28 research outputs found
âTranslating Narrative into Codeâ â Thoughts on a Technology-Centric Model of Digital Games as Programmable Media
The current surge of game studies literature demands a scrutinizing look at the solidifying positions within the German and international discourse and the opportunities of finding a common vocabulary and adequate set of analytical tools.
In order to arrive at an integrative model of analysis, the intricate interplay of narrative and game mechanics (narratology vs. ludology) is considered from a comparative perspective and thus demystified. Consequently, a new model based on programming theory (object-oriented narrative) is proposed which takes into account elements of psychology, narratological concepts derived from film- and literature studies and cultural studies approaches leading to a âclose readingâ of games.
The article is based on the assumption that computer- and videogames recode the act of âreadingâ games as texts into a mode of âtext-processingâ and thereby fundamentally modify the parameters of our cultural appropriation and media literacy.
The model proposed herein shall then be tentatively applied to the complex re-staging and re-examination of âthe realâ in a wide range games from Wonderland to Enter the Matrix
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Ecomodding. Understanding and Communicating the Climate Crisis by Co-Creating Commercial Video Games
This article explores how the climate crisis and specifically the underlying âcrisis of the imaginationâ (Bendor 2018, 132) exacerbate the entrenchment of environmental communication, and how modifying commercial video games (ecomodding) can facilitate the use of games as effective communication infrastructures to address this issue. Environmental communication challenges are well-studied, but remain difficult to tackle in practice. Timothy Morton summarizes these challenges by defining climate change and related phenomena as âhyperobjectsâ (Morton 2013), which appear tangible but are always only partially knowable and communicable. In recent years, games have been increasingly regarded as a potential solution to these problems (e.g. Chang 2013); as games provide agency to players, they can be specifically effective as âtools to communicate about climate (change) uncertaintyâ (van Pelt et al. 2015). More recently, though, the promises of ecogames are offset against more critical questions. For example, (Asplund 2020) addresses âcredibility aspects in research-based gamingâ, and researchers become more aware of the inequities of âdiscursive gamingâ (Voorhees 2012) like the carbon footprint of contemporary gaming technology and the disproportionate influence of larger publishers and platform owners. To address this issue, the article develops a comparative perspective on âecocriticalâ (Bohunicky 2017) modifications of commercial games (ecomods) as an ongoing discursive process. Ecomods for two major game franchises â The Sims and Civilization â are analyzed as communicative acts over time, quoting, re-phrasing or outright challenging the procedural rhetoric of the original games. The definition of eco games as boundary objects (van Pelt et al. 2015) is thereby adapted to the characteristic multiplicity and redundancy of ecomods. This perspective acknowledges how modding can affect the games as communication infrastructure, e.g. considering that both franchises recently ârespondedâ with official expansions including environmental themes, Civilization VI: Gathering Storm (2019) and The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle (2020). To conclude, the article briefly reports on an exploratory workshop, in which students applied ecomodding techniques to repurpose Epic Gamesâ Fortnite (2017-) as a platform for academic communication on the climate crisis. Due to the gameâs immense popularity, climate researchers and activists have tentatively used Fortnite, e.g. via the âClimateFortniteâ channel , where players can âfind climate researchers and others discussing global warming while they playâ (Boykoff 2019, 22), or a 2019 WWF ad campaign . These approaches, however, are characteristically relegated to small existing ânichesâ within the âecology of communicationâ (Altheide 2019) surrounding the game because they cannot modify or otherwise appropriate its contents. The workshop outlines how ecomodding not only constitutes a uniquely productive site for societal debate, but may also hold potential for augmenting academic communication on the climate crisis
Making data playable: A game co-creation method to promote creative data literacy
