Dialectical Polyptych: an interactive movie installation

Most of the known video games developed by important software companies usually establish an approach to the cinematic language in an attempt to create a perfect combination of narrative, visual technique and interaction. Unlike most video games, interactive film narratives normally involve an interruption in time whenever the spectator has to make choices. “Dialectical Polyptych” is an interactive movie included in a project called “Characters looking for a spectactor”, which aims to give the spectator on-the-fly control over film editing, thus exploiting the role of the spectator as an active subject in the presented narrative. This paper presents an installation based on a mobile device, which allows seamless real-time interactivity with the movie. Different finger touches in the screen allow the spectator to alternate between two parallel narratives, both producing a complementary narrative, and change the angle or shot within each narrative.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Face-to-face and online collaboration: appreciating rules and adding complexity

This paper reports how 6-8 year-old children build, play and share video-games in an animated programming environment. Children program their games using rules as creative tools in the construction process. While working both face-to-face and remotely on their games, we describe how they can collaboratively come to explain phenomena arising from programmed or 'system' rules. Focusing on one illustrative case study of two children, we propose two conjectures. First, we claim that in face-to-face collaboration, the children centre their attention on narrative, and address the problem of translating the narrative into system rules which can be =programmed‘ into the computer. This allowed the children to debug any conflicts between system rules in order to maintain the flow of the game narrative. A second conjecture is that over the Internet children were encouraged to add complexity and innovative elements to their games, not by the addition of socially-constructed or 'player' rules but rather through additional system rules which elaborate the mini-formalism in which they engaged. This shift of attention to system rules occurred at the same time, and perhaps as a result of, a loosening of the game narrative that was a consequence of the remoteness of the interaction

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

Virtual environment design and storytelling in video games

Video games have been the focus of discussion by researchers of gaming and narratology regarding their narrative capabilities for quite some time. While some researchers argue that interactive media such as video games can not contain narratives due to their inherent nature, others suggest that when analyzing video games as a narrative medium a different approach may also be considered. Given that the sequence of events that are presented to the user are not as ordered as they are in traditional narratives, it can be surmisedthat the traditional definition of narrative (a sequence of events) would not apply in the case of video games. However this should not mean that the medium can not contain narrative qualities, it only raises the need to a new approach for the consideration of narratives in video games. In this thesis I suggest that instead of using the traditional narrative arc as a basis for evaluation for narratives in video games, one may also consider the indigenous qualities of the medium itself in terms of its narrative capabilities. Focusing on environment design in virtual worlds by examining how they are designed, authored and presented to the user; and how they are tied to the narrative design of a game, I aim to point out the ways in which game mise-en-scénes are used as storytellers in their own rights

Violence, Video Games, and A Voice of Reason: Judge Posner to the Defense of Kids\u27 Culture and the First Amendment

We are in the world of kids\u27 popular culture. But it is not lightly to be suppressed. \u27 So wrote Judge Richard A. Posner on behalf of a unanimous three judge panel for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in March 2001 in striking down, on First Amendment grounds, an Indianapolis ordinance that blocked minors\u27 access to video games depicting violence. Judge Posner\u27s erudite opinion could not have come at a more important time-a time when the entertainment industries in the United States seemingly are under government siege and when the media blame game is peaking. The judge\u27s cogent reasoning and logic in American Amusement Machine Assoc. v. Kendrick: seem, unfortunately, to be drowned out today by what can only be considered a hysterical narrative. It is a narrative created, in large part, by the news media and politicians in which society\u27s problems with youth violence are largely foisted onto the products that primarily comprise and influence kids\u27 culture at the tum of the new century-music, video games, and movies. Such a climate provides an ideal hothouse in which both legislation and lawsuits targeting video games can germinate and flourish

Exploring interactive narrative and ideology in war games

Abstract: Given the popularity of information and communication technologies, it is a time of radical change. People are spending more of their time in virtual worlds and a large part of this time is spent playing games. Hence within this paper, the authors explore the concept of ‘identification’ and ‘representation’ within game narrative with specific reference to ‘interactivity’ and ‘character immersion’. Within the interactive realm of video games, players play an active role in determining the flow and outcome of the story. Critics have argued that games can transmit different ideologies to players. By actively identifying with the characters on screen (and determining their ultimate path) one may argue that playing a game set against a historical backdrop may have an active influence on their ideological perception of the historical events and in turn influence their own identity and how they navigate contemporary society. By using two war game case studies, Middle‐Earth: Shadow of Mordor and Anglo‐Boer War, the authors propose that the interactive nature of video game storytelling infers that narrative can be selfconstructed, especially with the right design choices. But can games arguably be used as a tool for psychological warfare? The authors interrogate the ‘interactive meaning making process’ in the two games; and clarifies it by interviewing a developer of one of the games

