SiSSYFiGHT 2000
Encyclopedia
Sissyfight 2000 was a turn-based strategy
online game
developed by the Word
online magazine staff, including executive producer Marisa Bowe, lead programmer Ranjit Bhatnagar and art director Yoshi Sodeoka
, with game designer Eric Zimmerman
, written in Shockwave
. It was launched in 2000.
The gameplay
was simple on its surface, but required solid strategy
to win consistently. The graphics were also simple, and were inspired by the work of "outsider artist" Henry Darger
, illustrator Edward Gorey
, Japanese anime
, and early, 8-bit
video games of the 1980s. The game, which was inspired in part by Lucasfilm
's pioneering online role-playing game, Habitat
, was designed to ignite community-building through chat both in the game and on its associate message boards.
In a departure from the androcentric
norm in video games, all of the players in Sissyfight were rendered female and nonsexual. Sissyfight is often cited as an early example of a web-based MMOG
in gaming development and academic circles. Although each game session only contained three to six players at a time, the mechanics of "brownie points" and the robust community surrounding Sissyfight created a much more "massive" experience than most small-scale web games.
Sissyfight 2000 was created using an iterative design
process.
point". The game was turn-based, with each player picking her move, invisible to the other players. The players could, however, use the in-game chat
bubbles to create alliances and coordinate their moves. With each round, players tried to eliminate each others' self-esteem until only two (or occasionally one or none) were left standing and were proclaimed the winners of that game on a classroom-style blackboard.
Keeping with the game's playground theme, there were three categories of moves to choose from:
Although most games ended with two victors, it was also possible for a player to pull off a "solo", or single-player win. There were also rare cases in which all of the players lost, and in such an event a special "sad" ending tune played.
at Sissyfight. Most often, two players would resort to using an instant messaging
service in order to coordinate their moves outside of the in-game chat interface. Other players developed more sophisticated methods, including running multiple sessions
of the game and creating secondary or unregistered accounts (called "sock puppets" or "socks") to tilt a game's outcome in their favor.
The Honor Code, Sissyfights terms of service
, strictly forbade these behaviors.
in the Games category.
However, it suffered from a lack of promotion and development after Zapata Corporation
, its parent company, closed down Word
late 2000. Nonetheless, the community proved strong enough to sustain itself, with unpaid administrator RamonaQ and a handful of volunteer moderators managing the game and message boards. Gamelab, a game development company founded by Zimmerman with other members of the original Sissyfight team on staff including programmer Ranjit Bhatnagar and designer Naomi Clark, maintained and ran the Sissyfight servers through April 2009.
Since its release, Sissyfight was consistently named a top internet game by online magazines and continued to remain popular among its loyal "sissies" (the community name for regular players), even after the site became unavailable late April 2009.
Turn-based strategy
A turn-based strategy game is a strategy game where players take turns when playing...
online game
Online game
An online game is a game played over some form of computer network. This almost always means the Internet or equivalent technology, but games have always used whatever technology was current: modems before the Internet, and hard wired terminals before modems...
developed by the Word
Word Magazine
Launched in 1995 by Carey Earle, Tom Livaccari and Dan Pelson, Word Magazine was one of the earliest and most influential e-zines. For over five years, Word created original stories, interviews, games, applications, music, interactive objects and art, and community spaces. Word published new...
online magazine staff, including executive producer Marisa Bowe, lead programmer Ranjit Bhatnagar and art director Yoshi Sodeoka
Yoshi Sodeoka
Yoshi Sodeoka is a Japan born artist and musician who has been producing art projects since the early 1990s. 1989 he moved to New York City to study art and design at the Pratt Institute....
, with game designer Eric Zimmerman
Eric Zimmerman
Eric Zimmerman is a game designer and the co-founder and CEO of Gamelab, a computer game development company, which is known for the game Diner Dash. Each year Zimmerman hosts the Game Design Challenge at the Game Developers Conference...
, written in Shockwave
Macromedia Shockwave
Adobe Shockwave is a multimedia platform used to add animation and interactivity to web pages. It allows Adobe Director applications to be published on the Internet and viewed in a web browser on any computer which has the Shockwave plug-in installed...
. It was launched in 2000.
The gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
was simple on its surface, but required solid strategy
Strategy
Strategy, a word of military origin, refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In military usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked...
to win consistently. The graphics were also simple, and were inspired by the work of "outsider artist" Henry Darger
Henry Darger
Henry Joseph Darger, Jr. was a reclusive American writer and artist who worked as a custodian in Chicago, Illinois...
