(english) Board-games and "modern technology"?

[Clim de Boer]

Hallo Spieleautoren,

I am a masters-degree "Mediatechnology"-student at the Leiden
University in The Netherlands. This masters-program combines
(computer)technology, new media, art and philosophy. Students
are thaught to use existing material to create new innovative
appliances.

At the moment, I'm starting my final graduation-project, in
which I would like to address the following question:
Which added value can modern technology bring to the
social-interactive character, the excitement- and/or
entertainment value, and also to the usability and
flexibility of boardgames, played within the "traditional"
context of family and friends?

I would like to address this question because of two
developments:
- Modern techniques such as computers with exponential growing
capacities and processing-speeds, smaller and smaller digital
components, electronic sensors and broadband internet result
within the gaming-industry only in games that are pointed at the
individual player, or individuals playing together in a virtual world,
without being in the same physical room at the same time.

- On the opposite we see that there is an enormous stack of
"traditional" boardgames that are played with family or friends
at home on in a cafe - around the table. This form of gaming
(still) consists of cartboard, plastic pieces and a pair of wooden
dices. The concepts are sometimes very old, but still unrivalled.

For my research I'm trying to get a good view of the current "board-game
market" to see how designers and manufacturers of these games
are currently handling the points a mentioned above. I would like to
know in what way they are currently working on (and willing to)
implement "modern technology" in their games, what they would
want to get out of it, and what they expect from these
developments.

I would really appreciate to hear your opinion about the things described
in this e-mail. Any comments from you would certainly be a valuable
addition to my research. Feel free to answer in German, if that suites
you better. Although my German writing is not very well, I am able
to read it.

Thanks very much for any response,

Yours sincerely,

===========================
Clim de Boer
e-mail : clim@clim.nl
web : www.clim.nl

[Johnny Ebsen]

Hi Clim

I think the modern technology is a long way from getting accepted in the boardgame industry. The primary reason would be that in order to develop such games you would also need to develop a prototype. For conventional boardgames the authors can use cardboard, glue and a pair of scissors, but for modern technology you would have to know a lot about electronics and computing, or you would have to pay someone for doing this.

I guess that some of the well known authors might be working on introducing modern technology but for a large scale acceptance among authors the publishers would have to develop a common platform which would make it possible for even amateur authors to develop games.

I have been considering how to introduce new technology myself and come up with about a million ideas, but it has all been scrapped due to development costs.

Best regards

Johnny

[Siegfried Kurz]

Yes, the homepage is worth a look...
Nevertheless I should not leave your questions without an answer which comes in two parts:

Q1: Why do computer games and board games still coexist?
The matter of eye-to-eye contact should not be underestimated. Playing card games over the internet can never be the same compared to the challenge of sitting close to the other players.
I call it the matter of physical contact: Seeing your oppenent sweat instead of reading his comments on a computer screen are two experiences on different perception levels.
On the other hand some computer simulations cannot be implemented as a board game due to complex interactions.

Another difference can be found in terms of lastingness. A computer game always
reflects the technical feasability of its time while board games are timeless (if we neglect out the pop-art studies of the seventies at this moment).

Q2: a. What added value the introduction of technology might bring to board games?
or: b. Why do computer games and board games not interweave stronger?
and: c. Where is the setback?
a. Clearly the introduction of technical elements might enhance a board game, but do we face a necessary approach? Adding chips might only be relevant if they fill a gap left open by the standard approach. Some possibilities:
- Metamorphosis: While a single counter might be replaced easily by the player, the substitution of complex patterns can be executed electronically.
- Simulation of missing players: Play your favorite game against three computer generated players.
- Simultaneous action: Especially CoSims will benefit from a shortened playtime, while being executed by a computer.
- Scoring: Keeping track of the score electronically reduces possible accounting errors.

b. Despite the previous possiblities we nearly lack examples for every category. Probable reasons might be:
- Instead of adding electronic parts to a board game, the complete game is shifted to a computer basis.
- It takes twice the staff to develop a game. And the costs for development double either.
- Only a few games designer remain being able to cover both sides, resulting in less games being offered to the industry.

c. Considering a board game with additional electronic gadgets, I know which part of the game will break first and cannot be repaired with respect to outdated technology. My old "Monopoly" still works perfectly despite its old age just because it lacks electronic parts.
And taking a look at recent publications with large holes in the rule book (we all
know the games we are talking about by now...), the community is able to fix it by
changing or expanding the rules. If an electronic device works erroneously, it
takes a computer lab to correct it.