Games as Inhabited Spaces

2004 ◽  
Vol 110 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernadette Flynn
Keyword(s):  
Computer Games ◽  
Social Space ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Game Play ◽  
Bodily Experience ◽  
Computer Screen ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
Spatial Practice

This paper introduces questions about how space might be considered in studying computer games. It argues that established concepts of media aesthetics and narrative are no longer adequate for understanding the inhabited spaces of the computer screen. First, it considers a communications ‘post-narrative spatialisation’ as a foundation for game play. Second, it reads the work of social space theorists Lefebvre, Massey and De Certeau into a discussion of how the navigation of space is a cultural act. Third, building on the evidence of role-playing games and Merleau Ponty's notion of embodiment, the paper suggests that gameplay is a form of spatial practice that is grounded in the player's lived-in bodily experience and subjective viewpoint.

A Reference Architecture for Game-Based Intelligent Tutoring

2011 ◽  
pp. 658-682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis Maciuszek ◽  
Alke Martens
Keyword(s):  
Computer Games ◽  
Intelligent Tutoring ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Genre Studies ◽  
Reference Architecture ◽  
Tutoring Systems ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
Learning Content ◽  
Educational Computer ◽  
Game Elements

Educational computer games may improve learning experiences and learning outcomes. However, many off-the-shelf games still fail at smoothly integrating learning content into gameplay mechanisms. In addition, they do make an effort at adapting educational content to individual learners. Learner models and adaptivity, as applied by Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs), address this problem. A solution to the integration dilemma would ideally be found at the software architecture level. Assuming the perspective of the software engineer, this chapter reviews published game-based ITS architectures. The most promising approaches are partially integrated architectures, which replace sub-systems of Clancey’s (1984) classic ITS architecture with corresponding game elements. In order to provide a reference to developers, this chapter follows up on these ideas and proposes a unifying game-based ITS architecture based on genre studies of computer role-playing games.

Questing for Standards

2011 ◽  
pp. 81-97
Author(s):  
Mark G. Elwell
Keyword(s):  
Second Life ◽  
Computer Games ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Role Play ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Source Material ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
Life Issues ◽  
Role Playing Game

This chapter reports on movements toward de facto standards for role playing games in the freely accessible and configurable shared virtual environment of Second Life. All users can not only freely join, but also construct and implement role playing games of their own design. Consequently, new games are constantly emerging, and others either persisting or failing. The resulting body of practice has implications for business, technological, and social dimensions of computer games. To elucidate these implications, this chapter presents the case of the Role Play Nexus, a venue created for role playing game designers, managers, and players to share experiences, questions, resources, and proposals for sustainable ventures and communities in Second Life. Issues, controversies, and problems are identified, and solutions and recommendations discussed. Source material is drawn from transcripts of public lectures, discussions and demonstrations, from interviews, and from participant observation.

scholarly journals Not Only for the (Tom) boys: Gender Variables as Predictors for Playing Motivations, Passion, and Addiction for MMORPGs

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Kneer ◽  
Sanne Franken ◽  
Sabine Reich
Keyword(s):  
Role Playing ◽  
Game Play ◽  
Personality Variables ◽  
Obsessive Passion ◽  
Biological Sex ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Gender Traits

Background. Research on playing motivation and passion for MMORPGs and gender has so far mainly focused on biological sex and neglected variables related to social gender such as masculinity and femininity. As some playing motivations and obsessive passion are assumed to be related to problematic game play, problematic game play is still considered a male phenomenon, often based on mainly male samples and disregarding underlying causes in problematic tendencies that could explain or extent findings on biological sex difference. Method. This survey based quantitative study investigated the impact of masculine and feminine personality on game play motivations, passion, and problematic game play. Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) players ( N = 375, 44.3% female) were recruited via Facebook and online games. Feminine and masculine personality traits were assessed along with game play motivations, passion, and problematic game play. Results. Stepwise regression analyses revealed that gender traits add significant value for almost all variables of interest. Negative masculine traits were positive predictors for achievement as game play motivation while positive feminine traits predicted social interaction. Harmonious passion was predicted by positive masculine traits. Negative feminine traits were found to predict immersion as well as obsessive passion and were also important for problematic game play. Conclusion. Gender traits add valuable information to mere biological sex concerning different game related concepts such as motivation, passion, and problematic game play. Despite the idea that problematic game play is a male phenomenon, negative feminine traits seem to be linked to problematic tendencies. We suggest including gender and personality variables for future games and/or media studies.

