Procedural representation of marginalized groups: playing disabled, playing queer

Master's thesis in Literacy studiesIn AAA games, minority representation is still scarce and often misrepresentative, but the indie games scene has many examples of inclusion of marginalized groups and minority experiences. How can videogame mechanics be used to better represent the experiences of marginalized groups in AAA videogames? This thesis uses the concepts of procedural representation and character identification to examine rule based play of people with disabilities and people who are transgender in player characters in two free independent videogames. The analysis focuses specifically on player interaction with minority characters to determine how players can identify with them and how processes model experience. Implications for future game development are briefly discussed

Pipeline rings and integrated services rings.

Wong, Po-Choi.Summary in Chinese.Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1989.Bibliography: leaves 156-164

Exploring the dynamics of knowledge sharing in the online affinity apaces of "Let's Play" Youtube Channels

With this dissertation the goal is to analyze the novel medium of video game streaming and more specifically the “Let’s Play” video format as seen on YouTube and other online platforms. The practice has experienced a rapid growth in popularity over the course of the last decade since its emergence, which means many of its intricacies are yet to be accounted for by academic research. The intent is to engage with it from the perspective of learning and knowledge exchange and see whether such processes take place within the channels dedicated to this type of content, and if so to map out their dynamics, and reflect critically on the picture that emerges from the exploration of these virtual spaces.El objetivo de esta tesis es analizar el nuevo medio para retransmisión de videojuegos y, en particular, el formato de vídeo "Let's Play" como el que está en YouTube y otras plataformas en línea. La práctica ha experimentado un rápido crecimiento de popularidad en el transcurso de la última década desde su aparición, lo que significa que muchas de sus complejidades aún deben tenerse en cuenta por la investigación académica. La intención es abordar este formato desde la perspectiva del aprendizaje y el intercambio de conocimientos y ver si tales procesos tienen lugar dentro de los canales dedicados a este tipo de contenido y, en caso de ser así, trazar la dinámica y reflexionar críticamente sobre el panorama que surge de la exploración de estos espacios virtuales.L'objectiu d'aquesta tesi és analitzar el nou mitjà de retransmissió de videojocs i, més concretament, el format de vídeo "Let's Play" que es veu a YouTube i altres plataformes en línia. La popularitat d'aquesta pràctica ha crescut ràpidament durant l'última dècada des de la seva aparició, cosa que significa que moltes de les seves complexitats encara no han estat considerades per la investigació acadèmica. La intenció és abordar-lo des de la perspectiva de l'aprenentatge i l'intercanvi de coneixements i veure si aquests processos es desenvolupen dins dels canals dedicats a aquest tipus de continguts i, en cas afirmatiu, establir-ne la dinàmica i reflexionar de manera crítica sobre el panorama que es desprèn de l'exploració d'aquests espais virtuals

Decision-making, emergence and narrative in Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2

This article focuses on digital role-playing games produced by BioWare in which the decisions made by players can have a profound impact on the narrative of each game. My approach relies heavily upon the dissection of examples from Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect, and Mass Effect 2 as I found that scholarship about video games focused heavily on theory rather than analysis of in-game content, at least compared to the size and popularity of the genre. I work with key concepts such as narrative, simulation, and sideshadowing in order to analyse the dialogue options and scenarios presented to the player in these games. I claim that we can compare decision-making in real life and decision-making in role-playing games in order to examine the emotions and thoughts that go into the decision-making process. I task myself with discussing the implications of choosing one’s own narrative and analysing the mechanics of these games that urge players to make morality-based choices. I consider the ideas of Gary Saul Morson and Mikhail Bahktin as a way of using literary theory to deconstruct the complexities of navigating through these unique game worlds. My aim is to show that the multi-linear structures of modern, digital role-playing games represent simulators through which players can explore their own decision-making processes. BioWare constructs emotional and intellectual decision-making opportunities that entice players to consider their own morality in the face of life or death decisions. I argue that these role-playing games urge us to consider the ways we make decisions in our everyday lives and allow us to simulate how we might act given the chance to play hero or villain

