Tactics, Teamplay, Precision the Evolution of a Multiplayer Gem
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Now We Are All Sons of Bitches
Now We Are All Sons of Bitches MICHAEL BONTATIBUS “Wake up, Mr. Freeman. Wake up and smell the ashes,” the enigmat- ic G-Man murmurs as he leers into the camera, finishing an eerie opening monologue—and so begins Half-Life 2, Valve Corporation’s flagship game. The last time we saw Gordon Freeman, the protagonist, the same rigid and mysterious (though more poorly animated, since the prequel was released six years earlier) G-Man was handing him a job offer after witnessing the former scientist transform into a warrior, bent on escaping from the besieged Black Mesa Research Facility alive. Now, suddenly, Freeman finds himself on a train. No context.1 Is it a prison train? The three other individuals on it wear uniforms like those the inmates wore in Cool Hand Luke. The train soon stops at its destination, and we realize that it is a prison train, in a way—Freeman has arrived at the Orwellian “City 17,” where the ironically named Civil Protection abuses and oppresses, where antagonist Dr. Breen preaches poet- ic propaganda from large monitors hung high above the town. In the years since scientists at the facility accidentally opened a gateway between dimen- sions and allowed a bevy of grotesque creatures to spill into our universe, Earth has been taken over by the Combine, an alien multiplanetary empire. Breen is merely Earth’s administrator—and we realize that the ashes the G- Man spoke of were the ashes of the prelapsarian world. It’s classic dystopia, complete with a Resistance, of which Freeman soon finds himself the “mes- sianic” leader (HL2). -
Chell Game: Representation, Identification, and Racial Ambiguity in PORTAL and PORTAL 2 2015
Repositorium für die Medienwissenschaft Jennifer deWinter; Carly A. Kocurek Chell Game: Representation, Identification, and Racial Ambiguity in PORTAL and PORTAL 2 2015 https://doi.org/10.25969/mediarep/14996 Veröffentlichungsversion / published version Sammelbandbeitrag / collection article Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: deWinter, Jennifer; Kocurek, Carly A.: Chell Game: Representation, Identification, and Racial Ambiguity in PORTAL and PORTAL 2. In: Thomas Hensel, Britta Neitzel, Rolf F. Nohr (Hg.): »The cake is a lie!« Polyperspektivische Betrachtungen des Computerspiels am Beispiel von PORTAL. Münster: LIT 2015, S. 31– 48. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25969/mediarep/14996. Erstmalig hier erschienen / Initial publication here: http://nuetzliche-bilder.de/bilder/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Hensel_Neitzel_Nohr_Portal_Onlienausgabe.pdf Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Dieser Text wird unter einer Creative Commons - This document is made available under a creative commons - Namensnennung - Nicht kommerziell - Weitergabe unter Attribution - Non Commercial - Share Alike 3.0/ License. For more gleichen Bedingungen 3.0/ Lizenz zur Verfügung gestellt. Nähere information see: Auskünfte zu dieser Lizenz finden Sie hier: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ Jennifer deWinter / Carly A. Kocurek Chell Game: Representation, Identification, and Racial Ambiguity in ›Portal‹ and ›Portal 2‹ Chell stands in a corner facing a portal, then takes aim at the adjacent wall with the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. Between the two portals, one ringed in blue, one ringed in orange, Chell is revealed, reflected in both. And, so, we, the player, see Chell. She is a young woman with a ponytail, wearing an orange jumpsuit pulled down to her waist and an Aperture Science-branded white tank top. -
The Development and Validation of the Game User Experience Satisfaction Scale (Guess)
THE DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE GAME USER EXPERIENCE SATISFACTION SCALE (GUESS) A Dissertation by Mikki Hoang Phan Master of Arts, Wichita State University, 2012 Bachelor of Arts, Wichita State University, 2008 Submitted to the Department of Psychology and the faculty of the Graduate School of Wichita State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2015 © Copyright 2015 by Mikki Phan All Rights Reserved THE DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE GAME USER EXPERIENCE SATISFACTION SCALE (GUESS) The following faculty members have examined the final copy of this dissertation for form and content, and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy with a major in Psychology. _____________________________________ Barbara S. Chaparro, Committee Chair _____________________________________ Joseph Keebler, Committee Member _____________________________________ Jibo He, Committee Member _____________________________________ Darwin Dorr, Committee Member _____________________________________ Jodie Hertzog, Committee Member Accepted for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences _____________________________________ Ronald Matson, Dean Accepted for the Graduate School _____________________________________ Abu S. Masud, Interim Dean iii DEDICATION To my parents for their love and support, and all that they have sacrificed so that my siblings and I can have a better future iv Video games open worlds. — Jon-Paul Dyson v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Althea Gibson once said, “No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you.” Thus, completing this long and winding Ph.D. journey would not have been possible without a village of support and help. While words could not adequately sum up how thankful I am, I would like to start off by thanking my dissertation chair and advisor, Dr. -
Ubisoft® Reports Third Quarter 2014-15 Sales
Ubisoft® reports third quarter 2014-15 sales . Record third-quarter sales, coming in above target at €810 million . Targets for full-year 2014-15 updated Paris, February 12, 2015 – Today, Ubisoft released its sales figures for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2014. Sales Sales for the third quarter of 2014-15 came to €809.7 million, up 55.8% (or 49.5% at constant exchange rates) compared with the €519.7 million recorded for third-quarter 2013- 14. For the first nine months of fiscal 2014-15, sales totaled €1,293.9 million versus €813.0 million in the corresponding prior-year period, representing an increase of 59.2% (or 58.3% at constant exchange rates). The third-quarter sales figure was higher than the target of approximately €730 million announced when Ubisoft released its first-half 2014-15 results. This performance reflects: . A sharp increase in market share to 12.8%1 for 2014 (from 9.6% in 2013). A very good performance delivered by the two Assassin’s Creed® opuses, Far Cry® 4 and The Crew®, with respective sales of 10 million, 7 million and 2 million units (sell- in): Far Cry 4 was voted “Best Shooter” at "The Games Awards 2014". Assassin’s Creed Unity won the prize for best “Character Animation in a Video Game” at the Annie Awards. To date, The Crew has recorded the best sales1 for the racing games released in late 2014. A solid showing from Just Dance® with 4 million units sold (sell-in). The continued success of Watch Dogs®, with 10 million units sold (sell-in) since its release. -
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. -
Gaming Systems and Features of Discovery Centre Station 1
Gaming systems and features of Discovery Centre Station 1: XBox 1 with Remote The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 Wii U and Wii U Remote Braid Playstation 4 with Remote The Bridge Gaming PC with Gaming keyboard and The Cat and the Coup mouse Cave Story+ Downloaded games in station 1 include: Closure 7 Grand Steps, Step 1: What Ancients Begat Cogs 140 Coil AaAaAA!! – A Reckless Disregard for Colosse Gravity Colour Bind ABE VR Crawl Achron Cube & Star: An Arbitrary Love AltscpaceVR Dayz Amnesia: The Dark Descent Deep Under the Sky Analogue: A Hate Story Desktop Dungeons A Story About My Uncle Destinations B.U.T.T.O.N. Dinner Date Bad Hotel Dream Banished The Dream Machine Bastion The Dream Machine: Chapter 3 The Beginner’s Guide The Dream Machine: Chapter 4 Besiege The Dream Machine: Chapter 5 Between IGF Demo Dungeon of the Endless Bientôt l’été Dust: An Elysian Tail Bigscreen Beta Elegy for a Dead World BioShock Infinite Endless Legend The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth Ephemerid: A Musical Adventure BIT.TRIP RUNNER Estranged: Act 1 BlazeRush Carleton University Library and the Discovery Centre September 2019 Euro Truck Simulator 2 Interstellar Marines Evoland Intrusion 2 Evoland 2 Invisible, Inc. Fallout Jamestown Fallout 2 Joe Danger Fallout Tactics Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes Farming Simulator 17 Kentucky Route Zero Flotilla LA Cops FLY’N Legend of Dungeon The FOO show Life is Strange The Forest LIMBO Fotonica Lisa Frozen Synapse Little Inferno FTL: Faster than -
Virtual Reality
