A game's story and its rules can assert opposite things, and the rules are more persuasive.
Hocking coined the term in 2007 about a game whose narrative condemned selfishness while its mechanics rewarded it. The general point is that a system teaches what it rewards regardless of what its text says, and the player learns from the reward.
In practice
- A firm whose values statement praises collaboration and whose bonus ranks individuals has told its staff which document is real.
- A safety campaign runs beside a schedule that only works if the shortcuts are taken.
- Further reading
- Wikipedia
- Subject
- Play & Game Design
- Essay
- Small worlds with visible rules