Journal articles on the topic 'Fantasy games – design – drawings'

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide information about the design principles of educational games in the context of an educational math game example to educational game developers and instructors. Especially, it tries to demonstrate the importance of the academic content-fantasy integration and entertainment factors of educational games from the viewpoint of the experts. For this purpose, as a sample, an educational math game was examined to see how successful is the academic aspect, fantasy aspect, academic-fantasy aspects integration and enjoyment aspect of the game. Good aspects of the game and aspects need improvement were summarized for guidance to game developers while producing educational games. Design/methodology/approach In this study, heuristic evaluation method was used for evaluating the educational math game. In the scope of this study, an example of modern educational computer game was examined by experts in this study. The integration of academic-fantasy context and enjoyment aspects of the game were analyzed deeply by using qualitative and quantitative data collection methods together. Findings According to Relevance Embedding Translation Adaptation Immersion and Naturalization rubric results, embedding element received the highest mean score. It showed that the academic content is well coupled with the fantasy/story content. According to GameFlow criteria, clear goals and feedback sections got the highest scores; on the contrary immersion section got the lowest score. Immersion element of the game should be improved. According to the interview findings, more than half of the participants stated that, in terms of academic content of game, players can actively be involved in learning process during the game. The story of the game and elements used in the game have counterpart in daily life. Didactic elements do not affect learners’ flow in the game. It is easy to learn and feedbacks are enough and useful. Originality/value This study offered suggestions to designers for developing good educational games which are well balanced with academic and fantasy context.

The article Open World and Dispersed Narrative in FromSoftware’s “Elden Ring” tackles a number of design issues associated with open world design in video games. Building upon Tim Ingold’s dis- crepancy of two distinct modes of exploring the reality (wayfaring and trail-following), the author proceeds with analysing how the categories in question might have influenced the design of Elden Ring’s ‘The Lands Between’, which is torn between two different ambitions. One is to create a high fantasy narrative in allotopia, whilst the other is to sustain the principles of procedural rhetoric typical for soulsborne games, well-known for leaning towards a dark fantasy design style both in terms of their aesthetics and narrative content. Consequently, the main goal of this analysis is to propose a potential way of avoiding such inconsequence in open world game design, which is termed here a “ludotopian dissonance”.

(1) Background: Augmented reality (AR) game-based learning, has received increased attention in recent years. Fantasy is a vital gaming feature that promotes engagement and immersion experience for children. However, situating learning with AR fantasy to engage learners and fit pedagogical contexts needs structured analysis of educational scenarios for different subjects. (2) Methods: We present a combined study using our own built AR games, MathMythosAR2 for mathematics learning, and FancyBookAR for English as second-language learning. For each game, we created a fantasy and a real-life narrative. We investigated player engagement and teachers’ scaffolding through qualitative and quantitative research with 62 participants aged from 7 to 11 years old. (3) Results: We discovered that fantasy narratives engage students in mathematics learning while disengaging them in second-language learning. Participants report a higher imagination with fantasy narratives and a higher analogy with real-life narratives. We found that teachers’ scaffolding for MathMythosAR2 focused on complex interactions, for FancyBookAR, focused on story interpretation and knowledge explanation. (4) Conclusions: It is recommended to mix fantasy and real-life settings, and use simple AR interaction and pedagogical agents that enable teachers’ scaffolding seamlessly. The design of AR fantasy should evaluate whether the story is intrinsically related to the learning subjects, as well as the requirements of explicit explanation.

The majority of videogames as they are currently constituted seem to display a mechanistic repetitiveness in conception, development and production. A creative shallowness in games, a lack of innovation, and a tendency to clone successful titles, are in part attributable to the hegemonic control exerted by game producers. This situation persists despite the intense frustration from the creative talent within the industry: “design documents are worked out by the marketing department; effectively as an artist or programmer you do what you’re told” (Wade 2007, p.687). This article approaches Fantasy as an underlying structuring element capable of energising the creative evolution of video games. Fantasy is interpreted as persisting throughout all game forms, and not confined to its own recognisable genre.

Cyberspace is a virtual world in a computer network. With the continuous development of information technology and the continuous expansion of the boundary of art, more and more artists and designers focus their exploration on the visual presentation of cyberspace. Video games and sci-fi movies have become the testing ground for the visual image of cyberspace. The film Free Guy is a science fiction film based on video games. The film production designers designed a fantasy and colourful cyberspace for Free Guy, which has been widely praised for its visual presentation. Therefore, this study mainly analyzes the visual representation of cyberspace from the production design of the film Free Guy.

Modern narratological researches are quite well developed and has long gone beyond the purely philological field. One of the applications of narratology is the study of computer games, the most relevant new medium. This paper is devoted to the issue of unusual narrative strategies used in games on the example of Final Fantasy XIII-2. The analysis is conducted via the possible-worlds method, which is currently in demand in modern humanities, but it is less known in Russia. The aim of the research is to determine the function of possible worlds existing in Final Fantasy XIII-2 for a better understanding of the game design. In the course of the work, the author examines the internal structure of the game world with the help of the theory of possible worlds, analyzes the narrative strategy, and makes a game scheme of possible worlds with accessibility links which let to see the deep internal structure of the narrative game world. In conclusion, it is clear that Final Fantasy XIII-2 contains a non-trivial narrative structure with multiple branches that is smoothed out by the gameplay and cinematic experience of the player, although such a composition of possible worlds represents a complex scheme of the game's macrocosm which demands a close attention to the narrative. The article is intended for various humanitarian specialists interested in the study of computer games.

"In recent years, computer role-playing games have changed the way we spend our free time. Traditional games have been increasingly replaced by digitized productions, and technology has made it easier to access videogames on multiples devices. Online games bring users together in a fantasy world in which they design avatars, manifesting their creativity and employing gaming strategies. This study analyzed Romanian gamers’ behaviors and perceptions of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (henceforth MMORPGs); by employing focus groups and a survey, the authors aimed to map preferences and habits of users in terms of gender. We found that users are not likely to engage in stereotypical activities in creating and using their avatars within the games, nor do they design female avatars solely for visual pleasure, but rather for opportunistic reasons. Moreover, the research subjects did not think of choosing female avatars as a safeguard for advancing through in-game levels, but rather consider other variables, such as hard work, skills, or strategy, as important to succeed. Keywords: role-playing games, gaming behavior, gamer preferences, gender-swapping, avatar gender."

This research aims to study designing puzzle shapes techniques and their use in teaching children. Puzzle games contribute to developing cognitive, sensory, and motor skills that require concentration and logical thinking, which can be effective in stimulating learning in children and developing their mental skills. The design idea was studied in terms of simplicity, complexity, types of traditional and digital puzzle games, and their use. Structural elements in design, such as drawings, shapes, and typographic elements, according to the Gestalt theory in designing puzzle shapes that aim to teach children, and verifying their effectiveness in stimulating their learning. This study also included an analysis of some of the techniques used in designing puzzle shapes and some mechanisms and theories of learning through games.

Challenges and rewards are integral to the logic of digital games, and through them, users can learn and develop various skills. When games are employed in educational contexts, they can enhance creativity and contribute to students' development. The Game-Based Learning (GBL) methodology is grounded in the use of games in the educational context, whether they are meant for educational or entertainment purposes. This article aims to investigate whether the digital puzzle game called FEZ - which takes place in a three-dimensional scenario where the player interacts through two-dimensional views - can be used for teaching geometry, specifically from the perspective of Descriptive Geometry for learning concepts about the System of Views. To achieve this goal, we analyzed FEZ from the perspective of the Instrumental Approach as an educational resource for teaching concepts of the Orthographic Drawings System. As a result, we identify similar characteristics between the Orthographic Drawings System and the design aspects of the FEZ game that suggest the possibility of using this game as a didactic resource.

Through a series of case studies, this article presents a framework of common musical tropes originally only found in heavy metal music. The use of aggressive “double-kick” drum grooves, galloping bass lines, harmonized melodies, and overall fast tempi are all common elements of many styles of metal that first emerged in the 1980s. Video games developed alongside this musical genre; action, platforming, and role-playing games not only embraced these distinguishing characteristics of metal music, but these tropes are now expected in games of various genres. In addition, other extra-musical topics associated with heavy metal’s lyrical themes—such as references to the occult and fantasy—are common archetypes used to build the worlds of these video games. Studies have been conducted that examine the cultural similarities between these two cultures, the relationship of music genre with game genre and function, and the use of rock paired with sacred music specifically in battle themes. By analyzing the arrangements, treatment of melodic contours, rhythmic gestures, and harmonic progressions of these games, this article discusses and demonstrates how metal has disseminated into video game culture. There are strong connections between the fast-paced obstacles in Mega Man with the speed of Iron Maiden, the gothic horror stages of Castlevania and Baroque elegance of Yngwie Malmsteen, and how the themes from fantasy literature made their way into video game design and power metal. The worlds of these games are built on their music, but their music is built on a fusion of tropes used in heavy metal culture.