This article explores how making data playable, i.e. developing exploratory co-creation techniques that use elements of play and games to interpret small to mid-sized datasets beyond the current focus on visual evidence, can help a) promote creative data literacy in higher education, and b) expand existing definitions of data literacy. The article briefly investigates playful characteristics in existing data practices, and discusses how this perspective compares to existing frameworks that define data literacy. In a second step, we present a Discursive Game Design technique to promote creative data literacy. The article reports on findings from a sample workshop, during which students explored how modifying small, hybrid games based on real-world datasets can alter playersâ interpretation of the data, but also their perception of how the games operate as epistemic objects within data analysis. Finally, we formulate recommendations on how to adapt the technique to different educational settings
Playable Personas: Using Games and Play to Expand the Repertoire of Learner Personas
This article explores how playing and co-creating games in higher education contexts contributes to expanding learner personas and facilitating a multimodal learning experience. Working from the interdisciplinary perspectives of media/games studies, pedagogy, and linguistic anthropology, we conceptualize in-class learning as the making and playing of games, reporting on game experiments and playful practices targeted at learning key theoretical concepts in our disciplines. Game-based modifications to established educational practices involved: replacing lectures with Educational Live Action Role Play (Bowman 2014) sessions, using acting/performance games (Flanagan 2009) to critically reflect on ideas of community and collective identity, and introducing Twine (Werning 2017; Wilson & Saklofske 2019) to defamiliarize the expected structures and media modalities of academia. Based on evidence from participant reflections and classroom ethnographies, we argue that games can serve as a resource for extending the expressive spectrum of learner personas, for enabling embodied, participatory learning of theory, and for empowering students and educators to reflect on our internalized rules of the game of education
The persona in autobiographical game-making as a playful performance of the self
The paper at hand investigates forms and interpretations of author personae in autobiographical videogames. While, previously, autobiographical modes of expression have only been discussed in a few game-based artworks (Poremba 2007), the availability of free, easy-to-use tools like Twine and RenâPy gradually affords autobiographical writing as a cultural technique outside of deliberately artistic endeavors. Therefore, the paper considers the creation and distribution of autobiographical games as a playful form of identity politics. For that purpose, a comparative content analysis (cf. e.g. Rössler 2012) of selected autobiographical games will be conducted, taking into account rhetorical and audiovisual elements but focusing on procedural design strategies and âbiasâ (Bogost 2008, 128). The corpus includes explicitly autobiographical sketches like Gravitation (2008) and Dys4ia (2012), but also cases in which the autobiographical characteristics are only implied like The Average Everyday Adventures of Samantha Browne (2016) as well as less polished, sometimes unfinished vignettes. This approach will be selectively complemented by a rhetorical analysis of paratextual elements such as developer statements and user comments. Play and games are increasingly recognized as modes of conceptualizing and expressing individual identity (Frissen et al. 2015, 35â36) that are particularly compatible with postmodern sensibilities. Consequently, the focus of the analysis will lie on how the implementation of the author personae as playable characters enable the developers to curate their identity online, both in terms of Morenoâs psychodrama (Moreno 1987) and Foucaultâs technologies of the self (Aycock 1995)
Review of Serious Energy Games : Objectives, Approaches, Applications, Data Integration, and Performance Assessment
In recent years, serious energy games (SEGs) garnered increasing attention as an innovative and effective approach to tackling energy-related challenges. This review delves into the multifaceted landscape of SEG, specifically focusing on their wide-ranging applications in various contexts. The study investigates potential enhancements in user engagement achieved through integrating social connections, personalization, and data integration. Among the main challenges identified, previous studies overlooked the full potential of serious games in addressing emerging needs in energy systems, opting for oversimplified approaches. Further, these studies exhibit limited scalability and constrained generalizability, which poses challenges in applying their findings to larger energy systems and diverse scenarios. By incorporating lessons learned from prior experiences, this review aims to propel the development of SEG toward more innovative and impactful directions. It is firmly believed that positive behavior changes among individuals can be effectively encouraged by using SEG
