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Black and White in Color: Ludonarrative Deconstruction and (Anti-)Monomyth in Pokémon (2010)

Press Start Black and White in Color Black and White in Color: Ludonarrative Deconstruction and (Anti-)Monomyth in PokémonBlack and PokémonWhite(2010) Mississippi State University, United States Since its inception in 1996, Pokémon has exemplified structured narrative gameplay; by the franchise's fifth generation, Pokémon Black…

• Pokémon Black and White (2010) marks a departure from the franchise's traditional structuralist narrative by deconstructing the Joseph Campbell 'monomyth' that defined previous generations.
• The game shifts the narrative focus from the player-avatar to the antagonist, N, effectively decentering the player and destabilizing the binary opposition between hero and villain.
• By challenging the morality of the series' core mechanic—capturing and enslaving Pokémon—the game forces players to reflect on their own role as potentially malicious actors rather than traditional heroes.

Playfully Anachronistic and Historically Inauthentic: Understanding Resistance to Diverse Representation in Call of Duty: Vanguard

Press Start Playfully Anachronistic Playfully Anachronistic and Historically Inauthentic: Understanding Resistance to Diverse Representation in CallofDuty: University of Rhode Island, United States This article examines backlash against marginalized identity representation in Call of Duty: Vanguard (Sledgehammer Games, 2021)…

World Annihilation Operations Database

World Annihilation Operations Database University of Montreal, Canada This paper recounts the first part of a larger research-creation project on perceivable logical contradictions in video games.

• The World Annihilation Operations Database (WAODB) provides a structured typology of logical contradictions—such as incoherent physics, spatial discontinuities, and contradictory narrator statements—that developers can intentionally implement as creative design tools.
• Logical contradictions in games can be generated through specific technical operations like using Culling Masks to create objects visible only to specific avatars or employing custom shaders to simulate infinite recursive space.
• The database categorizes contradictions into distinct types, including contradictory indications, sound, spatial composition, object-centered inconsistencies, and multiple/incoherent identities.

Playing to Care: Games as Empathy Development Tools in Healthcare Education

Press Start Playing to Care Playing to Care: Games as Empathy Development Tools in Healthcare Education University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom Glasgow School of Art, United Kingdom University of Dundee, United Kingdom University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom Empathy displayed by healthcare practitioners is linked to improved…

• Digital games offer a viable pedagogical tool for developing clinical empathy in healthcare students, functioning similarly to narrative medicine by fostering cognitive empathy and the intention to help patients.
• A literature review of 604 publications identified 36 relevant studies, revealing that while commercial games like 'Depression Quest' and 'Spiritfarer' show potential for empathy development, only one game has been experimentally proven to achieve this outcome.
• Clinical empathy is best served by cognitive empathy—a detached understanding of a patient's state—rather than affective empathy, which involves mirroring a patient's emotional distress.

To See and Fear: A Pilot Study on Gaze Behaviour in Horror Gaming

Press Start To See and Fear To See and Fear: A Pilot Study on Gaze University of Chichester, Chichester, UK University of Chichester, Chichester, UK Inspired by a dearth of research in the increasingly popular genre of horror video games, this study piloted a method focused on comparing fixations on visual horror across the…

• A pilot study using Tobii Pro eye-tracking glasses on 12 participants playing 'Resident Evil 7 Teaser: Beginning Hour' found significant differences in threat-fixation percentages between horror fans and non-horror fans during specific gameplay scenarios.
• The research suggests that non-horror fans naturally adapt their visual behavior to match experienced horror players, indicating that effective game design can bridge the gap between different audience segments.
• The study observed no significant differences in threat fixation during the first scenario, suggesting that player resilience, desensitization, or the necessity of using vision for puzzle-solving may override initial genre-based behavioral differences.

