The Representation of “Otherness” in the Mass Effect Trilogy
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M.A Thesis- Aaron Misener- 0759660- 2017.Pdf
“Constructing a New Femininity”: Popular Film and the Effects of Technological Gender Aaron Misener—MA Thesis—English—McMaster University “Constructing a New Femininity”: Popular Film and the Effects of Technological Gender Aaron Misener, B.A. (Hons.) A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts McMaster University ©Copyright by Aaron Misener, December 2016 ii Aaron Misener—MA Thesis—English—McMaster University MASTER OF ARTS (2016) McMaster University (English) Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: “Constructing a New Femininity”: Popular Film and the Effects of Technological Gender AUTHOR: Aaron Misener, B.A. Hons. (McMaster University) SUPERVISOR: Dr. Anne Savage NUMBER OF PAGES: i-v, 1-74 iii Aaron Misener—MA Thesis—English—McMaster University Abstract: This project applies critical media and gender theories to the relatively unexplored social space where technology and subjectivity meet. Taking popular film as a form of public pedagogy, the project implicates unquestioned structures of patriarchal control in shaping the development and depiction of robotic bodies. The project was spurred from a decline in critical discourse surrounding technology’s potential to upset binaried gender constructions, and the increasingly simplified depictions of female-shaped robots (gynoids) as proxies for actual women. By critically engaging assumptions of gender when applied to technology, the project recontextualizes fundamental theories in contemporary popular film. iv Aaron Misener—MA Thesis—English—McMaster University Acknowledgements: This project has seen the birth of my daughter, and the death of my mother. My most elated joys and the deepest sorrows that I have yet known. It has both anchored me, and left me hopelessly lost. -
The Beauty of Mass Effect 2 Ending
The Beauty of Mass Effect 2 Ending Mikhail Aristov∗ December 24, 2016 Abstract This paper analyzes the narrative design in the endgame sequence of the 2010 action role- playing video game Mass Effect 2. Its final levels, collectively titled as \the Suicide Mission", are modeled as a puzzle with multiple solutions, whose availability depends on the number and type of resources the player had previously obtained throughout the main game. The paper examines how the designers incorporate narrative flavor into their puzzle design while translating ludic developments into a cohesive narrative experience that feels compellingly interactive despite its technical linearity. Finally, it suggests a set of recommendations for using the design patterns pioneered by Mass Effect 2 to improve future interactive narratives. 1 Introduction The Mass Effect series of role-playing video games is produced by the Canadian video game developer BioWare. The first three games, comprising what the fans refer to as the \Mass Effect original trilogy" or the \Shepard trilogy" (after its customizable protagonist), were released between 2007 and 2012 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii U platforms. Spanning almost the entire seventh generation of video game consoles, the trilogy had become one of the hallmarks of science fiction video gaming, and its evolution over the years had both influenced and been influenced by the development of the 3D action RPG genre as a whole. The second game of the trilogy, Mass Effect 2 was released on January 26, 2010 for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 in North America and marked a major departure from the gameplay conventions of the original game, which were largely informed by BioWare's own Knights of the Old Republic (2003) and, through it, by Wizards of the Coast's pen-and-paper Star Wars Roleplaying Game (2000) and their third edition of Dungeons & Dragons (2000). -
Freedom's Progress
