Dezaemon, RPG Maker, NScripter: Exploring and classifying game ‘produsage’ in 1990s Japan

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikhail Fiadotau

The article examines three tools used for hobbyist game development in 1990s Japan: the Dezaemon series of user-customizable shoot ‘em up games, the RPG Tsukūru (RPG Maker) series of tools for creating Japanese-style role-playing games and the NScripter scripting engine for visual novels. In doing so, it aims to highlight the diversity, but also to bring out the commonalities, of game ‘produsage’: producing video games by using dedicated software. The focus on a non-western historical context is an attempt to challenge assumptions about the locales and platforms of game produsage prevalent in English-language scholarship. The article concludes with a two-axis typology of game produsage, based on the degree of expressive freedom their functionality enables and the limitations they impose on users’ distributing their games.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Huayu Liu

<p>Tabletop role-playing games (TRPGs) have more than 40 years of history and have achieved far-reaching influence, especially in countries where English is the primary language. However, even though many new games appear every year, TRPGs still does not occupy a dominant position in the game market. Most gamers prefer video games and board games to TRPG. The aim of this project is to use qualitative analysis to investigate which parts of TRPG design prohibit players from engaging with TRPGs and then to create a novel TRPG that addresses these design problems. This project will combine newly formulated design elements into a game designed to attract new players and ensure that player engagement is sustained in subsequent play. The project focuses on the example of China, where many people play video games and board games, but few know about or play TRPGs. Therefore, this research will mainly study the gaming behaviour and feedback of Chinese participants to study what methods can attract Chinese players to TRPGs.</p>


Author(s):  
Martin van Velsen

Besides the visual splendor pervasive in the current generation of digital video games, especially those where players roam simulated landscapes and imaginary worlds, few efforts have looked at the resources available to embed human meaning into a game's experience. From the art of persuasion to the mechanics of meaning-making in digital video games and table-top role playing games, this chapter investigates the changes and new opportunities available that can extend our understanding of digital rhetoric. Starting with a breakdown of the role of choice, workable models from psychology and the untapped body of knowledge from table-top role playing games are shown to allow game designers to enrich their products with a deeper human experience.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hendi Hermawan ◽  
Hari Setiyani

<p><em>There are many genres found in video games, one of which is role-playing games (RPGs). Roguelike was originally a type of RPG subgenre whose game was based on a risk-aware pattern. The Roguelike game is synonymous with games that require players to play efficiently in order to minimize the risk of losing game progress. This research is in the form of making a Roguelike game by implementing the A-star algorithm to search for the shortest path in the process of chasing enemies against player characters. Overall, this final assignment research is carried out by applying a prototype system development model. The results of this study are able to prove that using the A-star algorithm is one of the right methods for the shortest search in the process of chasing enemies against player characters.</em></p><p><strong><em>Keywords</em></strong><em>: </em><em>A-star, Roguelike, unity</em><em></em></p>


Author(s):  
Russell Stockard Jr.

An increasingly important area of gender and information technology is that of Internet, computer, and video games. Besides women increasingly playing conventional entertainment-oriented or role-playing games, there are a number of pertinent developments in gaming. They are adver-games, casual games, games for change or “serious” games, and games aimed at women and/or developed by women. Computer and video games are a significant area of interest for a number of reasons. In the United States, games generate substantially more annual revenue than motion picture exhibition, totalling over $11 billion for three consecutive years from 2002 to 2004 (Hollywood Game Daemon, 2004; Traiman, 2005). Research by the Entertainment Software Association indicates that: half of all Americans play computer and video games, with women making up the second largest (demographic) group of gamers. Games are steadily becoming a dominant way that people spend their leisure time, often stealing time away from traditional media, like television. (Games for change mentioned at NYC Council Hearing, 2005) In addition, games often reinforce traditional gender roles (Cassells & Jenkins, 2000) and reproduce negative racial and ethnic stereotypes, even as male players comfortably assume female identities (Baker, 2002). As greater numbers of consumers spend time gaming, the advertising industry has taken notice and is following the population into the game world with advertising. The game enthusiasts comprise a desirable target, freely spending on games and other products. Gamers spend an estimated $700 a year per capita on games (Gamers are spending 700 dollars a year, 2005).