Purpose This study isolates the effect of immersion on players’ learning in a virtual reality (VR)-based game about cellular biology by comparing two versions of the game with the same level of interactivityand different levels of immersion. The authors identify immersion and additional interactivity as two key affordances of VR as a learning tool. A number of research studies compare VR with two-dimensional or minimally interactive media; this study focuses on the effect of immersion as a result of the head mounted display (HMD). Design/methodology/approach In the game, players diagnose a cell by exploring a virtual cell and search for clues that indicate one of five possible types of cystic fibrosis. Fifty-one adults completed all aspects of the study. Players took pre and post assessments and drew pictures of cells and translation before and after the game. Players were randomly assigned to play the game with the HMD (stereoscopic view) or without the headset (non-stereoscopic view). Players were interviewed about their drawings and experiences at the end of the session. Findings Players in both groups improved in their knowledge of the cell environment and the process of translation. Players who experienced the immersive stereoscopic view had a more positive learning effect in the content assessment, and stronger improvement in their mental models of the process of translation between pre- and post-drawings compared to players who played the two-dimensional game. Originality/value This study suggests that immersion alone has a positive effect on conceptual understanding, especially in helping learners understand spatial environments and processes. These findings set the stage for a new wave of research on learning in immersive environments; research that moves beyond determining whether immersive media correlate with more learning, toward a focus on the types of learning outcomes that are best supported by immersive media.

Knights Fantasy Online is a massively multiplayer online game with role-playing game genre. This game was developed using ActionScript 3.0 of Adobe Flash for client and Java for its server, while the design of the game was designed using Adobe Illustrator. This research is intended to make multiplayer online games using Adobe Flash. In this game, Players start their adventure in a world called Edenia as a knight from a kingdom called Aurum, the player is in charge of controlling the population of monsters. Players can take on quests, collect equipment and improve their character's ability. The game was tested by using Blackbox, alpha, beta and stress test. Through the results of a questionnaire distributed to 40 people. The test results shows that Knights Fantasy Online has an interesting gameplay, easy to understand and also has enough features as a massively multiplayer online game.

Designers of human-agent interaction techniques may benefit from an analysis of existing video games that include aspects of human-agent teaming. Many popular multi-player video games have been designed to integrate multiple human and computer agents in pursuit of a common objective and can serve as a testbed to explore novel interaction methods in human-agent teams. A guiding framework of human-agent interaction was created to bridge best practices between video game and real-world domains. The framework was used to analyze games on five main dimensions: 1) Levels of Automation, 2) Levels of Interaction, 3) Control Mode, 4) Teaming, and 5) Interaction Timing. Two video games, Final Fantasy XIV and Mass Effect, were assessed to identify human-agent interaction paradigms, and ramifications for real-world applications for human-agent teaming. This research draws on interaction design principles, human-agent interaction theory, and existing video games to offer human-agent team designers potential examples of successful interaction paradigms.

The video game industry, by its wider reputation, is not commonly regarded for its deep and thoughtful experiences. In its common media presence it is represented as frequently dealing with content that is excessively violent and usually expressing themes and genres that are otherworldly: science-fiction, horror, or fantasy. However, the broad reputation of video games’ reputation is not wholly deserved, partly due to an arthouse-esque movement growing rapidly alongside the larger, traditional releases. In the last decade, and five years especially, there have been an increasing number of games which tell personal stories that are either inspired by life or that are autobiographical and that defy that broader reputation. These games are often highly concerned with creating vivid and believable characters, telling personal stories, or conveying emotional experiences using interaction to enhance the narrative. This article discusses some of the key titles in this area, the debates in video game culture surrounding them, and some of the choices made in the development of the author's own narrative game experience 'Fragments of Him'.

Background. Educational computer games can enhance learner engagement and content knowledge gain. Video games based on Malone’s theory of game design that involve challenge, fantasy, and curiosity can help improve learning. Aim. The purpose of the study is to compare differences between two drill-and-skill games to learn French phrases. Variables examined were student engagement, content knowledge gain, and demographical implications (e.g., gender, minority status, and socio-economic status). One of the games in the study meets Malone’s theory of game design. Method. This quasi-experimental study divides participants into two groups, each playing a different type of drill-and-skill game. Instruments to collect data include a pre- and post-test on French phrases and a digital game engagement questionnaire. Participants receive a short instructional session, game play time, and instruments to complete. Results. No significant results have been found in content knowledge gain and engagement between participants in the pre- and post-tests. A slight difference in relation to minority status has been discovered. Feedback from the participants show a positive response toward the games, except that some distraction and technicality have interfered with their learning. Conclusion. Although results are inconclusive, drill-and-skill computer games can be a tool to enhance learning and provide student engagement.

How to design useful digital game-based learning is a topic worthy of discussion. Past research focused on specific game genres design, but it is difficult to use when the target game genre differs from the default genres used in the research. This study presents macrodesign concepts that elucidates 11 crucial game-design factors, including game goals, game mechanism, game fantasy, game value, interaction, freedom, narrative, sensation, challenges, sociality, and mystery. We clearly define each factor and analyze the relationships among the 11 factors to construct a game-based learning design model. Two application examples are analyzed to verify the usability of the model and the performance of these factors. It can assist educational game designers in developing interesting games.

To date, reviews of the games literature have noted a lack of empirical studies examining the relationships between games and their purported benefits (Huizenga, Admiraal, & Dam, 2011; Vandercruysse, Vanderwaetere, & Clarebout, 2012; Young et al., 2012). Furthermore, researchers have called for a better understanding of the specific game features that may lead to beneficial outcomes (Hartmann & Klimmt, 2006; Klimmt, Schmid, & Orthmann, 2009; McNamara, Jackson, & Graesser, 2010; Vorderer, Bryant, Pieper, & Weber, 2006; Wilson et al., 2009). In this survey study, a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was employed to better understand the specific features that influence player enjoyment of video games. The resulting Gameplay Enjoyment Model (GEM) explains players’ overall Enjoyment of games, as well as their preferences for six specific types of enjoyment, including Challenge, Companionship, Competition, Exploration, Fantasy, and Fidelity. The implications of these model components are discussed in the context of educational game design and future directions for research are offered. GEM provides an empirical framework within which vital progress can be made in understanding the enjoyment of games and the role that games play in education.

Background: The objective of this study was to test a treatment program in Serious Games (SG) format to improve attention in children from Catalonia, Spain, with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The activities adapted to the SG format consisted of (1) stimulus selection, (2) mark equal drawings, (3) eight differences, (4) hidden figures, (5) compare texts, (6) compare measures and shapes, (7) put model keys, (8) labyrinths and (9) memorization of drawings. Method: A pretest-posttest design was used with a cohort of 30 children between 8 and 10 years old diagnosed with ADHD, with 20% girls (n = 6) and 80% boys (n = 24) with a mean age of 9.4 years (SD = 0.63; range of 8 to 10 years). Four schools and a clinical center from Catalonia, Spain participated in the sample composition. Half of the sample participated in an attention improvement program for nine sessions of 30-45 minutes each in Serious Games format. They were presented with a series of game challenges with various virtual scenarios through a monitor. The other half did the same attention improvement program in pencil and paper format. Results: The children in the Serious Games group progressed and improved more during treatment, as shown by the average number of errors of commission (p =.02) than those in the pencil and paper group. Both groups also improved in the total score and concentration scale of the D2 test (p < .001). Conclusions: Attentional training through programs in Serious Games format seems to have a more significant effect on commission errors than attentional training in pencil and paper format.

This study aims to investigate the perception of games in students who study in the elementary school period through the pictures they draw in the context of social powers. In this study, the phenomenology design, one of the qualitative research designs, was used. The study group of the research consisted of a total of 1,818 students, who studied in 23 elementary schools in the Marmara, Black Sea, Central Anatolia and Eastern Anatolia regions. Within this scope, after providing the students with the required materials, the question, ‘What do you think about when you hear “games”?’, was asked and they were asked to draw a picture with the theme, games. The data obtained in this framework were analysed through content analysis. According to the obtained findings, it is suggested that the playgrounds enjoyed by the children should be regulated to develop their social skills. Keywords: Elementary school, students, children’s drawings, social power, game, perception.

