The latest issue of the Escapist, which is chock-full of good pieces, features an article by EA’s Rod Humble on the role of rulesets as art, a topic which holds a special place in my heart.
The article begins by talking about Senet, the oldest known board game in existence, dating back to Egyptian times. The cool thing about Senet is that while tomb paintings indicate the number of players, and archaeological digs have uncovered the toolset of board, sticks, and pieces, the rules of Senet were not preserved and remain unknown, rendering the game virtually unplayable.
(I say “virtually,” because there are several historians who have, through their research, devised potential rules for Senet. A version of the game — operating under one of these theorized rulesets — appears online, thanks to the British Museum.)
On the topic of rulesets, I’ve also recently found the blog of Greg Trefry, student at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program, and designer at Gamelab (formerly gameLab). Greg describes himself as a man obsessed with rulesets, which he uses to create a series of Urban Mini Games. These are big games with very minimal toolsets, and simple but specific rules, allowing for spontaneous play in urban environments. My personal favorite is Parasite, a race to a fixed destination made intriguing by several provisos in the rules of movement.
Rod Humble’s Escapist article, the story of Senet, and Greg Trefry’s Urban Mini Games all demonstrate not only the importance of rulesets in game design, but also the crucial role they play in the role of game design as artistic expression. Arguably, the most important facet of interactivity is its constraints. Just as boundaries help define our everyday world, limitations on interaction make one game distinct from another.
Absolute freedom is absolutely boring, and in games we rely on rules, on boundaries, to allow us to discover new ways of interacting. It is through rules — and not through their abolition — that players realize freedoms.
Coming Soon: Queer Interactivity and the Gothic in Video Games, Reinventing the Forum, My (Abridged) Ludography, and An Awesome Mind Puzzle.