At the Intersection of Rhetoric, Affect, and Video Games Joshua A
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Clemson University TigerPrints All Dissertations Dissertations 5-2018 Affective Gaming: At the Intersection of Rhetoric, Affect, and Video Games Joshua A. Wood Clemson University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations Recommended Citation Wood, Joshua A., "Affective Gaming: At the Intersection of Rhetoric, Affect, and Video Games" (2018). All Dissertations. 2095. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2095 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AFFECTIVE GAMING: AT THE INTERSECTION OF RHETORIC, AFFECT, AND VIDEO GAMES A Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Rhetorics, Communication, and Information Design by Joshua A. Wood May 2018 Accepted by: Dr. David Blakesley, Committee Chair Dr. Cynthia Haynes Dr. Matthew Boyer Dr. David Donar ABSTRACT Affective Gaming is an intervention in the field of game studies, designed to address the lack of racial diversity in games. I examine the role that emotion plays in games by melding game studies and rhetorical theory with affect theory and critical identity studies. I build a theory of gaming that is attuned to the way games provoke emotion in players in order to bring a new understanding of identity to game studies. I then turn towards a theory of game design that uses affect toward a rhetorical end, and finally turn this toward games in the classroom. I also produce a video game prototype to accompany the dissertation to illustrate the intersection of mechanics and narrative that I write about, and to show what is possible when games are considered rhetorically. ii DEDICATION For my family, past and present, without whom none of this would be possible. To Anna, Carson, and Henry. The reason to my rhyme. Por todos que tienen que learn to code switch. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my committee, thank you for the time and effort put into working with me these past few years on the research that went into this dissertation, on the job market, and everywhere else. Thank you to Dr. Cynthia Haynes, Dr. Matthew Boyer, and Dr. David Donar for your help shaping what this project eventually became. And a special thanks to Dr. David Blakesley for stepping in to chair the committee and pointing me towards Burke’s theory of identification, which proved to be a missing link in the research. Thank you for working closely with me to get this project done, and for putting up with my trouble meeting deadlines. Special thanks to the entire faculty of Clemson’s RCID program, past and present: Dr. Victor Vitanza, Dr. Akel Kahera, Dr. Jan Holmevik, Dr. Christina Hung, Dr. Bryan Denham, Dr. Stephanie Barczewski, and Dr. Steven Katz. To all of these scholars, I want to extend my appreciation for their work in designing and continuing to create a program that is both innovative and challenging in all the right ways. I would also like to thank Dr. Todd May and Dr. Cameron Bushnell for their work in inspiring vibrant discussion in the RCID Theory Colloquium, wherein many ideas that are now in this dissertation found their start. I would also like to thank Dr. Victor Vitanza for the opportunity to travel with him to Saas-Fee, Switzerland for a semester abroad at the European Graduate School. The ideas in this dissertation could not have come to fruition in the ways they have were it not for that experience. iv Special thanks to the Office of Access and Equity at Clemson University, who awarded me a Diversity Fellowship. I cannot express how much this has helped along the way to complete this project and my doctorate as a whole. Similarly, the work of designing Codex Switch was made possible in large part by a dissertation completion grant from the offices of the Vice President for Research and the Dean of the Graduate School, which went toward financing training and assets for the timely completion of the game. I also want to thank the Professional Enrichment Grant program managed by Clemson’s Graduate Student Government for several travel grants over the course of my doctoral studies. To the students of RCID, thank you for creating a great environment. RCID is a family, and you all prove it. Thanks for all the ideas, feedback, and well wishes along the way. Thanks to my cohort, for being the best cohort I could ask for, and for all the late nights we spent working together to thrive in a rigorous program. Most importantly, to my kids and my wife, thank you for the days you had to put up with Dad being too engrossed in his work to play with you. Ironic, since this very dissertation is all about that play. A huge shout-out to my wife for sticking with me this long. This project is as much your accomplishment as it is mine. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TITLE PAGE ............................................................................................................. i ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................ ii DEDICATION ........................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .........................................................................................iv LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 1 Game Studies and Design: A Historical Overview ........................... 6 How this Project Proceeds ............................................................. 10 2. AFFECTIVE RHETORIC................................................................... 18 Motivations ................................................................................... 21 A Working Theory of Affect ......................................................... 26 Attuning to Game's Affective Transfer .......................................... 37 Video Games and Identification .................................................... 53 Affective Gaming .......................................................................... 62 3. AFFECT AND IDENTITY ................................................................. 64 The Void at the Heart of Identity ................................................... 66 A Paradox of (Racial) Substance ................................................... 69 (Mis)recognizing the Other ............................................................ 83 Narrativity and Identity in Games .................................................. 96 4. AFFECTIVE DESIGN ...................................................................... 104 Narrative and Procedurality ......................................................... 108 Freedom, Affect, Narrative .......................................................... 125 Critical and Affective Design ...................................................... 127 Codex Switch .............................................................................. 142 vi Table of Contents (Continued) Page The MyStory in Affective Game Design ...................................... 147 Conclusion .................................................................................. 159 5. GAMING PEDAGOGY.................................................................... 162 From Critical Pedagogy to Games-Based Learning ...................... 165 Narrative and Education .............................................................. 171 The Classroom RPG .................................................................... 174 Conclusion .................................................................................. 186 6. CONCLUSION ................................................................................. 189 The Art of Failure ........................................................................ 192 Beta Testing: Courses for Future Study ....................................... 199 APPENDICES ......................................................................................................... 204 A. Game Script ...................................................................................... 205 Scene 1. Community ................................................................... 205 Scene 2. The God of War ............................................................ 207 Scene 3. Where am I?/Desert ....................................................... 212 Scene 4. Borderlands ................................................................... 215 Scene 5. The Underworld ............................................................ 217 Scene 6. Interlude ........................................................................ 220 Scene 7. The Sacrifice ................................................................. 220 B. Last Word: A Classroom RPG .......................................................... 223 The World of the Not-So-Distant Future ...................................... 223 What is a Role-Playing Game? .................................................... 225 Dice Mechanics ........................................................................... 226 Destiny Points ............................................................................