For example, the premise in Monopoly is
that the players are each landlords, buying, selling, and
developing valuable pieces of real estate in an e?¬? ort to
become the richest player in the game. This premise
was quite appealing to down-and-out players during
the Great Depression when the game was invented.
It remains a favorite to this day, and one reason for
that continued appeal is its premise??” players enjoy
the fantasy of being powerful, land-grabbing landlords
with plenty of money to wheel and deal.
Many digital games have even more elaborate
premises. Our earlier example of Quake, for instance,
places the game play in an immersive environment,
?¬? lled with violent, militaristic imagery. The premise
of World of Warcra is that players are characters
in a rich fantasy world ?¬? lled with archetypal quests
and adventures. The base-level e?¬? ect of the premise
is to make it easier for players to contextualize
their choices, but it??™s also a powerful tool for involving
players emotionally in the interaction of the formal
elements.
Exercise 2.7: Premise
What are the premises for the games Risk, Clue, Pit,
and Guitar Hero? If you don??™t know these games, pick
games that you are more familiar with.
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