Engaged citizenship requires understanding why different ideologies lead to different policy positions. However, we know little about political perspective taking. How might we use games to teach citizens political perspective taking? This paper describes a design research project to develop a cognitive game for political perspective taking. Study 1 describes a political perspective taking measure created through expert and novice task analysis. Study 2 surveyed 187 undergraduate students and found relatively poor political perspective taking ability. Study 3 tests an educational game for political perspective taking and found that the game was engaging but did not promote learning. Study 4 describes a technical exploration testing the feasibility of a cognitive game with intelligent tutoring for scaffolding complex reasoning on political perspectives. This work argues games can teach political perspective taking using: (a) moral foundations theory, (b) fantasy environments that ask players to predict policy positions, and (c) embedded intelligent tutors.

Narrators in Tights. The Thematic Turn in Swedish Tabletop Role-Playing Games The concept of theme in tabletop role-playing games is examined from the joint perspectives of comparative literature and game studies, focusing mainly on the independent tabletop role-playing game Supercrew by Tobias Radesäter, published in 2006. The article starts with a theoretical separation of motif and theme, where the latter represents a question, problem or issue that generates narrative by use of elements from common motifs. Against the background of Swedish and international games published 1974–2006, it is argued that Supercrew represents a turning point in Swedish role-playing game history. Earlier mainstream role-playing games generate theme mainly through settings and scenarios, whereas later games to a larger extent also gene rate theme through the game rules. Supercrew is described as a unique example of a meta- and paragame in the superhero genre, presented entirely in the form of a comic book. It is shown how the game is influenced by American indie role-playing game design from The Forge, notably byrefe rencing the term ”narrativism”, by the introduction of conflict resolution, and by the distribution of traditional game master power. However, Supercrew does not adopt the crucial concepts of premise and theme, adapted by Ron Edwards from the theory of Lajos Egri. Instead, it regulates the relationship between real world, game world, and traditional (fantasy) game world so that it becomes the theme of the game. Referencing Gary Alan Fine’s use of frame analysis and awareness context, it is demonstrated how this is achieved by a subversion of pretense–open awareness, and by collapsing the primary, game and fantasy frames in Supercrew while keeping the traditional way of gaming as a metadiegetic reference. The article ends by remarking that a thematic turn only implies that theme is commonly generated in a different way after the turn than it commonly was before. This does not necessarily entail that role-playing game narratives are now stronger than they once were. It is suggested that further studies could benefit from analyzing editions of the same game from before and after the turn.

Free drawing on children provides a vast opportunity to explore in order to fulfill curiosity. By drawing the child freely express his ideas through fantasy. Safety and freedom are important conditions for the growth of creativity. The objective of the study was to prove the effect of free drawing on the improvement of creativity in 5th grader children in MI Mu'awanah Al-Hasyimiyah. This research design used one group pre-posttest design. The population of this research were all 5th graders in MI Mu'awanah Al-Hasyimiyah as many as 26 children. The sample of this research was all 5th graders in MI Mu'awanah Al-Hasyimiyah as many as 26 children taken with total sampling. Measurement tool used by the questionnaire to assess creativity. Research was on 15th – 27thJuly 2017. Statistic test used Wilcoxon Sign Rank Test. The results showed that all 26 (100%) of respondents had positive creativity and ρcount 0,014 = and a table = 0,05. It meant that there was a free drawing effect on the increase of creativity in 5th grader children in MI Mu'awanah Al-Hasyimiyah. When a child draws, the child will perform activities of crossing out, scratching, and color freely. Thus, able to create various ideas and will give satisfaction for children. New ideas as pieces of creative thinking for children. Keywords: child, creativity, free drawing

Free drawing on children provides a vast opportunity to explore in order to fulfill curiosity. By drawing the child freely express his ideas through fantasy. Safety and freedom are important conditions for the growth of creativity. The objective of the study was to prove the effect of free drawing on the improvement of creativity in 5th grader children in MI Mu'awanah Al-Hasyimiyah. This research design used one group pre-posttest design. The population of this research were all 5th graders in MI Mu'awanah Al-Hasyimiyah as many as 26 children. The sample of this research was all 5th graders in MI Mu'awanah Al-Hasyimiyah as many as 26 children taken with total sampling. Measurement tool used by the questionnaire to assess creativity. Research was on 15th – 27thJuly 2017. Statistic test used Wilcoxon Sign Rank Test. The results showed that all 26 (100%) of respondents had positive creativity and ρcount 0,014 = and a table = 0,05. It meant that there was a free drawing effect on the increase of creativity in 5th grader children in MI Mu'awanah Al-Hasyimiyah. When a child draws, the child will perform activities of crossing out, scratching, and color freely. Thus, able to create various ideas and will give satisfaction for children. New ideas as pieces of creative thinking for children. Keywords: child, creativity, free drawing

Due to the advent of the Internet, massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) have been enjoyed worldwide by many players simultaneously, and game publishers’ revenues have reached billions of dollars from subscriptions alone. Frequent updates (e.g., versioning) and new contents (e.g., quest system) are the typical strategies adopted by developers to keep MMORPG experiences fresh and attractive. What makes such strategies attractive and retains the interest of players in MMORPGs? This study focuses on one aspect of a popular MMORPG: the player’s experience of the quest systems of Final Fantasy XIV (FF14). The different quest systems were analyzed considering Bartle’s players’ classification, specifically for the explorers and achievers. From an information science perspective, such an analysis can be achieved via game refinement (GR) theory, which formulates the information of the game’s progression into a measurable model of game sophistication. On top of that, we used the concept of motion in mind, which was derived from concepts in physics. It maps game progression information to enable the possible quantification and approximation of players’ mental movements and affective experiences in the game. Based on the analysis of the collected data using the proposed measures of GR and motion in mind, the impact of regular updates on players in long-term games is discussed. Insights from the study provide guidance and suggestions for potential improvements in long-term game design.

The exergame concept allowed us to promote physical activity (PA) through games. It helps to normalise PA rather than segregate or exclusive PA to certain times or settings. Nonetheless, studies on exergames during online distance learning are currently scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to explore participants’ insights and feelings towards exergame concepts to promote physical activity (PA). Specifically, aspects such as participants’ understanding, knowledge, and motivation with the exergame were analysed through drawings to investigate how the exergame influences their engagement with PA and learning during online distance learning (ODL). This study adopted a qualitative research design. Drawings were utilised to explore participants’ perceptions, motivation to play, and exergame as a teaching tool. The participants comprised 45 first-year undergraduate physical and health education (PHE), biology, and chemistry major students aged between 20-25 years. The Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis approach was adopted to develop the procedures while Consider.ly software [Usertime Solutions GmbH] was used to analyse data from the videos and drawings. Findings indicate that (i) emoticons were used to represent the changes in feelings among the participants throughout the intervention; (ii) the use of objects, symbols, and characters to portray the sense of protection, togetherness, and curiosities; and (iii) the combination of split drawings were used to express differences between ideas and thoughts on exergame approach among participants. Overall, the findings demonstrated the exergame potential (e.g., higher learning ownership, student-centred) and challenges (e.g., accessibilities, game-built quality) which helped inform future teaching planning and practices to promote meaningful learning experiences during distance learning.

Regulatory approaches to games are organized by boundaries between game/not-game, game/gambling game, skilled/unskilled play, consumption/production. Perhaps more importantly, moral justifications for regulating gambling (and condemning digital games) are rooted in the idea that they consume our time and wages but give little in return. This article uses two case studies to show how these boundaries and justifications are now perforated and reconfigured by digital mediation. The case study of Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) illustrates a contemporary challenge to rigid dichotomies between game/not game, skilled/unskilled play, and game/gambling game, demonstrating how regulation becomes deterritorialized as gambling moves out of state-regulated physical casinos and takes the form of networked, digital games. Our second case study of Pokémon Go approaches regulation from a different direction, complicating the rigid dichotomy between production/consumption in online networked play. We show how play is increasingly realized as productive in economic, social, physical, subjective and analytic registers, while at the same time, it is driven by gambling design imperatives, such as extending time-on-device. Pokémon Go exemplifies analytic productivity, a term we use to refer to the production of data flows that can be leveraged for a wide variety of purposes, including to predict, shape, and channel the behaviour of player populations, thereby generating multiple streams of revenue. Ultimately, both cases illustrate how digital games and gambling increasingly blur into each other, complicating the regulatory landscape.

