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From Generative to Conventional Play: MOBA and League of Legends
Simon Ferrari's 2013 DiGRA paper examines the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) genre through League of Legends, arguing that the genre emerged from player-modders working within Warcraft III, most notably the DotA mod, whose generative, exocentric design choices, including removing base-building, standardizing 5v5 play…
- The MOBA genre emerged from player-modders working in Warcraft III, most notably the DotA mod, whose design choices (removing base-building, standardizing 5v5 play, and using a single symmetrical map) were later commercialized.
- Ferrari positions League of Legends as the central MOBA case, citing it as the most played game by hours, supported by a professional competitive scene and a free-to-play model sustained by ongoing champion releases and data-driven balancing.
- Ferrari argues League of Legends constitutes conventional, exocentric play, with its team-based competition shaped by layered hidden and complex information.
From Euclidean Space to Albertian Gaze: Traditions of Visual Representation in Games Beyond the Surface
This paper argues that the visual analysis of video games has been dominated by perspective, the mathematical "simulation of the gaze" descended from Alberti, and that this emphasis obscures the wider repertoire of representational traditions games actually draw on.
- The visual analysis of games has been dominated by Albertian perspective, which obscures the wider repertoire of representational systems games actually use, including oblique, axonometric, and parallel projections.
- The paper argues that the choice among projection systems is governed by functional and gameplay demands rather than artistic lineage, illustrated by SimCity 4 (parallel projection) versus Red Dead Redemption (perspective) as genre-driven decisions.
- The 26.6-degree dimetric angle yields a clean 1:2 pixel ratio, which explains why isometric and dimetric projections persisted in pixel-art games.
Thanatogaming: Death, Videogames, and the Biopolitical State
"Thanatogaming: Death, Videogames, and the Biopolitical State" argues that death can operate as a form of resistance to biopower, and that videogames, though themselves instruments of biopolitical governance, can become spaces where this resistance is performed.
- The report argues that death can function as a form of resistance to biopower, and that videogames, though instruments of biopolitical governance, can become spaces where this resistance is performed.
- The industry has built networked legal, technical, and economic control over its products, from Nintendo's 10NES lockout chip and the Tengen lawsuit to developers' quasi-sovereign "virtual biopower" over player economies in World of Warcraft, including the gold-farming case.
- Death is framed as a core procedural concept in games, with titles such as September 12 and Limbo showing that failure mechanics can carry social critique and shape players' understanding of mortality and consequence.
Games You REALLY Might Not Have Tried: Horror Games - Find New Games - Extra Credits
This overview explores a curated selection of unconventional horror and experimental video games, emphasizing titles that deviate from mainstream industry tropes.
- Experimental horror games often prioritize systemic complexity and psychological discomfort over the polished, accessible mechanics found in high-budget survival horror titles.
- Titles like 'I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream' and 'Song of Saya' demonstrate how mature, transgressive themes can be used to explore complex human narratives beyond traditional genre tropes.
- Games such as 'The Castle Doctrine' and 'Starseed Pilgrim' utilize unconventional mechanics that force players to engage with internal systems rather than relying on standard tutorials.
Overlooked - The Hidden Potential of Hidden Object Games - Extra Credits
Hidden object games represent a significant, often overlooked segment of the gaming industry that operates within its own ecosystem, largely disconnected from mainstream gaming media and discourse.
- Hidden object games represent a massive commercial segment that frequently outperforms high-profile mainstream titles like Madden, despite being largely ignored by industry analysts.
- The genre has evolved from simple visual puzzles into complex narrative experiences that effectively preserve and modernize the legacy of classic point-and-click adventure games.
- Hidden object games have consistently featured female protagonists for years, successfully normalizing women in lead roles without the performative constraints often seen in male-oriented gaming.
Much more than Worms: Team 17's Bethany Aston on creativity and utilising classic brands
Team 17 maintains a strategic balance between leveraging its established heritage brands and fostering internal innovation.
- Team 17 employs a dual-track development strategy that balances the modernization of legacy intellectual properties with the incubation of original game concepts.
