This study addresses sustainable design including its processes, priorities and involvement of interior design students. It is structured in two parts. The first part described, justified and documented the specification of sustainable interior finishes and furnishings for an off-grid, zero-emissions experimental dwelling submitted for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. The second part is a descriptive study that gathered data from the designers of similar experimental dwellings that were entered in the 2007 Solar Decathlon competition. Responses suggested that interior designers are at times marginalized in the design process of these sustainable prototype dwellings and that LEED certification was not consistently sought by designers of these dwellings for a variety of reasons. Also, there is no definitive consensus on criteria priorities for sustainable materials specifications. Therefore, at present, green designers must determine which set of criteria is most important to them and determine which existing assessment organization best addresses these criteria. The second part is a descriptive study that gathered data from the designers of similar experimental dwellings that were entered in the 2007 Solar Decathlon competition. Responses suggested that interior designers are at times marginalized in the design process of these sustainable prototype dwellings and that LEED certification was not consistently sought by designers of these dwellings for a variety of reasons.Also, there is no definitive consensus on criteria priorities for sustainable materials specifications. Therefore, at present, green designers must determine which set of criteria is most important to them and determine which existing assessment organization best addresses these criteria. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Interior Design in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts. / Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2008. / Date of Defense: June 23, 2008. / LEED, Green Design, Sustainable, Sustainable Design, Prototype Dwellings, Environmentally Friendly, Marinalization of Interior Designers, Specification / Includes bibliographical references. / Jill Pable, Professor Directing Thesis; Eric Wiedegreen, Committee Member; Lisa Waxman, Committee Member.

Die Frage, ob gewalthaltige Bildschirmspiele die Aggressionsbereitschaft der SpielerInnen erhöht, wird in der Öffentlichkeit kontrovers diskutiert. Demgegenüber spricht die vorliegende Forschung mehrheitlich für die Annahme eines aggressionsfördernden Effekts, auch wenn die Größenordnung und praktische Bedeutung der gefundenen Zusammenhänge unterschiedlich beurteilt wird. Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt den aktuellen wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisstand zum Zusammenhang zwischen Gewaltspielkonsum und Aggression dar, präsentiert Ansätze zur Erklärung der Wirkmechanismen von Mediengewalt und stellt zwei eigene Untersuchungen vor, die den Zusammenhang für das Medium der gewalthaltigen Bildschirmspiele im Quer- und Längsschnitt analysieren. / The potential impact of violent electronic games on players’ aggression is a highly controversial issue in public debate. In contrast, scientific research has provided clear evidence that exposure to in-game violence can enhance aggressive cognitions, affect, and behavioral tendencies in players, both temporarily and in the long run, even if there is some disagreement about the strength of the evidence and the practical implications of the findings. The chapter reviews the current state of knowledge about the empirical evidence and theoretical explanations concerning the relationship between exposure to video game violence and aggression. It also presents a cross-sectional and a longitudinal study on the link between usage of violent electronic games and aggression in German adolescents.

Im vorliegenden Beitrag beschäftigt sich der Autor mit der Subjektivierung der Erzählperspektive im Computerspiel. Er geht dabei von Noir-Computerspielen aus und beschreibt gängige audiovisuelle und narrative Verfahren der Subjektivierung in diesen. Abschließend wird auf besondere Stärken und Schwächen der Subjektivierung im Computerspiel hingewiesen und diese näher betrachtet. Einen besonderen Schwerpunkt nimmt dabei die Ebene der Mensch-Computer-Interaktion ein. / In this article, the author deals with the subjectification of the point of view in video games. He proceeds from the starting point of noir games, describing current audiovisual and narrative devices of subjectification used in titles of this genre. He concludes by pointing out and analyzing special strengths and weaknesses concerning subjectification in video games, putting special emphasis on the layer of human-computer interaction.

