Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T18:17:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Carlos William Ferreira de Lima.pdf: 1057288 bytes, checksum: 7e64f6a56172d5d50fa51283b5b546ec (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-05-12 / Videogames nowadays represent new ways of hypermediatic language, that is, complex narratives in features of games, in which users, known as interactors, are introduced with the purpose of having fun. In a short period of time, games have become an environment where different forms of communication are introduced in an interactive mode, providing gamers a feeling of immersion in such narratives. Having been launched together with new models of console, produced by Microsoft (X-Box 360) and Sony (Playstation 3), games depict graphical representations in its hypermediatic narratives which are almost realistic, exploring the high capacity of data processing of these consoles. This Master dissertation aims at providing an understanding of the reasons why three dimensional images that have realistic aspect in games of new generations appeal and promote the membership of interactors playing these games. With the help of concepts taken from Semiotics of Images, more focused on Peircean Semiotics, and with the help of works developed by Lúcia Santaella, Rogério Tavares, Sérgio Nesteriuk and Alexander Galloway, it is expected that the reader will understand how the use of such realistic images can cause a psychological adherence that stimulates the gamer s actions, deepening on the feeling of immersion in a hypermediatic narrative One of the clearest features of images with realistic reproduction lies in the interactive depth that they provoke, as deep as not making the interactor aware that he is before a digital reproduction of an environment or even a photographical image or an imagine portrayed in cinematography. The method of this study will be developed through the analysis of a corpus of games in which realistic images reach a level of accentuated simulation, bearing in mind the specific role that they represent in the dynamic process of the interactor and the game. Regarding the studies of the authors previously mentioned - which were also related to videogames and the help of semiotics - and this research, it was found positive responses for the questions mentioned above. Using theoretical studies, we could show the role of such realistic image in the virtual simulation of spaces and reality. We were also able to diagnose that these images have stronger effect or not depending on the type of interactor who manipulates them, as presented by Alexander Galloway. The realistic images in videogames play an important role in the sense that they bring the gamer inside the game and through the way of controlling, they interact with these images and adhere to the narrative presented, as if they were part of the image / Os videogames hoje apresentam novas formas de linguagem hipermidiática, ou seja, narrativas complexas na modalidade de jogos, nas quais os usuários, aqui denominados interatores, inserem-se com o intuito de se divertir. Os games tornaram-se em pouco tempo um ambiente em que diferentes formas de comunicação se apresentam de forma interativa, dando ao jogador a sensação de imersão nessas narrativas. Lançados conjuntamente com os novos modelos de consoles, produzidos pela Microsoft (X-Box 360) e Sony (Playstation 3), em suas narrativas hipermidiáticas, os games usam representações gráficas quase realistas, explorando a alta capacidade de processamento de dados desses consoles. Esta dissertação de mestrado busca compreender porque o uso das imagens em três dimensões, com aspecto realista, nos games de nova geração, atraem e favorecem o agenciamento dos interatores ao jogarem esses games. Com auxílio de conceitos extraídos da Semiótica da imagem, com especial atenção à Semiótica Peirceana e auxiliado pelos trabalhos desenvolvidos, por Lúcia Santaella, Rogério Tavares, Sérgio Nesteriuk e Alexander Galloway, espera-se compreender como o uso dessas imagens realistas causam uma aderência psíquica, que estimula ações do jogador, aprofundando a sensação de imersão em uma narrativa hipermidiática. Um dos traços mais evidentes das imagens, com reprodução realista, está na profundidade interativa que elas provocam, até o ponto do interator não se dar conta de que está diante de uma reprodução digital de um ambiente ou mesmo de uma imagem fotográfica ou cinematográfica do real. Que características semióticas essas imagens têm que as habilitam a produzir esse efeito comunicativo simulador de uma vivência real? Eis a questão central que esta pesquisa buscará enfrentar. A metodologia se processará pela análise de um corpus de games em que as imagens realistas atingem um grau de simulação acentuado, tendo em vista determinar o papel específico que elas desempenham no processo dinâmico do interator com o game. A partir dessa pesquisa, foi possível encontrar em meio aos estudos dos autores já mencionados, que também se lançaram sobre os videogames com auxílio da semiótica, respostas positivas à nossa busca por responder a questão apresentada anteriormente. Conseguimos demonstrar, por meio de estudos teóricos, qual o papel dessa imagem realista, no campo da simulação virtual de espaços e realidades. Ainda foi possível diagnosticar que essas imagens têm efeito maior ou menor, dependendo do tipo de interator que as manipula, como foi apresentado por Alexander Galloway. As imagens realistas nos videogames têm papel importante no fato de trazer para dentro do game o jogador que, por meio de controles, interage com essas imagens e adere à narrativa apresentada a ele, como se participasse dentro da imagem