AbstractThe current paper analyses the video game Raji: An Ancient Epic (Nodding Head Games 2020) to determine the accuracy of its representation of historical Indian experiences, in the domains of architecture, aesthetics, spatiality, technology, and so on. The ludic elements of the game, including weapon or enemy design and their compatibility with reflecting an Indian ethos in video game mechanisms have also been discussed. The treatment of Indian mythology is extensively explored, with an eye to locating its space in Indian mythic tradition. Through an analysis of narrative storytelling in the game, aspects such as the foregrounding of a female protagonist and the apparent progressive feminist attitude of the game have been scrutinised. The sociocultural depiction of India and its implications and contexts relating to contemporary understanding of the space of the subcontinent has also been taken into consideration. A careful study of the game within the contemporary post‐colonial discourse constitutes a part of the article. We also undertake a comparative study with another Indian mythic video game, Unrest (Pyrodactyl 2014), to better understand the issues surrounding the treatment of mythic and historical elements. The article both contemplates the missed opportunities and future potentials, for example, in terms of more nuanced and accurate representation and the balance between ludic execution and representational possibilities, as experienced in the ludo‐narrative experience offered by the game.

In games, loss is as ubiquitous as it is trivial. One reason for this has been found in the established convention of on-screen character death as a signifier for failure (Klastrup 2006; Grant 2011; Johnson 2011). If that’s all that games have to offer in terms of addressing an existential trope of human experience, the worried protectionist concludes, shouldn’t we dismiss this intrinsically flat medium as inferior to more established media forms such as film or literature? (Ebert 2010). Contrary to this view, this paper discusses gameplay examples that shed light on how this medium might leverage its expressive resources to arrive at rich representations of loss. First, the notion of loss implied in Sigmund Freud’s work “Mourning and Melancholia” (1917) will be discussed in relation to losing in games. Looking at procedurality, fictional alignment and experiential metaphor as three expressive gameplay devices identified by Doris Rusch (2009) will help explain the expressive shortcoming of losing and lay out what is at stake with profound gameplay expression. Moreover, it will serve as the keywords structuring the following analysis of three videogames, Final Fantasy VII (1997), Ico (2001) and Passage (2007), and their design decisions fostering deep representations of loss. Keeping the Freudian notion of loss in mind, we can trace its repercussions on the three expressive dimensions respectively. Following a separate analysis of each gameplay example, the last section will discuss some commonalities and differences and arrive at the identification of desired object, permanent disruption and linearity as design aspects modeling loss in more compelling ways than losing.

IJRP 11: Full Issue Table of Contents Evan Torner, Sarah Lynne Bowman, and William J. White, “Editorial Introduction to Issue 11” Some context for the current issue, especially with regard to current critiques of themes of violence and oppression in games, as well as this year’s Call for Papers on Applied Role-playing Games and the excellent articles submitted in response. Sarah Albom, “The Killing Roll: The Prevalence of Violence in Dungeons & Dragons” A textual analysis evaluating the language used in the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Player’s Handbook. This article discusses the ways that the text incentivizes characters to take violent actions more often than offering peaceful solutions. Diana J. Leonard, Jovo Janjetovic, Maximilian Usman, “Playing to Experience Marginalization: Benefits and Drawbacks of ‘Dark Tourism’ in Larp” An examination of how playing characters with marginalizations the player does not share can lead to perspective taking and empathy, but can also cause harm if not done with care. Joe Lasley, “Fantasy In Real Life: Making Meaning from Vicarious Experiences with a Tabletop RPG Internet Stream” A qualitative study examining seven fans of the livestream show Critical Role, in which actors play Dungeons & Dragons. The fans described an increase in their well-being due to parasocial relationships with the fiction and players in the show. Kerttu Lehto, “Role-Playing Games and Well-Being” A secondary literature review discussing the main themes in role-playing game studies, as well as arts and well-being as fields of study. This author advocates for more dialogue between these fields as a fruitful line of inquiry, especially with regard to the design of games for personal development and well-being. Josephine Baird, “Role-playing the Self – Trans Self-Expression, Exploration, and Embodiment in Live Action Role-Playing Games” An autoethnography blending gender theory with personal experience exploring gender in role-playing games and other performance spaces. The author considers how best to design larps explicitly to help trans people embody their identities. Katrin Geneuss, “The Use of the Role-playing Technique STARS in Formal Didactic Contexts” A summary of Design-based Research on 16 educational live action role-playing games (edu-larps) created for German schools. This article offers several best practices for educators who seek to implement edu-larp in the classroom.

To realise the of promotion and sustainable development for the digital archives programme, the National Museum of Natural Science (NMNS) developed a game-based learning website for children with knowledgeable, storytelling, explorative learning, joyful and personalised characteristics. This website applied design principles including interdisciplinary island maps for exploration, theme-based design with learning content and games, multi-user interactive learning environments, good use of digital archives knowledge repositories, supporting school teaching and learning and personalised membership service. Some game factors were also infused into the website including curiosity, fantasy, self value, challenge, sense of control, exploring experience, sense of achievement, competitiveness, interpersonal interaction and virtual socialisation. An evaluation result indicates that the game-based learning website can inspire learning motivation and enhance learning effectiveness for children. In the near future a virtual-and-physical blended learning service model will be delivered to children by creating personalised and collaborative learning services across onsite and online spaces.

IJRP 12: Full Issue Table of Contents William J. White, Evan Torner, and Sarah Lynne Bowman,“Editorial: The Social Epistemology of Analog Role-Playing Game Studies” Reflections on the interdisciplinary and heterogeneous nature of role-playing games studies, as evident in the five uniquely distinct articles in Issue 12. Tadeu Rodrigues Iuama and Luiz Falcão, “Analog Role-Playing Game Studies: A Brazilian Overview” An overview of the history of role-playing games and their respective game communities in Brazil, as well as the development of role-playing game study scholarship, including research on RPGs in education. Marissa Baker, “An Analysis of the Literature Surrounding the Intersection of Role-Playing Games, Race, and Identity” A review and examination of a body of multidisciplinary scholarship on representation and race in fantasy RPGs such as Dungeons & Dragons and World of Warcraft. Pascal Martinolli, “A Scholarly Character Sheet to Frame Learning Activities and Improve Engagement” An evaluation of the use of role-playing game inspired character sheets in a graduate seminar on library instruction to assess the participants’ knowledge, present the curriculum, and measure the their progress. Hanne Grasmo and Jaakko Stenros, “Nordic Erotic Larp: Designing for Sexual Playfulness” Mapping, organizing, and understanding the phenomena of erotic larp design through a systemic examination of 25 design abstracts of Nordic art larps from the last decade. Christian Mehrstam, “Recomposing Lovecraft: Genre Emulation asAutopoiesis in the First Edition of Call of Cthulhu” An examination of how genre is emulated in the first edition of Call of Cthulhu (1981), analyzing the game’s potential to answer social needs during the Reagan era.

Digital games development process is often done using traditional methods. Many digital game developers believe that the game development process cannot be equated and use other software development methods because game development is not only focused on technical processes such as programming and coding but also creative processes such as asset and display design. In this study, the process of developing a fantasy adventure puzzle game was carried out using the Game-Scrum approach, a method modified from the Agile Scrum method. As well as the software development process using the agile method, game development using this method is carried out with an iterative process where each process allows an update of the feedback given to each sprint backlog. At the end of the study it was concluded that although there were still some things that had to be adjusted, basically the Game Scrum method could be adapted for the development of a digital game.

O presente artigo descreve o "Projeto Criança Marista", ação interdisciplinar que se utiliza das atividades lúdicoeducativas, do movimento, jogos e exercícios, em psicomotricidade relacionai (Educação Física), da expressão gráfica, desenhos, pinturas e modelagens em Educação Artística, visando a aprendizagem e desenvolvimento infantil. Ao mesmo tempo que descreve a ação de caráter educativo-preventiva, com as crianças do projeto, aborda e reflete o espaço das disciplinas de Educação Física e de Educação Artística no contexto escolar atual, a partir do problema da disciplina formal de Vygotsky. Estuda, analisa, reflete e propõe, com base em ações concretas, temas como relação professor-criança, sentido e significado das aprendizagens e ações integradas em atividades educativas. Esses componentes visam o exercício nas práticas educativas dos professores para a importância da compreensão e leitura sobre a fantasia infantil, reconhecendo o componente simbólico, imaginário presente nas ações criadoras da criança, como ponto de partida para a construção do conhecimento e estruturação do seu papel social. The article describes "The Marista Child Project". The purpose of the project is to provide the children's knowledge and development through ludical-educational activities in Phisical Education and Arts. Here are some activities: movement, games, exercises envolving the psychomotive power, graphical expression, pictures, drawings and paintings. The activities which have been doing suggest the importance the Phisical Education and Arts in the school today, considering Vygotskys problems in formal discipline. The project makesreflections, studies, analyses and thinks about the relationship between child-teacher, the meaning of learning, the interdisciplinary in the educative action to improve the better understanding between children's fantasy and reality. It also recognizes the simbolic components and imagination which are in everything the children do. These children's actions propose the knowledge.

