Discussion 10: Player Skills
Read Josefin Westborg and Carl Nordblom’s “Do You Want to Play Ball? How to Be a Good Team Player (in a Single-Team Player vs. Player Game)” and Markus Montola, Jaakko Stenros, and Eleanor Saitta’s “The Art of Steering: Bringing the Player and the Character Back Together.”
Then, choose one (1) item to examine from each of the following categories from the Recommended Materials for a total of two (2) items: Play as Labor and Steering for Growth.
Finally, review the description of liberatory steering from Jonaya Kemper’s “Wyrding the Self.”
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Then, answer the following questions:
- In 1-2 sentences, describe how labor is discussed in the article you read. What sort of labor do you think you might be asking players to perform in your current game design? Be specific.
- Choose one (1) skill discussed in Westborg and Nordblom that you would like to develop as a player. Be specific.
- How might developing this skill be useful in other areas of your life, if at all?
- If not, why not?
- In 1-2 sentences, describe your understanding of steering based upon Montola, Stenros, and Saitta’s article. Then, give a 1-2 sentence definition of liberatory steering. Can you think of an example of a role-playing situation in which you have steered as a player, whether in these courses or other environments?
- If so, please describe.
- If not, why not?
- In 3-4 sentences, describe the play account from the article you read under Steering for Growth.
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- From what you can discern, how did the author(s) or other players engage in steering?
- Based on the article, did the author(s) or other players experience personal growth as a result of this play experience? Why or why not?
Finally, respond to at least two (2) of your peers in Ask a Question, Answer a Question format.