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T18:17:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Renata Correia Lima Ferreira Gomes.pdf: 13310244 bytes, checksum: 461b70952a77f132a4d560c29c6c5e16 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-11-03 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / From the conceptual of character-oriented games and of simulation games the present research draws the idea of narrative games as an immersive simulation , to be experienced by the interactor through his or her traversing the virtual space of the game as an implicated character and through his or her interaction with the autonomous characters of the game. We carry through the hypothesis that the key for the implentation of a dramatic strutucture in the game albeit fundamentally different from that of film or theater is in the design of autonomous characters. These we take to be object inhabiting the space-time of the game, carrying a high degree of autonomy, complexity and intentionality, who, through the possibility of empathy, constitute in themselves a pathway towards a dramatic entity with or against whom the interactor has to act. To demonstrate that, we describe narrative as a evolutionary strategy towards a causal mindframe, which evolves side-be-side with the media that materialize it, from oral narratives to 3D interactive digital pieces. A second step toward demonstrating our hypothesis is to describe autonomous characters through Artificial Intelligence applied to narrative: the believable characters . We take as a reference the work of the research groups Oz and Synthetic Characters, and of Brazilian game designer Marcos Cuzziol. Finally, a third step is to approach the nature of the fiction character, through the work of Aristotle and Fernando Segolin, and the concept of empathy, under the approach of Evan Thompson. Empathy here is understood as pre-condition for the comprehension of the Other and of ourselves as affective, emotional and intentional entities. To illustrate this final view, we analyze a few aspects of the Creatures from the games Black & White I e II, in an attempt to point out how some qualities proposed are instantiated / A partir do universo dos games de personagem e games de simulação , a pesquisa em curso pretende descrever a narrativa nos games como uma simulação imersiva , a ser experimentada pelo interator através de seu percurso pelo espaço virtual do game no papel de um personagem e de sua interação com personagens autônomos, operados pelo software. Levamos adiante a hipótese de que a peça-chave para a implementação de uma estrutura dramática no game ainda que fundamentalmente diferente daquela conhecida no cinema e teatro - jaz no design dos personagens autônomos. Estes entendemos como objetos do espaço-tempo virtual, dotados de alto grau de autonomia, complexidade e intencionalidade, que, através da possibilidade de empatia, constituiriam em si o caminho para a emergência de uma vontade dramática com/contra a qual o interator teria que lidar. Para isto, descrevemos a narrativa como uma estratégia evolutiva de pensamento comunicacional e causal, que se desenvolve de acordo com os meios nos quais se materializa, da oralidade primária ao audiovisual digital interativo 3D. Um segundo passo trata de descrever os personagens autônomos, em sua faceta de Inteligência Artificial voltada para games e narrativas interativas: os agentes verossímeis . Para isso, tomamos como referência o trabalho dos grupo de pesquisa Oz e Sythetic Characters, assim como do game designer brasileiro Marcos Cuzziol. Um terceiro passo consiste em abordar a natureza da personagem de ficção a partir de Aristóteles, Fernando Segolin e do conceito de empatia, sobretudo na visão de Evan Thompson, esta entendida como pré-condição para a compreensão do outro e de nós mesmos como entidades afetivas, emocionais e intencionais. Para finalizar, procedemos a uma análise de alguns aspectos das Criaturas dos jogos Black & White I e II, na tentativa de descrever como se instanciam algumas qualidades das propostas anteriores

