2022
Nyström, Anna-Greta; McCauley, Brian; Macey, Joseph; Scholz, Tobias M.; Besombes, Nicolas; Cestino, Joaquin; Hiltscher, Julia; Stephanie, Orme; Rumble, Ryan; Törmänen, Maria
Current Issues of Sustainability in Esports
In: International Journal of Esports, vol. 1, iss. 1, 2022, ISBN: 2634-1069.
Journal article Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Economic sustainability, Electronic sports, Social sustainability, Sustainability
@article{Nyström2022,
title = {Current Issues of Sustainability in Esports},
author = {Anna-Greta Nyström and Brian McCauley and Joseph Macey and Tobias M. Scholz and Nicolas Besombes and Joaquin Cestino and Julia Hiltscher and Orme Stephanie and Ryan Rumble and Maria Törmänen},
url = {https://research.abo.fi/ws/portalfiles/portal/35618138/94_1_657_1_10_20220305.pdf},
isbn = {2634-1069},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-03-10},
journal = {International Journal of Esports},
volume = {1},
issue = {1},
abstract = {Aims: The aim of the paper is to explore emerging themes, which support the development of a sustainable esports industry.
Methods and results: This study is based on a workshop methodology, which aims to identify and explore topics perceived as most pertinent by individuals with an intimate understanding of the dynamics of the esports context. Two workshops were held with a total of 64 participants, representing both academia and industry stakeholders. Interpretations of the sustainability of esports were thus recorded, developed, critiqued, and refined through social interaction with experts. The results indicate three critical themes to address regarding the development of sustainability of esports, namely a) health and inclusiveness, b) the incomplete industry structure, and c) the immature business logic.
Conclusions: Sustainability refers to the ability of esports to survive or persist. We argue that sustainability is dependent on how well industry stakeholders can address the identified themes. Currently, social sustainability is the primary concern of both practitioners and researchers of esports. Economic sustainability mostly deals with securing business growth, while environmental sustainability is not yet perceived as a relevant topic (e.g., using sustainable technologies and energy-saving related to gaming and competitive events). Structures and processes within esports presently constitute the focus of sustainability in esports.},
keywords = {Economic sustainability, Electronic sports, Social sustainability, Sustainability},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Aims: The aim of the paper is to explore emerging themes, which support the development of a sustainable esports industry.
Methods and results: This study is based on a workshop methodology, which aims to identify and explore topics perceived as most pertinent by individuals with an intimate understanding of the dynamics of the esports context. Two workshops were held with a total of 64 participants, representing both academia and industry stakeholders. Interpretations of the sustainability of esports were thus recorded, developed, critiqued, and refined through social interaction with experts. The results indicate three critical themes to address regarding the development of sustainability of esports, namely a) health and inclusiveness, b) the incomplete industry structure, and c) the immature business logic.
Conclusions: Sustainability refers to the ability of esports to survive or persist. We argue that sustainability is dependent on how well industry stakeholders can address the identified themes. Currently, social sustainability is the primary concern of both practitioners and researchers of esports. Economic sustainability mostly deals with securing business growth, while environmental sustainability is not yet perceived as a relevant topic (e.g., using sustainable technologies and energy-saving related to gaming and competitive events). Structures and processes within esports presently constitute the focus of sustainability in esports.
Methods and results: This study is based on a workshop methodology, which aims to identify and explore topics perceived as most pertinent by individuals with an intimate understanding of the dynamics of the esports context. Two workshops were held with a total of 64 participants, representing both academia and industry stakeholders. Interpretations of the sustainability of esports were thus recorded, developed, critiqued, and refined through social interaction with experts. The results indicate three critical themes to address regarding the development of sustainability of esports, namely a) health and inclusiveness, b) the incomplete industry structure, and c) the immature business logic.
Conclusions: Sustainability refers to the ability of esports to survive or persist. We argue that sustainability is dependent on how well industry stakeholders can address the identified themes. Currently, social sustainability is the primary concern of both practitioners and researchers of esports. Economic sustainability mostly deals with securing business growth, while environmental sustainability is not yet perceived as a relevant topic (e.g., using sustainable technologies and energy-saving related to gaming and competitive events). Structures and processes within esports presently constitute the focus of sustainability in esports.
Ruotsalainen, Maria
In: Television & New Media, vol. Pre-print, 2022, ISSN: 1527-4764.
Journal article Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Age, Critical discourse analysis, Gender, Streaming, Twitch, Video games
@article{Ruotsalainen2022c,
title = {“Cute Goddess is Actually an Aunty”: The Evasive Middle-Aged Woman Streamer and Normative Performances of Femininity in Video Game Streaming},
author = {Maria Ruotsalainen},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202203211976},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1177/15274764221080962},
issn = {1527-4764},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-03-08},
journal = {Television & New Media},
volume = {Pre-print},
abstract = {In this paper the focus is on the representations of “middle-aged” or “aging” women streamers in western media. I analyze discussions in Western online media around a case of Chinese DouYu live-streamer. “Qiaobiluo Dianxia,” as her streamer name goes, became a topic in Western media after a glitch in her live stream revealed her to be a middle-aged woman, rather than young woman she was assumed to be. The discussions are analyzed with critical discourse analysis. It is argued that the aging bodies of women, both their presence and absence, should be read and understood through toxic gaming culture and geek masculinity and the hegemonic discourse they constitute.},
keywords = {Age, Critical discourse analysis, Gender, Streaming, Twitch, Video games},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
In this paper the focus is on the representations of “middle-aged” or “aging” women streamers in western media. I analyze discussions in Western online media around a case of Chinese DouYu live-streamer. “Qiaobiluo Dianxia,” as her streamer name goes, became a topic in Western media after a glitch in her live stream revealed her to be a middle-aged woman, rather than young woman she was assumed to be. The discussions are analyzed with critical discourse analysis. It is argued that the aging bodies of women, both their presence and absence, should be read and understood through toxic gaming culture and geek masculinity and the hegemonic discourse they constitute.
Meriläinen, Mikko
Pandemic Rhythms: Adults' Gaming in Finland During the Spring 2020 COVID-19 Restrictions
In: Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, vol. Pre-print, 2022, ISSN: 1354-8565.
