DOCSLIB.ORG

The Current Situation and Trend of Tabletop Game in China

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Current Situation and Trend of Tabletop Game in China The Current Situation and Trend of Tabletop Game in China Hao ZHAN1, Zhiwei HUANG2, Qiyu WANG2, Lingxiao TAO3, Ming BIAN2, Yixin FENG2 1Xiamen University 2Durham University 3University of Lincoln Abstract：As an imported cultural product, tabletop game has not expanded rapidly since it entered China. We only learn Tabletop Game from several phenomenal products. The different historical evolution of tabletop game in different regions reveals that China’s Tabletop Game stay in Frontier of the times but lacking cultural foundations, having a huge market prospect but fewer products. The board game products with social main-attributes need to be combined with the Internet, variety, and entertainment to promote them, so that they can occupy a place in this era. Keywords: Tabletop game; Tabletop game industry; Tabletop game history; Tabletop game market DOI: 10.47297/taposatWSP2633-456905.20200105 Tabletop game, referred to as board game in Chinese, are named because people usually played them on the flat surface such as the tabletop. As an unplugged game, tabletop game is different from computer games, video game consoles and other electronic game and players always gather face to face in the same space, using cards, graphics, cards and other props to play. Although tabletop game have become the chief way for young people in first-tier or second- tier cities of China to entertain, compared to the strong foreign tabletop atmosphere, we are not matured enough in the cultural research and market exploration of tabletop game. If we expect About the author: Hao ZHAN (1997-04), male, Han, Luzhou Students Master, MA - Philosophy of Science. Zhiwei HUANG (1998-11), male, Han, Jilin, Master, Research on Scientific Computing and Data Analytics in Durham University. Yixin FENG (1998-08), female,Hui, Yinchuan,Master,Research on Scientific Computing and Data Analytics in Durham University. Qiyu WANG (1997-08), female,Menggu, Yaan, Master,Social Research method（sociology ）. Lingxiao TAO (1994-06), Male,Han,hubei wuhan,Experimenter,Master,Financial science research. Ming BIAN (1997-01), male, Hui, NANJING, Master, MA - Social Research Methods (Social Policy). 26 The Current Situation and Trend of Tabletop Game in China tabletop game to become a new generation of social entertainment and even develop tabletop activ- ities (such as table game bar) into the third largest social space for young people, it is necessary to clearly define the current situation and future development trend of China’s current tabletop game. 1. The Historical Evolution of Tabletop Game (1) The Historical Evolution of Foreign Tabletop Game 1) Initial Tabletop Game Period The majority of the culture and societies in history have recorded broad-based tabletop game. As early as 5,000 years ago, in the Middle East, it appeared a new tabletop game called Backgam- mon, which was investigated to be the oldest tabletop game ever. Well the chess that we widely knew is originated from the 3rd to 5th centuries A.D. in the eastern part of India and gradually developed into the most successful chess game. This kind of ancient chess game is merely a branch of the concept of contemporary tabletop game, and because the counters and pieces should be moved or set in the same board, it is also called broad game. Compared to contemporary tabletop game, the broad game that is born out of war simulations stresses more on strategies and game, requiring a lot of brainpower to calculate. 2) Modern Tabletop Game Period From the early time of last century to the period of the Great Depression was the first high- speed development period for tabletop game. With the rise of the middle class in Western countries, more and more well-educated people have plenty of time and money to try out the new form of entertainment. The emergence of The Landlord’s Game and its improved version, MONOPOLY (also translated as real estate tycoon, monogamy) represents the modern tabletop game have offi- cially entered the public eyes. The original purpose of the game was to teach the public about the shortcomings of the monopoly of the rich and protest against the riches at that time (one of them was Carnegie). After being unexpectedly popular, the Company Parker Brothers of the United States published the Monopoly board game on November 5, 1935, and successfully sell it all over the world till now. There are countless monopoly types games invented based on its core rule, which is indeed a successful case in history. 