Digital and Gaming Culture Exam 2

Extradiegetic Narration

"extradiegetic narration," that is, how video games point to other diegetic worlds (television shows, movies, novels, and the like). Wolf's examples of extradiegetic narration are of intro movies, cut-scenes, intro screens, and game manuals.

Long-run motivation of extrinsic rewards

(such as levels, leaderboards, and points) [hint: extrinsic rewards de-motivate in the long run]

Six facets influencing game production (from lecture)

1. Aesthetics- how game feels / how game is played (Page § Broken down to audio and graphics and rules § All aspect of video games that are experiences by the [layer directly (audio and graphics) and/ or indirectly (rules) 2. Rules- § These defined limitations determine what you (and other characters in the game) can and cannot do, and which actions or events increase or decrease the score. 3. Geography and Representation- § A video games geography block certain actions while allowing for others; representation is design possibilities (graphics 2D or 3D, realistic or cartoonish, first person or isometric perspective and sound) 4. Gameplay § The game dynamics emerging from the interplay between the rules and game geography § Hectic and fast paces (fall guys) or deliberative and defense oriented (star Craft II: Wings of Liberty) 5. Game Balance (concept of dominant strategies) § Based in economic game theory; strategy that is the best to pursue regardless of what the other player or players are expected to do (ex: no one can benefit from changing this strategy, so all players gravitate toward this equilibrium 6. Perspective § First person, third person, isometric (architects sketch of the bulding) or top-down ex: player is not directly represented in Sim City (extension of board game or card game with no human life representation of the player (gone home, we are chicago)

Percent that thinks gaming is for both genders

75%

How does the concept of " procedural rhetoric" complicate the critical cultural interpretation of April Ryan as sex object in the Longest Journey

April ryan makes decision that determine the fate of the world and engages in dangerous actions without relying on men

productive play

Creative activities inspired by games, in which players create scenarios (mods), fiction (fan fiction, movies, machinima, etc.), or game aids (such as walkthroughs) to extend the experience of their favorite games.

Cut- Scenes

Dramatically important sequence, often displayed without the interaction of the player. The scene is typically shown to motivate a shift in the "plot" of the game and displayed outside of the game engine. o They're important in helping shape video game narrative in a certain direction § Can build of frame of reference outside of the fam text o Literary repertoire = narratological concept o Defined as familiar territory within the text o Includes anything the reader/ player might already know from reference to earlier works and social norms to historical events o Video games tend to draw on genres of literature...

According to the reading "extradiegetic narration " is

Extradiegetic narration is how video games include material from other digestic worlds (other screens') such as movies, tvs, and novel

According to the reading, objections to cut scenes in video games include

Fictional events are shown for passive viewing rather than letting the player discover them through game play

Dear Esther

Games rejecting traditional mechanics of first - person experience o No gameplay/player agency § No goals, guns, puzzles, experiment with videogame form o Goal is not to use the game to tell a story than literature or film o Instead it aims to use the materials of interactive media

Intrinsic Motivation

In intrinsic motivation you rely on the game play by itself to motivate and engage, and don't have to add external motivation elements although you will often add it for extra effect.

Passive Off Screen Space

In passive off-screen space nothing really happens. The off-screen space, then, is passive: logically it exists, but nothing happens out there. EX: for instance, Grand Theft Auto V. While often applauded for its "breathing" game world and the openness of its gameplay, GTA V is not, in fact, a living simulation of an entire city

Janet Murray on narrative

Janet Murray, in her Hamlet on the Holodeck, also from 1997 o Enthusiastic; defender of computers as new storytelling medium o Defines spatial storytelling as power of computers to represent navigable space § Encyclopedia property of interactive storytelling enabled by data storage capacity of computers § Participatory property § Procedural property of video games o suggest someone will arrive who might bend the computer to more artistic issues than those we know today describes video games as an independent medium within a framework of cultural and media history, leaning heavily on film studies, although he also considers the "formal aspects" of the video game (space, time, and narrative). One solution to this problem is to separate interaction from narration and situate them in different planes, as Janet Murray does when she conceives of video games as symbolic dramas:

Difference in narrative quality between Destiny 1 and Destiny 2

Key difference between destiny 2 = quality of narrative

Games are split rather than integrate learning and playing

Less effective teaching tools

Political games and news games are...

