These slides accompany a lecture in Performance in Film and Videogames class at University of Calgary.

1. Core and
Shell
Meanings
in Games

2. Analysing Games
Games and play carry meaning - even in their
pre-cultural form (e.g. puppies and kittens
playing).
In this sense, culture means ‘system of beliefs,
values, customs, behaviours and artefacts’ that are
shared by certain people and transmitted through
learning.
“DIALECTIC” in philosophy is “a method of
examining and discussing opposing ideas in order
to find the truth.”

3. Huizinga and the Magic Circle
Philosopher Johan Huizinga has argued that key
cultural characteristics of games include that games
are:
 free and voluntary
 separate from everyday reality
 created and maintained by communities of players.
This separation (known as the ‘magic circle’ of
games) situates game activities within a world of
their own.
Chapter 2

4. The Core and the Shell
There is a dual structure of games: the ‘core’ (gameplay) and
‘shell’ (symbolic representation) both need to be taken into
account while analysing and understanding games.
Gameplay can be understood as non-linguistic performance
(eg. dance, music). The PHENOMENOLOGICAL
‘PERFORMANCE” of gameplay. (ie a Walkthrough).
Focuses on “narrative” of the experience. The CORE.
Yet, there are also signs and symbols in games, constructing
meaning through semiotics and representation systems. The
SHELL.

5. “PHENOMENOLOGICAL
‘PERFORMANCE”
Phenomenology is primarily concerned with the systematic
reflection on and study of the structures of consciousness
and the phenomena that appear in acts of consciousness.
This ontology (study of reality) can be clearly
differentiated from the Cartesian method of analysis which
sees the world as objects, sets of objects, and objects acting
and reacting upon one another.

6. What is “Gameplay”?
It is not the interface, not the graphics, it is
what you do, focusing on narrative (or what
your “character” does).
Good gameplay arises when choices are
non-obvious and play must explore different
tactics.
Gameplay embodies the rules of the game –
easiest described as a first-person
walkthrough.

7. The Dialectic of Core and Shell
(A magic circle)
Image credits: Frans Mäyrä
Walkthrough as a
“Phenomenological Performance”

8. Understanding the Core
A Walkthrough as Phenomenological Performance
Core gameplay is something that is born directly
from the rule set of game.
A walkthrough is your first-person account of
how to complete a game or a level of a game
 The phenomenon of what you see, hear, feel –
Multimodality of: the words (literary text);
sounds (aural text); actions and
challenges/conflicts (physical text);
environment (visual text).

9. Understanding the Shell
Representation/ideology appears secondary to the
core of game but emerges through critical
thinking.
The images, characters, storylines, sounds and
music of games all contribute to the shell, or the
representational layer of games.
The shell is where games can be interpreted to
“carry a message”, and many players love or hate,
agree or disagree, with games on the basis of this
shell.
We can apply our Pressure Cooker of Semiotic
Codes!

10. Understanding the Shell
Representation/ideology appears secondary to the
core of game but emerges through critical
thinking.
The images, characters, storylines, sounds and
music of games all contribute to the shell, or the
representational layer of games.
The shell is where games can be interpreted to
“carry a message”, and many players love or hate,
agree or disagree, with games on the basis of this
shell.
We can apply our Pressure Cooker of Semiotic
Codes!