Conference Proceedings of the Philosophy of Computer Games 2008
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A Third Age of Avatars Bruce Damer, [email protected] Damer.Com | Digitalspace.Com | Ccon.Org | Biota.Org | Digibarn.Com
A Third Age of Avatars Bruce Damer, [email protected] damer.com | digitalspace.com | ccon.org | biota.org | digibarn.com Ò Started life on a PDP-11 fresh out of high school (1980), programmed graphics, videotext systems, dreamed of self replicating robots on the moon, designed board games, built model space stations. Ò Worked at IBM Research in 1984 (Toronto, New York), introduced to Internet, optical computing. Ò At Elixir Technologies 1987-94, wrote some of first GUI/Windows-Icons Publishing software on the IBM PC platform used 100 countries. Ò Established Contact Consortium in 1995, held first conferences on avatars (Earth to Avatars, Oct 1996) Ò Wrote “Avatars!”in 1997. Hosted and supported 9 conferences until 2003 on various aspects of virtual worlds (AVATARS Conferences, VLearn3D, Digital Biota) Ò Founded DigitalSpace in 1995, produced 3D worlds for government, corporate, university, and industry. Evangelism for Adobe (Atmosphere), NASA (Digital Spaces, open source 3D worlds for design simulation of space exploration) and NIH (learning games for Autism) Ò Established DigibarnComputer Museum (2002) Ò Virtual Worlds Timeline project (2006-2008) to capture and represent the history of the medium Ò The Virtual World, its Origins in Deep Time Ò Text Worlds Ò Graphical Worlds Ò Internet-Connected Worlds Ò The Avatars Cyberconferences Ò Massive Multiplayer Online RPGs Ò Virtual World Platforms Ò Virtual Worlds Timeline Project and Other Research History of Virtual Worlds The Virtual World, its Origins in Deep Time So what is a Virtual World? A place described by words or projected through pictures which creates a space in the imagination real enough that you can feel you are inside of it. -
Cyber-Synchronicity: the Concurrence of the Virtual
Cyber-Synchronicity: The Concurrence of the Virtual and the Material via Text-Based Virtual Reality 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 Jeffrey S. Smith March 2010 © 2010 Jeffrey S. Smith. All Rights Reserved. This dissertation titled Cyber-Synchronicity: The Concurrence of the Virtual and the Material Via Text-Based Virtual Reality by JEFFREY S. SMITH has been approved for the School of Media Arts and Studies and the Scripps College of Communication by Joseph W. Slade III Professor of Media Arts and Studies Gregory J. Shepherd Dean, Scripps College of Communication ii ABSTRACT SMITH, JEFFREY S., Ph.D., March 2010, Mass Communication Cyber-Synchronicity: The Concurrence of the Virtual and the Material Via Text-Based Virtual Reality (384 pp.) Director of Dissertation: Joseph W. Slade III This dissertation investigates the experiences of participants in a text-based virtual reality known as a Multi-User Domain, or MUD. Through in-depth electronic interviews, staff members and players of Aurealan Realms MUD were queried regarding the impact of their participation in the MUD on their perceived sense of self, community, and culture. Second, the interviews were subjected to a qualitative thematic analysis through which the nature of the participant’s phenomenological lived experience is explored with a specific eye toward any significant over or interconnection between each participant’s virtual and material experiences. An extended analysis of the experiences of respondents, combined with supporting material from other academic investigators, provides a map with which to chart the synchronous and synonymous relationship between a participant’s perceived sense of material identity, community, and culture, and her perceived sense of virtual identity, community, and culture. -
Programmed Moves: Race and Embodiment in Fighting and Dancing Videogames
UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Programmed Moves: Race and Embodiment in Fighting and Dancing Videogames Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5pg3z8fg Author Chien, Irene Y. Publication Date 2015 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Programmed Moves: Race and Embodiment in Fighting and Dancing Videogames by Irene Yi-Jiun Chien A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Film and Media and the Designated Emphasis in New Media in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Linda Williams, Chair Professor Kristen Whissel Professor Greg Niemeyer Professor Abigail De Kosnik Spring 2015 Abstract Programmed Moves: Race and Embodiment in Fighting and Dancing Videogames by Irene Yi-Jiun Chien Doctor of Philosophy in Film and Media Designated Emphasis in New Media University of California, Berkeley Professor Linda Williams, Chair Programmed Moves examines the intertwined history and transnational circulation of two major videogame genres, martial arts fighting games and rhythm dancing games. Fighting and dancing games both emerge from Asia, and they both foreground the body. They strip down bodily movement into elemental actions like stepping, kicking, leaping, and tapping, and make these the form and content of the game. I argue that fighting and dancing games point to a key dynamic in videogame play: the programming of the body into the algorithmic logic of the game, a logic that increasingly organizes the informatic structure of everyday work and leisure in a globally interconnected information economy. -
Towards Collection Interfaces for Digital Game Objects
“The Collecting Itself Feels Good”: Towards Collection Interfaces for Digital Game Objects Zachary O. Toups,1 Nicole K. Crenshaw,2 Rina R. Wehbe,3 Gustavo F. Tondello,3 Lennart E. Nacke3 1Play & Interactive Experiences for Learning Lab, Dept. Computer Science, New Mexico State University 2Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, University of California, Irvine 3HCI Games Group, Games Institute, University of Waterloo [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Figure 1. Sample favorite digital game objects collected by respondents, one for each code from the developed coding manual (except MISCELLANEOUS). While we did not collect media from participants, we identified representative images0 for some responses. From left to right: CHARACTER: characters from Suikoden II [G14], collected by P153; CRITTER: P32 reports collecting Arnabus the Fairy Rabbit from Dota 2 [G19]; GEAR: P55 favorited the Gjallerhorn rocket launcher from Destiny [G10]; INFORMATION: P44 reports Dragon Age: Inquisition [G5] codex cards; SKIN: P66’s favorite object is the Cauldron of Xahryx skin for Dota 2 [G19]; VEHICLE: a Jansen Carbon X12 car from Burnout Paradise [G11] from P53; RARE: a Hearthstone [G8] gold card from the Druid deck [P23]; COLLECTIBLE: World of Warcraft [G6] mount collection interface [P7, P65, P80, P105, P164, P185, P206]. ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION Digital games offer a variety of collectible objects. We inves- People collect objects for many reasons, such as filling a per- tigate players’ collecting behaviors in digital games to deter- sonal void, striving for a sense of completion, or creating a mine what digital game objects players enjoyed collecting and sense of order [8,22,29,34]. -
Vintage Game Consoles: an INSIDE LOOK at APPLE, ATARI
Vintage Game Consoles Bound to Create You are a creator. Whatever your form of expression — photography, filmmaking, animation, games, audio, media communication, web design, or theatre — you simply want to create without limitation. Bound by nothing except your own creativity and determination. Focal Press can help. For over 75 years Focal has published books that support your creative goals. Our founder, Andor Kraszna-Krausz, established Focal in 1938 so you could have access to leading-edge expert knowledge, techniques, and tools that allow you to create without constraint. We strive to create exceptional, engaging, and practical content that helps you master your passion. Focal Press and you. Bound to create. We’d love to hear how we’ve helped you create. Share your experience: www.focalpress.com/boundtocreate Vintage Game Consoles AN INSIDE LOOK AT APPLE, ATARI, COMMODORE, NINTENDO, AND THE GREATEST GAMING PLATFORMS OF ALL TIME Bill Loguidice and Matt Barton First published 2014 by Focal Press 70 Blanchard Road, Suite 402, Burlington, MA 01803 and by Focal Press 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Focal Press is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2014 Taylor & Francis The right of Bill Loguidice and Matt Barton to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. -
What Factors Led to the Collapse of the North American Video Games Industry in 1983?
