Integrating Emergence and Progression
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Theescapist 055.Pdf
in line and everything will be just fine. two articles I fired up Noctis to see the Which, frankly, is about how many of us insanity for myself. That is the loneliest think to this day. With the exception of a game I’ve ever played. For those of you who fell asleep during very brave few. the classical mythology portion of your In response to “Development in a - Danjo Olivaw higher education, the stories all go like In this issue of The Escapist, we take a Vacuum” from The Escapist Forum: this: Some guy decides he no longer look at the stories of a few, brave souls As for the fact that thier isolation has In response to “Footprints in needs the gods, sets off to prove as in the game industry who, for better or been a benefit to them rather than a Moondust” from The Escapist Forum: much and promptly gets smacked down. worse, decided that they, too, were hindrance, that’s what I discussed with I’d just like to say this was a fantastic destined to make their dreams a reality. Oveur (Nathan Richardsson) while in article. I think I’ll have to read Olaf Prometheus, Sisyphus, Icarus, Odysseus, Some actually succeeded, while others Vegas earlier this year at the EVE the stories are full of men who, for crashed and burned. We in the game Gathering. The fact that Iceland is such whatever reason, believed that they industry may not have jealous, angry small country, with a very unique culture were not bound by the normal gods against which to struggle, but and the fact that most of the early CCP constraints of mortality. -
Master's Thesis: Visualizing Storytelling in Games
Chronicle Developing a visualisation of emergent narratives in grand strategy games EDVARD RUTSTRO¨ M JONAS WICKERSTRO¨ M Master's Thesis in Interaction Design Department of Applied Information Technology Chalmers University of Technology Gothenburg, Sweden 2013 Master's Thesis 2013:091 The Authors grants to Chalmers University of Technology and University of Gothen- burg the non-exclusive right to publish the Work electronically and in a non-commercial purpose make it accessible on the Internet. The Authors warrants that they are the authors to the Work, and warrants that the Work does not contain text, pictures or other material that violates copyright law. The Authors shall, when transferring the rights of the Work to a third party (for example a publisher or a company), acknowledge the third party about this agreement. If the Authors has signed a copyright agreement with a third party regarding the Work, the Authors warrants hereby that they have obtained any necessary permission from this third party to let Chalmers University of Technology and University of Gothenburg store the Work electronically and make it accessible on the Internet. Chronicle Developing a Visualisation of Emergent Narratives in Grand Strategy Games c EDVARD RUTSTROM,¨ June 2013. c JONAS WICKERSTROM,¨ June 2013. Examiner: OLOF TORGERSSON Department of Applied Information Technology Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96, G¨oteborg, Sweden Telephone +46 (0)31-772 1000 Gothenburg, Sweden June 2013 Abstract Many games of high complexity give rise to emergent narratives, where the events of the game are retold as a story. The goal of this thesis was to investigate ways to support the player in discovering their own emergent stories in grand strategy games. -
Navigating the Videogame
From above, from below: navigating the videogame A thesis presented by Daniel Golding 228306 to The School of Culture and Communication in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in the field of Cultural Studies in the School of Culture and Communication The University of Melbourne Supervisor: Dr. Fran Martin October 2008 ABSTRACT The study of videogames is still evolving. While many theorists have accurately described aspects of the medium, this thesis seeks to move the study of videogames away from previously formal approaches and towards a holistic method of engagement with the experience of playing videogames. Therefore, I propose that videogames are best conceptualised as navigable, spatial texts. This approach, based on Michel de Certeau’s concept of strategies and tactics, illuminates both the textual structure of videogames and the immediate experience of playing them. I also regard videogame space as paramount. My close analysis of Portal (Valve Corporation, 2007) demonstrates that a designer can choose to communicate rules and fiction, and attempt to influence the behaviour of players through strategies of space. Therefore, I aim to plot the relationship between designer and player through the power structures of the videogame, as conceived through this new lens. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv CHAPTER ONE: Introduction 1 AN EVOLVING FIELD 2 LUDOLOGY AND NARRATOLOGY 3 DEFINITIONS, AND THE NAVIGABLE TEXT 6 PLAYER EXPERIENCE AND VIDEOGAME SPACE 11 MARGINS OF DISCUSSION 13 CHAPTER TWO: The videogame from above: the designer as strategist 18 PSYCHOGEOGRAPHY 18 PORTAL AND THE STRATEGIES OF DESIGN 20 STRUCTURES OF POWER 27 RAILS 29 CHAPTER THREE: The videogame from below: the player as tactician 34 THE PLAYER AS NAVIGATOR 36 THE PLAYER AS SUBJECT 38 THE PLAYER AS BRICOLEUR 40 THE PLAYER AS GUERRILLA 43 CHAPTER FOUR: Conclusion 48 BIBLIOGRAPHY 50 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. -
