Index

R

racial prejudice, 562

racing games

cybernetics, 219–221

Drome Racing Challenge, 405–407, 409

vs. fighting games, 594

uncertainty, 388

See also specific games

Racquetball, 481

rallies, 576

randomness

basic concepts, 175–176

and computers, 183–184

Pong

appeal of, xiii–xv

emergence, 159

open source software, 548

simulation, 425, 428

space in, 394

Populous: The Beginning, 165–166

positive feedback, 215–216, 224–225, 227

in Basketball, 218–219

in Powerstone, 221, 227

positive reinforcement, 345–350, 411

possibility. See space of possibility

Poundstone, William, 233, 242–243, 244

power, 518–519, 581–584

Powerstone, 221–222, 227

P.O.X., 333

prejudice, 562

Prensky, Marc, 122, 275

press-your-luck games, 110

Prisoner’s Dilemma, 242–243

probability

and dice, 177–179

fallacies, 186–187

guesswork, 194–195

strategy, 242

procedural characters, 435–439

procedural representation

embedded micro-, 428

of emotions, 448

meta-narratives, 580

and simulation, 422–423, 427–431, 457

see also simulation

professional sports, 276–277

progress, 519, 534

prostitution, 538–539, 558

protective frame, 94–99

feeling of, 189

of information, 205–207

random numbers, 179, 183–184

rationality, 237, 243, 245

reading culture, 511

reality

in games, 295, 578–579

in the A.I. Game, 576

immersive fallacy, 450–455, 458

remediation, 452–453, 458

in simulations, 445–451, 453–455

value of, 448–449

real rules, 475

real-time strategy (RTS) games, 273–274

recams, 414–414, 419

Rechtschaffen, Stephan, 341

redundancy, 197–198, 201

Reider, Norman, 310, 355

reinforcement

and cutscenes, 411

example game, 347–349

scheduling, 346–348, 361

types, 346–350

remediation, 452–453, 458

repetition

in narrative, 380, 418

of play, 340–342

repetitiveness, 323, 352

replay, 413–414, 419

representation

cultural, 510–511, 513

emergence of, 366–367

in games

definition, 77

two levels, 364, 374

and interactivity, 58

narrative descriptors, 399–401, 404

procedural (see 448–449

representational universe, 364

resistance, 558, 569

Resnick, Mitchell, 169

restrictions. See limitations

retelling, 411–415, 419, 483

retro-typography, 602

review, of game actions, 413

rewards, 345–349, 411

in NeoPets, 354

rhetoric(s), 517–518, 534

cultural, 516–517, 534

of gender, 522–526

of play, 518–519, 534

The Rhetoric of the Lottery (exercise), 19–20

rhythm, 341, 411

Risk, 250, 344

risk, 158, 174–175

rivalries, 462

See also competition

Robinett, Warren, 279, 421, 422–423, 431,

439, 440

Robotron, 465

robots. See Ironclad

Rock-Paper-Scissors, 44, 237, 389–390

role-playing games, 42, 81–83, 307, 388–389

See also LARPs; specific games

roles, 463–466, 482–485, 488

Rollings, Andrew, 165–166

Roulette

magic circle, 573

play category, 308

probability fallacy, 186

risk, 175

zero-sum games, 240

Rouse, Richard, III, 34, 324–325, 445

Rugby, 481

rule-breaking

degenerate strategies, 241, 246, 271–274

in digital games, 279–281

game design, 281–282, 285

in Illuminati, 277–279

player types, 271–276, 284

in professional sports, 276–277

sanctioned, 276–279

types of, 269, 271–276

rules

ambiguity vs. clarity, 137

attitude toward, 269–276, 281–282, 285,

474–475

for cheating (Illuminati), 277–279

and children, 472–474, 489

in Chutes and Ladders, 130–135, 146

as closed system, 96

competing, 475–478, 489

constituative, 128–129, 130, 146–147

and operational, 132–133, 135–136, 139

and cybernetics, 220, 226

designing, 136–136

of digital games, 142–149 (see also digital games)

and emergence, 166–168

and equality, 260, 265

exercises, 18

vs. experiential play, 124, 125

and feedback loops, 224

and game definition, 73–80

home rules, 123

ideal vs. real, 268, 475

and identity, 134–136, 139

implicit, 130 (see also implicit rules)

and operational, 133–134, 139

(in)efficiency, 77

as information, 205, 210

and magic circle, 123–124, 139

operational, 130, 147

and constituative rules, 132–133,

135–136, 139

and implicit rules, 132–133, 135–136,

139

and pleasure, 330–331

schema description, 6, 103–104

in society, 121, 125, 472–473

specificity, 135–136, 139

and strategy, 121

tightness, 116

traits, 122–123

rules on three levels

concepts, 130, 139

for digital games, 146–149

exercises, 16, 18

relationships between, 132–133,

133–134, 139

Ryan, Marie-Laure, 8, 451, 456