Overlapping games

Hardcore gamers

People who play games that are difficult to learn and master for extended periods of time. They usually engage with games on a daily basis, and for a larger amount of time. o Entertainment software association 2020 o 75% think gaming is for both genders

Causes for Pewdiepie's rise in YouTube rankings

Pewdiepie's rise in the ranks due to Youtube's algorithm crediting engaged time per view (time on page) vs. total number of clicks Original content and creators weren't being prioritized. o In late 2014 PewDiePie earned $24 million from his YouTube gaming videos§ Rise· Watch times and not clicks· Serialization to encourage binge watching· International§ Fits video game format of walk through§ Fall· Got dropped from Disney

Offscreen Space

The concept of off-screen space originates in cinema. If a movie scene shows two people meeting in an office and the soundtrack contains the sound of traffic in the street below, then that street is part of the scene's off-screen space. In video games, there are two distinct types of off-screen space.

Idealist approach to gamification

The idealist approach, on the other hand, stresses that the gamified activity should not only get people to do things but also provide a deeper, more meaningful activity that wants people to do it. The idealist argues that we need something more than just points, badges, and leader boards

Instrumentalist approach to gamification

The instrumentalist approach has been by far the most influential in society, since it delivers what people want. It delivers the "how" of behavioral change through gaming, without worrying too much about the simple "why." Overall, the instrumentalist approach is much more commercial in its approach compared to idealism, and attempts to offer clear-cut recipes for how to succeed with gamification

Literary Repertoire

The literary repertoire is described by Wolfgang Iser as "the familiar territory within the text,"36 which can include anything that the reader might already know—references to earlier works, social norms, and historical events. This repertoire brings context into the discussion without opening the door to excessively subjective interpretations or psychological particularities: the reader can only actualize37 what is already in the text.

Machinima

The practice of manipulating video games to produce animated films. Some are put together with video editing programs, others with Flash, while still others are recorded using the game engines themselves, so fans can make their own animated films

Grief Players

There are even players who find joy in destroying the game experience for others. These "grief players" are a part of every gaming community, from the early textual worlds to the game worlds of today, with hundreds of thousands of participants; more to the point, such "players" are a part of every human community.

Pervasive games

This new kind of experience has been called "pervasive gaming," "alternate reality gaming," or even "cross-media gaming." Finally, a new form of games has emerged in the past decade that is not only inspired by other cultural forms but that also operates within their codes and parameters to create a meta-form of gaming. EX: which may begin in your computer but then use other media to exist beyond the screen. For example, a player of a pervasive game is walking through her town and gets a message on her mobile phone; she is warned (thanks to location technology) that a player from the game's enemy faction is in the same square.

Depiction of Time

Time in a video game is also an aesthetic aspect—that is, something experienced by the player. It is also largely under the control of the designer, who may adjust many aspects of time, for example, whether or not it can be

(T/F) · More men than women identify as gamers

True

(T/F) · Women players ARE concerned with success and competition

True

What is the key limitation to the cultural critical view of video games?

VIDEO GAMES are not exclusively *representational* objects, but are procedural and communicate through what characters can and can't do

Extrinsic Motivation

When motivation is extrinsic the game draws on game elements that are external and ad hoc to the gameplay (e.g. points, leader board, or level completion)

Active Off Screen Space

You don't see them strategizing but they will still affect your world EX: Warhammer 40,00: Dawn of War; other players strategize in unseen areas of the games world

Serious games

are produced with a primary agenda other than entertainment--fun is an important element, but not the primary aim

Gonzalo Frasca

associated with both Ludology and is the developer of September 12th, the first newsgames

What is the prevailing public perception of games and which games/ incidents contributed to this reputation?

not taken very seriously , entertainment, violence, drugs/ escapism, addictive, obesity

