This thesis investigates the level of focus a player is displaying while playing a role-playing game. The thesis tries to answer the questions if the level of focus is different while a player is watching an event scene versus during gameplay and if there is a difference in the level of focus displayed by new players versus experience ones. To answer this question a playtest was performed in the role-playing game Final Fantasy XIII and the player’s reaction was recorded and documented. The result suggests that the level of focus a player is displaying is lower during event scenes than during gameplay.

This essay will try to examine the breakthrough of symphonic game music by following my hypothesis of the actual breakthrough in late 90s through early 2000s. The method of the essay is a hermeneutic approach which will find different interpretations that in the later part of the essay will lead to an analysis and discussion. This approach is a way for later scholars to examine the subject further. A central part of the essay is to define the term symphonic game music which never before in broader terms have been defined, though the terms dynamic music and orchestral music has been used by scholars such as Collins. Central figures i write about are Nobuo Uematsu and Winifred Phillips, whose contributions to the field of game music are extraordinary, and they also bring forth their own theories. I write more about theories, among others Karen Collins and Koji Kondo, to broaden the discussions. The delimitations in this essay are very important to narrow the types of games studied, and they are for the most part video games and computer games. In the actual examination i refer to among others the scholars Donnelly, Phillips and Collins to map the time of breakthrough and how it actually happened. The games I examine in more detail are Final Fantasy and The Elder Scrolls because I argue in my hypothesis that these two game series are important for the actual breakthrough. Tables and notes from Final Fantasy are used to clarify the subject studied. In the end of the essay I conclude with different perspectives and evaluation of the subject.

The objective of this study was to investigate how players experience learning English through playing the popular MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV. It also discussed the improvement in English skills achieved through playing the game, exploring what aspects they have improved and how they were able to do that. This research may interest individuals seeking to understand how video games can improve language skills. Moreover, it is relevant to those who play MMORPGs, a genre where players can experience and practice real-life situations and roles. The research has been done through conducting semi-structured qualitative online interviews with six informants from different backgrounds and English levels. During the interviews, informants were questioned about their experience with learning English while playing Final Fantasy XIV. The results suggested that they improved their vocabulary knowledge and their communication skills through using productive skills with other players. Furthermore, players had different experiences on how they have learned, a few of them learned through repetition and exposure to the game’s content.

The purpose of this study was to provide data concerning Distributive Justice system use and perceived fairness by citizens who have participated in a Distributive Justice based society over a long period of time. This data filled a hole in academic studies which had previously focused on datasets from citizens in non-Distributive Justice based societies or participants in short-term experiments. Using a questionnaire, players of the online game Final Fantasy XIV were asked a series of questions concerning their perceptions of fairness and use of varying Distributive models, as well as questions on their perceived relationships to one another and time spent within Final Fantasy XIV. There were four main results of the study. Firstly, Utilitarian and Need based distribution systems were seen as the most fair and used. Secondly, perceived relationships between participants did not majorly affect perceived fairness of Distribution systems. Thirdly, more time spent in Final Fantasy XIV did affect perceived fairness of varying types of Distribution systems. And, finally, the results indicated a Sufficiency based reasoning for using Utilitarian and Need based resource distribution to individuals until groups hit a sufficiency level, at which point the Distribution systems changed to meet new criteria.

Abstract In this study, the role-playing game Final Fantasy 7 was analysed in regards of its qualities for English language development. Areas concerning language, specifically vocabulary, and video games explored in this study were academic words, words that express time, collocations, frequency, and keywords. Other areas investigated in this study are video games in connection to the syllabus for English, students’ outside of school interests, and implications for teaching. Data from a corpus-based vocabulary analysis showed that the players of Final Fantasy 7 will encounter a rich variety of words and linguistic features. Further, the text of Final Fantasy 7 shares a lot of the same qualities with texts from English 5 and 6, concerning academic words. Although, an analysis of keywords in the game and in the school texts also showed some differences, mainly in terms of grammatical variations, which indicate that Final Fantasy 7 can function as a complement to typical school texts.

The aim of this study was to identify if digital games could be used as a method to study Cosmopolitan Democracy. Using a mixed methods approach, players of the Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV) community were asked to answer a questionnaire concerning the importance of age, gender and nationality of other players, in order to see if their values aligned with those of Cosmopolitan Democracy. The questionnaire also investigated the use of the Auto-Translate feature in FFXIV to examine its usefulness as a lingua franca to bridge gaps in language equality. Furthermore a literature review on the use of digital games in education and ideologies was conducted. The results showed that the values of the FFXIV community do align with those of Cosmopolitan Democracy, that Auto-Translate successfully acts as a lingua franca, and that games have a history of teaching players about differing ideologies. The conclusions advocated the creation of a game based on Cosmopolitan Democracy, allowing for players to experience the democratic model and for researchers to gather data on its functionality.