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Games, movies, television, and interactive media make use of World-Building. World-Building essentially creates an elaborate invented universe in order to give a story context. In other words it generates a back-story designed to enhance the cathartic experience and promote engagement by the reader, viewer or participant. Some examples of World-Building include Halo, World of WarCraft and Game of Thrones. Stories need context to be fully understood and experienced. One describes a situation, the environment, sensations, smells, sounds and sensory perception to give the audience a fuller, richer experience. World-Building provides context through history, textures, laws, physics and motivations. The written portion of this thesis describes the process of generating a fantasy world. The visual portion uses a character-driven narrative to examine larger themes such as psychological transformation and pursuing one’s dream against the odds. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.F.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Thesis (M. S.)--Literature, Communication, and Culture, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Pearce, Celia; Committee Member: Do, Ellen Yi-Luen; Committee Member: Knoespel, Kenneth; Committee Member: Nitsche, Michael.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--James Madison University, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references.

In the course of this dissertation, I will interrogate traditional representations of the heroic figure within the fantasy genre. I will argue that the tropes established by some of the most renowned fantasy texts are undergoing a process of evolution and that Steven Erikson (who is the special focus of my discussion) seeks to revision the heroic mould through his construction of Coltaine of the Crow Clan in Deadhouse Gates (2001). Deadhouse Gates centres on Coltaine, who is tasked with escorting tens of thousands of refugees across four hundred leagues of hostile territory. This re-evaluation of fantasy modes has significant ramifications for the future development of the genre as a whole. In order to explore how Erikson interrogates heroic representation, I briefly establish some of the distinctive characteristics of fantasy. I then explore how some major fantasy texts represent heroism, before investigating Erikson’s particular response to these traditions. / English Studies / M. A. (English)

In the course of this dissertation, I will interrogate traditional representations of the heroic figure within the fantasy genre. I will argue that the tropes established by some of the most renowned fantasy texts are undergoing a process of evolution and that Steven Erikson (who is the special focus of my discussion) seeks to revision the heroic mould through his construction of Coltaine of the Crow Clan in Deadhouse Gates (2001). Deadhouse Gates centres on Coltaine, who is tasked with escorting tens of thousands of refugees across four hundred leagues of hostile territory. This re-evaluation of fantasy modes has significant ramifications for the future development of the genre as a whole. In order to explore how Erikson interrogates heroic representation, I briefly establish some of the distinctive characteristics of fantasy. I then explore how some major fantasy texts represent heroism, before investigating Erikson’s particular response to these traditions. / English Studies / M. A. (English)

This research strives to characterize the means by which video game players experience and understand the space of the game city during the course of play. Three-dimensional video game cities are neither static environments nor stationary views; rather, they are experienced through movement, action, and play. Our experiences of new places are not developed at a glance. Instead, they are cultivated through use over time. This work utilizes games that take place in constructed versions of New York City as a case study. By focusing on the ways players navigate spaces, we can understand how they construct spatial awareness and how this space is transformed into a meaningful place of play. In order to come to this understanding, this study asks a series of questions: How are these spaces arranged? How does the player move through the space and how does the game teach spatial navigation? What actions are performed in the space and how is gameplay adapted for the city environment? And how do of narrative environments contribute to a player's identification with the space? These questions are examined within a framework of urban, cultural, and game studies. I examine techniques that are employed by video game city designers to help players navigate space and make it meaningful. Additionally, this research poses areas for future expansion and experimentation with game cities.