Future Energy Networks and the Role of Interactive Gaming as Simulation

As energy systems integration deepens to support the development of a cleaner and more intelligent energy infrastructure, it will be increasingly important for consumers to better understand their relationship to energy systems and to take more proactive roles in managing energy. Foregrounding the importance of systems comprehension, we argue for the strong potential of interactive games to be helpful in engaging consumers in sustainable energy practices, as they can demonstrate complex system dynamics through simulation-based experiences. Focusing on interrogations of engagement and social change posed by gaming theorists and designers, and using several flagship interactive games as points of reference, we discuss the elements of game space that make it capable of simulating complex systems and large-scale implications of energy decisions richly and effectively. We discuss social, technological, and narrative elements of game play, pairing a theoretical investigation with a practical exploration of how energyrelated games can link with data in the real world, with particular emphasis on the emerging Internet of Things. Our conclusions emphasise the importance of game simulation toward the longer-term goal of cultivating more complex patterns of interaction and cultural analysis around energy use; this is based on the assertion that energy, a social resource, must be managed in ways that are equally social

Toward A Theory Of Procedural Rhetorical Systems: Demonstrations Of Player Agency In Uptake Of Rules In Video Games

This paper expands Ian Bogost’s (2007) procedural rhetoric by broadening the rhetorical view of games to encompass the arguments that they make not just about the material, but about themselves. The theory of procedural rhetorical systems (PRSes) views game systems as arguing toward how players should be following their rules, and like in any form of rhetoric, players possess agency in how they take up these arguments and how closely they follow rules. To demonstrate this, this paper analyzes a specific game, the 1996 platformer Super Mario 64, alongside various digital artifacts demonstrating how players have taken it up, including videos, forum discussions, wiki entries, and comments. This paper divides the different ways players can view PRSes into three uptake lenses (ULs), which are standard, speedrunner, and modder uptake. Where standard uptake represents taking up a game’s PRSes according to their exact argument, speedrunner and modder uptake represent taking them up in alternative ways, either with intent of beating the game as fast as possible or with the knowledge that rules can be modified and even transplanted from one place to another. These varied ULs prove that game rules are argued to players via PRSes and that players have agency in how they take them up

Explorando retórica de jogo no cruzamento entre jogos sérios e art games para aprendizagem: caso de estudo do projeto Beaconing

Os jogos possibilitam a exploração de espaços imaginários e a manipulação de sistemas simbólicos. Desta forma, os jogadores criam opiniões ao interagir com eles: este processo contínuo está constantemente a formar pensamento crítico que se manifesta no mundo real. Desta forma, a retórica de jogo parte do princípio que os jogos são artefactos culturais expressivos, capazes de persuadir e de criar significado, podendo resultar em mudanças sociais a longo prazo. Esta dissertação foca-se em dois tipos de jogos persuasivos: os jogos sérios e os art games. Os jogos sérios são capazes de dar aos jogadores novas maneiras de aprender competências e conhecimentos e têm um propósito implícito. Os art games são jogos criados por artistas que atuam tanto pelo caráter estético - que proporciona aos jogadores uma experiência da jogabilidade - como pelo caráter desconstrutivo - ao pegar em jogos que existem para criar algo novo.A área de atuação deste projeto é a aprendizagem: a retórica de jogo pode ser utilizada de forma vantajosa para fins educacionais. O projeto Beaconing surge como uma oportunidade para colocar os conhecimentos obtidos em prática. É um projeto europeu que visa apoiar a aprendizagem divertida, contextual e pervasiva através de um sistema baseado em localização com a integração de jogos. Em suma, esta dissertação propõe um um framework orientado para a aprendizagem, através da análise da retórica de jogo no cruzamento de jogos sérios e art games e apresenta um conjunto de conceitos que podem ser futuramente aplicados aos jogos do Beaconing.Games enable the exploration of imaginary spaces and the manipulation of symbolic systems. This way players can create reviews when interacting with them: this continuous process is constantly forming critical thinking that manifests itself in the real world. In this way, game rhetoric assumes that games are expressive cultural artifacts capable of persuading and creating meaning that can result in long-term social change.This dissertation focuses on two types of persuasive games: serious games and art games. Serious games are able to give players new ways to learn skills and acquire knowledge with an implicit purpose. Art games are created by artists who act both for the aesthetic character - that provides players an experience of the gameplay - and for the deconstructive character - when transforming games that exist to create something new.This project's area of ​​action is that of learning: game rhetoric can be used advantageously for learning purposes. The Beaconing project stands as an opportunity to put the knowledge acquired into practice. It is a European project that aims to support fun, contextual and pervasive learning through a location-based system with game integration.In short, this dissertation proposes a learning-oriented framework, through the analysis of game rhetoric found at the intersection of serious games and art games, and presents a set of concepts that can be applied to Beaconing games in the future