This article reviews a design revolution that is taking place in entertainment, and technology is playing a major role. Just as computer graphics have enhanced movies and video games, live entertainment, too, is showcasing spectacles requiring evermore sophisticated technical effects. Nowhere has this trend been more evident than in Las Vegas, the live-entertainment capital of the world. In its work, Sceneing Solutions involved engineering collaboration with theater people to perform a number of analyses. Included were finite element calculations of the structural function, and input on the manufacturability of the various scenery elements. All of the aspects were developed with the assistance of CAD drawings. The last two decades have seen a rapid increase in the technical sophistication of live entertainment. Nowhere is there more spectacle than in Las Vegas, as each new hotel casino tries to offer more excitement to draw customers. To service this growing demand, there is a new technical business for theatrical engineers, who can both design and realize the high technology of stagecraft.

Abstract. The study aims at enhancing and requalifying the area of Fontivegge in Perugia. It seeks to instil in the population a sense of identity and belonging to the place through the digital reconstruction of the first design hypothesis of the station itself, transmitting the cultural heritage of the place with new participatory methods, such as serious games and virtual reality. Starting from the project drawings preserved at the academy of San Luca in Rome, conceived by the architect Antonio Cipolla, the project is reconstructed philologically following historical and archival studies, by interpreting the data collected. Following the reconstruction of the 3D model, evocative mook up images and a virtual reality are created, making the intangible tangible and explorable. Through the virtual simulation of the place and its visualisation, new forms of participation are sought, mending the relationship between territory and population, laying the foundations for a different reading of the area and a cultural heritage accessible and open to all.

Изложена методическая концепция, рассмотрен порядок организации и проведения, оценены педагогические возможности и текущие результаты Всероссийского литературно-игрового конкурса «На асфальте города…», основанного на одноименном рассказе томского фантаста Виктора Колупаева и проходящего при учредительстве Томской областной универсальной научной библиотеки им. А. С. Пушкина с 2015 г. по настоящее время. В ходе анализа материалов семи сезонов игры (названий, рисунков и описаний «городов для инопланетян», перечней игровых ролей, особенностей презентации проектов) прослеживается этическая, социально ориентированная и творческая составляющая деятельности конкурсантов, выявляются принципы взаимодействия источников игрового конструирования (текст опорного рассказа, «фантастический стандарт», разнообразные фоновые знания, включая и специфические, связанные с этноконфессиональными традициями и краеведческой информацией), характеризуются меры оптимизации педагогических эффектов игры. Исследование показало, что эмоциональное принятие этического посыла опорного рассказа, которое определяет общую направленность игровой деятельности, в большинстве случае является безусловным, в то время как социальные установки и творческое самовыражение игроков могут требовать педагогического регулирования. The article outlines the methodical concept, views the procedure of organization and holding and evaluates pedagogical capabilities and current results of the All-Russian literary game contest “Cities on the Asphalt...”, which is based on the short story of the same name by Tomsk fantasy and science fiction writer Viktor Kolupaev and has been held under the foundation of the Tomsk Regional Universal Scientific Library named after A. S. Pushkin since 2015 to the present. The author analyzes the game content produced in seven seasons (names, drawings and descriptions of “cities for alien”, lists of game roles, features of project presentation), traces the ethical, socially-oriented and creative component of the contestants’ activities, identifies the principles of interaction between sources of game design (the text of the reference short story, “fantasy and science fiction standard”, a variety of background knowledge, including specific ones related to ethno-confessional traditions and local history information), characterizes the measures to optimize the pedagogical effects of the game. The study showed that the emotional acceptance of the ethical message of the reference short story, which determines the general orientation of the game activity, is in most cases unconditional, while the social attitudes and creative self-expression of the players may require pedagogical regulation.

We scrutinize how the everyday lives of well-educated and healthy Danish retirees are structured and experienced and study how they organise their days and weeks. Our aim is to investigate how retirees manage and organise time and the ways these relate to societal rhythms in order to contribute to theories of retirement and social gerontology. We have combined qualitative (individual interviews, focus group interviews, design games, and drawings) and quantitative (activity monitoring, sleep quality, and health markers) data from 13 participants over the age of 65 years, who are research participants in a randomised controlled trial (RCT). Our interdisciplinary dataset allows us to analyse and compare subjective experiences of everyday activities with objective measures of daily activities. The older adults lead busy lives with many diverse activities and use these to structure their everyday lives in ways resembling the rhythms of the labour market with organised and busy mornings and loose afternoons and evenings. We discuss how our findings relate to continuity theory and suggest that Lefebvre’s rhythmanalysis allows us to study the retirement rhythms of older adults as part of both biological, social, and societal rhythms. This has practical as well as conceptual implications.

Purpose – Achievement is considered to be an important value for students. The purpose of this paper is to explore what achievement values were derived from playing massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), especially for high-engaged MMORPGs players. Design/methodology/approach – The research employed two approaches to collect data: focus group and a web survey of online game players were conducted. Moreover, an addiction-engagement scale was used to ensure all participants were genuinely highly engaged MMORPGs players in data collection process. There are 12 highly engaged players were recruited as focus group members in Phase 1. The online survey yielded 315 responses, of which 267 were considered valid, and 177 of those were considered to be genuine highly engaged players in Phase 2. In the study, exploratory factor analysis was performed to reveal underlying structure of achievement values. Findings – The result focussing on popular MMORPGs reveal that highly engaged players derived six achievement values from playing MMORPGs, including fantasy satisfaction, adventure, victory, socialization ability, self-actualization, and advancement of wealth and status. Originality/value – In view of the prevalence of MMORPGs, it is imperative to draw attention to understand students’ achievement values derived from playing MMORPGs. By doing that, educators know how to bridge students’ achievement values to their academic performance.

This study has the aim of providing a theoretical–methodological strategy for the design and implementation of educational programs that favor the development of children’s creative potential in the context of museums as cultural institutions. It was carried out in two schools with the collaboration of the National Museum of Natural Sciences and the Royal Botanical Garden in Madrid, Spain, during an entire academic year. The emphasis of the procedure is based on multi-stakeholder participation and a multidisciplinary approach through workshops based on a collaborative methodology that promotes communication between the school as an institution, the teachers, and the museum facilitators, during the various phases of the intervention. The work with the children is supported by the creative problem-solving (CPS) methodology through the development of workshops in the museums, where the children were able to be the protagonists and manage their own learning process. The obtained results show the relevance of assuming a set of methodological principles and resources that can be replicated in future intervention programs, among which the school–museum collaborative communication, creative problem solving, the use of activity records, and the role of games and fantasy as mediators in the stimulation of creativity stand out.

