7,416 research outputs found

    Automation of play:theorizing self-playing games and post-human ludic agents

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    This article offers a critical reflection on automation of play and its significance for the theoretical inquiries into digital games and play. Automation has become an ever more noticeable phenomenon in the domain of video games, expressed by self-playing game worlds, self-acting characters, and non-human agents traversing multiplayer spaces. On the following pages, the author explores various instances of automated non-human play and proposes a post-human theoretical lens, which may help to create a new framework for the understanding of videogames, renegotiate the current theories of interaction prevalent in game studies, and rethink the relationship between human players and digital games

    On the performance of the representative agent during out-of-equilibrium dynamics

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    This note contributes to the discussion about the representative agent's ability to characterize the collection of agents. We perform two exercises in context of a fairly general environment and show that even if the representative agent is powerful enough to describe the society in equilibrium, she might fail in describing the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of the system. It is established that this feature is not specific to the systems with or without interacting agents.Representative agent, heterogeneity, interaction, out-of-equilibrium dynamics

    Automated state of play: rethinking anthropocentric rules of the game

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    Automation of play has become an ever more noticeable phenomenon in the domain of video games, expressed by self-playing game worlds, self-acting characters, and non-human agents traversing multiplayer spaces. This article proposes to look at AI-driven non-human play and, what follows, rethink digital games, taking into consideration their cybernetic nature, thus departing from the anthropocentric perspectives dominating the field of Game Studies. A decentralised post-humanist reading, as the author argues, not only allows to rethink digital games and play, but is a necessary condition to critically reflect AI, which due to the fictional character of video games, often plays by very different rules than the so-called “true” AI

    Interpassivity and the joy of delegated play in idle games

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    This paper examines the youngest video games genre, the so called idle (incremental) game, also referred to as the passive, self-playing or clicker game, which seems to challenge the current understanding of digital games as systems, based on a human-machine interaction where it is the human who actively engages with the system through meaningful choices. Idle games, on the other hand, tend to play themselves, making the player’s participation optional or, in some cases, entirely redundant. Interactivity and agency – qualities extensively theorised with reference to digital games – are questioned in the context of idling. In this paper the author will investigate the self-contradictory genre through the lens of interpassivity, a concept developed by Robert Pfaller and Slavoj Žižek to describe the aesthetics of delegated enjoyment. This contribution aims at introducing interpassivity to a wider Game Studies community, and offers an alternative perspective to reflect upon digital games in general and self-playing games in particular

    Putting the "Fun Factor" Into Gaming: The Influence of Social Contexts on Experiences of Playing Videogames

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    The increasingly social nature of gaming suggests the importance of understanding its associated experiences and potential outcomes. This study examined the influence of social processes in gameplay and different gaming contexts on the experience of individual and group flow when engaged in the activity. It also examined the affective experiences associated with different types of social gaming. The research consisted of a series of focus groups with regular gamers. The results of the thematic analysis revealed the importance of social belonging, opportunities for social networking and the promotion of social integration for game enjoyment. However, social experiences could also facilitate feelings of frustration in gameplay as a result of poor social dynamics and competitiveness. The analysis furthermore suggested that group flow occurs in social gaming contexts, particularly in cooperative gameplay. A number of antecedents of this shared experience were identified (e.g., collective competence, collaboration, task-relevant skills). Taken together, the findings suggest social gaming contexts enhance the emotional experiences of gaming. The study demonstrates the importance of examining social gaming processes and experiences to further understand their potential influence on associated affective outcomes. Areas of further empirical research are discussed in reference to the study’s findings

    Which game narratives do adolescents of different gameplay and sociodemographic backgrounds prefer? a mixed-methods analysis

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    OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate which narrative elements of digital game narratives are preferred by the general adolescent population, and to examine associations with gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and gameplay frequency. Further, the study aims to discuss how results can be translated to serious digital games. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Adolescents were recruited through school to complete a survey on narrative preferences in digital games. The survey included questions on sociodemographic information, frequency of gameplay, and an open-ended question on what could be an appealing narrative for them. Data were analyzed in a mixed-methods approach, using thematic analysis and chi-square analyses to determine narrative preferences and the associations between game narrative elements and player characteristics (gender, SES, and frequency of gameplay). RESULTS: The sample consisted of 446 adolescents (12-15 years old) who described 30 narrative subthemes. Preferences included human characters as protagonists; nonhuman characters only as antagonists; realistic settings, such as public places or cities; and a strong conflict surrounding crime, catastrophe, or war. Girls more often than boys defined characters by their age, included avatars, located the narrative in private places, developed profession-related skills, and included a positive atmosphere. Adolescents of nonacademic education more often than adolescents of academic education defined characters by criminal actions. Infrequent players more often included human characters defined by their age than frequent players. After performing a Bonferroni correction, narrative preferences for several gender differences remained. CONCLUSION: Different narrative elements related to subgroups of adolescents by gender, SES, and frequency of gameplay. Customization of narratives in serious digital health games should be warranted for boys and girls; yet, further research is needed to specify how to address girls in particular
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