Ethnographic Entry 4

In this final blog entry, I will be discussing the concept of augmented reality devices and the idea of control within societies.

The first reading for this week, “Toys of Biopolis”, is a detailed analysis of the idea of augmented reality toy-games set in an animated Japanese children’s television series, “Dennou Coil – a circle of children”.

In this series, the city and its population is immersed in “live field experiment in augmented reality”, where electronic glasses allow users to view and interact with digital information overlaid onto physical spaces.

The more intriguing aspect of the technology introduced in the series is when the high-tech gadgets became the children’s “toys”, with their open-ended objectives. In other words, the creation of such gadgets may have been initially designed for a specific purpose, but once the knowledge of how to use and manipulate them sets in, the gadgets can be transformed to suit many different needs and purposes.

For example, in today’s world, we can see how the invention of the camera function of the phone, coupled with some ground-breaking scanning technology, can produce new applications like the QR code scanner, which in turn, is being utilised for many different purposes. We are slowly seeing our physical environment being suited and “customised” for augmented reality devices.

A virtual grocery store in a subway station in Seoul, South Korea

Source: http://2d-code.co.uk/qr-code-grocery-shopping/

One of the key points touched upon in this reading is how these mixed reality gadgets offer its users liberating freedom, and at the same time, they are being subjected to control. This is a compelling contradiction, but not one that is not at all shocking in today’s world.  However, with the glass users being tracked down the way they are in the series, an emergent form of defiance appears (as seen from the population’s multiple ways of resisting the polis).

In today’s world, as technology increases in complexity over time, and the balance of power keeps shifting, will there be a time when the population gains enough power to rival that of the state’s? We are seeing signs of a shift in power in many areas, for example, journalism (the rise of citizen journalism), and casual gaming perhaps (where anyone can now create new game applications).

In a way, the Sims Social on Facebook display signs of taking on the concept of virtual pets like in the cartoon series as the player feels some form of responsibility towards its Sim, much like how the protagonist in “Dennou Coil” feels for her virtual pet.

Another similarity is the form of gameplay observed. After a while, it is clear that some of the more experienced Sims Social players no longer confine themselves to the ludic nature of the game, but liberate themselves to create their own games within Sims Social, much like how a child invents games with a particular toy. In a way, Sims Social has transformed from being a game to a toy where different players play it with different objectives.

For example, the highest-ranking player among my Facebook friends for Sims Social is Michelle, and she has probably mastered the game almost completely. Now, she plays it solely like a toy, decorating her virtual home much like the way a little girl would decorate a dollhouse. Now, her objective is building the perfect home for her Sim.

Michelle's attempt at making her landscape 3-D

Another example is Fahmy, another top player in Sims Social. He rarely plays the game now, but shortly before he slowed down, he was engrossed in getting the best objects Simoleans and Social Points can buy.

Fahmy's very expensive kitchen counter, which costed 15,000 Social Points (it took him nearly a month to afford it)

Bringing the discussion back to the idea of augmented reality, I believe there’s potential for a mixed reality version of The Sims in the near future. Currently, the game is limited by its screen-project, pseudo-3D stage, where viewing is more often than not limited to “angling one’s view”. If we were to incorporate augmented reality into the mix, it could be possible to have an augmented reality-supported console that could display a Sims residence in 3D, where you can control the Sims by virtually interacting with the space in front of you (maybe pick them up and drop them in the toilet so they can pee?).

 The second reading is a complex document, which gives a very detailed description of the concept of the society of control. It goes through every aspect, from how such an idea came about, to introducing the different forms of disciplinary societies that coexist with one another, to understanding the mechanism of control.

Such ideas can be applied to The Sims series as whole (and not just the Sims Social) all abide by a specific set of rules that the game developers created that players have to follow, with certain versions having more elaborate rules than others.

It is interesting to observe the amount of control the Sims Social has on its players, in terms of the gameplay. Some players may resist it and begin to employ hacks and cheats to break out of the system. Others will just accept the system and be willing to play by the rules.

Some of the new improvements to the game include the ability to own a car, but not being able to drive it around the neighbourhood unfortunately. It’s really just product placement more than part of the game.

I also observed how the activity among my friends on Sims Social is slowly dying down now due to the exams approaching.

It is also interesting to note how they have merged a quest and a skill item together to create a unique challenge of setting a time limit for a player to complete all the levels of the skill item and rewarding them. However, based on my own personal experience, it requires a whole load of dedication to the game to complete the quest. I was unsuccessful each time.