Online communities as a source of innovation: A netnographic study on Crusader Kings 3

Video Game development is driven more and more by the input from player communities – both prior to release and post-release. This study focuses on a particular game community using a netnographic approach and applies the theoretical lens of free innovation. Data stems from analyzing 1,798 forum threads based on players’ ideas and suggestions, 9 interviews with active forum contributors and 2 community managers. NVivo software was used to code the suggestion threads into themes. Subsequently, the themes were analyzed based on the extent to which they were implemented into the game within the timeframe of the first four months post-release. This study thus sheds light on community management in the video games industry and players spending their free time on idea generation. Moreover, through thematic coding, the article offers a potential method on how to converge the vast amount of qualitative data stemming from player communities’ suggestions

Narrative agency in video games:a case study on how NieR: Automata embraces its medium

Abstract. In this thesis I analyze video games as a narrative medium by focusing on the 2017 video game NieR: Automata by director Yoko Taro and development team PlatinumGames. The main argument of the thesis is that for video games should utilize narrative elements that are unique to video games, such as player interaction. Since video game studies is a relatively new field, it does not have an established theoretical framework similar to traditional media such as literature. Therefore, I present and critique historically relevant approaches related to game narratives like narratology and ludology. Ultimately, I will use neither approach since narratology ignores what differentiates video games from traditional media whereas the ludologists’ viewpoint of games not being stories fundamentally goes against the premise of my argument. I will conduct the majority of the analysis by discussing the main story of NieR: Automata from the beginning to the end while highlighting and elaborating on events that provide narrative agency, which I define as moments of gameplay with narrative significance. In addition, I will analyze these events from the perspective of genre to highlight how the video game elements enhance the rhetoric of the story. Throughout the thirty-hour story of NieR: Automata, the player experiences narrative agency by numerous methods. I will argue that the repetition of in-game events without noticeable differences besides character change provides meaningful insight into how the characters are treated without specifically stating it. In addition, while NieR: Automata has few instances of traditional agency, which is characterized as providing the player with the freedom to do meaningful actions, the player can achieve similar feelings of meaningful interaction while telling a scripted narrative with little player influence. Finally, the final ending of NieR: Automata utilizes the game medium in a unique way as the player may sacrifice all their save data to assist other players complete the game. Other media are incapable of implementing similar narrative tools and highlights the influence of narrative agency as the player is willing to forfeit their invested time and saved progress for a narrative statement.Tiivistelmä. Tässä tutkielmassa analysoin videopelejä narratiivisena mediana käsittelemällä vuonna 2017 julkaistua videopeliä NieR: Automata, jonka on ohjannut Yoko Taro ja kehittänyt pelistudio PlatinumGames. Keskeinen argumenttini on, että videopelien pitäisi hyödyntää niille ominaisia narratiivisia elementtejä, kuten pelaajan kanssa tapahtuvaa vuorovaikutusta. Videopelitutkimuksen ollessa suhteellisen uusi tutkimusala, sille ei ole luotuna samanlaista teoreettista taustaa kuin perinteisen median, kuten kirjallisuuden, tutkimukselle. Tämän vuoksi tuon esiin sekä kritisoin historiallisesti merkittäviä lähestymistapoja pelien narratiivien tutkimuksessa, joita ovat esimerkiksi narratologia ja ludologia. En kuitenkaan käytä kumpaakaan lähestymistapaa analyysissani, sillä narratologia jättää huomiotta sen, mikä erottaa videopelit mediana perinteisistä medioista. Ludologian näkökulman mukaan pelit puolestaan eivät ole tarinoita, mikä on perustavanlaatuisesti vastakkainen näkökulma suhteessa tässä tutkielmassa esittämääni argumenttiin. Toteutan suuren osan analyysista keskittymällä NieR:Automatan päätarinaan korostaen ja tarkentaen tapahtumia, jotka tuottavat narratiivista toimijuutta, jonka määrittelen pelissä pelattuna toimintana, jolla on oleellinen merkitys narratiivin kannalta. Analysoin näitä tapahtumia lisäksi genren näkökulmasta korostaakseni sitä, miten videopelien ominaiset elementit tehostavat tarinan retoriikkaa. NieR: Automatan kolmekymmentätuntisen tarinan aikana pelaaja kokee narratiivista toimijuutta monien menetelmien myötä. Väitän, että pelissä toistuvat osuudet, joiden ainoa huomattava ero on pelattavan hahmon vaihtuminen, tarjoavat merkittävän näkökulman hahmojen kuvaamiseen ilman suoraa kuvailua. Vaikka NieR: Automatassa on vain harvoja perinteistä toimijuutta vaativia tilanteita, joille on tyypillistä tarjota pelaajalle vapaus valita narratiivin kannalta merkityksellinen toiminta, pelaaja voi saavuttaa tunteen merkityksellisestä vuorovaikutuksesta samalla kun peli kertoo käsikirjoitetun tarinan, johon pelaajalla on todellisuudessa vähän vaikutusta. Vielä lopuksi, NieR: Automatan lopetus hyödyntää pelimediaa uniikilla tavalla, sillä pelaaja voi uhrata kaiken tallennetun datansa auttaakseen muita pelaajia läpäisemään pelin. Muut mediat eivät ole kykeneviä käyttämään samanlaisia narratiivisia työkaluja, minkä lisäksi lopetus korostaa narratiivisen toimijuuden vaikutusta, jos pelaaja on halukas luopumaan pelaamiseen käyttämästään ajasta ja tallennetusta etenemisestä luodakseen syvemmän merkityksen tarinalle, vaikka se ei hyödytä häntä pelaajana

