What's in the game?

The following thesis is a phenomenological study of the manner in which training games link with everyday experience. The presentation begins with an overview of simulations, a rigidly formatted game environment; gaming, the activity of playing games; and games theory, a mathematically-based description of how games work. I argue that a training game’s validity cannot be discussed without consideration of human discourse which is laced with ambiguity. Through Wittgenstein’s theory of language-games, my study suggests that discourse cannot be understood without taking into account the environment in which it takes place. Because training games attempt to teach skills meant for organizational settings, the study questions whether they can truly teach such skills outside the setting in which they are to be used. Research has argued that the link is made metaphorically and most studies support that claim, but this paper suggests that the games need to be observed tropologically for a richer understanding of what is happening.

The method of study includes the following: participation and observation of games, interviews, protocol writing, and protocol analysis of text. Observing two distinct games environments (Bamga, a card game used in a conflict management workshop; and the Bam, an experiential training session), I have written detailed account of each experience utilizing protocol writing techniques. Five participants in Bamga were interviewed about the game, and text was subsequently transcribed for the purpose of protocol analysis. The account from the Bam experience was coded in the same manner. In both cases, tropological phrases — metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, and irony — as well as key ideas and environmental observations were marked. Finally the coding from the two situations was compared.