DOCSLIB.ORG

Understanding the Relationship Between Video Game Developers And

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Understanding the Relationship Between Video Game Developers And UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VIDEO GAME DEVELOPERS AND THE VIDEO GAME ENTHUSIAST PRESS by ROBERT MARK FURRY A major project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION We accept the major project as conforming to the required standard Dr. Joshua Guilar, Faculty Supervisor Date School of Communication & Culture Royal Roads University Dr. Bettina Heinz, Major Project Coordinator Date School of Communication & Culture Royal Roads University Dr. Bettina Heinz, Second Reader Date School of Communication & Culture Royal Roads University Dr. Joshua Guilar, Director Date School of Communication & Culture Royal Roads University Royal Roads University June 2008 © Robert Mark Furry 2008 Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-44180-0 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-44180-0 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plntemet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. Canada Video Game Press ii Abstract Herein I use Grounded Theory to examine current state of video game journalism, using examples pulled from publicly accessible information posted by the journalists themselves, and recent works done on video games, new media, and television. I have found video game journalism to be both beholden and infatuated with the video game industry, a nepotistic and dependant niche of journalism. The market for both video games and video game journalism is seen to be growing, but its value as an artistic form is not. The current state of video game journalism demonstrates inadequate coverage for games and gamers outside a certain niche. However, many parallels can be drawn to early years of television, in both the industry and academia. This has lead me to the hope that while there are difficulties in studying the medium now, the understanding and acceptance of ludology and video games will only improve with time. Video Game Press iii Acknowledgements I would first like to thank those who were kind enough to speak with me in the course of this endeavour. Other journalists and developers I would like to express my gratitude to are those who go beyond just their duties to produce text and games to opine on the nature of the industry itself. Without these two groups I could not have written this paper. My classmates also writing their major projects also formed a great support, together we all managed to overcome our individual challenges. My parents for their helpful comments when I looked lost and for letting me be when I was head-down and rushing along. Video Game Press iv Table of Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgements iii Table of Contents iv Introduction 1 Literature Review 3 Method and Limitations 6 Findings 10 Nepotism 10 Art and Money 14 Invisible Gamers 18 Discussion 28 Conclusion 37 References 39 Appendix i 43 Video Game Press 1 Introduction Video games as an entertainment medium are growing at a pace that can spark jealousy from more traditional forms of entertainment. Some of those from those other industries are embracing video games as a means to expand upon their own media presence, witness Steven Spielberg's foray into 'directing' games and Aerosmith, among others, encouraging the expansion of music games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band. As its own entertainment medium games have their own media, however, upon any look, cursory or in depth, this journalistic niche is nothing like those for movies or music; there are no Roger Eberts or Lester Bangs commenting on this new media. Video games are an entertainment medium born in an era of publicists and media strategies, and as such has a whole new form of relationship between journalists and developers. The journalists covering this medium are more involved in them than perhaps any have been since the emergence of film or television. The generation of journalists has grown up with games and has had an enthusiasm for them for a long enough time that they hold that their jobs of "playing games all day', despite deadlines and pressure, is one of the best jobs they could possibly have. However, these media outlets are subject to endemic advertising, which has the possibility of leading to issues between an outlet's editorial and sales staff. Furthermore, due to the managed nature of a game's publicity before release, media outlets face pressure from developers to post positive scores on preview and review scores on key games as to not upset the company, which is their only source for games from that publisher. The journalists involved in this niche themselves will often debate their own role and the perception of the industry as a whole. I will start with their own picture of Video Game Press 2 themselves, and together with some pre-existing work on video games and new media. Using their publicly accessible debates, I have compiled, coded, and analyzed using grounded theory, the nature of the video game press. With that analysis I will discuss how it is that the journalist/develop dynamic works and the mutual goals that they have. To meet those goals I discuss the barriers they face; nepotism, questions of artistic integrity, and a focus that ignores many of the people who could also be called gamers. Video Game Press 3 Literature Review The academic study of games reached the popular digital press in the August 2006 issue of Wired magazine. "Ludology: n. The academic study of videogames. Taking its name from the Latin word for game, and deriving techniques from literary and film theory, ludology analyzes Ever quest as art and Grand Theft Auto as cultural artefact" (Keats, 