7 core motivations to play video games

o 1. Challenging activity that requires skills (not something spontaneous, but goal-oriented and with rules) o The merging of action and awareness (attention is totally absorbed in the activity) o 3. Clear goals and feedback o 4. Concentration on the task at hand (forgetting about everything else) o 5. The paradox of control (the sense of exercising control in difficult situation where your abilities are pressed to the limit) o 6. The loss of self-consciousness o 7. The transformation of time (either time passes very quickly, or at a key moment a second can be experiences as lasting for a long time)

Henry Jenkins on motivations for women gamers

o Leading character they can relate to o Goal to explore o And have new experiences o Multi seniory emersions o Feature everyday real-life settings o Success comes through development

Games that function as racist propaganda

o Racializes and politicizes the game most explicitly through this moving rendition of a slave spiritual sung acapella by a black android who is joined by his fellow androids (of various races) the message is clear - slavery is coming again, only this time through automation o Racialized slaves in a particular economical culture o Only a good story if you are playing it and are sickened by it § Game is going to suck for other players who don't see the correlation between history o Story isn't just story § Whatever the story is itself that draws on real history

Jane McGonigal's view of video games

o We crave satisfying work. This means being immersed in clearly defined, demanding activities that allow us to see the direct impact of our efforts o We crave experience, or at least the hope, of being successful. We want to feel powerful in our own lives o We crave social connection. We want to share experiences and build bonds, and we most often accomplish that by doing things that matter together o We crave meaning, or the chance to be apart of something larger than ourselves we want to feel curiosity, awe, and wonder about things that unfurl on epic scales

Torus

o abstract spaceships leave the screen at one side and return of the other going far enough in one direction lands the players back at their starting point. looping space in some games EX: PACMAN

Games for Change

project in collaboration with Inuit tribal council o Never; alone Kisima Innitchuna o Feature short documentaries films unlocked through gameplay o Films originally intended for making of video to accompany game - paratext

According to the reading the verbal and/ or visual representation of a video game is its

text

Diegetic Narration

world on a screen diegetic world, understood as "a fictional world, created by discourse.

According to the reading diegetic narrative is defined as

world on the screen

Point earning and level completion provide what kind of motivation

§ Extrinsic - anything you can take out of the game and wouldn't matter · When you win a point, you don't actually get a real reward § Educational Games · In some cases, as effective as traditional teaching, with better retention over time

Advergames

§ Is a fusion of advertising and entertainment § Refers to video games used for marketing § Not the leading genre of serious games § Has grown since its origins in the mid 1990's

How does procedural rhetoric (persuasive communication through rule based actions and interaction as opposed to visual/audio representational objects in Americas Army decontextualize US Army missions from geopolitics?

§ Takes player and removes moral and ethical § Enemies are interchangeable; explanation for enemy behavior is wickedness

Depiction of Time Arcade Games vs. PC Games

· Arcade games = fast paced play for short sessions to maximize insertion of coins in game · PC Games= longer playing sessions encourage "slow" genres such as adventure games

1979: Black Friday

· Black Friday's protagonist is a photojournalist tasked with covering the Iranian revolution · $300,000 Kickstarter Funded Produced by former GTA cinematic Director Navid Khonsari · Ink studios Verite VR o Blindfold

Educational Games

· In some cases, as effective as traditional teaching, with better retention over time

We are Chicago

· We Are Chicago's setting and basic elements of the story and that contains dialogue drawn from real interviews. · Main character of We are Chicago exerts power by caring for his little sister, winning a poetry slam, and making sense of life in Englewood with his mother · Documentary game based on interviews with residents of Englewood on south side of Chicago o Video** o GTA Like graphics o Player challenged with navigated demands of school, ganga, and family o Only two shots fired in 4 hours of gameplay o Captures everyday struggling of growing up in high crime

Production culture of first wave of indie RPGs

· anytime you see "indie" or "first wave" describing "production culture" of any sort, it will not likely be corporate and hierarchical, but instead *artisanal*, as in a DIY boot-strap, handmade quality by a collaborative collective. is not corporate