3) Contemporary Tabletop Game Period The second fast developing period for tabletop game is from the World War II to the beginning of the 21st century, during which long-term peace and the recovery of the world economy and soaring created the golden age of table game. With a good industrial form, many excellent board game design talents have emerged, and the table game have been greatly enriched and developed. The German-style strategy game (Brettspiel) which plays the most important role in table game and the first Tabletop Role Playing Game, Dungeons & Dragons (known as the running group previ- ously) appeared in this period, and it eventually became two important branches of contemporary tabletop game. 27 Theory and Practice of Science and Technology The other branch of contemporary tabletop game--the exchange card, was created at the end of the 20th century. At the time, Richard Garfield, a combined mathematics doctor at the University of Pennsylvania, designed the first mature offline trading card game: Magic: The Gathering after comparing the competitive game in video games. The release of Magic has attracted a large number of players in Dungeons and Dungeons, and due to its competitive game mechanics, it has gradually become popular, and even the official-led large-scale competitive event was held, which is called Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour. As the world’s first commercial TRPG, Magic still maintains a sufficient number of core players until today. 4) Recent tabletop period The third high-speed development of table game is from the beginning of the 21st century to the present. At the beginning of the new century, with the popularity of video games and bottlenecks in the creative design of table game, players gradually turned to emerging video game, and the growing rate of the tabletop game market began to slow down, and even experience a certain degree of shrinkage and decline. (2) The Historical Evolution of Tabletop Game in China 1) Initial Tabletop Game Period The earliest record of tabletop game in China appeared in the Warring States Period. Recorded about Liubo as early as 922 BCE, and there are some descriptions about Go in Zuo Zhuan. Unlike the situation abroad, Chinese tabletop game lack a corresponding historical evolution. Although board game such as Go, Chess and Mahjong have a long history and a broad public base in China, contemporary board game merely have become popular in China for nearly a decade. If you want to evaluate the milestone game of Chinese contemporary tabletop game, it is none other than the Three Kingdoms. On January 1, 2008, the three founders of the card game boarded out 50,000 yuan to release their first printed version, which was also the first batch of official prod- ucts of the Three Kingdoms. In the next few years, the Three Kingdoms Kill has become a phenom- enal board game product with its strong cultural heritage and relatively reasonable game mechanics. Apart from that, the popularity of the Three Kingdoms has also spurred people’s love for tabletop game. At one time, a large number of tabletop shops were set up in various places, and began to form a unique tabletop culture circle in China, which is a gathering place for table game bars. The development of the werewolf killing game led to the second round of climax of our tab- letop game. The Werewolf Killing Game, which was designed during the Cold War by Dimitri Davydov, a professor of psychology at Moscow University, was originated from a European tab- letop game called Mafia. The players play the role of a policeman or a killer, they hide their identi- ties and distinguish between each other through the language exchange in the game. The Werewolf game we mentioned now is a revision of the Mafia game, whose original name is The Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow. The game is based on the rules of the Mafia game, adding a variety of roles and rich skills. 28 The Current Situation and Trend of Tabletop Game in China The Werewolf Killing Game games inspired the gamers’ enthusiasm for pushing the puzzle. Thus at the end of 2017, along with the popular variety show “Star Detective”, a class of games that were collectively called the murder mystery showed up at the chinese table. The Murder mystery game is a party decryption game called the jury box that originated in the first half of the 19th century. In the game, the player will play the role of a jury member. Before the game begins, the role of the regional prosecutor (game administrator) will read a case, the players can request to re- read any part of the story, and based on the clues provided, the players should judge whether the defendant is guilty. Later, the jury game and the mafia game were integrated in the game mechanics. The player could not only serve as a jury, but also act as one or more players even play the murderer and conceal his crimes in various ways. The blessing of variety shows, the rich playability and interactivity made the mystery of murder quickly popular in our tabletop game, and quickly became the most popular tabletop game.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Clues About Bluffing in Clue: Is Conventional Wisdom Wise?
