Counterplay is a way of playing digital games that opposes the encoded algorithms that define their appropriate use and interaction. Counterplay is often manifested within the social arena as practices such as the creation of incendiary user generated content, grief-play, cheating, glitching, modding, and hacking. It is deemed damaging to normative play values, to the experience of play, and detrimental to the viability of videogames as mainstream entertainment products. Counterplay is often framed through the rhetoric of transgression as pathogen, as a hostile, infectious, threatening act. Those found conducting it are subject to a range of punishments ranging from expulsion from videogames to criminal conviction. Despite the steps taken to manage counterplay, it occurs frequently within contemporary videogames causing significant disruption to play and necessitating costly remedy. This thesis argues that counterplay should be understood as a practice with its own pleasures and justifying rhetorics that problematise the rhetoric of pathogen and attenuate the threat of penalty. Despite the social and economic significance of counterplay upon contemporary videogames, relatively little is known of the practices conducted by counterplayers, their motivations, or the rhetorics that they deploy to justify and contextualise their actions. Through the use of ethnographic approaches, including interview and participant observation, alongside the identification and application of five popular rhetorics of transgression, this study aims to expose the meanings and complexities of contemporary counterplay. It examines counterplayer testimonies that articulate the practices and rhetorics underpinning the creation of incendiary user generated content, grief play, glitching, modding, and hacking on the Xbox 360 platform in particular. This study represents a contribution to the field of game studies in an area so far underresearched, offering voice to a previously silent demographic, that of counterplayers. In focussing upon their practices, communities and motivations, this study challenges the framing of counterplay as reductively oppositional or hostile. Instead, counterplay is shown to be an act of seduction, a means of articulating identity, status and recognition, as an expression of hacker ideology, and as a re-engagement with the carnivalesque. These meanings, in addition to the rhetoric of pathogen, offer an expanded image of counterplay and the counterplayer that highlights the significance of counterplay within the context of contemporary popular and youth culture.

Denna kvalitativa studie syftar till att studera vilka motivationer vi kan finna hos de som modifierar det digitala spelet Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, samt vad det är de modifierar. Inom studiens ramar knyter vi även samman motivationer och modifikationer. Vi presenterar även relaterad forskning samt introducerar ämnet digital spelmodifiering. Slutsatsen vi kommer fram till är att det finns flera motivationer av varierande slag, vilka kan knytas till flertalet modifikationskategorier. Vi kommer även fram till att vår slutsats kan kopplas till det modifikations-community som är knutet till Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, nämligen ‘Nexus’, genom att vi använder oss av den kulturella kontexten. / This qualitative study is aimed at studying what motivations can be found among those who modify the digital game Elder Scrolls V:Skyrim, and what it is that they modify. Within the confines of this study we also connect motivations and modifications. We also introduce related research and the subject of digital game modification. The conclusion we arrive at is that there are varied motivations that can be connected to several modification categories. We also conclude that our conclusion can be tied to the modification forum for Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, called ‘Nexus’, in regards to cultural context.

Recent advances in the field of educational technology have promoted the re-purposing of entertainment-oriented games and software for educational applications. This thesis extends a project developed at Texas A&M University called Room 309, a re-purposed modification of Valve Software’s Source Development Kit that models classroom scenarios to pre-service teachers. To further explore effectiveness in the area of re-playability, this work incorporates emergent game behaviors and environments using cellular automata, randomness, and influence maps within the existing nonemergent structure. By introducing these qualities game play is expected to become less predictable, thus increasing the effectiveness of Room 309 as a learning tool.

This thesis explores a specific form of fan-content creation namely videogame modding. The goal is to explore and compare these forms of content and its communities which are present around selected videogames: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Cities: Skylines. The theoretical part of this thesis firstly describes media audiences and their functions in contemporary new media environment. Concern is then shifted to problematic of fandom and fan-content production. Theme of the next part is mainly modding itself, its essence is then described, various aspects of modding research are presented and modding communities and aspects of their functions are introduced. The analytic part firstly describes selected videogames and their mechanics. Later, thesis explores the forms of modifications and corresponding communities, for both games, while also concerned with feedback of other players presented in discussions. It has come to light, that this particular type of fan-content is in general very diverse and very popullar among other players, while, for both games, approach to modifications by gamers and developers is in some aspects slightly different.

