This study evaluates perception differences of male and female narrators in video game tutorials. Video games have long been considered a masculine pursuit, and because of this, women have endured unpleasant surroundings and interactions in gaming and related communities. With the proliferation of technologies like Twitch and YouTube gaming, gaming is more communicative than ever, increasing potential for problematic interactions. Recent booms in these technologies emphasize the importance of understanding how varying demographics are perceived, as these perceptions influence interactions, potentially limiting the likelihood of women and others' involvement and interest. Involvement in technology during youth is associated with interests in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers--all fields with disparities in women's employment. Measures included confidence, credibility, performance, trustworthiness, and leadership ability to better understand how the integration of communicative technologies into gaming influences perceptions based on cues--in this case, specifically voice. Male narrators were hypothesized to be evaluated as more confident and credible than female narrators overall, while performance, trustworthiness, and leadership evaluations were hypothesized to be moderated by one's own gender identity. No significant differences emerged, which suggests a positive change in climate for female gamers and leaders in the industry.

The proliferation of the Internet and online-based social interactions has become an increasingly popular topic with communication scholars. The goal of this study was to explore how massively multi-player online role playing game (MMORPG) players make sense of and negotiate their online social interactions. This study (N = 292) examined how players of SecondLife and World of Warcraft evaluated their online relationships compared to their offline relationships and investigated how different levels of realism within different MMORPGs effected player's online experiences. The results indicated that players of SecondLife placed higher values of emotional closeness to their online relationships when compared to players of World of Warcraft and SecondLife was rated more real by its players than World of Warcraft. Results further indicated that players of SecondLife had higher levels of perceived online emotional closeness when compared to perceived offline emotional closeness. Implications of this study focus on developing a bottom up holistic profile of online game players as opposed to the current top down research model.

In this essay I will examine selected words from the video game Amazing Cultivation Simulator by GSQ Games. Amazing Cultivation Simulator is a video game developed in China and contains heavy themes of Chinese Fantasy. I will categorize the selected words into different translation strategies and then I will compare their effectiveness based on Meaning and Theme. The strategies will be based on the work In Other Words by Mona Baker. Chinese is a language that is different in many ways compared to Germanic languages, there is a need for proper translation strategies. Additionally, China has a long history which fills the language with references to history and mythology. My aim is to examine the way the translators of the game Amazing Cultivation Simulator handled these difficult words.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1985 M36 / Master of Science

With the growing popularity of the ability to customize your characters in video games, cosmetic items are becoming a big part of the gaming experience; games let players pick and choose what to equip on characters and what colors to use. In this study, skilled Team Fortress 2 and Dota 2 players were interviewed to gain a deeper understanding of the players’ experiences with the cosmetic items in their respective games. The games were chosen based on their well established system for cosmetic items and the authors’ previous knowledge of the games. The result yielded individual answers from ten different experienced players and were reviewed and divided into categories based on the patterns seen in the answers. From what could be seen from the results, the skilled players have a positive outlook on cosmetic items and believe that they have more than an aesthetic meaning, like for example that they can be a way to gauge player skill. / I takt med att förmågan att kunna skräddarsy karaktärer i spel har blivit populär, håller så kallade cosmetics på att bli en stor del av spelupplevelsen; spel låter spelare välja utrustning och färger i stor utsträckning. I den här studien blev erfarna Team Fortress 2- och Dota 2-spelare intervjuade för att ge en djupare förståelse för dessa spelares syn på kosmetiska förmål. Spelen valdes ut på grund av deras väletablerade system för kosmetiska föremål och författarnas tidigare kunskap om spelen. Alla de individuella svar som samlades in från de tio erfarna spelarna lästes igenom och delades upp i kategorier utifrån mönster som kunde utgöras från svaren. Från vad som kunde tydas har de erfarna spelarna en positiv syn på cosmetic items och antyder även att de har mer än en estetisk betydelse, till exempel att de kan vara ett sätt att tyda spelares kunskaper.

Killing in role-playing video games is often a prominent feature. Most of the times, the characters killed are nameless criminals or minions of the true antagonist and if the game wants the player to kill, the player will most probably kill. This research was conducted to see how a dynamic narrative could affect a player’s choice of whether or not to kill expendable adversaries when a choice was provided. Participants played an interactive narrative in two different versions, followed by interviews, to see how narrative consequences and mechanisms for moral disengagement affected the players’ choices. The results showed that the choice of whether or not to kill could be affected if the narrative is dynamic and the non-playable characters reflect upon the choices made. Future studies should be conducted to see how graphics and sound affect the choices, and to see if it might be the mere choice in itself that affects the players the most.

Sweeping advancements in digital technology have greatly influenced the evolution of every industry through streamlining processes, improving market reach, and disrupting traditional value chains. In the videogames industry which develops, manufactures, and markets interactive entertainment hardware and software, the exponential increases in computing power and affordability have consistently diversified their product offerings and customer base. The spread of internet accessibility and the increased prevalence of gamification for subjects outside of entertainment have provided unique opportunities for market growth. With the increasing ownership of personal computers and advanced mobile devices, the spread of social gaming, and the implementation of “freemium” business models, new revenue streams exclusive to this interactive entertainment medium have empowered the videogames industry to consistently reach more consumers while embracing digital distribution. This paper will not only cover the evolution of the videogames industry from its inception to modern day but also will discuss the challenges that drove this industry’s rise to becoming one of the fastest growing industries in the United States economy. Further this paper will examine the implications of these successes and present-day challenges the industry continues to face.

