"The Lessons of Lucasfilm's Habitat" - Chip Morningstar and F. Randall Farmer

Summary:

"The Lessons of Lucasfilm's Habitat" is a case study that looks at one of the first online, multiplayer games, Habitat, from the perspective of the developers themselves. Morningstar and Farmer use this article primarily to describe their experiences and give advice for future application of online, multiplayer technology, addressing future developers of the technology they pioneered. The authors argue that "cyberspace is defined more by the interactions among the actors within it than by the technology with which it is implemented" (664). Cyberspace is characterized by "the sharedness of the virtual environment, and not the display technology used to transport users into that environment" (676). Even though the developers of Habitat were using the primitive Commodore 64 as their platform for the game, they believe that the distribution method is not important as long as the user's experience is positive. Expectations of graphics ability will increase with the increase in technology development.

Within the article, the authors make several arguments about future use of this technology. Although some lessons are technical in nature, such as bandwidth concerns and the necessity of object-oriented data representation, many of their lessons focus on the interaction between themselves (the developers) and the players within their game. They state that there are two levels of "virtuality" within a game's structure: the infrastructure level, "where the laws that govern 'reality' have their genesis," and the experiential level, "which is what users see and interact with" (672). A strong case is made against mixing these two levels in any capacity. They also argue that online multiplayer games are very different from developing standard games because while a normal game programmer can shape every hour of gameplay, an online environment is more open-ended, allowing each individual user to shape his or her own experience. The authors make the claim that in order for online multiplayer games to truly expand into games with millions of users, cheating must be prevented, and user configuration of content should be expected. It is clear that the authors are trying to help the further development of this form of technology by clearly stating what they believe they did right and wrong in their experience, even self-criticizing themselves in some instances.

Inquiry:

The argument that "cyberspace is defined more by the interactions among the actors within it than by the technology with which it is implemented" is one that contradicts certain ideas that we have studied before (664). Marshall McLuhan strongly believes that "the medium is the message," yet Habitat's medium (Commodore 64) is argued by the developers as being unimportant to the overall function of the game. The message is not the medium, but rather the interactions among the users within the medium. I will have to disagree with the game developers here, assuming that it is understood that the console is the medium. I believe that Habitat being played on the Commodore 64 shapes the gaming experience in a way that affects the communication that occurs. For example, if the Commodore 64 was able to relay voice chat instead of strictly text, the communication experience would be completely different, meaning that the medium is having a sizable effect on the message. If it is assumed that cyberspace itself is the medium, then the authors are in agreement with McLuhan. Cyberspace as a medium is directly enabling the mass communication to occur.

I agree with the argument made that the "infrastructure level" and "experiential level" should be kept separate. Individuals play games like Habitat for the simulated experience generated by the experiential level of a game. If the infrastructure level interferes, that simulation is lost, and the real world comes to the forefront, negating the positive effect of the game on the user. In online games today, developers typically stay out of the experiential level, aside from interfering with situations of cheating or harassment. Having played a (now defunct) online game myself, having the ability to shape your own path though the game instead of being forced to follow a standard path is one of the greatest appeals in online gaming. The Habitat developers learned this fact early on, realizing that the true value of an online game is in the connections established and communication that occurs, not necessarily like the strict format of a traditional offline game.

Questions:

• In the article, the authors make the claim that they "do not possess the ability to produce an automation that approaches the complexity of a real human being," so they did not even attempt to make characters like this in the game (666-667). Do you believe that our technology has come far enough to create true, simulated humans within video games? What are some examples?

• In this article, many problems were listed with Habitat as an early online multiplayer game. Do you see any of these same problems still present in mass multiplayer games today?

• The authors pose the following question: "Is an Avatar an extension of a human being (thus entitled to be treated as you would treat a real person) or a Pac-Man-like critter destined to die a thousand deaths or something else entirely" (672)? Given the prevalence of "Avatars" across many forms of media (social networking, video games, etc), do you believe this question has been answered? What is your opinion on the matter?