The Puppet Master Problem:

Summary:

This chapter deals with a kind of interactive play where a "puppet master" calls upon subjects, or "puppets" to perform a task. These exercises would be in a real-world setting, where the player is given an instruction to go to a certain place or do certain things by internet, cell phone, or phone booth hunt. The players can adopt different ways to complete the objective while staying in the puppet masters rules. The first topic was on the motivation of the players to relinquish control of their freedom to a single person, Then the writer talks about the necessary "distance" the player has to the PM who is always behind the curtain. The writer goes on to explain different ways in which the puppet master and player interact, and then after that, how players assume a powerful position themselves, away from the PM's scenario. The puppet masters find themselves at the mercy of their puppets, as the players can adopt whatever way they want to achieve the objective of the exercise.

Response:

I have to say, this style of play opens up quite a few possibilities. I though it was particularly funny how the puppet masters of the game I Love Bees found that their "puppets" were completely out of their control due to a simple mistake on their part. This shows that not everything can be under the puppet master's control even under strict conditions. The players can merely see how they can complete the objective as they see fit or, just like the example with I Love Bees to interpret for themselves what the objective is when a concrete format isn't provided.

A Measure For Marriage

Summary:

This was another exercise that involved taking a group of people to complete an objective through a LARP, or live action role-playing method. This time, that objective was to create a scenario where a prince proposed to a princess, creating a happy ending. The actors weaved a Shakespearian-esque plotline, which involved a conspiring advisor, who wanted to gain ownership over his kingdom, a prince, ready to marry his lady love, but having a malicious plan by the advisor turn him into an amnesiac. There was a proclamation from the king, where he forbid marriage in his realm, and the nobles of his kingdom objected to this. The nobles wanted to be free of their political marriages, marrying whoever they wished, and their attendants wanted to be free of the conspiring advisor, who would become a blight on the kingdom. The attendants and nobles joined forces to regain the prince's memory, free the nobles from their political marriage, and thwart the villains plot. In just four hours, the actors completed this task, improvising as they went along to provide the end of the story that they planned upon. They were given social obstacles, like the non-communication of other nobles servants to other nobles directly, which provided a problem that needed to be overcome, but they still accomplished the desired task. However, the actor who played the prince improvised the ending in such a way, that even the actors were surprised.

Response:

I have to say, that given the players the social obstacles of that time while giving them the freedom to think of a way to mold the story in the right direction was a great idea. It gives the actors a way to look at the play that is not just a simple exercise, but an act of play in itself. In a way this makes the story the actor's and not the playwright's to do with as they wish (within boundaries of course). The final touch of Greg's wedding proposal to Marianna was icing on the cake.

unexceptional.net

Summary:

This article was another type of scenario that brings real-life into gaming by different media. The website was a gateway to a game that puts the players as helpers of Guy, a man who has been wronged by his lover, Betty. This game puts players in an active role in the progression of the narrative of Guy's love troubles, where the game uses a GPS system that puts players literally in the midst of this stroy of sexual infidelity, wherever they may be. The game is played by accessing the web portal, using your email, phone number, and password to access Guy's world. Then players are given instructions via blog and phone, and interaction with other players of the game, acquiring items, and trading with other people through the blog or when they are encountered in real life.

Response:

This is quite an interesting style of MMO, with a more active role of the players to advance the story. Another interesting the idea was to use the GPS, transforming the player's home turf into Guy's world. Also, the idea of being able to steal other items from players upon encounter is a fun little aside from performing the game's tasks. It would be interesting, if not hectic if other popular MMO's adopted a similar idea.

Improvised Theater

Summary:

This article is about what can be said to be another type of gameplay, Improvised Theatre. In improvised theater, the actor needs the ability to assess the situation during a performance, and react according to an established set of rules that the actor follows. The rules are in fact, a persona that the actor adopts during the performance, given to him by the audience, which makes it similar to power play from the "The Puppet Master Problem" article. The writer later goes into many different techniques used by different schools of improvisation, an example being a short-form structure called Languages, where the audience chooses a language, and during the normal conversation, another actor not particpating in the performance calls out the language, to which the actor on stage much react by replacing their dialogue with a gibberish form of that language.

Response:

Improvisation, in my opinion, is similar to a reversed situation of the puppet-master/puppet realtionship. You get the audience/non-participant actors as the puppet master, and the people on stage have to fulfill your task according to your rules, while doing it in their own way. Its very different from just making up a scenario, because it is open to the actor's interpretation on exactly what the audience rule entails. Another good example of improv would be

"Whose Line Is It Anyway?"(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whose_Line_Is_It_Anyway%3F), a show that uses improvisation in a game show format.

Summary:

    This article went into depth into how gaming as an immersive tool is seen by society. First the writer of this article talked about the differences and similarities of games and reading books as an educational stimulant. Next he talked about the way our minds give us pleasure during play due to the adaption of a reward system that keeps us playing, almost like an addictive drug. Then the author went on about how games get our minds working in different ways compared to other activities, even going into detail the complex operation we go through when we play a game.

Response:

    It was pretty amusing how the author likened games to crack/cocaine in how they affect our mentality. I  agree that for all people, playing games give them some type of reward. In MMO's, whether it be for social gamers, that the ability to gain better social interactions gives them a feeling of accomplishment, just like for hardcore "looters" finally getting the item they have wanted. When he mentioned what went on in just an hour of gameplay in Zelda, I could see the simple complexity that I never could before in games.

Summary:

This article was a review by a 12 year old who recieved a laptop from a family friend. He explains what he thought of the laptops features, including performance, connectivity, and ease of use.

Response:

I have to agree with the many reviewers of this article, this didn't seem like a review written by a 12-year old. Although simple, his explanations were to the point, and he brought his comments on the machine in an intelligent manner. I have to say I was impressed.

Summary:

We get a look at the many types of communication that the audience and the actors have during a performance. This article also gives ways that the audience can participate, or how the audience can gain a new perspective on a piece through interaction.These styles were incorporated mostly by oppressed workers in an impoverished land as a means of alerting their fellow people, or by exchanging dialogue on handling the problems of that society.

Response:

This article gave many interesting ideas ion how to use drama as a learning tool. In a way you can call the actors and audience a living newspaper.