Real feelings for virtual people: emotional attachments and interpersonal attraction in video games

Factors which may affect how people become attracted to virtual characters were explored in an online survey of players of a recent video role-playing game. Seventy-four participants (33 male) completed a series of questionnaires assessing their personality, motivations for game play, and feelings towards the ten non-player characters (NPCs) with whom they had potentially experienced extensive interactions within the game world. Results suggest that people form real and authentic emotional attachments to virtual characters, and that these arise from a complex blend of the players’ personality and motivation, and the virtual characters’ levels of physical attraction, friendliness (or hostility) and general usefulness within the game context. Implications of these findings, and suggestions for future research, are discussed

Improving video game conversations with trope-informed design

This paper examines tropes in video games pertaining to conversations between player characters and Non-Player Characters (NPCs). Drawing from the fields of pragmatics and Conversation Analysis we show how these tropes differ from real, face-to-face conversations. We demonstrate how politeness theory (how to avoid unsociable, face-threatening behaviour) can help us understand when and why conversations with NPCs disrupt player immersion. Based on these insights we propose alternative designs to improve immersion. We call this approach ‘Trope-Informed Design’: tropes are tools that can make or break a player’s experience. Considering how and when to perpetuate, subvert or transcend tropes can help guide designers in improving their game mechanics

Improving video game conversations with trope-informed design

This paper examines tropes in video games pertaining to conversations between player characters and Non-Player Characters (NPCs). Drawing from the fields of pragmatics and Conversation Analysis we show how these tropes differ from real, face-to-face conversations. We demonstrate how politeness theory (how to avoid unsociable, face-threatening behaviour) can help us understand when and why conversations with NPCs disrupt player immersion. Based on these insights we propose alternative designs to improve immersion. We call this approach Trope-Informed Design: tropes are tools that can make or break a player’s experience. Considering how and when to perpetuate, subvert, or transcend tropes can help guide designers in improving their game mechanics

POLITENESS AND MINORITIES: A LINGUISTIC-PRAGMATIC READING OF THE AMERICAN TV SHOW GLEE

This paper aims at analyzing the American TV series Glee, in order to reflect on how the face, maxims, rules and strategies of the Politeness Theory are presented before characters who are read as part of a minority group, compared to characters seen as a majority. In the first chapter, we present reflections on Pragmatics as a linguistic field and discuss aspects of Politeness Theory, by Brown and Levinson (1987). In the second chapter, we present discussion on minority groups, as well as reflections on representation, language, and meaning. In the third chapter, we discuss the methodological procedures of the research. Our corpus is composed of excerpts that were analyzed from a qualitative-interpretative perspective. This paper relies mainly on the contributions of scholars such as Levinson (1993), Thomas (1995), and Yule (1996) and their study in the field of Pragmatics; and Brown and Levinson (1987) and their investigation on politeness. We also rely on reflections by authors who discuss representation, language, and meaning (MOSCOVICI, 2000; JODELETE, 1986; 2001; HALL, 1997; 2005; SOARES, 2007). In chapter four, we reflect on Glee as a TV show that represents multiple realities through fiction. In addition, we present the characters involved in the excerpts to, finally, offer an analysis of the excerpts selected from four episodes of the series. The excerpts selected allow us to reflect on the discrepancies in the interactions that involve characters considered to be a minority compared to characters read as a majority. As a result of our analysis, it became evident that politeness, highlighted in the excerpts, was primarily used towards characters considered the majority. Concerning minority groups, impoliteness, mainly displayed by the principal and the teacher, prevailed.Este trabalho tem como objetivo analisar a série de TV americana Glee, a fim de refletir como as faces, as máximas, as regras e as estratégias da Teoria da Polidez são apresentadas diante de personagens lidos como parte de um grupo minoritário, em comparação com personagens tidos como maioria. No primeiro capítulo, apresentamos reflexões acerca da Pragmática como campo linguístico e discutimos os aspectos da Teoria da Polidez, de Brown e Levinson (1987). No segundo capítulo, apresentamos discussão acerca dos grupos minoritários, além de reflexões sobre representação, língua e produção de sentido. No terceiro capítulo, discutimos os procedimentos metodológicos da pesquisa. Nosso corpus é composto de excertos que foram analisados a partir de um viés qualitativo-interpretativista. Esse trabalho se fundamenta, principalmente, nas contribuições de autores como Levinson (1993), Thomas (1995) e Yule (1996) e suas pesquisas no campo da Pragmática; e Brown e Levinson (1987) e seus estudo sobre a polidez. Nos sustentamos também em reflexões de autores que discutem representação, língua e significado (MOSCOVICI, 2000; JODELETE, 1986; 2001; HALL, 1997; 2005; SOARES, 2007). No capítulo quatro, refletimos sobre Glee como um programa de TV que representa múltiplas realidades através da ficção. Além disso, apresentamos os personagens envolvidos nos excertos para, finalmente, oferecer uma análise dos excertos selecionados a partir de quatro episódios de série. Os trechos selecionados nos possibilitam refletir sobre as discrepâncias nas interações que envolvem personagens considerados minoria em comparação com personagens lidos como maioria. Como resultado da nossa análise, ficou evidenciado que a polidez, destacada nos excertos, se deu primordialmente sobre personagens considerados maioria. Diante grupos minoritários, a impolidez, principalmente parte do diretor e do professor, prevaleceu