I denna uppsats studeras Steams forum där fyra olika spel-communities jämförs med varandra. Det som skiljer dessa spel från varandra är att två av dem är open source och de två andra är inte det. Open source innebär att det går att modifiera spelet utifrån egna preferenser med tillåtelse från spelutvecklaren. Syftet med denna uppsatsen är att mäta engagemang på steams forum genom att analysera forumtrådar. Med hjälp av en kvantitativ innehållsanalys så kan vi ställa spelen mot varandra och jämföra data. De samtliga spelen som analyseras är populära och har en aktiv spelarbas (Steam, 2017), men engagemanget på forumen skiljer sig och kan open source vara en påverkande faktor? Studien tar förutom teorin om open source upp teorier som engagemang, online community, modding och user generated content. Dessa teorier tas upp i studien för att förklara vad som engagerar användare på online forum och om open source är en bidragande faktor till ett större engagemang på steams forum. Analysdelen i studien går till på så vis att man med hjälp av en kvantitativ innehållsanalys analyserar Steams forum utifrån variabler som bestäms innan analysen utförs. Undersökningen resulterade i att det gick att se att spel som är open source har en mer engagerad community på Steams forum. Detta diskuteras vidare i analys- och diskussionsdelen utifrån den tidigare forskning och teori som presenteras teoretiska ramverket. Förutom engagemang så diskuteras även modding betydelse för användarna och exploatering utifrån ett företagsperspektiv. / In this paper, the focus will be on Steam’s forum where four games will be compared to each other. The main difference between the games is that, two of the game is open source and the two other are not. Open source means that it’s possible to modify the game from a person's own preferences with permission from the gaming company to do so. The purpose of this paper is to measure the engagement on Steam's forum by analyzing forum threads. With the help of a quantitative content analysis, the games can be compared to each other and the data as well. The games that are being studied, does all have active players (Steam, 2017), but the engagement is not the same in all gaming-communities. Can open source possibly be an influential factor to how much people engage in different forums? Besides the theory of open source, this paper includes theories about engagement, online community, modding and user generated content. These theories is included in order to explain what possibly can affect users to be more engaged in different communities, and if open source is an influential factor to greater engagement in gaming-communities. The analysis is conducted with the help of a quantitative content analysis that’s based on variables regarding Steam’s forum. The result of the analysis indicated that Steam gaming-communities based around open source games, does have more engaged users. The results are later on discussed in the analysis part, with the help of different theories and research on the subject. Aside from engagement we also discuss the meaning of modding from a user and company perspective.

The influx of new digital media technologies and platforms have made it possible for consumers of media products to more easily create and distribute their own works, which breaks away from the traditional production of culture of media by established, professional creators. Consequently, there has been a rise in the immaterial labor of digital media creators, as well as a formation of online communities of disparately connected users through commonly held interests. Within the medium of video games, this convergence between user and producer of content, the tension between control and innovation of media content and form, online communities and immaterial labor is most clearly seen in the practice of modding, here defined as using legally authorized software to modify video game content. Modding for computer games has been occurring since the early 1990s, and has grown considerably due to the expansion of the internet's capabilities for connecting people and distributing large bands of data. In 2012, Skyrim developers Bethesda Softworks released a free software development tool called the Creation Kit. The Creation Kit allowed computer users to modify the game content, at which point the user could publically release their mods through the authorized Steam Workshop Channel. The Creation Kit was distributed via Steam, an electronic digital games store operated by Valve Corporation, Inc. Because Bethesda required users to play Skyrim through Steam, the Steam Workshop Channel was intended to be the primary distribution and gathering location of the modding community for Skyrim. However, most existing modders already had many previously established third-party modding databases and websites for distribution, which meant that the Steam Workshop Channel was a new and forced entry into the modding community. Using a combination of ethnographic methods (participant observation and interviews) and textual analysis of message board data, and in research gathered between September 2013 and January 2014, this dissertation explores the community dynamics of the modders on the Steam Workshop Channel for Skyrim to help locate the identity politics of the community, as well as navigating the tension between innovation and control within the community. It also explores how a digital media producer attempts to control a space of fan-made production, and what that means for the existing community. I participated and observed conversations on modding community dynamics in specific forums on the Steam Community Workshop for Skyrim. There, I gathered textual data from a diverse sample of conversations located on discussion boards and a diverse set of mods ranging in user-defined ratings (high-rated to low-rated) to highlight the conversational dynamics and implicit and explicit structuring of the community. I gathered materials from over 403 relevant conversation threads on the Steam Community Workshop for Skyrim. I also conducted telephone, web and email interviews with a purposive sample group of 15 modders based on their ranking in the community in order to gather their personal motivations for participating in the group and perceptions of norms, rituals and values in the group. Results indicate that modding communities are hierarchized by historically locating the user within the practice, as well as through extensive technical knowledge and frequency of communication. Heavy users and mod creators separate themselves from "non-modders" or mod users through these practices, defining their identities through discourse and the values of creation. The Steam Workshop Channel was a collision between mod creators and non-modder users, sometimes with clashing ideologies that dissuaded heavier users from fully embracing the Steam Workshop. This study illustrates how Bethesda and Valve were perceived by existing modders, and suggests that companies need to pay attention to how historically located communities of users respond to the actions, policies, membership, and moderation of professional media consumers.

