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GAMES on GAMES Game Design As Critical Reflexive Practice Edited by Giovanni Caruso, Riccardo Fassone, Gabriele Ferri, Stefano Gualeni, Mauro Salvador

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GAMES on GAMES Game Design As Critical Reflexive Practice Edited by Giovanni Caruso, Riccardo Fassone, Gabriele Ferri, Stefano Gualeni, Mauro Salvador ISSN 2280-7705 The Italian Journal www.gamejournal.it Associazione Culturale LUDICA of Game Studies Games as Art, Media, Entertainment Issue 05, 2016 – volume 1 JOURNAL (PEER-REVIEWED) GAMES ON GAMES Game Design as Critical Reflexive Practice Edited by Giovanni Caruso, Riccardo Fassone, Gabriele Ferri, Stefano Gualeni, Mauro Salvador GAME JOURNAL – Peer-Reviewed Section Issue 05 – 2016 GAME Journal Games as Art, Media, Entertainment G|A|M|E is an international, peer-reviewed, free access games studies journal. G|A|M|E publishes one monographic issue per year A PROJECT BY SUPERVISING EDITORS Associazione Culturale LUDICA Antioco Floris (Università di Cagliari), Roy Menarini (Università di Bologna), Peppino Ortoleva (Università di Torino), Reggio Calabria IT & London UK Leonardo Quaresima (Università di Udine). HQ: Via Vittorio Veneto 33 89123 Reggio Calabria, Italy Offices: 52 Kelly Avenue, EDITORS London SE15 5LH, UK Marco Benoît Carbone (University College London), Giovanni Caruso (Università di Udine), Riccardo Fassone (Università di Torino), Gabriele Ferri (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences), Adam Gallimore (University In association with filmforumfestival.it of Warwick), Ivan Girina (University of Warwick), Federico Giordano (Università Telematica San Raffaele, Roma), Valentina Paggiarin, Justin Pickard, Paolo Ruffino (Goldsmiths, University of London / Art and Civic Media, Innovation-Incubator, Leuphana University Lüneburg), Mauro Salvador (Università Cattolica, Milano). WITH THE PATRONAGE OF Università di Cagliari ASSOCIATED EDITORS Dipartimento di Storia, Beni Culturali e Territorio Stefano Baschiera (Queen’s University, Belfast), Stefano Gualeni (University of Malta), Altug Isigan (Izmir University, Izmir). PARTNERS ADVISORY BOARD Espen Aarseth (IT University of Copenaghen), Matteo Bittanti (California College of the Arts), Jay David Bolter (Georgia Institute of Technology), Gordon C. Calleja (IT University of Copenaghen), Gianni Canova (IULM, Milano), Antonio Catolfi (Università per Stranieri di Perugia), Mia Consalvo (Ohio University), Patrick Coppock (Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia), Ruggero Eugeni (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano), Roy Menarini (Università di Udine), Enrico Menduni (Università di Roma Tre), Bernard Perron (Université de Montreal), Guglielmo Pescatore (Università EDITORIAL BOARD Marco Benoît Carbone di Bologna), Leonardo Quaresima (Università di Udine), Jose P. Zagal (De Paul University, Chicago). Federico Giordano Ivan Girina BOARD OF REVIEWERS Francesco Alinovi (Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, Milano), Alessandro Amaducci (Università di Torino), Simone Arcagni DISTRIBUTION (Università di Palermo), Giovanni Boccia Artieri (Università di Urbino), Elena Bertozzi (Long Island University), Vanessa All GAME issues are available Camilleri (University of Malta), Vito Campanelli (Università L’Orientale, Napoli), Domenico Carzo (Università di for viewing and download at Messina), Alessandro Catania (University of Nottingham), Alessio Ceccherelli (Università La Sapienza, Roma), Marco www.gamejournal.it Centorrino (Università di Messina), Giovanna Cosenza (Università di Bologna), Mariagrazia Fanchi (Università Cattolica ISSN 2280-7705 di Milano), Riccardo Fedriga (Università di Bologna), Mary Flanagan (Dartmouth College, USA), Giuseppe Frazzetto (Accademia di Belle Arti di Catania), Alexander R. Galloway (New York University), Mario Gerosa (Politecnico di Milano), ETHICAL STATEMENT Stefano Gualeni (University of Malta), Aphra Kerr (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Massimo Locatelli www.gamejournal.it/about (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano), Giulio Lughi (Università di Torino), Massimo Maietti (Independent Scholar), Diego Malara (XL, La Repubblica), Michael Nitsche (Georgia Institute of Technology) Costantino Oliva COPYRIGHT (University of Malta), Domenico Quaranta (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milano), Elena Pacetti (Università di ISSUE 5, vol. 1 – 2016 Bologna), Roberta Pearson (University of Nottingham), Gianfranco Pecchinenda (Università Federico II, Napoli), Michael © 2016 Piggott (University of Warwick), Luca Rosati (Università per Stranieri di Perugia), Rino Schembri (Università di Palermo), GRAPHIC & LAYOUT Miguel Sicart (IT University of Copenhagen), Antonio Somaini (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris 3), Olli Sotamaa Design Manager: Ilaria Mariani (University of Tampere), Simone Tosoni (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano), Alberto Venditti (NHIM), Michelle Graphic Design: