In the tenth and final episode of the first season of Meaningful Play, we discuss the incredibly popular open world genre in video games. Specifically, we discuss key questions and issues pertaining to the open world genre, such as what constitutes the open world genre, how the genre is generally defined in terms of constructive elements, what games historically contributed to the development of the genre, and what our favourite open-world games are.

Games:
Ghostwire: Tokyo, Cyberpunk 2077, The Outer Worlds, Watchdogs: Legion, Gods & Monsters, Elden Ring, The Hobbit, The Portopia Serial Murder Case, Shenmue (series), Yazuka (series), Grand Theft Auto (series), World of Warcraft, Legend of Zelda (series), Super Mario 64, Red Dead Redemption, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Assassin’s Creed (series), Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Fallout (series), Far Cry (series), Horizon Zero Dawn, Elder Scrolls (series), Minecraft.   

References:

Giant Bomb 2019, ‘Open World’, Giant Bomb Wiki. Available from: <https://www.giantbomb.com/open-world/3015-207/>.

Graft, K 2016, ‘In open world game design, curiosity is key, says Bethesda’s Todd Howard’, Gamasutra, 17 March. Available from: <https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/268274/In_open_world_game_design_curiosity_is_key_says_Bethesdas_Todd_Howard.php>.

Jaekle, B 2018, ‘The Four Basics of Open World Storytelling’, Gamasutra, 4 January. Available from: <https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/BenjaminJaekle/20180401/315969/The_Four_Basics_of_Open_World_Storytelling.php>.

Moby Games n.d., Sandbox / Open World. Available from: <https://www.mobygames.com/genre/sheet/sandbox/>.

Credits: 

In the ninth episode of Meaningful Play, we discuss horror as a video game genre. Specifically, we ask questions such as what elements we believe constitute horror, how current academic literature conceives of horror as a genre in games (with reference to scholarly research focusing on body genre), and how horror games will develop in the future. We also discuss what our favourite horror games are, as well as games we enjoy that incorporate ‘horror’ elements.

Games:
Final Fantasy VII, God of War, Warlock: Master of the Arcane, Persona 5, Fatal Frame, Layers of Fear, Siren (series), Silent Hill (series), Amnesia (series), Outlast (series), Bioshock (series), Resident Evil (series), Until Dawn, Doki Doki Literature Club, Bloodborne, Control, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, Pony Island, Oxenfree, Prey, Red Dead Redemption, Simulacra, Alien Isolation.

References:

Habel, C & Kooyman, B 2014, ‘Agency mechanics: gameplay design in survival horror video games’, Digital Creativity, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 1–14.

Krzywinska, T 2002, ‘Hands-On Horror’, Spectator, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 12–23.

Perron, B 2009, ‘The Survival Horror: The Extended Body Genre’, in,

Roose III, R 2009, ‘Match Made in Hell: The Inevitable Success of

Williams, L 2009, ‘Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess’, in L

Credits: 

In the eighth episode of Meaningful Play, we reflect on our favourite kinds of games, and quickly realise that genre is quite complex in game studies. We discuss what genres are comprised of, how they are established, and how they change. In particular, we consider the role that genre has in games compared to film, noting that it communicates theme and mechanics, and so game genres are often difficult to pin down. We share games that stood out because of their ability to cross genre boundaries, such as Portal and Doki Doki Literature Club. Finally, we consider the usefulness of genre – while games are constantly crossing boundaries, genre is important in marketing, and can help players understand their own preferences. Genre is also quite important for certain players who want to experience certain kinds of play.

Games:

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Beyond: Two Souls, Bioshock,

References:

Buchanan, I 2010, Oxford dictionary of critical theory, Oxford University Press, New York.

Chandler, D & Munday, R 2016, A dictionary of media and communication 2nd edn., Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Clarke, RI, Lee, JH & Clark, N 2017, ‘Why video game genres

Costikyan, G 2005, ‘Game styles, innovation, and

Doherty, SM, Keebler, JR, Davidson, SS, Palmer, EM

Faisal, A & Peltoniemi, M 2015, ‘Establishing

Pinchbeck, D 2013, DOOM: SCARYDARKFAST,

In the seventh episode of Meaningful Play, we discuss sex and romance in games once again! In this much anticipated part two, we talk about sex with greater consideration, asking how sex, as well as the distinction between sex and romance, is discussed within the relevant academic literature. Moreover, we discuss depictions of sex and romance in games that we believe are excellent, and those we believe are disappointing, in terms of their reflection of sex/romance in contemporary culture and society. We conclude by discussing what we would like to see from representations of sex and romance in videogames in future releases.