Improving video game conversations with trope-informed design

This paper examines tropes in video games pertaining to conversations between player characters and Non-Player Characters (NPCs). Drawing from the fields of pragmatics and Conversation Analysis we show how these tropes differ from real, face-to-face conversations. We demonstrate how politeness theory (how to avoid unsociable, face-threatening behaviour) can help us understand when and why conversations with NPCs disrupt player immersion. Based on these insights we propose alternative designs to improve immersion. We call this approach Trope-Informed Design: tropes are tools that can make or break a player’s experience. Considering how and when to perpetuate, subvert, or transcend tropes can help guide designers in improving their game mechanics

Functions and contextual triggers of offensive language on Twitter

The use of social media in daily life is dramatically increasing all over the world and microblogging websites, particularly Twitter, have become widespread and excessively used. These web-based mediums of communication host significant social interaction and distinctive user-generated content that are characterized by the use of unique lexical choices and structures. This has led to emergent and diversified research investigating how different the linguistic behavior on these web-based platforms is from other forms of interactions. A controversial linguistic phenomenon on social media is the use of offensive language, which is on the increase and suggests a new domain of linguistic research to answer many questions that have arisen in light of this phenomenon. This phenomenon applies to many languages one of which is Arabic, especially where colloquial Arabic is concerned. This study examines the expressive functions of offensive language on Twitter which were written in Arabic by Egyptians. It also examines the pragmatic categories utilized when this offensive language occurs, as well as the contextual triggers of this type of language. A large purposeful sample of 482 tweets was collected from the Twitter website from different Egyptian tweeps writing in colloquial Arabic. Based on Culpeper\u27s (2010) impoliteness formulae, the collected data was classified into four pragmatic categories: insults, pointed criticism or complaints, negative expressives, and challenging or unpalatable questions. The results show that the offensive language used on Twitter serves expressive functions such as hate, anger, and sarcasm. The results also show that the most common contexts that trigger this offensive use of language are political, economic, personal, and soccer games. The study concludes that the use of offensive language on Twitter has become conventionalized and accepted by this speech community