, illustrator Edward Gorey
Edward Gorey
Edward St. John Gorey was an American writer and artist noted for his macabre illustrated books.-Early life:...
, Japanese anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
, and early, 8-bit
8-bit
The first widely adopted 8-bit microprocessor was the Intel 8080, being used in many hobbyist computers of the late 1970s and early 1980s, often running the CP/M operating system. The Zilog Z80 and the Motorola 6800 were also used in similar computers...
video games of the 1980s. The game, which was inspired in part by Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm Limited is an American film production company founded by George Lucas in 1971, based in San Francisco, California. Lucas is the company's current chairman and CEO, and Micheline Chau is the president and COO....
's pioneering online role-playing game, Habitat
Habitat (video game)
Lucasfilm's Habitat was an early and technologically influential online role-playing game developed by Lucasfilm Games and made available as a beta test in 1986 by Quantum Link, an online service for the Commodore 64 computer and the corporate progenitor to America Online...
, was designed to ignite community-building through chat both in the game and on its associate message boards.
In a departure from the androcentric
Androcentrism
Androcentrism is the practice, conscious or otherwise, of placing male human beings or the masculine point of view at the center of one's view of the world and its culture and history...
norm in video games, all of the players in Sissyfight were rendered female and nonsexual. Sissyfight is often cited as an early example of a web-based MMOG
Massively multiplayer online game
A massively multiplayer online game is a multiplayer video game which is capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously. By necessity, they are played on the Internet, and usually feature at least one persistent world. They are, however, not necessarily games played on...
in gaming development and academic circles. Although each game session only contained three to six players at a time, the mechanics of "brownie points" and the robust community surrounding Sissyfight created a much more "massive" experience than most small-scale web games.
Sissyfight 2000 was created using an iterative design
Iterative design
Iterative design is a design methodology based on a cyclic process of prototyping, testing, analyzing, and refining a product or process. Based on the results of testing the most recent iteration of a design, changes and refinements are made. This process is intended to ultimately improve the...
process.
Gameplay
Up to six sissies could play in a single game, but a game could be started with a minimum of three. Each player started with ten hearts, each standing for one "self-esteemSelf-esteem
Self-esteem is a term in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame: some would distinguish how 'the self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, the...
point". The game was turn-based, with each player picking her move, invisible to the other players. The players could, however, use the in-game chat
Conversation
Conversation is a form of interactive, spontaneous communication between two or more people who are following rules of etiquette.Conversation analysis is a branch of sociology which studies the structure and organization of human interaction, with a more specific focus on conversational...
bubbles to create alliances and coordinate their moves. With each round, players tried to eliminate each others' self-esteem until only two (or occasionally one or none) were left standing and were proclaimed the winners of that game on a classroom-style blackboard.
Keeping with the game's playground theme, there were three categories of moves to choose from:
- Tease, Scratch and Grab were the attack moves;
- Tattle, telling the teacher, got everyone in trouble who had selected an attack move, except when more than one person tattled at the same time, in which case the move lowered the self esteem of the tattlers themselves;
- Cower and Lick Lolly were the defensive moves, the former shielding oneself from one attack and the latter granting two extra self esteem points - unless the lick was ruined with a scratch or grab from another player. A player who tried to lick her lolly but was scratched, was said to have Choked. The green lollies had to be rationed, as only three were available to each player at the start of a game.
Although most games ended with two victors, it was also possible for a player to pull off a "solo", or single-player win. There were also rare cases in which all of the players lost, and in such an event a special "sad" ending tune played.
Cheating
Some players had devised several methods of cheatingCheating
Cheating refers to the breaking of rules to gain advantage in a competitive situation. The rules infringed may be explicit, or they may be from an unwritten code of conduct based on morality, ethics or custom, making the identification of cheating a subjective process. Cheating can refer...
at Sissyfight. Most often, two players would resort to using an instant messaging
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
service in order to coordinate their moves outside of the in-game chat interface. Other players developed more sophisticated methods, including running multiple sessions
Session (computer science)
In computer science, in particular networking, a session is a semi-permanent interactive information interchange, also known as a dialogue, a conversation or a meeting, between two or more communicating devices, or between a computer and user . A session is set up or established at a certain point...
of the game and creating secondary or unregistered accounts (called "sock puppets" or "socks") to tilt a game's outcome in their favor.