KILLSWITCH1968’S MASS EFFECT 2 GUIDE v1.00 Freedom's Progress Tech Damage Heavy Weapon Ammo Main Floor Garrus’ Apartment On dead mech outside Veetor’s shack M-15a Battle Rifle 2nd Floor Garrus’ Apartment POST NORMANDY Grunt’s Recruitment Sniper Rifle Damage Shops Top of stairs after waves of Krogan. Omega Krogan Vitality Kenn’s Salvage Computer by Warlord Okeer Heavy Weapon Ammo Heavy Skin Weave Optional Missions Shotgun Damage Omega Omega Market Struggling Quarian Stimulator Conduits Batarian Bartender Model – Cruiser Turian Archangel: Datapad Recovered Sniper Rifle Damage The Patriarch Fornax After Garrus’ and Mordin’s Recruitment Only Harrot’s Emporium Datapad Recovered Visor Model – Geth Ship Normandy Hack Module Normandy: FBA Couplings Capacitor Chest Plate Normandy: Serrice Ice Brandy Normandy: Special Ingredients Citadel Zakera Café Citadel Ascension Novel Crime in Progress Revelations Novel Krogan Sushi Sirta Foundation Medi-Gel Capacity N7 Missions Life Support Webbing Wrecked Merchant Freighter Saronis Application Eagle Nebula → Amun → Neith Tech Damage MSV Estavanico Damage Protection Hourglass Nebula → Ploitari → Zanethu Rodam Expeditions Lost Operative Sniper Rifle Damage Omega Nebula → Fathar → Lorek Heavy Pistol Damage Explore Normandy Crash Site (DLC) Submachine Gun Damage Omega Nebula → Amada → Alchera Off-Hand Ammo Pack Hahne Kedar Facility (after MSV Strontium Mule) Aegis Vest Titan Nebula → Haskins → Capek Citadel Souvenirs Abandoned Research Station (Wrecked Merchant Space Hamster Freighter) Illium Skald Fish Eagle Nebula → Strabo →Jarrahe Station Model – Normandy SR1 Eclipse Smuggling Depot Model – Destiny Ascension Hourglass Nebula → Faryar → Daratar Model – Sovreign (after Collector Ship ) Horizon Mordin’s Recruitment Heavy Skin Weave Assault Rifle Damage On dead collector after first husks Quarantine after 1st barricade of mercs. -
The Burden of Queer Love
Press Start Burden of Queer Love The Burden of Queer Love Brianna Dym University of Colorado Boulder Abstract Video games are a unique narrative and interactive experience that allow players to construct their own fantasies through play. The fantastical possibilities a video game could explore are nearly limitless. However, a game’s design often precludes certain imaginative routes, shutting down one fantasy in favour of another. Games close out possibilities through actions as small as character design (gender, race, ability) and restrict imaginative interpretations to serve a narrow audience. Game developers design play that prioritizes hypermasculine narrative experiences, and players that do not align with this identity must condition themselves to play that excludes fantasies or alternate worlds that align with their experiences. This essay explores attempts by game development studio BioWare to create video games that are inclusive of gay, lesbian, and bisexual players by writing queer romantic narrative subplots into their games. While BioWare’s attempts are certainly not malicious, they fail time and time again, game after game, to break free of the hypermasculine and heterocentric culture dominant in the gaming industry. Instead, BioWare appropriates queer experiences and construes them as a burden to the player so as not to displace the fantasies of male, heterosexual gamers. Keywords LGBTQ identity; marginality; BioWare; queer game studies Press Start 2019 | Volume 5 | Issue 1 ISSN: 2055-8198 URL: http://press-start.gla.ac.uk Press Start is an open access student journal that publishes the best undergraduate and postgraduate research, essays and dissertations from across the multidisciplinary subject of game studies. -
THESIS ANXIETIES and ARTIFICIAL WOMEN: DISASSEMBLING the POP CULTURE GYNOID Submitted by Carly Fabian Department of Communicati
THESIS ANXIETIES AND ARTIFICIAL WOMEN: DISASSEMBLING THE POP CULTURE GYNOID Submitted by Carly Fabian Department of Communication Studies In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado Fall 2018 Master’s Committee: Advisor: Katie L. Gibson Kit Hughes Kristina Quynn Copyright by Carly Leilani Fabian 2018 All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT ANXIETIES AND ARTIFICIAL WOMEN: DISASSEMBLING THE POP CULTURE GYNOID This thesis analyzes the cultural meanings of the feminine-presenting robot, or gynoid, in three popular sci-fi texts: The Stepford Wives (1975), Ex Machina (2013), and Westworld (2017). Centralizing a critical feminist rhetorical approach, this thesis outlines the symbolic meaning of gynoids as representing cultural anxieties about women and technology historically and in each case study. This thesis draws from rhetorical analyses of media, sci-fi studies, and previously articulated meanings of the gynoid in order to discern how each text interacts