Brutally Unfair Tactics Totally OK Now (B.U.T.T.O.N.)

Research Background, Field, Context, Research Question The game studies literature tends to emphasize the "procedural" quality of videogames - that computers enact a series of encoded rules. Echoing this sentiment, the game design literature often frames computers are relieving us the "burden" of enacting rules. However, we know from folk games and sport that negotiating rules can be part of the appeal of play, and that "house rules" are a key component of play culture. BUTTON looks beyond traditional videogames to ask: how do we design intentionally "broken" and open-ended games to explicitly foreground the social negotiations that underlie play? Research Contribution, Innovation, New Knowledge BUTTON is a multiplayer physical videogame played with traditional gamepads or custom hardware. Wilson was a co-designer and one of the programmers, along with the CPH Game Collective. In BUTTON, players are given silly tasks (e.g. "Do five pushups" or "Slow-mo round!") and then must physically race to the controllers on the other side of the room to accomplish various button pressing tasks. Unlike most commercial videogames, BUTTON cannot adjudicate most of its directives. It's up to the players to decide, collectively, what it means to follow the directions, what counts as cheating, and how much physicality is appropriate. The game deliberately plays with its ambiguities, serving as a kind of humorous performance that masquerades as a competitive videogame. Research Significance, Evidence of Excellence BUTTON pioneered a new approach to deliberately rules-ambiguous, physical videogames, expanding how designers might understand the medium. The game was released commercially in 2011 on Steam. The game was a Nuovo Award Finalist at IGF 2011, and won the Wild Card Award at IndieCade 2010. A special installation version of the game has been shown at festivals and galleries around the world, including at the Museum of Modern Art (as part of PopRally Arcade) in July 2011.

研究背景、研究领域、研究语境与研究问题
游戏研究学术文献往往侧重电子游戏的「过程性」特质——即计算机执行一系列编码规则。呼应这一观点，游戏设计学术文献常将计算机视为帮人类规避执行规则之负担的工具。然而，从民间游戏与体育运动中我们可知，规则协商本身便是游戏吸引力的组成部分，而「自制规则（house rules）」亦是游戏文化的核心要素。本研究以BUTTON为载体，跳出传统电子游戏的范畴，提出核心研究问题：我们应当如何设计具有刻意规则缺陷与开放性的游戏，以显性呈现游戏背后的社会协商过程？

研究贡献、创新点与学术新知
BUTTON是一款可使用传统游戏手柄或定制硬件游玩的多人实体电子游戏。Wilson与CPH游戏团队（CPH Game Collective）共同担任该游戏的设计师与程序员。在BUTTON中，玩家会收到无厘头的任务指令，例如"Do five pushups"或"Slow-mo round!"，随后需飞奔至房间另一侧的控制器处，完成各类按键操作任务。与多数商业电子游戏不同，BUTTON无法对绝大多数指令进行裁决。如何理解指令的合规含义、何为作弊行为，以及何种身体参与程度才算恰当，均由玩家集体商议决定。该游戏刻意利用其模糊性，以伪装成竞技电子游戏的形式，呈现出一种充满幽默感的展演。

研究意义与卓越性佐证
BUTTON率先开创了一种针对刻意规则模糊化的实体电子游戏的全新设计路径，拓展了游戏设计者对游戏媒介的认知边界。该游戏于2011年通过Steam平台正式商业发行，曾入围2011年独立游戏节（Independent Games Festival, IGF）Nuovo奖决赛，斩获2010年IndieCade游戏展的外卡奖（Wild Card Award）。该游戏的特殊装置版曾在全球多地的展会与画廊展出，其中包括2011年7月于现代艺术博物馆（作为PopRally Arcade活动的一部分）的展出。