2006). With that entry a broader audience became aware that academics were in fact studying games, but what this did not do was tell us how they were being studied and what understandings were being developed. Ludology is an emergent and interdisciplinary field. The study of games can be seen from a meeting of computer science and film studies, such as The Language of New Media (Manovich, 2002), or an economic viewpoint can be used to understand why people spend money on videogames and how they are valued, and the field of psychology seeks to understand the effect of games on players. Those fields, along with sociology, business studies, and communications can also be combined, such as the case for Digital Play (Kline, Dyer-Witheford, & De Peuter, 2003) although that book takes a more Marxist approach to the nature of video game developers than I will take here. Perhaps with so many fields contributing to our understanding of videogames, ludology becomes a term too broad or diffuse to be used. Certainly amongst ludologists there are factions. Summarizing what he sees as a trend, Juul writes, "The new conflict in video game studies is between those who study players and those who study games" (2008). Here I am studying neither the players nor the games, but how those who make and write about them interact and affect games and gamers. The writings of ludologists are then useful for background understanding of the themes of games, but are not core to Video Game Press 4 my work. Similarly, my work may help them develop better understanding of the period between a game being made and being played, but will not be applicable to all of their work. Already mentioned is The Language of New Media (2002), a book where the author Manovich uses video games as an example of his broader concepts on electronic or digital media. The value of his book is the conceptualization of electronic media of having distinct parts, which are both visible to the viewer or player, and invisible working behind the scenes to generate those very images. This separation between the visual and narrative elements and the ludic ones is a theme that is repeated elsewhere in literature. Unit Operations (Bogost, 2006) is another work that seeks to develop a new method of understanding and critiquing media. "I will suggest that any medium ... can be read as a configurative system, an arrangement of discrete, interlocking units of expressive meaning.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • (TMIIIP) Paid Projects Through August 31, 2020 Report Created 9/29/2020
    Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program (TMIIIP) Paid Projects through August 31, 2020 Report Created 9/29/2020 Company Project Classification Grant Amount In-State Spending Date Paid Texas Jobs Electronic Arts Inc. SWTOR 24 Video Game $ 212,241.78 $ 2,122,417.76 8/19/2020 26 Tasmanian Devil LLC Tasmanian Devil Feature Film $ 19,507.74 $ 260,103.23 8/18/2020 61 Tool of North America LLC Dick's Sporting Goods - DecembeCommercial $ 25,660.00 $ 342,133.35 8/11/2020 53 Powerhouse Animation Studios, In Seis Manos (S01) Television $ 155,480.72 $ 1,554,807.21 8/10/2020 45 FlipNMove Productions Inc. Texas Flip N Move Season 7 Reality Television $ 603,570.00 $ 4,828,560.00 8/6/2020 519 FlipNMove Productions Inc. Texas Flip N Move Season 8 (13 E Reality Television $ 305,447.00 $ 2,443,576.00 8/6/2020 293 Nametag Films Dallas County Community CollegeCommercial $ 14,800.28 $ 296,005.60 8/4/2020 92 The Lost Husband, LLC The Lost Husband Feature Film $ 252,067.71 $ 2,016,541.67 8/3/2020 325 Armature Studio LLC Scramble Video Game $ 33,603.20 $ 672,063.91 8/3/2020 19 Daisy Cutter, LLC Hobby Lobby Christmas 2019 Commercial $ 10,229.82 $ 136,397.63 7/31/2020 31 TVM Productions, Inc. Queen Of The South - Season 2 Television $ 4,059,348.19 $ 18,041,547.51 5/1/2020 1353 Boss Fight Entertainment, Inc Zombie Boss Video Game $ 268,650.81 $ 2,149,206.51 4/30/2020 17 FlipNMove Productions Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • A Model for Critical Games Literacy
    A Model for Critical Games Literacy Author Apperley, Tom, Beavis, Catherine Published 2013 Journal Title E-Learning and Digital Media DOI https://doi.org/10.2304/elea.2013.10.1.1 Copyright Statement © 2013 Symposium Journals. The attached file is reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version. Downloaded from http://hdl.handle.net/10072/61222 Griffith Research Online https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au E–Learning and Digital Media Volume 10, Number 1, 2013 www.wwwords.co.uk/ELEA A Model for Critical Games Literacy TOM APPERLEY University of Melbourne, Australia CATHERINE BEAVIS Griffith University, Australia ABSTRACT This article outlines a model for teaching both computer games and videogames in the classroom for teachers. The model illustrates the connections between in-game actions and youth gaming culture. The article explains how the out-of-school knowledge building, creation and collaboration that occurs in gaming and gaming culture has an impact on students’ understanding of their own lifeworlds. The authors demonstrate how the development of curricula around and with games and gaming cultures can incorporate and capitalise on approaches to learning and collaboration, design and identity that students have developed in their own gaming practices. The centrality of new media and digitally mediated communication in young people’s lives is an increasingly important concern for teaching practitioners in English and literacy education. Previous research into young people’s out-of-school digital engagements and literacy practices highlights the role of digital texts as multimodal forms of meaning making, and the role of digital culture in formations of values, identity and community (e.g.
