Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-08-22T12:17:33Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Saulo de Oliveira Machado.pdf: 2123394 bytes, checksum: c349146a4877892402785fb3a1e6f964 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-22T12:17:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Saulo de Oliveira Machado.pdf: 2123394 bytes, checksum: c349146a4877892402785fb3a1e6f964 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The attendant research aims to describe the present relations between the concepts of magic circle and metagame and how they are evidenced in the experience of the player. With the increasing presence of digital and board games in the daily life of society, it seems propitious that we return efforts to decipher the elements that make up the experience lived in the games through the players. Through the review of these two concepts we managed to elaborate how their joint acting is presented through a common player presence in the game. To do so, we start with a review of the concepts of magic circle and metagame, its definitions, its most used approaches and how they focus on the experience that the player has during the game. Finally, we focus on demonstrating the presence of these concepts through the MMORPG, World of Warcraft, a game that constains in its diverse ways of playing, various approaches for the player to have contact with his universe / A presente pesquisa tem como objetivo descrever as relações presentes entre os conceitos de círculo mágico e metajogo e como eles se evidenciam na experiência do jogador. Com a crescente presença dos jogos digitais e de tabuleiro no cotidiano da sociedade, parece propício que voltemos esforços em decifrar os elementos que compõe a experiência vivida nos jogos através dos jogadores. Através da revisão destes dois conceitos conseguir elaborar como sua atuação conjunta se apresenta através de um ator comum presença do jogador no jogar. Para tanto, partimos de uma revisão dos conceitos de círculo mágico e metajogo, suas definições, suas abordagens mais utilizadas e como eles se incidem sobre a experiência que o jogador tem durante o jogar. Por fim, nos concentramos em demonstrar a presença destes conceitos através do MMORPG, World of Warcraft, um game que consegue conter em seus diversificados modos de jogar, diversas abordagens para que o jogador tenha contato com seu universo

Video games are a part of modern culture. As video game spaces begin to enter a new generation’s spatial lexicon, it is important for architects, curators of spatial design, to understand this new medium of space. This thesis aims to introduce two concepts specific to video game design, the magic circle and flow, to architects as a means of understanding the design of video game spaces. First coined by the Dutch historian Johann Huizinga in Homo Ludens, and later adapted by video game designers Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman, the magic circle refers to the boundary created by the rules of a game that separate reality from the fantasy of the game. Within the magic circle, the rules of play can transform and give new meaning to spatial organizations that could be considered problematic in real world architectural design. Flow is a psychological concept introduced by Hungarian psychology professor Mihály Csíkszentmihályi. When completing a task, flow occurs when both the skill level of the participant and the challenge level of the task are equally high. When a state of flow is achieved, the task becomes enjoyable and can be carried out indefinitely until the balance is broken. Effective video games spaces are specifically designed to contribute to flow experiences, while ineffective spaces can make a game too easy or too hard, creating a boredom or anxiety for the player. Through a series of explorations and video game case studies, specifically in the first-person and third person shooter genre, this thesis first observes the transformation of implied spatial meanings in the magic circle. It then introduces the unique spatial languages used to generate spaces that support the creation of flow alongside the gameplay and narrative of a video game. This thesis culminates with the design and execution of an original capture the flag map created with the Unreal Engine that tests the concepts of the magic circle and flow in video game spaces. As video games become increasingly ubiquitous, this thesis acts as means of entry for architects to understand the unique properties of an emerging form of spatial design.

Video games are a part of modern culture. As video game spaces begin to enter a new generation’s spatial lexicon, it is important for architects, curators of spatial design, to understand this new medium of space. This thesis aims to introduce two concepts specific to video game design, the magic circle and flow, to architects as a means of understanding the design of video game spaces. First coined by the Dutch historian Johann Huizinga in Homo Ludens, and later adapted by video game designers Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman, the magic circle refers to the boundary created by the rules of a game that separate reality from the fantasy of the game. Within the magic circle, the rules of play can transform and give new meaning to spatial organizations that could be considered problematic in real world architectural design. Flow is a psychological concept introduced by Hungarian psychology professor Mihály Csíkszentmihályi. When completing a task, flow occurs when both the skill level of the participant and the challenge level of the task are equally high. When a state of flow is achieved, the task becomes enjoyable and can be carried out indefinitely until the balance is broken. Effective video games spaces are specifically designed to contribute to flow experiences, while ineffective spaces can make a game too easy or too hard, creating a boredom or anxiety for the player. Through a series of explorations and video game case studies, specifically in the first-person and third person shooter genre, this thesis first observes the transformation of implied spatial meanings in the magic circle. It then introduces the unique spatial languages used to generate spaces that support the creation of flow alongside the gameplay and narrative of a video game. This thesis culminates with the design and execution of an original capture the flag map created with the Unreal Engine that tests the concepts of the magic circle and flow in video game spaces. As video games become increasingly ubiquitous, this thesis acts as means of entry for architects to understand the unique properties of an emerging form of spatial design.

Kontextmedvetna spel låter den reella omgivningenpåverka aspekter av spelinnehållet. Då kontextmedvetna spel i en mobil miljö är ett väl utforskat område saknas forskning kring dess möjlighet att även fungera i en stationär miljö. I denna utforskande studie har en modifikation till det stationära spelet Cities: Skylines utvecklats som låter spelarens aktivitet påverka nästkommande spelsession. Modifikationen har sedan använts vid en användarstudie som undersökt hur denna typ av mer löst kopplade kontext där spel och kontext är tidsmässigt separerade påverkar spelarens upplevelse. Studien visar att denna typ av kontextmedvetenhet upplevs önskvärt. Det kan dock krävas någon form av hjälpande länk som förstärker kopplingen mellan spel och kontext samt att kontextmedvetenhetens syfte bör vara att förstärka spelupplevelsen snarare än att vara en drivande faktor.

