The rules of a digital game are related to the program code, but they are not the same thing as the program code. Rules are abstract tools for thinking about the formal structure of a game and are not necessarily literally manifest in code.
In a general sense, the rules of a digital game are the same as the rules of a non-digi-tal game: they are directly concerned with the actions players take and the outcome of those actions. Therefore, the aspects of a game program that structure and take in player input and determine the game's output are those aspects that constitute the game's rules.
The internal functioning of formal game logic (such as the way a program selects the next block to appear in Tetris) is also part of the rules of a digital game.
The specific manifestations of the visuals and audio in a digital game are usually not part of the formal structure of the game. However, there are cases where these elements impact the formal structure of a game and should be considered part of the rules.
The constituative rules of digital and non-digital games are quite similar. The constituative rules of a digital game serve as the core logic of the game and are usually contained directly in the code in some fashion. The constituative rules of a digital game handle the game's internal events.
The operational rules of digital games are not only concerned with the internal events, but also the external events of a game-player input and game output, expressing choices and outcomes to the player. As with non-digital games, there is a fuzzy line between the operational and implicit rules of digital games.
Digital games share many implicit rules with non-digital games. In addition, they have their own kinds of implicit rules, which include the unstated assumptions of the game's platform. Playing with these implicit rules can be the source of innovative design ideas.
Because game programs are multi-layered, complex objects, determining exactly which aspects of a game program belong to each type of rules is not always clear. However, the value of the three-part rules framework is not for game development or program design, but instead to understand better the abstract formal system of a game and how it functions to produce meaningful play.
لطفا منتظر باشید ...
