Battlestar Galactica and Spimatic Meaning in Games - Game Play: Paratextuality in Contemporary Board Games - page 78

of moral decisions and player memory. By mirroring the characters' moral and
ethical quandaries surrounding what it means to be human, BSG08 asks us to
question our own place within an automated digital media environment that
encourages us to become Cylonic in our own lives.
Traditionally, board games have been seen to create a critical distance between
theme and subject matter, to facilitate the development of what Huizinga calls
the “magic circle,” a space where the culture of the game supersedes the culture
of “real life.” 6 But paratextual board games also ask the reverse: relecting a more
integrated take on the magic circle, they require players to integrate their “real
world” and diegetic concerns within the game space as well. We can see this
in the way that, for example, knowledge of the diferent families in Chapter 7's
Game of hrones helps players understand the complex relationships depicted in
the game. In terms of Battlestar Galactica , the moral issues brought up by a game
like BSG08 ofer us a certain perception of contemporary culture. he speciic
mechanics that facilitate this understanding are encapsulated in the game board
and the character role-play. Generally, as people play games, they “lower their
barriers and reveal their true personalities.” 7 When playing BSG08 , however,
players must not only keep hidden their true personalities, but might also have
to play the role of the Cylon traitor.
To illustrate the way space and time come together in these games, I irst look
at the Battlestar Galactica games as speciic moments in their diegetic universes.
Next, I focus on the relationship between the characters in the game and the
players of the game as key to creating meaning within that universe. Ultimately,
playing a game that asks individuals to role-play, cooperate, and mistrust extends
theories of paratextual board games beyond the schemas of rules/play/culture,
and augments intimate connections to the contemporary media environment.
he combination of computational thinking and emotional role-play remakes all
players into cyborgs. Ultimately, even though only one or two players are Cylons
within BSG08, we all become “Cylons” in the digital media environment.
Space and time in paratextual games
All paratextual board games create a sense of place. For Star Trek: Expeditions,
as I describe in the next chapter, it is the planet Nibia. For he Lord of the Rings,
it is Middle-earth. Not all places are ictional: the Walking Dead games take
place in Atlanta. Both Battlestar Galactica board games attempt to replicate