IB History Internal Assessment – Sample from the IST via www.activehistory.co.uk What factors led to the collapse of the North American video games industry in 1983? Image from http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/atari-sq.jpg “Atari was one of the great rides…it was one of the greatest business educations in the history of the universe.”1 Manny Gerard (former Vice-President of Warner) International Baccalaureate History Internal Assessment Word count: 1,999 International School of Toulouse 1 Kent, Steven L., (2001). The Ultimate History of Video Games. Roseville, Calif.: Prima, (ISBN: 0761536434), pp. 102 Niall Rutherford Page 1 IB History Internal Assessment – Sample from the IST via www.activehistory.co.uk Contents 3 Plan of the Investigation 4 Summary of Evidence 6 Evaluation of Sources 8 Analysis 10 Conclusion 11 List of Sources 12 Appendices Niall Rutherford Page 2 IB History Internal Assessment – Sample from the IST via www.activehistory.co.uk Plan of the Investigation This investigation will assess the factors that led to the North American video game industry crash in 1983. I chose this topic due to my personal enthusiasm for video games and the immense importance of the crash in video game history: without Atari’s downfall, Nintendo would never have been successful worldwide and gaming may never have recovered. In addition, the mistakes of the biggest contemporary competitors (especially Atari) are relevant today when discussing the future avoidance of such a disaster. I have evaluated the two key interpretations of the crash in my analysis: namely, the notion that Atari and Warner were almost entirely to blame for the crash and the counterargument that external factors such as Activision and Commodore had the bigger impact. -
RUSQ Vol. 58, No. 4
THE ALERT COLLECTOR Mark Shores, Editor Kristen Nyitray began her immersion in video games with an Atari 2600 and ColecoVision console and checking out Game On to games from her local public library. Later in life, she had the opportunity to start building a video game studies col- lection in her professional career as an archivist and special Game After collections librarian. While that project has since ended, you get the benefit of her expansive knowledge of video game sources in “Game On to Game After: Sources for Video Game Sources for Video History.” There is much in this column to help librarians wanting to support research in this important entertainment Game History form. Ready player one?—Editor ideo games have emerged as a ubiquitous and dominant form of entertainment as evidenced by statistics compiled in the United States and pub- lished by the Entertainment Software Association: V60 percent of Americans play video and/or computer games daily; 70 percent of gamers are 18 and older; the average age of a player is 34; adult women constitute 33 percent of play- ers; and sales in the United States were estimated in 2017 at $36 billion.1 What constitutes a video game? This seemingly simple question has spurred much technical and philosophical debate. To this point, in 2010 I founded with Raiford Guins (professor of cinema and media studies, the Media School, Kristen J. Nyitray Indiana University) the William A. Higinbotham Game Studies Collection (2010–2016), named in honor of physi- Kristen J. Nyitray is Director of Special Collections cist Higinbotham, developer of the analog computer game and University Archives, and University Archivist at Tennis for Two (as it is most commonly known).2 This game Stony Brook University, State University of New York. -
Chapter 1: the Semiotic Conditions of Videogame Authorship
UC San Diego UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title The Foundations of Videogame Authorship Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/96x08750 Author Huber, William Humberto Publication Date 2013 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO The Foundations of Videogame Authorship A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Art History, Theory and Criticism by William Humberto Huber Committee in charge: Professor Lev Manovich, Chair Professor Grant Kester Professor Kuiyi Shen Professor Stefan Tanaka Professor Noah Wardrip-Fruin 2013 © William Humberto Huber, 2013 All rights reserved. SIGNATURE PAGE The Dissertation of William Humberto Huber is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: Chair University of California, San Diego 2013 iii DEDICATION With gratitude to friends, family and colleagues. To Samantha, with deepest devotion, for her friendship, affection and patience. To Rafael, for whom play is everything. iv EPIGRAPH Art is a game between all people, of all periods. – Marcel Duchamp v TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page ............................................................................................................... iii Dedication ..................................................................................................................... iv Epigraph ..........................................................................................................................v -
Mud Connector
Archive-name: mudlist.doc /_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ /_/_/_/_/ THE /_/_/_/_/ /_/_/ MUD CONNECTOR /_/_/ /_/_/_/_/ MUD LIST /_/_/_/_/ /_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ o=======================================================================o The Mud Connector is (c) copyright (1994 - 96) by Andrew Cowan, an associate of GlobalMedia Design Inc. This mudlist may be reprinted as long as 1) it appears in its entirety, you may not strip out bits and pieces 2) the entire header appears with the list intact. Many thanks go out to the mud administrators who helped to make this list possible, without them there is little chance this list would exist! o=======================================================================o This list is presented strictly in alphabetical order. Each mud listing contains: The mud name, The code base used, the telnet address of the mud (unless circumstances prevent this), the homepage url (if a homepage exists) and a description submitted by a member of the mud's administration or a person approved to make the submission. All listings derived from the Mud Connector WWW site http://www.mudconnect.com/ You can contact the Mud Connector staff at [email protected]. [NOTE: This list was computer-generated, Please report bugs/typos] o=======================================================================o Last Updated: June 8th, 1997 TOTAL MUDS LISTED: 808 o=======================================================================o o=======================================================================o Muds Beginning With: A o=======================================================================o Mud : Aacena: The Fatal Promise Code Base : Envy 2.0 Telnet : mud.usacomputers.com 6969 [204.215.32.27] WWW : None Description : Aacena: The Fatal Promise: Come here if you like: Clan Wars, PKilling, Role Playing, Friendly but Fair Imms, in depth quests, Colour, Multiclassing*, Original Areas*, Tweaked up code, and MORE! *On the way in The Fatal Promise is a small mud but is growing in size and player base. -