This study researches the possibility of creating immersion through the use of breaks in fiction that includes the player inside of the game world through the use of their real name, age gender and more. The qualitative method is used in the form of semi-structured interviews with two groups of respondents (one consisting of experienced players and one with inexperienced) who were made to play an artefact, in the form of a visual novel like experience set in a chat room. The reason for having two groups was to find out if their experiences would differ or not.The results of the study show that the majority of the respondents were able to immerse themselves in the artefact and that the fiction breaks and the use of the player’s real life information played a role in achieving this. However a minority of the respondents did not agree with this and stated that they found the fiction breaks distracting and that the use of them broke their immersion. This, along with the fact that the artefact mostly focused on the narrative rather than gameplay, makes it hard for the study to draw any definitive conclusions for video games at large. It does however show that it is possible for fiction breaks to immerse the player.

This thesis broadens the discussion surrounding the fourth wall and immersion in games; the hypothesis being that there are more ways to manipulate the fourth wall other than breaking it, and that manipulation of the fourth wall does not necessarily break immersion. Four types of fourth wall manipulation have been labeled in this body of work: breaking, expansion, contraction, and grazing. Expansion and contraction derive from Simon Conway (2010), with minor augmentations to the contraction category having been made by this thesis. The term breaking has been narrowed down and specified while grazing was invented for this particular study. The aim is to update terminology surrounding the fourth wall to introduce it as a narrative tool for game designers, where the tool can be used in different ways that underline the narrative experience that designers want to convey. The study was done by a close reading of the games Metal Gear Solid and NieR: Automata, but references other games relevant to the different types of manipulation. The results show that the identified instances of fourth wall manipulation within the two focus games can all fit in the proposed updated terminology, with some instances elevating the play experience.

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This thesis research explores the patterns of player-character relationships and player-character attachment in Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020) and Genshin Impact (2020). The purpose of the paper is to fill in the existing gap in the literature concerning the psychological and social mechanisms of attachment that players form with non-customizable game characters. The research explores the nature of player-character attachment in its relation to game mechanics and broader social context, as well as its transformative potential.   The research relies on interdisciplinary mixed-methods methodology, drawing from the fields of psychology and anthropology. The first part of the research employs auto-ethnographic data on the authors' personal relationships with game characters. The second part involves a series of qualitative in-depth interviews with players of Animal Crossing and Genshin Impact. Thematic analysis with the elements of case-study methodology is applied to the interview data. The results of the interview analysis are compared between the two player groups, as well as to the findings of the auto-ethnographic inquiry. The main results of the comparative analysis suggest that players’ perceptions of characters in the studied games can be categorized as character-as-object and character-as-other. Further on, a distinction can be made between two types of attachment that players form with characters-as-others. The first one is player-for-character, focused primarily on a player’s relatedness and empathy towards a character. The second one is character-for-player, where a game character is perceived as a supporting and caring figure that transcends the boundaries of the game. The relationship types are not mutually exclusive, and both of them have been found to have transformative potential.

With the new and rising popularity of Baldur’s Gate 3, an exploratory qualitative research comparing it to its tabletop predecessor: Dungeons and Dragons 5E, is necessary to gather new data about player experience within these different formats.  This research explores the difference in immersion into character between Dungeons and Dragons 5E and Baldur’s Gate 3. This is done through a mixed methods approach, combining interviews and digital ethnography. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 6 interviewees from varying backgrounds who had played both games for a significant amount of time. For the digital ethnography, relevant selected posts from Reddit users in r/DnD and r/BaldursGate3 were filtered and selected using the software Communalytic.  The themes correlated to immersion into character were transformative play, social play, and creative agenda. Through these themes, it was concluded that the main difference between these two games were related to transformative potential, as well as the social aspect 2 of both games, where in-person D&D and co-op BG3 seemed to help players get immersed into their characters more easily than in online D&D and solo mode BG3.

This thesis sets out to explore why people engage in, and how to design for, play in a public setting. It does this by separating design for play from design of games, describing play as a socially and mentally understood activity, and a playful approach to engaging in that activity. It emphasises that while play is voluntary, design can help shape the players’ mode of engagement. The thesis uses a qualitative and inductive approach to research, with an understanding of knowledge as being constructed in the individual. The research is grounded in human computer interaction and interaction design, and closely related to game studies and design science. The research question concerns how design can influence the player activity in order to create a desired player experience in public, by harnessing playful engagement. It’s foundation is a theory of play which describes play as a framed, or hedged-off, activity with a fragile border; where knowledge and feelings can leak both in and out of the activity, and affect the play as well as what is around it. The theory of enjoyment of play is discussed, and the problem of treating this as ‘fun’ is addressed, concluding in a presentation of how playful engagement can be harnessed through design. The theory is applied in five design cases: I’m Your Body, a locative storytelling app; Codename Heroes, a pervasive game of personal empowerment; Passing On, a slow-paced game about communication; Busking Studies, which involves observing street performers and their shows; and DigiFys, an architectural design exploration of playgrounds and play paths. Finally, three concepts, or design tools, are presented, which address: 1) a structure for understanding a design through three layers, constructs designed by the designer, inspiring play activity with the player, leading to experience; 2) an approach to designing invitations to play; and finally 3), a four faceted structure for understanding play engagement when players engage in non intended ways.