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[BuddyC]

http://www.ludonauts.com/archives/000040.shtml

Just Go For A Walk: Non-Competitive Gaming

On March 20 I went to a tiny art studio nestled deep in Toronto’s industrial quarter to see an exhibition called Play. The show brought together three works with the idea of exploring alternative modes of gaming in response to the pervading themes of violence, competition, and Hollywood saturization that currently permeate North American gaming culture.

The piece I’m going to talk about is Myfanwy Ashmore’s Mario Battle No. 1.

Players were invited to sit in front of a television and pick up the controller hooked up to a concealed Apple computer running a ROM of Super Mario Bros. on a small black television. Myfanwy had hacked the ROM to remove all enemies, prize boxes, power-ups and scalable architecture, leaving nothing but the solid floor and the bushes and clouds of the background.

The music and sound was still there, complete with the music speed-up when the counter reached around 90 seconds. Mario responded normally to the controller as well, and could perform his usual jump, big jump, and dash. Luigi was unfortunately not playable.

The first level was set to loop without end. The in-game timer still counts down, and after the time elapses, Mario dies.

The player is therefore presented with an environment that has been deliberately stripped of its competitive and goal-oriented elements. There are no enemies, no coin-collecting or power-ups, and no level to reach the end of. The only option is to “go for a walk,” and the idea becomes to explore the environment without the distraction (or obligation) of performing the pre-programmed tasks that the game has laid out.

In an interesting twist, the onus was now on the players to amuse themselves instead of passively responding to the challenges the game places before them. We were forced to find our own methods of challenging our minds and imaginations.

It was fascinating to observe how each gamer approached existence inside this new Mario landscape. How each person chose to spend their 192-second countdown to death reflected their own personalities. Some would dash as fast as they could through the world, while others walked. Some would jump in one spot, engaged by the rhythms of the jump sound-effect. Some would hop over bushes as they ran, creating a more traditional challenge for themselves. Some would remain on a single block, seeing how far in the air they could jump away from that block and still be able to return to it. Even in the most barren of conditions, people still found ways to entertain themselves and make a game out of their surroundings.

Near the beginning of the level, Myfanwy intentionally left a single prize block embedded into the ground, making it inaccessible. She told me she had seen several people become obsessed with this block. These people would stand on the gold, flashy treasure until they died.

Myfanwy’s piece spurred a discussion among the visitors about game architecture and physics. The general consensus was that physics that let the player roam around freely and don’t try to dictate where they go are more popular. We discussed how gamers have always been astute at straying outside a game’s architecture and finding ways to exploit bugs and go where they aren’t supposed to go. I talked about the infamous “void” in Daggerfall, where the character sprite could literally fall through the seam between two pieces of scenery into a kind of black limbo. Another person mentioned fans discovering combos in Street Fighter, and a camera glitch in Silent Hill 2 that lets you see inside the faces of characters.

Myfanwy says she hopes to create a second hack based on The Legend of Zelda.

 

[cvxfreak]

Very interesting ideology. I wonder how I'd react...

 

[Arcticfox]

I'd be one of the guys jumping over the bushes in the background.

 

[neptunes]

That's quite interesting.

We discussed how gamers have always been astute at straying outside a game’s architecture and finding ways to exploit bugs and go where they aren’t supposed to go. I talked about the infamous “void” in Daggerfall, where the character sprite could literally fall through the seam between two pieces of scenery into a kind of black limbo. Another person mentioned fans discovering combos in Street Fighter, and a camera glitch in Silent Hill 2 that lets you see inside the faces of characters.

It's the result of a curious mind.

 

[sc0la]

Interesting. I have been turning over an essay in my head about some semi-related ideas

 

[Mason]

I'd be trying to make weird noises/songs with whatever I could.

 

[Barnimal]

doesnt GTA already do this? you dont HAVE to do anything in GTA. you can go for a walk if you want.

 

[mjq jazz bar]

What happens when I'm met with an experience like this in a game is that I become extremely bored after a minute.

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

Near the beginning of the level, Myfanwy intentionally left a single prize block embedded into the ground, making it inaccessible. She told me she had seen several people become obsessed with this block. These people would stand on the gold, flashy treasure until they died.

:lol

 

[Dujour]

Nice read, Buddy! I'd probably just walk, though. Maybe jump a few times, too. No springing, never even when the timer's almost up.

 

[Dujour]

What happens when I'm met with an experience like this in a game is that I become extremely bored after a minute.

Generation A.D.D.

