More Than Just a Combo of Slaps? Representations and Experiences of LGBT Gamers On and Beyond the Screen [Abstract]


Light Ben
2009 DiGRA '09 - Proceedings of the 2009 DiGRA International Conference: Breaking New Ground: Innovation in Games, Play, Practice and Theory

Although there is a growing body of work surrounding gender and digital games (Bryce and Rutter, 2006; Crawford and Gosling 2005; Yates and Littleton, 1999), the separate but related area regarding the sexuality of players has yet to receive a serious amount of attention (Bertozzi, 2009; Sunden 2008). In this paper, I wish to contribute to this area through an analysis of the representation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT) themes and characters on and beyond the gaming screen. In order to do this, I analyse materials of and about gaming across a number of platforms. From this analysis it clear that LGBT issues and characters are engaged with in digital games in different ways. For example, such engagements can be socially exclusive, as with profile banning in the Xbox live community, socially inclusive, such as the possibility of gay marriage in the Temple of Elemental Evil and, instrumental, where ‘sexy lesbians’ are deployed for boys in Fear Effect 2. Moreover, even in cognisance of the fact that there is a large amount of guess work and labelling of characters, leading to the status of certain characters being contested, it is also clear that those who would self define as Lesbian, Gay, Bi or Trans are included – sometimes in the most unlikely of places. It is also clear that LGBT characters are included in periferal ways and as integral to the game. They can also have ludic value (as in Bully – Scholarship Edition) and narrataive value (as in GTA IV). Moreover, as with other aspects of digital gaming I hightlight instances of intertextuality (Crawford, 2006). For example, comparisons are made between developers actions with respect to character deployment ingame and the experiences of the LGBT community beyond the screen. I also demonstrate that LGBT gamers experiences of gaming spaces beyond game play can be safe, considered and humourous, but also subject to homophobia. I argue that this is a fruitful area requiring more research, even though, for those who identify as LGBT, including myself, sexuality does not necessarily figure in gameplay and their experiences on or beyond the screen.

 

Demystifying guilds: MMORPG-playing and norms


Verhagen Harko Johansson Magnus
2009 DiGRA '09 - Proceedings of the 2009 DiGRA International Conference: Breaking New Ground: Innovation in Games, Play, Practice and Theory

One of the most influential gaming trends today, MassivelyMulti Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG), poses newquestions about the interaction between the players in thegame. Previous work has introduced concepts such ascommunity, commons, and social dilemma to analyzesituations where individual choices may result in sub-optimal global results. We propose to use the concept ofnorms instead.Modelling the players and groups of players in these gamesas normative systems with the possibility to create normsand sanction norm violations, we can analyze the differentkind of norms that may deal with the trade-off betweenindividuals, groups, and society at large.We argue that our model adds complexity where we findearlier concepts lacking some descriptive or overstretchingwhen trying to analyze the balance between individualplayers and the game playing society.

 

Simulating a Quasi-Simulation: A framework for using Multi Agent Simulation Techniques for studying MMORPGs


Salazar Javier
2009 DiGRA '09 - Proceedings of the 2009 DiGRA International Conference: Breaking New Ground: Innovation in Games, Play, Practice and Theory

The use of computer simulation techniques for the study of social phenomena, or Social Simulation, is a relatively new field (Gibert & Troitzch, 2005). By using Multi Agent Simulation (MAS) techniques, among others, social scientists are able to explore “what if” scenarios of emergent behaviors in complex social systems. However, the Social Simulation method faces many challenges : a) human subjectivity; there is no computer, mathematical model nor software powerful and exhaustive enough to replicate subjective aspects like love, free will, etc; b) pervasive contingency; even if we can simulate the interaction of a great number of variables and environmental factors, a computational simulation will never attain the level of complexity that actual human social phenomena has and c) validation; is it not always easy to extract from the real world the kind of research results needed to validate social simulation models. In the other hand, Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) share many characteristics with MAS models. MMORPGs resemble in many ways the social complexities of the real world, they are also coded through a programming language and they are also based on a hardware/software platform … but they feature one thing that MAS models don’t: real human beings participate on them, instead of mere AI based agents. Therefore MMORPGs are quasi-simulations that offer unprecedented opportunities for studying complex social phenomena. Since it is humans and not only AI NPCs who play them, the “human subjectivity” problem can be bypassed. Their “sandbox” nature minimizes the “pervasive contingency” problem. Moreover, the wide arrange of data gathering possibilities they offer (see for example Ducheneaut et al, 2004, Williams et al 2008a) empower researchers to obtain appropriate results for computer model validation purposes. In this sense, Gee (2004) and Burke (2005) call for the need of bridging complex systems simulation techniques with MMORPGs studies, and in this paper I intend to further the discussion of the kind framework that is needed for such enterprise. The importance of this theme for the Game Studies discipline is put into perspective by a relatively recent but landmark event on MMORPG Research : Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), has allowed a group of researchers to collect and analyze virtual world data on a unprecedented scale from the Everquest II MMORPG ( Terranova Blog, 2008). This event triggered the discussion of a necessary conceptual framework for the understanding of the extent a virtual world can simulate the real world. In other words, it is necessary to create a conceptual intervention in order to be able to use data from virtual worlds as a means for understanding the real world. Williams (2008b) posited the “mapping principle” as an initial approach to tackle this issue. On this paper I discuss the implications of the “mapping principle” and argue that the relationship between real worlds and their virtual counterparts can be traced back to Baudrillard’s (1983) seminal conceptions of “hiperreality”. I further elaborate William’s postulates and widen their focus in order to include the “hiperreal” category; proposing an alternative framework for understanding the relationship between the virtual and the real on MMORPGS. As an illustration on how to use this framework, I present a practical example of the usage of a MAS technique for understanding an MMORPG and the “real” social phenomena that happen within them. The example consists on creating a multi agent model of social identity (re)production in the World of Warcraft (WoW) MMORPG, based on Salazar’s (2006) theoretical model on social identity. The computational model reproduces many of WoW’s environment, social processes and migration patterns and it intends to show how can meaningful insights of WoW’s social landscape be extracted. To conclude, the paper gives several pointers on how to use the presented framework as well as the key issues that still need to be addressed and discussed in order to bridge Social Simulation methodologies, MMORPG Studies and virtual world data analysis.