Embrace the Unexpected: Yet Another Family Conversation
© 2016 TSJLD & Authors ThaiSim Journal: TSJLD Vol. 1, No.1 (Jan-Jun 2016), 38 – 50 Learning Development (TSJLD) ISSN 2158-5539 http://www.thaisim.org/sgld/ Embrace the unexpected: Yet another family conversation Elizabeth Tipton Eastern Washington University, USA James Murff ArenaNet, USA Abstract This paper summarizes a long conversation between an educational game design mother and her entertainment game tester son that began with a discussion about bugs in video games. Along the way, it led to some interesting observations on emergent behavior and metagaming. Finally, this dialog wandered into experiences with emergent gameplay in the design and implementation of pedagogical simulations and games. The importance of good debriefing in the classroom was also underscored. Keywords: bugs; debriefing; designer-player interaction; emergent behavior, intentional emergent gameplay, metagaming, player agency Introduction: Working definitions of Gaming Simulation Four years ago, the authors made public during panel discussions at ABSEL and ISAGA their conversation on improving educational game design through an understanding of the problems commonly seen in during the testing and consumption of entertainment games. Those dialogues have continued to this day. What follows began over dinner one day when the topic was bugs in video games. 38 Embrace the unexpected: Yet another family conversation Tipton & Murff Bugs Bugs, harmless or otherwise, are a common part of software development. You can't predict every single outcome of a particular scenario, especially when the system is extremely complex. While test cases and extensive QA can help, games always ship with glitches ranging from the hilarious-but-harmless to the game- breaking. Some games ship with so many bugs that they are unplayable, but thoroughly entertaining to watch from the perspective of a horrible disaster playing out. -
(With) Videogame History Moving Beyond Retrogaming Ahm, Kristian Redhead
(Re)Playing (with) Videogame History Moving Beyond Retrogaming Ahm, Kristian Redhead Publication date: 2018 Citation for published version (APA): Ahm, K. R. (2018, Sep 12). (Re)Playing (with) Videogame History: Moving Beyond Retrogaming. https://www.academia.edu/37325146/_Re_Playing_with_Videogame_History_Moving_beyond_Retrogaming Download date: 26. sep.. 2021 (Re)Playing (with) Videogame History Moving beyond Retrogaming by Kristian Redhead Ahm Master’s Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in IT – Games At The IT-University of Copenhagen, Center for Computer Games Research September 2018 Under the Supervision of Associate Professor Hans-Joachim Backe Resumé Forfatteren af dette speciale har foretaget en kvalitativ undersøgelse, hvor 9 spillere af gamle spil, også kaldet retrogamere, er blevet interviewet om deres motivationer for at spille gamle spil, hvordan de spiller dem og hvor længe. Ved at indtage et fænomenologisk ståsted, ønsker dette speciale at undersøge, hvordan disse gamle spil manifesterer sig i respondenternes livsverdener og hvad dette indebærer for deres opfattelse og brug af disse gamle spil. Denne undersøgelse er blevet betragtet som frugtbar, da den kan problematisere og videreudvikle den nuværende akademiske diskurs omkring retrogaming, der reducerer alle nutidige interaktioner med gamle spil til en aktivitet, der er motiveret af nostalgi. Ved at analysere de indsamlede interviewdata, argumenteres der i dette speciale for, at der eksisterer flere motivationer til at spille gamle spil, udover nostalgi. Dette speciale identificerer fire motivationer udover nostalgi. Den første type, kaldet amatørarkæologen, er interesseret i at spille ”dårlige” og kuriøse gamle spil, på grund af en form for ironisk nydelse og historisk nysgerrighed. -
Deus Ex (2000) by Ion Storm Inc
A zeitgeist game is reflective of its corresponding social climate. Titles that gain zeitgeist status have in some way challenged the norms of their associated era and revolutionised a pre-established genre by bending traditional conventions. Thus, zeitgeist titles are also timeless. They transcend time, remaining popular and famous due to the societal standpoints they raise and the impact their innovation has on the wider gaming communities and markets. Sci-Fi cyberpunk FPS/RPG Deus Ex (2000) by Ion Storm Inc. is an example of one such title that has built upon its sociological, artistic and technical influences to create a game that resonates innovation through its unique application of emergent gameplay; driven by character interaction and choice. Through analysis of these three fundamental influences in relation to the unique emergent gameplay construction of Deus Ex and correspondingly by comparing the game with its peers gives insight into how this game achieved zeitgeist status. Deus Ex was not the first game to challenge the norm by hybridising FPS/RPG genres. It was inspired by the gameplay of previous FPS/RPG 90’s games Ultima Underworld (1992) and System Shock (1994) by Looking Glass. (Spector, 2000). However, Spector also states he wanted to build upon the foundation laid by these games. He goes on to say his influence for the setting of the game came from his research into millennial conspiracies and his wife’s obsession with the X-Files. (2000). The game world of Deus Ex acts as a basis for the innovative success of its emergent gameplay. Without a lively game world gameplay choices would feel uninspiring. -