Games: 

Detroit: Become Human, The Last Door, The Sims (series), Custer’s Revenge, Super Mario (series), Doki Doki Literature Club, Dragon Age (series), Red Dead Redemption II, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, VR Chat, Tomb Raider (series), Remember Me.

References: 

Consalvo, M 2003, ‘Hot Dates and Fairy-Tale Romances: Studying Sexuality in Video Games, in, M. J.P. Wolf & B. Perron (eds), The Video Game Theory Reader, pp. 171-194. Routledge, New York, New York.

Krzywinska, T 2015, ‘The strange case of the misappearance of sex in

In the sixth episode of Meaningful Play, we discuss sex and romance in video games. We discuss our experiences of romance in video games, and the difficulties in portraying a believable romantic experience. One interesting aspect of this is procedural rhetoric, which Ware (2015) touches on in his discussion of how video games can encourage ‘Nice Guy Syndrome’. We also briefly outline the history of controversial sex in video games, including Custer’s Revenge, and the proliferation of visual novels.

Games:
Bayonetta, Custer’s Revenge, Dead or Alive, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Duke Nukem Forever, Far Cry 3, Fatal Frame, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Heavy Rain, Night in the Woods, Overwatch, Persona 5, Resident Evil, Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

References:

Bogost, I 2007, Persuasive games: The expressive power of videogames, MIT Press, Cambridge.

Payne, MT, Alilunas, P 2016, ‘Regulating the desire machine: Custer’s Revenge and 8-Bit Atari porn video games’, Television & New Media, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 80-96.

Taylor, E 2007, ‘Dating-simulation games: Leisure and gaming of Japanese youth culture’, Review of Asian Studies, vol. 29, pp. 192–208.

Ware, N 2015, ‘Iterative romance and button-mashing sex: Gameplay design and video games’ Nice Guy Syndrome’, in M Wysocki & EW Lauteria (eds), Rated M for Mature: Sex and sexuality in video games, Bloomsbury, New York & London, pp. 225–239.

Visual Novel Database: https://vndb.org/

Credits: 
Artwork created by Amber Collins.
Music created with Per Nyblom’s Abundant Music

In the fifth episode of Meaningful Play, we discuss Ann Takamaki from Persona 5 (2017), a character we feel is hypersexualized and objectified, and in conjunction with both audio-visual elements and mechanics, highly contradictory in her depiction. As is well documented in games studies, female representation in video games has been highly controversial, with female characters having a long history of being constructed as sexualized, passive, and Lynch et al. (2016) note, secondary. We discuss Ann in relation to player identification, cultural relativism, and media effects. We ask whether we can identify or relate with Ann, how the world of Persona 5 impacts the framing of Ann’s character, and what other female characters in games we have potentially struggled to identify with.

Games:
Final Fantasy X, NieR: Automata, Persona 5, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, The Last Door, Tomb Raider (series)

References:

Behm-Morawitz, E & Mastro, D 2009, ‘The effects of the sexualization of female video game characters on gender stereotyping and female self-concept’, Sex Roles, vol. 61, no. 11/12, pp. 808–823.

Lynch, T, Tompkins, JE, van Driel, II & Fritz, N 2016, ‘Sexy, strong, and secondary: A content analysis of female characters in video games across 31 years’, Journal of Communication, vol. 66, no. 4, pp. 564–584.

Summers, A & Miller, M 2014, ‘From damsels in distress to sexy superheroes: How the portrayal of sexism in video game magazines has changed in the last twenty years’, Feminist Media Studies, vol. 14, no. 6, pp. 1028–1040.