with the gendered and technological concerns it presents. The author assesses how the text equips—or fails to equip—the public audience with motives for addressing those concerns. Prior to analysis, each chapter synthesizes popular and scholarly criticisms of the film or series and interacts with their temporal contexts. Each chapter unearths a unique interaction with the meanings of gynoid: The Stepford Wives performs necrophilic fetishism to alleviate anxieties about the Women’s Liberation Movement; Ex Machina redirects technological anxieties towards the surveilling practices of tech industries, simultaneously punishing exploitive masculine fantasies; Westworld utilizes fantasies and anxieties cyclically in order to maximize its serial potential and appeal to impulses of its viewership, ultimately prescribing a rhetorical placebo. -
ALLA MÄNNISKOR ÄLSKAR OSS SÅ LÄNGE VI TILLHÖR DEM” En Studie Av Relationen Mellan Människor Och Människoliknande Robotar I Westworld Och Äkta
INSTITUTIONEN FÖR KULTURVETENSKAPER ”ALLA MÄNNISKOR ÄLSKAR OSS SÅ LÄNGE VI TILLHÖR DEM” En studie av relationen mellan människor och människoliknande robotar i Westworld och Äkta Människor. Emelie Forslund Uppsats/Examensarbete: 15 hp Program och kurs: Kandidatprogram i kultur, KP1125 Nivå: Kandidatnivå Termin/år: VT 2018 Handledare: Thomas Bossius Examinator: Ola Stockfelt ABSTRACT Titel: ”Alla människor älskar oss så länge vi tillhör dem” – En studie av relationen mellan människor och människoliknande robotar i Westworld och Äkta Människor. Författare: Emelie Forslund Termin och år: VT 2018 Institution: Institutionen för kulturvetenskaper Handledare: Thomas Bossius Examinator: Ola Stockfelt Nyckelord: Human-robot interaction, Science fiction television, Science fiction – Criticism and interpretation, Representation, Frankenstein complex SUMMARY: In this study the goal has been to analyze how the relationship between humans and robots are represented in two science fiction series; Westworld and Real Humans (Äkta Människor). Based on the theories of Stuart Hall about representation, Julie Wosk’s book My fair laides and Gorman Beauchamps article The Frankenstein complex and Asimov’s Robots, I have studied how the humanlike robots are represented and how the myths of the Frankenstein complex and the myth of Pygmalion are represented in the two series. The conclusions that could be drawn from this analysis was that there where many reproductions of the typical sci-fi myths and racial and gender stereotypes in the representations of the robots as the “other”. But there were also some more complex representations of the relation between robots and humans in the series. Keywords: Human-robot interaction, Science fiction television, Science fiction – Criticism and interpretation, Representation, Frankenstein complex INNEHÅLLSFÖRTECKNING 1. -
Life, but Not As We Know It: A.I. and the Popular Imagination
Life, but not as we know it: A.I. and the popular imagination By Luke Goode Abstract Advances in artificial intelligence (A.I.) are prompting a growing chorus of both excitement and anxiety. A.I. is widely perceived as a significant emerging and future-shaping technological field that is developing at an accelerating rate. As such, futuristic imagery involving A.I. is increasingly prevalent in popular media. A central task for critical future studies is to assess both positive and problema- tic aspects of the futuristic scenarios offered up for public consumption, and to evaluate their role as part of a ‘futural public sphere’ (Goode & Godhe 2017). In this paper, I discuss three distinct but interwoven strands of public discourse that each have a role to play in shaping the popular imagination around possible A.I. futures. I begin with a selective discussion of mainstream science fiction represe- nations. Secondly, I consider several recent and high-profile popular media events surrounding real-world developments in A.I. Finally, I turn to contemporary fu- turology and, specifically, the discourse of the ‘singularity’ which posits a near future in which artificial ‘superintelligence’ outstrips human cognitive capacities. In this paper I argue that, while much popular coverage of A.I. is sensationalist and potentially misleading, public engagement with a complex, technical subject such as this depends on the circulation of ’evocative stories’ which can act as entry points into public debate. As such, it is important to understand the evocative power of the stories we frequently tell ourselves in popular discourse about A.I. -