Journal article Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Coping, COVID-19, Digital gaming, Everyday life, Family, Non-digital gaming, Rhythm analysis, Situated gaming, Thematic analysis
@article{Meriläinen2022b,
title = {Pandemic Rhythms: Adults' Gaming in Finland During the Spring 2020 COVID-19 Restrictions},
author = {Mikko Meriläinen},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202203232696},
doi = {10.1177/13548565221077582},
issn = {1354-8565},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-03-02},
journal = {Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies},
volume = {Pre-print},
abstract = {This qualitative study examines how the spring 2020 COVID-19 restriction measures impacted adults’ gaming in Finland. The study draws on a thematic analysis of qualitative data (N = 201) collected in April 2020, which is explored through the lens of Apperley’s (2010) theory of gaming rhythms. The results illuminate the ways in which gaming was situated in everyday life both during and before the COVID-19 restrictions, and how the pandemic and its associated restrictions disrupted, reinforced, and reconfigured the everyday rhythms of gaming. The situation impacted individuals and families differently, being beneficial to some and detrimental to others, contingent on other aspects of respondents’ lives. The results underline how an individual’s gaming does not happen in isolation, but takes place in the confines of everyday life, shaped by factors outside the individual’s control. Developing Apperley’s theory, the results show that gaming can be a very resilient activity, given the right circumstances.},
keywords = {Coping, COVID-19, Digital gaming, Everyday life, Family, Non-digital gaming, Rhythm analysis, Situated gaming, Thematic analysis},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This qualitative study examines how the spring 2020 COVID-19 restriction measures impacted adults’ gaming in Finland. The study draws on a thematic analysis of qualitative data (N = 201) collected in April 2020, which is explored through the lens of Apperley’s (2010) theory of gaming rhythms. The results illuminate the ways in which gaming was situated in everyday life both during and before the COVID-19 restrictions, and how the pandemic and its associated restrictions disrupted, reinforced, and reconfigured the everyday rhythms of gaming. The situation impacted individuals and families differently, being beneficial to some and detrimental to others, contingent on other aspects of respondents’ lives. The results underline how an individual’s gaming does not happen in isolation, but takes place in the confines of everyday life, shaped by factors outside the individual’s control. Developing Apperley’s theory, the results show that gaming can be a very resilient activity, given the right circumstances.
Vahlo, Jukka; Tuuri, Kai; Välisalo, Tanja
Exploring Gameful Motivation of Autonomous Learners
In: Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 13, 2022, ISSN: 1664-1078.
Journal article Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Autonomous learner, Engagement, Games, Motivation, Motives, Online learning, Playfulness, Self-determination
@article{Vahlo2022b,
title = {Exploring Gameful Motivation of Autonomous Learners},
author = {Jukka Vahlo and Kai Tuuri and Tanja Välisalo},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202202281734},
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2022.825840},
issn = {1664-1078},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-02-25},
urldate = {2022-02-25},
journal = {Frontiers in Psychology},
volume = {13},
abstract = {In this explorative study, we investigated motives of autonomous learners to participate in an online course, and how these motives are related to gameplay motivations, engagement in the course experience, and learning outcomes. The guiding premise for the study has been the idea that learning and game playing carry phenomenal similarities that could be revealed by scrutinizing motives for participating in a massive open online course that does not involve any intentionally game-like features. The research was conducted by analyzing survey data (N = 705) collected from individuals who had voluntarily participated in an open online course about artificial intelligence and its societal impact. The survey included an explorative Motives for Autonomous Learning (MAL) inventory. Exploratory factor analysis suggested that the MAL inventory consisted of six dimensions out of which four were consistent with factors that earlier research has associated with motives to engage with video games. Of the identified factors, the dimension that most clearly described autonomous and playful predispositions was found to be a main precedent for both experienced gamefulness of the learning experience and positive learning outcomes. In all, the results of this study demonstrated that playfulness and autonomy were both prominent and significant factors across the whole learning process.},
keywords = {Autonomous learner, Engagement, Games, Motivation, Motives, Online learning, Playfulness, Self-determination},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
In this explorative study, we investigated motives of autonomous learners to participate in an online course, and how these motives are related to gameplay motivations, engagement in the course experience, and learning outcomes. The guiding premise for the study has been the idea that learning and game playing carry phenomenal similarities that could be revealed by scrutinizing motives for participating in a massive open online course that does not involve any intentionally game-like features. The research was conducted by analyzing survey data (N = 705) collected from individuals who had voluntarily participated in an open online course about artificial intelligence and its societal impact. The survey included an explorative Motives for Autonomous Learning (MAL) inventory. Exploratory factor analysis suggested that the MAL inventory consisted of six dimensions out of which four were consistent with factors that earlier research has associated with motives to engage with video games. Of the identified factors, the dimension that most clearly described autonomous and playful predispositions was found to be a main precedent for both experienced gamefulness of the learning experience and positive learning outcomes. In all, the results of this study demonstrated that playfulness and autonomy were both prominent and significant factors across the whole learning process.
Meriläinen, Mikko; Stenros, Jaakko; Heljakka, Katriina
The Pile of Shame: The Personal and Social Sustainability of Collecting and Hoarding Miniatures
In: Muthu, Subramanian Senthilkannan (Ed.): Toys and Sustainability, pp. 57-77, Springer, 2022, ISBN: 978-981-16-9672-5.
Book chapter
Abstract | Links | Tags: Adult play, Collecting, Consumer behaviour, Hoarding, Miniaturing, Wargaming, Warhammer
@incollection{Meriläinen2022,
title = {The Pile of Shame: The Personal and Social Sustainability of Collecting and Hoarding Miniatures},
author = {Mikko Meriläinen and Jaakko Stenros and Katriina Heljakka},
editor = {Subramanian Senthilkannan Muthu},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9673-2_4},
isbn = {978-981-16-9672-5},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-02-18},
booktitle = {Toys and Sustainability},
pages = {57-77},
publisher = {Springer},
abstract = {Collecting is a major part of the miniaturing pastime, in which enthusiasts collect, paint, and play games with small historical and fantasy wargaming and role-playing figurines. Miniaturists often have large collections of miniatures, and many buy more miniatures than they have time to paint. This quantity of unpainted miniatures is often referred to as a pile of shame. In this chapter, we explore the collecting of miniatures and the pile of shame phenomenon through a thematic analysis of qualitative survey data (N = 127). Our analysis suggests that an amassed collection of miniatures poses both practical and existential potential and challenges and may be both beneficial and detrimental to personal sustainability. Although the concept of a pile of shame is typically a shared source of humour, it is also a relevant part of the miniaturing pastime, and an important aspect of how miniaturists curate and view their collection.},
keywords = {Adult play, Collecting, Consumer behaviour, Hoarding, Miniaturing, Wargaming, Warhammer},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
Collecting is a major part of the miniaturing pastime, in which enthusiasts collect, paint, and play games with small historical and fantasy wargaming and role-playing figurines. Miniaturists often have large collections of miniatures, and many buy more miniatures than they have time to paint. This quantity of unpainted miniatures is often referred to as a pile of shame. In this chapter, we explore the collecting of miniatures and the pile of shame phenomenon through a thematic analysis of qualitative survey data (N = 127). Our analysis suggests that an amassed collection of miniatures poses both practical and existential potential and challenges and may be both beneficial and detrimental to personal sustainability. Although the concept of a pile of shame is typically a shared source of humour, it is also a relevant part of the miniaturing pastime, and an important aspect of how miniaturists curate and view their collection.
Puro, Jukka-Pekka; Karhulahti, Veli-Matti
Hiljaa: Silent and Slow Media Use
In: Herzogenrath, Bernd (Ed.): Concepts: A Travelogue, pp. 143–152, Bloomsbury Academic, 2022, ISBN: 978-1-5013-7531-6.
