| 1. |
- Brusk, Jenny, 1968-, et al.
(author)
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Marvinter : A case study of an inclusive transmedia storytelling production
- 2021
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In: Convergence. The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. - : Sage Publications. - 1354-8565 .- 1748-7382. ; 27:1, s. 103-123
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article examines how the unique characteristics of Marvinter, an inclusive transmedia Advent calendar, affected its production and the individual media workers involved in this. In the native transmedia Marvinter project, a radio series and a mobile game were created and released simultaneously. Using ‘partly shared’ resources, the project was developed by two collaborating, non-profit organisations. Each chapter of the digital game had to match the corresponding radio episode. The whole had to be designed to provide a shared cultural experience that included people with hearing or visual impairments. The authors of the present article were part of the game development team and thus directly experienced the complexity of developing a digital game as part of a transmedia project. This article presents the results of a case study with an insider perspective. It is supplemented by semi-structured interviews with key people in the project. The transmedia nature of Marvinter was justified by the need to include people with complementary disabilities. Although sometimes associated with negative connotations of ‘naked commercialisation’ in transmedia contexts, the marketing strategy was here an important element in promoting inclusivity. However, owing to the concurrent work processes, game production became overly complex.
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| 2. |
- Engström, Henrik, 1968-, et al.
(author)
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Prototyping Tools for Game Writers
- 2018
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In: The Computer Games Journal. - : Springer. - 2052-773X. ; 7:3, s. 153-172
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A game is best evaluated by playing it and prototyping is therefore an important activity in game development. Game writers and narrative designers are responsible for the narrative structure of a game, which may have a varying degree of interactivity to it. The aim of this paper is to analyse the role of prototyping tools for game writers. There is a limited range of such tools available, of which Twine is one of the most established. Most of these tools have a text-based programming interface for modelling of game mechanics. This paper presents Deig—a proto- typing tool for creating point-and-click adventure games. In Deig, game mechanics is modelled graphically using nodes from a set of primitives. We present an interview study where game writing students reflect on their experience of using Deig and Twine as prototyping tools. The result shows that both tools have their merits and complement each other. Deig was found to be intuitive for modelling of game mechanics, which lead students to create interactive narratives. Twine was found to be more useful for experimental writing. The conclusion of this work is that there is a need for a diverse set of prototyping tools to support game writing.
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| 3. |
- Karlsson, Tobias, et al.
(author)
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Level Design Processes and Challenges : A Cross Section of Game Development
- 2023
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In: Games and Culture. - : Sage Publications. - 1555-4120 .- 1555-4139. ; 18:6, s. 821-849
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article examines level design processes and challenges at professional game stu- dios. Thematic analysis of data, recorded through field studies and semi-structured interviews, identify four key themes: level design as an interdisciplinary effort; who is the level designer; the role of narrative in level design; and challenges of managing creativity in the level design process. Results indicate that while the role called level designer is often assigned to specific disciplines, the process of level design is usually highly interdisciplinary. Furthermore, this interdisciplinary collaboration requires management to maintain both creativity and efficient pipelines, by distributing owner- ship and facilitating communication and planning. The level design process seems par- ticularly vulnerable to suboptimal interdisciplinary communication and planning, due to significant reliance on narrative design, game design, art, sound design, and tool development. While this article addresses level design specifically, most observations are comparable to previous findings on game development in general.
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| 4. |
- Ugolotti, Vania Castagnino, et al.
(author)
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Crying in the game : an inductive analysis of a game that portraits benevolent sexism
- 2020
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In: Proceedings of the 14th European Conference on Games-based Learning. - Reading, UK : Academic Conferences and Publishing International Limited. - 9781912764709 - 9781912764716 ; , s. 620-628
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Sexism in digital games has received a lot of attention in recent research. Most such studies are addressing the perception of sexist content in games and the attitude in gaming communities. This article analyses the digital game Behind Every Great One, which portraits benevolent sexism, i.e. sexism that may appear positive but that has a damaging effect. What is unique with this game is that it is played from the victim's perspective, a housewife. The article presents an inductive analysis of the game using a triangulation of three different methods: a textual analysis, a player study, and an interview with the developer. The result shows that the game manages to convey benevolent sexism to players and evoke empathy for the victim. This is achieved through a combination of mechanics, narrative, and visual and musical aesthetics. For example, the physical space available for the protagonist is constantly shrinking and crying is used as a powerful mechanics in the game. The player needs to find an empty space for the protagonist to cry and this provides insight into her emotional state. Through the game, the developer reflects upon his own behaviour towards women and the consequences it might have had for them. In particular how his, and other men's, self-absorption forces their female partners into an undesirable social role, in which their needs are constantly neglected. The combination of a meaningful gameplay and the use of game mechanics to convey a message lead us to suggest that the gameplay can be characterized as a persuasive meaningful play. The game has a potential to be used in educational environments as a starting point for discussions regarding gender roles and benevolent sexism.