Role playing game is defined as one of the popular genres of video games being released for computer and video game console system. In some of role playing game, the students can give the main character is name of story. Especially in teaching narrative using RPG, narrative is basically story within this story telling, there are many kinds of narrative comedy, mystery, romance, etc. The topic of RPG related with education has become interesting topic recently. In SMPN2 Purwoasri, the teacher has been done the implementation of teaching writing using RPG since a year ago. The game was conducted to make students more interesting in in teaching writing. In this research, the design used is descriptive qualitative design. The subject of the research is students VIII-F class which consists of 30 students. Concerning the preparation that the teachers have in teaching writing English at SMPN 2 Purwoasri. The teacher should have the syllabus or lesson plan before they teach writing English at SMPN 2 Purwoasri. Concerning about the material that the teachers used syllabus and lesson plan based on the curriculum 2013. The method used was think pair solo. While the media used as brainstorming the idea in writing is RPG Final fantasy. The teachers automatically evaluated the students’ writing English in every meeting the teacher gives evaluation using four aspect those are: grammatical, generic structure, words and spelling and content Key words: narrative text, teaching process, RPG (Role playing game)

Background: Jones fractures result in subsequent dysfunction and remain an issue for athletes. Purpose: To (1) describe the epidemiology, treatment, and impact of Jones fractures identified at the National Football League (NFL) Scouting Combine on players’ early careers and (2) establish the value of computed tomography (CT) to determine bony healing after a fracture in prospective players. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: All players who attended the combine between 2009 and 2015 were retrospectively reviewed to identify their history of Jones fractures. The playing position, treatment method, and number of missed collegiate games were recorded. The mean overall draft pick number, number of games started and played, snap percentage, and position-specific performance scores (fantasy score) over the first 2 years in the NFL were compared between players with fractures and controls. An imaging classification system was applied based on grading of each quadrant of the fifth metatarsal (plantar, dorsal, medial, lateral), with a score of 0 for not healed or 1 for healed. Results: Overall, the number of Jones fractures identified was 72 in 2285 athletes (3.2%), with all treated via intramedullary screw fixation. The mean overall draft pick number for players with fractures was 111.2 ± 67.9 compared with 99.0 ± 65.9 for controls ( P = .12). Performance scores for players with fractures were lower than those for controls across all positions, with a significant difference in running backs (2.6 vs 4.0, respectively; P < .001) and defensive linemen (1.4 vs 2.3, respectively; P = .02). The mean CT score was 2.5 ± 1.3. Of the 32 athletes who underwent imaging, 16 Jones fractures (50.0%) were healed or nearly healed, 12 (37.5%) were partially healed, and 4 (12.5%) showed little or no healing. The plantar cortex demonstrated the least healing (18/32; 56.3%), followed by the lateral cortex (15/32; 46.9%). Players with a mean score <1 were found to have fewer games started (2.7 ± 2.5) than those with 1 to 3 cortices healed (17.4 ± 10.4) or all cortices healed (8.7 ± 11.2). Conclusion: Based on CT, 50% of all players with a previous Jones fracture demonstrated incomplete healing. Moreover, position-specific performance scores over the first 2 years of a player’s career were lower across all positions for those with fractures compared with controls. Players with CT scores <1 were found to start fewer games and were drafted later than controls.

UNICEF in 2015, there was a high data on the incidence of growth and development disorders in children, especially motor development disorders, there were (27.5%) or 3 million children who experienced disorders. National data according to the Indonesian Ministry of Health that in 2014, 13% to 18% of children in Indonesia experienced growth and development disorders. Finger Painting can develop children's expression through the medium of painting with hand movements, develop fantasy, imagination, and children's creations, train the muscles of the hands and fingers, coordination of muscles and eyes, train creativity in combining colors. Finger Painting is an activity of making drawings that is done by scratching the color dough (paint) directly with the fingers of the hand freely on paper or medial drawings. This study aims to determine the Effect of Finger Painting for Improving Fine Motor Skills in Early Childhood at Tk Al-Kahfi Palembang. With the subject of 10 children aged 5 years. This study used one group pretest and posttest design. This study used a non-parametric statistical test, namely the Wilcoxon test. From the results of the study, differences were obtained between pretest scores and posttest scores. There are also behavioral changes in children in fine motor skills such as grasping objects, writing, and folding paper. Therefore, from the results of the study, it can be concluded that there is an influence in the use of the Finger-Painting technique on improving fine motor skills in children in Al-Kahfi Kindergarten Palembang.UNICEF pada tahun 2015, terdapat data yang cukup tinggi pada angka terjadinya gangguan pertumbuhan dan perkembangan pada anak khususnya gangguan perkembangan motorik terdapat (27,5%) atau 3 juta anak yang mengalami gangguan. Data nasional menurut Kementerian Kesehatan Indonesia bahwa pada tahun 2014, 13% hingga 18% anak di Indonesia mengalami kelainan pertumbuhan dan perkembangan. Finger Painting dapat mengembangkan ekspresi anak melalui media lukis dengan gerakan tangan, mengembangkan fantasi, imajinasi dan kreasi anak, melatih otot-otot tangan dan jari, koordinasi otot dan mata, melatih kreativitas mengombinasikan warna. Finger Painting adalah kegiatan membuat gambar yang dilakukan dengan cara menggoreskan adonan warna (cat) secara langsung dengan jari tangan secara bebas pada kertas atau medial gambar. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui Pengaruh Finger Painting Untuk Peningkatan Kemampuan Motorik Halus Pada Anak Usia Dini Di TK Al-Kahfi Palembang. Dengan subjek 10 orang anak berusia 5 tahun. Penelitian ini menggunakan one group pretest and posttest design. penelitian ini menggunakan uji statistik non parametrik yaitu uji Wilcoxon. Dari hasil penelitian didapatkan perbedaan antara skor pretest dan skor posttest. Juga terdapat perubahan perilaku pada anak dalam kemampuan motorik halus seperti menggenggam benda, menulis dan melipat kertas. Maka dari hasil penelitian dapat disimpulkan bahwa terdapat pengaruh dalam penggunaan teknik Finger Painting terhadap peningkatan kemampuan motorik halus pada anak di TK Al-Kahfi Palembang.

Background Every year, millions of children undergo medical procedures that require anesthesia. Fear and anxiety are common among young children undergoing such procedures and can interfere with the child’s recovery and well-being. Relaxation, distraction, and education are methods that can be used to prepare children and help them cope with fear and anxiety, and serious games may be a suitable medium for these purposes. User-centered design emphasizes the involvement of end users during the development and testing of products, but involving young, preschool children may be challenging. Objective One objective of this study was to describe the development and usability of a computer-based educational health game intended for preschool children to prepare them for upcoming anesthesia. A further objective was to describe the lessons learned from using a child-centered approach with the young target group. Methods A formative mixed methods child (user)-centered study design was used to develop and test the usability of the game. Preschool children (4-6 years old) informed the game design through playful workshops (n=26), and usability testing was conducted through game-playing and interviews (n=16). Data were collected in Iceland and Finland with video-recorded direct observation and interviews, as well as children’s drawings, and analyzed with content analysis and descriptive statistics. Results The children shared their knowledge and ideas about hospitals, different emotions, and their preferences concerning game elements. Testing revealed the high usability of the game and provided important information that was used to modify the game before publishing and that will be used in its further development. Conclusions Preschool children can inform game design through playful workshops about health-related subjects that they are not necessarily familiar with but that are relevant for them. The game’s usability was improved with the participation of the target group, and the game is now ready for clinical testing.

Introduction: One way to minimize the impact of hospitalization is storytelling with dolls or puppet shows , which is a type of game using puppet media through fantasy games for preschoolers (3-6 years old). The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of play therapy "puppet show" on the impact of hospitalization on preschool children (3-6 years) in the Orchid room of Ibnu Sina Hospital, Gresik Regency. Methods: This study uses a quasi experiment with one group pre test and post test design. The population of this research is parents who have preschool age children (3-6 years) who are hospitalized in the Orchid Room of Ibnu Sina Hospital, Gresik Regency. While the sampling using consecutive sampling technique obtained 22 parents. The independent variable studied was play therapy "puppet show". The dependent variable in this study was the impact of hospitalization on preschool children aged (3-6 years) who experienced hospitalization. Data collection is done by using a questionnaire then analyzed through the T-test statistical test. Results: The results of this study indicate that there is a significant difference between positive and negative impacts on pre-school age children during nursing actions before and after play therapy "puppet show" (p value = 0.005 smaller than = 0.05). Conclusions: Based on the results of the research obtained, the need for play should still be given to children undergoing hospital treatment to continue the child's growth and development, reduce stress and tension.

Background: HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is highly effective and could reduce the persistent high HIV incidence among young South African women. Demand creation is needed to increase PrEP uptake of this novel prevention technology. Theoretically-grounded formative research (FR) could identify factors to include in a demand creation campaign to motivate young South African women to seek PrEP. Methods: Thirty-four household visits with young women (aged 16–32) were conducted in a township near Cape Town using Behavior Centered Design (BCD), investigating behavior contexts, the social and family environments and psychological processes, using qualitative and interactive tools, such as forced choice dilemmas, ranking games, daily script elicitation and network- and community drawings. Results: The FR generated findings concerning a wide variety of topic areas and identified a range of opportunities as well as challenges for the successful implementation of PrEP promotion in this population. Potential challenges were young women underestimating the consequences of acquiring HIV; taking medicine to prevent a disease (which was an unfamiliar concept) and young women having few responsibilities, making health care seeking and daily pill-taking with PrEP challenging. Potential opportunities that could be leveraged for PrEP demand creation were young women’s desire for trust and emotional closeness in relationships and the limited existing roles for young women, which could provide room for creating new aspirational roles that would motivate young women to take PrEP. Conclusion: A theory-based and context-specific approach to FR led to a broad understanding of the lives and influences on young South African women and generated a comprehensive set of opportunities for intervention.