Book chapter
Links | Tags: Concepts, Finnish, Finns, Hiljaisuus, Media, Silence, Slow media use
@incollection{Puro2022,
title = {Hiljaa: Silent and Slow Media Use},
author = {Jukka-Pekka Puro and Veli-Matti Karhulahti},
editor = {Bernd Herzogenrath},
url = {https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph-detail?docid=b-9781501375293&tocid=b-9781501375293-chapter11
https://converis.jyu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/159527630?auxfun=&lang=fi_FI},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.5040/9781501375293.ch-11},
isbn = {978-1-5013-7531-6},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-31},
urldate = {2022-01-31},
booktitle = {Concepts: A Travelogue},
pages = {143–152},
publisher = {Bloomsbury Academic},
keywords = {Concepts, Finnish, Finns, Hiljaisuus, Media, Silence, Slow media use},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
Kerttula, Tero
(Broad)casting the Game: The Spectacle of Real in Representing and Narrating Video Game Play
2022, ISBN: 978-951-39-8968-2.
Doctoral thesis Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Game history, Let's Play, Spectacle, Television, Video games
@phdthesis{Kerttula2022,
title = {(Broad)casting the Game: The Spectacle of Real in Representing and Narrating Video Game Play},
author = {Tero Kerttula},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-8968-2},
isbn = {978-951-39-8968-2},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-22},
publisher = {University of Jyväskylä},
abstract = {Video games have been a notable part of our lives for a long time now, and also in non-playable ways. The games and the action of gaming have been possible to consume through reading magazines and web pages, watching television and in these days, through online videos. In this compilation dissertation I look at the ways the media has used and presented video games and video gaming in the past 40 years. My aim is to prove, that through different means of presentation the role of the player in these presentations rises to equal the role of the games and even surpasses that. At the same time, I attempt to put these presentations in a media-historical timeline and point out the similarities between modern self-made videos and the television productions and games journalism of the past. I research the subject in the preface through the concept of the media spectacle and I’ll also look at the articles the dissertation consists of through the same concept. The concept of the spectacle makes it possible to look at the different media productions from commercialist and nationalistic angle and also to see, which kind of elements of power in present in these productions. The articles approach the subject through narrativization, oral history and triangulation. One notable part of the research is the data compiled of different television shows about video games from the 1980s to present day. With the help of different articles and methods, the research as a whole draws numerous similarities between the media spectacles about video games of the past and modern media productions. The results of the research are many. From the angle of the spectacle, the modern Let’s Play -videos have connections to early television shows and other audiovisual productions. One specific similarity is the emphasis in the presentation of the player instead of the game. Because the early television shows tried to market the games to the audience by using visual methods also seen in sports spectacles, they also marketed the experience of playing video games. The role of the player is also a role of a narrator. Let’s Play -videos can be seen as a specific kind of stories about how the game in the video was like to play. At the same time the videos show the relationship between the player and the game, for example by oral history. This makes the Let’s Play -videos a part of the research of the history of video games and video game culture. These stories have also their roots in the media history. The stories were told especially in video game magazines and their role were quite the same as in the Let’s Plays, to tell a story about a video game experience in a review or a walkthrough. The research also makes a note about competitive gaming – or eSports – and the evolution of it through these media spectacles. From the results it is seen that the modern eSports broadcasts are in many ways alike to early television shows, which incorporated competitive gaming as a part of the show. Those shows in their own turn took influence from sports broadcasts. At the same time the findings suggest, that in the eSports broadcasts the games are comparable to sport disciplines, where the attention in on the athlete, but also on the other factors influencing the spectacle, like the sponsors.},
keywords = {Game history, Let's Play, Spectacle, Television, Video games},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Video games have been a notable part of our lives for a long time now, and also in non-playable ways. The games and the action of gaming have been possible to consume through reading magazines and web pages, watching television and in these days, through online videos. In this compilation dissertation I look at the ways the media has used and presented video games and video gaming in the past 40 years. My aim is to prove, that through different means of presentation the role of the player in these presentations rises to equal the role of the games and even surpasses that. At the same time, I attempt to put these presentations in a media-historical timeline and point out the similarities between modern self-made videos and the television productions and games journalism of the past. I research the subject in the preface through the concept of the media spectacle and I’ll also look at the articles the dissertation consists of through the same concept. The concept of the spectacle makes it possible to look at the different media productions from commercialist and nationalistic angle and also to see, which kind of elements of power in present in these productions. The articles approach the subject through narrativization, oral history and triangulation. One notable part of the research is the data compiled of different television shows about video games from the 1980s to present day. With the help of different articles and methods, the research as a whole draws numerous similarities between the media spectacles about video games of the past and modern media productions. The results of the research are many. From the angle of the spectacle, the modern Let’s Play -videos have connections to early television shows and other audiovisual productions. One specific similarity is the emphasis in the presentation of the player instead of the game. Because the early television shows tried to market the games to the audience by using visual methods also seen in sports spectacles, they also marketed the experience of playing video games. The role of the player is also a role of a narrator. Let’s Play -videos can be seen as a specific kind of stories about how the game in the video was like to play. At the same time the videos show the relationship between the player and the game, for example by oral history. This makes the Let’s Play -videos a part of the research of the history of video games and video game culture. These stories have also their roots in the media history. The stories were told especially in video game magazines and their role were quite the same as in the Let’s Plays, to tell a story about a video game experience in a review or a walkthrough. The research also makes a note about competitive gaming – or eSports – and the evolution of it through these media spectacles. From the results it is seen that the modern eSports broadcasts are in many ways alike to early television shows, which incorporated competitive gaming as a part of the show. Those shows in their own turn took influence from sports broadcasts. At the same time the findings suggest, that in the eSports broadcasts the games are comparable to sport disciplines, where the attention in on the athlete, but also on the other factors influencing the spectacle, like the sponsors.
Karhulahti, Veli-Matti
Registered Reports for Qualitative Research
In: Nature Human Behaviour, vol. 6, iss. 1, pp. 4-5, 2022, ISSN: 2397-3374.
Journal article
Abstract | Links | Tags: Problematic gaming, Qualitative research, Research reports
@article{Karhulahti2022f,
title = {Registered Reports for Qualitative Research},
author = {Veli-Matti Karhulahti},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202212125547},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01265-8},
issn = {2397-3374},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-03},
urldate = {2022-01-03},
journal = {Nature Human Behaviour},
volume = {6},
issue = {1},
pages = {4-5},
publisher = {Nature Publishing Group},
abstract = {Researchers are disincentivized from conducting urgently needed qualitative research, argues Veli-Matti Karhulahti. He recommends the adoption of registered reports for qualitative research as a remedial course of action.},
keywords = {Problematic gaming, Qualitative research, Research reports},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Researchers are disincentivized from conducting urgently needed qualitative research, argues Veli-Matti Karhulahti. He recommends the adoption of registered reports for qualitative research as a remedial course of action.
Švelch, Jan; Švelch, Jaroslav
Recasting Life Is Strange: Video Game Voice Acting during the 2016–2017 SAG-AFTRA Strike
In: Television & New Media, vol. 23, iss. 1, pp. 44-60, 2022, ISSN: 1527-4764.
