this idea could come into place when the game is such that the game may be ‘customised’ for the player. In other words, the interactive media system could be programmed such that elements such as the level of difficulty, challenges, how boring or interesting the game is, the possible choices and actions may be altered or adapted accordingly to suit the player’s skills, needs and wants.

The puppet master takes cues from the player’s prior actions or activities and remembers what they have done, using them as a basis for the next ‘mission’. Interactive media systems also may incorporate this element (games such as this are already in existence) by remembering what players have done and therefore reacting and responding based on what they have done before. This contributes to a sense of variability and also to some form of agency.

Another element that is embedded within the puppet master game is that of its seemingly lack of defined rules, choices, resources etc. It is but just about collecting information and deciding what to do about it, completing tasks in order to get more information. They are merely told where to go and what to do, without a need to exercise strategy or explore space. Being able to interpret the commands in their own ways leaves them fully in charge of their own experience. They are able to be creative and experiment with different possibilities and as such they are able to generate a meaningful play. In a way, this may be likened to them being able to set up their own goals like that in SIMS.

Yet, unlike SIMS, players have no confirmation of who they are or what their motivation is until the game is finished. This evokes curiosity on the part of the player and is perhaps a source of motivation for them to play the game. Therefore, applying it to interactive media systems, it could also be likened to a game in which the narrative is unraveled in parts through the actions of the player. Hence, as players play the game, they are essentially enacting or creating a story.

The concepts behind the puppet master and that of traditional gameplay may be somewhat similar but presented in different ways. In the former, there is more of an interplay between the real world and the virtual world while the latter is more confined to just the virtual world.

posted by shamanthayan @ 8:58 PM