Rules Analysis Paper

Endless Possibilities
Hard as it may be to find the true meaning of the word “game” or “play”, attempting to grasp the number of possibilities arising from the outcome of play from games nowadays is just unfathomable. A big part of the appeal for games is the knowledge that the outcome is uncertain, and will come to be in a manner that the individual has not necessarily yet experienced. In order for the schema of emergence to be unleashed, complexity and meaningful play must first exist. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a first-person shooter set in the stage of life like conflicts occurring today. The single player campaign takes you on the role of “Soap” McTavish, a SAS Soldier assigned to several different missions, as well as an American soldier, Sgt. Paul Jackson, who meets an unfortunate end. As exciting as the single player mode is, many (including myself), play the game for the multiplayer aspect of the game. What makes this game so great, and games before it such as Counter-Strike or Day of Defeat, is the replay ability of the multiplayer portion. You could play with the same map setting, the same weapon configuration, the same teammates and opponents, with the same conditions for winning numerous times over again and still find each experience to be unique and enjoyable. This is emergence at its finest; a set of rules applied to a number of objects that result in a seemingly infinite number of possibilities.
When you break down the game to its components, it looks just like everything else, objects and rules without purpose. At the very base you have the objects of Call of Duty: The players, the many obstacles and doodads of the map, the weapon, the projectiles (bullets, grenades), counters (health, ammo, score), and of course the ground. This is all that consists of the game as objects alone. However, when you add behaviors and rules to these elements they become a system when working together, to form a game with emergence. When adding the simple...