The potential of video games for exploring deconstructionist history

This thesis examines the potential of historical video games for exploring deconstructionist history. Historical video games have become one of the most popular and accessible forms of historical narratives in the 21st century, forming a key part of public engagement with history. This popularity has also placed these games under growing scrutiny, including calls for critically analysing their role in the construction and representation of historical narratives and epistemologies. For example, addressing topics like the emphasis on military history, the dominance of western perspectives and contexts, or teleological notions of progress. Such studies have become a central focus of historical video game studies, which has developed approaches for exploring how particular forms of historiographical representation and narrative arise and become embedded within historical video games. This thesis develops a unique contribution to these debates by focusing on a deconstructionist approach to history. Defined by historian Alun Munslow (2007), the deconstructionist approach presents history as a constructed narrative and aims to identify discourses behind the process of writing history. In video games, the control that players have over the narrative experience can be described as unintentionally embedding a deconstructionist perspective. Expanding on this argument, this research addressed how formal aspects of the medium exert pressure over epistemology and how historiographical ideas can consciously be shared with players. In contrast with previous approaches to the study of historical video games, this thesis goes beyond formal analysis of existing games, and includes design and reception perspectives. The arrangement of this study drew insights from several interdisciplinary fields, including the digital humanities, design and cultural studies. The result was a research through design methodology which engaged in the design, production, and evaluation of a historical video game prototype. Through the design process, the study set out to identify, implement, and test aspects of the medium that can emphasise a deconstructionist approach and allow players to reflect on their conceptualisation of history. This process involved multiple stages of data gathering and analysis. The results show that perceptions of historical video games are marked by tensions between what is seen as historical and what is seen as fictional or ludic. This thesis proposes a framework to navigate through these tensions, and uses it to develop a video game prototype, Time Historians. The evaluation of this prototype shows that players recognised the deconstructionist approach and openly discussed historiography. The findings indicate the feasibility of intentionally embedding a deconstructionist historiographical approach by relying on core aspects of the medium and navigating through the discourses surrounding it. The main contributions of the study include: a new approach for the analysis of historical video games; methodological reflections on the interdisciplinary combination of video game design and history; a set of epistemological guidelines for the design of historical video games; and new reflections on the role of video games as public history. Finally, this thesis expands on the discussions about historical video games and epistemology, offering a design-based perspective to approach this issue and unveiling further considerations on the potential of this medium

Dialectical polyptych: an interactive movie

Most of the known video games developed by big software companies usually establish an approach to the cinematic language in an attempt to create a perfect combination of narrative, visual technique and interaction. Unlike most video games, interactive film narratives normally involve an interruption in time whenever the spectator has to make choices. “Dialectical Polyptych” is an interactive movie included in a project called “Characters looking for a spect-actor”, which aims to give the spectator on-the-fly control over film editing, thus exploiting the role of the spectator as an active subject in the presented narrative. This paper presents a system based on a 3D sensor for tracking the spectator's movements and positions, which allows seamless real-timeinteractivity with the movie. Different positions of the body prompt a change in the angle or shot within each narrative, and hand swipes allow the spectator to alternate between the two parallel narratives, both producing a complementary narrative.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF VIDEO GAMING ON CHILDREN’S MAGICAL THINKING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

In our present time, young children are exposed to various forms of electronic media, in particular video games. Several studies have discussed the impact of video games on children’s behavior, and brain development; however, almost none have framed this impact in the context of magical thinking. By using a qualitative narrative inquiry approach and a grounded theory approach, this dissertation aimed at discussing the meaning three children (ages 4 and 5) made after playing a video game called Super Mario bros. This study answered two questions: (1) how is children’s thought processes related to the notion of reality (i.e., understanding what is real, and unreal in the video game) influenced and ultimately formed after playing a video game? (2) And as a result, how do video games impact children’s magical thinking? Findings revealed that video games have an impact on children’s thought process, and as a result, stimulate their magical thinking. A magical thinking model was created to understand the factors, which stimulate magical thinking in children. The implications of this study suggest more research needs to be done to understand the extent a child engages in a video game, and magical thinking

The impact of the walking dead video game on students' reading comprehension on narrative text

With the development of technology every time, the development of media for learning is also overgrowing. Many new media are popping up especially digital-based media, ranging from images, audio, and video. All of that media has been widely used by teachers to get students excited about what they will learn in class. However, the longer these media feel boring for students, the teachers also have to twist their brains to find new media, one of which is video games. Several studies have looked into the influence of adventure video games on learning English; however, few studies have looked into the effect of adventure games on learning English. This study aimed to see how video games affected students' reading comprehension of narrative text. The study consisted of 50 students from SMA Negeri 1 Kebomas Gresik in tenth grade. X-IPS 1 and X-IPS 2 were the class examples. The impact of video games can be reflected in the multiple-choice scores of students. The author used a quantitative procedure and quasi-experimental design as the analysis methodology with a purposive sampling approach. A multiple-choice test was used as the testing tool. The findings in this study explain that video games do not significantly impact students but only increase the motivation of students to learn and entertain students onl