scholarly journals Worldfulness, Role-enrichment & Moving Rituals: Design Ideas for CRPGs

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Champion
Keyword(s):  
Social Presence ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Computer Games ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Digital Games ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
Traditional Cultures ◽  
Different Cultures ◽  
Design Ideas

Roles and rituals are essential for creating, situating and maintaining cultural practices. Computer Role-Playing games (CRPGs) and virtual online worlds that appear to simulate different cultures are well known and highly popular. So it might appear that the roles and rituals of traditional cultures are easily ported to computer games. However, I contend that the meaning behind worlds, rituals and roles are not fully explored in these digital games and virtual worlds and that more needs to be done in order to create worldfulness, moving rituals and role enrichment. I will provide examples from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and The ElderScrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda, 2006, 2011) to reveal some of the difficulties in creating digitally simulated social and cultural worlds, but I will also suggest some design ideas that could improve them in terms of cultural presence and social presence.

scholarly journals Psychological Impact of Virtual Reality Gaming on the Formation of Self-Image in Early School-Age Children

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 48-56
Author(s):  
V.G. Pahomova
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Computer Games ◽  
Psychological Impact ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
The Self ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
Self Image ◽  
Aged Child ◽  
The Impact

The article investigates the problem of interaction between a modern primary school-aged child and the field of virtual reality gaming and, in particular, the impact of virtual reality on the formation of self-image. Our study enabled us to explore the differences in the self-image in active and non-active players of roleplaying video games. The outcomes proved that there are certain changes in the self-image of active players related to their self-identification with characters of computer games according to their individual psychological features, whereas for children who engage in non-role-playing games such identification is not common. It was found that non-active children players generally have positive selfacceptance and do not suffer from feelings of anxiety and abandonment; active players, on the opposite, often demonstrate inadequate self-esteem, anxiety and a tendency to self-actualise in virtual reality gaming.

scholarly journals Optimization of server performance in the CMX educational MMORPG for computer programming

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1537-1553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christos Malliarakis ◽  
Maya Satratzemi ◽  
Stelios Xinogalos
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Load Balancing ◽  
Computer Games ◽  
Computer Programming ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
New Generation

A new generation of computer games has taken over during the last few years, called Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG). In parallel, the usage of games in education has increased, exploiting the fact that young people are familiarized with them and would be more motivated to learn while entertained. However, MMORPG require significant amounts of resources, such as bandwidth, RAM and CPU capacity to support learning. In this paper, we propose a new methodology to achieve monitoring and optimization of the load balancing, so that the essential resources for the proper execution of an educational MMORPG for computer programming can be foreseen and bestowed without overloading the system. Moreover, we present an educational MMORPG called CMX, which aims to teach computer programming through interactive activities and role-playing. We finally apply the proposed model to CMX by conducting an experiment and conclude that the server?s performance is indeed increased.

scholarly journals Players Imbuing Meaning: Co-creation of Challenges in a prototype MMO

2012 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 50-75
Author(s):  
Mirjam Palosaari Eladhari
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Personal Meaning ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Game Play ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
The World ◽  
Rule System ◽  
Difficult Situations

This article discusses how components in a game world can carry meaning relevant to individual players. The discussion is grounded in work with a massively multi-player online (MMO) proto- type where players in guided play-tests created their own opponents that they battled in groups of three. The opponents are called Manifestations, and can be compared to the “boss monsters” that in adventure and role-playing games pose the greatest challenges in terms of tactical game play, or battle. When creating Manifestations players define how these shall behave in play, and what they say under different circumstances. The game play mechanics in the world is centred on emotions and social relations. One of the design goals in the creation of the prototype was to cater for a system where tactical game play can be closely tied to the potential narrative contents. The Manifestations players created in the play tests were of four main categories; reflec- tions of persons they had complicated relationships with in real life, difficult situations, abstract concepts, or purely fictional entities. In several cases players brought material into the game that had personal meaning to them. These meanings were developed further when players saw how their Manifestation behaved within the rule system of the world. For example, one player created a Manifestation of an anticipated exam, while another made a Manifestation called “Mother”. The Mother cast spells called “Focused Aggression” and “Cold Ripple of Fear”. It was able to perform acts called “Blame”, “Threaten”, and “Disagree”. The group experimented with tactical choices, while reasoning about the Mother’s potential motivations. They managed to overcome the Mother by alternating between giving each other resistance and casting spells, the winning stroke being a rapid series of spells called “Forgive”.

