Ethan Kennerly

Last night, Eric Zimmerman suggested that we live in the "Ludic Century," that games are a model for "literacy" for future generations. Years ago, Greg Costikyan has also suggested that games will be one of the Seven Lively Arts of the Twenty-first Century. In 1991, I was a hobbyist RPG designer when Civilization was released. When I saw "history" play out on screen, I swallowed this belief and convinced myself to see the precursors to systems based learning in Civilization and SimCity. Having devoted my career to it, I drank enough of this kool-aid to see the human condition in Go, Chess, Spades, and Poker.

From playing games with others, I've learned a lot about psychology, ethics, and politics. Game playing has permanently erased from my mind the viability of impartial advice or impartial information. Whenever I hear something, I ask "who benefits?" I don't believe political ideologies or predictions about education in the twenty-first century are immune (no matter how much my survival instincts infect my consciousness). To paraphrase, Timothy Leary, even idealism implies: What's your stake in the game? (The irony of this in relation to this article has not escaped me.)

So after Eric Zimmerman's lecture to a roomful of mostly interactive designers and students, some of us say, "Okay, we're on your side! Now, how can we do it?" The daydream is easier to puff out in white clouds, but how do those dreams tether back to the Earth we stand on?

I don't know. As Zimmerman relayed Salen's suggestion, I agree that an understanding of mathematics is a start, especially discrete mathematics. In "Dynamics for Designers," Will Wright lectured (and his work expressed) the study of complex adaptive systems, such as system dynamics. He introduced designers to dynamic topologies of agents, networks (or discrete mathematical graphs), layers (especially cellular automata). SimCity and The Sims (among other Sim games) neatly put those principles into practice. A year ago Don Hopkins, the programmer of SimCity, published the source code, so an inspection of the code alongside the lecture may be a practical and free introduction.

One way to refine the question is to answer: Which games teach systems? And: What systems are they teaching? My experience playing games doesn't touch the tip of the iceberg, but here's a few of my opinions:

• Go (-2000?) (圍棋, 바둑, 囲碁): Planning. A group survives only by liberty, efficiency, and foresight.
  
• Poker (1810): Psychology of American business. I believe you're bluffing that you believe that I'm bluffing that I believe ...
  
• Spades (1938): Psychology of American labor; cooperate and do not excel.
  
• Diplomacy (1956): International politics; alliances are never permanent.
  
• Risk (1959): Mobilization of armaments lead to conquest, and only one will win.
  
• Starflight (1986): Our planet is just one of the potential configurations of life in the universe.
  
• SimCity (1989): Urban planning and environmental engineering. A city needs a good architect.
  
• Civilization (1991): History. Religion and science are different technologies to expand one's dominion.
  
• I'm the Boss (1994): Psychology of negotiation. You need me to win, right?
  
• For Sale (1997): Real estate. Spread your bids just above the rest of the market.
  
• Lost Cities (1999): Entrepeneurship. Risking a new project requires knowing yourself, your team, and your competition.
  
• The Sims (2000): Environmental psychology; happiness comes from consumption.
  
• Diner Dash (2003): Psychology of food service; stall the customers for just a few seconds longer.
  
• Democracy (2005): politics; divvy up the loot to those who will support you.
  
• September 12th (2005?): Retaliation begets terrorists.
  
• Ayiti: The Cost of Life (2006?): A poor Haitian family can hardly survive four years without help.
  
• KarmaTycoon (2007?): To get a grant, spend money on anything and apply for every grant.
  
• PeaceMaker (2007): Israel and Palestine are in a dysfunctional feud.
  
• The Redistricting Game (2007): Gerrymandering a border influences an election.
  
• Stop Disasters (2008?): Civil engineering. The End is near, are you prepared?
  

1. Which games taught you a system?
   
2. And, what lesson did it teach?