Vol. 1 No. 2 | ARTICLE: Cats and Portals: Video
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Empirical Investigation on Measurement of Game Immersion Using Real World Dissociation Factor
Thesis no: MSCS-2016-13 Empirical Investigation on Measurement of Game Immersion using Real World Dissociation Factor Gadila Swarajya Haritha Reddy Faculty of Computing Blekinge Institute of Technology SE–371 79 Karlskrona, Sweden This thesis is submitted to the Faculty of Computing at Blekinge Institute of Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Computer Science. The thesis is equivalent to 20 weeks of full time studies. Contact Information: Author(s): Gadila Swarajya Haritha Reddy E-mail: [email protected] University advisor: Prof. Sara Eriksén Department of Creative Technologies Faculty of Computing Internet : www.bth.se Blekinge Institute of Technology Phone : +46 455 38 50 00 SE–371 79 Karlskrona, Sweden Fax : +46 455 38 50 57 Abstract Context. Games involve people to a large extent where they relate them- selves with the game characters; this is commonly known as game immer- sion. Generally, some players play games for enjoyment, some for stress relaxation and so on.Game immersion is usually used to describe the degree of involvement with a game. When people play games, they don’t necessar- ily realize that they have been dissociated with the surrounding world. Real world dissociation (RWD) can be defined as the situation where a player is less aware of the surroundings outside the game than about what is happen- ing in the game itself. The RWD factor has been expected to measure the losing track of time, lack of awareness of surroundings and mental trans- portation. Objectives. In this thesis, we measure and compare the difference in game immersion between experienced and inexperienced players using RWD fac- tor. -
Now We Are All Sons of Bitches
Now We Are All Sons of Bitches MICHAEL BONTATIBUS “Wake up, Mr. Freeman. Wake up and smell the ashes,” the enigmat- ic G-Man murmurs as he leers into the camera, finishing an eerie opening monologue—and so begins Half-Life 2, Valve Corporation’s flagship game. The last time we saw Gordon Freeman, the protagonist, the same rigid and mysterious (though more poorly animated, since the prequel was released six years earlier) G-Man was handing him a job offer after witnessing the former scientist transform into a warrior, bent on escaping from the besieged Black Mesa Research Facility alive. Now, suddenly, Freeman finds himself on a train. No context.1 Is it a prison train? The three other individuals on it wear uniforms like those the inmates wore in Cool Hand Luke. The train soon stops at its destination, and we realize that it is a prison train, in a way—Freeman has arrived at the Orwellian “City 17,” where the ironically named Civil Protection abuses and oppresses, where antagonist Dr. Breen preaches poet- ic propaganda from large monitors hung high above the town. In the years since scientists at the facility accidentally opened a gateway between dimen- sions and allowed a bevy of grotesque creatures to spill into our universe, Earth has been taken over by the Combine, an alien multiplanetary empire. Breen is merely Earth’s administrator—and we realize that the ashes the G- Man spoke of were the ashes of the prelapsarian world. It’s classic dystopia, complete with a Resistance, of which Freeman soon finds himself the “mes- sianic” leader (HL2). -
EA Opens up the Orange Box for PLAYSTATION 3
EA Opens up The Orange Box for PLAYSTATION 3 Critically-Acclaimed PC and Xbox 360 Game is Now Available for PLAYSTATION 3 in North America and Europe REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 14, 2007--2007's best reviewed PC and Xbox 360™ game is now available for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. Praised by many publications as the best value in the history of the video game industry, The Orange Box was originally developed by Valve and gives players five innovative action games for the price of one. Now Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) brings this amazing collection to the PLAYSTATION 3 in North America and most of Europe, with French and German versions expected in early 2008. The Orange Box was released earlier this year on the Xbox 360 and PC to wide critical acclaim - both versions have averaged a 96 based on Metacritic.com and are tied for the highest rated games on each respective platforms, including 17 perfect scores. The five-games-in-one-package includes the highest-rated first person shooter of all time Half-Life® 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, and three all-new games: -- Half Life 2: Episode Two - Episode 2 is the latest chapter in the best-selling, highest-rated action game franchise of all time, taking gamers outside the walls of City 17 for the first time as Gordon and Alyx race across the White Forest in race to save mankind from the Combine. -- Portal™ - A groundbreaking new kind of action game that will forever change the way gamers interact with their environment, Portal gives players mastery over 3D space with the mind-bending new Portal gun. -
The Resurrection of Permadeath: an Analysis of the Sustainability of Permadeath Use in Video Games