Journal article
Abstract | Links | Tags: Below-the-line, Recasting, Relational labour, SAG-AFTRA, Strike, Video game labour, Video game production, Voice acting
@article{Švelch2022,
title = {Recasting Life Is Strange: Video Game Voice Acting during the 2016–2017 SAG-AFTRA Strike},
author = {Jan Švelch and Jaroslav Švelch},
doi = {10.1177/1527476420962784},
issn = {1527-4764},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
journal = {Television & New Media},
volume = {23},
issue = {1},
pages = {44-60},
abstract = {Video game voice acting does not rank among the core roles of video game production, yet actors in leading roles sometimes achieve wide recognition despite their contingent employment. In this article, we explore the role of voice actors in the video game culture using the specific case of the recasting of the video game series Life Is Strange, which was caused by the 2016 to 2017 SAG-AFTRA strike against video game companies. Our qualitative empirical analysis of journalistic coverage (including interviews with voice actors), promotional materials, press releases, and player discussions reconstructs the events of the game’s production and investigates the reception of the recasting with regard to actor-character identification and to labor conditions of voice actors. We find that voice actors, whose status is partly dependent on the popularity of their characters, attempt to rise “above the line” by engaging in relational labor.},
keywords = {Below-the-line, Recasting, Relational labour, SAG-AFTRA, Strike, Video game labour, Video game production, Voice acting},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Video game voice acting does not rank among the core roles of video game production, yet actors in leading roles sometimes achieve wide recognition despite their contingent employment. In this article, we explore the role of voice actors in the video game culture using the specific case of the recasting of the video game series Life Is Strange, which was caused by the 2016 to 2017 SAG-AFTRA strike against video game companies. Our qualitative empirical analysis of journalistic coverage (including interviews with voice actors), promotional materials, press releases, and player discussions reconstructs the events of the game’s production and investigates the reception of the recasting with regard to actor-character identification and to labor conditions of voice actors. We find that voice actors, whose status is partly dependent on the popularity of their characters, attempt to rise “above the line” by engaging in relational labor.
2021
Koskimaa, Raine; Kerttula, Tero
Transmedia Literacy and Informal Learning Strategies among Finnish Teens
In: Ruokamo, Heli; Kangas, Marjaana (Ed.): Media Education at the Top, pp. 41-58, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2021, ISBN: 978-1-5275-6476-3.
Book chapter
Links | Tags: Learning strategies, Teens, Transmedia, Transmedia literacy
@incollection{Koskimaa2021b,
title = {Transmedia Literacy and Informal Learning Strategies among Finnish Teens},
author = {Raine Koskimaa and Tero Kerttula},
editor = {Heli Ruokamo and Marjaana Kangas},
url = {https://converis.jyu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/52139480},
isbn = {978-1-5275-6476-3},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-12-31},
urldate = {2021-12-31},
booktitle = {Media Education at the Top},
pages = {41-58},
publisher = {Cambridge Scholars Publishing},
chapter = {4},
keywords = {Learning strategies, Teens, Transmedia, Transmedia literacy},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
Koskimaa, Raine
In: Game Studies: the international journal of computer game research, vol. 21, no. 4, IT Universitetet i Koebenhavn, 2021, ISSN: 1604-7982.
Publication for professional or general audience Open access
Links | Tags: Book review, Game culture, Game studies, Pac-Man, Video games
@other{Koskimaa2021c,
title = {Book Review: How Pac-Man Eats},
author = {Raine Koskimaa},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202202011364
http://gamestudies.org/2104/articles/koskimaa_review},
issn = {1604-7982},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-12-31},
urldate = {2021-12-31},
booktitle = {Game Studies: the international journal of computer game research},
volume = {21},
number = {4},
publisher = {IT Universitetet i Koebenhavn},
keywords = {Book review, Game culture, Game studies, Pac-Man, Video games},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {other}
}
Koskimaa, Raine
Google Poem Generator: Kyborgitekijä naaraamassa globaalin tiedostamattoman virtoja
In: Eskelinen, Markku; Tuusvuori, Jarkko S. (Ed.): Jälleen: Leevi Lehto reloaded, pp. 73-97, Ntamo, 2021, ISBN: 978-952-215-829-1.
Publication for professional or general audience
Links | Tags: Automaatio, Google, Google Poem Generator, Kirjallisuudentutkimus, Muistokirjoitukset, Runot, Tietokoneohjelmat
@other{Koskimaa2021d,
title = {Google Poem Generator: Kyborgitekijä naaraamassa globaalin tiedostamattoman virtoja},
author = {Raine Koskimaa},
editor = {Markku Eskelinen and Jarkko S. Tuusvuori},
url = {https://converis.jyu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/51863699?auxfun=&lang=fi_FI},
isbn = {978-952-215-829-1},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-12-31},
urldate = {2021-12-31},
booktitle = {Jälleen: Leevi Lehto reloaded},
pages = {73-97},
publisher = {Ntamo},
keywords = {Automaatio, Google, Google Poem Generator, Kirjallisuudentutkimus, Muistokirjoitukset, Runot, Tietokoneohjelmat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {other}
}
Santos, Victoria Dos; Thibault, Mattia; Buruk, Oğuz 'Oz'; Buruk, Seda Suman; Hamari, Juho
Isaura: el future Tecnopagano de la ciudad entre Transurbanismo y trascendencia
In: Valdivieso, Humberto; Parma, Lorena Rojas (Ed.): Next: imaginar el postpresente , pp. 247-267, Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, 2021, ISBN: 978-980-439-038-8.
Book chapter Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Avatarization, Posthumanism, Technopaganism, Transhumanism, Transurbanism
@incollection{Santos2021,
title = {Isaura: el future Tecnopagano de la ciudad entre Transurbanismo y trascendencia},
author = {Victoria Dos Santos and Mattia Thibault and Oğuz 'Oz' Buruk and Seda Suman Buruk and Juho Hamari},
editor = {Humberto Valdivieso and Lorena Rojas Parma },
url = {https://trepo.tuni.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/137595/Dos_Santos_Thibault_Burutc_et_al_2021_Isaura.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
https://trepo.tuni.fi/handle/10024/137595},
isbn = {978-980-439-038-8},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-12-31},
urldate = {2021-12-31},
booktitle = {Next: imaginar el postpresente },
issuetitle = {Filosofía, arte y tecnología en la cultura digital},
pages = {247-267},
publisher = {Universidad Católica Andrés Bello},
abstract = {Spirituality has always played a major role in cities, affecting deeply every aspect of urban life. But what about the future? Will the development of technology diminish the importance of spirituality? Or, on the contrary, will post- and transhumans be profoundly spiritual beings? In this paper we make use of speculative design and of pastiche scenarios to investigate the role of spirituality in a transurban future. In particular, we imagine Isaura, a city imbued with transhuman augmentations and technopagan ideals where people can cast themselves in the body of animals. The scenario allows us to reflect on the possibility of an animistic future based on avatarization technologies, seen in the framework of Descola’s ecology of relationships.},
keywords = {Avatarization, Posthumanism, Technopaganism, Transhumanism, Transurbanism},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
Spirituality has always played a major role in cities, affecting deeply every aspect of urban life. But what about the future? Will the development of technology diminish the importance of spirituality? Or, on the contrary, will post- and transhumans be profoundly spiritual beings? In this paper we make use of speculative design and of pastiche scenarios to investigate the role of spirituality in a transurban future. In particular, we imagine Isaura, a city imbued with transhuman augmentations and technopagan ideals where people can cast themselves in the body of animals. The scenario allows us to reflect on the possibility of an animistic future based on avatarization technologies, seen in the framework of Descola’s ecology of relationships.
de Wildt, Lars; Aupers, Stef
Marketable Religion: How Game Company Ubisoft Commodified Religion for a Global Audience
In: Journal of Consumer Culture, vol. Pre-print, 2021, ISSN: 1469-5405.
