The Metaphysics of Game Design Questions

1. Wright talks about companies asking for advice on 'gamification'. What does "MSG" stand for in this context?

Make it Seem Gamelike. It means to turn some form of media into a implement to entertain through playing.

2. What does Wright mean by the idea of "Interdisciplinary Entertainment"?

He is stating that entertainment is polymorphic, meaning that movies, art, music, and games all have common attributes.

3. Technology, culture, Psychology are described as being different types of:

Platforms

4. Wright argues that "play builds models". What kinds of models is he talking about?

mental frameworks of how phenomena work

5. Will Wright talks about the following schema: - lightbulb joke schema       - classification schema       -causality schema       - false schema
Why are such schema important when it comes to working with interactive media and entertainment?

These schema explain the connections between models that people formulate about the world.

6. Wright describes how network culture has given rise to a world of "narrowcast" where everyone is a publisher but to a small narrow group. What is a good example of this?

Twitter, Facebook, Blogs

7. Using the example of the '20 Questions' toy, Wright argues that we are moving to a world in which the power of collective effort is playing a larger role online.
What is another name for this type of activity?

Crowdsourcing - harvesting info

8. What does Will Wright say about the future?

The future is unpredictable. If one person thinks the market will rise, then it may just bottom out.

9. Despite the rise of online distribution in almost every arena in digital culture, what two formats continue to enjoy sales, albeit in fewer numbers?

Compact discs (CD) and record LPs.

10. What did you find most useful from the Will Wright lecture on "The Metaphysics of Game Design"?

The lecture gave me insight on how game designers think about how to find ideas for making games. His association of cognitive processes with game design was a strong argument for researching the customer base before embarking on any game idea.