Early English Debate Poetry as Conflict Talk

This study examines conflict-related features in a corpus of English debate poems from ca. 1250–1650. The dataset includes 30 central texts of varying lengths from the medieval and early modern periods. The theoretical framework is that of historical discourse linguistics and dialogue analysis, with input from studies of present-day speech-in-interaction. Earlier research on this genre has been largely literary, and the present work provides new insights both into the types of moves found within the conflict sequence and the actual linguistic building blocks used to represent conflict interaction. The approach is mainly based on close reading, but qualitative methods are complemented with a quantitative analysis of frequently appearing linguistic items such as modals and negatives. The study begins with a survey of the earlier tradition of academic and literary debates, and a review of how conflict talk has been conceptualized in previous research. Most of the conflictive moves established in earlier research on modern English were also found in debate poetry. This study identified two additional moves: predictions and formulations used for aggressive purposes. In terms of self-oriented moves, self-praise seems to be common in my material, and the methods of backing a claim are quite varied. The beginning phase of the conflict sequence was found to have a localised asymmetry which replicates that found in present-day conflicts: the attacking party has an initial advantage. As for the ending sequences, it emerged that a successful submission apparently required a full admission of error and a commitment not to repeat it. Other ways of negotiating a termination of conflict included mentioning time constraints and requesting a ruling from an arbitrator. The quantitative analysis also shows strategies that would tend to highlight the conflict element: the opponent’s statements are made to seem more extreme, and the speaker’s own arguments are represented as the only available option. The analysis also foregrounds the notion of evidentiality and the centrality of negotiating what constitutes acceptable proof. This is the first study to explore both medieval and early modern debate poetry in detail. The findings support those of earlier literary criticism, while shedding light on the linguistic aspect and thereby enhancing our understanding of how conflict was viewed and represented at the time. Some findings have relevance for today: the conflictive use of formulations and predictions may well be present also in everyday conflicts, even if it is less salient there.Tutkimukseni käsittelee konfliktipuheeseen liittyviä piirteitä keskiajan ja uuden ajan alun englantilaisessa kiistarunoudessa. Aineisto käsittää 30 keskeistä tekstiä.Teoreettiselta viitekehykseltään työ kuuluu historiallisen diskurssilingvistiikan ja dialogianalyysin alaan; vaikutteita on otettu myös vuorovaikutuslingvistiikan tutkimuksesta. Kiistarunouteen perehtynyt aiempi tutkimus on ollut pitkälti kirjallisuustieteellistä, ja näin ollen työni tarjoaa uusia oivalluksia niin konfliktin aikana tehtävistä toiminnoista eli ’siirroista’ kuin myös yhteenoton kirjallisessa esittämisessä hyödynnettävistä konkreettisista kielellisistä ilmiöistä. Lähestymistapani perustuu pääasiassa lähilukuun, mutta täydennän laadullisia menetelmiä usein esiintyvien kielellisten piirteiden kvantitatiivisella analyysilla (esim. modaaliverbit ja kieltosanat). Kiistarunoudessa esiintyvät lähes kaikki nykykieleen liittyvässä aiemmassa tutkimuksessa tunnistetut siirrot. Tutkimukseni lisää näihin kaksi uutta siirtoa: ennusteet ja aggressiivisiin tarkoituksiin käytettävät formulaatiot. Myös omakehu on aineistossani varsin yleistä, ja väitteitä voidaan tukea hyvin monenlaisiin auktoriteetteihin viitaten. Kiistarunon alussa hyökkäävä osapuoli on etulyöntiasemassa, eli syntyy paikallinen voimaepätasapaino, mikä on yleistä myös nykypäivän konflikteissa. Konflikti voidaan päättää joko antautumalla, mikä vaatii oman erehdyksen tunnustamista ja lupauksen olla toistamatta samaa virhettä jatkossa, tai pyytämällä etukäteen sovittua tuomaria julistamaan tulos. Keskustelu voidaan päättää myös käytettävissä olevan ajan rajallisuuteen viittaamalla. Myös määrällisessä analyysissa korostuivat konfliktia kärjistävät strategiat. Vastustajan argumentteja liioitellaan, ja puhujan omat näkemykset esitetään ainoina mahdollisina, muut vaihtoehdot häivyttäen. Evidentiaalisuus ja keskustelijoiden neuvottelut siitä, mitkä todistelut voidaan katsoa hyväksyttäviksi, nousevat tässä keskeiseen asemaan. Löydökseni tukevat aiempia kirjallisuustieteen tuloksia, mutta nostavat esille kielellisiä ilmiöitä ja lisäävät näin ymmärrystämme konfliktiin liittyneistä käsityksistä ja sen kirjallisesta esittämisestä. Joillakin tuloksilla on merkitystä myös nykyään: aggressiivisia formulaatioita ja ennusteita esiintyy todennäköisesti myös nykyajan ristiriitatilanteissa