Real game worlds: the emotional reality of fictional worlds.

There are two ways to understand play: one is to observe it, the other is to participate in it. Since 2001, game studies has promoted participation as one of the main requirements to understand play. Some play is so performative that while it can be observed, it also must be played. Game worlds, the worlds of online, multi-user games, are delicate constructs of make-believe and technology, which act as support and arenas for immersive, theatrical and/or competitive play. This is a discussion of how far virtual ethnography can take the researcher in understanding game worlds. To explore this, this article will address play, game worlds and transmediality, as well as discuss methods. I will look to Lisbeth Klastrup and Susana Tosca to discuss story worlds, as well as to discussions led by Celia Pearce, Tom Boellstorff and T. L. Taylor (among others) to discuss ethnography in games and virtual ethnographiesThere are two ways to understand play: one is to observe it, the other is to participate in it. Since 2001, game studies has promoted participation as one of the main requirements to understand play. Some play is so performative that while it can be observed, it also must be played. Game worlds, the worlds of online, multi-user games, are delicate constructs of make-believe and technology, which act as support and arenas for immersive, theatrical and/or competitive play. This is a discussion of how far virtual ethnography can take the researcher in understanding game worlds. To explore this, this article will address play, game worlds and transmediality, as well as discuss methods. I will look to Lisbeth Klastrup and Susana Tosca to discuss story worlds, as well as to discussions led by Celia Pearce, Tom Boellstorff and T. L. Taylor (among others) to discuss ethnography in games and virtual ethnographies

Whose Expression Is It Anyway? Videogames and the Freedom of Expression

In debates concerning videogames and the freedom of expression, two lines of argumentation have traditionally been put forward: That games express ideas and for this reason are entitled to the same protection as other expressive media or that their interactive nature makes them different in how they reflect the world compared to other media. This paper adds nuance to this discussion through two arguments. First, we argue that videogames cannot be understood as mainly expressive or interactive, but that these characteristics must be understood in tandem if we are to understand the role of videogames in culture and society, connected by the player. Second, we argue that play and playfulness are ignored in debates about videogames and the freedom of expression, and that attention towards the playful aspects offers a better view of how videogames differ from other media and what this means for the status of expressions in videogames.acceptedVersio

O jogo enquanto vida moralmente correta: hedonismo utilitário, a ética do jogo?

We play because it’s fun and it gives us pleasure, but what, exactly, does that mean? This article explores the connection between the act of gaming and a philosophy of pleasure, that of utilitarian hedonism. Hedonism in this context is not just a system of thought concerning itself with enjoyment and pleasure, but a way to look at gaming as a moral act. The article poses two main questions: Is it possible to study pleasure, and can gaming be enjoyed not just for its mechanisms and social value, but also for its value as a model for and a part of a morally good life? To facilitate this discussion, this article draws heavily on the philosophy of utilitarian hedonism, positioning hedonism not as a system of reckless indulgence, but as a philosophy of communal effort towards a general increase in the level of enjoyment for all involved. By drawing on experience with as well as research on gamer behavior and knowledge of game systems, this article demonstrates how gaming can be seen as a lesson in the importance of increasing pleasure for all. By looking at the use of and meaning of the concept of pleasure, current game research is drawn into question. The many attempts of research to isolate simple formulas for “the good game” appear flawed and simplistic from this point of view. The philosophy of hedonism argues that “good”, “pleasurable” and “fun” are very subjective concepts, and that while a large group of people may agree that a game is “good”, this agreement may not come from a common agreement about what exactly makes the game good. It is in the nature of pleasure to be individual, subjective and situational, which defies attempts at creating a formula for enjoyment both for researchers and designers.Key words: Game, pleasure, hedonism.Jogamos porque é divertido e porque nos dá prazer, mas exatamente o que isso significa? Esse artigo explora a conexão entre o ato de jogar e a filosofia do prazer, do hedonismo utilitário. Hedonismo, nesse contexto, não é compreendido apenas como um sistema de pensamento sobre si mesmo com prazer e desfrute, mas uma maneira de observar o jogar como um ato moral. É possível estudar o prazer, e o jogo pode ser desfrutado não apenas por seus mecanismos e valores sociais, mas também por seus valores enquanto um modelo para e como parte de uma boa vida moral? Para facilitar essa discussão, o presente artigo está embasado na filosofia do hedonismo utilitário, posicionando o hedonismo não como um sistema de indulgência imprudente, mas como uma filosofia de esforço comum em direção a um aumento geral no nível de fruição por todos os envolvidos. Baseado na experiência como jogador, tanto quanto na pesquisa sobre comportamento dos jogadores e no conhecimento sobre o sistema dos jogos, esse artigo demonstra como jogar pode ser visto como uma lição importante para o aumento de prazer para todos. A presente pesquisa aborda os games através da observação do uso e do significado do conceito de prazer. As muitas tentativas de pesquisa para isolar formulas simples para o “bom jogo” parecem falhas e simplistas a partir desse ponto de vista. A filosofia do hedonismo argumenta que “bom”, “prazeroso” e “divertido” são conceitos muito subjetivos, e que apesar de um grande grupo de pessoas poder concordar que um jogo é “bom”, essa concordância nem sempre se dá no que diz respeito sobre o quê exatamente faz o jogo bom. A natureza individual, subjetiva e situacional do prazer desafia as tentativas de criar uma formula, tanto para pesquisadores como para designers para desfrutar o jogo.Palavras-chave: Jogo, prazer, hedonismo

Negative emotions set in motion : the continued relevance of #GamerGate

This chapter aims at making sense of the #GamerGate (#GG) online harassment campaign that was particularly active in 2014–2015 but to this day continues to produce hateful speech against certain ideologies and minorities in gaming culture. The campaign was especially successful at building online visibility through harassment, and the affective resonances of the issues it raised have since translated into general online campaigning how-to’s, financial earnings, and even political action outside of the gaming sphere. Although the primary breeding ground for this movement was 4chan (and later, 8chan), it only reached public awareness and visibility – hence, effectiveness – through Twitter and, to a lesser extent, through YouTube. In order to understand the emotional charge and political relevance of this campaign, we rely on both quantitative and qualitative activity analyses of the Twitter users that use the hashtag #GamerGate between 2014 and 2019. In addition to analyzing who were the most active tweeters and what kind of resonance their tweets elicited, we looked into the emotional qualities of their communication. The communication strategies of #GG tweeters took advantage of the language and cultural references of the target demographic to drive a set of topics into public discourse and, further, to political activism. This discourse utilized a combination of affective modes, based mainly on resentment and schadenfreude, that we see echoing in many places on the internet. In the end, we argue that while #GG may have been only one instance of a campaign with harassment elements, the sentiments it cultivated and amplified as well as its operational logics have since been successfully employed in many similar online movements, including the current political campaigning associated with the so-called alt-right.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Deltakende tekstskaping og tekstanalyse i spill på nettet

Dataspill plasserer seg teoretisk mellom en rekke allerede kjente genrer. De inneholder skrift, bilde, animasjon og lyd, samtidig som de har elementer fra spill: konkurranse, framføring, opptreden, ritualer. Hvor andre medier kan sies å kunne realiseres uten brukeren, er dataspillet avhengig av spilleren for å kunne utfolde seg. Dette gjør det nødvendig å nærme seg studiet av dataspill ikke på grunnlag av etablert teori tilpasset ett bestemt medium, men på spillet og ikke minst spillernes premisser