Exploring the Gaming “Magic Circle” with Rumble Kong League
by Gold Mamba
As a 5 year old in the 80s I can clearly remember riding in the back of my parents car engulfed in the handheld Mattel football game I received for Christmas. My mission: to advance my red dot from one side of the field to the other side without getting “tackled” by a defender red dot. It took me a few weeks to realize I could streak down the sideline and score touchdowns at will. Shortly after this realization, I quit playing with it as much.
Even as a 5 year old with one of the simplest handheld games of all time I was demonstrating the timeless principles of gameplay:
- We’re not inclined to play if we always lose (seems self evident)
- We’re not inclined to play if we always win (unless we’re making money?)
There is a delicate balance here: we seek to be challenged by playing just outside our threshold of competent skill. We know that we must perform well to win and thereby experience the satisfaction of a win, well earned. This is how we derive a sense of meaning from our competition.
Scientists have even observed these competitive principles in rats. Dr Jaak Panksepp famously published work where he demonstrated that rats who were able to win 100% of the play competitions with other rats only won about 70% of the time, thus, keeping their play partners engaged long term.
So how will these principles apply to gaming in Web3?
In his presentation on The Delphi Podcast, Brooks Brown provided an excellent overview of how he thinks about art, gaming, and play to earn in the Web3 space. He opens his talk speaking about art and sharing that the art is not the painting or the sculpture, “art is the experience of the piece”.
It resonated with me when he said that “video games, too, have a canvas” in which we experience their art. In video games, he calls an effective canvas one that provides the player with access to a state of flow. This is what he refers to as “the magic circle”.
Flow state is where high skill meets high challenge. In basketball we know this state as “the zone” and there’s nothing better than watching a player in a game when he or she is performing at this level.
But there’s a problem.
When it comes to the gaming trends of “free to play”, “micro transactions” and “play to earn”, these mechanics have the potential to destroy the magic circle. When this happens, players either lose interest or play the game transactionally, never operating in a flow state.
As Brooks tells it, “What crushes every magic circle is if it can pay my rent.” And when the pay to earn mechanics become “pay to win” then we’re left with a gaming dynamic where “whales are really being abused” because they think they’re in the magic circle when, in fact, they are not. “You’re in a low skill, low challenge state”, as Brooks sees it, and you paid a bunch of money to get there.
When this happens the entry level players simply become sources of content and funds for the players at the top of the pyramid and it sucks the soul out of the game faster than the Dementor in Harry Potter.
Ever since I listened to this podcast I’ve been reflecting on these ideas and how they might apply to the Rumble Kong League (RKL). I’ve wondered things like:
- If RKL doesn’t have active gameplay initially can it provide flow state?
- Can they avoid becoming a play to win game?
- With thousands of dollars invested in the NFTs, will we lack a magic circle?
These are valid concerns for any game (regardless of being Web3 native) and so, as passionate members of the community, it benefits us to tackle these questions together and to become co-creators of a game that can capture the interest of millions of fans globally.
When I think about a basketball game that achieved magic circle excellence, I can’t help but think of NBA JAM. It didn’t take itself too seriously and it challenged players either against the computer or against each other. We could quickly achieve a flow state and we’d be on fire!
But NBA JAM never involved thousands of dollars, wearables for purchase, or an in-game currency. So should we be worried?
While there are certainly risks that we should all be cognizant of as a community, I’m here to say that I’m confident that the RKL will avoid the pitfalls mentioned here. This won’t be a gimme, it’s akin to shooting the tube while surfing, but I think we can hit our marks if we stay well balanced.
Here’s how I see it…
Basketball is an infinite game
As the NBA season progresses, there’s a natural build up to the playoffs, the elimination of contenders and the crowning of the eventual champion. While some seasons become more notable than others in the history books, when it’s the day of game 7 the finals, that’s the most important day in the sport all year.
The RKL has a fundamental advantage on other non-sports games because sports provide us with an infinite loop of competition to pursue. We’re perfectly happy to play season after season and crown new champions.
The fact that the RKL will have multiple divisions and a variety of tournaments means that there will be many ways for players and fans to experience the thrill of victory while those who are defeated will know they can come back and potentially triumph next time.
This team gets it
As Brooks Brown points out in his talk, “If Michael Jordan could play 20 games a day, would you give a shit about watching any of them?” As spectators we care more when we know a player has it all on the line. As a competitor, we feel more accomplished when we know we must perform at our best to capitalize on a special moment.
The RKL team understands the importance of playing mechanics and how they will affect the game. Just this past week they stated on their Thursday AMA that they are aware of the problems posed by “pay to win” and they won’t let that happen in their League.
They also highlighted additional gameplay mechanics such as stamina and abilities which will bring different dimensions to the game play. Yes, player skill boosts will matter a lot, but they won’t be all that matters. This team is going to continuously steer the RKL ship in the direction of long term value for all stakeholders.
The markets around the game become their own games
So you might have gotten the impression from the start of this article that the only way to avoid ruining the magic circle is for the game to have zero economic mechanics but that’s not actually the case. The thing we have to accomplish in the RKL is to make sure that the gameplay itself is compelling, fun, and stands on its own merits.
Even though the first version of the game won’t have player-controlled characters, this doesn’t prevent us from operating in the magic circle at all. As long as the dynamic requires skill, strategy, and a little bit of luck, we’ll be just fine.
With gameplay that checks all the boxes for creating a state of flow, we can then also have multiple other types of “games” that encircle the main game. This can become an extremely beneficial thing as it creates new ways for different types of “players” to engage in the RKL’s ecosystem, for example:
- The Club owner game of recruiting, trading, and signing sponsorships
- The speculators game of flipping game assets for a profit
- The fan games of wagering on matches and cheering for their squads
Games succeed when well-designed mechanics create dynamics that evoke emotion for those playing and watching. Given the level of talent within the RKL team and community, I only see success on the horizon.
As we experience this “RKL canvas” we will appreciate it and we will want to do it again. That’s gaming art and the RKL is a masterpiece in the making.
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Whether you agree or disagree, I’d love to hear your thoughts! Gold Mamba is on Twitter @stevenshill21
Disclaimers: NOT investment advice. Do your own research. Make your own decisions. Gold Mamba is a holder of Rumble Kong League NFTs and a co-founder of the Kong DAO. The Kong DAO is not affiliated with the Rumble Kong League.
