2 research outputs found
âOne of the baddies all alongâ : Moments that challenge a playerâs perspective
Reflection has become a core interest for game designers. However, empirical research into the kinds and causes for reflection within games is scarce. We therefore conducted an online questionnaire where participants (n=101) openly reported perspective-challenging moments within games, their causes, experience, and impact. Where past work has emphasised transformative reflection that changes playerâs views and behaviour outside the game, we found that players report predominantly moments of âendoâ-transformative reflection, which is focused on playersâ game-related behaviour and concepts. We further identify some causes of perspective-challenging moments relating to narrative, game systems, game-external sources, and player expectations. Narrative reveals emerge as a key cause of perspective challenge
Some Games You Just Canât Win: Crowdfunded Memorialisation, Grief and That Dragon, Cancer
January 2016 saw the final release of Numinous Gamesâ crowdfunded linear adventure game That Dragon, Cancer. An impactful independent title which subverts many of gamingâs traditional and valued norms. In less than two hours of abstracted adventure, players are transported through a series of vignettes documenting one familyâs struggle with cancer, and the battle faced by their terminally ill child, Joel. Digital memorialisation has been documented by scholars since the late 1990s. This has come in the form of sites specifically created for memorialisation, social networking sites repurposed by their users for memorialisation (MySpace and more recently Facebook), and online virtual worlds (Second Life and World of Warcraft). However, within That Dragon, Cancer the productive nature of grief has created and envisioned a gaming experience purpose-built for memorialisation. This chapter begins by documenting memorialisation within virtual environments. From here, the author turns to consider the way in which That Dragon, Cancer provides a purpose-built space for grief, memorialisation and understanding, focussing on key stylistic and mechanic-based decisions undertaken in the games design. Finally, the author considers the way in which That Dragon, Cancer, through the use of crowdfunding in late 2014, transformed from a project memorialising one child to the memorialisation of many across the globe