    [Show full text]
  • (TMIIIP) Paid Projects Through August 31, 2019 Report Created 09/13/19
    Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program (TMIIIP) Paid Projects through August 31, 2019 Report Created 09/13/19 Company Project Classification Grant Amount In-State Spending Date Paid Texas Jobs Retro Studios, Inc. Retro Studios Project 11 Video Game $4,600,460.00 $23,002,300.00 8/15/2019 74 Support the Girls, LLC Support the Girls Feature Film $64,500.60 $860,007.96 8/15/2019 206 Fort Worth Season One, Inc. Flip or Flop Fort Worth Reality Television Project $31,176.00 $623,520.00 8/15/2019 25 Engel Entertainmnet Lone Star Law Season 3 Reality Television Project $31,624.53 $421,660.41 8/15/2019 26 LQ Management LLC La Quinta "2018 Win@Business" Commercial $16,735.61 $334,712.19 8/15/2019 63 QC Games Inc. QC Games Project Video Game $700,000.00 $3,500,000.00 8/15/2019 52 Stoic Banner Saga 4 Video Game $113,894.47 $1,138,944.67 8/7/2019 12 Janimation Inc. Poo Pourri 2017 Commercial $7,154.00 $143,079.99 7/16/2019 20 FLIPNMOVE PRODUCTIONS INC Texas Flip N Move Season 5 Reality Television Project $648,666.78 $5,189,334.24 7/3/2019 705 Posada Pictures, LLC Friday's Child Feature Film $37,582.41 $501,098.78 5/21/2019 253 Minim Productions, Inc. The Long Road Home Television Program $5,329,659.00 $23,687,373.34 5/21/2019 1453 Lucky 21 Dell December 2017 Commercial $29,762.65 $396,835.33 5/21/2019 87 Vast of Night, LLC The Vast of Night Feature Film $24,034.67 $320,462.24 5/6/2019 205 This & That Amazon February 2018 Commercial $5,208.12 $104,162.47 4/18/2019 33 Santa Rita Pictures, LLC The Iron Orchard Feature Film $65,397.00 $871,960.00 4/16/2019 112 Cannonball Productions, Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • Massimiliano Trepiccione
    I Ai miei genitori Carla e Luigi per avermi supportato moralmente ed economicamente nei miei studi. A mio fratello Giuseppe per avermi introdotto al mondo dei videogame e trasmesso la passione per il cinema. Alla mia fidanzata Alessia per aver creduto in me e avermi aiutato nei momenti di difficoltà. Al mio miglior amico Fulvio per l’aver condiviso insieme indimenticabili sessioni di gioco. II INDICE INTRODUZIONE 2 CAPITOLO 1 1.1 Holliwood and Games Summit. 10 1.2 Caro Steven Spielberg, ti andrebbe di girare un videogame? 11 1.3 Convergenze 15 1.4 Credits 20 1.5 Il mercato 21 1.6 Dal film al videogioco 28 1.7 Dal videogioco al film 34 1.7.1 Silent Hill 37 CAPITOLO 2 2.1 “L'arrivée d'un train en gare de la Ciotat” vs. “ Spacewar” 45 2.2 I primi passi verso il cinema 49 2.3 Credits II: Final Fantasy 55 2.4 Il cinema e il computer 62 2.5 La naturale evoluzione 66 2.6 Questione di controllo: Wiimote e Project Natal, un passo indietro? 69 CAPITOLO 3 76 3.1 Similitudini evidenti: Cut-Scenes e immedesimazione 79 3.2 Quick Time Events e Scripted Events 86 3.3 Regia e gestione dell’inquadratura 3.3.1 La tecnica dell’inquadratura 94 3.3.2 Il set Virtuale 99 3.3.3 “Regia automatica” e “regia al giocatore” 101 3.3.4 Le visuali del videogame 106 3.4 Il suono e la colonna sonora 3.4.1 Chion vs. Grimshaw 111 3.4.2 Differenze sostanziali 116 3.4.3 Il doppiaggio 119 3.5 La narrazione 123 3.6 Il montaggio 129 3.7 La luce 133 3.8 Altre considerazioni sulla Computer Graphics: concept, animazione, 142 chroma key.
    [Show full text]
  • A Casual Revolution Reinventing Video Games and Their Players
