Video games as a medium have always focused on having their players interact with their game worlds and narratives regardless of genre. However, a repeatedly debated concept is whether players are able to feel a sense of identification with their avatars. The majority of this debate revolves around studying works with a multiplayer focus, such as MMOs, where players can interact with one another. This paper seeks to explore if players can identify with their avatar in single-player role-playing games (RPG), as this genre focuses on the player's direct influence on the narrative through various mechanics that allow the player to craft an avatar's identity. These mechanics typically include character customization, dialogue choice, and narrative consequences, which permits the player to form a unique narrative with their avatar and thus characterize the avatar throughout their time playing a game. This paper will use Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins as case studies on how this genre accomplishes player identification and how different games use their own methods to accomplish this. The ultimate goal is to explore how games as an interactive medium can allow players to become active participants in these games and shape their narratives.

In this project, I created a framework for exploring problems with representations of marginalized characters in video games called "critical modding." The main goal of this project was to provide a method for addressing issues with portrayals of queer characters in video games through modification of a game's narrative and gameplay systems. I also created a video game prototype called Life in the Megapocalypse as a digital tool for engaging in critical modding. In addition, I created classroom assignments based on the game prototype aimed at helping people learn more about problems with portrayals of queer characters in games through critical modding that can be found in Appendix B. I created the critical modding framework based on established research on education, queer representation, and narrative design related to video games. The video game prototype is built in a text-based interactive fiction scripting engine called Inky and is stored in a web-based version on my website; I also provided selected source code from the game in Appendix C of this project. The game focuses on representations of queer characters in a post-apocalyptic world and asks the player to make choices by offering the characters guidance, as well as talking with them to learn more about them. This project is valuable in that it provides a research-based framework for exploring problems with portrayals of queer characters in video games through modification, an idea that has not been explored in established video game research. It also provides a tool for doing so in the form of the video game prototype, offering a unique approach that blends traditional academic research with digital design.

This interdisciplinary dissertation explores perceptions of control in modded and unmodded versions of Bethesda's sandbox video game Skyrim. Sandbox games are known for greater choice options that suggest greater perceptions of control for gamers. Sandbox games also generally encourage the use of user-generated creations called modifications (mods) that users can download to personalize their games. While we need philosophy to understand and define control as a concept, we also need psychology to understand how users perceive control in media studies. At present, qualitative academic research that measures gamer perceptions of control is non-existent as is research on how users articulate their experiences with mods. Interviews were conducted with twenty-seven individuals who identified as gamers to analyze these perceptions of control in a game like Skyrim. The first chapter is introductory and outlines key terms for the dissertation as well as the play study's methodology. The second chapter examines philosophical and psychological perceptions of control that correspond with negative freedom (freedom from) and positive freedom (freedom to). While no game can promise radical free will because they have been programmed in advance, the information here may be used to demonstrate how perceptions of control might influence game design. The third chapter continues this exploration of perceived control through genre analysis, revealing the relationship between greater perceptions of control and mod support in sandbox video games. The fourth chapter presents the first two findings from the play study that demonstrate how mods influence player perceptions of control. The fifth chapter reveals how gamers of the play study discuss their perceptions of control video games in their own words with an emphasis on positive and negative freedom and generic conventions. The final chapter provides challenges for game design and scholarly qualitative analysis for future research based on findings in the play study.

Obliti is a game meant to promote empathy for people with depression, and applies a personal story to the experience. Empathy is the experience of understanding another person€™s condition from their perspective. You place yourself in their shoes and feel what they are feeling. 17 The story follows the character through corrupted dream states, stuck in an infinite loop; reliving the tarnished dreams. This paper will discuss the story of Obliti, its history and the way the design helped the story come to the forefront of the experience. Using lighting, first person character and art assets, Obliti puts the player into the shoes of the main character. The paper also includes a post mortem in order to discuss the challenges of working with paid art assets, making a game about your past and the overall outcome of the project. In order to test the effectiveness of Obliti, 20 subjects were asked to fill out a series of questions regarding mood and depression. The results of the study showed a change in mood from pretest and posttest, pointing toward empathy being transferred to the player. Part of the study asked players if they understood depression, in which there was a 10% change from €œNo,€� to €œI don€™t know,€� suggesting some internal thoughts were changed on the topic.

