In my introduction, I touched on how games affect our social behaviour. This is a fascinating element of the dynamics of play. The space and time in which a game exists, delineated as it is by the rules of the game (and sometimes referred to as "The Magic Circle") allows us to interact in a structured environment, free from the trappings of social norms and behaviours.
This always leads me to wonder whether modern games really capitalise on inter-player interactions in a multiplayer environment. All too often, it seems that multiplayer gaming is simply single player gaming played in parallel with others.
Of course, the line between single and multiplayer gaming is indistinct. Callois surmised that, in a way, all games involve multiple players, however abstract the form of some of those "players" might be. In games of solitaire, coin flips, or even balance, one attempts to better one's own score, the score of a rival, or seeks to tame the nature of their own body, or even to cheat luck. To have a play scenario, say Salen and Zimmerman, one must have opposition to one's goals. Though it may take some abstraction to personify that opposition, it is possible to define all games as being played against something or someone.
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