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Search results for: http://www.digra.org/dl/db/11312.41278.pdf

- 1506 articles or papers

 

Gameplay Rhetoric: A Study of the Construction of Satirical and Associational Meaning in Short Computer Games for the WWW

Madsen Helene Johansson Troels Degn
2002 Computer Games and Digital Cultures Conference Proceedings

This paper maps out the construction of non-narrative rhetorical meaning in short computer games. Setting off from the recent emergence of short satirical computer games on the World Wide Web, it observes that at least some computer games do have potentials as a medium of artistic expression; that regardless of the possible narrative powers of computer games. Drawing on Leonard Feinberg's categories of satire and George Lakoff's theory of metaphor, the article describes the basic rhetorical mechanisms of satire and association in computer games and suggests that satire and especially allegorical association in this context appear as two sides of a common theme: the call for immortality and the mastery of computer games.

 

MUsE – A Framework for Reception-based Gaming Research

Schultheiss Daniel
2011 DiGRA '11 - Proceedings of the 2011 DiGRA International Conference: Think Design Play

Game studies are approached from very different faculty cultures and research perspectives. As the reception based view usually examines the process of game usage and its environment, there are still several different entries into the field. Many theoretical approaches and empirical studies concentrate on single phases or theoretical constructs of game reception. Sometimes this is done very detailed, sometimes in a more superficial way. This article delivers a more holistic model for reception based gaming research called MUsE, which describes a whole cycle of game usage and also can be used in longitudinal study designs. Additionally, results of a first prototype study are presented at a glance.

 

More Than A Craze: Photographs of New Zealand’s early digital games scene

Swalwell Melanie
2011 DiGRA '11 - Proceedings of the 2011 DiGRA International Conference: Think Design Play

"More Than A Craze" is an online exhibition consisting of 46 photographs of New Zealand's early digital games scene, in the 1980s. The exhibition includes the work of some of New Zealand's best known documentary photographers – Ans Westra, Christopher Matthews, Robin Morrison – with images from the archives of Wellington's Evening Post and Auckland's Fairfax newspapers. These photographers captured images of games, gamers and gameplay in the moment when these were novel. These images are significant in that they offer insights into the early days of digital games. They are an important primary source material for researchers interested in the history of play and interactive entertainment. The exhibition has been curated by Melanie Swalwell and Janet Bayly. It is an online exhibition, hosted by Mahara Gallery, Waikanae (http://www.maharagallery.org.nz). It is one of the outcomes of Swalwell's research into the history of digital games in New Zealand, in the 1980s.

 

Three Shadowed Dimensions of Feminine Presence in Video Games

Cosima Rughiniș Răzvan Rughiniș Toma Elisabeta
2016 DiGRA/FDG '16 - Proceedings of the First International Joint Conference of DiGRA and FDG

Representations of femininity in video games and other media are often discussed with reference to the most popular games, their protagonists and their sexist predicament. This framing leaves in shadow other dimensions. We aim to identify some of them and to open a broader horizon for examining and designing femininity and gender in games. To this end we look into games with creative portrayals of feminine characters, diverging from the action-woman trope: The Walking Dead, The Path, and 80 Days. We talk in dialogue with scholars, but also with a digital crowd-critique movement for films and games, loosely centered on instruments such as the Bechdel-Wallace test and the TV Tropes.org wiki. We argue that the central analytical dimension of female character strength should be accompanied by three new axes, in order to examine feminine presence across ages, in the background fictive world created by the game, and in network edges of interaction.

 

The Cheating Assemblage in MMORPGs: Toward a sociotechnical description of cheating

Paoli Stefano De Kerr Aphra
2009 DiGRA '09 - Proceedings of the 2009 DiGRA International Conference: Breaking New Ground: Innovation in Games, Play, Practice and Theory

This paper theoretically and empirically explores cheating in MMORPGs. This paper conceptualises cheating in MMORPGs as a sociotechnical practice which draws upon a non-linear assemblage of human actors and non-human artefacts, in which the practice of cheating is the result or the outcome of an assemblage. We draw upon the assemblage conceptualizations proposed in [16] and [8] and on empirical data taken from a pilot study we have conducted during the period September-November 2008 and from an ethnography we are conducting in the MMORPG Tibia (http://www.tibia.com) since January 2009. This game in particular was chosen because CipSoft, the company that develops the game, launched an anticheating campaign at the beginning of 2009.

 

The Power-up Experience: A study of Power-ups in Games and their Effect on Player Experience

Lange-Nielsen Filip
2011 DiGRA '11 - Proceedings of the 2011 DiGRA International Conference: Think Design Play

