This study explores the meaning of five game related words and whether there is semantic variation within the lexicon of the gaming community. Even though there are tens of thousands of video games...Show moreThis study explores the meaning of five game related words and whether there is semantic variation within the lexicon of the gaming community. Even though there are tens of thousands of video games on the market (Statista, 2022a) and around three billion gamers worldwide (Newzoo, 2021), little research has been done concerning gamers’ linguistics. This research includes an analysis based on a worldwide online survey about the meaning of five gaming terms. 379 respondents gave answers about their age, gender, country of origin and their most played games, as well as their description of five given gaming terms. The respondents were sorted into four categories, or Gamer Types, based on the game genre they play the most. The correlation between the Gamer Types and their descriptions of the five gaming words was analysed. The results of this research suggest that there is semantic variation within the gaming community. However, the results also imply there is no immediate correlation between the Gamer Types and their descriptions of the given gaming terms.Show less
This thesis aims to provide an overview of how certain gendered narrative tropes have made their way from action-adventure film and television into video game stories of the same genre, of the...Show moreThis thesis aims to provide an overview of how certain gendered narrative tropes have made their way from action-adventure film and television into video game stories of the same genre, of the differences that have arisen between these types of media, and of why we can recognise these differences. It does so through an analysis of the 21st century in television and film, in order to outline gendered tropes regularly found in these media. This is followed by a discourse analysis of three case studies: Tomb Raider (2013), Horizon Zero Dawn (2017) and The Last of Us: Part II (2020).Show less
Systematic discrimination suggests that societal systems such as governmental, legal, medical educational systems are biased, and positioning certain groups and individuals in a more privileged...Show moreSystematic discrimination suggests that societal systems such as governmental, legal, medical educational systems are biased, and positioning certain groups and individuals in a more privileged position than others. Firstly, this article looks at digitalization in relation to Gilles Deleuze’s concept “Societies of Control” to reveal the controlling power that informatics systems hold. It argues that informatics systems do not only duplicate the already existing biases and norms but also establishes new methods to keep them functioning. Furthermore, it realizes that the controlling aspect is woven with the formal qualities of the digital such as binary digital encoding, algorithms and the actions that they allow and forbid. This article perceives the certainty and the binary limitations that are promised by the informatics systems as a danger for queer, diverse and inclusive understandings of reality. By analyzing Merrit Kopas’s video game Lim through a queer theoretical framework that is provided by the book Queer Game Studies, edited by Bonnie Ruberg and Adrienne Shaw, it illustrates the queering potential of video games against the normativities and the control power the informatics systems hold. The analysis shows that video games as an action-based medium, can teach about the politics of the informatics age and therefore can raise an awareness but also provide strategies to counter-play with the normativities and the controlling power. As a result, it suggests video games as the tools that carry a potential for resistance against the promised certainty and to build more inclusive, queer futures.Show less
This research focuses on if and how video games could be used to reach out to and involve a wider and particularly younger audience of people between 20-45 years old in archaeology. By setting out...Show moreThis research focuses on if and how video games could be used to reach out to and involve a wider and particularly younger audience of people between 20-45 years old in archaeology. By setting out a questionnaire among the players of three video games belonging to three major gaming genres, namely Assassin’s Creed: Origins (RPG), Battlefield 1 (FPS), and Sid Meier’s Civilization V (strategy), this research searches to investigate how the target audience perceives archaeological and historical aspects in video games (EA DICE, 2016; Firaxis Games et al., 2010; Ubisoft Montreal, 2017). The research looks to find out what gamers find important in video games and what genres are preferred to use in order to implement more real-life (virtual) archaeology. Furthermore, it researches how the target audience perceives archaeological aspects in video games and to what extent they would be interested to play video games in which a bigger focus lies on archaeology, or that are ‘archaeologically/historically accurate. Lastly, it was researched which of the selected video game genre(s) would be most suitable to use to involve a wider public in archaeology. The three set out surveys resulted in a total of 163 responses from men and women, concerning several ages and countries, including the Netherlands, the UK and the US. The results show that the participants are interested in archaeological aspects and historical accuracy in video games. A number of participants were more interested in archaeological activities than they were before playing the video game, which means that video games can indeed be used in order to reach out to and involve a wider audience in archaeology. The research shows that the participants preferred the role-playing genre to have more archaeological and historical aspects implemented in. The participants who played Assassin’s Creed: Origins were most interested in archaeology and history in video games, and also most open to archaeological activities in the real world, like visiting museums after playing the video game. In conclusion: The most preferred video game genre to use in order to reach out to a wider public is shown to be the role-playing genre.Show less