Alice Baraldi Westerlaken (University of Malmö), Pierantonio Zanotti (Università Ca’ Foscari, Venezia). Layout Assistant: Maria Rosaria Macrillò Managing Editor: Marco Benoît Carbone CONTRIBUTORS Simone Arcagni (Università di Palermo), Simona Biancalana (Università per Stranieri di Perugia), Roberto Braga COVER ART (Università di Bologna), Dario Compagno (Università di Siena), Francesco Di Chiara (Università di Ferrara), Stefano “The Metagame” Gualeni (University of Malta), Agata Meneghelli (Università di Bologna), Cristiano Poian, Valentina Rao (Utrecht ©2016 Local No.12, LLC. Thanks to University), Valentina Re (Università Ca’ Foscari, Venezia), Valerio Sillari, Matteo Tarantino (Università Cattolica, Milano), Eric Zimmerman and John Sharp Marco Teti (Università di Ferrara), Gruppo Postcinema Università di Udine (Alice Autelitano, Enrico Biasin, Alessandro CONTACT Bordina, Alberto Brodesco, Stefania Giovenco, Lawrence Thomas Martinelli, Marcella Rosi, Federico Zecca). [email protected] www.gamejournal.it [email protected] www.facebook.com/gamejournal www.twitter.com/gameitjournal Issue 05 – 2016 Contents GAMES ON GAMES Game Design as Critical Reflexive Practice Edited by Giovanni Caruso, Riccardo Fassone, Gabriele Ferri, Stefano Gualeni, Mauro Salvador ISSUE 4, 2015: VOLUME 1 – PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL JOURNAL ESSAYS 5 G. Caruso, R. Fassone, G. Ferri, S. Gualeni, M. Salvador Games on Games. Game design as critical reflexive practice 11 S. Gualeni Self-reflexive Videogames.Observations and Corollaries on Virtual Worlds as Philosophical Artifacts 21 Reviewer 1 V.-M. Karhulahti Review excerpts for Self-reflexive Videogames: Observations and Corollaries on Virtual Worlds as Philosophical Artifacts 23 P. Barr Critical Jostling 33 Reviewer 1 Anonymous Review excerpts for Critical Jostling 35 R.J.S. Sloan Nostalgia Videogames as Playable Game Criticism 47 B. Schrank Bust a Cup: Reclaiming Risk in Play 59 Reviewer 2 A. ML Brown Review excerpts for Bust a Cup: Reclaiming Risk in Play 61 D. Cox, M. Beale North Point Courtesy Sevirces Development and Design Summary 67 Reviewer 2 P. Ruffino Review excerpts for North Point Courtesy Sevirces Development and Design Summary 69 J. Micallef Illusion Master: Extending Self-Presence and Challenging Immersion in and through Digital Games 83 Reviewer 1 E. Gandolfi & Reviewer 2 Anonymous Review excerpts for Illusion Master: Extending Self-Presence and Challenging Immersion in and through Digital Games 85 E. Torner The Self-Reflexive Tabletop Role-Playing Game Issue 05 – 2016 Journal –Peer Reviewed GABRIELE FERRI, Amsterdam University Games on Games of Applied Science [email protected] GIOVANNI CARUSO, Game Design as Indipendent Researcher [email protected] Critical Reflexive Practice MAURO SALVADOR, Università di Bologna [email protected] RICCARDO FASSONE Univesità di Torino [email protected] & STEFANO GUALENI Università di Malta [email protected] “The Metagame” ©2016 Local No. 12, LLC. Thanks to Eric Zimmerman and John Sharp In September 2013, the editors of this issue of “GAME The Italian Journal of Game Studies” hosted a panel at the DiGRA conference in Atlanta, to explore video game design as a cultural praxis, as a mediator that allows specific forms of criticims and epistemological inquiry to emerge. The panel, titled G|A|M|E on games. The meta-panel, aimed at constituting “a step towards a playable theory of game studies – a meta-level in which playing, designing and critiquing over- lap” (Caruso, Fassone, Ferri, Gualeni & Salvador, 2013), and addressed topics such as the history and theory of self-reflexive games, their presence in the mainstream market, and the implications of designing a game of this sort. In other words, the panel was a first attempt at imagining different forms of game research that would complement or, in some instances, even substitute the written word as the preferred tool for scientific dissemination in game studies as well as certain other context of philosophical inquiry where the experien- tial qualities of the medium and its interactive affordances constitute definite advantages over – and possibility to complement – text (think of the materiali- zation of ethical scenarios, thought experiments, of the possibilities to access experience of alternative phenomenologies, etc.). G. Ferri, G. Caruso, M. SaLvador, R. Fassone & S. Gualeni http://www.gamejournal.it/5_ferri_caruso_salvador_fassone_gualeni/ 5 Issue 05 – 2016 Games on Games In the last three years, the panelists produced a number of contributions on the subject of self-reflexive video games and playable theory (Fassone, 2015, Gualeni, 2015), tackling topics such as the meta-communicative potential of video games, medium-specific forms and modes of self-reflection, and video games as tools for theory, speculation, and philosophical thinking. This issue of “GAME The Italian Journal of Game Studies” is a provisional conclusion and a partial formalization of this wider – inherently open and rather informal
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