 

Towards a Socio-Cultural Cartography of In-Game Protests


Chan Dean
2009 DiGRA '09 - Proceedings of the 2009 DiGRA International Conference: Breaking New Ground: Innovation in Games, Play, Practice and Theory

In-game protests are a dynamic part of a burgeoning global cartography of activism and mass mobilisation unfolding across virtual worlds. Such protests nonetheless deserve to be negotiated on their own specific terms if only because these situational inter-plays of political, social, and gaming practices provide a unique means to gain insight into the socio-cultural contexts and imperatives that variously provoke, animate, and enable these acts. By focusing on two extended case study analyses—(1) U.S. artist Joseph DeLappe’s online war memorial and protest project, dead-in-iraq; and (2) the mass protest triggered by the sighting of a Japanese military flag in the Chinese online game Fantasy Westward Journey—this paper is illustrative of interpretive approaches for tentatively mapping and negotiating the sociocultural constituencies of in-game protests. The chosen case studies exemplify how Web 2.0 participatory culture remains informed at base by an acute sense of locality and placespecificity. Such are the grounded premises and possibilities for developing future and further theorisations on the global cartography of in-game protests.

 

Take One – or Three – for the Team: Consumerism as Play


Jacobs Melinda
2009 DiGRA '09 - Proceedings of the 2009 DiGRA International Conference: Breaking New Ground: Innovation in Games, Play, Practice and Theory

With the expansion of consciousness driven by further discovery and creation of the digital realm, scholars have witnessed the birth of societal structures and cultures, originally found in the physical realm, within the digital realm. This has been documented mainly in the creation of communities within MMORPGs and synthetic worlds. Although these communities are defined as being based around fundamental principles of “play” and “fun”, I argue identical communities are being formed within sites dealing with consumerism, and these communities are not exclusive to these virtual worlds. Within my paper I will address the concept of consumerism as play using the wholesale outlet site woot.com, and their live-time sales experience, called a “woot-off.” I will analyze how the Internet has allowed for such a type of consumerism that breaks the norms of consuming in the physical world, allowing what once was a normally individualistic goal – purchasing an item for oneself that one wants – to turn into a group goal – helping others get to items they wish to purchase by “taking one for the team.”

 

“I’m not afraid to die, Mom”:Parental perceptions & stories of their adolescents gaming [Extended Abstract]


Madill Leanna
2009 DiGRA '09 - Proceedings of the 2009 DiGRA International Conference: Breaking New Ground: Innovation in Games, Play, Practice and Theory

Media reports such as “Virtual Worlds threaten ‘values”(BBC news, 2007); “Violent youth crime rising, statisticsshow” (The Vancouver Sun, 2007); “Hooked on games:battling a cyber-addiction” (Times Colonist, 2007); “Newvideo games sell sex instead of mayhem” (Times Colonist,2006) sensationalize video games and imply a dire state ofviolence, health related problems, isolation, and addictioncaused by video game play. Parents appear to be situatedbetween these frightening and guilt-ridden reports of doomand knowing their own child, his/her abilities andpotentials. What are parents thinking or feeling about videogame content and play for themselves and for theiradolescents? How do they interact with their children andvideo games? What do parents want to know more about?What are their stories?

