Episode 45 What is an Orthogame?
What is an Orthogame?
Hi and welcome to Experience Points by University XP. On Experience Points we explore different ways we can learn from games. I’m your host Dave Eng from games-based learning by University XP. Find out more at www.universityxp.com
On today’s episode we’ll answer the question “What is an Orthogame?”
Different people play different games for different reasons. Some of us play games to enjoy ourselves. I like to play games to socialize with others. Some people play games to win. Yet, some other people play games to learn and cooperate.
If there’s anything I’ve learned over the years studying games, gamification, and games-based learning; it’s that games serve lots of different people for lots of different purposes.
But the type of game that is the hallmark and the staple of game design is the “orthogame.” If you’re like me then you’re probably asking yourself “what’s an orthogame?
If you’ve ever asked the question “How do I win?” Then you’re probably playing an orthogame. This episode answers the question: “What is an orthogame” as well as reviews the characteristics of orthogames. Orthogames will also be compared against competitive gaming and casual gaming.
So how do you win? That’s the basic question behind the premise of what an orthogame is. There isn’t a specific definition out there; but for the purposes of this discussion, orthogames are games that involve two or more players that result in one person (or team) being ranked the winner after playing with an agreed upon set of rules.
So this means that classic games like bridge, chess, and poker are orthogames. Whereas other games like Minecraft, Terreria, and Farmville would not be considered orthogames.
Well how about role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons? Are they orthogames? Not exactly. While DnD may have some orthogame elements to it; an RPG is really only an orthogame if everyone agrees at the end of it that a winner is determined by some sort of system (i.e. whoever has the most experience).
So orthogames are the kinds of games that people play when they ask the question “So how do I win?” Often this can be answered pretty easily for most modern euro games by having the most points; being the first to collect five stars; or being the first to accomplish an objective.
But, the term orthogame doesn’t really answer the big question of “what is a game?” But it doesn’t have to. An orthogame is just one type of game. There are certainly others, but for the purposes of this episode. We’ll concentrate on how orthogames are designed to determine a winner.
The term “ortho” in orthogame comes from the Greek word “orthós” which is short for “straight or correct.” Based on this, you can come to the conclusion that an orthogame is a “correct game.”
I find this concept difficult to accept though as there are many types of games out there that I consider games; but aren’t orthogames. Role-playing games are one such category.
At face value: orthogames are the types of games that end with “I win and you lose.” There should be little ambiguity about the state of the game at the end when points are counted; resources are tallied; and a winner is determined.
Though of course, there are certain elements of the player experience during the orthogame that serve individuals’ desires and motivations. These include forming alliances; making trading agreements; or otherwise engaging with other players.
These actions may or may not help individuals win; but they continue to serve the structure of the game. These aspects are called the para game of orthogame design.
So if the key question involved in orthogame design is “How do I win?” Then does that mean that orthogames include cooperative games as well as competitive games?
By definition that would be a yes: an orthogame can be either a cooperative or a competitive game. Both types of games have a process of declaring a winner.
That means that orthogames can be exciting to play because there is unpredictability. You don’t know who will win the game from the start. Apart from games were the opening moves or setup can clearly favor a player (i.e. Food Chain Magnate and Settlers of Catan); then you don’t really know who will win the game until the end.
This is a hallmark of orthogames; but knowing who is going to win at the beginning is boring. Knowing that information removes the agency from other players to make any sort of meaningful decisions.
Okay, so if not knowing who will win at the beginning is good; then should the game be random? Yes and no. Some of the most exciting games to play and watch are those orthogames that mix luck and skill.
A great example of this is No Limit Texas Hold’em Poker which took the world by storm in the early 2000’s. This is a game where skilled players will win – most of the time. Yet an unskilled player can – and will – luck out and still have a chance to win against a more skilled opponent.
So if orthogames are both cooperative games and competitive games where players are playing with or against one another; then that means that one side wins and the other side loses. Does that negatively affect the experience for the player?
Not necessarily. Orthogames can be either cooperative or competitive. Of course, casual gamers and those that play just for enjoyment can still have fun playing orthogames. It’s just that casual gamers are less serious about winning the game. And – to be honest – is how I prefer to play games as well.
This goes back to the opening of this episode: why do people play games? If you are a casual gamer, then you probably play games for more of social reasons: to connect with friends through an enjoyable experience.
Of course you can still care about who wins an orthogame if you are playing as a casual player. But orthogames don’t serve casual players the same way that they would serve killers from Barttle’s player taxonomy. The killer player type will invariably always look for that edge since they are invested in winning.
This episode answered the question “What is an orthogame?” An orthogame is a game that involves two or more players (or teams) where a winner emerges after playing a game according to an agreed upon set of rules.
This episode also reviewed the characteristics of orthogames and the ways that they serve both casual and competitive players alike.
I hope you found this episode useful. If you’d like to learn more, then a great place to start is with my free course on gamification. You can sign up for it at www.universityxp.com/gamification You can also get a full transcript of this episode including links to references in the description or show notes. Thanks for joining me!
Again, I’m your host Dave Eng from games-based learning by University XP. On Experience Points we explore different ways we can learn from games. If you liked this episode please consider commenting, sharing, and subscribing.
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References
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Carter, M., Gibbs, M., & Harrop, M. (2012, May). Metagames, paragames and orthogames: A new vocabulary. In Proceedings of the international conference on the foundations of digital games (pp. 11-17). ACM. https://people.eng.unimelb.edu.au/mharrop/pdf/metagames.pdf
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