Queering Stories and Selves: Gamer Poop and Subversive Narrative Emergence
Issue 9 May 2017 www.intensitiescultmedia.com Queering Stories and Selves: Gamer Poop and Subversive Narrative Emergence Lawrence May and Fraser McKissack University of Auckland Abstract Video games such as Mass Effect 3 (Electronic Arts, 2012), Skyrim (Bethesda Softworks, 2011) and Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks, 2008) have been praised for offering highly customisable and personalised ingame avatars, experiences and narrative flexibility. The humour in popular YouTube machinima series Gamer Poop playfully rejects the heteronormative and hypermasculine expectations that still appear inevitable in these seemingly open and inclusive gameworlds. Across Gamer Poop’s 49 videos, stable identifiers of race, gender, and sexuality are radically rewritten using post-production video editing and game modification to allow for intersexual character models, bisexual orgies, and breakdancing heroes—content not programmed into the original games. We discuss the potential for machinima videos to act as tools for negotiating emergent queer narra- tives. These emergent experiences are generated by players and re-inscribed onto the broader video game ‘text’, demonstrating the limitations of video game texts for identity-building activity. Gamer Poop takes advantage of emergence as the ‘primordial structure’ of games (Juul 2005: 73), and presents to the audience moments of emergent, queer narrative—what Henry Jenkins describes as stories that are ‘not pre-structured or pre-programmed, [instead] taking shape through the game play’ (Jenkins 2004: 128). These vulgar and sometimes puerile videos are a critical and playful intervention into the embedded textual meaning of Gam- er Poop’s chosen video games, and demonstrate that a latent representative potential exists in video game systems, rulesets, and game engines for emergent storytelling and identity-building activities. -
Spawn This: Minecraft As a Virtual World
Spawn This: Minecraft as a Virtual World (presented at Society for Cinema and Media Studies Conference in Montreal, March 2015 and part of a longer essay) Lori Landay, Berklee College of Music à advance in Prezi http://prezi.com/41ifd5nd_erz/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share *à*In 2006, cover stories in Wired and Business Week hyped virtual worlds, speculating that “Virtual worlds may end up playing an even more sweeping role -- as far more intuitive portals into the vast resources of the entire Internet than today's World Wide Web.”1 Second Life and Open Sim grids still have a dedicated user base, as do habbo and Disney’s Club Penguin, but there.com, Google’s lively, facebook’s Cloud Party, and LEGO Universe are all defunct. The promise glimpsed in those virtual worlds has not materialized—or virtualized—in a mainstream way. Until now, with Minecraft. Although it does not look or at first seem like what proponents of virtual worlds have been waiting for, Minecraft is the breakthrough success for virtual worlds. To be sure, there are other transmedial imaginary worlds that are participatory and brimming with user-generated content. There have been player-created servers that mod a game in new narrative, gameplay, and social directions, and create vibrant communities. But no game or other transmedial IP has approached the size or the scope of Minecraft, and its players use Minecraft as a portal into disparate media experiences, including other franchises, to an unprecedented degree. In thinking through how what has emerged through the Minecraft phenomenon has redefined what a virtual world is, this presentation explores three interrelated questions: *à*What does it mean to consider Minecraft as a virtual world? Why has it succeeded as the breakthrough virtual world? How does transmedial experience factor into Minecraft as a virtual world? First, some information about Minecraft that helps us understand how a low-res looking video game spawned a virtual world. -
PROCEDURAL CONTENT GENERATION for GAME DESIGNERS a Dissertation
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ EXPRESSIVE DESIGN TOOLS: PROCEDURAL CONTENT GENERATION FOR GAME DESIGNERS A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in COMPUTER SCIENCE by Gillian Margaret Smith June 2012 The Dissertation of Gillian Margaret Smith is approved: ________________________________ Professor Jim Whitehead, Chair ________________________________ Associate Professor Michael Mateas ________________________________ Associate Professor Noah Wardrip-Fruin ________________________________ Professor R. Michael Young ________________________________ Tyrus Miller Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Copyright © by Gillian Margaret Smith 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures .................................................................................................................. ix List of Tables ................................................................................................................ xvii Abstract ...................................................................................................................... xviii Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................... xx Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................1 1 Procedural Content Generation ................................................................................. 6 1.1 Game Design................................................................................................... -