Journal article
Abstract | Links | Tags: Assassin's Creed, Commodification, Cultural industries, Depoliticization, Game production studies, Marketable religion, Religion, Science-fictionalization, Universalization, Video games
@article{deWildt2021,
title = {Marketable Religion: How Game Company Ubisoft Commodified Religion for a Global Audience},
author = {Lars de Wildt and Stef Aupers},
doi = {10.1177/14695405211062060},
issn = {1469-5405},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-12-28},
journal = {Journal of Consumer Culture},
volume = {Pre-print},
abstract = {Videogame companies are selling religion to an overwhelmingly secular demographic. Ubisoft, the biggest company in the world's biggest cultural industry, created a best-selling franchise about a conflict over Biblical artefacts between Muslim Assassins and Christian Templars. Who decides to put religion into those games? How? And why? To find out, we interviewed 22 developers on the Assassin's Creed franchise, including directors and writers. Based on those, we show that the "who" of Ubisoft is not a person but an industry: a de-personalized and codified process. How? Marketing, editorial and production teams curb creative teams into reproducing a formula: a depoliticized, universalized, and science-fictionalized "marketable religion." Why? Because this marketable form of religious heritage can be consumed by everyone-regardless of cultural background or conviction. As such, this paper adds an empirically grounded perspective on the "who," "why," and "how" of cultural industries' successful commodification of religious and cultural heritage.},
keywords = {Assassin's Creed, Commodification, Cultural industries, Depoliticization, Game production studies, Marketable religion, Religion, Science-fictionalization, Universalization, Video games},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Videogame companies are selling religion to an overwhelmingly secular demographic. Ubisoft, the biggest company in the world's biggest cultural industry, created a best-selling franchise about a conflict over Biblical artefacts between Muslim Assassins and Christian Templars. Who decides to put religion into those games? How? And why? To find out, we interviewed 22 developers on the Assassin's Creed franchise, including directors and writers. Based on those, we show that the "who" of Ubisoft is not a person but an industry: a de-personalized and codified process. How? Marketing, editorial and production teams curb creative teams into reproducing a formula: a depoliticized, universalized, and science-fictionalized "marketable religion." Why? Because this marketable form of religious heritage can be consumed by everyone-regardless of cultural background or conviction. As such, this paper adds an empirically grounded perspective on the "who," "why," and "how" of cultural industries' successful commodification of religious and cultural heritage.
Rannanpiha, Joni-Tatu; Tyni, Heikki; Sotamaa, Olli
Suomalainen peliteollisuus ja mobiilipelit Pelit-lehdessä vuosina 1992–2014
In: Pelitutkimuksen vuosikirja 2021, pp. 4-29, 2021, ISSN: 1798-355X.
Journal article Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Aikakauslehdet, Finnish game industry, Game journalism, Mobiilipelit, Mobile games, Pelijournalismi, Pelit magazine, Pelit-lehti, Periodicals, Suomalainen peliteollisuus
@article{Rannanpiha2021,
title = {Suomalainen peliteollisuus ja mobiilipelit Pelit-lehdessä vuosina 1992–2014},
author = {Joni-Tatu Rannanpiha and Heikki Tyni and Olli Sotamaa},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202112209410},
issn = {1798-355X},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-12-15},
journal = {Pelitutkimuksen vuosikirja 2021},
pages = {4-29},
abstract = {Artikkeli tarkastelee, miten suomalaisia digitaalisia pelejä, pelinkehittäjiä ja peliyrityksiä on käsitelty Pelit-lehdessä vuosina 1992–2014. Selvitämme, millaisena kotimainen peliteollisuus on esitetty ja ketkä ovat päässeet ääneen. Kiinnitämme erityistä huomiota mobiilipelien käsittelyssä tapahtuneisiin muutoksiin. Tutkimuksen perusteella voidaan todeta, että tarkastelujakson aikana suomalaisia pelejä koskevien juttujen määrä on tasaisesti kasvanut. Mobiilipelien osuus tässä kirjoittelussa on myös kasvanut 2000-luvun alusta lähtien ja eritoten 2010-luvulla. Pelit-lehden suhde mobiilipeleihin on kuitenkin ristiriitainen, ja neuvottelu mobiilipelien ja "oikeiden" pelien välillä on tämän määrittelykamppailun keskeinen jännite.},
keywords = {Aikakauslehdet, Finnish game industry, Game journalism, Mobiilipelit, Mobile games, Pelijournalismi, Pelit magazine, Pelit-lehti, Periodicals, Suomalainen peliteollisuus},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Artikkeli tarkastelee, miten suomalaisia digitaalisia pelejä, pelinkehittäjiä ja peliyrityksiä on käsitelty Pelit-lehdessä vuosina 1992–2014. Selvitämme, millaisena kotimainen peliteollisuus on esitetty ja ketkä ovat päässeet ääneen. Kiinnitämme erityistä huomiota mobiilipelien käsittelyssä tapahtuneisiin muutoksiin. Tutkimuksen perusteella voidaan todeta, että tarkastelujakson aikana suomalaisia pelejä koskevien juttujen määrä on tasaisesti kasvanut. Mobiilipelien osuus tässä kirjoittelussa on myös kasvanut 2000-luvun alusta lähtien ja eritoten 2010-luvulla. Pelit-lehden suhde mobiilipeleihin on kuitenkin ristiriitainen, ja neuvottelu mobiilipelien ja "oikeiden" pelien välillä on tämän määrittelykamppailun keskeinen jännite.
Arjoranta, Jonne; Friman, Usva; Koskimaa, Raine; Mäyrä, Frans; Sotamaa, Olli; Suominen, Jaakko; Välisalo, Tanja (Ed.)
Pelitutkimuksen vuosikirja 2021
Pelitutkimuksen seura ry, 2021, ISSN: 1798-355X.
