In this study, an overview is presented regarding how the mechanics in a resource-based game, specifically Crusader Kings II (Paradox Development Studio 2012), might affect the player's connection to the characters in the game. The study introduces conventions prevalent in grand strategy games, roleplaying games as well as literature theory. Participants of the study played two different versions of a mod for Crusader Kings II (2012), and were interviewed, to find indications for how different players related to characters in the game, what mechanics they valued, and their view on the characters themselves. The conclusions that are reached in the study indicated that there are mechanics in the game that influence the player’s connection to the characters, but that it is, to a certain degree, up to the player as to what extent they are used or employed.

The purpose of this essay was to do a research about if the language in Swedish role-playing books is used correctly and if the composition along with the possible language errors makes the books hard to understand. This research was also about to find out why these problems occurs and if the authors are aware of them. I choose books from two Swedish role-playing games, Eon and Drakar och Demoner. I read them trough, noted the mistakes made and put them together in a scoring table. I also did a LIX-test on the books and interviewed one of the authors. The results shows that the books to Eon is harder to read than the books to Drakar och Demoner and this agrees with the vision the authors of the books claims to have. The results also shows that it is not only the language mistakes and the composition that makes the books hard to read, but also the choice of difficult words and badly formulated rules.

Det är uppenbart att narrativ används i spel, inte minst i offline-RPG:n (ORPG:n), där berättelserna är vad som står i centrum. Samtidigt som dessa är ett välkomnatfenomen har de också en tendens att passivisera spelaren och påverka känslan avfrihet. I hur hög grad de gör detta är till viss del subjektivt och därför är det av viktvad som motiverar ORPG-spelaren till spelandet. Denna studie har utvecklat tvåspelprototyper som baseras på motivationerna immersion respektive prestation föratt påvisa motivationsgruppernas preferenser. Studien har fokuserat på att ta reda påhur stor vikt de båda grupperna lägger på känslan av frihet, och haft som hypotes attkravet är högre hos prestationsmotiverade spelare. Av utvärderingen att döma gårdet inte att med säkerhet falsifiera eller bekräfta detta.

Massiva onlinerollspel är idag mycket populära och försäljningen och spelandet utav dessa ökar markant. I och med detta väcks frågan om vad det är i dessa onlinespel som gör att människor spelar och fortsätter spela. Denna uppsats inriktas främst mot MMORPG:s, Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games, då författarna anser att det är i denna onlinespelsgenre den största möjligheten att finna och definiera de faktorer, som påverkar spelares vilja att spela, finns. För att ta reda på dessa faktorer skapades en enkät vars frågor utformades med en gameflowmodell i baktanken. Denna enkät lades sedan ut på sex olika onlinespelsanknutna forum, där totalt 105 spelare anonymt deltog. Den bygger dock även på tidigare gjorda undersökningar och rapporter om onlinespelandets anledningar, analyserade artiklar inom ämnet MMORPG spel och sist men inte minst författarnas egna erfarenheter utav MMORPG spel.

Qu’implique concrètement le fait de s’engager dans une fiction ?La question que pose cette thèse<p>est celle des efforts, des activités ou des « travaux » que doit effectuer le joueur de jeux de rôles<p>grandeur nature quand il veut s’immerger dans un univers fictionnel. Cette activité ludique demande<p>l’adoption d’une posture d’engagement dont le trait principal est qu’elle fonctionne sur un mode<p>collaboratif. Sollicitant les cadres théoriques d’Howard Becker (approche par mondes et division du<p>travail créatif), de Jean-Marie Schaeffer (dispositifs d’immersion fictionnelle), de Laurent Thévenot et<p>de Nicolas Auray (régimes d’engagement), j’examine trois de ces efforts, essentiellement grâce à une<p>ethnographie poussée. Le premier effort consiste à accéder à l’univers en créant un personnage actif<p>et autonome ;le second revient à interagir au sein du monde fictionnel dans un double mouvement<p>qui consiste à repousser ses cadres tout en les renforçant ;le troisième implique d’imaginer des<p>modes d’organisation pour donner un cadre à l’action. / Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The proliferation of the Internet and online-based social interactions has become an increasingly popular topic with communication scholars. The goal of this study was to explore how massively multi-player online role playing game (MMORPG) players make sense of and negotiate their online social interactions. This study (N = 292) examined how players of SecondLife and World of Warcraft evaluated their online relationships compared to their offline relationships and investigated how different levels of realism within different MMORPGs effected player's online experiences. The results indicated that players of SecondLife placed higher values of emotional closeness to their online relationships when compared to players of World of Warcraft and SecondLife was rated more real by its players than World of Warcraft. Results further indicated that players of SecondLife had higher levels of perceived online emotional closeness when compared to perceived offline emotional closeness. Implications of this study focus on developing a bottom up holistic profile of online game players as opposed to the current top down research model.

