Difference between revisions of "Minimalized Social Weight"

Revision as of 12:13, 20 August 2012

Games that interfere little with players ability to social interact with other people while the games are being played.

Games are often played as a way to have social interaction with others. While the gameplay itself can in this way be a type of social interaction, games can pose obstacles for social interaction by requiring players to focus their attention on interacting with the game interface, updating the game state to reflect the effects of actions, or interacting with parts of the game system that isn't mediated to other players. Even when the games do not interrupt the flow of interaction between players, they may do so with non-players that the players are able to (or should be able to) interact with. While it may be impossible to fully avoid these issues, games that pose few obstacles to social interaction can be said to have Minimalized Social Weight.

Examples

Party Games

Anti-Examples

Arcade Games

Ricochette Robots

Using the pattern

A starting point for achieving Minimalized Social Weight is to avoid the usually negative patterns of Analysis Paralysis and Excise. While deciding to aim for this is usually easy in a game design process, the pattern also typically conflicts with Attention Demanding and choosing which pattern to support may be a tougher design decision.

Interruptibility is one way of trying to minimize how much attention the game requires from players. This since even if players may need to focus on the gameplay while played they can easily stop to engage in social interaction with others. Issues with the solution exist for games with Mediated Gameplay or when the interruptions are perceived as causing Downtime since in both cases other players feel that their gameplay is being negatively affected.

Interface Aspects

Besides the actual interaction required with a game's interface (which is part of the discussion above), the design of the interface can add social weight to a game. Interfaces that are difficult or time-consuming to use add social weight as do those that draw attention to themselves through their appearance. One example of how games can draw attention to themselves purely through the interface - and thereby work against the pattern of Minimalized Social Weight - is through having Juicy Interfaces.

Narrative Aspects

Cutscenes

Consequences

Since it reduces the intrusion a game has on the social context in which it is played, Minimalized Social Weight makes it have Social Adaptability inherently.

Relations

Minigames

Self-Facilitated Games

Can Instantiate

Social Adaptability

with ...

Can Modulate

Can Be Instantiated By

Interruptibility

Can Be Modulated By

Possible Closure Effects

Potentially Conflicting With

Attention Demanding, Analysis Paralysis, Excise, Juicy Interfaces

History

A pattern based on the concept of Social Weight, first introduced by Toney et al.^[1].

References

1. ↑ Toney, A. , Mulley, B., Thomas, B. H., & Piekarski, W. (2003). Social Weight: Designing to minimise the social consequences arising from technology use by the mobile professional. Special Issue of Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, Springer-Verlag London, 2003

Acknowledgements