Independent publication by raconteur.net raconteur.net # 0356 17 / 12 / 2015 VIRTUAL REALITY 2016: the year Bringing Virtually Feel like 2016 05 shopping 06 no limit 11 playing 03 of virtual reality to life to VR away? Analysts are tipping 2016 as a breakthrough Retailers are poised to use virtual reality Ten top areas where virtual reality is Virtual reality is adding an extra dimension year for virtual reality technology to transform the shopping experience making an impact and revolutionising life to gaming and interactive cinema FB BANNER - HEXAWARE creating immersive, interactive worlds for VR stinkdigital.com raconteur.net RACONTEUR | 17 / 12 / 2015 raconteur.net VIRTUAL REALITY | 03 Getty ImagesGetty 2016: the year of virtual reality Analysts are tipping 2016 as a breakthrough year for virtual reality with major product launches on the horizon Visitors test virtual reality headsets at the Solutions COP21 exhibition OVERVIEW This is not just the stuff of science fic- ly surpassed anything VR could conjure It is not just the technology companies Investment in VR is reaching fever NIC FILDES tion anymore. Citi, the investment bank, up. Those companies that survived did getting excited about VR. The movie pitch from Kickstarter campaigns to estimates that the market for hardware, so moving away from entertainment industry is clearly excited about the put cameras on the International Space here is often a sense of déjà vu networks, software and content will and towards business applications, prospects of immersive cinema with Station to spice up science teaching in when it comes to technolog- reach a staggering $200 billion by 2020. -
Conference Booklet
30th Oct - 1st Nov CONFERENCE BOOKLET 1 2 3 INTRO REBOOT DEVELOP RED | 2019 y Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned Warmest welcome to first ever Reboot Develop it! And we are here to stay. Our ambition through Red conference. Welcome to breathtaking Banff the next few years is to turn Reboot Develop National Park and welcome to iconic Fairmont Red not just in one the best and biggest annual Banff Springs. It all feels a bit like history repeating games industry and game developers conferences to me. When we were starting our European older in Canada and North America, but in the world! sister, Reboot Develop Blue conference, everybody We are committed to stay at this beautiful venue was full of doubts on why somebody would ever and in this incredible nature and astonishing choose a beautiful yet a bit remote place to host surroundings for the next few forthcoming years one of the biggest worldwide gatherings of the and make it THE annual key gathering spot of the international games industry. In the end, it turned international games industry. We will need all of into one of the biggest and highest-rated games your help and support on the way! industry conferences in the world. And here we are yet again at the beginning, in one of the most Thank you from the bottom of the heart for all beautiful and serene places on Earth, at one of the the support shown so far, and even more for the most unique and luxurious venues as well, and in forthcoming one! the company of some of the greatest minds that the games industry has to offer! _Damir Durovic -
The Future Past: Intertextuality in Contemporary Dystopian Video Games
The Future Past: Intertextuality in Contemporary Dystopian Video Games By Matthew Warren CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies Submitted to: Timothy Portlock, Advisor Hunter College Lee Quinby, Director Macaulay Honors College Thesis Colloquium 9 May 2012 Contents I. Introduction: Designing Digital Spaces II. Theoretical Framework a. Intertextuality in the visual design of video games and other media b. Examining the established visual iconography of dystopian setting II. Textual Evidence a. Retrofuturism and the Decay of Civilization in Bioshock and Fallout b. Innocence, Iteration, and Nostalgia in Team Fortress and Limbo III. Conclusion 2 “Games help those in a polarized world take a position and play out the consequences.” The Twelve Propositions from a Critical Play Perspective Mary Flanagan, 2009 3 Designing Digital Spaces In everyday life, physical space serves a primary role in orientation — it is a “container or framework where things exist” (Mark 1991) and as a concept, it can be viewed through the lense of a multitude of disciplines that often overlap, including physics, architecture, geography, and theatre. We see the function of space in visual media — in film, where the concept of physical setting can be highly choreographed and largely an unchanging variable that comprises a final static shot, and in video games, where space can be implemented in a far more complex, less linear manner that underlines participation and system-level response. The artistry behind the fields of production design and visual design, in film and in video games respectively, are exemplified in works that engage the viewer or player in a profound or novel manner. -
Left 4 Dead 2 Addon Support Cracked