 

[teiresias]

What's this glitch in Silent Hill 2 that lets you see inside faces??

 

[Lord Error]

This kind of gameplay sure did wonders for Atari's E.T.

 

[mjq jazz bar]

Generation A.D.D.

Nah. Try it out yourself.

 

[TTP]

I'm sick of this pseudo-artistic stuff. It's like videogames cannot be considered art until someone hack them in order to do things they weren't supposed to. Anyway, this "experiment" just discovered warm water. Get SMB and remove all the elements that make it the game it is and what people do? Different things. Wow. What a rivelation. And you needed to hack SMB to discover that? Just accomodate people in an empty room with a pen, a table and a glass of water and I'm sure they will act in a similar way (ie, doing different things to entertain themselves).

 

[Lord Error]

I remember when some guy hacked the SuperMario cart so that it would only display clouds floating over the screen, made an 'art installation' out of it, and tried to sell it for some $10000 on ebay. I forgot if he actually sold it or not, but I know the very attempt struck me as a very much worthy of kicking that guy in the nuts.

 

[Deleted member 1159]

meh, I don't see this as art, but a cool experiment. Personally, I would do my best (as a white boy) to do a jig to the music.

 

[Keio]

I think the main discovery of this experiment is that people REALLY really TRY to "find a game" from anything. They augment the limited reality of the game with their own imaginations. That is why some people managed to like even Driver 3, I suppose.

Also this is a good argument against totally simulated, totally realistic games. I believe a lot of the enjoyment comes from the unconscious process in which you generate more meaning into the game inside your own head.

 

[TekunoRobby]

BuddyChrist83 that was an excellent article. Thanks for linking us to it!

Definitely FWDing this to my teachers.

 

[Kiriku]

I don't know, why would people try to find entertainment in an "empty" game? I would get bored rather quickly if there's nothing to do in the actual game. In a game like GTA III, at least you can interact with your surroundings while doing "nothing".

Anyway, had I been part of this experiment, I would've just quit and played something else after a short while. That's an option you have in real life too, after all.

 

[Mr. Lemming]

In an interesting twist, the onus was now on the players to amuse themselves instead of passively responding to the challenges the game places before them. We were forced to find our own methods of challenging our minds and imaginations.

So its like one-crediting [favorite arcade game, which the console version grants the player unlimited credits].

 

[dark10x]

doesnt GTA already do this? you dont HAVE to do anything in GTA. you can go for a walk if you want.

Yep. That's exactly what I think too. GTA3/VC both work in a similar fashion. While you can obviously do much more in the world of GTA, you still have a wide open environment to explore and you can do whatever you please. I believe that one of the reasons GTA is so popular directly relate to that fact...

 

[ourumov]

GTA, Shenmue...Even the Time Attack mode in Racing games...

 

[puck1337]

That's awesome.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

In an interesting twist, the onus was now on the players to amuse themselves instead of passively responding to the challenges the game places before them. We were forced to find our own methods of challenging our minds and imaginations.

Gee, too bad noone has thought of making

games based on that premise. They might

be successful.

 

[cvxfreak]

^Heh.

I guess in SMB I would try to go for some fixed goal - i.e. even jump intervals or something.

 

[Drinky Crow]

I woulda detached the controller and beat the shit out of someone nearby with it. DON'T FUCK WITH MY GAMES, ASSHAT

Also, Animal Crossing sucks.

 

[yoshifumi]

that story was both really interesting, and really stupid at the same time.

 

[Alf_Life]

I'd be one of the guys jumping over the bushes in the background.

Me too - that's exactly what I thought when reading it.

 

[aoi tsuki]

Same here. i'd guess it's because SMB and a lot of other 8/16-bit games didn't really distinguish background and foreground objects that well, making the bushes seem like something in the foreground, and therefore something you'd need to avoid.

 

[Dujour]

GTA, Shenmue...Even the Time Attack mode in Racing games...

Don't you understand? The point is that in this Mario, you have no choice but to walk freely or jump. With all those games mentioned, if you get bored of that, you can always talk to/shoot someone, and time attack has a goal.

 

[Matlock]

Sucks that they don't supply a way to play their experiment.

 

[Lyte Edge]

I woulda detached the controller and beat the shit out of someone nearby with it. DON'T FUCK WITH MY GAMES, ASSHAT

Also, Animal Crossing sucks.

Awesome.

 

[Kon Tiki]

I woulda detached the controller and beat the shit out of someone nearby with it. DON'T FUCK WITH MY GAMES, ASSHAT

Also, Animal Crossing sucks.

