Ideologies of choice : a theoretical analysis of player agency in video games : an exegesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Creative Enterprise at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand

Player interaction is a definitive feature of video games, and the choices that are made when playing games create personalised individual experiences for each player. When there are tangible responses to their actions, players decisions within game worlds lead to an experience of agency. This exegesis explores a theoretical analysis of both video games and literature to suggest a different perspective on player agency; that player choices function as a response to the constructed ideologies of video game worlds and are shaped by the player’s relationship with their character. The goal of this analysis is to understand whether non-consequential choices enhance a player’s experience of a linear game narrative. This exegesis accompanies my work within Project: Mystic, a linear mystery game set in 1920’s Aotearoa. Linear video games have predetermined narratives so to aide in the development of Project: Mystic this exegesis explores player agency through the relationship between the player and the player character and the designed ideology of the game world. On the relationship between the player and the player character, this exegesis explores ideas of differing player and player character knowledge, the designation of “I” on the player character, and autonomy and desire in restrictive game worlds. On video game worlds I explore necessary and voluntary player actions, the effect of a player’s participation in a game narrative, and the role of player autonomy within the constructed ideology of a game world. Through a theoretical analysis of video game literature and the application of established theoretical texts on agency as a perspective to explore player agency in video games, this exegesis proposes an analysis on player agency in linear video games that was utilised in the development of puzzles and game mechanics for Project: Mystic. This exegesis also outlines the development of Project: Mystic and how this research informed its production

Processos narrativos e autoria em documentário interativo

Mestrado em Comunicação MultimédiaO presente trabalho propõe-se a contribuir para um melhor entendimento do género audiovisual interativo emergente - o documentário interativo - em plataformas Web. Pretende-se identificar o que o define e quais os processos narrativos e estratégias de interatividade que têm sido praticados na sua execução e refletir que implicações culturais estão associadas para os autores e recetores de um género que é ainda recente.This study aims to contribute to a better understanding of an emerging interactive audiovisual genre - the interactive documentary - particularly in web platforms. The main goal is to identify how is it defined and what type of processes and strategies have been practiced in its performance in terms of narrative and interactivity, and also to reflect what kind of cultural implications are related to the authors and audiences of a genre that is still recent

When videogames tell stories: A study about the influence of interactivity in narration

In recent years, the continuous technological evolution has led to the development of complex fictional stories in new potentially narrative media, such as videogames, whose characteristics are very different from other traditional narrative media, such as literature and cinema. The main defining attribute of videogames is interactivity. The objective of this paper is to study, through textual linguistics, how the interactive component affects the narrative plot in videogames and how, because of that, videogames open up new narrative experiences that are impossible in literature or cinemaEn los últimos años, la continua evolución tecnológica ha dado lugar al desarrollo de complejos argumentos ficcionales en nuevos medios potencialmente narrativos, como los videojuegos, con características muy distintas a las de otros medios narrativos tradicionales, como el literario o el cinematográfico. La principal característica definitoria de los videojuegos es la interactividad. El objetivo de este trabajo es estudiar, a través de la lingüística textual, cómo afecta el componente interactivo al desarrollo de la narración en el videojuego y de qué manera propicia nuevas experiencias narrativas inalcanzables para la literatura o el cin

Applicazione del Digital Storytelling come risorsa per il Digital Heritage Italiano

