{"id":9699,"date":"2021-06-21T12:22:23","date_gmt":"2021-06-21T09:22:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/?p=9699"},"modified":"2021-06-21T12:22:23","modified_gmt":"2021-06-21T09:22:23","slug":"warming-up-to-a-new-concept-hot-and-cold-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/warming-up-to-a-new-concept-hot-and-cold-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Warming up to a new Concept \u2013 Hot and Cold Games"},"content":{"rendered":"

How do we <\/span>explain <\/span>what <\/span>the intricacies of game design make us feel? H<\/span>ow do we <\/span>best <\/span>articulate <\/span>the <\/span>difference between <\/span>an intense bout of <\/span>Call of Duty <\/span><\/em>vs. a contemplative stroll <\/span>through <\/span>Dear Est<\/span><\/em>her<\/em>? <\/span>Media theorist <\/span>Marshall Mc<\/span>Luhan <\/span>provi<\/span>des <\/span>us a useful conceptual framework to bu<\/span>ild from, <\/span>describing media low in participa<\/span>tion b<\/span>ut <\/span>high in <\/span>fidelity as <\/span>\u2018<\/span>hot<\/span>\u2019<\/span>, while <\/span>the converse media is <\/span>described as <\/span>\u2018<\/span>cold<\/span>\u2019<\/span>. Researchers Conway and <\/span>Ouellette <\/span>apply this framework to digital games, <\/span>detailing <\/span>how we can best understand differing s<\/span>ystems of engagement, of interface, of <\/span>micro and macro <\/span>gamepl<\/span>ay mechanics<\/span>, as well as <\/span>the <\/span>ways which <\/span>player <\/span>communication with these features can <\/span>encourage <\/span>complete<\/span>ly different r<\/span>eactions. Getting a firm grasp around t<\/span>he interplay of these <\/span>concepts can help des<\/span>igners create more satisfying experiences in the future<\/span>, so the <\/span>writers hope.<\/span><\/p>\n

‘Hot<\/span>\u2019 <\/span>games are <\/span>not <\/span>simply ones <\/span>filled with fast<\/span>–<\/span>paced <\/span>action, although that can certainly be the <\/span>desired outcome. McLuhan<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s example of a hot medium is of radio, one which requires <\/span>low <\/span>participation, a lack of <\/span>abstract <\/span>space to be f<\/span>il<\/span>led in by the audience. In terms of digital games, <\/span>a h<\/span>eating up of engagement could i<\/span>nvolve <\/span>scaling back the tools required of the player, the amount of <\/span>different tasks and buttons needed to succeed. More so, <\/span>within <\/span>\u2018<\/span>hot<\/span>\u2019 <\/span>media, the challenge comes <\/span>from th<\/span>e external pressures of time or being overcome by enemie<\/span>s<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Design cla<\/span>rity<\/span>, and <\/span>m<\/span>ore <\/span>immediate <\/span>to understand tasks <\/span>common to <\/span>\u2018<\/span>hot<\/span>\u2019 <\/span>games<\/span>, is <\/span>excellent at creating <\/span>succinct <\/span>feedback <\/span>loops <\/span>for the player to become to lost in. <\/span>Flow<\/span>ing feedb<\/span>ack loops and <\/span>strong procedural rules <\/span>can <\/span>best create <\/span>quick bursts of <\/span>emotions, such as fear. We may imagine high intensity games <\/span>like first<\/span>–<\/span>person shooters, but <\/span>we <\/span>could just as easily apply <\/span>this <\/span>to <\/span>Tetris<\/em>, <\/span>or any game where <\/span>ambiguity <\/span>of <\/span>player choice is replaced with <\/span>a <\/span>clear cut <\/span>immediacy, which can be described as high fidelity<\/span>. <\/span>The writers reference <\/span>Caillois\u2019 <\/span>under<\/span>standing <\/span>of <\/span>Ludus <\/span><\/em>as <\/span>co<\/span>mparison<\/span>: <\/span>structured games where the win\/lose conditions are made explicit.<\/span><\/p>\n