 

Streets = Play = Fun [Workshop Abstract]


Udayasankar Subalekha Wagner LeAnne
2009 DiGRA '09 - Proceedings of the 2009 DiGRA International Conference: Breaking New Ground: Innovation in Games, Play, Practice and Theory

“Big Games are human-powered software for cities, life-size collaborative hallucinations, and serious fun” - Frank Lantz. “Play” was once a word that used to be associated with games such as Hide and Seek and Tag. It is now widely used to represent sedentary activities. To quote a fourth-grader in San Diego, “I like to play indoors ‘cause that’s where all the electrical outlets are”, (Last Child in the Woods). The Wii has brought back the physical nature of play, but still restricts the player to the indoors. As game designers and theorists, we are left with the responsibility of answering the question "Have video games put an end to the era of outdoor play?" As well as "Can a solution be found in the emerging technology that is being used to enhance outdoor play?" A Big Game is defined as any that is played using the city and streets as a game board. Big games, over the last few years, have mostly been part of organized events. The author of “Big Games and Smart Mobs”, written on 17 May 2004 says “Big Games have the potential to get game players out of their seats and into the streets. While current versions require a great deal of preparation and are scheduled events, I can imagine a time in the very near future when a smart mob might self-organize a pickup game of Street Pac-Man on a Friday night.” It is a surprise that in 2009, Big games have not progressed much further. Why have big games not left the realm of art projects and scheduled events? Is it because of the lack of research in the area of Big Game? This workshop will give participants an introduction to Big Games, demonstrate their potential and kick-start them into making one: 1. Introduce participants to the Big Game genre, show examples 2. Collaborative assessment one of the games from the examples, and classification of the interaction occuring in the games into 4 categories, people, objects, city/streets and technology 3. Quick overview of the available open-source tools that could be used. 4. Hands-on activity on how to quickly prototype for a Big Game (Participants choose one from the examples in Step 1) - In the end of the session, they would have paper-prototyped a playable game experience and scoped out the next steps needed to implement it (technological requirements). This will be the main activity.

 

Abstractions of a meaningless act: (spending) time in the gaming world [Abstract]


Long Vanessa
2009 DiGRA '09 - Proceedings of the 2009 DiGRA International Conference: Breaking New Ground: Innovation in Games, Play, Practice and Theory

However distant the universe, however futuristic the scenery, it is common in video games to see and take part in elements and activities that are familiar to the world in which we live. These familiar objects fill and yet somehow evade our attention. Processes such as transporting oneself, exchanging money, or making contact with another individual are mechanically sound aspects of the game itself, but they remain a means to an end, and because of this they are rarely central plot points of the game. So what does including these familiar elements really mean?

 

Locative Life: Geocaching, Mobile Gaming, and the Reassertion of Proximity [Abstract]


Farman Jason
2009 DiGRA '09 - Proceedings of the 2009 DiGRA International Conference: Breaking New Ground: Innovation in Games, Play, Practice and Theory

While ubiquitous computing has been developing around much speculation and theorization for quite some time, the current uses of mobile and locative technologies are bringing these ideas to fruition. Mobile games - from geocaching to site specific performance games like Blast Theory’s Rider Spoke - are moving the interface away from personal computing toward physical computing that engages the immediate social space. Geocaching, which has its origins in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, is a GPS game that utilizes coordinates on a mobile device in order to track down containers that typically contain a logbook, various items left behind by gamers, and sometimes a “Travel Bug” that is meant to travel from cache to cache (moved by active gamers and tracked by its owner online). Once located, the gamer signs the logbook, re-hides the cache, and describes the find online to the geocaching community. By combining the interfaces of a mobile device, the Internet, and the physical landscape, this mobile game enacts the embodied space of cyberspace in a way that seamlessly blends and coheres. Here, social networking and the gaming community move away from individual space of computer screen to social space of material environment. The result is a reiteration of proximity in an era where the space of cyberspace is not limited by physical location. While social networking online allows people to interact with others around the globe, mobile games like geocaching reassert the significance of proximity and site-specificity.

 

Apocalypse the Spielberg Way: Representations of Death and Ethics in Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers and the Videogame Medal of Honor: Frontline


Kingsepp Eva
2003 DiGRA '03 - Proceedings of the 2003 DiGRA International Conference: Level Up

“Authenticity” is an issue central to Steven Spielberg in his re-creations of World War II. But while the films are (hyper)realistic also in their representation of death, this is not the case in the videogames. Does this suggest anything about contemporary society’s view of killing, dying and death? In my paper I study death and ethics in Saving Private Ryan, the TV series Band of Brothers, and the video game Medal of Honor: Frontline (2002), all sharing the same topic: the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II. The differences indicate an ambiguity in the notion of authenticity as well as different strategies of handling ethical questions.