Ethics, environment and problem-based learning:how role-playing video games embody cross-curricular themes of finnish upper secondary school curriculum

Abstract. Learning and video games have been studied for a while now as a possible learning asset. However, this research is largely generalized, and does not examine specific curricula and how they could employ video games. This study will examine how the cross-curricular themes found in the National Core Curriculum for General Upper Secondary Schools (Finnish National Board of Educations, 2016) are fulfilled by two role-playing video games, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (BioWare, 2003) and Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition (Beamdog, 2012). The study employs qualitative research methods in order to conduct a cross-case analysis of the two games, examining them from a sociocultural, cognitive, and ecological theoretical point of view. The study shows that most of the cross-curricular themes listed were present in the games, and their objectives of instructions were met. The games examined created problem-based learning experiences both in familiarizing the player with the game as well as creating learning experiences that aligned with the cross-curricular themes examined. Especially themes that relied on and promoted empathy were heavily employed in the games. On the other hand, some contradictions could be found in the games, which could be used to affect a deeper learning according to cognitive theories.Tiivistelmä. Oppiminen ja videopelit ovat olleet tutkimuksen kohteena viime aikoina laajalti. Kuitenkaan tarkkaa opetussuunnitelmiin kohdistuvaa tutkimusta ei ole suoritettu video pelien osalta, vaan tutkimukset ovat keskittynyt oppimiseen yleisellä tasolla. Tämä pro gradu -työ tarkastelee kuinka videoroolipeli Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (BioWare, 2003) sekä Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition (Beamdog, 2012) toteuttavat aihekokonaisuudet Lukion opetussuunnitelman perusteissa (Finnish National Board of Education, 2015). Tutkimus käyttää kvalitatiivisia metodeja vertailevan tapaustutkimuksen toteuttamiseen sosiokulttuurisesta, kognitiivisesta sekä ekologisesta näkökulmasta. Tutkimus osoitti, että useimmat aihekokonaisuudet löytyivät peleistä ja että niiden tavoitteet toteutuivat peleissä. Pelit loivat ongelmakeskeisiä oppimiskokemuksia sekä tutustuttaakseen pelaajan pelin maailmaan että luodakseen opetussuunnitelman aihekokonaisuuksien mukaisia oppimiskokemuksia. Erityisesti teemat, jotka nojautuivat ja kannustivat empatiaan, olivat peleissä laajalti käytössä. Toisaalta pelit sisälsivät tiettyjä ristiriitoja, joita on mahdollista käyttää hyödyksi syvemmän oppimisen luontiin kognitiivisten teorioiden mukaisesti

