I play the new iPhone app Draw Something, which is like pictionary on your phone that you can play with your friends. There are some of my games that I can't wait to play, or get a drawing back from, but on the other hand I get really bored with some of my competitors. There are no rules of the game, but there are rules set for each individual game played from the start. Some people I play will draw words or phrases so that I can guess the drawing, and those are the games I dread the most.
This reminds me of the rules that are explained in rock climbing by Tejada-Flores in "Games Climbers Play." There are no written rules of the game that can be read when you start to play it, but rather you make them up as you go, and depending how skilled you are, you can adapt them for the game. Playing my art school friend provides a whole different gaming experience than playing my friend who has to rely on words to get the point of the drawing across. This is not something that is talked about, but something that is discovered and worked through within the first few rounds of the game.
I enjoy the games where no words are used, just like old fashioned pictionary, because it provides more of a challenge rather than writing out clues, but everyone has their own way of playing the game. Here are some of the best draw something drawings around:
http://bestofdrawsomething.com/
I completely agree with you! I find no excitment in a game where the answer is given away by words. The game is called Draw Something for a reason. You are supposed to draw it. I think using words is cheating. Another type of game where many tend to cheat (in my opinion) is puzzles. I like to just throw all the pieces out on the table and start from scratch. I don't like to look and examine the box to get an idea of what the finished product should look like because then you could separate pieces more quickly. I find it entertaining to first separate by inside and border and then put things together. Thats the fun in things like puzzles and pictionary type games. I like the mystery and guessing of it all. It's just something that keeps my day interesting even though my whole day is planned out ahead of time.
ReplyDeleteHey Dani!
ReplyDeleteI am totally with you. While I enjoy word games like Scrabble, I love games that are totally up to interpretation and the player's imagination. Though you are confined to the clues they give you, it is your choice as to what you want to draw and how you want to do it. Sure there are rules and restrictions to the game, but I for one love games where there are as few rules as possible, leaving the rest up to the player's creativity. It's games like these that I think people (including myself) find most addicting, and the company OMGPOP has certainly capitalized on that with Draw Something.
Alex Jacobs
Hi Dani,
ReplyDeleteI tend to take a little different approach when it comes to Draw Something. As you know so well, I like to use words, arrows, anything to make sure the person I'm playing knows the answer. With this game, it is more up to how fun you can make the process rather than the end result of guessing the word. Without points, a winner, or explicit rules of the game, the game is completely open to however the players choose to play it. While I understand how annoying it can be to not have the same thrill to compete or the challenge of guessing the word, the game itself lacks many of these qualities is its design structure.
But, if you ever decide to play me again, I promise no more arrows.
-Taylor Wilson
I believe that DrawSomething is a great tool to see the ways that different people approach different kinds of ideas. For example, I was playing the game with a few friends once, and at times they would draw something completely obscure and confusing to explain a simple concept. At the time, I would think that they are simply naive for not thinking of drawing what could have easily resulted in the correct answer, but thinking about it from a deeper perspective, I realize that players playing the same game inherently think differently, and thus the key to success at games such as DrawSomething are to find ways not in which to get your opponents to think in the same way as you, but understanding how your opponents run through their mental processes, and thus creating an image that will run true in THEIR minds.
ReplyDelete-Alexander Chen
I first downloaded the DrawSomething app when I was sick in bed with the flu. Since I was laying in bed with nothing to do, it provided the perfect source of entertainment. Once I was healthy and leading my usual, busy life, I found the game to be somewhat of an annoyance. Rather than being fun, it turned into a chore when I had to stop what I was doing and attempt to draw a picture on my small iPhone screen. Similarly, guessing what other players had drawn lost its excitement factor as well. I couldn't figure out why this game had suddenly because so unappealing until I realized that there is no element of competition. Since you cannot move on to the next round until your opponent is able to guess your drawing, the goal is to draw a good enough picture so that the other player is able to successfully guess the word. Instead of trying to beat out your opponent, you are working together toward a common goal. More frustratingly, there is not a winner. The game just goes on endlessly. As it drags on, it doesn't even get any more interesting. There are no new twists and no new surprises. Despite the lack of competition and the absence of a winner, some people still consider it a game. Given my competitive nature and my total lack of artistic ability, this "game" got dull very fast. While it may be enjoyable for some personality types, I personally got bored with it very quickly.
ReplyDelete-Paige Rowin
The Ninejas
I have to say I love playing this game as well. I think that it is a very fun, creative, and interactive game for the iPhone. Although, when i first downloaded the game and played I had an interesting experience. AFter I downloaded the app, I was requested by some random person to play, someone who I did not know. AS we were playing, on about the third drawing, instead of drawing a picture in an attempt for me to guess, they just wrote the word out in letters and obviously I knew the answer. I was so appalled, at first, that a player was allowed to just write the word out, it defeats the whole purpose of the game. I actually continued to go ahead and delete the game from my phone because I thought that everyone would figure that out and not want to play. It turns out about a week later, a bunch of my friends started playing the game and talking about how great it is. So I re-downloaded the app and now I play Draw Something with my friends all of the time; I thoroughly enjoy it. I find it hilarious when a player gets a weird choice words and is unsure of how to draw out the picture. It is funny to see how people get creative and watch how they think of the different ways to express a given word. I think that this is a great game for the iPhone and I would highly recommend it to other iPhone gamers!
ReplyDeleteI really like the parallel you drew (pun intended) between Draw Something (a great game btw) and Tejada-Flores' description of climbing rules in "Games Climbers Play." The thing about Draw Something is that, if one were so inclined, it would be ridiculously easy to cheat. The player can literally just write out the word they're suppose to draw if the want to. However, almost no one does this because, like using inappropriately advanced climbing tools for a certain type of climb, this robs the players of any feeling of achievement and totally defeats the purpose of the game. I also like how Tejada-Flores' concept of personal skill level can be applied to Draw Something. For most people, I applaud them when they give me a great or hilarious drawing, but I applaud intoxicated people for managing to write the word out and not sending me gibberish.
ReplyDelete