Author(s):  
Melissa L. Lewis ◽  
René Weber

The Entertainment Education Paradigm (EEP) offers a new way to think about education by blending entertainment with educational experiences. Video games provide an excellent format for entertainment education because of both the prevalence and enjoyment of playing video games and the ways in which individuals of today learn. Role-playing games are one of the better game genres for entertainment education. They provide both high levels of entertainment and a strong connection between player and game characters (models) which lead to an increase in learning. Based on the theories of parasocial interaction, identification, and social learning, this chapter offers a measurement for character attachment and introduces this new construct as a moderator for learning in role-playing video games.


Author(s):  
Hélder Fanha Martins

The objective of this chapter is to gain a better understanding of the usefulness of massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) for promoting English as a foreign language (EFL) acquisition. To accomplish this goal, the author analyzed specific categories of interaction occurring between English language learners while playing an online game entitled Eve Online. Previous research has proved that there are positive outcomes on EFL acquisition from the interaction that takes place while playing video games known as MMORPGs. These games immerse players in virtual worlds that are inhabited by hundreds and even thousands of other players, and all are partaking in the game in real time. Learners who choose to play the game in a foreign language are exposed to target language input in a context-rich environment where they can interact with native-speakers and other language learners.


Gamification ◽  
2015 ◽  
pp. 1848-1864
Author(s):  
Martin van Velsen

Besides the visual splendor pervasive in the current generation of digital video games, especially those where players roam simulated landscapes and imaginary worlds, few efforts have looked at the resources available to embed human meaning into a game's experience. From the art of persuasion to the mechanics of meaning-making in digital video games and table-top role playing games, this chapter investigates the changes and new opportunities available that can extend our understanding of digital rhetoric. Starting with a breakdown of the role of choice, workable models from psychology and the untapped body of knowledge from table-top role playing games are shown to allow game designers to enrich their products with a deeper human experience.


2021 ◽  
pp. 122-151
Author(s):  
Sylvia Sierra

This chapter examines how Millennial friends in their late twenties appropriate texts from video games they have played to serve particular social interactive functions in their everyday face-to-face conversations. Speakers use references to the video games Papers, Please, The Oregon Trail, Minecraft, and Role Playing Games (RPGS) to shift the epistemic territories of conversations when they encounter interactional dilemmas. These epistemic shifts simultaneously rekey formerly problematic talk (on topics like rent, money, and injuries) to lighter, humorous talk, reframing these issues as being part of a lived video game experience. Overlapping game frames are laminated upon real-life frames and are strengthened by embedded frames containing constructed dialogue. This chapter contributes to understanding how epistemic shifts relying on intertextual ties can shift frames during interactional dilemmas in everyday conversation, which is ultimately conducive to group identity construction.


Author(s):  
Diane Rasmussen Neal ◽  
Caroline Whippey

The popularity of video games as a source of entertainment is undeniable, but games attract unfortunate attention regarding the potentially negative impact on gamers’ lives. Through semi-structured interviews and phenomenographical analysis, we will explore the relationship between hardcore gamers’ views on MMORPG features and their feelings of mental well-being.La popularité des jeux vidéo comme source de divertissement est indéniable, mais malheureusement les jeux suscitent des craintes quant à leurs effets potentiellement négatifs dans la vie des joueurs. Grâce à des entrevues semi structurées et une analyse phénoménographique, nous explorerons la relation entre l’opinion des joueurs avides de jeux RPG massivement multijoueur sur les caractéristiques des jeux et leurs sentiments de bien-être mental.


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