Game Studies Download 2009 - Top 10 Research Findings
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Transcript of Game Studies Download 2009 - Top 10 Research Findings
Game Studies Download 4.0
Ian Bogost, PhDMia Consalvo, PhD
Jane McGonigal, PhD
Today, right now, YOU will create the official TOP 10 LIST.*
*post-GDC Slideshare readers: skip to final slide for the results
Like a study? POWER IT UP the top 10 list!
Send us your answer to this Q:
What game title – past, present, or future – might be improved by
applying the findings of this study?
Fear of failing: The many meanings of difficulty in video games
Jesper Juul, MIT
What is the role of failure in video games?
Do players prefer games where they do not feel responsible for failing?
Preliminary test offline with 9 players (5 men, 4 women)
Second stage online with 85 players (73 men 12 women)
Those who failed some liked the game the best
Failure adds content, by making players see new nuances in a game
Players want to feel somewhat responsible for failing in a game
How can you show players the nuances of your game through
failing at it?
How can you show players the nuances of your game through
failing at it?
Friday, 10:30-10:50 AM
Game Sound: An Introduction to the History, Theory, and Practice of Video
Game Music and Sound Design
Karen Collins, University of Waterloo
Generativity
10 approaches to variability in games
1. Variable tempo2. Variable pitch3. Variable rhythm/meter4. Variable volume/dynamics 5. Variable DSP/timbres6. Variable melodies7. Variable harmony 8. Variable mixing9. Variable form (open)10. Variable form (transitional)
How can you use musical dynamism to construct ambience through audio?
Relating the pleasures of violent game texts
Gareth Schott, U of Waikato, New Zealand
• 2 year project in New Zealand• Alternative to effects studies, social science
approach• Weekly game clubs, players 14-18, 61
students• Group & individual interviews
Is it appropriate to categorize what happens in games as ‘violence’?
How do players of violent games make sense of those experiences?
preservation rather than malice or cruelty
War games the most preferable way of engaging with violence
Agency and forward movement were primary drivers
How might building in time for reflection change a player’s perception
of a gameplay experience?
Video Game Spaces: Image, Play, and Structure in 3D Worlds
Michael Nitsche, The Georgia Institute of Technology
rule-based
mediated
fictional
play
social
spaces created computationallyspace on the image plane; cinematic spacethe space imagined by the player the space of play itself, including the player and the videogame hardware the space of interaction with other players/people
rule-based
mediated
fictional
play
social
spaces created computationallyspace on the image plane; cinematic spacethe space imagined by the player the space of play itself, including the player and the videogame hardware the space of interaction with other players/people
rule-based
mediated
fictional
play
social
spaces created computationallyspace on the image plane; cinematic spacethe space imagined by the player the space of play itself, including the player and the videogame hardware the space of interaction with other players/people
How can you design for the space of play between player
and machine/monitor?
Play to win or win to play? The material culture of gaming
Charlie Breindahl, IT University-Copenhagen
Jonas Heide Smith: Do Players Seek to win?
The basic control scheme of FIFA (Xbox) looks like this: Left Stick: LS -Controls your player’s basic movement. Right Stick: RS -Controls your player’s First Touch Control. Left Trigger: LT -Secondary input. Calls in another defender when defending. Right Trigger: RT -Sprint. X- Lobbed Pass/Cross (hold LT and press X for Early Cross, double tap for Low Hard Cross) A- Regular Pass (hold LT and press A for a Manual Pass) B- Shoot (hold LT and press B for a Chip Shot) Y- Through Pass (hold LT and press Y for a Lobbed Through Pass)
The basic control scheme of FIFA (Xbox) looks like this: Left Stick: LS -Controls your player’s basic movement. Right Stick: RS -Controls your player’s First Touch Control. Left Trigger: LT -Secondary input. Calls in another defender when defending. Right Trigger: RT -Sprint. X- Lobbed Pass/Cross (hold LT and press X for Early Cross, double tap for Low Hard Cross) A- Regular Pass (hold LT and press A for a Manual Pass) B- Shoot (hold LT and press B for a Chip Shot) Y- Through Pass (hold LT and press Y for a Lobbed Through Pass)
The gaming circle
The interface
The game circle
So was the question wrong? Or the approach?