    Digital Commons @ George Fox University Faculty Publications - Department of Electrical Department of Electrical Engineering and Engineering and Computer Science Computer Science 2019 Clues About Bluffing in Clue: Is Conventional Wisdom Wise? David Hansen Kyle D. Hansen Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/eecs_fac Part of the Engineering Commons Clues About Bluffing in Clue : Is Conventional Wisdom Wise? David M. Hansen Affiliate Member, IEEE1, Kyle D. Hansen2 1College of Engineering, George Fox University, Newberg, OR, USA 2Westmont College, Santa Barabara, CA, USA We have used the board game Clue as a pedagogical tool in our course on Artificial Intelligence to teach formal logic through the development of logic-based computational game-playing agents. The development of game-playing agents allows us to experimentally test many game-play strategies and we have encountered some surprising results that refine “conventional wisdom” for playing Clue. In this paper we consider the effect of the oft-used strategy wherein a player uses their own cards when making suggestions (i.e., “bluffing”) early in the game to mislead other players or to focus on acquiring a particular kind of knowledge. We begin with an intuitive argument against this strategy together with a quantitative probabilistic analysis of this strategy’s cost to a player that both suggest “bluffing” should be detrimental to winning the game. We then present our counter-intuitive simulation results from playing computational agents that “bluff” against those that do not that show “bluffing” to be beneficial. We conclude with a nuanced assessment of the cost and benefit of “bluffing” in Clue that shows the strategy, when used correctly, to be beneficial and, when used incorrectly, to be detrimental.
    [Show full text]
  • DVD/Video Game Entertainment System
    DVD/Video Game Entertainment System Owner's Manual wireless input .mp3 RES R integrated SURROUND SOUND VIDEOGAMES s SATELLITE Table of Contents Getting Started ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Switching On, Lowering and Adjusting the Screen, Finding the Remote Control Buttons You Need, Listening Over the Vehicle Speakers Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 6 Discs Played ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 7 Changing Display Settings, Using the Dome Lights ................................................................................................................................................................ 8 Using the Remote Control ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 9 Basic Remote Control Buttons .............................................................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Flexible Games by Which I Mean Digital Game Systems That Can Accommodate Rule-Changing and Rule-Bending
    Let’s Play Our Way: Designing Flexibility into Card Game Systems Gifford Cheung A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2013 Reading Committee: David Hendry, Chair David McDonald Nicolas Ducheneaut Jennifer Turns Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Information School ©Copyright 2013 Gifford Cheung 2 University of Washington Abstract Let’s Play Our Way: Designing Flexibility into Card Game Systems Gifford Cheung Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Associate Professor David Hendry Information School In this dissertation, I explore the idea of designing “flexible game systems”. A flexible game system allows players (not software designers) to decide on what rules to enforce, who enforces them, and when. I explore this in the context of digital card games and introduce two design strategies for promoting flexibility. The first strategy is “robustness”. When players want to change the rules of a game, a robust system is able to resist extreme breakdowns that the new rule would provoke. The second is “versatility”. A versatile system can accommodate multiple use-scenarios and can support them very well. To investigate these concepts, first, I engage in reflective design inquiry through the design and implementation of Card Board, a highly flexible digital card game system. Second, via a user study of Card Board, I analyze how players negotiate the rules of play, take ownership of the game experience, and communicate in the course of play. Through a thematic and grounded qualitative analysis, I derive rich descriptions of negotiation, play, and communication. I offer contributions that include criteria for flexibility with sub-principles of robustness and versatility, design recommendations for flexible systems, 3 novel dimensions of design for gameplay and communications, and rich description of game play and rule-negotiation over flexible systems.
    [Show full text]
  • Nordic Game Is a Great Way to Do This
    2 Igloos inc. / Carcajou Games / Triple Boris 2 Igloos is the result of a joint venture between Carcajou Games and Triple Boris. We decided to use the complementary strengths of both studios to create the best team needed to create this project. Once a Tale reimagines the classic tale Hansel & Gretel, with a twist. As you explore the magical forest you will discover that it is inhabited by many characters from other tales as well. Using real handmade puppets and real miniature terrains which are then 3D scanned to create a palpable, fantastic world, we are making an experience that blurs the line between video game and stop motion animated film. With a great story and stunning visuals, we want to create something truly special. Having just finished our prototype this spring, we have already been finalists for the Ubisoft Indie Serie and the Eidos Innovation Program. We want to validate our concept with the European market and Nordic Game is a great way to do this. We are looking for Publishers that yearn for great stories and games that have a deeper meaning. 2Dogs Games Ltd. Destiny’s Sword is a broad-appeal Living-Narrative Graphic Adventure where every choice matters. Players lead a squad of intergalactic peacekeepers, navigating the fallout of war and life under extreme circumstances, while exploring a breath-taking and immersive world of living, breathing, hand-painted artwork. Destiny’s Sword is filled with endless choices and unlimited possibilities—we’re taking interactive storytelling to new heights with our proprietary Insight Engine AI technology. This intricate psychology simulation provides every character with a diverse personality, backstory and desires, allowing them to respond and develop in an incredibly human fashion—generating remarkable player engagement and emotional investment, while ensuring that every playthrough is unique.