Ethnographic Entry 3

And here comes the third ethnographic blog entry. Oh how time passes so fast these days. From the set of readings available this week, the theme that I found to be present throughout all the readings was the concept of serious gaming, and I defined it to be when a game is no longer played for fun, but for a specific real-world goal or profit.

Allow me to begin by analysing the first reading, “Military Playground: Contested Urban Terrain”. A highly detailed chapter, it focuses on how military games provide a convenient space for real-world activists to practice simulations of combat exercises and war scenarios. It is thus evident that gaming in this context is no longer seen as merely for entertainment but rather for rigorous military training (except in some instances when perhaps games like America’s Army was, despite its military nature, was more for entertainment than serious combat training).

This is a clear example of how a regular simulation game can turn into a serious game, the moment the goal of playing changes from entertainment to military training.

“The military, in alliance with education, the game industry and players themselves, is the prime developmental motor of militainment games of serious soldier play.” – page 26

This sentence within the reading got me thinking about the idea of a two-way influence between the real world scenario and the gaming world scenario. The next sentence completed this idea.

“The virtual game city becomes a testing ground for play tactics that are later transposed to military manoeuvres in live, conflicted urban zones.” – page 26

So who influences who? Does the real world influence the gaming world (like how the real world of human interaction has influenced the concept of The Sims, Sims Social, etc.) or does the gaming world influence the real world (like what we see in this reading, and perhaps in other examples of how movies were adapted from games)?

Although it may be a tall order to try to connect this reading to a game like Sims Social, which is of a different genre of gaming altogether, it is worthy to note that Sims Social is what it is because of the nature of the gameplay and the type of goal players have for themselves when they play the game.

Based on what little research and information there is about Sims Social (because it’s a relatively new Facebook game), Sims Social players play for entertainment and for no other particular gain (such as training, or for monetary incentives). Thus, it is definitely not a serious game.

However, the fact that the nature of its gameplay is reminiscent of the gameplay in other games like MapleStory and WoW, which also employ in-game currencies, I do wonder if Sims Social might go the way of the “Chinese gold farmer”(optional reading) in the near future, where players might pay real sums of money for a large amount of virtual currency to be used in-game. But I doubt this will happen, and I will explain why.

Being a casual game on Facebook, I deduced that the developers have foreseen the possibility of it becoming a “serious game”, especially when the game may later on evolve to have its own black market economy where people would pay real money for Simoleans and SimCash (once they decided that the exchange rate offered in the game is too expensive). Sims Social does have an existing currency exchange available in-game, allowing players to pay real money (via virtual credit) for virtual currency (SimCash).

It is interesting to note how the developers made a whole new currency, SimCash, specifically for the Facebook version. It’s a lucrative venture, as EA can potentially profit a lot from this method of purchase. SimCash can be used to convert to Simoleans, Social Points, and directly exchanged for exclusive goods.

However, power levelling is another matter altogether. There is no possible way in Sims Social for players to pay for level-ups, and there is no incentive to level up really, except for the satisfaction of being higher in the ranking board.

Now, I would like to share some interesting updates to Sims Social, as the game has changed quite a fair bit since the last time I blogged.

1. Players can now “invite” other Sims over to their house. Of course, the invited Sim is really just the script running and NOT being controlled by the actual player.

2. Players can now own another property, in addition to their main property. For the time being, it bears the theme of a vacation home.

3. It’s rumoured that Sims Social might be introducing a new feature, “Careers”, to be launched very soon.

Here are some of the interesting things that I’ve observed while playing Sims Social over the past few weeks:

1. I observed a unique emergent behaviour from the Sims Social players on Facebook, namely my friends. They would click “like” on my request links to show that they have acknowledged and fulfilled my requests. When asked why, it’s because they want me to reciprocate as well, and click on their links.

2. Not many of my friends who play Sims social pay for SimCash, as they don’t feel motivated enough to invest real money in a casual game like Sims Social.

3. After playing for a few months and reaching the almost maximum, what keeps me coming back (other than to write ethno blog entries of course)? Each week, a new theme will roll in and new skill-based items will be available for purchase. I buy them, not just because they’re new but also because they can ultimately allow me to earn more money to buy more items. Then I take a step out, and observed my own patterns of play. I recall only using the skill items that give me the most money per energy click, just trying to be as economically efficient as possible. I see similar effects with other friends, they stopped buying interesting and unique items that cost a lot, but only buy them when it’s necessary (due to a quest) or when it can help give more money.

E.g. I now use the Hedge skill item most often now because with each click I can earn 60+ Simoleans, more than what I would earn with a click from other items.

P.S. I found this really cool promo video of Sims Social, wouldn’t mind sharing it with the class.

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