Hypothesis: the motivation for participating transcends the
players’ in-game goal of winning
Xbox 360 player communities for racing games– Modding subculture– Classic car culture– Organized motor sport culture
Material car culture
Players race to win to earn credits to modify their cars
to stand out.
Rather than playing to win, they win to play.
How can you broaden the ways players can differentiate
themselves in your game?
Novices, Gamers, and Scholars: Exploring the Challenges of Teaching
About GamesJose Zagal, DePaul University
Amy Bruckman, The Georgia Institute of Technology
Students are less able to talk about videogames critically
Recontextualizing
Game journaling
Explicit theoretical frameworks
Writing about the same game more than once
Players may not have the tools necessary to experience games
critically, without assistance.
But perhaps we haven't given players the tools or invitations to grasp them at
deeper levels.
“Andy, I saw your mail a while back and have not ignored it, just been trying to find the time to answer it. I've avoided getting too deep into Rand in interviews, because PC Gamer isn't exactly the best forum for an Objectivist discussion...”
—Ken Levine, responding to an Objectivist Center forum member
The industry benefits from people able to talk about
how games matter.
The introduction of background information and (perhaps more
importantly) its repetition.
How can you introduce players to the subject matter of your game
to help them reflect on it effectively?
‘Because it just looks cool!’ Fashion as character performance—the case of
WoW
Susana Tosca & Lisbeth Klastrup, IT University-Copenhagen
• The hypothesis: appearance always plays a role in the social fabric of a multi-player game
• 4 month in game observation; online survey (n=201); key informant interviews (2)
Survey Questions
Status awareness and anxiety
Channel for playful personal expression
Inspirational fashion
Fashion as collector activity
Fashion trends
How can you be more intentional about developing a fashion culture
in your game?
How’s the Weather: Simulating Weather in Virtual Environments
Matt Barton, St. Cloud University
ambiance
decoration
most games don’t depict weather's effects on the world and objects in it.
Weather = slippery
Weather is a force humans can't control
= opportunity to offer realism beyond graphical verisimilitude
offering instead a less predictable and more textured set of everyday
experiences
How can you use weather as a tool for immersion and interest?
(Play) Ground rules: The social contract and the magic circle
Stewart Woods, Curtin U, Australia
• How do players see their role in a game as constrained by the implicit norms of a competitive game encounter?
• 800 surveys of players of modern strategy board games
“Victory is tertiary to socializing”
There are key times when players play to lose
When playing against new or inexperienced players
To further the enjoyment of others
When victory appears impossible
When learning the game
How could you make winning one of several goals of your game?
Learning in Context: Digital Games and Young Black Men
• Betsy James DiSalvo, Georgia Institute of Technology• Kevin Crowley, Roy Norwood, University of Pittsburgh
cultural context for young black men playing games in economically
disadvantaged inner-city neighborhoods
(how differences in game play affect interest in science technology,
engineering math)
offline social aspect
Game Talk
Instructional, casual
But especially competitive:
“smart talk” or “trash talk” was the most prevalent kind of talk
Trash talk grew more important as gamers grew older
How could you add layers of player talk to enhance the social interaction
among players?
And finally…THE RESULTS from our real-time Game
Developers Conference rankings are in…
Which game title – past, present, or future – could be improved by applying the findings of this research?
