Mechanics are the message

[Kenneth Lu <kenlu@MIT.EDU>]

So I finally got around trying Balance of Power II last night (and I 
can't figure out how not to let USSR get a crapload of points for 
Iran, incidentally).  I noticed how insurgency is structured as 
"terrorism" -> "guerrilla warfare" -> "civil war".

Although it's just part of the game mechanics and not directly part 
of a story, per se, that expresses the viewpoint that terrorism is 
merely another form of warfare, one for people without the resources 
for a larger war, rather than something inherently worse than 
"normal" war.  I'm not debating the accuracy of this statement, mind 
you.  I'm just pointing out how game mechanics can send messages.

Furthermore, I feel that this can be a more effective way of sending 
a message than preaching or even linear fiction.

Now, I have this theory that fiction is often more effective in 
sending a message than direct non-fictional essays in part because 
they can be entertaining, but in part because they don't trigger a 
defensive reaction in the audience.  With non-fiction, the audience 
often doesn't want to feel stupid, so it reacts by looking for flaws 
in the reasoning.  With fiction, it might instead take the audience a 
bit of effort to notice some of the messages, and this makes them 
feel smart.. and they thus have a more positive reaction to the 
message.

When messages are embedded in the game mechanics, they in a way seem 
less forceful, as they're in the background, but the audience has to 
ASSUME them now just to play the game well.  In Balance of Power, the 
audience may sometimes try to reduce guerrilla warfare in a favored 
country to "only" the level of terrorism.  Or vice versa in a country 
they don't like.  They not only accept the message, but they must 
RELY on the message's truth in order to do well in the game.. They 
have a vested interest in it.


Of course, people aren't idiots, and they do realize that just 
because it's part of the game doesn't mean it's necessarily true, but 
I do think that human psychology probably makes us accept messages in 
fiction better than messages in non-fiction, and messages in game 
mechanics more than messages in fiction.

All these are broad generalizations with tons of counterexamples, I'm sure. :)

-ToastyKen

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| Kenneth Lu - kenlu@mit.edu - http://www.mit.edu/~kenlu/ |
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| "Life is far too important to be taken seriously."      |
|                                                         |
|                                          -- Oscar Wilde |
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