scholarly journals What does the gamer do?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Davnall
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Real World ◽  
Media Images ◽  
Moral Significance ◽  
Virtual Murder ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Gamer’S Dilemma

Abstract The 'Gamer's Dilemma' is the problem of why some actions occurring in video game contexts seem to have similar, albeit attenuated, kinds of moral significance to their real-world equivalents, while others do not. In this paper, I argue that much of the confusion in the literature on this problem is not ethical but metaphysical. The Gamer's Dilemma depends on a particular theory of the virtual, which I call 'inflationary', according to which virtual worlds are a metaphysical novelty generated almost exclusively by video games. Actions performed in virtual worlds really belong to the kinds of action they appear to—'virtual murder' is a kind of murder. Inflationary theories are contrasted with 'deflationary' theories which, in effect, consider video games purely as systems for generating images, and thus the gamer as (merely) a consumer of media images. Inflationary theories struggle to explain why video games produce this unique metaphysical novelty; deflationary theories fail to do justice to the intuition that there is some significant difference between the gamer and the consumer of other media forms. In place of either, I sketch a theory of the gamer as performer, primarily by analogy with stage and cinema actors, which I suggest captures more of the moral complexity of the gamer's action.

scholarly journals Taking a <i>Breath of the Wild</i>: are geoscientists more effective than non-geoscientists in determining whether video game world landscapes are realistic?

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-124
Author(s):  
Rolf Hut ◽  
Casper Albers ◽  
Sam Illingworth ◽  
Chris Skinner
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Real World ◽  
Great Opportunity ◽  
Van Gogh ◽  
Landscape Features ◽  
The Real ◽  
Game World ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Missed Opportunity

Abstract. From the wilderness of Hyrule, the continent of Tamriel, and the geographies of Middle Earth, players of video games are exposed to wondrous, fantastic, but ultimately fake, landscapes. Given the time people may spend in these worlds compared to the time they spend being trained in geoscience, we wondered whether expert geoscientists would differ from non-geoscientists in whether they judge the landscapes in these video games to be “realistic”. Since video games present a great opportunity for tangential learning, it would be a missed opportunity if it turns out that features obviously fake to geoscientists are perceived as plausible by non-geoscientists. To satisfy our curiosity and answer this question, we conducted a survey where we asked people to judge both photos from real landscapes as well as screenshots from the recent The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild video game on how likely they thought the features in the picture were to exist in the real world. Since game world screenshots are easily identified based on their rendered, pixelated nature, we pre-processed all pictures with an artistic “Van Gogh” filter that removed the rendered nature but retained the dominant landscape features. We found that there is a small but significant difference between geoscientists and non-geoscientists, with geoscientists being slightly better at judging which pictures are from the real world versus from the video game world. While significant, the effect is small enough to conclude that fantastical worlds in video games can be used for tangential learning on geoscientific subjects.

Only problem gamblers spend less money when loot boxes are removed from a game: A before and after study of Heroes of the Storm

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Zendle
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Problem Gambling ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Real World ◽  
Complex Pattern ◽  
Problem Gamblers ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Gambling Severity ◽  
Reliable Correlation ◽  
Before And After Study

Loot boxes are items in video games that may be paid for with real-world money, but which contain randomised contents. There is a reliable correlation between loot box spending and problem gambling severity: The more money gamers spend on loot boxes, the more severe their problem gambling tends to be. However, it is unclear whether this link represents a case in which loot box spending causes problem gambling; a case in which the gambling-like nature of loot boxes cause problem gamblers to spend more money; or whether it simply represents a case in which there is a general dysregulation in in-game spending amongst problem gamblers, nonspecific to loot boxes.The multiplayer video game Heroes of the Storm recently removed loot boxes. In order to better understand links between loot boxes and problem gambling, we conducted an analysis of players of Heroes of the Storm (n=112) both before and after the removal of loot boxes.There were a complex pattern of results. In general, when loot boxes were removed from Heroes of the Storm, problem gamblers appeared to spend significantly less money in-game in contrast to other groups. These results suggest that the presence of loot boxes in a game may lead to problem gamblers spending more money in-game. It therefore seems possible that links between loot box spending and problem gambling are not due to a general dysregulation in in-game spending amongst problem gamblers, but rather are to do with specific features of loot boxes themselves.