The Relationship Between Survival Mechanics and Emergent Narrative
The Relationship Between Survival Mechanics and Emergent Narrative Faculty of Arts Department of Game Design Author(s): Amanda Cohen and Maya Sidén Bachelor Thesis in Game Design, 15 hp Program: Game Design Supervisor(s): Magnus Johansson Examiner: Masaki Hayashi May, 2021 Abstract The Survival games genre is infamous for its lack of narrative. In this paper we look at the possibility of emerging narrative in open world survival sandbox games. The survival aspect of a game is heavily tied to specific survival-centric mechanics that are frequently occurring in the genre. These mechanics and systems can in and of themselves give way to an unwritten narrative for each individual player. By working with the concept of Narrative game mechanics, we interviewed a pool of people about their stories and narrative experiences in survival games. After analysing the results we found recurring patterns to indicate how certain types of survival-mechanics can lead to certain types of narrative situations. Key words: Emergent Narrative, Emergent Gameplay, Narrative Mechanics, Survival Mechanics, Sandbox Sammanfattning Spelgenren 'Survival games' (eller 'Överlevnadsspel') är ökänd för dess minimala fokus på narrativ (berättande). I detta arbete studerar vi de narrativa möjligheterna i 'open-world survival sandbox' spel. Överlevnadsaspekten i ett spel är tätt knutet till specifika spelmekanismer (survival mechanics) som existerar i alla former av Survival-spel. Dessa mekanismer, som delar i ett system, kan av sig själva skapa ett oplanerat narrativ för spelaren. Genom att arbeta med konceptet "Narrative Game Mechanics" intervjuade vi en grupp frivilliga respondenter om deras narrativa upplevelser av survival-spel. Efter att ha analyserat undrsökningsresultatet hittade vi mönster som visade hur vissa typer av "survival mechanics" leder till en viss typ av narrativa situationer. -
Emergent Multiplayer Games
Emergent Multiplayer Games Sebastian Wodarczyk and Sebastian von Mammen Games Engineering, Julius-Maximilians-University,Wurzburg,¨ Germany [email protected], [email protected] Abstract—In this paper, we introduce a novel video game community building and enable social interaction. However, concept called Emergent Multiplayer Games (EMGs). It aims none of the existing platforms have fully delivered a unique at providing a platform for large crowds that tune in live gaming experience tailored to players and viewers alike. game streams. EMGs offer an emergent game experience by empowering a large set of individual players to influence the While there is rising demand for game streams targeted course of a single, collectively played game. We introduce the at spectators who do not want to engage in the actual play general concept of EMGs and present our approach to an EMG [4], there is still a lot of leeway between the role of the solo prototype. Our implementation is built for audiences of varying entertainer who is the only player streaming to hundreds or numbers and diverse personas. It features a control system based thousands of spectators and the spectator himself who does on multiple forms of voting ballots. A preliminary evaluation of the prototype helped to identify EMG designs effective in terms of not want to be bothered interacting with the game. However, usability and fun, but also the relationships of our implemented even a spectator might feel the urge to interfere and make his game mechanics and game control system in terms of information voice heard once in a while. -
Examining the Building Blocks of Stealth Centric Design
Examining the Essentials of Stealth Game Design Youssef Khatib Game Design Bachelor Thesis, 15hp Game Design and Graphics, spring semester, 2013 Supervisors: Ernest Adams, Hedda Gunneng Examiner: Steven Bachelder Abstract Through looking into the inner workings of stealth centric games, this paper aims to find out the essential components of this type of videogames. Examining the history of such games and the design principles of stealth centric games in relation to the participating player this paper will methodically examine games in the light of the arguments of industry professionals. After that a framework is extracted, identifying the principal core components of stealth centric game design. Table of contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Purpose ............................................................................................................................. 2 1.2 Question ........................................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Scope of work................................................................................................................... 2 2. Background .............................................................................................................................. 3 2.1 Avatar Means ................................................................................................................... 4