Video Games and the Mobilization of Anxiety and Desire
PLAYING THE CRISIS: VIDEO GAMES AND THE MOBILIZATION OF ANXIETY AND DESIRE BY ROBERT MEJIA DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Communications in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2012 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Professor Kent A. Ono, Chair Professor John Nerone Professor Clifford Christians Professor Robert A. Brookey, Northern Illinois University ABSTRACT This is a critical cultural and political economic analysis of the video game as an engine of global anxiety and desire. Attempting to move beyond conventional studies of the video game as a thing-in-itself, relatively self-contained as a textual, ludic, or even technological (in the narrow sense of the word) phenomenon, I propose that gaming has come to operate as an epistemological imperative that extends beyond the site of gaming in itself. Play and pleasure have come to affect sites of culture and the structural formation of various populations beyond those conceived of as belonging to conventional gaming populations: the workplace, consumer experiences, education, warfare, and even the practice of politics itself, amongst other domains. Indeed, the central claim of this dissertation is that the video game operates with the same political and cultural gravity as that ascribed to the prison by Michel Foucault. That is, just as the prison operated as the discursive site wherein the disciplinary imaginary was honed, so too does digital play operate as that discursive site wherein the ludic imperative has emerged. To make this claim, I have had to move beyond the conventional theoretical frameworks utilized in the analysis of video games. -
Mass Effect 2 Unofficial Guide
SuperCheats.com Unoffical Mass Effect 2 Guide http://www.supercheats.com/guides/mass-effect-2 Check back for updates, videos and comments for this guide. Table of Contents Introduction 2 Character Creation 3 Hacking 5 Getting Started 6 Normandy Prologue 7 Intro 8 Freedom's Progress 15 The Normandy SR2 19 Omega 23 - Recruit the Veteran 24 (DLC Character) - Recruit Archangel 25 - Recruit Professor 35 Mordin Solus Omega Side Quests 43 Recruit The Convict 48 Recruit The rogan 52 Save Horizon 59 Illium 68 Illium Side-Quests 79 Recruit Tali 84 The Collector Ship 91 Loyalty Missions 94 - Miranda: The Prodigal 95 - Jacob: The Gift of Greatness 99 - Jack: Subject Zero 102 - Garrus: Eye for an Eye 105 - Mordin: Old Blood 108 - Grunt: Rite of Passage 113 - Thane: Sins of the Father 117 Samara: The Ardat-Yakshi 119 - Tali: Treason 121 - Zaeed: The Price of Revenge 123 page pnb / nb SuperCheats.com Unoffical Mass Effect 2 Guide http://www.supercheats.com/guides/mass-effect-2 Check back for updates, videos and comments for this guide. Reaper IFF 128 Recruitment: Legion 133 Legion: A House Divided 134 IFF Installation 138 Suicide Mission 139 Normandy Assignments 151 Downloadable Content 169 DLC: Normandy Crash Site 170 DLC: Firewalker MSV Rosalie 172 DLC: Firewalker: Recover Research Data 173 DLC: Firewalker: Artifact Collection 175 DLC: Firewalker: Geth Incursion 177 DLC: Firewalker: Prothean Site 178 DLC: asumi Goto 179 - asumi: Stealing Memory 181 The Citadel 185 Tuchanka 187 Romance 190 Planetary Mining 192 Xbox 360 Achievements 196 page 2 / 201 SuperCheats.com Unoffical Mass Effect 2 Guide http://www.supercheats.com/guides/mass-effect-2 Check back for updates, videos and comments for this guide. -
Satisfaction Guaranteed™ the Pleasure Bot, the Gynoid, The
