Socializing Gamers - Wordplay and the Discourse of Video Games - page 37

those that do not care to reach out to others, as one has to ask questions
and fi nd answers to survive in EVE . The real focus of socialization is not
necessarily about learning how to play the game, but learning how to reach
out to the greater community of players in order to assimilate a new player
in what it means to play EVE , shaping the context for play. By designing a
series of tutorials that cannot be completed without fi lling in the gaps, EVE
socializes players into either quitting the game in frustration or reaching
out to others. In so doing, CCP has created a game that features the emer-
gent behaviors of players as the crux of the play and continues to retain
people interested in a game where the players substantively shape game
play and design.
SOCIALIZING WORDPLAY
Although the games discussed in this chapter are all quite dif erent, each
begins with the use of words and design to bring players into the world
of the game and set up the context for play. By socializing players into
the game developers give players direction and the ability to survive and
achieve their (or the game's) goals. Looking at how games socialize players
into their games is one of the fundamental framing components identifi ed
by using wordplay, because it marks the point at which players enter the
game world and shapes how players engage the game. Each game deploys
a deliberate approach suited to the population playing the game, from the
heavily scripted, highlighted mode of introduction in Frontierville , to the
brutality of the EVE introduction, the motion and physical awareness of
Wii Sports , and the movie-like, blended presentation of Uncharted 2 . The
dif erent socializing elements of each of these games target a specifi c popu-
lation of players and frames the context of play—a dynamic that is often
shaped by larger socio-economic forces. Wordplay facilitates a focus on the
ways in which games invite players to play and how the elements of social-
ization work to encourage particular kinds of play. Blending elements from
within games to the paratexts surrounding them enables a more complete
analysis of this type of discourse, a kind of assessment that is encouraged
by employing wordplay as a critical tool.
Socialization into games is a foundational point for understanding how
wordplay works and what it does. The pilots of EVE make it through a
veritable boot camp that forces them to rely on their fellow citizens of EVE ,
increasing their commitment to the game and the community of players,
while Wii Sports casts a broad net to bring in people and get them moving
around their play spaces. Wordplay is about who we are and how we play
games, which is tied to how words and design socialize us into play. How-
ever, wordplay also depends on who we 'see' playing games, which is framed
by the discourse about how we have seen video games as 'kid's toys.'