La ricerca si \ue8 concentrata sulla valorizzazione del patrimonio culturale italiano, che \ue8 stata presentata analizzando i prodotti digitali per la valorizzazione del cultural heritage realizzati nel 2015, e pensati per un pubblico non specializzato, che sono stati categorizzati in maniera tale da individuare le tendenze di sviluppo, e come e con quale grado di frequenza \ue8 stato incorporato lo storytelling all\u2019interno delle esperienze interattive per la promozione culturale. Nell\u2019analisi dell\u2019ampia letteratura sul digital heritage e sullo storytelling, sono stati selezionati i testi sulla base della loro rilevanza storica, e della coerenza tra le ipotesi di partenza, i dati presentati, e le recenti innovazioni tecnologiche in campo digitale. Analizzando i prodotti per il digital heritage sviluppati per la promozione, e non esclusivamente per la conservazione, del patrimonio culturale per un pubblico non specializzato che possiedono anche una dimensione interattiva sono state individuate tre categorie, quella dei musei virtuali, delle esibizioni culturali, e dei serious game, che descrivono i prodotti digitali realizzati in Italia nel 2015 per la promozione del cultural heritage. Per ogni categoria \ue8 stato presentato uno studio di caso specifico che esemplifica le caratteristiche individuate nelle categorie proposte. L\u2019analisi dei legami tra storytelling e serious games ha portato alla luce una serie di problematiche e criticit\ue0, in particolare nel rapporto tra l\u2019agency del videogiocatore e una struttura narrativa fortemente vincolante. Per superare questo problema, \ue8 stato proposto l\u2019utilizzo dei drama manager, software in grado di \u201cprevedere\u201d e controllare le scelte del videogiocatore, che potrebbero, anche nel caso del digital heritage, limitare i comportamenti distruttivi, che sono antitetici ai valori positivi che si accompagnano alla valorizzazione culturale, e al contempo salvaguardare quantomeno il senso di agency del videogiocatore. L\u2019analisi dei virtual enviroments e dell\u2019evoluzione di concetti come presence, agency, flow, enjoyment ha permesso di dimostrare come il ruolo dell\u2019utente, nel caso del digital heritage il visitatore, sia centrale per creare enriched spaces in grado di generare coinvolgimento nell\u2019utente. La riflessione sulle dimensioni, o livelli, dell\u2019esperienza, visceral, behavioral e reflective e i loro rapporto con l\u2019approccio estetico, pragmatico, olistico ed emotivo al design dell\u2019interazione, la definizione dell\u2019emotional, behavioral ed experience centered design hanno dimostrato come esistano modelli validi, anche se non definitivi, per analizzare il comportamento dell\u2019utente, e le modalit\ue0 con cui quest\u2019ultimo percepir\ue0 e comunicher\ue0 l\u2019esperienza che sta vivendo. L\u2019analisi del digital heritage italiano ha presentato un quadro in qualche modo positivo, che per\uf2 tradisce ancora alcune problematiche che sono il sintomo di un potenziale ancora inespresso. L\u2019analisi della promozione attraverso il web e i canali social ha messo in evidenza come le prestazioni delle istituzioni italiane siano decisamente inferiori rispetto ad altre realt\ue0 europee, nonostante diverse survey, compiute sia a livello italiano che europeo, dimostrino come gli utenti italiani utilizzino con regolarit\ue0 gli strumenti web e social, in misura anche maggiore rispetto alla media europea

Modelling a conversational agent (Botocrates) for promoting critical thinking and argumentation skills

Students in higher education institutions are often advised to think critically, yet without being guided to do so. The study investigated the use of a conversational agent (Botocrates) for supporting critical thinking and academic argumentation skills. The overarching research questions were: can a conversational agent support critical thinking and academic argumentation skills? If so, how? The study was carried out in two stages: modelling and evaluating Botocrates' prototype. The prototype was a Wizard-of-Oz system where a human plays Botocrates' role by following a set of instructions and knowledge-base to guide generation of responses. Both stages were conducted at the School of Education at the University of Leeds. In the first stage, the study analysed 13 logs of online seminars in order to define the tasks and dialogue strategies needed to be performed by Botocrates. The study identified two main tasks of Botocrates: providing answers to students' enquiries and engaging students in the argumentation process. Botocrates’ dialogue strategies and contents were built to achieve these two tasks. The novel theoretical framework of the ‘challenge to explain’ process and the notion of the ‘constructive expansion of exchange structure’ were produced during this stage and incorporated into Botocrates’ prototype. The aim of the ‘challenge to explain’ process is to engage users in repeated and constant cycles of reflective thinking processes. The ‘constructive expansion of exchange structure’ is the practical application of the ‘challenge to explain’ process. In the second stage, the study used the Wizard-of-Oz (WOZ) experiments and interviews to evaluate Botocrates’ prototype. 7 students participated in the evaluation stage and each participant was immediately interviewed after chatting with Botocrates. The analysis of the data gathered from the WOZ and interviews showed encouraging results in terms of students’ engagement in the process of argumentation. As a result of the role of ‘critic’ played by Botocrates during the interactions, users actively and positively adopted the roles of explainer, clarifier, and evaluator. However, the results also showed negative experiences that occurred to users during the interaction. Improving Botocrates’ performance and training users could decrease users’ unsuccessful and negative experiences. The study identified the critical success and failure factors related to achieving the tasks of Botocrates