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / This dissertation has as its object the concept of creativity, as applied on entertainment products, more specifically on video games. Since this is a concept that has been used as an analysis category for researches within the CiberCog Research Lab, we want to problematize and redefine its parameters for future investigations. Thus our goal is to revise the concept of creativity, seeking to uncover how this category shall be used to study cognitive abilities that are required (and/or stimulated) for the fruition of entertainment products, most specially video games. The selected games for this study were divided into two groups (according to their genre): (1) action/adventure games, and (2) platform games. In the first group, we have Assassins Creed III (Ubisoft 2012); in the second, we have Rayman Origins (Ubisoft 2011). For the implementation of the research, there is a Cartographic-inspired method which stimulated the writing of collected data

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / This dissertation has as its object the concept of creativity, as applied on entertainment products, more specifically on video games. Since this is a concept that has been used as an analysis category for researches within the CiberCog Research Lab, we want to problematize and redefine its parameters for future investigations. Thus our goal is to revise the concept of creativity, seeking to uncover how this category shall be used to study cognitive abilities that are required (and/or stimulated) for the fruition of entertainment products, most specially video games. The selected games for this study were divided into two groups (according to their genre): (1) action/adventure games, and (2) platform games. In the first group, we have Assassins Creed III (Ubisoft 2012); in the second, we have Rayman Origins (Ubisoft 2011). For the implementation of the research, there is a Cartographic-inspired method which stimulated the writing of collected data

O objetivo deste trabalho é investigar as relações entre a representação da História e os jogos eletrônicos (Videogames) através da análise dos jogos da série, produzidos entre 2007 e 2015, Assassins Creed. A série representou múltiplos tempos históricos em narrativas, jogabilidades e espaços virtuais que reconstituíram cenários do passado para exploração e interação de um jogador que controla o avatar de um Assassino. Nossa investigação pretende compreender este produto, ainda pouco estudado nas ciências humanas, em sua especificidade, estabelecendo sua posição dentro da Indústria Cultural em seus suportes materiais e distintos gêneros e em relação a outros jogos. Utilizamos um dos episódios em específico, Assassins Creed III (2012), para nos aprofundarmos sobre o desenvolvimento da narrativa de acontecimentos, a elaboração do espaço, a interatividade proposta, para então compreender como as várias temporalidades são sistematizadas em uma estrutura narrativa e lúdica no conjunto da série, que expressa uma determinada visão sobre o multiculturalismo e a História. / The goal of this work is to investigate relations between the representation of History and electronic games (Videogames) by analyzing the game series Assassins Creed (between 2007 and 2015), which has representations of multiple historic times in narratives, gameplays and virtual spaces that reconstitute sceneries of the past for a player to explore and interact controlling the character of an Assassin. Our investigation intends to understand this product, which has been very little studied in the Humanities, within its specificity, and to pinpoint its position within the Culture Industry with its material supports and many genres as well as in relation to other games. One specific episode of the game, Assassins Creed III (2012), has been used for in-depth analysis of the narrative development of events, the creation of space and the proposed interactivity, so as to understand how the many temporalities are systemized in a ludic and narrative structure throughout the whole series, which expresses a specific view on multiculturalism and History itself.

This thesis deals with the issue of propaganda in contemporary war themed videogames. Considering the current geopolitical situation on one hand, and the pervasiveness and widespread use of the videogame medium in general, and war videogames in particular, together with the collaboration between the military and the videogame industry, part of the wider military-entertainment complex, on the other hand, it cannot be excluded that military propaganda might be present in such digital media. This study explores through which persuasive techniques is propaganda manifest in war-themed videogames. The answer is achieved using theories of rhetoric and persuasiveness in videogames and by conducting a textual game analysis of 10 different war-themed videogames. A great number of persuasive techniques at work were found within the videogames, each of them working based on certain principles identified by previous literature. Through a limited set of options, players are exposed to the normalization of morally questionable acts such as civilian shooting and torture of enemy prisoners. The war videogames in question are not neutral in their playworld, mechanics, and playformance, and heavy and widespread use of propaganda can be found within them.