Rewilding with AR and VR: Facilitating Care with Photography in Physically Immersive Apps

In this dissertation I analyze two AR apps from Internet of Elephants, Safari Central and Wildeverse, and one VR app from National Geographic, National Geographic: Explore VR. These three apps use photography as the central tool for engagement, attempt to educate users, and prompt them to care about wildlife and wilderness. However, the ethical consideration of design has largely ignored representations of the environment, especially as it may intersect with facilitating care for wilderness and wildlife that is experiencing the effects of habitat destruction and environmental degradation. This project begins developing a critical discussion of how wilderness and wildlife are selectively created through CGI by asking two research questions: What kinds of relationships are facilitated between users and representations of wildlife by designing around photography in AR and VR? and How can these designs be revised or leveraged for more beneficial environmental communication through care ethics? To answer my research questions, I use methods from game studies and a methodological lens informed by care ethics, new materialism, and feminist materialism. My results show that these apps facilitate an underdeveloped researcher/subject and patron/recipient roles. In answering my second research question, I craft three approaches for applying care ethics: 1) designing based on performances, 2) modeling behavior, and 3) engaging in a reflective photographic review process. This dissertation attempts to support the rewilding of media, which helps people reconnect (rewild) with (other) forms of wildlife and wilderness

Using video games in the secondary English classroom for the teaching of writing and rhetorical skills

English Language Arts (ELA) teachers are searching for new and novel ways to engage students in classroom activities involving reading and learning reading/writing-related skills, such as rhetoric or the use of literary devices. One untapped area of education is using video games as a full classroom text in order to teach these ELA skills. This study aims to test the viability of using video games in the ELA classroom, and looks to compare using them with traditional print texts, such as novels. In order to test the viability of using video games as a full classroom ELA text, a study was done in five sophomore ELA classes, where students played the game Undertale together. The results suggest that video games can be just as viable as traditional print texts in teaching certain ELA skills, provided proper pedagogical practice is used in conjunction with an appropriate video game

Player attitudes to avatar development in digital games: an exploratory study of single-player role-playing games and other genres

Digital games incorporate systems that allow players to customise and develop their controllable in-game representative (avatar) over the course of a game. Avatar customisation systems represent a point at which the goals and values of players interface with the intentions of the game developer forming a dynamic and complex relationship between system and user. With the proliferation of customisable avatars through digital games and the ongoing monetisation of customisation options through digital content delivery platforms it is important to understand the relationship between player and avatar in order to provide a better user experience and to develop an understanding of the cultural impact of the avatar. Previous research on avatar customisation has focused on the users of virtual worlds and massively multiplayer games, leaving single-player avatar experiences. These past studies have also typically focused on one particular aspect of avatar customisation and those that have looked at all factors involved in avatar customisation have done so with a very small sample. This research has aimed to address this gap in the literature by focusing primarily on avatar customisation features in single-player games, aiming to investigate the relationship between player and customisation systems from the perspective of the players of digital games. To fulfill the research aims and objectives, the qualitative approach of interpretative phenomenological analysis was adopted. Thirty participants were recruited using snowball and purposive sampling (the criteria being that participants had played games featuring customisable avatars) and accounts of their experiences were gathered through semi-structured interviews. Through this research, strategies of avatar customisation were explored in order to demonstrate how people use such systems. The shortcomings in game mechanics and user interfaces were highlighted so that future games can improve the avatar customisation experience