109 research outputs found
Exploring replay value: Shifts and continuities in user experiences between first and second exposure to an interactive story
While replay value is a common term in interactive entertainment, psychological research on its meaning in terms of user experiences is sparse. An exploratory experiment using the interactive drama "Façade" was conducted (n=50) to examine shifts and continuities in entertainment-related user experiences between first and second exposure to the same system. A questionnaire with brief scales measuring various user-experience dimensions (interaction-related facets such as usability, flow, and presence, as well as narrative-related facets such as suspense and curiosity) was administered after the first and the second round of exposure. Findings suggest that replay produces gains in action-related experience components such as presence and effectance, whereas narrative-related experiences such as curiosity and suspense remain stable across exposures. Implications for theorizing on interactive entertainment experiences are discussed. © 2012, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc
Is Computer Gaming a Craft? Prehension, Practice and Puzzle-Solving in Gaming Labour
This article applies sociological theories of âcraftâ to computer gaming practices to conceptualise the relationship between play, games and labour. Using the example of the game Dota 2, as both a competitive esport title and a complex game based around a shared practice, this article examines the conditions under which the play of a computer game can be considered a âcraftâ. In particular, through the concept of âprehensionâ, we dissect the gameplay activity of Dota 2, identifying similarities with how the hand practices craft labour. We identify these practices as âcontactâ, âapprehensionâ, âlanguage acquisitionâ and âreflectionâ. We argue that players develop these practices of the hand to make sense of the gameâs rules and controls. From this perspective, it is the hand that initiates experiences of craft within computer gameplay, and we offer examples of player creativity and experimentation to evidence its labour. The article concludes with a discussion on the need for future research to examine the quality of gaming labour in the context of esports
Spectatorship and Social Cognition: Per Persson's Understanding Cinema
This paper places Per Persson's book Understanding Cinema in relation to cognitive film theory and the increasing necessity of it to further engage with the psychological and anthropological literature on social cognition. This paper focuses upon Persson's ability to integrate cognitive and cultural perspectives when explaining a spectator's comprehension of pointâofâview editing, variable framing and character psychology. It is argued that Persson's theoretical framework would have been more explanatorily complete if it had adopted an analytical dualist stance as a means to theorise the ontologically mixed nature of the psychological processes in question
Videogame consumption: The apophatic dimension
This article applies psychological-sociological accounts of the âapophaticâ, a form of negative thinking, to examples of gaming practices to conceptualise a new theory of videogame consumption. It challenges the prevailing notion that the games consumer is always a âcataphaticâ thinker â that is, an activistic, rational-pleasure seeker â and looks to the âsorrowsâ of gaming to find evidence of its more undesirable nature. The term âapophaticâ is characterised as an attempt to de-value the rational value purportedly placed on gaming practices. âGriefingâ other players is a good example of this apophatic ethic, where players derive value from the subversion of serious play through the disruption and destruction of other playersâ game worlds. The struggle with âfailureâ is another. As such, the article concludes with a reflection on the almost unsayable nature of videogame consumption, and suggests that consumer value may be derived from its more negative, spiritual-like aspects
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Constructing a Distant Future: Imaginaries in Geoengineering
We develop the concept of the distant future as a new way of seeing the future in collective efforts. While a near future is represented in practical terms and concerned with forming expectations and goals under conditions of uncertainty, a distant future is represented in stylized terms and concerned with imagining possibilities under conditions of ambiguity. Management research on future-oriented action has developed around problems of the near future. To explore distant futures, we analyze the case of geoengineering, a set of planetary-scale technologies that have been proposed as solutions to the threat of climate change. Geoengineering has increasingly been treated as if it were a reality, despite continued controversy and in the absence of any implementation. We find that societal-level imaginaries that were built on deeply-held moral bases and cosmologies underpinned the conception of geoengineering, and that a dialectic process of discursive attempts to reconcile oppositional imaginaries increased the concreteness and credibility of geoengineering so that it increasingly has been treated as an âas-ifâ reality. We suggest that distant futures orient collective efforts in distinctive ways, not as concrete guides for action but by expressing critiques and alternatives, that can become treated as âas-ifâ realities
The Lara Phenomenon: Powerful Female Characters in Video Games
The content of games is an understudied area in social scientific research about video games. The purpose of the present study is to contribute to the understanding of the portrayal of gender and race in games. Previous research on game content has revealed that stereotypical masculine characters dominate video games and that those characters are generally White. Nowadays, quite a few video games have women in leading parts; Tomb Raider's Lara Croft is the prototypical example. In our study we investigated the so-called 'Lara phenomenon,' that is, the appearance of a competent female character in a dominant position. We also studied the portrayal of men and the race of both male and female characters. We did a content analysis on the introductory films of 12 contemporary video games. Our results show that female characters appeared as often in leading parts as male characters did. They were portrayed with a sexualized emphasis on female features. Most game characters belonged to the dominant White race, the heroes exclusively so
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