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| 5. |
- Westin, Thomas, et al.
(author)
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Activities to Support Sustainable Inclusive Game Design Processes
- 2020
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In: EAI Endorsed Transactions on Creative Technologies. - : EAI. - 2409-9708. ; 6:20
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: The problem addressed in this work is the lack of knowledge of what inclusive game design would mean in practice within existing design processes of game companies. A pilot project was devised to involve both the game industry and disabled people.OBJECTIVES: The goal in this study was to identify activities that constitute the biggest obstacles to realising sustainable design processes for inclusive game design.METHODS: The study is mainly based on two full-day workshops with the game industry and three game studios, three organisations of disabled youth and authorities.RESULTS: Five activities were identified in the analysis of the workshops: 1) Find opportunities for inclusive game design; 2) Raise awareness about inclusive game design; 3) Handle integrity and security; 4) Recruit the right competence; and 5) Adapt workplaces and tools.CONCLUSION: The five main activities should be considered to achieve sustainable inclusive game design processes.
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| 6. |
- Westin, Thomas, et al.
(author)
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Towards Sustainable Inclusive Game Design Processes
- 2020
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In: Interactivity, Game Creation, Design, Learning, and Innovation. - Cham : Springer. - 9783030532932 - 9783030532949 ; , s. 390-396
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- While many studies have been done about creation of accessible games, they have mainly been conducted in an academic context and represents a gap between game research and the game industry. The pilot project presented in this paper (PowerUp) addresses inclusive design by involving both the game industry and disabled people. The goal is to identify activities that constitute the biggest obstacles to realising sustainable design processes for inclusive game de- sign (IGD). Four activities were identified through two full-day workshops with the game industry and game studios, disabled people and authorities: 1) Find op- portunities for IGD with disabled people; 2) Handle integrity and security of dis- abled people; 3) Recruit the right competence among disabled people; and 4) Adapt workplaces and tools for IGD processes. These activities are tentative and will hopefully be subject to discussion and further development to achieve sus- tainable inclusive game design.
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| 7. |
- Wilhelmsson, Ulf, 1967-, et al.
(author)
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Accessible Game Culture using Inclusive Game Design : Participating in a visual culture that you cannot see
- 2015
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In: VS-Games 2015. - Red Hook, NY : IEEE Computer Society. - 9781479981021 - 9781479981014 ; , s. 147-154
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this paper, we present the result of an experiment, in which we compare the gaming experience between sighted players and visually impaired players playing the same game. Specifically we discuss whether they experience the same story construed from the plot elements that are either manifested by audio and graphics in the case of sighted players or primarily by audio in the case of visually impaired players. To this end, we have developed a graphical point-and-click adventure game for iOS and Android devices. The game has been designed to provide players with audio feedback that enables visually impaired players to interact with and experience the game, but in a manner that does not interfere with the overall appearance and functionality of the game, i.e. a design that is fully inclusive to both groups of players and that is as invisible for sighted players as possible without hindering visually impaired players to share the same gaming experience when it comes to story content. The study shows that the perception of the story were almost identical between the two groups. Generally it took visually impaired players a little longer to play the game but they also seem to listen more carefully to the dialogue and hence also build a slightly deeper understanding of the characters.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Brusk, Jenny, 1968-
(author)
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Computer Game Development : Diversity and Inclusiveness
- 2016
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In: Art and Game Obstruction. - Göteborg : Rojal Förlag. - 9789198211306 ; , s. 47-52
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Computer games combine various artistic disciplines, such as visual art, sound, music and storytelling, with low-level data representations and algorithms in order to create an interactive experience for one or more players. This essay discusses the implications of exploring the design space at the intersection of games and art from a game design perspective. In particular, this essay argues that exploring and treating games as art is a step towards inclusive game development.
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