- The company utilizes quarterly internal game jams as a primary mechanism to test new mechanics and generate fresh design perspectives for both new and existing franchises.
- Legacy titles like Worms and Superfrog are maintained by tailoring user experiences to the specific technical constraints and capabilities of PC, console, and mobile platforms.
Games You Might Not Have Tried - ep 6 - Find New Games - Extra Credits
This analysis highlights a curated selection of video games chosen for their unique design perspectives, mechanical innovation, and ability to provide distinct player experiences.
- Games that prioritize unique design vectors—such as procedural generation, asymmetric roles, and unconventional storytelling—often provide more compelling player experiences than those following conventional industry trends.
- Titles like 'Cart Life' and 'Papers, Please' demonstrate that minimalist UI and moral decision-making mechanics are effective tools for fostering player empathy and simulating complex human experiences.
- Handheld titles like 'Crimson Shroud' and 'Etrian Odyssey IV' successfully adapt traditional tabletop and dungeon-crawling mechanics into modern, accessible formats.
Stew Hogarth talks about his "massively single player rogue-like", influences and indie development
The independent game development landscape is defined by a tension between creative autonomy and the harsh economic realities of the industry.
- Independent developers frequently sustain their livelihoods by balancing commercial work-for-hire projects with passion-driven titles that prioritize artistic vision over aggressive monetization.
- A generational divide exists in the industry, where younger developers are more inclined toward free-to-play and premium models, while veterans prioritize intrinsic game design over market-dictated trends.
- Many independent creators enter the space seeking autonomy after experiencing burnout in mainstream studios, leading to a sector that resists profit-maximizing models.
Games You Might Not Have Tried - ep 5 - Find New Games - Extra Credits
This overview highlights a curated selection of video games chosen for their novelty, innovative mechanics, and unique narrative approaches rather than traditional metrics of production quality.
- Prioritizing creative risk-taking and unconventional design often yields more memorable and intellectually stimulating experiences than traditional high-production-value titles.
- Thomas Was Alone demonstrates how simple mechanics can serve as effective narrative metaphors, while The Unfinished Swan highlights the value of aesthetic innovation.
- Titles like Mark of the Ninja and FTL prove that refined genre-specific mechanics—such as stealth systems and roguelike structures—can define a game's success regardless of budget.
"For Whom the Bell Tolls" - The True Cost of Survival in The Walking Dead - Extra Credits
The narrative core of Telltale’s The Walking Dead centers on the erosion of human morality within a post-apocalyptic landscape.
- Telltale’s The Walking Dead frames survival as a moral erosion, arguing that every death diminishes the collective humanity of the survivors.
- The game utilizes John Donne’s 17th-century meditation on interconnectedness to challenge the player's justification of pragmatic, dehumanizing choices.
- The relationship between the protagonist, Lee, and the child, Clementine, serves as the narrative’s moral anchor and a final attempt at redemption.
CEO of Aeria Games Europe Pascal Zuta explains why mobile is important
Aeria Games is strategically pivoting from its established foundation in client-based PC and browser gaming toward a robust expansion into the mobile market.
- Aeria Games is shifting its strategic focus from client-based PC and browser gaming to mobile expansion to overcome market saturation and stagnant revenue growth in the traditional PC sector.
- The company leverages a global workforce of over 600 employees across five international offices, supported by a merger with Japanese firm Gamepot to facilitate its mobile transition.
- Aeria Games maintains a competitive advantage by applying its expertise in localizing Asian-developed titles for Western markets, focusing on specific adjustments to artwork, in-game events, and item economies.
Funding XCOM - II: Understanding Civilization Growth - Extra Credits
The question of whether humanity should fund a real-life XCOM defense program hinges on the tension between the Drake equation and the Fermi paradox.
- The Fermi paradox presents a contradiction between the high probability of extraterrestrial life suggested by the Drake equation and the total lack of observable evidence for alien visitation.
- Mathematical models show that even at a conservative speed of 0.02% of the speed of light, an entire galaxy could be fully colonized within 525 million years.
- Using near-future technology, the timeframe for complete galactic colonization shrinks to approximately 11 million years.