Human Practice. Digital Ecologies. Our Future. : 14. Internationale Tagung Wirtschaftsinformatik (WI 2019) : Tagungsband
Erschienen bei: universi - UniversitÀtsverlag Siegen. - ISBN: 978-3-96182-063-4Aus dem Inhalt:
Track 1: Produktion & Cyber-Physische Systeme
Requirements and a Meta Model for Exchanging Additive Manufacturing Capacities
Service Systems, Smart Service Systems and Cyber- Physical SystemsâWhatâs the difference? Towards a Unified Terminology
Developing an Industrial IoT Platform â Trade-off between Horizontal and Vertical Approaches
Machine Learning und Complex Event Processing: Effiziente Echtzeitauswertung am Beispiel Smart Factory
Sensor retrofit for a coffee machine as condition monitoring and predictive maintenance use case
Stakeholder-Analyse zum Einsatz IIoT-basierter Frischeinformationen in der Lebensmittelindustrie
Towards a Framework for Predictive Maintenance Strategies in Mechanical Engineering - A Method-Oriented Literature Analysis
Development of a matching platform for the requirement-oriented selection of cyber physical systems for SMEs
Track 2: Logistic Analytics
An Empirical Study of Customersâ Behavioral Intention to Use Ridepooling Services â An Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model
Modeling Delay Propagation and Transmission in Railway Networks
What is the impact of company specific adjustments on the acceptance and diffusion of logistic standards?
Robust Route Planning in Intermodal Urban Traffic
Track 3: Unternehmensmodellierung & Informationssystemgestaltung (Enterprise Modelling & Information Systems Design)
Work System Modeling Method with Different Levels of Specificity and Rigor for Different Stakeholder Purposes
Resolving Inconsistencies in Declarative Process Models based on Culpability Measurement
Strategic Analysis in the Realm of Enterprise Modeling â On the Example of Blockchain-Based Initiatives for the Electricity Sector
Zwischenbetriebliche Integration in der Möbelbranche: Konfigurationen und Einflussfaktoren
Novicesâ Quality Perceptions and the Acceptance of Process Modeling Grammars
Entwicklung einer Definition fĂŒr Social Business Objects (SBO) zur Modellierung von Unternehmensinformationen
Designing a Reference Model for Digital Product Configurators
Terminology for Evolving Design Artifacts
Business Role-Object Specification: A Language for Behavior-aware Structural Modeling of Business Objects
Generating Smart Glasses-based Information Systems with BPMN4SGA: A BPMN Extension for Smart Glasses Applications
Using Blockchain in Peer-to-Peer Carsharing to Build Trust in the Sharing Economy
Testing in Big Data: An Architecture Pattern for a Development Environment for Innovative, Integrated and Robust Applications
Track 4: Lern- und Wissensmanagement (e-Learning and Knowledge Management)
eGovernment Competences revisited â A Literature Review on necessary Competences in a Digitalized Public Sector
Say Hello to Your New Automated Tutor â A Structured Literature Review on Pedagogical Conversational Agents
Teaching the Digital Transformation of Business Processes: Design of a Simulation Game for Information Systems Education
Conceptualizing Immersion for Individual Learning in Virtual Reality
Designing a Flipped Classroom Course â a Process Model
The Influence of Risk-Taking on Knowledge Exchange and Combination
Gamified Feedback durch Avatare im Mobile Learning
Alexa, Can You Help Me Solve That Problem? - Understanding the Value of Smart Personal Assistants as Tutors for Complex Problem Tasks
Track 5: Data Science & Business Analytics
Matching with Bundle Preferences: Tradeoff between Fairness and Truthfulness
Applied image recognition: guidelines for using deep learning models in practice
Yield Prognosis for the Agrarian Management of Vineyards using Deep Learning for Object Counting
Reading Between the Lines of Qualitative Data â How to Detect Hidden Structure Based on Codes
Online Auctions with Dual-Threshold Algorithms: An Experimental Study and Practical Evaluation
Design Features of Non-Financial Reward Programs for Online Reviews: Evaluation based on Google Maps Data
Topic Embeddings â A New Approach to Classify Very Short Documents Based on Predefined Topics
Leveraging Unstructured Image Data for Product Quality Improvement
Decision Support for Real Estate Investors: Improving Real Estate Valuation with 3D City Models and Points of Interest
Knowledge Discovery from CVs: A Topic Modeling Procedure
Online Product Descriptions â Boost for your Sales?