The Resurrection of Permadeath: An analysis of the sustainability of Permadeath use in Video Games. Hugh Ruddy A research paper submitted to the University of Dublin, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Interactive Digital Media 2014 Declaration I declare that the work described in this research paper is, except where otherwise stated, entirely my own work and has not been submitted as an exercise for a degree at this or any other university. Signed: ___________________ Hugh Ruddy 28th February 2014 Permission to lend and/or copy I agree that Trinity College Library may lend or copy this research Paper upon request. Signed: ___________________ Hugh Ruddy 28th February 2014 Abstract The purpose of this research paper is to study the the past, present and future use of Permadeath in video games. The emergence of Permadeath games in recent months has exposed the mainstream gaming population to the concept of the permanent death of the game avatar, a notion that has been vehemently avoided by game developers in the past. The paper discusses the many incarnations of Permadeath that have been implemented since the dawn of video games, and uses examples to illustrate how gamers are crying out for games to challenge them in a unique way. The aims of this are to highlight the potential that Permadeath has in the gaming world to become a genre by itself, as well as to give insights into the ways in which gamers play Permadeath games at the present. To carry out this research, the paper examines the motivation players have to play games from a theoretical standpoint, and investigates how the possibilty of failure in video games should not be something gamers stay away from. -
Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21St Century
An occasional paper on digital media and learning Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century Henry Jenkins, Director of the Comparative Media Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Katie Clinton Ravi Purushotma Alice J. Robison Margaret Weigel Building the new field of digital media and learning The MacArthur Foundation launched its five-year, $50 million digital media and learning initiative in 2006 to help determine how digital technologies are changing the way young people learn, play, socialize, and participate in civic life.Answers are critical to developing educational and other social institutions that can meet the needs of this and future generations. The initiative is both marshaling what it is already known about the field and seeding innovation for continued growth. For more information, visit www.digitallearning.macfound.org.To engage in conversations about these projects and the field of digital learning, visit the Spotlight blog at spotlight.macfound.org. About the MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private, independent grantmaking institution dedicated to helping groups and individuals foster lasting improvement in the human condition.With assets of $5.5 billion, the Foundation makes grants totaling approximately $200 million annually. For more information or to sign up for MacArthur’s monthly electronic newsletter, visit www.macfound.org. The MacArthur Foundation 140 South Dearborn Street, Suite 1200 Chicago, Illinois 60603 Tel.(312) 726-8000 www.digitallearning.macfound.org An occasional paper on digital media and learning Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century Henry Jenkins, Director of the Comparative Media Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Katie Clinton Ravi Purushotma Alice J. -
Chell Game: Representation, Identification, and Racial Ambiguity in PORTAL and PORTAL 2 2015
Repositorium für die Medienwissenschaft Jennifer deWinter; Carly A. Kocurek Chell Game: Representation, Identification, and Racial Ambiguity in PORTAL and PORTAL 2 2015 https://doi.org/10.25969/mediarep/14996 Veröffentlichungsversion / published version Sammelbandbeitrag / collection article Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: deWinter, Jennifer; Kocurek, Carly A.: Chell Game: Representation, Identification, and Racial Ambiguity in PORTAL and PORTAL 2. In: Thomas Hensel, Britta Neitzel, Rolf F. Nohr (Hg.): »The cake is a lie!« Polyperspektivische Betrachtungen des Computerspiels am Beispiel von PORTAL. Münster: LIT 2015, S. 31– 48. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25969/mediarep/14996. Erstmalig hier erschienen / Initial publication here: http://nuetzliche-bilder.de/bilder/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Hensel_Neitzel_Nohr_Portal_Onlienausgabe.pdf Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Dieser Text wird unter einer Creative Commons - This document is made available under a creative commons - Namensnennung - Nicht kommerziell - Weitergabe unter Attribution - Non Commercial - Share Alike 3.0/ License. For more gleichen Bedingungen 3.0/ Lizenz zur Verfügung gestellt. Nähere information see: Auskünfte zu dieser Lizenz finden Sie hier: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ Jennifer deWinter / Carly A. Kocurek Chell Game: Representation, Identification, and Racial Ambiguity in ›Portal‹ and ›Portal 2‹ Chell stands in a corner facing a portal, then takes aim at the adjacent wall with the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. Between the two portals, one ringed in blue, one ringed in orange, Chell is revealed, reflected in both. And, so, we, the player, see Chell. She is a young woman with a ponytail, wearing an orange jumpsuit pulled down to her waist and an Aperture Science-branded white tank top. -
Applying a Conceptual Mini Game for Supporting Simple Mathematical Calculation Skills: Students’ Perceptions and Considerations