In-Game Culture Affects Learners' Use of Vocabulary Learning Strategies in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games

2019 ◽  
pp. 1218-1231
Author(s):  
Julie Bytheway
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Computer Games ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
Learning Contexts ◽  
Vocabulary Learning Strategies ◽  
Commercial Off The Shelf ◽  
Massively Multiplayer

Millions of language learners use commercial off-the-shelf computer games as informal learning contexts. Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are rich meaningful vocabulary learning contexts with in-game cultures that encourage creativity, decrease anxiety, force interaction, demand cooperative and autonomous learning, increase motivation, and reward curiosity. This case-study of World of Warcraft® players examined how the in-game culture affected participants' use of vocabulary learning strategies. Using research processes inherent in Grounded Theory, rich data was collected from extant MMORPG texts and observations of, interviews with, and elicited texts from a criterion sample of six ESL experienced gamers. Through constant comparative analysis, patterns and strategies emerged. Gu's (2005) model of vocabulary learning strategies in contexts was adapted to suit digital game contexts. The results highlight the need to value how the MMORPG culture affects language learners' vocabulary learning strategies and argue for study into autonomous language learning in commercial off-the-shelf digital games.

In-Game Culture Affects Learners' Use of Vocabulary Learning Strategies in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Bytheway
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Computer Games ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
Learning Contexts ◽  
Vocabulary Learning Strategies ◽  
Commercial Off The Shelf ◽  
Massively Multiplayer

Millions of language learners use commercial off-the-shelf computer games as informal learning contexts. Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are rich meaningful vocabulary learning contexts with in-game cultures that encourage creativity, decrease anxiety, force interaction, demand cooperative and autonomous learning, increase motivation, and reward curiosity. This case-study of World of Warcraft® players examined how the in-game culture affected participants' use of vocabulary learning strategies. Using research processes inherent in Grounded Theory, rich data was collected from extant MMORPG texts and observations of, interviews with, and elicited texts from a criterion sample of six ESL experienced gamers. Through constant comparative analysis, patterns and strategies emerged. Gu's (2005) model of vocabulary learning strategies in contexts was adapted to suit digital game contexts. The results highlight the need to value how the MMORPG culture affects language learners' vocabulary learning strategies and argue for study into autonomous language learning in commercial off-the-shelf digital games.

scholarly journals Effective Organization of Extracurricular Activities in Azerbaijan Schools and Near and Far-Abroad Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-69
Author(s):  
B. Ismayilova
Keyword(s):  
Extracurricular Activities ◽  
Computer Games ◽  
Intellectual Development ◽  
Educational Games ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Main Task ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
Effective Organization ◽  
Good Learning

Introduction. The main task of secondary schools is to prepare a new generation for activity, develop the creative potential of an individual, educate a creatively thinking younger generation, possessing the entire set of intellectual and cultural qualities. In this regard, the correct organization of extracurricular activities is of great importance. The aim of this article is to analyze the experience of conducting extracurricular activities in Azerbaijan schools and near and farabroad countries. Research methodology and methods. In 2019 a pedagogical experiment was conducted among 219 pupils of urban, regional and rural schools in Azerbaijan. Initially, a preliminary survey was conducted among pupils of IV, VI, VIII, X, XI grades and a few months later a second survey was conducted among 453 pupils with the question "In what direction do you prefer to work in extracurricular activities?". A survey was used as a research method. Results and discussion. The international experience of carrying out extracurricular activities is described. Proposals were put forward for the effective organization of extracurricular activities in accordance with the requirements of the XXI century. Azerbaijan experience in organizing extracurricular activities is described. In the process of the pedagogical experiment, in extracurricular activities, the pupils tried to improve their skills in various areas, using educational computer games, role-playing games and developing simple educational games. During the experiment, we found that pupils from different grades voluntarily joined the extracurricular activities. A second survey was conducted among pupils and the results show that they were more interested in educational games and computer setting operations. Conclusion. Research results show that the correct organization of extracurricular activities has a significant impact on the intellectual development of pupils, contributes to the achievement of good learning outcomes in the educational process at school. In connection with the relevance of this topic, theoretical and practical research related to various forms of extracurricular activities and solving problems of their organization and implementation will be continued.

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