Waltzing on Rooftops and Cobblestones

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 34-55
Author(s):  
Ailbhe Warde-Brown
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Real World ◽  
World History ◽  
Interaction Model ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Open World ◽  
Integrated Approaches ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between music, sound, space, and time plays a crucial role in attempts to define the concept of “immersion” in video games. Isabella van Elferen’s ALI (affect-literacy-interaction) model for video game musical immersion offers one of the most integrated approaches to reading connections between sonic cues and the “magic circle” of gameplay. There are challenges, however, in systematically applying this primarily event-focused model to particular aspects of the “open-world” genre. Most notable is the dampening of narrative and ludic restrictions afforded by more intricately layered textual elements, alongside open-ended in-game environments that allow for instances of more nonlinear, exploratory gameplay. This article addresses these challenges through synthesizing the ALI model with more spatially focused elements of Gordon Calleja’s player involvement model, exploring sonic immersion in greater depth via the notion of spatiotemporal involvement. This presents a theoretical framework that broadens analysis beyond a simple focus on the immediate narrative or ludic sequence. Ubisoft’s open-world action-adventure franchise Assassin’s Creed is a particularly useful case study for the application of this concept. This is primarily because of its characteristic focus on blending elements of the historical game and the open-world game through its use of real-world history and geography. Together, the series’s various diegetic and nondiegetic sonic elements invite variable degrees of participation in “historical experiences of virtual space.” The outcome of this research intends to put such intermingled expressions of space, place, and time at the forefront of a ludomusicological approach to immersion in the open-world genre.

scholarly journals Examining the effects of active video games and balance training on static balance in 6 years old children6 yaş grubu çocuklarda aktif video oyunları ve denge antrenmanlarının statik dengeye etkisinin incelenmesi

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 2376
Author(s):  
Abdurrahman Demir ◽  
Manolya Akın
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Balance Training ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Static Balance ◽  
Nintendo Wii ◽  
Active Video Games ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Active Video Game ◽  
Active Video

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of active video games Nintendo Wii and Wobel Board balance exercises on static balance development in children aged 6 years.          54 children, participated in the research voluntarily on informed consents from according to Helsinki criteria by taking permission from Mersin University Ethics Committe. The study was carried out with 3 groups with similar physical characteristics (mean age = 6,21, mean weight= 21,3, mean height = 116,8). The balance training were applied to a group with a 'wobble board' and another group with a 'nintendo wii game console' from active video games. The pre and post test static balance measurements of all groups were measured using the 'Balance Error Scoring System' and the differences between the groups were examined. For parametric results, 3x2 repetitive measurements were performed with anova analysis, and for non-parametric results kruskall wallis test was applied.         There was no significant difference between the groups participating in active video game and wobble board balance training in the measurements made after the study (p>,05). The difference between the experimental group and the foot and tandem position were found statistically significant. (p <,01). There was no significant difference between the two groups in paired feet values (p>, 05).         Both the wobbel board and the active video game training have been found to improve the static balance in children. It has been seen that there is no meaningful development in the control group. This result shows us that active video games are as effective as balance training in 6 years old children. In this context, active video games can be proposed as an alternative method to improve balance.Extended English summary is in the end of Full Text PDF (TURKISH) file. Özet Bu çalışmanın amacı, 6 yaş çocuklarda aktif video oyunları nintendo wii ve wobble board denge antrenmanlarının statik denge gelişimleri üzerine etkisini incelemektir.        Araştırmaya, 54 çocuk, Mersin Üniversitesi etik kurulundan izin alınarak Helsinki kriterlerine uygun olarak katılmıştır. Çalışma benzer fiziksel özellikte (yaş ort.=6,21, kilo ort.=21,3, boy ort.=116,8) 3 grupla  yürütülmüştür. Denge antrenmanları haftada üç gün 8 hafta ‘wobble board’ denge tahtası ve aktif video oyunları ‘nintendo wii oyun konsolu’ ile uygulanmıştır. Kontrol grubuna ise herhangi bir uygulama yaptırılmamıştır. Tüm grupların statik denge ölçümleri ‘Denge Hata Skoru Sistemi’ kullanılarak ölçülmüştür.Parametrik sonuçlar için, çalışmada 3x2 tekrarlı ölçümler anova analizi yapılmış, non-parametrik sonuçlar için ise kruskall wallis testi uygulanmıştır.       Araştırma sonrasında aktif video oyunu ve wobble board denge antrenmanına katılan gruplar arasında istatistiksel olarak manidar fark bulunmamıştır (p>,05). Deney gruplarının, zeminde ve köpükte tek ayak ve tandem duruşlarda bulunan fark kontrol grubuna göre istatistiksel olarak anlamlı (p<,01) iken, çift ayak değerlerinde, üç grup arasında da anlamlı bir fark bulunmamıştır (p>,05).       Hem wobble board hem de aktif video oyunları nintendo wii denge antrenmanlarının çocuklarda statik dengeyi geliştirdiği bulunmuştur. Kontrol gurubunda ise anlamlı bir gelişimin olmadığı görülmüştür. Bu sonuç bize aktif video oyunlarının 6 yaş grubu çocuklarda denge antrenmanları kadar etkili olduğunu göstermektedir. Bu bağlamda aktif video oyunları dengeyi geliştirmek için alternatif bir yöntem olarak önerilebilir.