Introduction: Game Culture and GenderAs texts with the potential to help mediate specific forms of identity, video games are rich and complex sites for analysis. A tendency, however, still exists in scholarship to treat video games as just another kind of text, and work that explores the expression of masculine identity persists in drawing from cinematic analysis without proper consideration of game design and how these games are played (Triana). For example, insights from studies into horror cinema may illuminate the relationship between players and game systems in survival horror video games (Habel & Kooyman), but further study is needed to explore how people interact with the game.This article aims to build towards a scholarly definition of the term “Power Fantasy”, a concept that seems well established in wider discourse but is not yet well theorised in the scholarly literature. It does so through a case of the most recent reboot of Doom (2016), a game that in its original incarnation established an enduring tradition for high-action Power Fantasy. In the first-person shooter game Doom, the player fills the role of the “Doom Guy”, a faceless hero who shuttles between Earth and Hell with the sole aim of eviscerating demonic hordes as graphically as possible.How, then, do we begin to theorise the kind of automediation that an iconic game text like Doom facilitates? Substantial work has been done to explore player identification in online games (see Taylor; Yee). Shaw (“Rethinking”) suggests that single-player games are unexplored territory compared to the more social spaces of Massively Multiplayer Online games and other multiplayer experiences, but it is important to distinguish between direct identification with the avatar per se and the ways in which the game text mediates broader gender constructions.Abstract theorisation is not enough, though. To effectively understand this kind of automediation we also need a methodology to gain insights into its processes. The final part of this article, therefore, proposes the analysis of “Let’s Play” videos as a kind of gender identity performance which gives insight into the automediation of dominant masculine gender identities through Power Fantasy video games like Doom. This reflexive performance works to denaturalise gender construction rather than reinforce stable hegemonic identities.Power Fantasy and Gender IdentityPower Fantasy has become an established trope in online critiques and discussions of popular culture. It can be simply defined as “character imagines himself taking revenge on his bullies” (TVTropes). This trope takes on special resonance in video games, where the players themselves live out the violent revenge fantasy in the world of the game.The “power fantasy” of games implies escapism and meaninglessness, evoking outsize explosions and equally outsized displays of dominance. A “power gamer” is one who plays with a single-minded determination to win, at the expense of nuance, social relationships between players, or even their own pleasure in play. (Baker)Many examples apply this concept of Power Fantasy in video games: from God of War to Metroid: Prime and Grand Theft Auto, this prevalent trope of game design uses a kind of “agency mechanics” (Habel & Kooyman) to convince the player that they are becoming increasingly skilful in the game, when in reality the game is simply decreasing in difficulty (PBS Digital Studios). The operation of the Power Fantasy trope is also gendered; in a related trope known as “I Just Want To Be a Badass”, “males are somewhat more prone to harbour [the] wish” to feel powerful (TVTropes). More broadly, even though the game world is obviously not real, playing it requires “an investment in and commitment to a type of masculine performance that is based on the Real (particularly if one is interested in ‘winning’, pummelling your opponent, kicking ass, etc.)” (Burrill 2).Indeed, there is a perceived correlation (if not causation) between the widespread presence of Power Fantasy video games and how “game culture as it stands is shot through with sexism, racism, homophobia, and other biases” (Baker). Golding and van Deventer undertake an extended exploration of this disconcerting side of game culture, concluding that games have “become a venue for some of the more unsophisticated forms of patriarchy” (213) evidenced in the highly-publicised GamerGate movement. This saw an alignment between the label of “gamer” and extreme misogyny, abuse and harassment of women and other minorities in the industry.We have, then, a tentative connection between dominant gameplay forms based on high skill that may be loosely characterised as “Power Fantasy” and some of the most virulent toxic gender expressions seen in recent times. More research is needed to gain a clearer understanding of precisely what Power Fantasy is. Baker’s primary argument is that “power” in games can also be characterised as “power to” or “power with”, as well as the more traditional “power over”. Kurt Squire uses the phrase “Power Fantasy” as a castaway framing for a player who seeks an alternative reward to the usual game progression in Sid Meier’s Civilisation. More broadly, much scholarly work concerning gameplay design and gender identity has been focussed on the hot-button question of videogame violence and its connection to real-world violence, a question that this article avoids since it is well covered elsewhere. Here, a better understanding of the mediation of gender identity through Power Fantasy in Doom can help to illuminate how games function as automedia.Auto-Mediating Gender through Performance in Doom (2016) As a franchise, Doom commands near-incomparable respect as a seminal text of the first-person shooter genre. First released in 1993, it set the benchmark for 3D rendered graphics, energetic sound design, and high-paced action gameplay that was visceral and deeply immersive. It is impossible to mention more recent reboots without recourse to its first seminal instalment and related game texts: Kim Justice suggests a personal identification with it in a 29-minute video analysis entitled “A Personal History of Demon Slaughter”. Doom is a cherished game for many players, possibly because it evokes memories of “boyhood” gaming and all its attendant gender identity formation (Burrill).This identification also arises in livestreams and playthroughs of the game. YouTuber and game reviewer Markiplier describes nostalgically and at lengths his formative experiences playing it (and recounts a telling connection with his father who, he explains, introduced him to gaming), saying “Doom is very important to me […] this was the first game that I sat down and played over and over and over again.” In contrast, Wanderbots confesses that he has never really played Doom, but acknowledges its prominent position in the gaming community by designating himself outside the identifying category of “Doom fan”. He states that he has started playing due to “gushing” recommendations from other gamers. The nostalgic personal connection is important, even in absentia.For the most part, the critical and community response to the 2016 version of Doom was approving: Gilroy admits that it “hit all the right power chords”, raising the signature trope in reference to both gameplay and music (a power chord is a particular technique of playing heavy metal guitar often used in heavy metal music). Doom’s Metacritic score is currently a respectable 85, and, the reception is remarkably consistent between critics and players, especially for such a potentially divisive game (Metacritic). Commentators tend to cite its focus on its high action, mobility, immersion, sound design, and general faithfulness to the spirit of the original Doom as reasons for assessments such as “favourite game ever” (Habel). Game critic Yahtzee’s uncharacteristically approving video review in the iconic Zero Punctuation series is very telling in its assessment of the game’s light narrative framing:Doom seems to have a firm understanding of its audience because, while there is a plot going on, the player-character couldn’t give a half an ounce of deep fried shit; if you want to know the plot then pause the game and read all the fluff text in the character and location database, sipping daintily from your pink teacup full of pussy juice, while the game waits patiently for you to strap your bollocks back on and get back in the fray. (Yahtzee)This is a strident expression of the gendered expectations and response to Doom’s narratological refusal, which is here cast as approvingly masculine and opposed to a “feminine” desire for plot or narrative. It also feeds into a discourse which sees the game as one which demands skill, commitment, and an achievement orientation cast within an exclusivist ideology of “toxic meritocracy” (Paul).In addition to examining reception, approaches to understanding how Doom functions as a “Power Fantasy” or “badass” trope could take a variety of forms. It is tempting to undertake a detailed analysis of its design and gameplay, especially since these feed directly into considerations of player interaction. This could direct a critical focus towards gameplay design elements such as traversal and mobility, difficulty settings, “glory kills”, and cinematic techniques in the same vein as Habel and Kooyman’s analysis of survival horror video games in relation to horror cinema. However, Golding and van Deventer warn against a simplistic analysis of decontextualized gameplay (29-30), and there is a much more intriguing possibility hinted at by Harper’s notion of “Play Practice”.It is useful to analyse a theoretical engagement with a video game as a thought-experiment. But with the rise of gaming as spectacle, and particularly gaming as performance through “Let’s Play” livestreams (or video on demand) on platforms such as TwitchTV and YouTube, it becomes possible to analyse embodied performances of the gameplay of such video games. This kind of analysis allows the opportunity for a more nuanced understanding of how such games mediate gender identities. For Judith Butler, gender is not only performed, it is also performative:Because there is neither an “essence” that gender expresses or externalizes nor an objective ideal to which gender aspires, and because gender is not a fact, the various acts of gender create the idea of gender, and without those acts, there would be no gender at all. (214)Let’s Play videos—that show a player playing a game in real time with their commentary overlaying the on screen action—allow us to see the performative aspects of gameplay. Let’s Plays are a highly popular and developing form: they are not simple artefacts by any means, and can be understood as expressive works in their own right (Lee). They are complex and multifaceted, and while they do not necessarily provide direct insights into the player’s perception of their own identification, with sufficient analysis and unpacking they help us to explore both the construction and denaturalisation of gender identity. In this case, we follow Josef Nguyen’s analysis of Let’s Plays as essential for expression of player identity through performance, but instead focus on how some identity construction may narrow rather than expand the diversity range. T.L. Taylor also has a monograph forthcoming in 2018 titled Watch Me Play: Twitch and the Rise of Game Live Streaming, suggesting the time is ripe for such analysis.These performances are clear in ways we have already discussed: for example, both SplatterCat and Markiplier devote significant time to describing their formative experiences playing Doom as a background to their gameplay performance, while Wanderbots is more distanced. There is no doubt that these videos are popular: Markiplier, for example, has attracted nearly 5 million views of his Doom playthrough. If we see gameplay as automediation, though, these videos become useful artefacts for analysis of gendered performance through gameplay.When SplatterCat discovers the suit of armor for the game’s protagonist, Doom Guy, he half-jokingly remarks “let us be all of the Doom Guy that we can possibly be” (3:20). This is an aspirational mantra, a desire for enacting the game’s Power Fantasy. Markiplier speaks at length about his nostalgia for the game, specifically about how his father introduced him to Doom when he was a child, and he expresses hopes that he will again experience “Doom’s original super-fast pace and just pure unadulterated action; Doom Guy is a badass” (4:59). As the action picks up early into the game, Markiplier expresses the exhilaration and adrenaline that accompany performances of this fastpaced, highly mobile kind of gameplay, implying that he is becoming immersed in the character and, by performing Doom Guy, inhabiting the “badass” role and thus enacting a performance of Power Fantasy:Doom guy—and I hope I’m playing Doom guy himself—is just the embodiment of kickass. He destroys everything and he doesn’t give a fuck about what he breaks in the process. (8:45)This performance of gender through the skilled control of Doom Guy is, initially, unambiguously mediated as Power Fantasy: in control, highly skilled, suffused with Paul’s ‘toxic meritocracy. A similar sentiment is expressed in Wanderbots’ playthrough when the player-character dispenses with narrative/conversation by smashing a computer terminal: “Oh I like this guy already! Alright. Doom Guy does not give a shit. It’s like Wolf Blascowicz [sic], but like, plus plus” (Wanderbots). This is a reference to another iconic first-person shooter franchise, Wolfenstein, which also originated in the 1980s and has experienced a recent successful reboot, and which operates in a similar Power Fantasy mode. This close alignment between these two streamers’ performances suggests significant coherence in both genre and gameplay design and the ways in which players engage with the game as a gendered performative space.Nonetheless, there is no simple one-to-one relationship here—there is not enough evidence to argue that this kind of gameplay experience leads directly to the kind of untrammelled misogyny we see in game culture more broadly. While Gabbiadini et al. found evidence in an experimental study that a masculinist ideology combined with violent video game mechanics could lead to a lack of empathy for women and girls who are victims of violence, Ferguson and Donnellan dispute this finding based on poor methodology, arguing that there is no evidence for a causal relationship between gender, game type and lack of empathy for women and girls. This inconclusiveness in the research is mirrored by an ambiguity in the gendered performance of males playing through Doom, where the Power Fantasy is profoundly undercut in multiple ways.Wanderbots’ Doom playthrough is literally titled ‘I have no idea what I’m Dooming’ and he struggles with particular mechanics and relatively simple progression tools early in the game: this reads against masculinist stereotypes of superior and naturalised gameplay skill. Markiplier’s performance of the “badass” Doom Guy is undercut at various stages: in encountering the iconic challenge of the game, he mentions that “I am halfway decent… not that good at video games” (9:58), and on the verge of the protagonist’s death he admits “If I die this early into my first video I’m going to be very disappointed, so I’m going to have to kick it up a notch” (15:30). This suggests that rather than being an unproblematic and simple expression of male power in a fantasy video game world, the gameplay performances of Power Fantasy games are ambiguous and contested, and not always successfully performed via the avatar. They therefore demonstrate a “kind of gender performance [which] will enact and reveal the performativity of gender itself in a way that destabilizes the naturalized categories of identity and desire” (Butler 211). This cuts across the empowered performance of videogame mastery and physical dominance over the game world, and suggests that the automediation of gender identity through playing video games is a complex phenomenon urgently in need of further theorisation.ConclusionUltimately, this kind of analysis of the mediation of hegemonic gender identities is urgent for a cultural product as ubiquitous as video games. The hyper-empowered “badass” digital avatars of Power Fantasy video games can be expected to have some shaping effect on the identities of those who play them, evidenced by the gendered gameplay performance of Doom briefly explored here. This is by no means a simple or unproblematic process, though. 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In this essay I discuss how realism operates to constrain games, especially role-playing games, that take place in a fantasy milieu. The design of these games involves tradeoffs between two values, which are sometimes labeled “realism” and “playability”. These values are ordinarily understood to be wholly independent and competing. Using resources drawn from John Rawls's conception of political theory as a search for a “realistic utopia”, I show how these values can instead be understood as aspects of the more general value of creating and conceiving a realistic fantasy through the medium of game play. I also explain how realism operates differently as a constraint on tabletop role-playing games from how it operates in realistic video games and live-action role-playing.