Power-ups are important game world and game play changing game elements. In digital games like 카지노 검증, power-ups can be seen as one of the tools for non-trivial traversal of a game. They can change the way the game world is interpreted and traversed – or even change the look or structure of the game world itself. In this paper I propose a model for analyzing and categorizing power-ups in a way that allows us to further inspect and understand why games are played and enjoyable, and how developers bake such possibilities into the structure of the game. There is a lack of a comprehensive discussion of what a power-up is and how it can be studied. There is no agreement in the literature on a definition of a power-up and the term is often used without defining it. Power-ups are used as examples in the game ontology project when discussing higher level elements like Entities and Entity Manipulation (Zagal et al., 2005). In game design literature the term is used varyingly and seen from different perspectives for example as “resource” with its most common system effects or for its strategical advantages in reaching educational goals through its effect on player behaviour (see Fullerton, 2008 and Squire et al., 2003). These contributions are nevertheless still significant when attempting a further inspection of the power-up. Utilizing a combined framework for aesthetic analysis of games I perform a case study of Metroid Prime (Retro Studios, 2001) where play experience of perceived aesthetic goals is used as a way to see how the designers might have intended their power-ups to work to reach such aesthetic goals as identified through play. Metroid Prime was chosen for its heavy use of power-ups and this approach allowed me to focus in on what player experience power-ups might provide. The framework is adopted from Aarseth’s proposed typology of game research (2003) and Hunicke et al.’s MDA-framework (2004). This allows for looking at interdependencies between gameplay, game-structure and game-world related to designers’ intentions and player’s experience brought about from those elements. Based on my findings and synthesizing previous related literature, the model presented in the end groups power-ups according to whether they are expendable (stored), expendable (instant), constant upgrades or re-chargeable constants. Possible modifiers such as "acquired through", "supply", "duration" and "necessity" are suggested. With this model I attempt to differentiate power-ups from other formal design elements and in such a manner provide a possible reference for designers looking to choose appropriate solutions for their games, as well as an analytical tool for researchers. A mention of other games and how comparable yet different power-ups were implemented in these is also provided to exemplify the model’s utility. In the paper I also argue power-ups are used to afford paidia play as well as ludus play through their application in hyper-ludic and contra-ludic game systems as described by Steven Conway (2010). Using the case study I argue that the most interesting aspect of power-ups as game mechanic is that they shift experiential character when a given power-up's implied formal use changes during gameplay. With this I mean that a power-up can at the same time be a means to achieve a goal as well as goals to be achieved themselves. A model explaining this is also provided. When considering the above, power-ups as abstractions are malleable elements that can be changed to fit in different games for different experiences. Power-ups can impact on the player experience, and changes to power-ups in turn impact on that experience. As the MDA-framework suggests, designers can tweak the run-time dynamics between player and game system by altering mechanics to reach aesthetic goals in their design. For the benefit of further work, both of this paper’s models can be used to inspect and compare other games to better be able to compare them and further increase our understanding of games’ formal elements, and, their impact on player experience.

 

Participatory Game Design to Engage a Digitally Excluded Community

Lochrie Mark Coulton Paul Wilson Andrew
2011 DiGRA '11 - Proceedings of the 2011 DiGRA International Conference: Think Design Play

This paper explores issues around using a Participatory Design of a Location Based Game (LBG) developed as part of a project to connect young people (11-19 years old) in Lancaster and Manchester by exploring issues surrounding place and their sense of belonging within their community. Both these communities were chosen, as they are representative of particular socio-economic conditions that have led them to be considered digitally excluded. The results highlight issues researchers face when working with such a group and the importance of building trust and being sensitive to the lives of the participants.

 

Of discs, boxes and cartridges: the material life of digital games

Toivonen Saara Sotamaa Olli
2011 DiGRA '11 - Proceedings of the 2011 DiGRA International Conference: Think Design Play

So far the field of game studies has mostly bypassed the everyday meanings attached to the material manifestations of digital games. Based on qualitative survey data, this article examines what kind of personal and collective values are attached to the physical copies of games, including the storage medium and packaging. The results show how materiality resonates with the reliability and unambiguity of ownership. Furthermore, games as physical objects can have a key role in the project of creating a home, receiving their meaning as part of a wider technological and popular cultural meaning structure. Finally, collecting associates games with more general issues of identity, sociability and history. Through storing and organising games and having them on display, gamers position themselves as part of game culture, gather subcultural capital and ensure the possibility for nostalgia.

 

Preventing a POX Among the People? A Design Case Study of a Public Health Game

Flanagan Mary Seidman Max Belman Jonathan Punjasthitkul Sukdith Downs Zara Ayoob Mike Driscoll Alicia
2011 DiGRA '11 - Proceedings of the 2011 DiGRA International Conference: Think Design Play

The POX: Save the People game was developed to address some of the core concepts included in curricular frameworks for Science Literacy in the USA. This paper documents our design research, design approach, and prototyping process.

 

Schematically Disruptive Game Design

Howell Peter
2011 DiGRA '11 - Proceedings of the 2011 DiGRA International Conference: Think Design Play

Many games focus their resources at satiating player ‘needs’, and meeting perceived expectations that players have of how games should behave and of what constitutes enjoyable, gratifying gameplay. This paper outlines an alternate position on game design – one which focuses on disrupting these expectations, on designing games that players cannot succeed in simply by relying on their pre-acquired gameplay experiences. A critique of current game design trends is offered, and possible future outcomes of these trends analysed. The proposed framework for ‘Schematically Disruptive Design’ is discussed in relation to the current body of literature, alongside a justification of taking a development-led, horror-focused approach to this research programme. The current position of the research and intended direction of study is lastly outlined, along with the intended application of future results.