Touching is Good: An Eidetic Phenomenology of Interface, Interobjectivity, and Interaction in Nintendo\u27s Animal Crossing: Wild World

Situating video games and the meaningful practice of playing video games for future study by the discipline of communication, this eidetic phenomenology centers the focus of such inquiry at the site of the body. As video game studies have heretofore largely ignored or presupposed a bifurcation between player and video game, a phenomenology is likewise crucial to investigating the lived experience of video gaming as an embodied activity by theoretically eschewing such subject/object distinctions and methodologically generating genuinely new, heuristic spaces for thinking about this phenomenon. In particular, the existential phenomenology of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, which emphasizes the body as necessarily enworlded, offers an insightful conceptualization of the video game player’s intentional and meaningful endeavor. Merleau-Ponty’s latter work specifically details the intricacies of a body’s sense of touch, outlining three specific modalities: “a touching of the sleek and the rough,” a “touching of the things,” and “a veritable touching of the touch.” The notion of touch is also key in portraying the already-imbricated nature of player and video game. Using these modalities as frames for organizing experience, I enact performative playings of the video game Animal Crossing: Wild World by Nintendo. This study proceeds methodologically by way of the three-step phenomenological method outlined by Merleau-Ponty – one that necessarily entails a description, a reduction, and an interpretation. Performative playings generate descriptive data later thematized as capta in order to synthetically produce acta, or an interpretive orientation toward the data/capta relationship. Each of three phenomenological reflections respectively examines one of these modalities. The first reflection (upon “a touching of the sleek and the rough”) explores the ways in which the sensual touch of the player both intersects with a new material technology that facilitates game play (the Nintendo DS video game console) by way of a touch-sensitive interface, and “crisscrosses” with a player’s embodied sense of sight. Framed by the human-technology-world relations outlined by technoscience philosopher Don Ihde, descriptions of these intersections and crisscrosses yield interpretations of a corporeal schema with specific embodied preferences for action in various gamic spaces: a being-in-the-(game)world. The second reflection (upon “a touching of the things”) interrogates my interobjective relations with other enworlded body-objects. While I have a body that interacts with this technology, I also am a body – a material object grounded in the self-same flesh of the world. By way of Vivian Sobchack’s philosophy of interobjectivity, I recognize that I am a passionate video game player, and literally re- cognize my primordial, immanent and embodied abilities as both subjective object and objective subject to interpret my experiences being “touched” by the objects of the game world (whose inhabitance I detailed in the first reflection). The third reflection (upon “a veritable touching of the touch”) uses the first two as an experiential ground to explore the ways in which I and other players “keep in touch” by playing video games. My descriptions of these video gaming experiences indicate the presence of Roman Jakobson’s six elements and correlative functions integral to an understanding of human communication, specifically situating video games for study by the discipline of communication. Playing video games is an interactive practice that synthesizes the analog (both/and) logic of human player-subjects and the digital (either/or) logic of game-objects as they emerge from an undifferentiated, chiasmic interrelationship. Operating from a digital-analog logic allows players to convert contexts of choice into choices of context

Mediating Postcoloniaity in Education: Mis/Representations of Muslim Girls using Technology

In this doctoral research, I explore how social systems and postcolonial cultural norms impact the process and outcome of digital media production created by girls who belong to ethnoracial minority groups living in low-income communities. The study was conducted as a Feminist Ethnography and feminist intervention in a Toronto school over three years, with a focus on Muslim girls in 2011-2012. The purpose of this research is to respond to both the ongoing marginalization of Muslim girls in Canadian schools and to examine how digital media production can be used to bridge ongoing divides between schools and communities in low-income urban and multicultural areas of Canada. Using digital media production to explore student experiences, I identify three topics for analysis that complicate the notion of student “voice.” In this work, I address how sociocultural structures inform the process of digital media production for racialized girls, exploring what kind of meaning can be derived from student-made media and considering how the videos and photos made by Muslim girls are framed within and informed by existing social structures, social expectations, and by the intentions and interests of adults. In addition, I also examine how student concerns over being seen and/or issues related to surveillance impact what they produce (or rather, end up not producing at all). Throughout this dissertation, I also consider how student engagement with different forms of new media and technology allow for varied behaviours and interests to be performed, offering a wider view into their lives. I conclude with a discussion of silence, addressing the importance of what was left absent in the process of making digital media with Muslim girls, and explore how these omissions relate to larger postcolonial power relations, to technology, and to media education for racialized girls in under-resourced schools and communities