    A CASUAL REVOLUTION REINVENTING VIDEO GAMES AND THEIR PLAYERS JESPER JUUL ACASUALREVOLUTION ACASUALREVOLUTION Reinventing Video Games and Their Players Jesper Juul The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England 8 2010 Jesper Juul All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or informa- tion storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher. For information about special quantity discounts, please email [email protected] This book was set in Scala Serif and Scala Sans on 3B2 by Asco Typesetters, Hong Kong. Printed and bound in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Juul, Jesper, 1970– A casual revolution : reinventing video games and their players / Jesper Juul. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-262-01337-6 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Video games—Psychological aspects. 2. Video gamers—Psychology. I. Title. GV1469.34.P79J88 2010 794.8—dc22 2009009091 10987654321 Contents Acknowledgments vii 1 A Casual Revolution 1 2 What Is Casual? 25 3 All the Games You Played Before 65 4 Innovations and Clones: The Gradual Evolution of Downloadable Casual Games 79 5 Return to Player Space: The Success of Mimetic Interface Games 103 6 Social Meaning and Social Goals 121 7 Casual Play in a Hardcore Game 129 8 Players, Developers, and the Future of Video Games 145 Appendix A: Player Survey 153 Appendix B: Player Stories 157 Appendix C: Developer Interviews 175 Notes 219 References 233 Index 247 Acknowledgments First, I must thank colleagues and students for the knowledge, helpful- ness, and discussions that made this book infinitely better than it would have been otherwise.
    [Show full text]
  • Game Developer
    >> POSTMORTEM TWISTED PIXEL'S THE MAW DECEMBER 2008 THE LEADING GAME INDUSTRY MAGAZINE >> INTERVIEW >> AURAL FIXATION >> GAMESCAPE YUJI NAKA TAPS COMPRESSING SOUND A HISTORY OF BOSTON HIS CREATIVITY FOR THE IPHONE GAME DEVELOPMENT 0812gd_cover_vIjf.indd 1 11/20/08 10:43:45 AM “ReplayDIRECTOR rocks. I doubt we'd have found it otherwise. It turned out to be an occasional array overwrite that would cause random memory corruption…” Meilin Wong, Developer, Crystal Dynamics BUGS. PETRIFIED. RECORD. REPLAY. FIXED. ReplayDIRECTOR™ gives you Deep Recording. This is much more than just video capture. Replay records every line of code that you execute and makes certain that it will Replay with the same path of execution through your code. Every time. Instantly Replay any bug you can find. Seriously. DEEP RECORDING. NO SOURCE MODS. download today at www.replaysolutions.com email us at [email protected] REPLAY SOLUTIONS 1600 Seaport Blvd., Suite 310, Redwood City, CA, 94063 - Tel: 650-472-2208 Fax: 650-240-0403 accelerating you to market ©Replay Solutions, LLC. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, system requirements and availability are subject to change without notice. ReplayDIRECTOR and the Replay Solutions logo are registered trademarks of Replay Solutions, LLC in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. []CONTENTS DECEMBER 2008 VOLUME 15, NUMBER 11 FEATURES 7 WHAT WENT WRONG? Over the years, postmortems start to echo each other. The same problems are encountered, and fixed, or dealt with. Here, we've compiled the 10 most common difficulties of the last three years for your reading (and cringing) pleasure.