EntscheidungsunterstĂŒtzung durch historienbasierte Dienstreihenfolgeplanung mit Pattern
A Semi-Automated Approach for Generating Online Review Templates
Machine Learning goes Measure Management: Leveraging Anomaly Detection and Parts Search to Improve Product-Cost Optimization
Bedeutung von Predictive Analytics fĂŒr den theoretischen Erkenntnisgewinn in der IS-Forschung
Track 6: Digitale Transformation und Dienstleistungen
Heuristic Theorizing in Software Development: Deriving Design Principles for Smart Glasses-based Systems
Mirroring E-service for Brick and Mortar Retail: An Assessment and Survey
Taxonomy of Digital Platforms: A Platform Architecture Perspective
Value of Star Players in the Digital Age
Local Shopping Platforms â Harnessing Locational Advantages for the Digital Transformation of Local Retail Outlets: A Content Analysis
A Socio-Technical Approach to Manage Analytics-as-a-Service â Results of an Action Design Research Project
Characterizing Approaches to Digital Transformation: Development of a Taxonomy of Digital Units
Expectations vs. Reality â Benefits of Smart Services in the Field of Tension between Industry and Science
Innovation Networks and Digital Innovation: How Organizations Use Innovation Networks in a Digitized Environment
Characterising Social Reading Platformsâ A Taxonomy-Based Approach to Structure the Field
Less Complex than Expected â What Really Drives IT Consulting Value
Modularity Canvas â A Framework for Visualizing Potentials of Service Modularity
Towards a Conceptualization of Capabilities for Innovating Business Models in the Industrial Internet of Things
A Taxonomy of Barriers to Digital Transformation
Ambidexterity in Service Innovation Research: A Systematic Literature Review
Design and success factors of an online solution for cross-pillar pension information
Track 7: IT-Management und -Strategie
A Frugal Support Structure for New Software Implementations in SMEs
How to Structure a Company-wide Adoption of Big Data Analytics
The Changing Roles of Innovation Actors and Organizational Antecedents in the Digital Age
Bewertung des Kundennutzens von Chatbots fĂŒr den Einsatz im Servicedesk
Understanding the Benefits of Agile Software Development in Regulated Environments
Are Employees Following the Rules? On the Effectiveness of IT Consumerization Policies
Agile and Attached: The Impact of Agile Practices on Agile Team Membersâ Affective Organisational Commitment
The Complexity Trap â Limits of IT Flexibility for Supporting Organizational Agility in Decentralized Organizations
Platform Openness: A Systematic Literature Review and Avenues for Future Research
Competence, Fashion and the Case of Blockchain
The Digital Platform Otto.de: A Case Study of Growth, Complexity, and Generativity
Track 8: eHealth & alternde Gesellschaft
Security and Privacy of Personal Health Records in Cloud Computing Environments â An Experimental Exploration of the Impact of Storage Solutions and Data Breaches
Patientenintegration durch Pfadsysteme
Digitalisierung in der StressprĂ€vention â eine qualitative Interviewstudie zu Nutzenpotenzialen
User Dynamics in Mental Health Forums â A Sentiment Analysis Perspective
Intent and the Use of Wearables in the Workplace â A Model Development
Understanding Patient Pathways in the Context of Integrated Health Care Services - Implications from a Scoping Review
Understanding the Habitual Use of Wearable Activity Trackers