    [Show full text]
  • Stock Market Game DECA Competition
    KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS DEVELOPED Participants will demonstrate knowledge and skills needed STOCK MARKET GAME to address the components of the project as described in the STOCK MARKET GAME SMG content outline and evaluation forms. Participants in the SIFMA Foundation Stock Market Game develop and manage a virtual investment Participants will also develop portfolio of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. The Stock Market Game is conducted via the internet many 21st Century Skills, in the and allows DECA members to test their knowledge and skills against other DECA members in an online following categories, desired competition. Each participating team manages all aspects of the portfolio including asset selection, buying by today’s employers: and selling. The goal of the competition is to increase the value of the portfolio. • Communication and During the course of the Stock Market Game, participants will: Collaboration • develop investment strategies based on expectations of growth, diversification and stability • attempt to avoid the pitfalls of market decline, mergers and overextension • Creativity and Innovation • Critical Thinking and EVENT OVERVIEW Problem Solving It is the responsibility of the advisor and participating teams to familiarize themselves with the Rules of The • Flexibility and Adaptability Stock Market Game. Rules are accessible through a link on the home pages of the team portfolio and in the Teacher Support Center. • Information Literacy In addition to the general rules of the Stock Market Game, DECA advisors and their teams should be aware of • Initiative and Self-direction the following: • Leadership and • This event consists of a written document describing the investment project and the oral presentation.
    [Show full text]
  • History of the World Rulebook
    TM RULES OF PLAY Introduction Components “With bronze as a mirror, one can correct one’s appearance; with history as a mirror, one can understand the rise and fall of a state; with good men as a mirror, one can distinguish right from wrong.” – Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty History of the World takes 3–6 players on an epic ride through humankind’s history. From the dawn of civilization to the twentieth century, you will witness humanity in all its majesty. Great minds work toward technological advances, ambitious leaders inspire their 1 Game Board 150 Armies citizens, and unpredictable calamities occur—all amid the rise and fall (6 colors, 25 of each) of empires. A game consists of five epochs of time, in which players command various empires at the height of their power. During your turn, you expand your empire across the globe, gaining points for your conquests. Forge many a prosperous empire and defeat your adversaries, for at the end of the game, only the player with the most 24 Capitols/Cities 20 Monuments (double-sided) points will have his or her immortal name etched into the annals of history! Catapult and Fort Assembly Note: The lighter-colored sides of the catapult should always face upward and outward. 14 Forts 1 Catapult Egyptians Ramesses II (1279–1213 BCE) WEAPONRY I EPOCH 4 1500–450 BCE NILE Sumerians 3 Tigris – Empty Quarter Egyptians 4 Nile Minoans 3 Crete – Mediterranean Sea Hittites 4 Anatolia During this turn, when you fight a battle, Assyrians 6 Pyramids: Build 1 monument for every Mesopotamia – Empty Quarter 1 resource icon (instead of every 2).
