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As an anomaly on the market of military shooters of the 21st century, Spec Ops: The Line entails a journey of undetermined realities and modern warfare consequences. In this study, the narrative is analyzed from the perspective of Jean Baudrillard’s idea that simulations have replaced our conception of reality. Both the protagonist and the player of Spec Ops will unavoidably descend into a state of the hyperreal. They experience multiple possible realities within the game narrative and end up unable to comprehend what has transpired. The hyperreal is defined as the state in which it is impossible to discern reality from simulation. The simulation of reality has proliferated itself into being the reality, and the original has been lost. The excessive use of violence, direct approach of the player through a break with the 4th wall and a deceitful narrator contribute to this loss of reality within the game. Although the game represents simulacra, being a simulation in itself, the object of study is the coexisting state of hyperreal shared between protagonist and player when comprehending events in the game. In the end, neither part can understand or discern with any certainty what transpired within the game. / <p>Grade: B</p>

Thesis (M.A.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, Digital Arts, 2013 / This research report investigates the representations of femininity in the 2012 videogame Mass Effect 3. Using the work of Antony Giddens, Espen Aarseth, Judith Butler, Tracy Dietz, Henry Jenkins, Maja Mikula and Janet Murray, it sets out a theoretical framework of constructions of gender and proceeds to analyse the game in the light of these. The research focuses on the female protagonist and the way in which an alternate representation of femininity is constructed through her. The research takes into account both the narratological and ludological elements in the game and their impact on her performance of gender. In conclusion, the research suggests that due to interactive properties, videogames offer fertile ground for re-examinations of gender.

This thesis analyzes the ideological functions of gameplay mechanics in five mobile and online girl games. The subjects of close reading in this study are Tampon Run, Wonder City, Barbie Fashionistas, Style Studio, and Central Park Wedding Prep. First, a review of the literature is presented. Video game studies and ludology, identity in game studies, and performativity and game studies are examined as the central areas of literature from which the thesis draws. The thesis then explores the historical context of the problem, investigating politics and ideology in gaming spaces and considering the activist and educational games Tampon Run and Wonder City. Finally, the thesis analyzes three traditional girl games: Barbie Fashionistas, Style Studio, and Central Park Wedding Prep. This study argues that activist games rely on limiting mechanics to convey feminist ideologies, while traditional games rely on the perceived mechanics-based empowerment of their players to convey patriarchal ideologies.

This thesis examines single-player video gaming. It is an analysis of video game play: what it is, how it functions, and what it means. It is an account of how players learn to play. This is done through a set of close readings of significant video games and key academic texts. My focus is on the mechanisms and forces that shape gameplay practices. Building on the existing fields of ludology and media-studies video-game analysis, I outline a model of video game play as a cultural construction which builds upon the player's existing knowledge of real world and fictional objects, scenarios and conventions. I argue that the relationship between the video game player and the software is best understood as embodying a precise configuration of power. I demonstrate that the single-player video game is in fact what Michel Foucault terms a 'disciplinary apparatus'. It functions to shape players' subjectivities in order to have them behave in easily predicted and managed ways. To do this, video games reuse and repurpose conventions from existing media forms and everyday practices. By this mobilisation of familiar elements, which already have established practices of use, and by a careful process of surveillance, examination and the correction of play practices, video games encourage players to take on and perform the logics of the game system. This relationship between organic player and technological game, I suggest, is best understood through the theoretical figure of the 'Cyborg'. It is a point of intersection between human and computer logics. Far from the ludological assumption that play and culture are separate and that play is shaped entirely by rules, I show video game play to be produced by an array of complex cultural and technological forces that act upon the player. My model of video game play differs from others currently in circulation in that it foregrounds the role of culture in play, while not denying the technological specificity of the video gaming apparatus. My central focus on power and the construction of player subjectivities offers a way to move beyond the simplistic reliance on the notion that rules are the primary shaping mechanism of play that has, to date, dominated much of video game studies.

This paper was developed from my reflections on an interdisciplinary critical making experiment in which I, visual artists, and computer programmers wrote, designed, and made a videogame, entitled Anathema, and a "Complete Companion" for the game that served as its booklet. I argue for the importance and continuing relevance of booklets and other textual objects accompanying videogames as there is no established scholarship on the topic and no ongoing debate or dialogue on the issue within the field of game studies. I demonstrate the ways that multiple modes of media, i.e. the game and its external objects, allow the narrative to break free of the individual media's constraints and overcome the perceived binary between mechanics-oriented and narrative-oriented videogames. I examine the evolution of booklets' roles in videogames by looking at key examples from early, millennial, and contemporary examples, including F-Zero, Diablo II, and the Mass Effect series. I also compare examples across genres, markets, and distribution methods, including independently produced and digitally distributed games. Finally, I draw on my own work on Anathema, the relationship between form and content within that project, and the role of the booklet therein to demonstrate the narrative and mechanical advantages of a multi-modal videogame. I conclude that while innovative mechanics can contribute to a multi-modal narrative in-game, the incorporation of both analogue and digital textual objects facilitates a more complete interaction with the art form.

