Evolution of the Video Game Market

The videogame industry had evolved since its initial appearance, and along with it, so has target market. This study attempts to analyse the trends throughout the years through observation of marketing materials such as printed and video advertisement commercials. The analysis is done by applying standard practice values employed in advertising communication on chosen samples of said commercial ads from each era of video game history.

Virtual Reality (VR) in Superior Education Distance Learning: A Systematic Literature Review

Virtual Reality (VR) is one of the most popular contemporary technologies and it is widely used in the videogame industry, nonetheless, this does not restrict its use in other areas of science, such as medicine or education. Due to the large commotion caused by the appearance of Covid-19, long distance virtual education technologies (e-learning) are being used. With this context, virtual reality is the focus of this study, which had the objective of understanding the work done in superior education at a distance, through the use of VR, by doing a systematic literature review (SLR; LSR in Spanish). The results reveal that the use of VR in education can improve the experience, motivation and the comprehension of abstract concepts for the students, offering them an immersive environment in which they can interact and achieve effective learning. It was concluded that the works that were reviewed regarding the topic evidence a strong growth in the application of VR in education, which in their majority, employ experimental comparative methods between groups of students which use VR when compared to others who use the traditional method.

DEEP GAMES: ADDRESSING MENTAL HEALTH THROUGH INDEPENDENT VIDEOGAME DEVELOPMENT

Game workers and reports on the videogame industry frequently document cases of anxiety, depression, burnout and impostor syndrome. Mental health issues are exacerbated among independent developers and freelancers. The article draws on interviews with four London-based independent videogame developers who have been producing 'deep games' about mental health. The article argues that conceiving, producing and releasing these videogames is understood by their makers as a strategy to establish new and 'deeper' relations with consumers, participants and other developers. Developers seek relations with other game workers and players through the process of making, researching, testing, and showing their videogames. Their responses draw on biographical self-reflexivity and are articulated within a network sociality that conceives the individual developer as the agent of change. The development of videogames about mental health is interpreted by the participants as facilitating exchanges of autobiographical experiences that are otherwise regulated by the norms of professional networking. At the same time, these exchanges aim at the establishment of new forms of sociality and at a fairer and more inclusive videogame industry.

Seeking Deep Relations in a Precarious Industry: Addressing Mental Health through Independent Videogame Development

Anxiety, depression, burnout and impostor syndrome are frequently reported among those who work in the videogame industry, and are exacerbated among independents and freelancers. The article draws on interviews with four London-based independent videogame developers who have engaged with the production of videogames about mental health. The article argues that conceiving, producing and releasing these games is understood by their makers as a strategy to establish relations with consumers, participants and other developers that could break the invisible barriers that prevent dialogs around mental wellness. More than being concerned with the outcome of their work or its commercial success, developers seek relations with other game workers and players through the process of making, researching, testing, and showing their videogames. The development of videogames about mental health is interpreted by the participants as facilitating exchanges of autobiographical experiences that are otherwise regulated by the norms of professional networking.

Time, Commodification, And Videogames: A Comparative Study Of Animal Crossing: New Leaf And Pokemon Go

Time has played a crucial role in the development of the videogame industry, particularly how games are developed, distributed, marketed, and sold. This paper critically examines how time has been commodified in the “premium” and “freemium” variants of the videogame industry through a comparative analysis of two representative games — Animal Crossing: New Leaf (2012-2013) and Pokémon Go (2016). It draws on a combination of critical political economy and textual analysis to demonstrate how the production, distribution, and consumption of these videogames is affected by how they commodify time. Time is money for the videogame industry and this has had a negative effect on digital play, by creating games that expect a significant investment of time and money for the player to fully enjoy their promised virtual rewards.

Time, Commodification, And Videogames: A Comparative Study Of Animal Crossing: New Leaf And Pokemon Go

Time has played a crucial role in the development of the videogame industry, particularly how games are developed, distributed, marketed, and sold. This paper critically examines how time has been commodified in the “premium” and “freemium” variants of the videogame industry through a comparative analysis of two representative games — Animal Crossing: New Leaf (2012-2013) and Pokémon Go (2016). It draws on a combination of critical political economy and textual analysis to demonstrate how the production, distribution, and consumption of these videogames is affected by how they commodify time. Time is money for the videogame industry and this has had a negative effect on digital play, by creating games that expect a significant investment of time and money for the player to fully enjoy their promised virtual rewards.

“Fortnite” and New Kids’ Sociabilities

In this paper, we’ll be researching the influence of digital games on contemporary kids’ sociabilities, based on the assumption that the online universe allows exchanges and social ties in a digital context, with potential evidence on the dynamics of face-to-face interaction. In this perspective, Fortnite videogame will be our case study, which since 2017 has been dominating the entertainment industry and has become a social phenomenon, attracting millions of players using several types of digital devices. Fortnite presents elements that infer a paradigm shift in the videogame industry, directly interfering in the playful world of kids and, consequently, in the way this audience socializes. The interactive and fictional narrative, the expression of freedom and multiplatform creativity, as well as the monetization model by microtransactions are some of the additional factors we will analyse, which reflection also starts from conceptualizations about sociability and a brief literature's review on the aimed subject.

Playing it safe

For the past 30 years museums and art galleries on both sides of the Atlantic have been resistant to exhibiting digital games as art and have instead embedded them in exhibitions and displays that have portrayed them as exemplars of design. This conservative approach has largely failed to achieve the stated purpose of many of these exhibitions: to foster a wider public appreciation for games and encourage more sophisticated conversations about gaming. This article argues that curators for video game exhibitions have been co-opted by the ideological norms of the tech sector which has produced a reluctance to engage critically with their subject matter and a willingness to overlook ethical problems within the videogame industry.

PUBLIC SPEECH: LISTENING TO WOMEN IN THE VIDEOGAME INDUSTRY

Since the 1990s, conversations about the dearth of women working in the video game industry have centered on three topics: 1) ways to draw more women into the field, 2) the experiences of women working in the industry, and 3) the experiences of those who once worked in the industry but left (Cassell & Jenkins, 1998; Hepler, 2017; Kafai, Heeter, Denner & Sun, 2008). While there has been considerable research on the conditions and occupational identities of video game developers, less scholarly attention has been devoted to women in games work, the barriers/obstacles and challenges/opportunities they face, or how they talk about their experiences. Our study looked to see who among the group of women who work in the games industry has already invested her time and energy to tell a public story, whether that is in a blog posting, a book chapter, a televised talk, a radio interview, or other public media, thereby building the foundations of the study by focusing on that sub-group. This paper offers a feminist methodological approach that demonstrates how discourse focused on affect can be re-read as intimately related to silences about power, and how the rhetorical constraints that public speech imposes upon what can be said about “women in games” aids us in understanding what might remain unspoken, and why.

Augmented and Virtual Reality Evolution and Future Tendency

Augmented reality and virtual reality technologies are increasing in popularity. Augmented reality has thrived to date mainly on mobile applications, with games like Pokémon Go or the new Google Maps utility as some of its ambassadors. On the other hand, virtual reality has been popularized mainly thanks to the videogame industry and cheaper devices. However, what was initially a failure in the industrial field is resurfacing in recent years thanks to the technological improvements in devices and processing hardware. In this work, an in-depth study of the different fields in which augmented and virtual reality have been used has been carried out. This study focuses on conducting a thorough scoping review focused on these new technologies, where the evolution of each of them during the last years in the most important categories and in the countries most involved in these technologies will be analyzed. Finally, we will analyze the future trend of these technologies and the areas in which it is necessary to investigate to further integrate these technologies into society.