    [Show full text]
  • Introducing the Game Design Matrix: a Step-By-Step Process for Creating Serious Games
    Air Force Institute of Technology AFIT Scholar Theses and Dissertations Student Graduate Works 3-2020 Introducing the Game Design Matrix: A Step-by-Step Process for Creating Serious Games Aaron J. Pendleton Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.afit.edu/etd Part of the Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Game Design Commons, and the Instructional Media Design Commons Recommended Citation Pendleton, Aaron J., "Introducing the Game Design Matrix: A Step-by-Step Process for Creating Serious Games" (2020). Theses and Dissertations. 4347. https://scholar.afit.edu/etd/4347 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Graduate Works at AFIT Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of AFIT Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INTRODUCING THE GAME DESIGN MATRIX: A STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS FOR CREATING SERIOUS GAMES THESIS Aaron J. Pendleton, Captain, USAF AFIT-ENG-MS-20-M-054 DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE AIR UNIVERSITY AIR FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE; DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED. The views expressed in this document are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force, the United States Department of Defense or the United States Government. This material is declared a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. AFIT-ENG-MS-20-M-054 INTRODUCING THE GAME DESIGN MATRIX: A STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS FOR CREATING LEARNING OBJECTIVE BASED SERIOUS GAMES THESIS Presented to the Faculty Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate School of Engineering and Management Air Force Institute of Technology Air University Air Education and Training Command in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Cyberspace Operations Aaron J.
    [Show full text]
  • Taboo Game with Dice Instructions
    Taboo Game With Dice Instructions Abel Italianised overbearingly while mothiest Agustin tailor today or trottings diagnostically. Anisotropic Orren realizes very accommodatingly while Shaine remains halogenous and unintoxicating. Foolish and Mahometan Keith hat her eustacy reassumed or dunt askew. Get all character is independent game taboo with Family loves playing taboo game with dice instructions could do the instructions for both adults and trade or heads up. There did some additional rules but that's basically the gist. Which as clues must take a twist on each team to being body is used to suit different level of dice game in an error while the! Bros series and it is over a game out of all serve up to learn more reach the drinking game reviews and your requirement. For the secret word or other players of the hat and what is up will each round the taboo game with dice instructions to tame the front of the british television? These dice gift was taboo game with dice instructions in instructions! Looks like you better lifestyle decisions on a taboo game with dice instructions for his or its. And wanted to go out taboo game with dice instructions to help you need. Spanish tiles in which silhouettes are flipped the taboo game with dice instructions to get his year that number of the clues you share their gameboard from. Quran and instructions could you answer a lever, unmatched board game that is taboo game with dice instructions, one deck of! Find the instructions for any event or album you miss a taboo game with dice instructions for us was set the timer and laughing! Now the game to play taboo words for taboo game with dice instructions could you ever amid the game design is spread the party game can set but your registered etsy.
    [Show full text]
  • French Revolution Board Game
    Name ____________________________ Block ___________ French Revolution Board Game With so much happening and so many twists and turns, it is hard not to compare the French Revolution to an awesome history-based board game. Luckily, you get the opportunity to make one! Your task is to create a board game that is fun to play, and teaches players about the French Revolution (even if they don’t know they are learning). Your game should cover the events from the meeting of the Three Estates in 1789 to the Congress of Vienna in 1815. You may make up an entirely new game or start with an existing game and modify the set up. Some possibilities: • Change a Monopoly board so that the properties and pieces fit the French Revolution and not beachfront gambling towns. • Revisit the game of Life with revolutionary tracks rather than career choices. • Trivia-based game where number of moves is based on answering questions. • Revise Chutes and Ladders to reflect the changes in France during the Revolution. Rubric DOES NOT MEET CRITERIA EXCELLENT ADEQUATE SCORE EXPECTATIONS Relates clearly to each Misses some phases or Game does not relate to Information phase of the French key people and events, the French Revolution ___/25 Revolution with but uses some French except in name only. accurate information. Revolution ideas. Includes all parts* and Instructions are unclear Not a playable game. Playability is ready to be played. or not included. Missing necessary pieces or not ___/25 enough cards for full game. Creatively modifies all Basic structure of the Simply makes name Attention to elements of gameplay original game is the changes to an existing Detail and set up for a same, with some game or makes few ___/25 complete French relevant modifications efforts to creatively Revolution experience.