I am glad your ignorance will lead to you extinction, assface.

 

[BuddyC]

I am glad your ignorance will lead to you extinction, assface.

:eek

 

[Chesapeake Silt]

Shigeru Miyamoto's 4'33''.

 

[Tellaerin]

I'd like to see someone conduct the same experiment with a group of Japanese gamers and compare the results. Several people have suggested that the reason GTA-style 'free-roaming' games don't enjoy the same popularity that they do in the West is because the Japanese prefer more structured, goal-oriented activities to 'free play'--it'd be interesting to see if there was a difference in the results that would bear out that theory.

 

[Daxter Too]

I am glad your ignorance will lead to you extinction, assface.

OMG!!!!

 

[FortNinety]

This sorta reminds me of the Tekken Torture Tournament I attended last fall, in which players fought each other hooked up to electrodes. Whoever got hit was electrocuted. And apparently it wasn't just a simple zap but a fairly sizable jolt, though nothing dangerous, though you had to sign a waver.

 

[FortNinety]

I'm sick of this pseudo-artistic stuff. It's like videogames cannot be considered art until someone hack them in order to do things they weren't supposed to. Anyway, this "experiment" just discovered warm water. Get SMB and remove all the elements that make it the game it is and what people do? Different things. Wow. What a rivelation. And you needed to hack SMB to discover that? Just accomodate people in an empty room with a pen, a table and a glass of water and I'm sure they will act in a similar way (ie, doing different things to entertain themselves).

You know, I was all set to jump all over this comment, but there is a point, and I can sorta see where he's coming from.

Hey, all I can say is that it's at least interactive. By far the dumbest arty farty game related thing I've ever seen was a 17 minute video of someone playing Tomb Raider 1 and dying on purpose, over and over again.

 

[DJ Demon J]

This sorta reminds me of the Tekken Torture Tournament I attended last fall, in which players fought each other hooked up to electrodes. Whoever got hit was electrocuted. And apparently it wasn't just a simple zap but a fairly sizable jolt, though nothing dangerous, though you had to sign a waver.

WTF? You've gotta be kidding.

 

[Ranger X]

I think this experiment is also pertinent if you want to study what is "fun" and discover what can create it in a game. I guess that, of course, letting your imagination go anywhere in a more open game where you can interact with many things in many ways is probably the closest to fun as it can be. I think yes GTA sold well because of that.

Of course it's not enough to have real conclusions on the "fun" question. Some extremely linear stuff to do is sometime just as fun as open shit.

 

[ninge]

did this guy never play mario 64? his "experiment" is really just the garden outside the castle.. I've seen people just play around in there for hours.

 

[DJ Demon J]

Call me crazy, but isn't jumping over bushes or jumping in one place the equivalent of linear goals being applied by the people to the game? How is that any different from the linear goals supplied by Miyamoto? In fact, having removed all other game elements (no interaction with architecture, power-ups, enemies), isn't this making the game more linear than less linear?

 

[brandonnn]

By far the dumbest arty farty game related thing I've ever seen was a 17 minute video of someone playing Tomb Raider 1 and dying on purpose, over and over again.

Ha, I saw that one too, and the Soul Blade video series, one of which had two fighters standing still as the day/night cycle passed, and the other a collection of clips with Sophitia apologizing for winning each round (if I remember right). It was a reeeeal potent statement on both the folly of war and feminine subjugation.

Cory Arcangel of Beige/8-bit Construction Set also has done a (less interactive) SMB hack that just endlessly scrolls clouds, and more interestingly did a Hogan's Alley hack called "I Shot Andy Warhol" that has you gunning down Warhol while avoiding misfires at Col. Sanders, Flavor Flav, and the Pope.

 

[BuddyC]

Call me crazy, but isn't jumping over bushes or jumping in one place the equivalent of linear goals being applied by the people to the game? How is that any different from the linear goals supplied by Miyamoto? In fact, having removed all other game elements (no interaction with architecture, power-ups, enemies), isn't this making the game more linear than less linear?

Becuase these people are applying goals to a playtime session that essentially has none, short of "play until you die."

 

[Mr_Furious]

wtf? Didn't any of these people play SMB? If I was duped into doing this "experiment", I would've been like; " Hey, wtf did you do to SMB?" and stop playing.

I don't really see any real point from this experiment that wouldn't apply to real life. Pointless.

 

[Ranger X]

oh my...
After that we ask ourselves "how come Driver3 can sell?"