Playing with Rules : Exploring Practical and Theoretical Potentials of Rules as a Play-Centric Tool

Abstract

This thesis presents an exploration of how rule reflection can practically be applied to consciously form play-practices. It aims to bring a discussion regarding rules, a historically formalist conceptual tool, to expand its use to play-centric domains. To achieve the objectives of this thesis, a novel approach of Introspective Rulebook Method was formulated, which invites the player/researcher to reflect on the unarticulated rules we might be playing by to turn them into sources of control. This method was applied on a challenging sandbox colony survival game, Rimworld (2013, Ludeon Studios). The contribution of this thesis is structured through three main strains. First, as the method itself is novel and experimental, the description and possible uses of this approach are explained both for researchers and players alike. Second, findings related to forming play-practices consider how playing with rules adds a layer to our gameplay experiences and how this affects game’s design and our beings in games. Last, a discussion regarding rules explores what a play-centric conceptualization of rules could mean, presents a frame for understanding rules as an articulation of agency, and investigates why rules have been dominantly considered a formalist tool in game studies.