On the Fit in Fitness Apps: Studying the Interaction of Motivational Affordances and Usersâ Goal Orientations in Affecting the Benefits Gained
Gamification in Health Behavior Change Support Systems - A Synthesis of Unintended Side Effects
Investigating the Influence of Information Incongruity on Trust-Relations within Trilateral Healthcare Settings
Track 9: Krisen- und KontinuitÀtsmanagement
Potentiale von IKT beim Ausfall kritischer Infrastrukturen: Erwartungen, Informationsgewinnung und Mediennutzung der Zivilbevölkerung in Deutschland
Fake News Perception in Germany: A Representative Study of Peopleâs Attitudes and Approaches to Counteract Disinformation
Analyzing the Potential of Graphical Building Information for Fire Emergency Responses: Findings from a Controlled Experiment
Track 10: Human-Computer Interaction
Towards a Taxonomy of Platforms for Conversational Agent Design
Measuring Service Encounter Satisfaction with Customer Service Chatbots using Sentiment Analysis
Self-Tracking and Gamification: Analyzing the Interplay of Motivations, Usage and Motivation Fulfillment
Erfolgsfaktoren von Augmented-Reality-Applikationen: Analyse von Nutzerrezensionen mit dem Review-Mining-Verfahren
Designing Dynamic Decision Support for Electronic Requirements Negotiations
Who is Stressed by Using ICTs? A Qualitative Comparison Analysis with the Big Five Personality Traits to Understand Technostress
Walking the Middle Path: How Medium Trade-Off Exposure Leads to Higher Consumer Satisfaction in Recommender Agents
Theory-Based Affordances of Utilitarian, Hedonic and Dual-Purposed Technologies: A Literature Review
Eliciting Customer Preferences for Shopping Companion Apps: A Service Quality Approach
The Role of Early User Participation in Discovering Software â A Case Study from the Context of Smart Glasses
The Fluidity of the Self-Concept as a Framework to Explain the Motivation to Play Video Games
Heart over Heels? An Empirical Analysis of the Relationship between Emotions and Review Helpfulness for Experience and Credence Goods
Track 11: Information Security and Information Privacy
Unfolding Concerns about Augmented Reality Technologies: A Qualitative Analysis of User Perceptions
To (Psychologically) Own Data is to Protect Data: How Psychological Ownership Determines Protective Behavior in a Work and Private Context
Understanding Data Protection Regulations from a Data Management Perspective: A Capability-Based Approach to EU-GDPR
On the Difficulties of Incentivizing Online Privacy through Transparency: A Qualitative Survey of the German Health Insurance Market
What is Your Selfie Worth? A Field Study on Individualsâ Valuation of Personal Data
Justification of Mass Surveillance: A Quantitative Study
An Exploratory Study of Risk Perception for Data Disclosure to a Network of Firms
Track 12: Umweltinformatik und nachhaltiges Wirtschaften
KommunikationsfĂ€den im Nadelöhr â Fachliche Prozessmodellierung der Nachhaltigkeitskommunikation am Kapitalmarkt
Potentiale und Herausforderungen der Materialflusskostenrechnung
Computing Incentives for User-Based Relocation in Carsharing
Sustainabilityâs Coming Home: Preliminary Design Principles for the Sustainable Smart District
Substitution of hazardous chemical substances using Deep Learning and t-SNE
A Hierarchy of DSMLs in Support of Product Life-Cycle Assessment
A Survey of Smart Energy Services for Private Households
Door-to-Door Mobility Integrators as Keystone Organizations of Smart Ecosystems: Resources and Value Co-Creation â A Literature Review