www.sciedu.ca/wje World Journal of Education Vol . 1, No. 1; April 2011 Applying a Conceptual Mini Game for Supporting Simple Mathematical Calculation Skills: Students’ Perceptions and Considerations Chris T. Panagiotakopoulos Department of Primary Education, University of Patras University Campus 26504, Patras, Greece Tel: +30-2610-997-907 E-mail: [email protected] Received: March 4, 2010 Accepted: March 16, 2010 doi:10.5430/wje.v1n1p3 Abstract Mathematics is an area of study that particularly lacks student enthusiasm. Nevertheless, with the help of educational games, any phobias concerning mathematics can be considerably decreased and mathematics can become more appealing. In this study, an educational game addressing mathematics was designed, developed and evaluated by a sample of 33 students of the fifth grade of a primary school. Each student played the educational game “Playing with Numbers” (PwN), performing additions with integers, additions with decimals and multiplications with integers for a total of one hour, divided into four sessions. Next, the sample was asked to provide feedback regarding specific questions, and the analysis of the results showed that the PwN application is attractive and delivers usage. The attraction of the PwN game probably owes its success to its competitive element, as users are driven to achieve high scores. The PwN application was also found to be easy to use, and this made the challenge of achieving a high score more appealing, as success depended only on the cognitive skills of the user and not on any weaknesses or difficulties raised by the application itself. The findings of this study show that students would benefit from educational games and would be happy to work within an environment that motivated them and indirectly forced them to deal with mathematical operations while playing. -
The Effects of Background Music on Video Game Play Performance, Behavior and Experience in Extraverts and Introverts
THE EFFECTS OF BACKGROUND MUSIC ON VIDEO GAME PLAY PERFORMANCE, BEHAVIOR AND EXPERIENCE IN EXTRAVERTS AND INTROVERTS A Thesis Presented to The Academic Faculty By Laura Levy In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in Psychology in the School of Psychology Georgia Institute of Technology December 2015 Copyright © Laura Levy 2015 THE EFFECTS OF BACKGROUND MUSIC ON VIDEO GAME PLAY PERFORMANCE, BEHAVIOR, AND EXPERIENCE IN EXTRAVERTS AND INTROVERTS Approved by: Dr. Richard Catrambone Advisor School of Psychology Georgia Institute of Technology Dr. Bruce Walker School of Psychology Georgia Institute of Technology Dr. Maribeth Coleman Institute for People and Technology Georgia Institute of Technology Date Approved: 17 July 2015 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank the researchers and students that made Food for Thought possible as the wonderful research tool it is today. Special thanks to Rob Solomon, whose efforts to make the game function specifically for this project made it a success. Additionally, many thanks to Rob Skipworth, whose audio engineering expertise made the soundtrack of this study sound beautifully. I express appreciation to the Interactive Media Technology Center (IMTC) for the support of this research, and to my committee for their guidance in making it possible. Finally, I wish to express gratitude to my family for their constant support and quiet bemusement for my seemingly never-ending tenure in graduate school. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF -
Permadeath in Dayz
Fear, Loss and Meaningful Play: Permadeath in DayZ Marcus Carter, Digital Cultures Research Group, The University of Sydney; Fraser Allison, Microsoft Research Centre for Social NUI, The University of Melbourne Abstract This article interrogates player experiences with permadeath in the massively multiplayer online first-person shooter DayZ. Through analysing the differences between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ instances of permadeath, we argue that meaningfulness – in accordance with Salen & Zimmerman’s (2003) concept of meaningful play – is a critical requirement for positive experiences with permadeath. In doing so, this article suggests new ontologies for meaningfulness in play, and demonstrates how meaningfulness can be a useful lens through which to understand player experiences with negatively valanced play. We conclude by relating the appeal of permadeath to the excitation transfer effect (Zillmann 1971), drawing parallels between the appeal of DayZ and fear-inducing horror games such as Silent Hill and gratuitously violent and gory games such as Mortal Kombat. Keywords DayZ, virtual worlds, meaningful play, player experience, excitation transfer, risk play Introduction It's truly frightening, like not game-frightening, but oh my god I'm gonna die-frightening. Your hands starts shaking, your hands gets sweaty, your heart pounds, your mind is racing and you're a wreck when it's all over. There are very few games that – by default – feature permadeath as significantly and totally as DayZ (Bohemia Interactive 2013). A new character in this massively multiplayer online first- person shooter (MMOFPS) begins with almost nothing, and must constantly scavenge from the harsh zombie-infested virtual world to survive. A persistent emotional tension accompanies the requirement to constantly find food and water, and a player will celebrate the discovery of simple items like backpacks, guns and medical supplies. -
PORTAL 2: PLAYER IMPACT GUIDE Ages 8+ | 1-2 Hours
