New Rule

Yehuda posted another roundup the other day, and among the posts referenced was this one from this time last year. It’s about the work and philosophy of Judith Martin, better known as Miss Manners. I know hardly anything about Miss Manners except that my mother read a few of the books as a young woman and now enjoys a good chuckle in recollection. Indeed, as Yehuda points out, “Many people have the same reaction to the word “manners” that they do to words like “board games” or “fairy tale”, as if they somehow know what it is and have already dismissed it as old-fashioned.” Yehuda’s argument is a general defense of Miss Manners’ mission and the importance of manners in today’s society, and to that I would add my thoughts on a parallel track—designing “well-mannered games.”

Yehuda paraphrases:

Manners is not about scolding other people for making mistakes with cutlery, showing off to put others down, or excluding others from being in the know.

Manners is simply, and always, about making others feel comfortable, and, by so doing, making yourself accepted. It is neither insincere, nor old-fashioned.

Ironic then, is it not, that the experience of play—particularly in video games—is one of such ruthless and single-minded competitiveness that the concept of manners by this definition seems almost totally incompatible. Imagine a game of UT or CStrike where players strove to “make each other feel comfortable, safe, and accepted,” where “scolding other people for making mistakes” was condemned and “excluding others from being in the know” was unconscionable. It would hardly be recognizable as the same game. It is even possible that first-person shooters of this type could not exist within a wholly well-mannered player base.

Miss Manners asserts, and Yehuda and I agree, that “a more thorough teaching of manners, and not simply law, to a generation would do far more to solve the world’s real problems than any other political or diplomatic process.” Truer words were hardly ever spoken, and we as game designers may have a chance to be pioneers of this ideology. If we consider play as a formalized social activity (which it is), and games as systems of rules (which they are) and uniquely powerful teaching tools (also obvious), then it seems a natural conclusion that games are ideally suited to teach manners. By incorporating the exercise of good manners into play, games become “manners in motion,” and it stands to reason they should be able to teach them as well as they teach anything else.

Imagine a world where parents praised video games and bought them by the cartload because every day at the controller saw their child growing more courteous, conscientious, and polite. Where game developers were respected and admired for their altruistic profession and tireless efforts to better the world. Spend five minutes playing Halo 3 on Xbox Live and this may seem like an impossible fantasy… games are defined by conflict, and human nature expressing conflict is ugly, brutish, and cruel. But if you refuse to accept that as the inevitable way of things, if you want your efforts to count for more than just dollars and cents, then the pursuit of good manners in games is, to my eye, a perfect place to start. In fact, I’m going to try it this Sunday, with my next design. Let’s see what we can come up with

Tags: Game Design, The Industry //