Book Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Arvio, Babka, Business knowledge, Finnish game industry, Game journalism, Gaming piece, Learning, Lectio, Lektio, Liiketoimintaosaaminen, Oppiminen, Pöytäroolipelit, Pelijournalismi, Pelinappula, Reviews, Simulaatio, Simulation, Skittles, Sports game, Streaming, Striimaus, Suomalainen peliteollisuus, Tabletop RPGs, Urheilupeli
@book{Arjoranta2021b,
title = {Pelitutkimuksen vuosikirja 2021},
editor = {Jonne Arjoranta and Usva Friman and Raine Koskimaa and Frans Mäyrä and Olli Sotamaa and Jaakko Suominen and Tanja Välisalo},
url = {https://pelitutkimus.journal.fi/issue/view/7755},
issn = {1798-355X},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-12-15},
urldate = {2021-12-15},
publisher = {Pelitutkimuksen seura ry},
abstract = {Vuoden 2021 vuosikirja koostuu kolmesta tutkimusartikkelista, kahdesta katsausartikkelista, yhdestä esseestä, kahdesta arviosta sekä neljästä lektiosta.},
keywords = {Arvio, Babka, Business knowledge, Finnish game industry, Game journalism, Gaming piece, Learning, Lectio, Lektio, Liiketoimintaosaaminen, Oppiminen, Pöytäroolipelit, Pelijournalismi, Pelinappula, Reviews, Simulaatio, Simulation, Skittles, Sports game, Streaming, Striimaus, Suomalainen peliteollisuus, Tabletop RPGs, Urheilupeli},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {book}
}
Vuoden 2021 vuosikirja koostuu kolmesta tutkimusartikkelista, kahdesta katsausartikkelista, yhdestä esseestä, kahdesta arviosta sekä neljästä lektiosta.
Paasonen, Susanna; Karhulahti, Veli-Matti
Finnish Fuck Games: A Lost Historical Footnote
In: Navarro-Remesal, Víctor; Pérez-Latorre, Óliver (Ed.): Perspectives on the European Videogame, pp. 75-90, Amsterdam University Press, 2021, ISBN: 9789048550623.
Book chapter
Abstract | Links | Tags: Demoscene, DIY labour, Finland, Gameplay, Sexuality
@incollection{Paasonen2021,
title = {Finnish Fuck Games: A Lost Historical Footnote},
author = {Susanna Paasonen and Veli-Matti Karhulahti},
editor = {Víctor Navarro-Remesal and Óliver Pérez-Latorre},
doi = {10.1515/9789048550623-005},
isbn = {9789048550623},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-12-14},
booktitle = {Perspectives on the European Videogame},
pages = {75-90},
publisher = {Amsterdam University Press},
abstract = {Our chapter provides a qualitative analysis of four selected independently developed Finnish ‘fuck games’—a term we use for playable software typically implying or simulating sexual intercourse. These titles from the 1980s and 1990s offer regional evidence for the argument that, as it has historically been the case with other media technologies, sex serves as a creative space for both the development and play of early videogames. This opens a perspective from which to better understand the overall development and history of pre-Internet DIY labour within game design.},
keywords = {Demoscene, DIY labour, Finland, Gameplay, Sexuality},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
Our chapter provides a qualitative analysis of four selected independently developed Finnish ‘fuck games’—a term we use for playable software typically implying or simulating sexual intercourse. These titles from the 1980s and 1990s offer regional evidence for the argument that, as it has historically been the case with other media technologies, sex serves as a creative space for both the development and play of early videogames. This opens a perspective from which to better understand the overall development and history of pre-Internet DIY labour within game design.
Apperley, Thomas H.; Ozimek, Anna (Ed.)
Special Issue on Disco Elysium
Baltic Screen Media Review, vol. 9, 2021.
Special issue Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Absurdity, Affect, Digital distribution, Disco Elysium, Dissonant development, Estonia, Film noir, Game production, Game production studies, Gothic fiction, Hermeneutics of objects, Political economy, Polyphony, Posthumanism, Rhizome, Software commons
@collection{Apperley2021,
title = {Special Issue on Disco Elysium},
editor = {Thomas H. Apperley and Anna Ozimek
},
url = {https://sciendo.com/issue/BSMR/9/1},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-12-14},
booktitle = {Baltic Screen Media Review},
volume = {9},
issue = {1},
abstract = {Disco Elysium is a highly praised game that is widely recognized for its innovation and quality. In December 2019, writing for Time magazine, Matthew Gault named Disco Elysium one of the ten most important games of the decade (2010–2019) along-side the likes of Fortnite (Epic Games 2017–), Minecraft (Mojang 2011), and Pokémon GO (2016). Gault (2019) characterizes the dec-ade as one in which “artists broke free of the business side and produced works of astounding beauty on par with any prestige television show.” Disco Elysium is included on his list as “proof” that “all video games are art” (ibid.). While critical and commer-cial success, as well as the invocation of “art,” are not themselves crucial reasons for scholars to explore a particular digital game, in the case of Disco Elysium there are many other ways that it is significant.},
keywords = {Absurdity, Affect, Digital distribution, Disco Elysium, Dissonant development, Estonia, Film noir, Game production, Game production studies, Gothic fiction, Hermeneutics of objects, Political economy, Polyphony, Posthumanism, Rhizome, Software commons},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {collection}
}
Disco Elysium is a highly praised game that is widely recognized for its innovation and quality. In December 2019, writing for Time magazine, Matthew Gault named Disco Elysium one of the ten most important games of the decade (2010–2019) along-side the likes of Fortnite (Epic Games 2017–), Minecraft (Mojang 2011), and Pokémon GO (2016). Gault (2019) characterizes the dec-ade as one in which “artists broke free of the business side and produced works of astounding beauty on par with any prestige television show.” Disco Elysium is included on his list as “proof” that “all video games are art” (ibid.). While critical and commer-cial success, as well as the invocation of “art,” are not themselves crucial reasons for scholars to explore a particular digital game, in the case of Disco Elysium there are many other ways that it is significant.
Apperley, Thomas H.; Ozimek, Anna
Editorial: Special Issue on Disco Elysium
In: Baltic Screen Media Review, vol. 9, iss. 1, pp. 2-4, 2021.
Journal article Open access
Links | Tags: Disco Elysium, Editorial
@article{Apperley2021b,
title = {Editorial: Special Issue on Disco Elysium},
author = {Thomas H. Apperley and Anna Ozimek},
url = {https://sciendo.com/issue/BSMR/9/1},
doi = {10.2478/bsmr-2021-0001},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-12-14},
journal = {Baltic Screen Media Review},
volume = {9},
issue = {1},
pages = {2-4},
keywords = {Disco Elysium, Editorial},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Meriläinen, Mikko; Hietajärvi, Lauri
Teknologia ei vieläkään tuhonnut nuorisoa
In: Westermarck-seura, 2021, ISSN: 2489-9402.
Publication for professional or general audience Open access
Links | Tags: Lapset, Nuoret, Sosiaalinen media, Teknologia, Tieto, Yhteiskunta
@other{Meriläinen2021c,
title = {Teknologia ei vieläkään tuhonnut nuorisoa},
author = {Mikko Meriläinen and Lauri Hietajärvi},
url = {https://ilmiomedia.fi/artikkelit/kommentti-teknologia-ei-vielakaan-tuhonnut-nuorisoa/},
issn = {2489-9402},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-12-10},
journal = {Ilmiö: Sosiologinen media kaikille},
publisher = {Westermarck-seura},
keywords = {Lapset, Nuoret, Sosiaalinen media, Teknologia, Tieto, Yhteiskunta},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {other}
}
Mukherjee, Souvik
Crab-Rangoons in Kyrat: (Re)Writing South-Asian History in Far Cry 4
In: Games and Culture, vol. 16, iss. 8, pp. 1065-1086, 2021, ISSN: 1555-4120.