I analyze the effects of gender diversity on video game production teams. I hypothesize teams with greater gender diversity produce more games with uncommon characteristics than less diverse teams, and the games these teams develop generate higher revenue and unit sales compared to games developed by less diverse teams. I find teams with more women disproportionately develop games that are non-violent and have playable female leads. I examine whether there is an optimal ratio of women to hire for each game genre in order to maximize revenue by analyzing the relationship between the percentage of women on a team in each genre and total revenue. While I do see evidence of firms over- or under-hiring women in some genres before 2001, it appears for the most part firms have optimized their hiring practices in regards to gender diversity from 2001 onward.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2002. / Some digitised pages may appear illegible due to the condition of the original hard copy. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: It is difficult to dispute the remarkable success that some of the console manufacturers like Sony experienced with the distribution of the Psone and now the Playstation 2 consoles. Nonetheless, the tie ratio (the relationship between the number of games bought per year and the installed base of consoles) is limited on average to only 2.2 games per Psone sold. It is an achievement, though limited considering the 5-year timeframe. The relatively low penetration of games can, amongst other things, be contributed to the retail price of games and the distribution channel in use. On the other hand, the PayTV industry has resolved the concept of content distribution years ago, and has reinvented itself several times along the way, from analogue to digital to personal video recorders. All of these phases had one common feature, some sort of encryption to prevent unauthorised viewing. With the invention of digital data distribution, data transfer speeds in access of 27Mb/s became a standard feature. As a result, it would be fair to say that PayTV perfected the distribution of encrypted data at high speed to devices in consumers' homes. Therefore, it is not inconceivable that a combination of a hard drive and digital subscriber technology, which can communicate to a game console, could create an alternative distribution platform for console games. The combination of the devices could decrease the cost of game distribution, increase the player's choice, decrease <:: the cost to users, and more importantly, create a monthly revenue stream. In this manner, the cost hurdle with respect to games could be reduced, and the penetration and use of game console devices could be increased. The video game industry is a $24 billion business with substantial revenue generated from game distribution. By removing the cost hurdle of game distribution, the penetration of these devices will be accelerated and both parties will benefit. Although the industry is not geared for this type of content delivery, MIHL's knowledge and expertise in signing up exclusive content for their PayTV operation and the group's ability to develop technology solutions will prove valuable in restructuring the games distribution channel. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Dit is moeilik om die sukses wat sommige videospeletjie platformvervaardigers soos Sony ondervind ten opsigte van verspreiding van die Psone platform en nou die Playstation 2 produk, te weerlê. Nieteenstaande die sukses van platformverspreiding, is die verhouding tussen die hoeveelheid speletjies en platforms wat verkoop is, nog steeds beperk tot 2.2 speletjies per platform. 'n Merkwaardige prestasie op sigself, maar gesien in die lig van die van 'n 5 jaar verspreidingsperiode is dit tog beperk. Die relatiewe lae penetrasie van speletjies kan onder andere toegeskryf word aan die hoë kleinhandelsprys van speletjies en die verspreidingskanaal wat gebruik word. Aan die ander kant het betaaltelevisie die beginsel van inhoudsverspreiding jare gelede onder die knie gekry. Gedurende die periode het die televisie-industrie homself verskeie kere herskep, van analoog programverspreiding tot digitale verspreiding en laastens die persoonlike video opnemers. AI die fases maak gebruik van een gemeenskaplike kenmerk, naamlik enkripsie om ongemagtigde besigtiging te voorkom. Programinhoud versending teen 27 Mega greep per sekonde was algemeen in gebruik met die daarstelling van digitale data verspreiding. Daarom kan dit geregverdig wees om te beweer dat betaaltelevisie die verspreiding van geenkripteerde data, teen hoë spoed, na verbruikers se huise bemeester het. Gevolglik is dit nie ondenkbaar dat In kombinasie van hardeskyf en digitale verbruikerstegnologie, wat met videospeletjiesplatforms kan kommunikeer, 'n , alternatiewe verspreidingsplatform kan vorm nie. Die geïntegreerde platform kan die verspreidingskoste verlaag, die verbruikerskeuse verhoog, die kleinhandelspryse van speletjies verlaag en 'n maandelikse inkomste genereer. Sodoende kan die koste hekkie gebonde aan speletjies verlaag word en gevolglik die penetrasie en verbruik van speletjies verhoog word. Die videospeletjie-industrie is 'n $24 miljard besigheid wat 'n groot gedeelte van die inkomste genereer deur speletjie verspreiding. Deur die koste hekkie van verspreiding te verwyder, kan die penetrasie tempo van die speletjies verhoog word en beide partye kan bevoordeel word. Nieteenstaande die video industrie se onvoorbereid,heid om inhoud elektronies te versprei, kan MIH se kennis en vaardigheid bm eksklusiewe program inhoud vir televisieplatforms te bekom, asook die groep se vermoë om tegnologiese oplossings te ontwikkel, 'n waardevolle instrument wees om die videospeletjie verspreidingskanaal te herstruktureer.

This thesis outlines the changing landscape of moving image archives in light of the emergence of new media. Whereas, in the twentieth century, these archives were once responsible for the preservation of endangered films and television programs, I argue that, in the twenty-first century, moving image archives will redefine their value to society not through preservation but through the decisions they make, which will affect not simply the intellectual community but the culture at large. The ways in which moving image archives situate new media materials and extend cooperation between institutions will determine, in large part, the discourse surrounding moving images throughout the upcoming century. / text