Is Zoom the video game platform for life during coronavirus? USC game students say ‘yes’
Is Zoom the video game platform for life during coronavirus? USC game students say ‘yes’
Is Zoom the video game platform for life during coronavirus? USC game students say ‘yes’
By Todd Martens
April 4, 2020
Summary
Just a few weeks ago, when the game world was anticipating the next generation of consoles, such as Sony's PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's Xbox Series X, we had no way of knowing that soon a new game platform would emerge.
"Play is very natural to fall into, and playing with non-game platforms is something humans have been doing for a long time," says Aubrey Lynn Isaacman, who is a game designer and student in USC's Interactive Media MFA program.
Jeff Watson, an assistant professor of Interactive Media & Games at the university, put out a call for students to create games using Zoom, keying in on the idea that many would now to be utilizing the platform to connect and in need of ways to use it for its full potential - that is, to play, of course.
"A lot of us will be using platforms like Zoom or Jitsi for work, for school, organizing or just hanging out. I think games can help us get over some of the awkwardness and limitations of these new platforms," says Dan Lark, a PhD candidate in cinema and media studies at USC. "The thing about these games is that it's hard to play them alone. You'll need other people to play with."
Limited downloadable assets can be used - one monster game includes a PDF as a character creator sheet - but the game should really be playable with nothing beyond common items.
Lastly, Watson's rules state, designers must be cognizant that these games will be played during a pandemic.
He's set a deadline of April 24 for those who wish to participate in the competitive phase of ZoomJam, for which a panel of game designers and academics will chose the top three submissions.
It's important to remember, says Watson, that before the advent of video games, and with it the out-of-date image of a lone figure staring at a screen late into the night, games were almost always social events.
More cynically, our app-driven lifestyle uses game techniques, with many adopting point-based or like-driven systems.
It's the sort of game, says Watson, that can work in multiple settings and be a quick diversion - a way to "Give the Zoom session an extra sort of pizzazz and surprise."
Reference
Martens, T. (2020, April 4). How USC students turned Zoom into a video game platform for coronavirus life. Retrieved April 5, 2020, from https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-04-04/is-zoom-the-video-game-platform-for-life-during-coronavirus-what-uscs-game-school-students-say