Chaos and confusion in DSM-5 diagnosis of Internet Gaming Disorder: issues, concerns, and recommendations for clarity in the field

Background: The umbrella term "Internet addiction" has been criticized for its lack of specificity given the heterogeneity of potentially problematic behaviors that can be engaged in online as well as different underlying etiological mechanisms. This has led to the naming of specific online addictions, the most notable being Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). Methods: Using the contemporary literature concerning IGD and cognate topics, issues and concerns relating to the concept of IGD are examined. Results: Internet addiction and IGD are not the same, and distinguishing between the two is conceptually meaningful. Similarly, the diagnosis of IGD as proposed in the appendix of the latest (fifth) edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) remains vague regarding whether or not games need to be engaged in online, stating that IGD typically involves specific Internet games, but can also include offline games, adding to the lack of clarity. A number of authors have voiced concerns regarding the viability of including the word "Internet" in IGD, and instead proposed to use the term "video gaming disorder" or simply "gaming disorder," suggesting addiction to video gaming can also occur offline. Conclusion: The DSM-5 has caused more confusion than clarity regarding the disorder, reflected by researchers in the field contesting a supposedly reached consensus for IGD diagnosis

Ways of spectating: unravelling spectator participation in Kinect play

We explore spectating on video game play as an interactional and participatory activity. Drawing on a corpus of video recordings capturing 'naturally occurring' Kinect gaming within home settings, we detail how the analytic 'work' of spectating is interactionally accomplished as a matter of collaborative action with players and engagement in the game. We examine: spectators supporting players with continuous 'scaffolding'; spectators critiquing player technique during and between moments of play; spectators recognising and complimenting competent player conduct; and spectators reflecting on prior play to build instructions for the player. From this we draw out a number of points that shift the conversation in HCI about 'the spectator' towards understanding and designing for spectating as an interactional activity; that is, sequentially ordered and temporally coordinated. We also discuss bodily conduct and the particular ways of 'seeing' involved in spectating, and conclude with remarks on conceptual and design implications for HCI

Cadenland: An Ethnographic Case Study Exploring a Male's Videogaming Literacies on Crayta Within the Larger Stadia Culture

As content creation becomes more accessible and social through gaming, defying hardware barriers, not deterred by software interfaces, moving gaming into the cloud has made it a massive multiplier for players to explore their literacies and creativity without the clutter of the physical space. Videogaming's popularity has sparked controversy, especially the perception of videogames as violent and having a negative influence on players or having no social value in it. Hence, the need to create a balance by focusing on the merits inherent in videogames. This virtual ethnographic case study explored the literacies found in a 26-year-old male gamer's videogaming on Crayta within a larger Stadia cloud gaming community. The methodology included observations, semistructured and unstructured interviews, in-game chats, game-based artifacts, and thematic analysis to analyze the data gathered from the participant. Findings reveal how videogaming experience enhanced the participant's engagement, resulting in four significant literacy outcomes. Results are discussed regarding implications for collaboration, creativity and innovation, critical strategic thinking, and social skills. Included is a hybrid theoretical framework of layered literacies and the feedback loop for examining the lived-in experiences of the participant

English as a second language and bilingual education teacher perceptions of technology integration in the K-12 classroom

Technology for the English language learning classroom offers both benefits and challenges. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of ESL and Bilingual Education teachers, from four school districts, in a large Midwestern region of the United States, concerning the current state of technology for educational purposes; their innovativeness in the strategies they employ in integrating technology in their classrooms; and how they negotiate their instructional needs with what resources they have at their disposal. Specifically, this study sought to answer the following research questions: 1. What type and level of technology do ESL and BE teachers use in their classrooms? 2. How do ESL and BE teachers use technology in their classrooms? a. How do they perceive that technology meets their instructional needs? b. How do their experiences and instructional goals affect their perceptions? 3.What strategies do ESL and BE teachers employ for integrating technology into instruction? a. How have teachers altered or tailored technologies to meet the needs of their specific classes and students? b. How can technology better meet the instructional needs of ESL and BE teachers? The study, using a modified Delphi approach, consisted of two rounds. Findings from the present research revealed that resources for teachers varied even within the same district. The panel of experts reported that the availability of technological resources and an Instructional Technology department (or lack thereof) affected their perceptions of technology integration. Essentially, teachers in this study desired more working computers, more time to learn how to use software programs, and assistance in using and maintaining the programs and computers.The subjects listed student engagement and enjoyment as a benefit, but viewed the challenges of technology integration enough to resist largely incorporating it in their instruction. The increased use of technology outside the classroom and possible advantages it offers teachers and students, must be tempered with what resources teachers have available to them through the availability of time, effective training, and district funding. Pedagogical factors and economic considerations can serve as guidelines for teachers and administrators who plan on adopting (more) technology resources in their schools