    [Show full text]
  • Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. October 2012 WASTEBOOK 2012
    Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. October 2012 WASTEBOOK 2012 Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 1. The most unproductive and unpopular Congress in modern history – (Congress) $132 million ................................................................................................ 4 2. Professional sports loophole – (Taxes) $91 million .......................................... 7 3. OH SNAP! Junk food, luxury drinks, soap operas, and billions of dollars in improper food stamp payments – (Department of Agriculture) $4.5 billion ................................................................................................................................... 10 4. Oklahoma keeps unused airport open to collect federal checks – (OK) $450,000 ............................................................................................................................ 13 5. Moroccan pottery classes – (U.S. Agency for International Development) $27 million ........................................................................................................................ 15 6. Out-of-this-world Martian food tasting – (HI) $947,000 .............................. 17 7. When robot squirrels attack – (CA) $325,000 ................................................... 20 8. USDA’s caviar dreams – (ID) $300,000 ................................................................. 22 9. Bailed out tourist boat sinking private business
    [Show full text]
  • Nintendo Wii
    PARX Casino Interactive Games Nintendo Wii SPORTS FAMILY & GAME SHOWS The Bigs 2 $1,000,000 Pyramid Carnival Games: NEW Boom Blox: Bash Party FIFA Soccer Family Feud Game Party 3 Hasbro Family Game Night 2 / 3 / 4 Grand Slam Tennis Hollywood Squares NBA 2k Jeopardy! NBA JAM Press Your Luck NHL 2k Price is Right, The NHL Slapshot Rayman Raving Rabbids: 2 Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf Trivial Pursuit Wii Sports / Wii Sports Resort Wheel of Fortune Who wants to be a Millionaire? Wii Party MUSIC You Don’t Know Jack! Black Eyed Peas Experience, The Just Dance / 2 / 3 / 4 Wii U Karaoke Revolution Just Dance 4 Michael Jackson: The Experience ESPN Sports Connection FIFA Soccer Madden NFL Football NBA 2k MARIO AND FRIENDS New Super Mario U Donkey Kong Country: Returns Nintendo Land Mario Kart Rabbids Land Mario Party Scribblenauts Unlimited Mario Sports Mix Sing Party Super Mario Bros. Wii, NEW Tank! Tank! Tank! Super Smash Bros. Brawl Zombi U SHOOT EM’ UP 007: GoldenEye House of the Dead: Overkill GAMES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE GAMES ARE AVAILABLE UPON FIRST COME BASIS Parx Casino Interactive Games Microsoft XBOX 360 RACING Blur Sports Forza Motosport 3 FIFA Soccer / FIFA Street NASCAR: Inside Line Fight Night Round 4 / Fight Night Champion Shooters Madden NFL Football Call of Duty: Black Ops MMA Call of Duty: Modern Warfare NBA Live HALO: ODST / HALO: Reach / HALO: 4 NBA 2k Fighting MLB 2k King of Fighters XIII NHL Marvel vs. Capcom 3 NCAA Football Mortal Kombat Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf Soul Calibur UFC: Undisputed Street Fighter 4 WWE: Smackdown vs.
