After reading Montola’s argumentation on pervasive games, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about games that expand past the point of having a particular time, place, etc. for their play. Many of such games have become known to us so recently, because they use mobile phones as their platform of play, and many pre-existing games have developed mobile versions to follow this craze, as well. Old School RuneScape, for example, is about to release a mobile version this winter, which will allow players to use all of OSRS’s features anytime, anywhere. And this focus on mobile phones, devices that have become essential to and inseparable from everyday life, has sparked my interest in some of the other applications on our phones – staple applications that necessitate the use of smart phones.
Facebook is arguably the world’s most popular role-playing game. It lets the player create an avatar that looks just like themselves, and it lets the player use that avatar to navigate the game’s complex web of social situations. The way the player conducts their avatar’s behavior in these interactions inevitably comes with the reward of social acceptance and appraisal or the punishment of social rejection and disapproval. To improve or maintain their avatar’s dignity and fame on Facebook (or any social media), the player must make posts that they hope other players will enjoy and support. The posts don’t necessarily have to coordinate with the player’s real life either; even if the player’s current life experience is a negative one, the player’s avatar can purport to be having positive experiences. And, with Facebook’s integral role on our phones, the game never ends – the game is carried with us everywhere.
