World-building, Retconning and Legacy Rebooting: Alien and Contemporary Media Franchise Strategies

Film Reboots ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 189-204
Author(s):  
James Fleury
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Conceptual Frame ◽  
Promotional Materials ◽  
Contemporary Media

This chapter examines reboot efforts within the Alien franchise during the 2010s within the conceptual frame of “transmedia franchising.” Looking particularly at Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, as well as several video games, it analyses how various promotional materials and narrative devices have taken variable approaches toward rebooting this franchise, including retconning and legacy rebooting. The chapter asserts that the Alien universe ‘has not necessarily followed a systematic, planned path,’ and accordingly shows how the franchise’s IP holder (first 20th Century-Fox, now Disney) devised variable ways to appeal to potential audiences.

scholarly journals A Tale of Two CDs: Archaeological Analysis of Full-Motion Video Formats in Two PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 Games

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 350-364
Author(s):  
John Aycock ◽  
Andrew Reinhard ◽  
Carl Therrien
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Cultural Relevance ◽  
Cd Rom ◽  
Reverse Engineer ◽  
Game Console ◽  
Contemporary Media ◽  
Archaeological Analysis ◽  
Motion Video

AbstractAs an example of how the archaeology of modern/contemporary media can be conducted, we examine the technology behind artifacts with cultural relevance in modern society: video games. In particular, we look at two game artifacts from the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16, a game console produced from 1987–1994. A 1× CD-ROM drive could be added on to the console, with a corresponding increase in the amount of data a game could access, and some games took advantage of this capability to include full-motion video (FMV). This digital excavation report details the FMV formats of two such games along with the methodology used to reverse engineer the formats and verify the correctness of the analysis.

Gamers (Don't) Fear the Reaper

2016 ◽  
pp. 71-91
Author(s):  
Andréane Morin-Simard
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Popular Music ◽  
Television Series ◽  
The Media ◽  
Contemporary Media ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Relationship

Given the pervasiveness of popular music in the contemporary media landscape, it is not unusual to find the same song in multiple soundtracks. Based on theories of intertextuality and communication, this chapter seeks to define the relationship which develops between two or more narrative and/or interactive works that share the same song, and to understand the effects of such recontextualizations on the gamer's experience. The media trajectory of Blue Öyster Cult's “Don't Fear the Reaper” is mapped as a network to categorize the many complex intersections between video games, films and television series which feature the song. Three video games are analyzed to propose that the song's previous associations with other works may positively or negatively interfere with the music's narrative and ludic functions within the game.

Transactionism

Media in Mind ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 19-48
Author(s):  
Daniel Reynolds
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
Philosophy Of Mind ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Contemporary Philosophy ◽  
History Of ◽  
Contemporary Media ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Film And Video

This chapter proposes a theoretical approach to media use that treats media and their users’ minds as continuous with one another. It calls this approach “transactionism.” It shows how the philosophy of John Dewey is relevant to the study of contemporary media. The chapter shows how Dewey’s ideas can clarify historical problems from throughout the history of media studies. It uses examples from video games and films to illustrate the utility of transactionism in thinking about individual media and in thinking about relationships among media. It shows how contemporary philosophy of mind extends concepts from Dewey’s philosophy. This clarifies the relationship between Dewey’s ideas and the film and video game examples that the chapter presents.

Introduction: The Franchise Era

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Fleury ◽  
Bryan Hikari Hartzheim ◽  
Stephen Mamber
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Silicon Valley ◽  
Streaming Video ◽  
History Of ◽  
Contemporary Media ◽  
Main Ideas

The introduction chapter provides an overview of the key elements of media franchises in the context of ongoing digital technology developments. In particular, the chapter explains the history of media franchising and how technologies like video games and streaming video have encouraged a shift from multimedia to transmedia franchise management. A summary of significant shifts in contemporary media franchising follows, including a lack of mid-budget projects in favor of blockbusters, the replacement of stars with characters, experiments with cinematic universes instead of just one-off “tentpoles,” the role of television within franchise management, the pursuit of global audiences, and the entrance of Silicon Valley technology companies into Hollywood. The chapter concludes with a summary of the main ideas of each essay within the edited collection.

Video Games: Rules Required

2009 ◽  
Vol 42 (19) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
LISA J. MERLO
Keyword(s):  
Video Games

Frustration and Violence in Mobile Video Games

2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-70
Author(s):  
Petr Květon ◽  
Martin Jelínek
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Implicit Association Test ◽  
Self Determination Theory ◽  
Psychological Needs ◽  
Basic Psychological Needs ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Mobile Video ◽  
Violent Content ◽  
Before And After

Abstract. This study tests two competing hypotheses, one based on the general aggression model (GAM), the other on the self-determination theory (SDT). GAM suggests that the crucial factor in video games leading to increased aggressiveness is their violent content; SDT contends that gaming is associated with aggression because of the frustration of basic psychological needs. We used a 2×2 between-subject experimental design with a sample of 128 undergraduates. We assigned each participant randomly to one experimental condition defined by a particular video game, using four mobile video games differing in the degree of violence and in the level of their frustration-invoking gameplay. Aggressiveness was measured using the implicit association test (IAT), administered before and after the playing of a video game. We found no evidence of an association between implicit aggressiveness and violent content or frustrating gameplay.

Hostile and Hardened? An Experimental Study on (De-)Sensitization to Violence and Suffering Through Playing Video Games

2008 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frithjof Staude-Müller ◽  
Thomas Bliesener ◽  
Stefanie Luthman
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Physiological Measurement ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Downward Spiral ◽  
Spiral Model ◽  
Post Hoc ◽  
Game Violence ◽  
First Person Shooter ◽  
Physiological Reactions

This study tests whether playing violent video games leads to desensitization and increased cardiovascular responding. In a laboratory experiment, 42 men spent 20 min playing either a high- or low-violence version of a “first-person shooter” game. Arousal (heart rate, respiration rate) was measured continuously. After playing the game, emotional responses to aversive and aggressive stimuli - pictures from Lang, Bradley, and Cuthbert’s (1999) International Affective Picture System - were assessed with self-ratings and physiological measurement (skin conductance). Results showed no differences in the judgments of emotional responses to the stimuli. However, different effects of game violence emerged in the physiological reactions to the different types of stimulus material. Participants in the high-violence condition showed significantly weaker reactions (desensitization) to aversive stimuli and reacted significantly more strongly (sensitization) to aggressive cues. No support was found for the arousal hypothesis. Post-hoc analyses are used to discuss possible moderating influences of gaming experience and player’s trait aggressiveness in terms of the General Aggression Model ( Anderson & Bushman, 2001 ) and the Downward Spiral Model ( Slater, Henry, Swaim, & Anderson, 2003 ).

Video Games and Emotion Regulation

GeroPsych ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 205-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn L. Ossenfort ◽  
Derek M. Isaacowitz
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Interactive Media ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Media Preferences

Abstract. Research on age differences in media usage has shown that older adults are more likely than younger adults to select positive emotional content. Research on emotional aging has examined whether older adults also seek out positivity in the everyday situations they choose, resulting so far in mixed results. We investigated the emotional choices of different age groups using video games as a more interactive type of affect-laden stimuli. Participants made multiple selections from a group of positive and negative games. Results showed that older adults selected the more positive games, but also reported feeling worse after playing them. Results supplement the literature on positivity in situation selection as well as on older adults’ interactive media preferences.

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