Journal article
Abstract | Links | Tags: Border-thinking, Minor history, Postcolonialism, South Asia, Subaltern pasts
@article{Mukherjee2021,
title = {Crab-Rangoons in Kyrat: (Re)Writing South-Asian History in Far Cry 4},
author = {Souvik Mukherjee},
doi = {10.1177/15554120211005240},
issn = {1555-4120},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-12-01},
journal = {Games and Culture},
volume = {16},
issue = {8},
pages = {1065-1086},
abstract = {Recent research has started focusing on the representation of history in videogames. Such representation is almost always of mainstream history and usually presented from a Western perspective. Set in a fictitious Himalayan kingdom in South Asia, Ubisoft’s Far Cry 4 is arguably a crucial example of how history is represented using Western and even colonial frameworks and where the narratives that do not emerge from conventional written history are almost always rendered invisible. Using the frameworks of Subaltern Studies and “border-thinking,” this essay attempts to unpack issues of Orientalism and “colonial difference”; it then engages with postcolonial digital humanities and postcolonial game studies to comment on how history is represented in videogames and how the neglected gaps and silences in the game are important in constructing the historiography in videogames. In the process, the essay engages in a debate with current notions of videogame-historiography.},
keywords = {Border-thinking, Minor history, Postcolonialism, South Asia, Subaltern pasts},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Recent research has started focusing on the representation of history in videogames. Such representation is almost always of mainstream history and usually presented from a Western perspective. Set in a fictitious Himalayan kingdom in South Asia, Ubisoft’s Far Cry 4 is arguably a crucial example of how history is represented using Western and even colonial frameworks and where the narratives that do not emerge from conventional written history are almost always rendered invisible. Using the frameworks of Subaltern Studies and “border-thinking,” this essay attempts to unpack issues of Orientalism and “colonial difference”; it then engages with postcolonial digital humanities and postcolonial game studies to comment on how history is represented in videogames and how the neglected gaps and silences in the game are important in constructing the historiography in videogames. In the process, the essay engages in a debate with current notions of videogame-historiography.
Macey, Joseph
A Whole New Ball Game: The Growing Prevalence of Video Game-Related Gambling
2021, ISBN: 978-952-03-2190-1.
Doctoral thesis Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Addiction, Betting, Cognitive bias, Consumption, Convergence, Digital media, Electronic sports, Free-to-play, Gamblification, Gambling, Gamification, Gaming, Loot boxes, MSSC, Problem gambling, Skins gambling, Video games, Virtual goods
@phdthesis{Macey2021b,
title = {A Whole New Ball Game: The Growing Prevalence of Video Game-Related Gambling},
author = {Joseph Macey},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-2191-8},
isbn = {978-952-03-2190-1},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-12-01},
publisher = {Tampere University},
abstract = {Recent decades have seen the parallel trends of the growing liberalisation of gambling practices and the increasing significance of games as both entertainment media and cultural reference points. It is, therefore, unsurprising that there has been a rapid convergence between video game play and gambling; it is a process in which traditional distinctions are becoming increasingly blurred, creating not only new activities and driving the development of new social relationships and consumption practices.
The convergence of gaming and gambling facilitated by digital technologies has become the subject of growing academic attention in in recent years, spurred by the rapidly growing social and economic impact of these digital media products. Much attention has been focused on the in-game items known as loot boxes, however, there are many more examples of gambling, and gambling-like mechanics, being used to drive player engagement and, consequently, monetisation. Concerns have been raised about such developments, with commentators arguing that they are inherently exploitative, that they normalise gambling and gambling-like interactions, and that they encourage problematic consumption.
At the time this research was conducted, there existed a significant and notable dearth of empirical work addressing video games and gambling, with what published works there were predominantly focusing on legal and regulatory issues. The aim of this dissertation, therefore, is to investigate the emerging phenomenon of video game-related gambling (such as esports betting, virtual item lotteries, loot boxes, and other emergent practices) and its connection to video gaming habits, maladaptive cognitions, and motivations for consumption of online services. The work is divided into a series of complementary perspectives that, in unison, provide both depth and breadth to the investigation.
This dissertation constitutes the first empirical work dedicated to the study of video game-related gambling as a distinct topic; previously, work in this area had addressed individual activities, for example SCG or esports betting. In particular, the articles included as part of this work were among the first to address the role of loot boxes and other virtual items in facilitating gambling related to video games, an issue which has since gathered significant attention from within academia and beyond. Furthermore, this work provides a record of video game-related gambling at a key period of its development, a time of significant change and increased attention from those both inside and outside of the video game ecosystem.
Whereas prior works had examined populations of video game players, esports fans, or gamblers, this work is the first to identify those who reside at the intersection of these groups: those who participate in video game-related gambling specifically. A particular contribution of this work has been to highlight the presence of under-age individuals in the video game-gambling ecosystem. This is a group who are often absent from such studies, despite the increased risks known to be associated with early exposure to gambling.
Building upon these areas, this dissertation includes one of the first studies of gambling-related cognitions among video gamers who gamble; as a result of this work it developed the first measure for identifying such cognitions in this population. At the same time providing knowledge which can improve established measures used to identify gambling-related cognitions in traditional gambling populations, for example in reference to the ways in which luck and skill are conceptualised.
The knowledge generated by this body of work, both practical and theoretical, has contributed greatly to understanding the relationships between video game play and gambling behaviour. It has added to the growing body of evidence which questions the perspective that playing video games contributes directly to the development of problematic gambling. Instead, it highlights the influence of contextual factors, such as the surrounding consumption cultures associated with particular games or media formats, which are of greater significance to the development of gambling behaviours, rather than simply playing games.
All four articles included in this work employ quantitative methodologies in order to gain high-level insights into the phenomenon; they are among the first empirical investigations of video game-related gambling and its varied manifestations and, as such, provide a foundation upon which further research into specific phenomena can be built, while also serving as a record of activities and behaviours during a period of notable change in the field.},
keywords = {Addiction, Betting, Cognitive bias, Consumption, Convergence, Digital media, Electronic sports, Free-to-play, Gamblification, Gambling, Gamification, Gaming, Loot boxes, MSSC, Problem gambling, Skins gambling, Video games, Virtual goods},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Recent decades have seen the parallel trends of the growing liberalisation of gambling practices and the increasing significance of games as both entertainment media and cultural reference points. It is, therefore, unsurprising that there has been a rapid convergence between video game play and gambling; it is a process in which traditional distinctions are becoming increasingly blurred, creating not only new activities and driving the development of new social relationships and consumption practices.
The convergence of gaming and gambling facilitated by digital technologies has become the subject of growing academic attention in in recent years, spurred by the rapidly growing social and economic impact of these digital media products. Much attention has been focused on the in-game items known as loot boxes, however, there are many more examples of gambling, and gambling-like mechanics, being used to drive player engagement and, consequently, monetisation. Concerns have been raised about such developments, with commentators arguing that they are inherently exploitative, that they normalise gambling and gambling-like interactions, and that they encourage problematic consumption.