Auf Grundlage eines Ansatzes, der nach dem Zusammenwirken von Handeln und Plattformen bei der Formation von Subjektpositionen fragt, wird eine Perspektive auf die noch junge transmediale Spielform des Alternate Reality Game entwickelt. Alternate Reality Games bieten, anders als konventionelle Computerspiele, keine von den Zumutungen der „echten Welt“ abgeschlossene Blasen an. Sondern sie implementieren Handlungsmöglichkeiten auf den Plattformen des Alltags. Statt in exklusiven Umgebungen Subjekte zu formieren, bilden Alternate Reality Games Agenten aus. Diese sind in der Lage, die Übergänge zwischen überlappenden Wirklichkeits- und Gemeinschaftssystemen wahrzunehmen und flexibel zu navigieren. Es werden eine Reihe von Verfahren beschrieben, durch die Alternate Reality Games die Verkopplung des Spiels mit seiner Umwelt erreichen und Spieler mit besonderer Handlungsmacht in ihrer Alltagswelt ausstatten. / Utilizing an approach to understanding the historical formation of subject positions by analyzing the interrelation of action and platforms, a perspective on the emerging cross-media game genre of Alternate Reality Games is developed. Unlike traditional computer and video games offering playgrounds insulated from the pressures of „real life“, Alternate Reality Games implement opportunities to act on the platforms of everyday. Instead of forming subjects in exclusive environments, Alternate Reality Games train players to be agents. These agents are capable of perceiving and navigating the thresholds between overlapping systems of reality and community. A number of strategies are described through which Alternate Reality Games are able to integrate into their surroundings and equip players with special agency inside of their everyday world.

Der Beitrag widmet sich der Frage, ob und wie bei virtuellen Online-Spielen und verschiedene Rechte, wie z. B. (virtuelles) Eigentum, Urheber- oder Persönlichkeitsrechte verletzt oder Verbote etwa im Bereich des Jugendschutzes missachtet werden können. Mehrere Fallbeispiele aus der Praxis der Online-Spiele dienen dabei der Veranschaulichung dieser Fragestellungen und der Suche nach rechtlichen Lösungen. / This article primarily deals on legal problems around virtual Online-Games. The protection of intellectual and virtual property and personality rights are in the focus of the discussion as well as the necessity of the protection of minors and privacy rights. The author gives several examples that outline and illustrate the main questions and tries to find possible solutions.

Normality is one of the defining categories of our society. Statistics of all kinds play a crucial part in establishing the normal. Computers, on the other hand, have a very close connection to statistics as the digital world is a statistical one in itself. In a multitude of games statistics are used as an element of gameplay. In this perspective, games can be regarded as a training in self-normalization. However, it is still questionable whether this leads to a genuine production of normality.

The claim is made, that in order to analyze them sufficiently, computer games first of all have to be described according to their mediality, understood as the very form in which possible contents are presented to be interacted with. This calls for a categorical approach that defines the condition of possible actions that are determined by the program, but that can only be perceived as aesthetic features.

In this contribution, we gather major academic and design approaches for explaining how space in games is constructed and how it constructs games, thereby defining the conceptual dimensions of gamespace. Each concept’s major inquiry is briefly discussed, iterated if applicable, as well as named. Thus, we conclude with an overview of the locative, the representational, the programmatic, the dramaturgical, the typological, the perspectivistic, the form-functional, and the form-emotive dimensions.

Der vorliegende Aufsatz liefert eine Kurzanalyse zur Entstehung des Computer- und Videospielejournalismus in den 1980er Jahren und gliedert seine unterschiedlichen Erscheinungsformen hinsichtlich Format, kulturellem Selbstverständnis und ideologischer Ausrichtung bis zu Publikationen der Gegenwart. Dabei wird verstärkt auf textbasierte Medien aus dem deutschsprachigen Raum Bezug genommen (Print und Online). / This paper provides a short analysis of the emergence and development of computer- and video games journalism since the 1980s. It creates a classification of the different forms of appearance considering formal specifications, editorial bias and cultural approach. The focus lies on print and web media coming out of German speaking countries.

Der Artikel beschreibt die Rahmenbedingungen der Bewahrung digitaler Kulturgüter. Dabei konzentriert er sich vor allem auf die Bewahrung von Computerspielen, da diese als ältestes digitales Massenmedium die längste Bewahrungstradition haben und als komplexe digitale Artefakte höchste Ansprüche an die Bewahrungsmethoden und -techniken stellen. Desweiteren wird eine historische Verortung der Bewahrung von Computerspielen vorgenommen, indem Besonderheiten vor dem Hintergrund eines Vergleichs mit der Bewahrung des ehemals neuen Mediums Film benannt werden. Am Ende des Artikels wird das EU Forschungsprojekt KEEP vorgestellt, das im Kern das Ziel hat, die bisher praktizierte Bewahrungsstrategie für komplexe digitale Artefakte (Emulatorenstrategie) nachhaltig und systematisch zu etablieren. / The article describes the conditions of the preservation of digital artefacts. It focuses mainly the preservation of computer games, because they have the longest tradition of preservation as the oldest digital born mass medium and as complex digital artefacts they are the biggest challenge in regards of the preservation strategy and technique. Additionally this approach is contextualized historically through the comparison to the preservation of the former new media film. Finally the EU research project KEEP is introduced, which aims to consolidate the recent preservation practice for complex digital artefacts (emulation strategy) systematically.