The Honor Code, Sissyfights terms of service
Terms of service
Terms of service are rules which one must agree to abide by in order to use a service. Unless in violation of consumer protection laws, such terms are usually legally binding...
, strictly forbade these behaviors.
Game variations
Players invented their own game variations, with unique rules. For example, "Tease Tag" required everyone to tease, while "Tease The Slow" required everyone to tease the last person to make a move. Other variations included a "no cower" rule, which was faster-paced and concentrates more on offense. Since these variants are not hard coded into the game, some players do not follow the special rules. As a result, the other players themselves must often enforce the rules themselves by teasing out the rulebreakers.History
Sissyfight was a surprise hit when it was launched in 2000. In 2001, it was a nominee for the Webby AwardsWebby Awards
A Webby Award is an international award presented annually by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences for excellence on the Internet with categories in websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile....
in the Games category.
However, it suffered from a lack of promotion and development after Zapata Corporation
Zapata Corporation
Zapata Corporation is a holding company based in Rochester, New York, and originating from an oil company started by a group including the former United States president George H. W. Bush. Various writers have alleged links between the company and the United States Central Intelligence Agency...
, its parent company, closed down Word
Word Magazine
Launched in 1995 by Carey Earle, Tom Livaccari and Dan Pelson, Word Magazine was one of the earliest and most influential e-zines. For over five years, Word created original stories, interviews, games, applications, music, interactive objects and art, and community spaces. Word published new...
late 2000. Nonetheless, the community proved strong enough to sustain itself, with unpaid administrator RamonaQ and a handful of volunteer moderators managing the game and message boards. Gamelab, a game development company founded by Zimmerman with other members of the original Sissyfight team on staff including programmer Ranjit Bhatnagar and designer Naomi Clark, maintained and ran the Sissyfight servers through April 2009.
Since its release, Sissyfight was consistently named a top internet game by online magazines and continued to remain popular among its loyal "sissies" (the community name for regular players), even after the site became unavailable late April 2009.
Demise
On April 24, 2009, Sissyfight became unavailable. On April 28, 2009, long-time volunteer administrator RamonaQ announced on an unofficial message board that the site would not be returning anytime soon, as it was no longer being hosted.http://sissyfightschoolboard.yuku.com/topic/2690/t/Some-very-sad-news.html?page=1Credits
- Executive Producer - Marisa Bowe
- Concept - The Staff of WordWord MagazineLaunched in 1995 by Carey Earle, Tom Livaccari and Dan Pelson, Word Magazine was one of the earliest and most influential e-zines. For over five years, Word created original stories, interviews, games, applications, music, interactive objects and art, and community spaces. Word published new...
& Eric ZimmermanEric ZimmermanEric Zimmerman is a game designer and the co-founder and CEO of Gamelab, a computer game development company, which is known for the game Diner Dash. Each year Zimmerman hosts the Game Design Challenge at the Game Developers Conference... - Game Design & Project Management - Eric Zimmerman
- Lead Programmer - Ranjit Bhatnagar
- Art Direction - Yoshi SodeokaYoshi SodeokaYoshi Sodeoka is a Japan born artist and musician who has been producing art projects since the early 1990s. 1989 he moved to New York City to study art and design at the Pratt Institute....
- Art & Interface Design - Jason Mohr
- Producer & Assistant Game Designer - Naomi Clark
- Additional Programming - Wade Tinney
- Text - Naomi Clark and Daron MurphyDaron MurphyDaron Murphy is a film composer and musician, based in Brooklyn, NY.He composed musical scores for the feature length documentary films, and . In 2007 he scored the short film, , directed by Julia Stiles and starring Zooey Deschanel....
- Sound and Music - Lem Jay Ignacio
- Communication Engine - Lucas Gonze
- Additional Project Management - Michelle Golden
External links
- The Sissyfight 2000 site - game no longer available
- Administrator RamonaQ's site dedicated to Sissyfight
- "GAME THEORY; Battling Little Monsters in the Schoolyard," by J. D. Biersdorfer, The New York Times, March 30, 2000
- "The Virtual Bitch Slap: A new game, Sissyfight 2000, lets me be the playground bully I never was," by Amy Silverman, Salon.comSalon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
, April 27, 2000 - "Sissyfight: The Net's nastiest little game is a girl-vs.-girl showdown," by Russ Spencer, Salon.comSalon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
, April 26, 2000 - Game designer Eric Zimmerman discusses the "iterative design" process using Sissyfight as a case study