In cont<\/span>rast, <\/span>\u2018<\/span>cool<\/span>\u2019 <\/span>games are more similar <\/span>to <\/span>the conc<\/span>e<\/span>pt of <\/span>Paidia<\/span><\/em>, <\/span>play which is more <\/span>unstru<\/span>ctured and improvisational. Conway <\/span>and Ou<\/span>ellette use the seem<\/span>ingly disparate examples of <\/span>Grand Theft Auto <\/span><\/em>and walking simulator <\/span>Dear Esther<\/span><\/em>, b<\/span>oth finding similarity in how th<\/span>e player <\/span>experiences <\/span>more discordant <\/span>feedback loops <\/span>through their own cognitive skill<\/span>. <\/span>\u2018<\/span>Cool<\/span>\u2019 <\/span>games require <\/span>more active participation from the player as <\/span>the goals and systems of <\/span>reward may be entirely <\/span>hidden, as opposed to the clear conditions that <\/span>make a game <\/span>hotter. There <\/span>are options to consider, <\/span>audio and vis<\/span>ual artefacts <\/span>to be interpre<\/span>ted<\/span>, there is <\/span>ambiguity <\/span>in how to <\/span>proceed<\/span>. The <\/span>tactile hand<\/span>–<\/span>eye co<\/span>–<\/span>ordination of a <\/span>\u2018<\/span>hot<\/span>\u2019 <\/span>game is replaced with <\/span>the methodical <\/span>strategi<\/span>s<\/span>ing <\/span>of <\/span>Football Manager<\/span><\/em>, <\/span>or <\/span>fas<\/span>cination in <\/span>pieci<\/span>ng together the environmental sto<\/span>rytelling of <\/span>Gone Home<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

G<\/span>arnering a de<\/span>eper understanding of th<\/span>is framework can allow us to understand player <\/span>res<\/span>ponses. The wr<\/span>iter<\/span>s provide us with the example <\/span>of <\/span>\u2018<\/span>p<\/span>ay<\/span>–<\/span>to<\/span>–<\/span>win<\/span>\u2019 <\/span>features<\/span>, which <\/span>are <\/span>accepted <\/span>when used within the cooler <\/span>environments <\/span>of bus <\/span>stop mobile games<\/span>, but met when anger whe<\/span>n <\/span>deployed in the <\/span>living room <\/span>game console<\/span>, a space better suited to enga<\/span>ging hotly <\/span>with the media. <\/span>And we can ut<\/span>i<\/span>lise both concurrently, <\/span>heating up an otherwise <\/span>\u2018<\/span>cool<\/span>\u2019 <\/span>experience <\/span>by int<\/span>roducing <\/span>more mechanically clear patterns to the player. Contextually, <\/span>the temperature of a game ex<\/span>perience <\/span>can also depend heavily on player experienc<\/span>e<\/span>, with a skilled player being able to heat <\/span>u<\/span>p <\/span>experiences on the <\/span>fly by <\/span>adopting speedrunning <\/span>techniques<\/span>. <\/span>With all this in mind, <\/span>Conway and <\/span>Ouellette<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s <\/span>provide a fram<\/span>e<\/span>work <\/span>of <\/span>how players interact with a <\/span>game, and th<\/span>is <\/span>knowledge can <\/span>help designer<\/span>s in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The article <\/span>\u2018<\/span>Playing it Cool: Considering <\/span>McLuhan\u2019s Hot and Cool <\/span>taxonomy for Game Studies<\/span>\u2019 <\/span>by <\/span>Steven Conway and <\/span>Marc Ouellette <\/span>was published by Convergence<\/span>. It <\/span>can be read from: <\/span>htt<\/span>ps:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/1354856519880789<\/span><\/p>\n

Phot<\/span>os by autho<\/span>r.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is the ‘temperature’ of different types of games, and how can this help us understand how they make us feel? #Researchhighlight #DearEsther #gameresearch<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":191,"featured_media":9702,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[237],"tags":[1140,1432,1162],"class_list":["post-9699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-game-research-highlights","tag-gameresearch","tag-dear-esther","tag-research-highlight","entry","has-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/191"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}