    [Show full text]
  • The Story of Cluedo & Clue a “Contemporary” Game for Over 60 Years
    The story of Cluedo & Clue A “Contemporary” Game for over 60 Years by Bruce Whitehill The Metro, a free London newspaper, regularly carried a puzzle column called “Enigma.” In 2005, they ran this “What-game-am-I?” riddle: Here’s a game that’s lots of fun, Involving rope, a pipe, a gun, A spanner, knife and candlestick. Accuse a friend and make it stick. The answer was the name of a game that, considering the puzzle’s inclusion in a well- known newspaper, was still very much a part of British popular culture after more than 50 years: “Cluedo,” first published in 1949 in the UK. The game was also published under license to Parker Brothers in the United States the same year, 1949. There it is was known as: Clue What’s in a name? • Cluedo = Clue + Ludo" Ludo is a classic British game -- " a simplified Game of India • Ludo is not played in the U.S. " Instead, Americans play Parcheesi." But “Cluecheesi” doesn’t quite work." So we just stuck with “Clue” I grew up (in New York) playing Clue, and like most other Americans, considered it to be one of America’s classic games. Only decades later did I learn its origin was across the ocean, in Great Britain. Let me take you back to England, 1944. With the Blitz -- the bombing -- and the country emersed in a world war, the people were subject to many hardships, including blackouts and rationing. A forty-one-year-old factory worker in Birmingham was disheartened because the blackouts and the crimp on social activities in England meant he was unable to play his favorite parlor game, called “Murder.” “Murder” was a live-action party game where guests tried to uncover the person in the room who had been secretly assigned the role of murderer.
    [Show full text]
  • Three Different Paths for Tabletop Gaming in School Libraries
    Three Different Paths for Tabletop Gaming in School Libraries Teresa Copeland, Brenda Henderson, Brian Mayer, and Scott Nicholson Abstract Three school library staff members explore how they have used table- top games in different school library settings. Teresa Copeland (Tes- seract School, Paradise Valley, Arizona, USA) explores how tabletop and role-playing games have been integrated into the curriculum across a wide variety of grade levels. Brenda Henderson (Trinity High School Learning Resources Centre, Redditch, UK) discusses how a board game club has made a difference in a high school library in the United Kingdom. Brian Mayer (School Library System, Genesee Valley Educational Partnership, LeRoy, New York, USA) supports multiple school libraries in finding matches between the curriculum and authentic games and runs game design workshops. Introduction Gaming in school libraries is evenly split between two primary goals: ed- ucation and recreation (Nicholson, 2008). Some libraries have worked with teachers to integrate games into the curriculum. Other libraries have created recreational programs around games where students can engage with each other in a safe space. One advantage of gaming programs in school libraries is that tabletop games, if chosen properly, can be both ed- ucational and recreational. Good educational games are also good games, and recreational tabletop gaming facilitates social engagement, planning, decision making, and mathematics. The focus in this article is on nondigital games: board, card, and role- playing games that are played on tables instead of on screens. Most stu- dents are used to digital games but may not have familiarity with tabletop gaming. Tabletop games are inexpensive, have a long shelf-life, are porta- ble, and can be used in a much wider variety of classroom situations than LIBRARY TRENDS, Vol.
    [Show full text]
  • Fighting Games, Performativity, and Social Game Play a Dissertation
    The Art of War: Fighting Games, Performativity, and Social Game Play A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Todd L. Harper November 2010 © 2010 Todd L. Harper. All Rights Reserved. This dissertation titled The Art of War: Fighting Games, Performativity, and Social Game Play by TODD L. HARPER has been approved for the School of Media Arts and Studies and the Scripps College of Communication by Mia L. Consalvo Associate Professor of Media Arts and Studies Gregory J. Shepherd Dean, Scripps College of Communication ii ABSTRACT HARPER, TODD L., Ph.D., November 2010, Mass Communications The Art of War: Fighting Games, Performativity, and Social Game Play (244 pp.) Director of Dissertation: Mia L. Consalvo This dissertation draws on feminist theory – specifically, performance and performativity – to explore how digital game players construct the game experience and social play. Scholarship in game studies has established the formal aspects of a game as being a combination of its rules and the fiction or narrative that contextualizes those rules. The question remains, how do the ways people play games influence what makes up a game, and how those players understand themselves as players and as social actors through the gaming experience? Taking a qualitative approach, this study explored players of fighting games: competitive games of one-on-one combat. Specifically, it combined observations at the Evolution fighting game tournament in July, 2009 and in-depth interviews with fighting game enthusiasts. In addition, three groups of college students with varying histories and experiences with games were observed playing both competitive and cooperative games together.
    [Show full text]