December 2018 History Marketing Experience Criticism Psychology Social Aspects Future Editorial Journal Board Orientation
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Acta Ludologica Faculty of Mass Media Communication Vol. 1, No.2Vol. Theory Education Design Development Research December 2018 History Marketing Experience Criticism Psychology Social Aspects Future Editorial Journal Board Orientation Editor-In-Chief Acta Ludologica is a scientific journal in the field of digital Zdenko Mago games. The journal contains professional scientific reflec- tions on digital games; it also offers academic discourses on games, especially media and digital competencies, cre- Deputy Managing Editors ation, design, marketing, research, development, psycho- Zuzana Bučková Martin Solík logy, sociology, history and the future of digital games and game studies. Indexing Process and Technical Editor Zuzana Bučková Acta Ludologica is a double-blind peer reviewed jour- nal published twice a year. It focuses on theoretical stud- ies, theoretical and empirical studies, research results and Technical Editors their implementation into practice, as well as professional Nikola Kaňuková Miroslav Kapec publication reviews. English Editor Michael Valek Distribution Lenka Ďurišová Online Content Manager Johny Domanský Acta Ludologica Vol. 1, No. 2, December 2018 Advisory Board Masayuki Uemura Peter A. Bruck Publisher Malgorzata Luszczak Faculty of Mass Media Communication Juraj Malíček University of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava Jaroslav Světlík Námestie Jozefa Herdu 2 917 01 Trnava Editorial Team SLOVAK REPUBLIC Anna Hurajová Michal Kabát IČO: 360 789 13 Monika Porubanová Price: 1,99 € Hana Pravdová Published twice a year. Illustrations Filip Streďanský ISSN 2585-8599 e-ISSN 2585-9218 Graphic Production Coordinator & Cover EV 5620/18 Martin Klementis Martin Graca ACTA LUDOLOGICA Editorial Contents Slovakia on the Game Studies’ Map GAME Slovakia has never been very affable to grounds, originating from our region. The everything about digital games. The rea- acquisition is represented by a wide range son lies in rooted prejudices which regard of topics applied to various contexts. STUDIES games at the level of children’s toys, as non- The marketing point of view is investigated productive leisure time, the consequences by Jana Radošinská with her analysis of Portraying Historical Landmarks and of which remain even today. The historical portraying historical landmarks and events Events in the Digital Game Series background played a significant role in this through the famous digital games’ series Assassin’s Creed, Jana Radošinská ............. deepening abyss separating the develop- Assassin’s Creed, and my own attempt to 4 REVIEWS ment of the digital-gaming sector in the apply the concept of timelessness to ad- The Concept of Timelessness Applied to world and in Slovakia. As a socialistic coun- vergames released within the history of the Advergames, Zdenko Mago .......................... Playing with Feeling: Video Games and try, we involuntarily stayed behind. The first digital-gaming industry. The following theo- 18 Affect, Magdaléna Balážiková ........................ ‘western’ gaming devices, including some retical study by Tomáš Farkaš determines Binaural and Ambisonic Sound as the 66 computers brands like Apple, could only of- the importance of binaural and ambisonic Future Standard of Digital Games, The Gamers Brain: How Neuroscience and ficially enter Slovakia (then Czehoslovakia) sound for the future of digital games, and an Tomáš Farkaš ................................................. UX Can Impact Video Game Design, after 1989 and and the period thereafter overview study by Ivan Rokošný brings the 34 Marián Hosťovecký .......................................... was in the spirit of various fake consoles, summary of the most important milestones 69 which flooded our market, copying and sub- in digital games’ history up to present. Digital Games as a Cultural Phenomenon: stituting (for us) the expensive originals. A deeper insight into the state of the gaming A Brief History and Current State, The CRPG Book: A Guide to Computer Eight years later, Slovakia made its first sector in Slovakia, from the digital games’ Ivan Rokošný .................................................. Role-Playing Games, Michal Kabát ................ game export – Spellcross. museology point of view, is subsequently 48 72 However, the last few years indicate provided by an interview with Maroš Brojo. a change. The abyss considerably decreas- Besides following critical reviews of the lat- es, new game development studios are est publications and a summary of interest- appearing, and the digital-game sector is ing news from games discourse, for the first slowly acquiring seriousness and value as time, the issue is concluded by a new sec- INTERVIEW NEWS generally perceived by the rest of the world. tion – Add-ons – consisting of short-ranged This is also related to the gradual establish- scientific, philosophical and artistic reflec- The Issue of Slovak Digital-Games’ Gotland Game Conference and HEVGA ment of gaming studies at the academic tions on phenomenona of the comprehen- Museology. Interview with Maroš Brojo, European Symposium..................................... level, which have already found their place sive game world. Nikola Kaňuková ............................................ 74 in the surrounding countries (e.g. the Czech As the new Acta Ludologica’s editor-in- 62 Slovakia is Finally Jammin’ ............................. Republic, Poland), and now even in Slova- chief, it is now my long-term quest, along 75 kia, culminating at the start of 2018 by the with dealing with journal content relevancy, establishment of the scientific journal Acta to mediate another platform and oppor- Ludologica, focusing on both games and tunity for game researchers and scholars, digital games discourses. without limitation to our region, to publish Not only for the abovementioned reasons, studies which could represent benefits for ADD-ONS the content of Acta Ludologica’s presented the future development of games studies in issue is particularly dedicated to the studies general. of scholars and researchers of the Faculty of The Game is out There, Mass Media Communication at the Univer- Łukasz P. Wojciechowski ................................. sity of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, a 76 residence of the only study program focus- ing on game discourse (Theory of digital games) so far in Slovakia, in order to dem- onstrate the potential within the general Zdenko Mago development of game studies on academic Acta Ludologica’s Editor-in-Chief 2 Editorial ACTA LUDOLOGICA Acta Ludologica 2018, Vol. 1, No. 2 ABSTRACT: Most young people living in the world of today do not express much interest in history and historical landmarks. It is therefore quite surprising that specific digital games portray- ing various historical periods or their alternative, partly fictitious versions might at least raise their players’ awareness of real historical facts and sites. Some of these games have Portraying Historical been able to achieve global popularity. The author uses the digital game series Assassin’s Creed (2007 – present day) as an example of a digital gaming environment which features historical fiction merged with real historical events and figures. The aim of the study is to Landmarks and Events in better understand the ways Assassin’s Creed portrays historical landmarks all over the world and bring them closer to the players. The basic assumption is that at least some the Digital Game Series of the players, here seen as potential “gamers-tourists”, may be interested in finding out more about the depicted historical sites and their true counterparts. Given the aforemen- tioned assumption, our ambition is to discuss the digital game series Assassin’s Creed Assassin’s Creed and its tendency to offer visually attractive virtual re-creations of real historical sites, re- flecting on the series’ presumed ability to depict historical landmarks, figures and events Jana Radošinská in mostly fictitious, but still interesting and eye-catching ways. KEY WORDS: Assassin’s Creed series, gamer-tourist, gaming environments, historical accuracy of digi- PhDr. Jana Radošinská, PhD. tal games, historical landmarks, hyper-realistic game renditions. University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava Faculty of Mass Media Communication Námestie J. Herdu 2 917 01 Trnava SLOVAK REPUBLIC [email protected] Introduction At present, it is very difficult to raise teenagers and young adults’ (generally low) Jana Radošinská is a media theorist and a lecturer. She specialises in issues of media awareness of historical events and landmarks. Although these events or sites have been culture, media industry, mainstream film production and media entertainment. parts of human spiritual and material riches for centuries, some of them even for millen- Her scholarly interests also include problems related to contemporary media audiences, cultural aspects of journalism, television studies and digital games. She nia, young people’s disinterest in historical facts and monuments is still quite obvious. is the co-author of the scientific monograph Aktuálne trendy v mediálnej kultúre We therefore have to seek ‘alternative’ or rather late-modern methods of displaying their (Contemporary Trends in Media Culture, published in 2013) and the author of the remarkable features and stressing their importance. It is worth noting that various digital scientific monograph Mediálna zábava v 21. storočí: Sociálno-kultúrne aspekty games have proven to be quite effective and useful tools of this much needed