This thesis covers the history of the MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) genre by creating a chronological historical timeline of some of the most catalytic titles. It also delves deeper into the dynamic between modders and companies and how that dynamic changed as the genre evolved. All of this is analyzed through a political economy lens, to see how the power structure and monetization plan for the games in the genre has changed over the years. The research was conducted by piecing together relevant academic papers, with popular sources to construct a credible thesis on the MOBA genre's evolution. One of the key points from this research is how monetization has changed from the beginning of the genre to how it is today. Roughly 20 years ago, when the genre first started, monetization was more straightforward, a one-time purchase for the game. Today, most games in the genre are free-to-play, while containing in-game purchases such as cosmetics and character unlocks.

Dream Quest(2014) introduced the Roguelike deckbuilder as a game genre. The genre later became popular with the help of Slay the Spire in 2017. As the genre is still fairly new, there are not a lot of tools for designing games of said genre. Taking inspiration from games of the same genre could be a solution to such a problem, one way to do so is via modding. Slay the Spire offers an extensive modding API to users which lets users create new cards, items, events, and even characters. By utilizing these features, it is possible to create a concept for a new game. To use the API, however, would require users to be familiar with programming, which could take a long time to learn for a beginner. Thus, a UI, The Creator was created to let users without experience create mods for Slay the Spire. The UI lets users create cards with different actions and properties without the need to interact with the source code.

Slay the Spire is a roguelike deckbuilding game and this genre is fairly new with the first game in this genre called Dream Quest came out in 2014. Since the genre is so new there are not many tools that can help in the creation of games in the genre. Slay the Spire offers an extensive modding API which lets users create new content for the game. This would require the designer to have both programming knowledge and API knowledge which takes a lot of time to learn. This is why Design science as a methodology was chosen to create a UI to make it easier for designers without the required knowledge to still be able to create content for the game. A user study was then conducted to evaluate the usability of the UI. Experiments were also used to test the artifact to make sure content is created correctly.

Independent developers and large-scale development studios - commonly seen as the Davids and Goliaths of the video game industry - are moving closer together. Powerful software frameworks, traditionally reserved for professional developers and only available through expensive licenses, are becoming free to use for consumers. By sharing their tools instead of keeping them for themselves, companies can utilize the combined talent of whole communities and monetize on that talent through royalties and other indirect fees. This paper describes how the video game industry has developed in recent years to allow for this change in business strategy and examines how the industry can continue to evolve because of this. The result of a Delphi study based on interviews with game developers both inside and outside the industry point toward a future of increased intermingling and sharing of knowledge and resources, characterized by more producer-consumer collaborations and closer relationships between companies and their communities. By adopting free-to-use business models and sharing powerful, proprietary software with their consumers, companies are lowering the point of entry for aspiring developers and thereby dissolving the traditional narrative of “we and them” that has existed between independent developers and established studios in the past. / Oberoende utvecklare och storskaliga utvecklingsstudior - vanligtvis betraktade som tv-spelsindustrins David och Goliath - rör sig allt närmre varandra. Kraftfulla mjukvaruramverk som traditionellt sett varit reserverade för professionella utvecklare och som tidigare endast varit tillgängliga genom kostsamma licenser blir i allt större utsträckning gratis att använda för konsumenter. Genom att dela med sig av sina verktyg istället för att hålla dem för sig själva så kan företag nyttja den kombinerade talangen hos sociala nätverk knutna till sina produkter och generera intäkter genom royalties och andra indirekta avgifter. Denna uppsats beskriver hur tv-spelsindustrins utveckling på senare år har möjliggjort denna affärsstrategiska förändring och hur industrin kan fortsätta att utvecklas som en följd av detta. Resultatet av en Delfistudie baserad på intervjuer med spelutvecklare både inom och utanför industrin pekar mot en framtid av ökat samspel och delande av kunskap och resurser. Detta karaktäriseras av fler samarbeten mellan producenter och konsumenter samt närmre relationer mellan företag och deras konsumentnätverk. Genom att ta till sig affärsmodeller som bygger på gratis-att-använda-principer och att dela med sig av avancerad, äganderättsskyddad mjukvara med sina konsumenter, så sänker företag ingångströskeln för aspirerande spelutvecklare. Därigenom löser företagen upp den traditionella  “vi och dem”-relationen som tidigare existerat mellan oberoende utvecklare och etablerade studior.