This time we will take a quick dive into the dynamics and regulations that may emerge in groups. I will try applying the won knowledge in a quest design thought experiment.
Group Psychology
In post #12 I mentioned dynamics between characters, which "are concerned with the processes happening in and between characters". I linked the concept of dynamics to systems theory and cybernetics, which deliver approaches to understand systemic and processual units.
If we understand characters as systems with internal ressources, loops, processes, sub-systems and input/output possibilities, then we come closer to understanding the principles of character design. And if we go further and describe a meeting or a group of people as a meeting/group of systems, then we can look at those temporal system-collections too through lenses of reciprocal influence, information exchange, shared informations, regulation of common beliefs/actions and so on.
The term dynamics describes all happenings in a meeting caused by that meeting. If a group decides to not go to school even if secretly not everyone is content with that, then both events are a dynamic that has emerged from the meeting.
A regulation describes standardized processes in a system. In a group this might be a certain manner of greeting or a time slot in which they usually meet.
How and why do groups form? I'd say the answers are the same: Because and via of interpersonal attraction, or commonalities. I think the main regulation of a group then is mainly decided by exactly those premises it built on and consequently all dynamics will be influenced by this. Opinions, reactions and attitudes negotiated in a group will be influenced by this base line.
Examples for typical regulations/structures in a group over time include:
- group membership status:
- full member
- "black sheeps", which eventually might become
- outcasts
- adjacent/marginal members
- new members
- roles, such as "leader" and
- functional/task roles: defined in relation to the tasks the team is expected to perform, e.g. "coordinator", "recorder", "critic", or "technician"
- relationship/socioemotional roles: maintaining the interpersonal and emotional needs of the groups' members, e.g. "encourager", "harmonizer", or "compromiser"
- individual roles
- norms, the informal rules that groups adopt to regulate members' behaviour
- prescriptive: the socially appropriate way to respond in a social situation
- proscriptive: actions that group members should not do
- descriptive: describe what people usually do
- injunctive: describe behaviours that people ought to do
- intermember relations, e.g.
- friendships
- relationships
- power relations, see for example the 'rank dynamic position model' by Raoul Schindler with G (the outward fix point of the group), Alpha (leader, who leads the interaction with G), Beta (the expert, advises Alpha), Gamma (identifies with Alphas view on G, assists and works), Omega (opposes Alpha, antipole that expresses group deficits)
I'll admit that this knowledge is mostly (but not entirely) drawn from a wikipedia page. It won't bother us here, if it helps us designing quests.
Further Reading / Inspiration
Wikipedia: Group dynamics Link
German Wikipedia: Gruppendynamik Link
Here I got the informations on Raoul Schindler's model, of which I learned in university class on organisational theory.
Another Quest Jam
Martin, the player avatar, is weak, needs help remembering what is, and is lost in terms of navigation. He manages to get up and the player finds a way out of the unfriendly place he initially was in. He meets Henry, who offers him help in all his problems. The player can choose some minor dialogue options, but none will prevent weak Martin from accepting the help in exchange for collecting certain items. Henry follows Martin with every step, an unhealthy relationship is starting.
They meet Maria, who is a free spirit, naive and optimistic. He is lost in the space they're all in too and thus joins the now forming group, whose base line is about fixing things. In the group currently Henry is the leader, with Martin being a central and possibly powerful figure who is of lower rank right know. Maria is the antipole, who is sceptical of Henry and bonded with Martin on a very human level of positivity towards life.
They travel together for a while and slowly the authority of Henry crackles, which he himself notices. Henry begins to silently retreat (for such is his nature), being replaced by Maria in his stead. Martin still doesn't manage to be present in his fullness and commit to the leading skills he has. The group gets distracted onto side paths, lost from its goal and the now antipole Henry critizes his opponent Maria while alone with Martin.
They meet a third character, Kristoph, who has a strong rhetoric voice and hard values, he immediately attacks Henry whom he sees as a threat to healthiness and overwrites the presence of Maria. The scene escalates, the "badness" of Henry is openly discussed. Martin acts as a harmonizer and calms the group down. Henry makes concessions and withdraws from any participation apart from standard assisting. Kristoph degrades Maria to mere assistant too and makes Martin an advisor, seeing him and himself as "the true leaders" (overseeing that he himself has final control).
The group has re-stabilized and focused on its goal of getting out of that place, but its leadership is enforced. In the final phase, Martin realizes who he is and gains the advantage of being authentic, which brings an irresistable atmosphere to him. By simple actions Kristophs so strong leaderships is crumbling, and Kristoph himself realizes the glory in Martin, who eventually leads them out of the calamities, fulfilling the groups quest.
What means might be used to communicate all that?
- spatial arrangement of characters when they are all together
- where the group is going, what they are doing
- what characters say, how they act
- who is determining norms, actions, beliefs
- who is (if silently) opposing
- what objects are collected form/distributed to whom
This being a jam, I won't elaborate further. But it gave me at least me some interesting ideas for some current and future projects. Also, I'd like to analyse group dynamics in the lord of the rings *thinking emoji*
Ideas for Feedback
Do you know a good book/reading on the subject?
What other means might there be to communicate group dynamics and regulations?
Conclusion
Another post, another conclusion. This writing was quite pragmatic, but it highlighted one of the fascinating aspects of life for me. I'm looking forward to seriously apply this knowledge in a project.
I hope you're having a good time. Until the next post!
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