Left 4 Dead 2 Addon Support Cracked 1 / 3 Left 4 Dead 2 Addon Support Cracked 2 / 3 1- Install Latest Rev-Emu Installer which includes left4dead2.exe and Setti masterserver.vdf. ... IniGen.exe from root folder and remove Name Enabler Addon. .... [includes cracked left4dead2.exe and Setti masterserver.vdf]. how to install more left 4 dead mods on a non-steam l4d ?? i tried ... the console command if you need help on 2 cr8 a offline multiplayer game just ask. 0 0 ... if you have the cracked version like me we cant have custom skins.. For Left 4 Dead 2 on the PC, a GameFAQs Answers question titled "Non steam l4d2 problem? ... Yesyerday I Extract Left 4 Dead 2 2.7z to my PC and i use crack too 2.0.0.3, but still ... steam is ... I have a problem with my L4D2 Add-On Support.. A Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2) Skin Mod in the Survivors category, submitted by ciy93. ... Supported Games .... the folder and put on addon file Left4Dead2/left4dead2/Addon This is 1st time i upload the file please don look so bad Thx ... Cracked Egg.. Support us ... Chet Faliszek, the former Valve fella best known for his work on Left 4 Dead and ... Turtle Rock Studios, the mob who created Left 4 Dead, are revisiting their ..... 2014 would seem to be the year in which the games industry has another crack at making primarily multiplayer shooting games work all over again.. Hello HGT Here is guide how to get L4D2 For Free Or Garena if you want to play on our .. -
The Heroic Journey of a Villain
Háskóli Íslands Hugvísindasvið Enska The Heroic Journey of a Villain The Lost and Found Humanity of an Artificial Intelligence Ritgerð til MA-prófs í Ensku Ásta Karen Ólafsdóttir Kt.: 150390-2499 Leiðbeinandi: Guðrún B. Guðsteinsdóttir Maí 2017 Abstract In this essay, we will look at the villain of the Portal franchise, the artificial intelligence GLaDOS, in context with Maureen Murdock’s theory of the “Heroine’s Journey,” from her book The Heroine’s Journey: Woman’s Quest for Wholeness. The essay argues that although GLaDOS is not a heroine in the conventional sense, she is just as important of a figure in the franchise as its protagonist, Chell. GLaDOS acts both as the first game’s narrator and villain, as she runs the Aperture Science Enrichment Center where the games take place. Unlike Chell, GLaDOS is a speaking character with a complex backstory and goes through real character development as the franchise’s story progresses. The essay is divided into four chapters, a short history of women’s part as characters in video games, an introduction to Murdock’s “The Heroine’s Journey,” and its context to John Campbell’s “The Hero’s Journey,” a chapter on the Portal franchises, and then we go through “The Heroine’s Journey,” in regards to GLaDOS, and each step in its own subchapter. Our main focus will be on the second installment in the series, Portal 2. Since, in that game, GLaDOS goes through most of her heroine’s journey. In the first game, Portal, GLaDOS separates from her femininity and embraces the masculine, causing her fractured psyche, and as the player goes through Portal 2 along with her, she reclaims her femininity, finds her inner masculinity, and regains wholeness. -
POST-APOCALYPTIC DESIRES, SCIENCE DISTRUST, and the DE(CON)STRUCTION of a ZOMBIE STORY By
BRING AN AXE AND YOUR WILDEST DREAMS: POST-APOCALYPTIC DESIRES, SCIENCE DISTRUST, AND THE DE(CON)STRUCTION OF A ZOMBIE STORY by SAMANTHA JO LONG B.A., Illinois State University, 2011 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts Department of English 2014 This thesis entitled: Bring an Axe and Your Wildest Dreams: Post-Apocalyptic Desires, Science Distrust, and the De(con)struction of a Zombie Story written by Samantha Jo Long has been approved for the Department of English Richelle Munkhoff Stephen Graham Jones Date _ The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we Find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards Of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. iii Long, Samantha Jo (M.A., English) Bring an Axe and Your Wildest Dreams: Post-Apocalyptic Desires, Science Distrust, and the De(con)struction of a Zombie Story Thesis directed by Assistant Professor Richelle Munkhoff Observing the current popularity of the zombie narrative in American culture, this thesis explores the questions “why zombie?” and “why now?” through a combination of research and the creation of an original zombie story. Moving beyond existing criticism which argues that the zombie transforms to fit each generation’s specific fears, I argue that zombie movies, novels, and video games from George A. Romero-onwards continually speak to a distrust of science and scientific progress while additionally romanticizing the post-apocalyptic landscape. Consequently, the zombie’s unprecedented mainstream popularity over the last fifteen years could be read as symptomatic of this distrust intensifying, paralleling an increasing politicization of science and a rise in apocalyptic thinking within the public sphere.