<p>The purpose of this project is to test and improve people’s ability of face recognition. </p><p>Although there are some tests on the internet with the same purpose, the problem is that people </p><p>may feel bored and give up before finishing the tests. Consequently they may not benefit from </p><p>testing nor from training. To solve this problem, face recognition and online game are put </p><p>together in this project. The game is supposed to provide entertainment when people are playing, </p><p>so that more people can take the test and improve their abilities of face recognition. </p><p>In the game design, the game is assumed to take place in the face recognition lab, which is </p><p>an imaginary lab. The player plays the main role in this game and asked to solve a number of </p><p>problems. There are several scenarios waiting for the player, which mainly need face recognition </p><p>skills from the player. At the end the player obtains the result of evaluation of her/his skills in </p><p>face recognition.</p>

Through looking into the inner workings of stealth centric games, this paper aims to find out the essential components of this type of videogames. Examining the history of such games and the design principles of stealth centric games in relation to the participating player this paper will methodically examine games in the light of the arguments of industry professionals. After that a framework is extracted, identifying the principal core components of stealth centric game design.

The purpose of this project is to test and improve people’s ability of face recognition. Although there are some tests on the internet with the same purpose, the problem is that people may feel bored and give up before finishing the tests. Consequently they may not benefit from testing nor from training. To solve this problem, face recognition and online game are put together in this project. The game is supposed to provide entertainment when people are playing, so that more people can take the test and improve their abilities of face recognition. In the game design, the game is assumed to take place in the face recognition lab, which is an imaginary lab. The player plays the main role in this game and asked to solve a number of problems. There are several scenarios waiting for the player, which mainly need face recognition skills from the player. At the end the player obtains the result of evaluation of her/his skills in face recognition.

This thesis examines the unique representation of death in independent videogames. Specifically, in three titles: That Dragon, Cancer, Spiritfarer, and A Mortician's Tale. These three games break traditional norms of death in video games and how death is presented in other more traditional mediums. These unique perspectives are more concerned with the personal and societal side of death, the reflection, and confrontation of our mortality. Each game is a stand-out example of a growing trend in independent titles coined as "death positive" games. These types of games are made with the intent to approach death differently, potentially providing comfort to those struggling with death fear and anxiety. Through a close play of each game, analyzing their developer's design intentions and how they were received by audiences, I am to illustrate how independent games have become an ideal space to confront and manage death fear and anxiety. This is achieved through their unique ability to occupy a moment in ludic space and time, where a player can rest, reflect, and give up – an experience I call meaningful death reflection. This thesis offers a meaningful look at a potentially growing trend in various forms of media to present the topic of death in new contexts, distancing itself from traditional presentations in mainstream Western media. This trend would appear to be filling an audience's desire to engage with content that allows them the opportunity to think about their mortality in new ways.

The term immersion has become ubiquitous in descriptions of entertainment activities, including theme park attractions, virtual reality experiences, video games, and more. In nearly all cases, an expectation is that immersion in an activity is a desired outcome. However, this implication is challenged by a lack of research into the relationship between immersion and enjoyment. A further challenge is presented by the lack of a consensus among researchers regarding a precise definition of immersion. This dissertation explores the immersion-enjoyment relationship by first examining the construct of immersion itself, followed by an exploration of the myriad concepts surrounding immersion, including engagement, presence, and flow. From this analysis, a comprehensive definition of immersion was generated. To test immersion's relationship with enjoyment, the context of video games was selected. A wide array of survey tools that study immersion in gaming were examined, which led to the creation of the Immersion-Enjoyment Model and the Immersion-Enjoyment Survey. Experienced players of the game Assassin's Creed Valhalla were recruited to take the survey, which reported on their feelings of immersion and enjoyment in the game, as well as their motivations for game-playing in general. Results of the survey led to several conclusions. First, for participants in this survey there is a weak positive correlation between immersion and enjoyment. Second, narrative and moral self-reflection are moderators to this relationship. And finally, a broader implication is that one of the core tenets of the definition of immersion – lowered awareness of outside stimuli like a phone ringing – was far less frequently experienced by these participants. The conclusion drawn from this study is that while immersion and enjoyment are positively related in this context, the definitional approach to immersion might benefit from a reevaluation

A comprehensive study in the processes of animation in various forms, from concept to simple layout animation to complex overlapping action and splining, and even lighting and texturing, I will be using a popular podcast musical as a basis to study the pipeline that’s used to create an industry animation.