For a long time, playing games was considered as the opposite of being productive. However, in the digital age, millions of players produce economic value in the game worlds. This new phenomenon challenges the previous dichotomy of labor and play. To understand this new phenomenon, theoretical innovations are required.   This thesis aims to give a better understanding of in-game productive activities from a theoretical perspective. Based on previous academic studies, I develop a new theoretical framework upon the concept “playbor.” This framework is an attempt of combining two theoretical traditions, namely the Ludology tradition and the Marxism tradition. It is a framework from a ludological starting point toward a critical direction.   In this framework, I firstly analyze how play has been transformed to playbor. This process is shown as a transition model by the shifts of characteristics. Based on the transition model, a taxonomy of playbor is introduced. In the taxonomy, I identify three types of playbors: unintentional playbor, autonomous playbor and obligational playbor. Thereafter, problems related to playbors are examined. Problems from which traditional labor suffers, such as division of labor, alienation and exploitation, can also be observed in the game worlds. Apart from these problems, I identify a new problem which threatens all forms of playbors, namely the vulnerability of data.   This thesis is based on my theoretical research from January to May 2015. The main research method is literature review. Data from news reports and participant observations have also been used to support arguments.

This thesis examines single-player video gaming. It is an analysis of video game play: what it is, how it functions, and what it means. It is an account of how players learn to play. This is done through a set of close readings of significant video games and key academic texts. My focus is on the mechanisms and forces that shape gameplay practices. Building on the existing fields of ludology and media-studies video-game analysis, I outline a model of video game play as a cultural construction which builds upon the player's existing knowledge of real world and fictional objects, scenarios and conventions. I argue that the relationship between the video game player and the software is best understood as embodying a precise configuration of power. I demonstrate that the single-player video game is in fact what Michel Foucault terms a 'disciplinary apparatus'. It functions to shape players' subjectivities in order to have them behave in easily predicted and managed ways. To do this, video games reuse and repurpose conventions from existing media forms and everyday practices. By this mobilisation of familiar elements, which already have established practices of use, and by a careful process of surveillance, examination and the correction of play practices, video games encourage players to take on and perform the logics of the game system. This relationship between organic player and technological game, I suggest, is best understood through the theoretical figure of the 'Cyborg'. It is a point of intersection between human and computer logics. Far from the ludological assumption that play and culture are separate and that play is shaped entirely by rules, I show video game play to be produced by an array of complex cultural and technological forces that act upon the player. My model of video game play differs from others currently in circulation in that it foregrounds the role of culture in play, while not denying the technological specificity of the video gaming apparatus. My central focus on power and the construction of player subjectivities offers a way to move beyond the simplistic reliance on the notion that rules are the primary shaping mechanism of play that has, to date, dominated much of video game studies.

O objetivo deste trabalho é entender como o jogo narrativo de aventura para videogame consegue atrair e manter a atenção do jogador, imergindo-o no mundo ficcional, em face dos inúmeros estímulos existentes a sua volta. É sugerida uma definição para o jogo narrativo de aventura e a imersão e, posteriormente, estabelece-se uma relação entre elementos presentes nos jogos e as estruturas que atraem a atenção do indivíduo. Para isso, consultou-se material produzido pelas duas principais linhas de estudos de jogos: Narratologia e Ludologia. O conteúdo teórico foi comparado e exemplificado através da prática de diversos jogos, principalmente do console Sony Playstation 3. O próprio conceito de jogo narrativo, a prática dos jogos e a relação percebida entre seus elementos e as ferramentas para criar e manter a atenção revelaram que o videogame, através dos jogos narrativos de aventura, representa um potente meio para criar e manter o estado de imersão sobre o jogador. / The objective of this research is to understand how the narrative game of adventure manages to attract and maintain the attention of the player, immersing him into the fictional world, despite the existence of countless stimuli available around him. It is suggested a definition to narrative game of adventure and to immersion, and then it is established a relationship between elements present in games and frameworks that attract the attention of the individual. The research uses material produced by the two main lines of games study: Narratology and Ludology. The theoretical content was compared and exemplified by the practice of different games, mainly of Sony Playstation 3. The concept of narrative game, the playing of games and the relationship between its elements and the attention tools revealed that the narrative game of adventure represents a powerful way to create and maintain the state of immersion of the player.

O objetivo deste trabalho é entender como o jogo narrativo de aventura para videogame consegue atrair e manter a atenção do jogador, imergindo-o no mundo ficcional, em face dos inúmeros estímulos existentes a sua volta. É sugerida uma definição para o jogo narrativo de aventura e a imersão e, posteriormente, estabelece-se uma relação entre elementos presentes nos jogos e as estruturas que atraem a atenção do indivíduo. Para isso, consultou-se material produzido pelas duas principais linhas de estudos de jogos: Narratologia e Ludologia. O conteúdo teórico foi comparado e exemplificado através da prática de diversos jogos, principalmente do console Sony Playstation 3. O próprio conceito de jogo narrativo, a prática dos jogos e a relação percebida entre seus elementos e as ferramentas para criar e manter a atenção revelaram que o videogame, através dos jogos narrativos de aventura, representa um potente meio para criar e manter o estado de imersão sobre o jogador. / The objective of this research is to understand how the narrative game of adventure manages to attract and maintain the attention of the player, immersing him into the fictional world, despite the existence of countless stimuli available around him. It is suggested a definition to narrative game of adventure and to immersion, and then it is established a relationship between elements present in games and frameworks that attract the attention of the individual. The research uses material produced by the two main lines of games study: Narratology and Ludology. The theoretical content was compared and exemplified by the practice of different games, mainly of Sony Playstation 3. The concept of narrative game, the playing of games and the relationship between its elements and the attention tools revealed that the narrative game of adventure represents a powerful way to create and maintain the state of immersion of the player.