Ein EntscheidungsunterstĂŒtzungssystem zur ökonomischen Bewertung von Mieterstrom auf Basis der Clusteranalyse
Discovering Blockchain for Sustainable Product-Service Systems to enhance the Circular Economy
Digitale RĂŒckverfolgbarkeit von Lebensmitteln: Eine verbraucherinformatische Studie
Umweltbewusstsein durch audiovisuelles Content Marketing? Eine experimentelle Untersuchung zur Konsumentenbewertung nachhaltiger Smartphones
Towards Predictive Energy Management in Information Systems: A Research Proposal
A Web Browser-Based Application for Processing and Analyzing Material Flow Models using the MFCA Methodology
Track 13: Digital Work - Social, mobile, smart
On Conversational Agents in Information Systems Research: Analyzing the Past to Guide Future Work
The Potential of Augmented Reality for Improving Occupational First Aid
Prevent a Vicious Circle! The Role of Organizational IT-Capability in Attracting IT-affine Applicants
Good, Bad, or Both? Conceptualization and Measurement of Ambivalent User Attitudes Towards AI
A Case Study on Cross-Hierarchical Communication in Digital Work Environments
âShow Me Your People Skillsâ - Employing CEO Branding for Corporate Reputation Management in Social Media
A Multiorganisational Study of the Drivers and Barriers of Enterprise Collaboration Systems-Enabled Change
The More the Merrier? The Effect of Size of Core Team Subgroups on Success of Open Source Projects
The Impact of Anthropomorphic and Functional Chatbot Design Features in Enterprise Collaboration Systems on User Acceptance
Digital Feedback for Digital Work? Affordances and Constraints of a Feedback App at InsurCorp
The Effect of Marker-less Augmented Reality on Task and Learning Performance
Antecedents for Cyberloafing â A Literature Review
Internal Crowd Work as a Source of Empowerment - An Empirical Analysis of the Perception of Employees in a Crowdtesting Project
Track 14: GeschÀftsmodelle und digitales Unternehmertum
Dividing the ICO Jungle: Extracting and Evaluating Design Archetypes
Capturing Value from Data: Exploring Factors Influencing Revenue Model Design for Data-Driven Services
Understanding the Role of Data for Innovating Business Models: A System Dynamics Perspective
Business Model Innovation and Stakeholder: Exploring Mechanisms and Outcomes of Value Creation and Destruction
Business Models for Internet of Things Platforms: Empirical Development of a Taxonomy and Archetypes
Revitalizing established Industrial Companies: State of the Art and Success Principles of Digital Corporate Incubators
When 1+1 is Greater than 2: Concurrence of Additional Digital and Established Business Models within Companies
Special Track 1: Student Track
Investigating Personalized Price Discrimination of Textile-, Electronics- and General Stores in German Online Retail
From Facets to a Universal Definition â An Analysis of IoT Usage in Retail
Is the Technostress Creators Inventory Still an Up-To-Date Measurement Instrument? Results of a Large-Scale Interview Study
Application of Media Synchronicity Theory to Creative Tasks in Virtual Teams Using the Example of Design Thinking
TrustyTweet: An Indicator-based Browser-Plugin to Assist Users in Dealing with Fake News on Twitter
Application of Process Mining Techniques to Support Maintenance-Related Objectives
How Voice Can Change Customer Satisfaction: A Comparative Analysis between E-Commerce and Voice Commerce
Business Process Compliance and Blockchain: How Does the Ethereum Blockchain Address Challenges of Business Process Compliance?