An overview of structural characteristics in problematic video game playing

Purpose of Review: There are many different factors involved in how and why people develop problems with video game playing. One such set of factors concerns the structural characteristics of video games (i.e., the structure, elements, and components of the video games themselves). Much of the research examining the structural characteristics of video games was initially based on research and theorizing from the gambling studies field. The present review briefly overviews the key papers in the field to date. Recent Findings: The paper examines a number of areas including (i) similarities in structural characteristics of gambling and video gaming, (ii) structural characteristics in video games, (iii) narrative and flow in video games, (iv) structural characteristic taxonomies for video games, and (v) video game structural characteristics and game design ethics. Many of the studies carried out to date are small-scale, and comprise self-selected convenience samples (typically using self-report surveys or non-ecologically valid laboratory experiments). Summary: Based on the small amount of empirical data, it appears that structural features that take a long time to achieve in-game are the ones most associated with problematic video game play (e.g., earning experience points, managing in-game resources, mastering the video game, getting 100% in-game). The study of video games from a structural characteristic perspective is of benefit to many different stakeholders including academic researchers, video game players, and video game designers, as well as those interested in prevention and policymaking by making the games more socially responsible. It is important that researchers understand and recognize the psycho-social effects and impacts that the structural characteristics of video games can have on players, both positive and negative

The emergence of gamer culture and the gaming press : the UK videogame magazine as cultural and consumer guide, 1981-1993

PhD ThesisThis thesis examines how the early UK videogame magazine articulated videogaming as both a cultural industry and as a social practice. The research enquires into the key functions of the gaming magazine, and asks how these functions were performed. By tracing the evolution of the role of videogame magazines, from arbitration to celebration, the study shows how these media texts provide a unique route to understanding early gaming culture in the UK. The theoretical framework for the thesis is partly informed by Bourdieu, specifically through his work on the cultural intermediary and cultural capital, and connects to contemporary academic studies on the formation of UK videogame culture (Kirkpatrick, 2015), whilst progressing previous engagements with the topic of UK micro-computing as a masculine pastime (Haddon, 1988a; Haddon, 1988b; Haddon, 1988c; Haddon, 1990; Haddon, 1992). Textually orientated discourse analysis is combined with content analysis to examine over 100 magazines from 1981 to 1993. The analysis approaches the magazines on a section by section basis: from the editorial manifestos often included in launch issues, to exploring the games review as a new form of quantitative media critique. The cover pages and advertising content are analysed as part of a distinct hyper-masculine gaming aesthetic, whilst the reader’s letters pages offer an example of how user generated content (UGC) can come to both represent and regulate subcultural discourse. The thesis confirms that the videogame specialist press played a defining role across the 1980s and early 1990s regarding the growth and consolidation of emerging videogame practices, both in terms of production and consumption. This Introductory chapter has five sections, and begins by stating the case for examining the videogame magazine. Secondly it establishes what kind of ‘gamer’ or ‘gaming’ culture is being conceptualised for the purposes of the thesis. Thirdly it outlines the significance of hobbyism as a precursor to gaming culture. Fourthly it highlights Bourdieu’s concept of the cultural intermediary as a vital tool to understanding the journalistic practices of the specialist gaming press. Finally, the introduction moves on to provide a chapter by chapter outline and summary of the thesis as a whole

Finding sociality in single player games: A case study of tandem play amongst friends and couples

Researchers have found that games are sites for rich forms of sociality. However, there has been comparatively less research on sociality facilitated by co-located gameplay focused on single-player games, here termed tandem play. This exploratory case study investigated how known player pairs engaged in turn taking and decision-making behaviors while playing a single-player game together, and also how a narrative-driven video game played over multiple sessions impacted their experience. Initial findings suggest that turn taking was an explicitly negotiated choice, and that decision making power did not necessarily rely on who was holding the controller - player pairs developed their own systems for how they made choices. The narrative and well-known franchise on which the game was based gave pairs a strong base from which to work, building themed playthroughs and systemic approaches for how to treat various characters and situations in game. This research provides further evidence that being social in and around games can be accomplished no matter whether the chosen game is a single or a multiplayer title, and in virtual or physical space