Credits: 
Artwork created by Amber Collins.
Music created with Per Nyblom’s Abundant Music

Welcome to the fourth episode of Meaningful Play. In this episode, we discuss why there are so many franchises in the games market, as well as the industry’s struggle to balance innovation and familiarity. We also consider the role that nostalgia plays in game production and consumption, as well as discuss what our favourite franchises* are, and how do their developers keep things fresh and interesting in the face of repetition? Why do we believe remakes have a lot of value? Finally, we also contemplate what new features would we like to see in remakes of our most cherished games.

* The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s ‘divine beasts’ are
incorrectly stated as ‘guardians’ in this episode. Apologies!

Games:
Anthem, Assassin’s Creed (series), Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, Final Fantasy (series). Final Fantasy X, Spyro (series), Spyro Reignited, The Legend of Dragoon, The Legend of Zelda (series), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Yooka-Laylee.

References:

Tschang, FT 2007, ‘Balancing the tensions between rationalization and creativity in the video games industry’, Organization Science, vol. 18, no. 6, pp. 989-1005.

Wulf, T, Bowman, ND, Rieger, D, Velez, JA & Breuer, J 2018, ‘Video games as time machines: Video game nostalgia and the success of retro gaming’, Media and Communication, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 60-68.

Credits: 
Artwork created by Amber Collins.
Music created with Per Nyblom’s Abundant Music

Welcome to the third episode of Meaningful Play. In this episode we discuss what kinds of avatars we design or choose in games, and what kinds of patterns we notice in this behaviour. We also discuss the ever-controversial concept of immersion – do you feel ‘immersed’ in certain games? How do you view yourself in relation to the avatar? What impact does this have on the way you play?

Games:
Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Bioshock, Bloodborne, Dark Souls (series), Dead by Daylight, Divinity: Original Sin II, Fallout 4, Gone Home, Heavy Rain, Infra, Katamari Damacy, Life is Strange, Mario Kart, Muppet RaceMania, NieR: Automata, Okami, Overwatch, Persona 5, Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver, Pokemon Sun/Moon, Pokemon Sword/Shield, Red Dead Redemption, Resident Evil (remake), The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Witcher 3.

References:

Banks, J 2015, ‘Object, me, symbiote, other: A social typology of player-avatar relationships’, First Monday, vol. 20, no. 2, accessed November 22, 2017, from <http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/5433/4208>.

Mancini, T & Sibilla, F 2017, ‘Offline personality and avatar customisation. Discrepancy profiles and avatar identification in a sample of MMORPG players’, Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 69, pp. 275–283.

Paik, PC & Shi, C-K 2013, ‘Playful gender swapping: User attitudes toward gender in MMORPG avatar customisation’, Digital Creativity, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 310–326.

Shaw, A 2013, ‘Rethinking Game Studies: A case study approach to video game play and identification’, Critical Studies in Media Communication, vol. 30, no. 5, pp. 347–361.

Shaw, A 2015, Gaming at the edge: Sexuality and gender at the margins of gamer culture, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.

Stabile, C 2014, ‘“I will own you”: Accountability in massively multiplayer online games’, Television & New Media, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 43–57.

Credits:
Artwork created by Amber Collins
Music created with Per Nyblom’s Abundant Music

Welcome to the second episode of Meaningful Play. In this episode, we discuss our enjoyment (and frustrations!) in playing video games cooperatively. How does local coop compare to online play, and is passing the controller around enough? How do you deal with disagreements when playing with others? How is the video game industry currently approaching co-op titles (if at all)? Find out above!

Articles:

Ewoldson, DR, Eno, CA, Okdie, BM, Velez, JA, Guadagno, RE, & DeCoster, J 2012, ‘Effect of playing violent video games cooperatively or competitively on subsequent cooperative behavior’, Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, vol. 15, no. 5, pp. 277-280.

Loomis, M 2015, ‘The rise of online multiplayer games and the collapse of couch co-op’, Game Rant. Available from: <https://gamerant.com/rise-of-online-multiplayer-games-couch-coop/> [28 February 2019].

New York Film Academy 2015, ‘The decline of couch co-op’. Available from: https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/the-decline-of-couch-co-op/ [28 February 2019].

Credits:
Artwork created by Amber Collins.
Music created with Per Nyblom’s Abundant Music.