OBLIGATION RESEARCH, SERIOUSNESS AND PLAY

Seriousness and Play

Topics like taxation, deforestation and globalization are not the usual subject matter of videogames.

“Serious is a word with many meanings, and it should no longer be sufficient merely to oppose it to entertainment, the major mover-and-shaker in the videogame market place.”

• Videogames can be serious.

Serious can mean weighty, implying consequence and demanding consideration. One might think if authority figures like teachers, parents, or religious leaders.

• In order to be taken seriously does the game need to be realised by someone considered with high authority?

All of these ways of understanding serious have something in common: they rely on a point of reference that affirms the seriousness of a subject in relation to some nonserious alternative. Furthermore, these meanings suggest that seriousness is often   deployed in the service of institutions, systems and cultural communities, and so forth. Seriousness implies actions that support the goals of progress of these institutions.

• Does coming from a video game platform take away the seriousness?

What differentiates persuasive games from serious games?

Interrogating the relationship between seriousness and play is nothing new. Dutch anthropologist John Huizinga struggled with the ambitious link between seriousness and play, in his classic study homo ludens. On one hand he notes that play is the direct opposite of seriousness, on the other hand he argues that “the contrast between play and seriousness proves to neither be conclusive nor fixed”. “Play seriously”, that is, with great devotion and resolve, but seriousness does not seem to include the possibility of play, making the latter of a “higher order” than seriousness.

The message is clear: serious games are created under the direct influence and guidance of external institutional goals.

Demonstrative Advertisement Gaming

Demonstrative advergaming offers the player a chance to consider the tangible benefits of the product as a core part of the experience.

Demonstrative advergaming example – Slam-dunk game created by Nike.

In the game, the player can choose from a variety of Nike Shox basketball shoes. The games purpose is to “demonstrate the different performance features of those shoes during the game play.

This example was critiqued however as while the physical properties of a show certainly have some effect on the weaker performance, the very idea that a show can make a better slam-dunker is not accurate.