MEETING NOTES, June 6, 2001 - Jerry
THE GAME IN ITS INITIAL MODEL MUST HAVE 1. THE DISCOURSE FIELD; 2. A DISPLAY CAPABILITY (OF THE MOVES MADE BY THE PLAYERS IN THE DISCOURSE FIELD, INCLUDING A LOG OF THE MOVES); 3. PLAYER FILES; 4. TWO OR MORE PLAYERS EACH OF WHOM HAS ADOPTED A ROLE OR MASK S/HE ASSUMES AS THE PERSONA MAKING THE MOVES.
Text Source
This will be for the first model wuthering heights the 2nd ed. With charlotte b.'s intro. I imagine that the text source will be the whole of the original text - in this case, the novel + intro/preface. That means that the "discourse field" surrounding the text source will be the other paratexts, and that these - as well as the source text - are the spaces where player moves are mode.
Players and Points
Each player begins with a bank account of points. Moves have to be paid for, and point are accrued in various ways. Eg., a text that is inserted would or might get one point per word.; or if the move isn't a text, but a set of links, those links would be valuated. Challenges would have a valuation.
Player Moves
These are of several kinds. One can add text to the discourse field. Jd and I made a rule that when such a move is made, the text addition HAS to make at least one other link either to (a) another place in the text (which this move is, by this link maneuver, demonstrating a critical relation to, and/or (b) to one or more other moves made by other players.
Also, a move can simply be made by a player making links between at last two other player moves plus one or more places in the source text.
There are also challenge moves - as yet unclarified.
Moves are to be made in sequence by the players, with the sequence somehow determined. Each move is time stamped and identified with the player/role, and located in the discourse field, and its links to other loci are identified.
To make a move, a player must "pay" for the privilege, as one antes up in a poker game.
At the end of each sequence of moves (one round where all players have made one move), an evaluation of the moves of the players is to be made - either by a game master, by the program, or by the players in a consultation session.Markup
The text is marked up as per how we discussed with andrea etc. also, each move at a later iteration of the game ought to be marked (by the player) according to its critical type (eg, an interpretation of rowena's character).
Points/Scoring
My own preference would be for scoring to be machine controlled. At least in those non-evaluative cases. Perhaps at the end of each round the evaluation session would be interesting if it were at least partly carried out as a player negotiation. As for scoring points, I summarize comments from above:
1. elementary points, as noted above re: bank account, pay for right to make a move, componsation for the character of the move.
2. points are gained for making links; and in challenges, a complex point gain/loss system will be articulated.
3. end of each round, as noted above: points in an evaluation scheme.Display
The game moves should be displayable in several ways and at different granularities or scales. Eg, a map of all moves or any chosen subset (by player or by text location) - this to be given as a table or on some field that represents a graphical map of the source text/discourse field.
Rules
These are to be carefully specified. Jd and I imagine setting out a set along "if/then" lines.