    [Show full text]
  • UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title At Home Everywhere: Empowerment Fantasies in the Domestication of Videogames Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2xz3k527 Author Goetz, Christopher James Publication Date 2016 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California At Home Everywhere: Empowerment Fantasies in the Domestication of Videogames By Christopher James Goetz 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 Kristen Whissel, Chair Professor Linda Williams Associate Professor Abigail De Kosnik Summer 2016 At Home Everywhere: Empowerment Fantasies in the Domestication of Videogames © 2016 by Christopher James Goetz 1 Abstract At Home Everywhere: Empowerment Fantasies in the Domestication of Videogames By Christopher James Goetz Doctor of Philosophy in Film and Media and the Designated Emphasis in New Media University of California, Berkeley Professor Kristen Whissel, Chair This dissertation engages conversations about the meaning and function of videogames within domestic spaces in 1990s and 2000s convergence culture. The introductory chapter discusses fantasy as a constituent of domesticity, and makes a case for how fantasy can be thought of as a bridge for videogame formalism and research into the context of play. It begins by discussing the “rhetorics of play” in game studies along with videogame medium specificity, introducing the notion of empowerment fantasy in relation to a rhetoric of frivolity, and providing a historical sketch of the arcade spaces where games were played before they were a primarily domestic phenomenon.
    [Show full text]
  • Nintendo Wii
    Nintendo Wii Last Updated on September 25, 2021 Title Publisher Qty Box Man Comments $1,000,000 Pyramid, The Ubisoft 007: Quantum of Solace Activision 10 Minute Solution Activision 101 in 1 Sports Party Megamix Atlus USA 101-in-1 Party Megamix Atlus 2 for 1 Power Pack: Kawasaki Jet Ski & Summer Sports 2 Destineer 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Electronic Arts ABBA: You Can Dance Ubisoft AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack MTV Games Academy of Champions: Soccer Ubisoft Action Girlz Racing Conspiracy Entertainment Action Replay Wii Datel Active Life Explorer Namco Bandai Games Active Life: Extreme Challenge Namco Bandai Games Active Life: Magical Carnival Bandai Active Life: Outdoor Challenge Namco Bandai Adventures of Tintin, The: The Game Ubisoft Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None The Adventure Company Agatha Christie: Evil Under The Sun The Adventure Company Alice in Wonderland Disney Interactive Alien Monster Bowling League Destineer Alien Syndrome Sega Aliens in the Attic Playlogic All Star Cheer Squad THQ All Star Cheer Squad 2 THQ All Star Karate THQ Alone in the Dark Atari Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel Majesco Alvin and the Chipmunks Brash Entertainment Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked Majesco Amazing Race, The Ubisoft Amazing Spider-Man, The Activision America's Next Top Model Crave Entertainment American Mensa Academy Maximum Games AMF Bowling: Pinbusters! Bethesda Softworks AMF Bowling: World Lanes Vir2L Angry Birds Trilogy Activision Angry Birds: Star Wars Activision Animal Crossing: City Folk Nintendo Animal
    [Show full text]
  • You've Seen the Movie, Now Play The
    “YOU’VE SEEN THE MOVIE, NOW PLAY THE VIDEO GAME”: RECODING THE CINEMATIC IN DIGITAL MEDIA AND VIRTUAL CULTURE Stefan Hall A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2011 Committee: Ronald Shields, Advisor Margaret M. Yacobucci Graduate Faculty Representative Donald Callen Lisa Alexander © 2011 Stefan Hall All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Ronald Shields, Advisor Although seen as an emergent area of study, the history of video games shows that the medium has had a longevity that speaks to its status as a major cultural force, not only within American society but also globally. Much of video game production has been influenced by cinema, and perhaps nowhere is this seen more directly than in the topic of games based on movies. Functioning as franchise expansion, spaces for play, and story development, film-to-game translations have been a significant component of video game titles since the early days of the medium. As the technological possibilities of hardware development continued in both the film and video game industries, issues of media convergence and divergence between film and video games have grown in importance. This dissertation looks at the ways that this connection was established and has changed by looking at the relationship between film and video games in terms of economics, aesthetics, and narrative. Beginning in the 1970s, or roughly at the time of the second generation of home gaming consoles, and continuing to the release of the most recent consoles in 2005, it traces major areas of intersection between films and video games by identifying key titles and companies to consider both how and why the prevalence of video games has happened and continues to grow in power.
    [Show full text]