The Perfect Game: The Effect of Perfectionism and Performance on Game Experiences

Press Start The Perfect Game The Perfect Game: The Effect of Perfectionism and Performance on Game IADT Institute of Design and Technology Dún Laoghaire, Rep. of Ireland IADT Institute of Design and Technology Dún Laoghaire, Rep. of Ireland IADT Institute of Design and Technology Dún Laoghaire, Rep. of Ireland Perfectionism is…

The Art of Playing a Role in an MMORPG: An Ethnographic Exploration of World of Warcraft Role-Playing

Press Start The Art of Playing a Role in an MMORPG The Art of Playing a Role in an MMORPG: An Ethnographic Exploration of Worldof Charles University, Czech Republic This article presents a typology of role-playing within the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) genre, focusing specifically on role-playing in…

• World of Warcraft role-playing is categorized into three distinct types: day-to-day interactions, private story-driven sessions, and large-scale public events.
• Players actively circumvent the technical limitations of the game engine by utilizing external tools like the TRP3 add-on for custom items and Discord or Watch2Gether for coordinating narratives and shared media.
• The study, conducted over 96 hours of participant observation across 47 sessions between March and August 2022, confirms that role-playing persists as a significant, albeit minor, activity within the game.

Queer Reorientations in Visual Novels: Our Life: Beginnings & Always' Meaningful Choices

Press Start Queer Reorientations in Visual Novels Queer Reorientations in Visual Novels: Our Life:Beginnings&Always' Meaningful This paper explores the queer potential of visual novels by proposing a felt, affective space between player, interface, and game world.

Can Ordinary Horror Games Reduce Avoidant and Safety Behaviours in Players with Anxiety Disorders?

Press Start Treating Anxiety with Games Can Ordinary Horror Games Reduce Avoidant and Safety Behaviours in Players Falmouth University, United Kingdom Since 2010, several studies have highlighted the ability of therapeutic video games to reduce avoidant and safety behaviours in individuals with anxiety disorders (ADs).

How 2B?: The Narrative Mechanics of Posthumanism in NieR: Automata

How 2B[?]: The Narrative Mechanics of This article examines how posthumanism operates through the player- avatar relationship in NieR: Automata (Platinum Games, 2017).

• NieR: Automata uses narrative mechanics to foster 'affinity' between the player and nonhuman android avatars, encouraging the adoption of a posthuman subjectivity that transcends traditional anthropocentric frameworks.
• The game deconstructs humanist philosophy by portraying androids and machines as entities trapped in cycles of violence due to their futile attempts to deify or mimic absent human creators.
• The user interface functions as a critical narrative mechanic, blurring the boundaries between player and avatar through features like plug-in chip management and visual feedback during character death.

Rose-Tinted Videogames: The Influential Nature of Nostalgia in Videogame Development

Press Start Rose-Tinted Videogames Rose-Tinted Videogames: The Influential Nature of Nostalgia in Videogame Canterbury Christ Church University, United Kingdom Nostalgia is a common experience, with videogames providing a strong potential trigger for nostalgic feelings towards the playing of games or memories about games.

• Nostalgia functions as a powerful development tool that triggers positive psychological states like creativity and self-continuity, but it must be balanced against the risk of players idealizing past experiences that may not hold up to objective reality.
• The 'Repeat' strategy, exemplified by World of Warcraft Classic, successfully leverages nostalgia by preserving original gameplay systems and appearance-based bugs while utilizing modern architecture to maintain playability.
• The 'Remind' approach, seen in Playtonic’s Yooka-Laylee, risks alienating players when developers prioritize nostalgic references over functional design, such as intrusive tutorials or simplified mechanics that fail to reward player engagement.

Curating a Boardgames Museum in India: The Case of the Gautam Sen Memorial Boardgames Museum

Press Start Curating a Boardgames Museum in India Curating a Boardgames Museum in India: The Case of the Gautam Sen Memorial Boardgames Museum; An Interview with Souvik Mukherjee and Amrita Sen Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, India Indian scholars and boardgames museum curators Souvik Mukherjee and Amrita Sen speak…

• The Gautam Sen Memorial Boardgames Museum (GSBM) in Kolkata originated from a private collection started by Souvik Mukherjee around 2013-2014, eventually evolving into a memorial space for his father-in-law.
• The museum functions as a 'mom and pop' style archive housed in a private balcony, prioritizing an experiential, non-linear approach to history over traditional, rigid chronological displays.
• Visitors can access information about the collection through three methods: scanning QR codes linked to the Ludii Portal, consulting an online index, or engaging in guided tours that include anecdotes and gameplay sessions.