Between the researcher and the participant: Requirements on sociological research methods and techniques Abstract The dissertation thesis deals with the design of methods and techniques which mediate the commnunication between a researcher and a participant (in-depths, surveys, etc.). The aim of the paper is to comprehensively assess a research practice by a number of criteria and thought experiments. The paper discusses 24 requirements which could be set on the method. It is rooted in the revised moderated neopositivist paradigm specifically from Carnap's concept of observation and theoretical language. It is further enhanced with the concept of conceptual spaces and the social representations concept. The extended theoretical approach is called "achieving the explanation" and it emphasizes (1) the meaning of theoretical assumptions of the scientific model including methodological aspects. (2) The common knowledge is approached as a complex social representation not only an attitude. (3) It stresses the importance of so called fix points which enable the translation between common and scientific knowledge. The thesis is focused on the process of designing the research in all its stages, on the theoretical and conceptual principles and on specific aspects of cooperation with participants.

This study’s purpose is to explore the online medium known as “Actual Play” through the perspective of both content creators, who work within the format as well as their audience who consume and interact with the content. This is a qualitative interview and observation study on the subject of Actual Play. The empirical material consists of four interviews with participants who are in one way or another involved with Actual Play content creation or distribution, an entire episode of an Actual Play series has also been analyzed to demonstrate the concept to readers unfamiliar with Actual Play and/or role-playing games. The questions this study has sought to answer regard what Actual Play is and looks like in practice and what the interactions between participants within Actual Play as well the interactions between these Actual Play creators and their audience looks like. The study’s findings show that the interaction between the different social actors within Actual Play is similar to that of improvisational theater. To maintain the trust between the participants, social contracts that employ safety tools are often used. The interaction between the Actual Play content creators and their audiences seems more personal than average, since they’re all able to inhabit and interact over the Internet. The audience also seems to enjoy that aspect of getting to know the Actual Play actors and/or creators on both a personal level and through their characters. Finally, Actual Plays main appeal appears to be based around being a way to share and engage with others around a shared interest.

Ce mémoire s’intéresse au jeu de rôle numérique, plus spécifiquement le jeu vidéo appartenant au genre du jeu de rôle. Pour comprendre ce genre, il est nécessaire d’en faire l’histoire pour en lire l’évolution à travers le temps. Or, une simple lecture historique ne parvient que très partiellement à restituer un portrait d’ensemble de ce type de jeu vidéo. À partir de notions de genre, de jeu de rôle et d’histoire, ce mémoire dresse un bilan historiographique du RPG ainsi que de ses écritures. Ce bilan permet de dégager les enjeux principaux qui ont articulé l’histoire du jeu de rôle numérique, enjeux qui sont ensuite soumis à une enquête historique. Cette enquête menée sur la critique de jeu vidéo dans des magazines spécialisés entre 1980 et 2006 permet de restituer l’état des lieux à une époque donnée et de le comparer aux écrits des historiens du genre. À la lumière de ces résultats, ce mémoire documente, précise et nuance l’histoire du jeu de rôle telle que construite par les historiens et offre une vision plus actuelle du jeu de rôle numérique d’hier à aujourd’hui. / This master thesis studies digital role-playing games, in this case referring to video games of the role-playing game genre. To do so, it is necessary to study the genre’s history to better understand its evolution through time. However, a historical overview does not fully account for the phenomena of digital role-playing games. Using notions of genre, role-playing games and history, this thesis provides an overview of the history and historiography of role-playing games and its writing. This overview then highlights some major issues which have been integral parts to the genre’s history. These issues are then the focus of a historical study, using video game reviews found in specialized magazines from 1980 to 2006, to situate the state of things in defined points in time regarding role-playing games and compare it to what the genre’s historians have written. This thesis then uses the results obtained to document, clarify, and nuance the history of digital role-playing games built by its historians, and offers a more accurate picture of role-playing video games through their history.

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