Gaming as a Woman

2013 ◽  
pp. 106-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen B. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Rock Band ◽  
Affinity Groups ◽  
Males And Females

This chapter reports the findings of two surveys taken by players of the video game Rock Band. The purpose of the surveys was to determine what differences, if any, exist between the ways that males and females learn to play the game, are motivated to improve, interact with other players both online and in real life, and interact with other players in online communities for the game. This study suggests that while females do not appear to learn to play this game much differently from males, they are motivated differently and interact with other players differently, and ultimately they have a harder time than males finding a place in the affinity groups that exist for the game, and these findings provide starting points for teachers who intend to use video games and virtual worlds for educational purposes in guarding against creating a “gender gap” between males and females.

Categorisation of New Classes of Digital Interaction

Leonardo ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tack Woo ◽  
Kwangyun Wohn ◽  
Nigel Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Real World ◽  
Digital Culture ◽  
Physical Interaction ◽  
Interactive Installation

This article introduces a new concept, digital interactivity, through examining local digital culture; and video game culture is employed as a metaphor to interpret local digital culture. As a result, ‘control-’ and ‘communication’-based interaction are initiated, based on ‘user to media’ relationships. Based on the degree of physical interaction, ‘liminal’ and ‘transitive’ interactions are initiated. Less physical digital interaction is described as ‘liminal’ interaction and more physical digital interaction is described as ‘transitive’ interaction. These new classes of digital interaction can be applied to real-world examples, such as digital interactive installation artworks and video games.

scholarly journals Gamecloud - A Platform for Connecting Video Games

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Janne Parkkila ◽  
Kati Järvi ◽  
Timo Hynninen ◽  
Jouni Ikonen ◽  
Jari Porras
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Real World ◽  
The Real ◽  
Platform Architecture ◽  
Mobile Market ◽  
Digital Nature ◽  
Interactive Medium

The growing video game markets, especially the mobile market, have caused problems in terms of new game products being found by players. Cross-promotion and in-game advertising have been used to promote video games inside each other. However, the digital nature of video games as an interactive medium enables deeper collaboration between video games, and could be used in a more profound manner. We interviewed Finnish video game companies to understand if they were interested in creating deeper collaboration between their game products, and how such collaboration could take place. Based on the results, we built a platform called Gamecloud for connecting games together. We present the platform architecture and demonstrate it in use, with examples of connecting games with other games and connecting games with the real world, alongside an example of physical exercising.

scholarly journals Volcanoes in video games: The portrayal of volcanoes in Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) video games and their learning potential