Spatial Awareness PORTAL 2: PLAYER IMPACT GUIDE Ages 8+ | 1-2 Hours “There’s a lot of challenge in trying to figure out how as the player is moving through this, in terms of a story space, how can you make a gameplay space out of this so they can travel through it in an interesting way.” --Jeep Barnett, designer and engineer In Portal 2, portals are used to navigate obstacle courses filled with deadly hazards inside the mysterious Aperture Science Laboratories. To navigate the game, you must move through the space by following a simple concept: anything that enters one portal—including boxes, lasers, bridges, and you yourself—will exit the other without changing speed. In order to escape Aperture Science and defeat GLaDOS, the lab’s computerized overlord, you must think in three dimensions and use physics to solve puzzles in unusual ways. In this guide we invite you to think about the ways Portal 2 challenges players’ special awareness. As you play, reflect HOW TO on your experience. How is spatial awareness important in Portal 2? How is it important in your life? What kind of USE THIS impact does it leave on your understanding of how the world works? GUIDE Answer the questions below and add up your points when you’re finished! What is a “portal?” How do portals work? [+1] What are some tricks for using portals? What happens when you put a portal directly above you and another one directly under you? [+1] GAME What do the different types of gels do? [+1] How do the Excursion Funnels work? How are they different from Hard Light Bridges? [+2] How does the game indicate the steps you need to take when solving a puzzle? [+3] Many Portal 2 marketing materials use the tagline “Now you’re thinking with portals!” What do you think it means to “think with portals?” Do you find yourself “thinking” in this way as you play the game? [+1] What challenged you when thinking about using “space” in the game (e.g. -
Gaming, Gamification and BYOD in Academic and Library Settings: Bibliographic Overview Plamen Miltenoff St
St. Cloud State University theRepository at St. Cloud State Library Faculty Publications Library Services 6-2015 Gaming, Gamification and BYOD in academic and library settings: bibliographic overview Plamen Miltenoff St. Cloud State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/lrs_facpubs Part of the Library and Information Science Commons Recommended Citation Miltenoff, Plamen, "Gaming, Gamification and BYOD in academic and library settings: bibliographic overview" (2015). Library Faculty Publications. 46. https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/lrs_facpubs/46 This Bibliographic Essay is brought to you for free and open access by the Library Services at theRepository at St. Cloud State. It has been accepted for inclusion in Library Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of theRepository at St. Cloud State. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Plamen Miltenoff [email protected] Gaming, Gamification and BYOD in academic and library settings: bibliographic overview Keywords: gaming, gamification, game-based learning, GBL, serious games, Bring Your Own Device, BYOD, mobile devices, Millennials, Generation Y, Generation Z, academic libraries, education, assessment, badges, leaderboards Introduction Lev Vygotsky’s “Zone of proximal development” and his Sociocultural Theory opened new opportunities for interpretations of the learning process. Vygotsky’s ideas overlapped Jean Piaget’s and Erik Erickson’s assertions that cooperative learning, added to experimental learning, enhances the learning process. Peer interaction, according to them, is quintessential in accelerating the learning process (Piaget, 1970; Erickson, 1977; Vygotsky, 1978). Robert Gagné, B.F. Skinner, Albert Bandura, and others contributed and constructivism established itself as a valid theory in learning. Further, an excellent chapter of social learning theories is presented by Anderson, & Dron (2014). -
Henry Jenkins Convergence Culture Where Old and New Media
Henry Jenkins Convergence Culture Where Old and New Media Collide n New York University Press • NewYork and London Skenovano pro studijni ucely NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS New York and London www.nyupress. org © 2006 by New York University All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jenkins, Henry, 1958- Convergence culture : where old and new media collide / Henry Jenkins, p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-8147-4281-5 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-8147-4281-5 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Mass media and culture—United States. 2. Popular culture—United States. I. Title. P94.65.U6J46 2006 302.230973—dc22 2006007358 New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. Manufactured in the United States of America c 15 14 13 12 11 p 10 987654321 Skenovano pro studijni ucely Contents Acknowledgments vii Introduction: "Worship at the Altar of Convergence": A New Paradigm for Understanding Media Change 1 1 Spoiling Survivor: The Anatomy of a Knowledge Community 25 2 Buying into American Idol: How We are Being Sold on Reality TV 59 3 Searching for the Origami Unicorn: The Matrix and Transmedia Storytelling 93 4 Quentin Tarantino's Star Wars? Grassroots Creativity Meets the Media Industry 131 5 Why Heather Can Write: Media Literacy and the Harry Potter Wars 169 6 Photoshop for Democracy: The New Relationship between Politics and Popular Culture 206 Conclusion: Democratizing Television? The Politics of Participation 240 Notes 261 Glossary 279 Index 295 About the Author 308 V Skenovano pro studijni ucely Acknowledgments Writing this book has been an epic journey, helped along by many hands.