The field of research on e-sports is relatively new, and research about e-sports in Japan is limited. Broadly speaking, e-sports refers to video games that are played competitively in tournaments...Show moreThe field of research on e-sports is relatively new, and research about e-sports in Japan is limited. Broadly speaking, e-sports refers to video games that are played competitively in tournaments and leagues. This study will first further elaborate on the term e-sports and explain e-sports by breaking it down into the player, organizational and spectatorship aspects. A review of the literature on Japanese e-sports, and looking at the state of e-sports in Japan reveals several aspects that will form the basis of this study. Firstly, e-sports is a global phenomenon but has had its own developmental trajectory in each country (Kato Hiroyasu, 2018b, p. 136). Japan is considered to be behind developmentally in terms of e-sports compared to countries like South Korea (Kanbe Masayuki, 2012). Further, the literature on Japanese e-sports is scarce. Scholars have argued that the literature on game related studies is Western-centric, and argue that studies are needed that use knowledge of Japanese studies to examine game culture in Japan (Picard & Pelletier-Gagnon, 2015, p. 1-2). Thirdly, Japanese scholars such as Kato Hiroyasu argue for the interpretation of e-sports as a sport rather than seeing games as play (in the sense of leisure of pastime). The scholar Taylor has also broken down the process of professionalization that players experience on their way to becoming pro gamers in e-sports. These two scholars involve themselves in the question of professionalization (transformation from someone who plays games to a pro gamer who makes their living off competing), and the question of recognition (of e.g. society seeing e-sports as a sport). Recognition is a process that can come in various forms and facilitates the process of professionalization. Recognition in the form of e-sports being (legally) recognized as a sport can offer pro gamers the benefit of being recognized as an athlete. Recognition in the form of pro gamers receiving valorization from society can improve their social status, and enable them to receive more social support (from e.g. friends or family) when they decide to professionalize. Finally, this study identifies several sources that contribute to the process of the recognition of e-sports in Japan: pro gamers, the Japan e-Sports Union (JeSU), and a discourse about e-sports as a potential Olympic event. This study sees an opportunity to contribute to the Area Studies and Game Studies literature by taking the recognition of e-sports in Japan as its focus. This opportunity lies in the fact that each country, and thus Japan as well, has had its own developmental trajectory of e-sports, and that the literature on e-sports is scarce and studies using a perspective rooted in Japanese studies are needed. In order to examine the recognition of e-sports in Japan this study will focus on pro gamers, and analyze how they contribute to the process of recognition. Thus, the main question in this study is: how do pro gamers contribute to the process of the recognition of e-sports in Japan? In order to answer the question of how these pro gamers contribute to the process of recognition this study will analyze how pro gamers in Japan represent themselves in the media and strive for recognition from society in order to be taken seriously as people who dedicate themselves to playing video games competitively. The analysis will reveal the strategies that pro players use to represent themselves in the media and personally emancipate themselves. The analysis will also reveal an interplay between elements of the (Japanese) cultural context players find themselves in and the strategies players use to push recognition of e-sports in Japanese society. This will show the nuance that using a Japanese studies perspective to study e-sports reveals, and try to address the problem of the Western centric literature on e-sports and games studies while contributing to the Area Studies literature.Show less
This paper examines the localization practices in Japanese video games and anime in the last thirty years and the effects thereof, taking the Pokémon franchise as case study. Findings seem to...Show moreThis paper examines the localization practices in Japanese video games and anime in the last thirty years and the effects thereof, taking the Pokémon franchise as case study. Findings seem to suggest an increase in the importance of localization, as it developed from the translation of text to the restructuring of narrative and alteration of visual content. Multiple video games and anime have seen significant revisions in their adjustment to the Western market, but none of them have received as much modifications as Pokémon. The methods used in localizing Pokémon have transformed over the years, and its ever-expanding global significance shaped the content of future releases in both Japan and the West.Show less
