Games cannot be compared to traditional mass media.
I ask why not?
Games are narratives. Narratives have messages. Media carries messages.
Here are 5 attributes on which I measure the power of Games as a communication vehicle which have me convinced that structurally Games are a superior form of communication to traditional media.
Authoring
Not to be taken literally, authoring refers to the sense of control that a player is imbued with to “create” and chart a course of action. That sense of empowerment is a fantastic motivator for any communication process.
Freedom
A corollary to the earlier point on authoring, the open ended constructivist syntax of a game gives multiple routes to a player to progress. With multiplayer games, it creates even more possibilities. People replay a game even after being successful – because the experience can be radically different! Games as a communication vehicle offer choice and experimentation.
Feedbacking
Not to be confused with being able to comment on a thread or article, Feedbacking refers to the constant action-reaction cycle that is a part of a classical communication process. Games are built on the player being able to constantly adapt one’s actions and choose the same or different actions based on the system’s response – true communication!
Intensity
Games offer multi-sensory inputs to the human brain. Also with force feedback devices and with certain consoles like Wii, Kinect and Move the information and stimuli that is part of the communication process is of an overall order of magnitude higher than traditional media.
Immersing
As mentioned in a previous post, games immerse not just in terms of visuals and narrative but in the way they create a strong objective driven purpose for the entire engagement. With a strong motivator, chances for the communication process to break down or be aborted by a person are unlikely.
Now, if we evaluate traditional media vehicles like TV, Print, Radio and also conventional digital media like websites and digital video, they suffer certain deficiencies.
These deficiencies are rooted in the structure of the media itself, so quick fixes or solutions are unlikely.
What do you think? Does gaming still suffer from the stereotypical images of the 80s and early 90s? What stops Gaming from being a mass communication vehicle? Comments are open!
Next week may see a short break from posting but I may surprise you and myself with a post.
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