Improving Business Model Configuration through a Question-based Approach
The Influence of Situational Factors and Gamification on Intrinsic Motivation and Learning
Evaluation von ITSM-Tools fĂŒr Integration und Management von Cloud-Diensten am Beispiel von ServiceNow
How Software Promotes the Integration of Sustainability in Business Process Management
Criteria Catalog for Industrial IoT Platforms from the Perspective of the Machine Tool Industry
Special Track 3: Demos & Prototyping
Privacy-friendly User Location Tracking with Smart Devices: The BeaT Prototype
Application-oriented robotics in nursing homes
Augmented Reality for Set-up Processe
Mixed Reality for supporting Remote-Meetings
Gamification zur Motivationssteigerung von Werkern bei der Betriebsdatenerfassung
Automatically Extracting and Analyzing Customer Needs from Twitter: A âNeedminingâ Prototype
GaNEsHA: Opportunities for Sustainable Transportation in Smart Cities
TUCANA: A platform for using local processing power of edge devices for building data-driven services
Demonstrator zur Beschreibung und Visualisierung einer kritischen Infrastruktur
Entwicklung einer alltagsnahen persuasiven App zur Bewegungsmotivation fĂŒr Ă€ltere Nutzerinnen und Nutzer
A browser-based modeling tool for studying the learning of conceptual modeling based on a multi-modal data collection approach
Exergames & Dementia: An interactive System for People with Dementia and their Care-Network
Workshops
Workshop Ethics and Morality in Business Informatics (Workshop Ethik und Moral in der Wirtschaftsinformatik â EMoWIâ19)
Model-Based Compliance in Information Systems - Foundations, Case Description and Data Set of the MobIS-Challenge for Students and Doctoral Candidates
Report of the Workshop on Concepts and Methods of Identifying Digital Potentials in Information Management
Control of Systemic Risks in Global Networks - A Grand Challenge to Information Systems Research
Die Mitarbeiter von morgen - Kompetenzen kĂŒnftiger Mitarbeiter im Bereich Business Analytics
Digitaler Konsum: Herausforderungen und Chancen der Verbraucherinformati
Ecomodding. Understanding and Communicating the Climate Crisis by Co-Creating Commercial Video Games
This article explores how the climate crisis and specifically the underlying âcrisis of the imaginationâ (Bendor 2018, 132) exacerbate the entrenchment of environmental communication, and how modifying commercial video games (ecomodding) can facilitate the use of games as effective communication infrastructures to address this issue. Environmental communication challenges are well-studied, but remain difficult to tackle in practice. Timothy Morton summarizes these challenges by defining climate change and related phenomena as âhyperobjectsâ (Morton 2013), which appear tangible but are always only partially knowable and communicable. In recent years, games have been increasingly regarded as a potential solution to these problems (e.g. Chang 2013); as games provide agency to players, they can be specifically effective as âtools to communicate about climate (change) uncertaintyâ (van Pelt et al. 2015). More recently, though, the promises of ecogames are offset against more critical questions. For example, (Asplund 2020) addresses âcredibility aspects in research-based gamingâ, and researchers become more aware of the inequities of âdiscursive gamingâ (Voorhees 2012) like the carbon footprint of contemporary gaming technology and the disproportionate influence of larger publishers and platform owners. To address this issue, the article develops a comparative perspective on âecocriticalâ (Bohunicky 2017) modifications of commercial games (ecomods) as an ongoing discursive process. Ecomods for two major game franchises â The Sims and Civilization â are analyzed as communicative acts over time, quoting, re-phrasing or outright challenging the procedural rhetoric of the original games. The definition of eco games as boundary objects (van Pelt et al. 2015) is thereby adapted to the characteristic multiplicity and redundancy of ecomods. This perspective acknowledges how modding can affect the games as communication infrastructure, e.g. considering that both franchises recently ârespondedâ with official expansions including environmental themes, Civilization VI: Gathering Storm (2019) and The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle (2020). To conclude, the article briefly reports on an exploratory workshop, in which students applied ecomodding techniques to repurpose Epic Gamesâ Fortnite (2017-) as a platform for academic communication on the climate crisis. Due to the gameâs immense popularity, climate researchers and activists have tentatively used Fortnite, e.g. via the âClimateFortniteâ channel , where players can âfind climate researchers and others discussing global warming while they playâ (Boykoff 2019, 22), or a 2019 WWF ad campaign . These approaches, however, are characteristically relegated to small existing ânichesâ within the âecology of communicationâ (Altheide 2019) surrounding the game because they cannot modify or otherwise appropriate its contents. The workshop outlines how ecomodding not only constitutes a uniquely productive site for societal debate, but may also hold potential for augmenting academic communication on the climate crisis