This thesis assesses the suitability of the video game medium in archaeological public outreach. It does so by examining the blockbuster game Assassin’s Creed: Origins (Ubisoft 2017), gauging its...Show moreThis thesis assesses the suitability of the video game medium in archaeological public outreach. It does so by examining the blockbuster game Assassin’s Creed: Origins (Ubisoft 2017), gauging its accuracy through a comparative archaeological study between the Step Pyramid complex at Saqqara and its virtual reconstruction in the game. Further case studies display designer choices and their relation to the representation of archaeology in the game. Other than examining the accuracy of the virtual reconstruction of the complex, the information given about it in the Discovery Tour mode is also analysed. A survey conducted amongst gamers that have played Assassin’s Creed: Origins is meant to give insight in the level of interest in the archaeology of the game and the consumers’ perception of that archaeology. A different survey, conducted amongst academics of the Faculty of Archaeology of Leiden University, evaluates the opinion of the academic community on using the gaming medium in public outreach, along with their view on the accurate representation of archaeology in the game. Additionally, an assessment is made of the ability of an entertainment-based blockbuster game to transfer knowledge. The core aspects of the medium, such as immersion and interaction, are shown to promote effortless learning and absorption of information as a byproduct of having fun playing the game. This thesis therefore deems the medium suitable for the transfer of knowledge to the public. The gamers survey results do not prove that specific information is retained, but it shows that a general image of Ptolemaic Egypt has been gained along with increased interest in its archaeology. The academics survey results display general agreement that the game provides a rather accurate rendition of Ptolemaic Egypt and nearly all participants believe the medium should be used in public outreach. From the comparative study and the analysis of the Discovery Tour, it is deduced that the virtual reconstruction of the Step Pyramid complex is indeed very accurate. The other case studies show that designer choices could disturb historical and archaeological accuracy, but that this does not necessarily interfere with the representation of archaeology. Thus, this thesis advises the archaeological academic community to invest in the gaming medium and approach game developers about incorporating archaeologists in the design process from the very start of the developing process.Show less
Bachelor thesis | Film- en literatuurwetenschap (BA)
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Interiority has long been seen as the domain of literature. While there has been research into the way cinema uses visual means to represent interiority or subjectivity, similar analyses of other...Show moreInteriority has long been seen as the domain of literature. While there has been research into the way cinema uses visual means to represent interiority or subjectivity, similar analyses of other media seem to be lacking. This thesis looks into how interiority and subjectivity are represented in narrative television shows, video games and comics or graphic novels.Show less
Video games form one of the latest media in which stories are told. However, video games are not just stories - they are interactive experiences in which players have an active role. Therefore...Show moreVideo games form one of the latest media in which stories are told. However, video games are not just stories - they are interactive experiences in which players have an active role. Therefore there has been much debate on how video games should be academically approached: can video games be analysed with methods used in literary studies or should new methods be developed. Yet, little to no research has been done on the relationship between storytelling and interactivity in a video game genre that blends these two features together unlike any other: choice-driven video games. While the genre is not unique in its approach to blend storytelling and interactivity, as role-playing games (RPGs) have done so for several years, it has become increasingly popular with video game developers specialising in these sort of video games, such as Quantic Dream and Telltale Games. This genre of video games is often marketed to highlight the players' freedom and control over the video games in which their decisions dictate the outcome of the story. Nevertheless, these qualities are often overplayed as scripted events serve as boundaries limiting the extent players are actually able to affect the outcome of these video games. Thus I propose that choice-driven video games (and RPGs) offer the illusion that players' choics, decisions, and actions are significant to the outcome of the video game they are playing through clever use of mechanics that provides players to chance to immerse themselves in these video games. Until Dawn (2015), Life Is Strange (2015), and Undertale (2015) are used as case studies for this thesis.Show less