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward George McGowan ◽  
Jazmin Paris Scarlett
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Real World ◽  
General Public ◽  
Active Volcano ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Ash Fall ◽  
Severe Burns ◽  
Commercial Off The Shelf ◽  
Negative Impacts

Abstract. Volcanoes are a very common staple in mainstream video games. Particularly within the action/adventure genres, entire missions (e.g. Monster Hunter: Generation Ultimate) or even full storylines (e.g. Spyro: The Reignited Trilogy) can require players to traverse an active volcano. With modern advancements in video game capabilities and graphics, many of these volcanic regions contain a lot of detail. Most video games nowadays have gameplay times in excess of 50 hours. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for example brags a minimum of 60 hours to complete. Therefore, players can spend a substantial amount of time immersed within the detailed graphics, and unknowingly learn about volcanic traits while playing. If these details are factually accurate to what is observed in real world volcanic systems, then video games can prove to be a powerful learning tool. However, inaccurate representations could instil a false understanding in thousands of players worldwide. Therefore, it is important to assess the accuracies of volcanology portrayed in mainstream video games and consider whether they can have an educational impact on the general public playing such games. Or, whether these volcanic details are overlooked by players as they focus solely on the entertainment factor provided. We have therefore reviewed several popular commercial video games that contain volcanic aspects and evaluated how realistic said aspects are when compared to real-world examples. It was found that all the games reviewed had a combination of accurate and inaccurate volcanic features and each would vary from game to game. The visual aesthetics of these features are usually very realistic, including lava, ash-fall and lahars. However, the inaccuracies or lack of representation of hazards that come with such features, such as ash-related breathing problems or severe burns from contact with molten lava, could have great negative impacts on a player's understanding of these deadly events. With further investigations assessing the direct impact on the general public, there is the opportunity to correctly assess how to incorporate the use of mainstream video games in educational systems and outreach.

scholarly journals Fictional Characters’ Heroism in Assassin’s Creed III Video Game in the Perception of Indonesian Video Gamers

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-48
Author(s):  
Rahmawan Jatmiko
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Real World ◽  
Historical Fiction ◽  
Young Generation ◽  
The Third ◽  
History Of ◽  
Video Gamers ◽  
Negative Impacts

Assassin’s Creed is a historical fiction video game developed and published by Ubisoft. This video game has been so far considered as one of the most violent video games. Assassin’s Creed III is the third sequel of which plot is set in a fictional history of real world events and follows the centuries-old conflict between the Assassins and the Templars. Based on this study, the plot, characters, characterization, and scenes in Assassin’s Creed III are deemed to be able to give positive teachings to the young generation, despite the fact that there are violent and sadistic scenes in the story. Haytham Kenway, who is “evil” protagonist in Assassin’s Creed Forsaken, is portrayed as an expert in using weapons, since he was kid. Separated from his family, Kenway was taken by mysterious mentor, who trained him to be the most deadly killer. Comparisons with classic characters such as Oedipus, Hamlet, or Indonesian legendary character Sangkuriang are intentionally made to sharpen the analysis. The finding of this study is that heroic value might be found in either protagonist or antagonistic characters, whose roles involved numerous violent actions. Comments from the official website and social media which claim that Assassin’s Creed has brought negative impacts on the consumers might not be totally true.

scholarly journals Enrolling Heterogeneous Partners in Video Game Preservation

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhiannon Bettivia
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Advisory Board ◽  
Library Services ◽  
Heritage Preservation ◽  
Digital Objects ◽  
Game Developers ◽  
Cultural Heritage Preservation

This article extends previous work known as Preserving Virtual Worlds II (PVWII), funded through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The author draws on interview data collected from video game developers, content analysis of several long-running video game series, as well as the project’s advisory board and researcher reports. This paper exposes two fundamental challenges in creating metrics and specifications for the preservation of virtual worlds; namely, that there is no one type of user or designated video game stakeholder community, and that significant properties of games cannot always be located in code or platform. The PVWII data serve to explain why existing ideas about preservation of video games are inadequate when games are treated as digital cultural heritage. Preservation specialists need to bind nebulous and dynamic digital objects, a process that is necessary while inherently artificial.  

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