G

Matt Garite

G , , ,

THE IDEOLOGY OF INTERACTIVITY (OR VIDEO GAMES AND TAYLORIZATION OF LEISURE)

PDF
Garite Matt
Volume: 2 ISBN / ISNN: ISSN 2342-9666
BibTex EndNote
Interactivity is one of the key conceptual apparatuses through which video games have been theorized thus far. As many writers have noted, video games are distinct from other forms of media because player actions seem to have direct, immediate consequences in the world depicted onscreen. But in many ways, this “interactive” feature of video games tends to manifest itself as a relentless series of demands, or a way of disciplining player behavior. In this sense, it seems more accurate to describe the human-machine interface made possible by gaming as an aggressive form of “interpellation” or hailing. Drawing primarily upon the work of Louis Althusser, I argue that traditional theories of interactivity fail to acknowledge the work of video games—in other words, the extent to which video games define and reconstitute players as subjects of ideology.

 

Anna Gunder

G , , , , , , ,

AS IF BY MAGIC: ON HARRY POTTER AS A NOVEL AND COMPUTER GAME

PDF
Gunder Anna
Volume: 2 ISBN / ISNN: ISSN 2342-9666
BibTex EndNote
This paper examines the computer game Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in relation to the novel with the same title. The analysis focuses on the temporal aspects of the works, and differences and similarities regarding both media structure and artistic devices are described. The notion of content space is central and a distinction is made between information content space, action content space, and task content space, which form various kinds of works and structures. Moreover, instead of the traditional pair story and discourse, the four concepts of performed discourse, performed story, omnidiscourse, and omnistory are used to reveal temporal effects and characteristics of the game. Finally, it is concluded that the two works, although different in many ways, play with the same user effects, suspense, curiosity, and surprise, to capture and keep the user’s interest.

 

 

 

Sara M. Grimes

G , , , ,

“You Shoot Like A Girl!”: The Female Protagonist in Action-Adventure Video Games

PDF
Grimes Sara M.

Volume: 2 ISBN / ISNN: ISSN 2342-9666

BibTex EndNote
This paper was inspired by the popularity of female video game protagonists despite girls’ and women’s continued hesitance to participate in digital gaming activities. The pilot study examines how the imagery and narrative structure of popular, contemporary video games construct a paradigm of the ideal female heroine. An in-depth content analysis of three best-selling action-adventure video games was conducted. Key findings indicate the recurrence of a paradoxical interplay between beauty ideals and characterization, wherein the female protagonist must reconcile traditional ideals about beauty and body type with the decidedly untraditional gender roles and actions she engages in.

 

Berry Eggen, Loe Feijs, Mark de Graaf, Peter Peters

E, F, G, P , , ,

Breaking the flow: Intervention in computer game play through physical and Intervention in computer game play through physical and on-screen interaction

PDF
Volume: 2 ISBN / ISNN: ISSN 2342-9666
BibTex EndNote
This article investigates issues of controlling the amount of time during computer game play and potential solutions to help prevent excessive gaming. The study incorporates the realization of three different variants. Two screen based solutions and one based on a physical agent, outside the computer screen, provide notification and additionally even “intervention” to the user. The three realizations have been put to the test and the results, both quantitative and qualitative are presented. The physical agent-based solution was most attractive.

 

Shenja van der Graaf

G, V , , , ,

PDF
BibTex EndNote
This paper signals the aesthetic and socio-economic implications of a new generation of commercial media culture in an age of computer network-facilitated participation. It explores the cultural status of the online game America’s Army: Operations (US Army, 2002) that has commerce at the core of its brand identity. The game exemplifies the linkage of commercial goals with cultural texts through creating engaging experiences, initiated by commercial corporations for reasons of promotion and profit, enabled by computer networks, and – to a lesser extent – given form by various members of the public.

Grethe Mitchell & Andy Clarke

G ,

VIDEOGAME ART: REMIXING, REWORKING AND OTHER INTERVENTIONS
PDF
Grethe Mitchell  & Andy Clarke
BibTex EndNote
This paper explores some of the areas of intersection between videogames and both digital and non-digital art practice. By looking at examples of art practice drawn from videogames, it outlines some categories and so provides an overview of this area, placing it within the wider context of contemporary and historical art practice. The paper explores the tendency for much of this work to have elements of subversion or “détournement”, whilst also identifying areas of tension in the appropriation of videogames as material for art practice