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Social Relations
When we frame a game as social play, we consider the relationships between elements in the game system to be social relationships. The word "social" refers broadly to player interaction, and occurs on two levels. The first level of social interaction occurs within the magic circle, as a product of the formal system of a game. For example, in a game of Tag players assume social roles of "It" (the chaser) or "not It" (the chased). These social interactions are internally derived, as they emerge from the game's rules. The second level of social interaction is derived externally—social roles brought into the game from outside the magic circle. Pre-existing friendships and rivalries that affect in-game strategic choices, for example, are externally derived elements of social play. Whether internally or externally derived, social relationships between players are modified by every action taken in the game. Social roles playfully shift and transform as the game proceeds. (You may be "It," but not for long if you are quick!) Navigating, manipulating, and transforming these relationships is one way that players achieve meaningful play in the social realm. Furthermore, the social play that occurs between players is a function of the way the game operates as a system of meaning. Playing games generates meanings for players, which reproduce and challenge codes of social interaction. The kinds of meaning generated as players relate to one another within and through a game is at the center of our exploration of games as social play.
In earlier chapters, we established the idea that games are symbolic systems of meaning. Extending this idea through social play, we can consider a game as a symbolic system players use to communicate with each other. For example, two players can sit down and play Tic-Tac-Toe even if they don't share the same native tongue, because they both know the "language" of the game. This is communication via game play, in which a game becomes a context for stylized communication, mediated through social interaction. The rules of a game determine the communication that takes place, limiting what players can do and say to each other. Marking Xs and Os on empty grid squares is how Tic-Tac-Toe players "speak" to each other in the language of the game. External contexts always already affect communication via game play as well. Compared to other facets of play, the influence of factors brought to the game from external contexts is particularly strong when considering the social play of a game. Strategic and athletic skills, for example, generally evolve as a player becomes more familiar with the internal workings of a game. Social interaction skills, in contrast, build directly on human experience.Therefore, existing relationships of trust and distrust, friendship and enmity can have a tremendous impact on the way that a game is played from a social point of view. Because the forms of social interaction that occur within a game have strong connections to forms of social interaction outside the game, it will be impossible to consider social play without straying just a bit into the realm of culture. For this reason, Games as Social Play has a somewhat ethnographic character: understanding games as social play requires a great deal of careful observation.These initial forays to the edge of the magic circle and beyond will help set the stage for the CULTURE chapters to follow.