With tensions between Russia and the West rising to Cold War-like proportions in recent years, it is important to keep a clear head as much as possible when the West engages with Russia....Show moreWith tensions between Russia and the West rising to Cold War-like proportions in recent years, it is important to keep a clear head as much as possible when the West engages with Russia. Perceptions of the Other can play a role in the way we engage with them, and those perceptions can be partially shaped by the images of the Other constructed by the media. This thesis discusses how one particular medium, video games, contributes to the perception and misperception of Russia by asking, what image of Russia and Russians do American-made video games construct, and how is it constructed? It examines and analyses two case studies, two popular video game trilogies, and concludes that the games’ gameplay, game-world and game-structure construct a Russia that is imperialist, immoral and cruel, hardly different from the Soviet Union that came before. Russians are frequently stereotyped as mindless patriots, unified in their love for “Mother Russia” and in their hatred for the West, especially America. Such depictions can be a contributing factor in the shaping of public and decision-makers’ perceptions of Russia as a threat to the West.Show less
Is the game America's Army a valid representation of the US military and functions as a successful recruitment device in the cyber age? In order to answer those questions, this paper will analyse...Show moreIs the game America's Army a valid representation of the US military and functions as a successful recruitment device in the cyber age? In order to answer those questions, this paper will analyse the game America's Army in detail. Whether the game is a valid representation of the US military will be depicted with the help of a set of sub-questions that are related to the ethical side of the new recruitment device. Valid in this scenario undermines that the use of violent games as a strategic deployment to attract people to the military is in todays cyber age not a new phenomenon and one that does not harm the youth. In order to measure the validity of the game, however, a section about the effects of the Teen-rating the game received will further shed light on the ethical critiques some scholars put forward. A teen rating in video games allows the army to attract players to the game from an age of 13 onwards and thus expose young players to the world of war. In the end this paper aims to answer the question whether one can then still talk about a valid representation or whether the army officials put forth the wrong set of analysis and would have been better off with creating more of a commercialised game that has a standardised age limit of at least 18 years. Furthermore, this paper will measure success with the help of the intentions the game producers had while creating the game. There are two key intentions that will be closely taken into account while answering this question. Firstly, reaching a young audience with the help of the Teen rating and secondly informing the public about the military. In order to measure the success here, this paper will analyse statistics about the amount of downloads the game received. An analysis of how the game effectively informs the public about the military will be conducted to further understand the dynamics of the new recruitment device. Comparison and components of analysis of other commercialised video games that are deemed to be the most popular ones in the video game industry will then further establish whether the army managed to create a game that fulfils the standards that effectively lead to a big audience of players.Show less
This thesis discusses the similarities and differences between the portrayal of knights and their battles in medieval romances and medievalist video games, the representation of knights and battles...Show moreThis thesis discusses the similarities and differences between the portrayal of knights and their battles in medieval romances and medievalist video games, the representation of knights and battles in these video games and romances, and explores why these similarities and differences have occurred. To obtain an idea of what kind of differences there are, three video games were chosen to be compared alongside three medieval texts. The games in question are Dragon Age: Origins, Mount & Blade: Warband, and World of Warcraft. The medieval texts are Le Morte d’Arthur, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Ywain and Gawain.Show less
In this thesis my research question is to find out how the male gaze influenced the relation between representations of female bodies in video games and sexualisation and weakness. Firstly I look...Show moreIn this thesis my research question is to find out how the male gaze influenced the relation between representations of female bodies in video games and sexualisation and weakness. Firstly I look at what other scholars have written about the representation of female characters in video games and note how objectification and the sexualised representation of women implicitly tends to be associated with the negative role stereotyping and passive gender roles. In questioning this, I take a different approach compared to previous research. Drawing from feminist and gender theories, I analyse three female characters that each depict a different relation between the body, male gaze and power. I show how the two characters who appear to be lesser sexualised, Zelda and Samus, appear to suffer more severely from the male gaze than Bayonetta does. Bayonetta, in turn, can be analysed as a critique towards the male gaze and masculine status. From the analysis I will conclud that it is not exclusively the visual appearance that determines whether a character is portrayed as weak or not, but that the gaze plays an important role as well.Show less
