Catálogo de publicaciones - revistas

<jats:p> This article experimentally dissociates the psychological impact of framing versus game mechanics, when presenting a serious activity as a game. Studies of game elements in nongame contexts tend to describe full packages, with no way of assessing their individual psychological and functional impact. To isolate the effects of framing, students ( N = 90) were assigned to either discuss study environment issues through a list of questions, via a competitive discussion board game, or though the same game artifacts but with no game mechanics. Task engagement and self-reported intrinsic motivation were compared between groups. Results demonstrate that the effects of simply framing the activity as a game though vernacular and artifacts holds almost as much psychological power as the full game mechanics. In both game conditions, interest and enjoyment were significantly superior to controls, but other intrinsic motivation variables remained unchanged. Implications for game design in nongame contexts are discussed, and a framework for differentiating “deep and shallow gamification” in terms of mechanics and framing is developed. </jats:p>

<jats:p> The aim of this article is to present the methodological approach adopted for the development and iteration of the Model of Game Motivation (MGM), a conceptual model explaining digital play motivation. A multidisciplinary, mixed-methods research design was deployed for the empirical iteration of the model. This choice was reinforced by the critical review of related literature, which revealed that a combination of evidence from multiple disciplines (psychology, sociology, and technology) could contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of play motivation. An iterative, hypothesis-testing research design was the strategy used to conduct multidisciplinary, mixed-methods research. The initial, theoretical version of the MGM was iterated twice, resulting in a thoroughly developed, empirically grounded version that requires future validation. The value of this approach lies in the fact that it provides to game design stakeholders a methodological tool for understanding play motivation as a multifaceted activity, which could inform their practices. </jats:p>

<jats:p> Just as books and films about traumatic events have become part of Western popular culture, so the theme of trauma and its accompanying tropes have been seeping into video games over the last two decades. In spite of the discernible trauma trend within video games, however, and the potential they exhibit for representing trauma in new ways, they have received very little critical notice from trauma theorists. In this article, we argue that a trauma-theoretical study of games has much to offer our understanding of the ways that trauma can be represented, in addition to giving game studies scholars further insight into how games manage to elicit such strong emotions and difficult ethical quandaries in players. We demonstrate this by performing a close reading of one recent and much-discussed game, The Walking Dead: Season One, analyzing how it incorporates psychological trauma in terms of inter(re)activity, empathy, and complicity. </jats:p>

<jats:p> This article examines the visual design of games. To this end, visual design is analyzed according to dynamic visual images, semiotics, and interaction using Deleuze’s concept of “movement image.” As part of the analysis, the article presents the winning games from the Independent Game Festival. The analysis of visual design provides structure aimed at showing how games attribute aesthetical value to gameplay and how elements of visual design and game design combine their inherent qualities to form a game. </jats:p>

<jats:p> In EVE Online, powerful alliances of thousands of players wage long war campaigns over in-game sovereignty, wealth, power, and status. The larger of these wars involve—two to three battles a day across multiple time zones demanding thousands of players and considerable in-game wealth. As with real wars, the morale of combatants plays a crucial role in the success of a campaign. In this article, I discuss the propaganda produced as a component of these wars and the crucial role that it plays in EVE’s virtual warfare. Leveraging broader Internet memes; “nerd” tropes; in-jokes; game history; and racial, cultural, and sexist stereotypes, these evocative images serve to bolster support and demoralize opponents. I argue that propaganda can be conceptualized as a form of paratext that emerges from within the game as part of play, rather than a peripheral industry that surrounds it. Consequently, I propose the term “emitext” to define this persuasive media. </jats:p>

<jats:p> This article explores the attitudes of EVE Online players toward their Russian counterparts. Popular community opinion paints Russian players as aggressive, cliquish and hostile, and as cheats who exploit the game in order to make (real-world) money. The article also analyzes the ways in which Russian pilots challenge, subvert, and discuss these attitudes. Two key arguments are presented. First, that although perceptions of Russian EVE players are often negative, these discourses in EVE are complicated by the fact that aggression, organization, and tight player groups are prerequisites for success within the game. Second, the opinions and agency of Russian players are highlighted. By examining both Russian- and English-language discussions, we see that rather than being silent victims of discrimination, or economic migrants “ruining” the game for other players, Russian pilots inhabit a complex space in a community engaged in two-way dialogue about culture, ethnicity, and play practices in EVE. </jats:p>

<jats:p> This article explores the play practices of EVE Online industrialists: those primarily responsible for generating the materials and equipment that drive the game’s robust economy. Applying the concept of “immaterial labor” to this underattended aspect of the EVE community, we consider the range of communicative and informational artifacts and activities industrialists enact in support of their involvement in the game—work that happens both in game and crucially outside of it. Moving past the increasingly anachronistic distinctions between digitally mediated labor and leisure, in game and out of game, we examine the relations of production in which these players are situated: to other EVE players, in-game corporations, the game’s developer, and the broader digital economy. Seen from this perspective, we consider the extent to which EVE both ideologically and economically supports the extension of capital into increasing aspects of our everyday lives—a “game” in which many play, but few win. </jats:p>

<jats:p> Whatever games might be, people have strong opinions about what does or doesn’t qualify as one. By dissecting the implicit value judgments motivating different definitions of “game,” the underlying aesthetic positions can be excavated, revealing a conceptual landscape of the aesthetics of play. Analysis of various definitions for game provided by both professional game designers and academics allows the identification of distinct aesthetic camps. These include (but are not restricted to) victory, problem, reward, imaginative, social, and uncertainty aesthetics. Additionally, a variety of refinements to these positions can be identified. Collectively, these aesthetic positions outline an answer to the question raised by Mary Midgley’s observation that games and art can be unified because they deal with human needs that necessarily have a structure. This article provides a rough sketch of the shape of human play needs and asserts that the unity that can thus be attained must necessarily be diverse. </jats:p>

<jats:p> Given the increasing importance of video games in the configuration of the collective imaginary, it is beneficial to understand the discursive potential of popular video games that convey social worlds. This article proposes studying the social discourse of video games by analyzing the relationships between game design, the transmission of ideological values, and the construction of social reality. With this aim, an analysis model is constructed based on game design theory and studies of the expressive potential of video games. This model is based on the following three facets of the video game discourse: (1) the representation of the character/player, (2) the game world, and (3) the main actions carried out in it. The fundamental resources of the ludic design and their expressive value are discussed in depth for each aspect. The model is applied to a case study of Grand Theft Auto IV. </jats:p>

<jats:p>Although video gaming is becoming a more widespread activity beyond its historically core demographic of young males, participation in competitive gaming remains largely male dominated. Addressing this issue, this research examines the experience of female players in one of the world’s most popular games, League of Legends. Two studies—one qualitative (with 15 participants) and the other quantitative (with 16,821 participants)—confirm that although female players accrue skill at the same rate as males, there remains a dearth of female players in this community. Moreover, those females who play with a male partner are less confident in their skills and often focus on supporting their partner’s advancement, not their own. This work suggests that one way to address the gender gap in gaming is to better understand and improve the social dynamics within popular games.</jats:p>