Satisfaction Guaranteed™ The Pleasure Bot, the Gynoid, the Electric-Gigolo, or my personal favorite the Romeo Droid are just some of Science Fiction's contributions to the development of the android as sex worker. Notably (and as any Sci-fi aficionado would remind us) such technological foresight is often a precursor to our own - not too distant future. It will therefore come as no surprise that the development of artificial intelligence and virtual reality are considered to be the missing link within the sex industry and the manufacture of technologically-enhanced products and experiences. Similarly, many esteemed futurologists are predicting that by 2050 (not 2049) artificial intelligence will have become so integrated within society that it will be commonplace for humans to have sex with robots… Now scrub that image out of your head and let’s remind ourselves that all technology (if we listen to Charlie Brooker) should come with a warning sign. Sexnology (that’s Sex + Technology) is probably pretty high up there on the cautionary list, but whether we like it or not people ‘The robots are coming’ – no pun intended! Actually the robots (those of a sexual nature) have already arrived, although calling them robots may be a little premature. Especially when considering how film has created expectations of human resemblance, levels of functionality and in this context modes of interaction. The pursuit of creating in our own image has historically unearthed many underlying questions in both fiction and reality about what it means to be human. During such times, moral implications may surface although history also tells us that human traits such as the desire for power and control often subsume any humane/humanoid considerations. -
Magisterarbeit / Master's Thesis
MAGISTERARBEIT / MASTER’S THESIS Titel der Magisterarbeit / Title of the Master‘s Thesis „Player Characters in Plattform-exklusiven Videospielen“ verfasst von / submitted by Christof Strauss Bakk.phil. BA BA MA angestrebter akademischer Grad / in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Magister der Philosophie (Mag. phil.) Wien, 2019 / Vienna 2019 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt / UA 066 841 degree programme code as it appears on the student record sheet: Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt / Magisterstudium Publizistik- und degree programme as it appears on Kommunikationswissenschaft the student record sheet: Betreut von / Supervisor: tit. Univ. Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Duchkowitsch 1. Einleitung ....................................................................................................................... 1 2. Was ist ein Videospiel .................................................................................................... 2 3. Videospiele in der Kommunikationswissenschaft............................................................ 3 4. Methodik ........................................................................................................................ 7 5. Videospiel-Genres .........................................................................................................10 6. Geschichte der Videospiele ...........................................................................................13 6.1. Die Anfänge der Videospiele ..................................................................................13 -
UNIVERSITY of VAASA School of Marketing And
UNIVERSITY OF VAASA School of Marketing and Communication Multidisciplinary Master’s Programme in Communication Harri Huusko “Direct intervention is necessary” Interesting character creation through narrative elements in Mass Effect Master’s Thesis in digital media Vaasa 2018 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS IMAGES AND FIGURES 2 ABSTRACT 3 1 INTRODUCTION 5 1.1 Objective 7 1.2 Material 9 1.3 Method 11 2 MASS EFFECT AS A ROLE-PLAYING GAME 13 2.1 Single player role-playing games 13 2.2 The world of Mass Effect 16 3 NARRATOLOGY IN GAME STUDIES 25 3.1 Traditional narratology 26 3.2 Studying game narratives 33 3.2.1 Narrative in role-playing games 39 3.2.2 The narrative appeal of Mass Effect games 45 3.3 Close-reading game narratives 50 4 CHARACTER NARRATIVES IN THE MASS EFFECT SERIES 55 4.1 Commander Shepard 58 4.2 Urdnot Wrex 69 4.3 Tali’Zorah nar Rayaa 74 4.4 Emotional character narratives 80 4.5 The binding of character narratives 84 5 CONCLUSION 88 WORKS CITED 93 2 IMAGES Image 1. First encounter with the ancient Reaper machines. 17 Image 2. Normandy ambushed by an unknown enemy in Mass Effect 2 (2010). 19 Image 3. Commander Shepard floating in space, with air coming out of the suit 20 Image 4. Reapers shown ascending upon the city of Vancouver etc. 22 Image 5. Appearance options for Shepard, as seen in Mass Effect 2 (2010). 60 Image 6. Pre-service history selection in Mass Effect 1 (2007). 61 Image 7. The narrativized interface, as seen in Mass Effect 1 (2007).