Background. Building on previous studies on racism and whiteness in video games, this article investigates how deck building games provide platforms for identity tourism, the symbolic appropriation of marginalised experiences, through their coupling of mechanics and racial stereotypes. Aims. The aim is to contribute to our understanding how dominant ideologies are expressed through simulation and gaming in a deck building context and how games similar to ASCENSION: DAWN OF CHAMPIONS (henceforth A: DOC) perpetuate racism and coloniality through gameplay design. This is part of an ongoing game studies effort to critique white supremacist and imperial structures in games. Method. In this article, I conduct a first-person close reading of A: DOC as an emblematic case study for contemporary deck building design. Using critical whiteness theory, I pay special attention to the gameplay design of the four Champion characters Nairi, Kor, Sadranis, and Dhartha in order to demonstrate the interplay of ludic, racial, and social performative elements in the construction of playful identities. Analysis. The deck building principles of A: DOC provides a racial pedagogical arena which creates affective links between gameplay and white supremacist values. In coupling digital deck building mechanics with stereotypical fantasy characters, the game invites players to take the roles of fantasy tourists and thereby become implicit in white supremacist play. Even though the characters Nairi, Kor, Sadranis and Dhartha are leaders of different genders and races, their “diversity” is established via popular racial cybertypes like the white female diversity advocate, the technologically advanced white male emperor, the aggressive Black male, and the Asian male exotic Oriental.

Ruins are increasingly sites of interest in popular culture and scholarly settings, with recent academic thought surrounding ruination frequently crossing disciplinary lines. This includes work by human geographers reflecting on their experiences of walking through ruinous landscapes. By turning attention to the work of Tim Edensor and Jonathan Brettell, this article considers their ideas in the context of contemporary video games, using textual analysis to unpack the fantastical futures of Guerrilla Games’ Horizon Zero Dawn (2017) and its recent sequel Horizon Forbidden West (2022). Horizon Zero Dawn has been described as a ‘techno-fantasy’ (Maher n.p.), blending elements from classic fantasy novels and post-apocalypse film (Hudgins n.p.). These open-world role playing games are set in a post-apocalyptic United States, amidst landscapes strewn with debris left behind by the Old Ones. The player takes control of an outcast named Aloy, who sets out to solve the mysteries of the Old Ones and their technology, all while directing her on quests through a world overrun by strange animal-like machines. In considering the ruins of the Horizon games, this article develops the ideas of others: “that ruins might be one avenue through which to detect critical potential in games” (Fraser 178). On the whole, this article examines how Edensor’s and Brettell’s experiences of ruins compare to those in computer-generated settings, while thinking more broadly about the differences and similarities between physical and virtual ruins. In doing so, specific attention is given to how players traverse Horizon’s ruins, how game design curates the players’ experiences of ruination, and how encountering entropy provides an opportunity to reflect upon the future. Beyond these discussions, this article works to demonstrate the utility of fantasy media in interdisciplinary work, arguing that Horizon offers players an opportunity to engage with distinct entropic landscapes and to reflect on Earth’s ecological well-being.