The goal of the thesis is to create an extension for Unity Development Platform that will allow creation of computer games from design of game logic to scene programming on visual level. The extension forms an abstract layer between designers, who manage game objects on logic level, and programmers, who are responsible for implementation of parts that can't be created automatically. It then facilitates some designing processes and iterations by eliminating the need of manual programming in places that can by automate and allows to concentrate on the design process itself.

Image of religion in Bioshock: Infinite computer game Master's thesis - Bc.Jiří Kothera Few mainstream computer games have caused such controversy as Bioshock: Infinite (Irrational Games, 2013). The third installment of the Bioshock series is set in the fictional city of Columbia in an alternate history of early twentieth century, which at first glance appears to be a perfect social utopia. After a while, however, the narrative begins to uncover the multilayered problems of society oppressed by a fraction of the white elite and religious fanaticism embodied by the character of Z.H.Comstock, the charismatic leader of the whole community. The popularity of the game and its stable position at the top of the various popularity charts are not only due to the attractive audiovisual processing and complex game mechanics. It is primarily a story that uses (for a mass audience product) an unprecedented amount of religious symbolism - especially Christian, historical references, polysemic story elements and the story based on the concepts of Frontier myth and American exceptionalism. This work deals with the analysis of narrative and religious-social phenomena appearing in the game, especially those that are directly related to the religious and nationalistic topics in the United States.

Denna uppsats utgör en jämförande studie primärt inom fältet för traditionell litteraturvetenskap, adaption, remediering och transmedialitet, med ett innehållsligt genusperspektiv. Det undersökta materialet utgörs av två verk, tv-spelet Bioshock samt romanen som är baserad på spelet och är en prequel till det, Bioshock: Rapture. Det rör sig därmed om en form av adaption av berättelsevärlden, snarare än den mer konventionella adaptionen. Gestaltningar och representationer utifrån ett genusperspektiv analyseras utifrån hur de transmedieras mellan två tämligen olika medieformer. De utförda analyserna tyder på att genus, som det förstås i uppsatsen, representeras stereotypiskt för att därigenom rikta kritik gentemot detta, samt att de stereotypa skildringarna i viss mån förstärks i den transmediala processen i romanadaptionen. / This essay constitutes a comprehensive study within the field of traditional literary studies,adaptation studies, remediation, transmediality, whereas the content is analyzed through gender theory. The material examined consists of two sources, the videogame Bioshock, and the novel based upon the game, the prequel Bioshock: Rapture. The adaptation can be considered as an adaptation of the story world, rather than the conventional form of adaptations. Manifestations and representations of gender is being analyzed based on how they are being transmediated between two rather different types of media. The analyses conducted indicates that gender, as understood within the essay, is being represented rather stereotypically to thereby direct criticism against it. This kind of representations is also being emphasized in the transmedial process of the novel adaptation.

The Representation of Journalists in Videogames aims to find out how do videogame developers represent journalists in the mainstream videogames. The analysis is based on five case studies of various videogames but it also includes sequels and prequels of the selected games. The author of this thesis analyzes nine videogame journalists which can be differentiated into several categories: investigative reporters, photojournalists, paparazzis, radio and TV reporters and hosts of various television shows. Their behavior is not the only aspect this thesis analyzes because their visual appearance is also fully in the hands of the game developers. This thesis proves that the videogame journalists are sometimes depicted stereotypically but if so, it is always for a reason. Videogame developers do not always use this sort of depictions and can even accurately describe journalistic practice and behavior. Journalism is always better described if the journalist is a heroic protagonist of their videogame. If they are villains, it is often described using various negative stereotypes.