Category: Gameful Experiences

Gameful Experiences, Playable Stories ArchiveLeave a comment

Hades

Kevin Ghouchandra

http://www.supergiantgames.com/games/hades/ Entry by Kevin Ghouchandra A. BASIC INFORMATION Creators: Creation technology: Microsoft XNA Publisher: Supergiant Games Date of original release: September, 17th 2020 (Epic Games Store, Nintendo Switch, Steam) Platforms: PC, Mac, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, Playstation 5 Version used for entry: Nintendo Switch Ver 1.0.38233 Peripherals required: Speakers/Headphones Rating: ESRB T (Teen) Awards/Distinctions: B. LITERARY INFORMATION Related Literary Genre(s): Epic, Quest narratives, Classical Mythology and Literature Story/Plot Summary: Hades centers around Zagreus, son of Hades, the lord of the Underworld. (In classical mythology, Zagreus is said to be the son of Zeus by Persephone.) … Continue reading Hades

Gameful Experiences, Higher Education & Scholarship, Playable Stories Archive, Procedural Literacy & CreativityLeave a comment

DEVICE 6

Jason

https://simogo.com/work/device-6/ Entry by Jason Boyd A. BASIC INFORMATION Creator: Simogo (https://simogo.com/) Creation technology: Unity Publisher: Simogo Date (of original release): 2013 (October 17) Platform(s): iOS Version used for entry: iOS (Air Pad 2) Peripherals required: head/earphones Rating: 12+ (Apple Store) Awards/Distinctions: B. LITERARY INFORMATION Related Literary Genre(s): Psychological Suspense/Thriller, Dystopian Fiction, Metafiction Story/Plot Summary:  Player249 (the player) uses DEVICE 4 (their iPad) to control Anna, a woman who has been kidnapped and brought to a mysterious island. Player249 helps Anna explore the island with the goal of trying to learn about HAT, the organization that has brought her to the … Continue reading DEVICE 6

Gameful Experiences, Playable Stories Archive, Procedural Literacy & CreativityLeave a comment

The Return of the Obra Dinn

Jason

https://obradinn.com/ Entry by Jason Boyd A. Basic Information Creator(s): Lucas Pope Creator website: https://dukope.com/ Publisher: 3909 (Lucas Pope) Date (of original release): October 18, 2018 (PC: MacOS/Windows) Platform(s): PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox Version used for entry: MacOS (High Sierra 10.13.6) Creation technology: Unity Peripherals required: Keyboard and mouse; speakers/headphones Rating: ESRB M (Mature 17+) Awards & Distinctions: 2019 Independent Games Festival: Grand Prize & Excellence in Narrative; 2019 BAFTA Games Awards: Game Design & Artistic Achievement; 2018 The Game Awards: Best Art Direction; 2019 Game Developers Choice Awards: Best Narrative. B. Literary Information Related Literary Genre(s): Mystery/Detective Fiction, Sea Adventure, … Continue reading The Return of the Obra Dinn

Gameful Experiences, Playable Stories Archive, Procedural Literacy & CreativityLeave a comment

Tacoma

Jason

https://tacoma.game/ Entry composed by Jason Boyd A. Basic Information Creator(s): Fullbright (studio); Kate Craig and Lexie Mason-Davis (3D Art); Tynan Wales and Nina Freeman (Design); Noel Clark and Janel Dewis (Animation); Hannah Bown, Brett Douville, Leon Hartwig (Programming); Patrick Balthrop (Sound) [taken from first credits screen at the conclusion of the game] Website: https://fullbrig.ht/ Creation technology: Unity Publisher: Fullbright Date (of original release): 2017 (August 2) Platform(s): Windows, MacOS, Linux, XBox One; PlayStation 4 (May 8, 2018) Version used for entry: MacOS (High Sierra 10.13.6) Peripherals required: Keyboard and mouse; head/earphones Rating: ESRB M (Mature, 17+) Awards/Distinctions: Eurogamer, Top 50 … Continue reading Tacoma

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“What’s Making Them Run Away?”: The Nintendo DS and the Casual Revolution

ashmorenicholas

Jesper Juul argues in A Casual Revolution that “The stereotype of a casual player is the inverted image of the hardcore player: this player has a preference for positive and pleasant fictions, has played few video games, is willing to commit little time and few resources toward playing video games, and dislikes difficult games” (8). Juul goes on to relate modern casual video games to arcade games from the 1980s, such as Pac-Man, and ultimately posits that the Nintendo Wii played the biggest role in ushering in this casual ‘reinvention’ of gaming that exists today (2). Steven E. Jones and … Continue reading “What’s Making Them Run Away?”: The Nintendo DS and the Casual Revolution

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BEDTIME

paularazuri

BEDTIME is an interactive video experience that seeks to imitate bedtime rituals and our experiences with digital tools and media at large during restful periods. Taking up concepts from the digital humanities, the project asks its participants to consider the relationship between digital activities, distraction, and the necessity of sleep that is so often delayed by our engagements with the digital. The relationship between screen time and bedtime is constantly examined by scientists, but extended engagement with the digital is unavoidable for many professionals, students, and the population in general. By taking a light-heartened and aesthetic approach to the activities undertaken before falling asleep, the viewer of BEDTIME … Continue reading BEDTIME

Gameful Experiences, Procedural Literacy & CreativityLeave a comment

Malandia – An Exploration of Permanence, Consequence and Player Agency in Interactive Narrative Games

Ryan Kidd

Malandia is a text-based interactive narrative that aims to explore ideas related to contemporary game theory. Before you read on, please play the game and then return to read more. (Disclaimer: This game requires an active internet connection. This game is best played with sound turned on.)   Malandia was conceived as a hands on exploration of contemporary issues related to game theory. In How to Do Things with Videogames, Ian Bogost writes “we can understand the relevance of a medium by looking at the variety of things it does” (3). In this case, he is making reference to exploring specific productions of a medium before passing judgement … Continue reading Malandia – An Exploration of Permanence, Consequence and Player Agency in Interactive Narrative Games

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Having it the Player’s Way: (Sub)Way and the Illusion of Narrative Choice

danielrosena

https://itch.io/embed/63269?dark=true NOTE: (Sub)Way can be found at these links if the above embed is not working/down: http://www.philome.la/Daniel_Rosen/subway https://danielrosen.itch.io/subway In making (Sub)Way I learned a fairly important lesson about the way I perceive game design and the narrative possibility space of interactive fiction. Namely, that the smoke-and-mirrors effect of choice-based narrative design is not only necessary to making a game narrative function effectively in terms of interpreting player involvement, but that it is an inherent positive trait of interactive narratives. Games and narratives have a complicated relationship, particularly when it comes to authorial control over the narrative and the decisions made within it. The issue being there … Continue reading Having it the Player’s Way: (Sub)Way and the Illusion of Narrative Choice

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Games as Electronic Literature: Storytelling in Video Games Dear Esther and The Stanley Parable

duvalkelly

The relationship between stories and games is a central concern for ludologists, as made evident in the collection of essays entitled First Person: New Media as Story Performance and Game. Contention exists regarding the function and relevance of narrative in games, as several scholars claim games are under-theorized (Eskelinen 36). While digital games do not need to tell stories to be deemed worthy of analysis, many games are comprised of narrative aspects, thus blurring boundaries between forms, and can be studied as electronic literature (Jenkins 119). The technology of the digital game allows for innovative and interactive ways of utilizing narration, incorporating elements that are unavailable … Continue reading Games as Electronic Literature: Storytelling in Video Games Dear Esther and The Stanley Parable