Game Design and Role-Playing Games
This is an Accepted Manuscript of a book chapter published by Routledge in Role- Playing Game Studies: Transmedia Foundations on April 4, 2018, available online: https://www.routledge.com/Role-Playing-Game-Studies-Transmedia-Foundations/Deterding-Zagal/p/book/9781138638907 Please cite as: Björk, Staffan and Zagal, José P. (2018). “Game Design and Role- Playing Games” In Zagal, José P. and Deterding, S. (eds.), Role-Playing Game Studies: Transmedia Foundations. New York: Routledge, 323-336. 18 Game Design and Role-Playing Games Staffan Björk; José Zagal This chapter explores role-playing games (RPGs) from a design perspective. While there are many approaches to acquiring knowledge about RPGs, designers of RPGs often consider the structural elements of a game—its rules and the entities on which the rules act—and how they will interact with each other. One complication of game design, and RPG design specifically, is that “games” involve and describe both the artifacts that makes playing possible – the things we buy in stores – and the gameplay artifacts enable and encourage. While game designers can exert control over the artifact (e.g. a rulebook or software), their ultimate goal is to encourage a certain kind of gameplay. Thus, gameplay, which primarily depends on the player’s behavior, is out of their direct control. Salen and Zimmerman (2004) refer to this as “second-order design” and stress the importance of playtesting to see if the game artifacts generate the desired game activities when used by the intended target group. However, they also stress the importance of game designers having a structural understanding of games as systems so they can anticipate how specific design configurations will work. -
UC Irvine UC Irvine Previously Published Works
UC Irvine UC Irvine Previously Published Works Title Transplatform: Culture, Context, and the Intellivision/Atari VCS Rivalry Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1x80x49m Authors Boellstorff, Tom Soderman, Braxton Publication Date 2017-08-07 DOI 10.1177/1555412017721839 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Original Manuscript Games and Culture 1-24 ª The Author(s) 2017 Transplatform: Culture, Reprints and permission: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1555412017721839 Context, and the journals.sagepub.com/home/gac Intellivision/Atari VCS Rivalry Tom Boellstorff1 and Braxton Soderman2 Abstract In this article, we develop the concept of “transplatform” to contribute to platform studies. We analyze the rivalry between the Atari Video Computer System (VCS)— the best-known member of the “second generation” of home videogame consoles— and Intellivision, which was the Atari VCS’s key competitor for most of this period. Through this analysis, we hope to provide conceptual tools for rethinking the notions of platform, culture, and context in platform studies. In particular, we seek to link the two main ways platforms are currently understood—“computing platforms” like the Atari VCS or Flash and “social platforms” like FaceBook or YouTube. Online sociality is increasingly “platform sociality” in some form. Understanding platforms not just in “context,” but as shaped by rivalries not ontologically subsequent to the platforms themselves, is vital to responding to these emerging formations. Keywords platform studies, video games, context, rivalry, history, culture 1 Department of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA 2 Department of Film and Media Studies, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA Corresponding Author: Tom Boellstorff, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA. -
Book Review of Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost (2009). Racing the Beam: the Atari Video Computer System
# " !" Digital Culture & Education (DCE) Publication details, including instructions for authors http://www.digitalcultureandeducation.com/ Book review of Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost (2009). Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System. Cambridge; London: The MIT Press. Thomas Apperley Digital Culture E Education (DCE) Online Publication Date: 15 May 2009 To cite this article: Apperley, T. (2009) Review of Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost (2009). Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System. Cambridge; London: The MIT Press. Digital Culture & Education, 1(1), 83-86. URL: http://www.digitalcultureandeducation.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/bookreview_apperley_2009.pdf PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR REVIEW Book review of Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost (2009). Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System. Cambridge; London: The MIT Press. Thomas Apperley Digital Culture & Education (DCE) Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost (2009). Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System. Cambridge; London: The MIT Press. ISBN 978 0 262 01257 7. 180 pages. USD 22.95. Racing the Beam has two roles, to establish and demonstrate the methodology of ‘platform studies’. It is the first of a series on ‘platform studies’ published by the MIT press, for which Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost are associate series editors. The book is not only a case study of the Atari VCS (commonly known as the Atari 2600), it also sets an agenda for bringing computer hardware into social sciences and humanities discussions of new media. The authors illustrate the practice of platform studies through detailed, yet lucid, technical engagements with key Atari VCS games: Combat, Adventure, Pac-Man, Yar’s Revenge, Pitfall, and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.