You suggested…
10. “(Play)Ground Rules: The social contract and the magic circle”
• Counter-Strike• Scrabble• Boom Blox• Puzzle Arcade• Rayman’s Raving Rabbits• Street Fighter 4
9. "Novices, Gamers, and Scholars: Exploring the Challenges of Teaching
About Games”• The Marriage• Fallout 3• Metacritic (it’s a game, right?)• Metal Gear Solid 4• Braid• Gravitation
8. Game Sound: An Introduction to the History, Theory, and Practice of Video
Game Music and Sound Design Rock Band SudokuWorld of Warcraft FEARSettlers of CatanShadow of the ColossusGTA4Wii Sports (seriously)CoilKnights of the Old Republic
7. “Play to win or win to play: The material culture of gaming”
SporeMagic the GatheringAny coop Wii gameWoW (especially PvP)Call of Duty 4Every MMOStreet Fighter 4Oblivion
6. “Language-GAME-Players: Relating the pleasures of ‘violent’ game texts”
EVE OnlineGTAPrince of PersiaSerious SamNo More HeroesMirror’s EdgeCall of DutyALL GAMES
5. “Fear of failing: The many meanings of difficulty in video games,” Prince of Persia God of War seriesBraidDisgaea Any educational gameMagic the Gathering Prey Call of DutyPeggleMGS4Puzzle Quest
4. "How’s the Weather: Simulating Weather in Virtual Environments"
• Rock Band• Guitar Hero• WoW• Oblivion• Go way back… Midwinter• Wii Tennis• Counter-Strike• Any RTS game• Legend of Zelda• Battlefield Series
3. "Learning in Context: Digital Games and Young Black Men"
• Mario Party• Any sports game• The Sims• Wario Ware• Civilization• Halo 3• Animal Crossing
2. Video Game Spaces: Image, Play, and Structure in 3D Worlds
Any iPhone game SporeCooking Mama Fallout 3Rayman Raving Rabits Robotech ArcadesEndwar Nobi Nobi BoyLeft 4 DeadResident Evil 5RezAny mobile game
1. “Because it just looks cool!” - Fashion as character performance: The
Case of WoW.”• Rock Band• The Mii System• Xbox Live Avatars• Sony Home• Castle Crashers• Left 4 Dead. Zombies need fashion too!!• WoW – how long until Armani proper opens up a virtual shop in
Azeroth or the like• Any FPS • We need a runway walk-off game• Team Fortress 2• Steven Madden• Bioshock• Animal Crossing
2009 Top 10 Game Studies Research Findings10. Stewart Woods, “(Play)Ground Rules: The social contract and the magic circle”
Observatorio Journal, 8, 2009. http://obs.obercom.pt.9. Jose Zagal and Amy Bruckman, "Novices, Gamers, and Scholars: Exploring the
Challenges of Teaching About Games," Game Studies 8:2, http://gamestudies.org/0802/articles/zagal_bruckman.
8. Karen Collins, Game Sound: An Introduction to the History, Theory, and Practice of Video Game Music and Sound Design (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2008).
7. Charlie Breindahl, “Play to win or win to play: The material culture of gaming,” Association of Internet Researchers annual conference, Copenhagen, Denmark.
6. Gareth Schott, “Language-GAME-Players: Relating the pleasures of ‘violent’ game texts,” Screen and Media Studies Research Forum, University of Waikato, New Zealand.
5. Jesper Juul, “Fear of failing: The many meanings of difficulty in video games,” in Mark J.P. Wolf and Bernard Perron, eds., The Video Game Reader 2 (New York: Routledge, 2008).
4. Matt Barton, "How’s the Weather: Simulating Weather in Virtual Environments" Game Studies 8:1, http://gamestudies.org/0801/articles/barton.
3. Betsy James DiSalvo, Kevin Crowley, and Roy Norwood. "Learning in Context: Digital Games and Young Black Men," Games and Culture 2008:3.
2. Michael Nitsche, Video Game Spaces: Image, Play, and Structure in 3D Worlds (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2008).
1. Susana Tosca, Lisbeth Klastrup, “Because it just looks cool!” - Fashion as character performance: The Case of WoW.” Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, 1:3, 2009. www.jvwresearch.org.