At the time this research was conducted, there existed a significant and notable dearth of empirical work addressing video games and gambling, with what published works there were predominantly focusing on legal and regulatory issues. The aim of this dissertation, therefore, is to investigate the emerging phenomenon of video game-related gambling (such as esports betting, virtual item lotteries, loot boxes, and other emergent practices) and its connection to video gaming habits, maladaptive cognitions, and motivations for consumption of online services. The work is divided into a series of complementary perspectives that, in unison, provide both depth and breadth to the investigation.
This dissertation constitutes the first empirical work dedicated to the study of video game-related gambling as a distinct topic; previously, work in this area had addressed individual activities, for example SCG or esports betting. In particular, the articles included as part of this work were among the first to address the role of loot boxes and other virtual items in facilitating gambling related to video games, an issue which has since gathered significant attention from within academia and beyond. Furthermore, this work provides a record of video game-related gambling at a key period of its development, a time of significant change and increased attention from those both inside and outside of the video game ecosystem.
Whereas prior works had examined populations of video game players, esports fans, or gamblers, this work is the first to identify those who reside at the intersection of these groups: those who participate in video game-related gambling specifically. A particular contribution of this work has been to highlight the presence of under-age individuals in the video game-gambling ecosystem. This is a group who are often absent from such studies, despite the increased risks known to be associated with early exposure to gambling.
Building upon these areas, this dissertation includes one of the first studies of gambling-related cognitions among video gamers who gamble; as a result of this work it developed the first measure for identifying such cognitions in this population. At the same time providing knowledge which can improve established measures used to identify gambling-related cognitions in traditional gambling populations, for example in reference to the ways in which luck and skill are conceptualised.
The knowledge generated by this body of work, both practical and theoretical, has contributed greatly to understanding the relationships between video game play and gambling behaviour. It has added to the growing body of evidence which questions the perspective that playing video games contributes directly to the development of problematic gambling. Instead, it highlights the influence of contextual factors, such as the surrounding consumption cultures associated with particular games or media formats, which are of greater significance to the development of gambling behaviours, rather than simply playing games.
All four articles included in this work employ quantitative methodologies in order to gain high-level insights into the phenomenon; they are among the first empirical investigations of video game-related gambling and its varied manifestations and, as such, provide a foundation upon which further research into specific phenomena can be built, while also serving as a record of activities and behaviours during a period of notable change in the field.
The convergence of gaming and gambling facilitated by digital technologies has become the subject of growing academic attention in in recent years, spurred by the rapidly growing social and economic impact of these digital media products. Much attention has been focused on the in-game items known as loot boxes, however, there are many more examples of gambling, and gambling-like mechanics, being used to drive player engagement and, consequently, monetisation. Concerns have been raised about such developments, with commentators arguing that they are inherently exploitative, that they normalise gambling and gambling-like interactions, and that they encourage problematic consumption.
At the time this research was conducted, there existed a significant and notable dearth of empirical work addressing video games and gambling, with what published works there were predominantly focusing on legal and regulatory issues. The aim of this dissertation, therefore, is to investigate the emerging phenomenon of video game-related gambling (such as esports betting, virtual item lotteries, loot boxes, and other emergent practices) and its connection to video gaming habits, maladaptive cognitions, and motivations for consumption of online services. The work is divided into a series of complementary perspectives that, in unison, provide both depth and breadth to the investigation.
This dissertation constitutes the first empirical work dedicated to the study of video game-related gambling as a distinct topic; previously, work in this area had addressed individual activities, for example SCG or esports betting. In particular, the articles included as part of this work were among the first to address the role of loot boxes and other virtual items in facilitating gambling related to video games, an issue which has since gathered significant attention from within academia and beyond. Furthermore, this work provides a record of video game-related gambling at a key period of its development, a time of significant change and increased attention from those both inside and outside of the video game ecosystem.
Whereas prior works had examined populations of video game players, esports fans, or gamblers, this work is the first to identify those who reside at the intersection of these groups: those who participate in video game-related gambling specifically. A particular contribution of this work has been to highlight the presence of under-age individuals in the video game-gambling ecosystem. This is a group who are often absent from such studies, despite the increased risks known to be associated with early exposure to gambling.
Building upon these areas, this dissertation includes one of the first studies of gambling-related cognitions among video gamers who gamble; as a result of this work it developed the first measure for identifying such cognitions in this population. At the same time providing knowledge which can improve established measures used to identify gambling-related cognitions in traditional gambling populations, for example in reference to the ways in which luck and skill are conceptualised.
The knowledge generated by this body of work, both practical and theoretical, has contributed greatly to understanding the relationships between video game play and gambling behaviour. It has added to the growing body of evidence which questions the perspective that playing video games contributes directly to the development of problematic gambling. Instead, it highlights the influence of contextual factors, such as the surrounding consumption cultures associated with particular games or media formats, which are of greater significance to the development of gambling behaviours, rather than simply playing games.
All four articles included in this work employ quantitative methodologies in order to gain high-level insights into the phenomenon; they are among the first empirical investigations of video game-related gambling and its varied manifestations and, as such, provide a foundation upon which further research into specific phenomena can be built, while also serving as a record of activities and behaviours during a period of notable change in the field.
Turtiainen, Riikka
‘Dare to Shine’: Megan Rapinoe as the Rebellious Star of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2019
In: Dashper, Katherine (Ed.): Sport, Gender and Mega-Events, pp. 133-148, Emerald Publishing, 2021, ISBN: 978-1-83982-937-6.
Book chapter
Abstract | Links | Tags: Inequality, Megan Rapinoe, Post-feminism, Social media, Sports
@incollection{Turtiainen2021,
title = {‘Dare to Shine’: Megan Rapinoe as the Rebellious Star of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2019},
author = {Riikka Turtiainen},
editor = {Katherine Dashper},
doi = {10.1108/978-1-83982-936-920211013},
isbn = {978-1-83982-937-6},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-11-29},
booktitle = {Sport, Gender and Mega-Events},
pages = {133-148},
publisher = {Emerald Publishing},
abstract = {In 2019, FIFA Women's World Cup turned into a mega event with enormous viewing figures. The U.S. player Megan Rapinoe became a star of the tournament on and off the field. Her controversial presence as an outspoken athlete-activist gained attention worldwide. In this chapter I examine her representations in social and mainstream media during the World Cup. In context of social media I focus on her Instagram posts and ephemeral stories with ethnographic observation and field notes. I utilize feminist thematic analysis of female athletes’ self-representation strategies on social media. The key concepts emphasizing neoliberal post-feminism here are self-love, self-disclosure and self-empowerment. (Toffoletti & Thorpe 2018.) As a result, I argue that the time is finally right for the new kind of recognition of women’s football and therefore need for a rebellious female athlete who takes advantage of this opportunity to raise awareness of equality among (sports) people.
},
keywords = {Inequality, Megan Rapinoe, Post-feminism, Social media, Sports},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
In 2019, FIFA Women's World Cup turned into a mega event with enormous viewing figures. The U.S. player Megan Rapinoe became a star of the tournament on and off the field. Her controversial presence as an outspoken athlete-activist gained attention worldwide. In this chapter I examine her representations in social and mainstream media during the World Cup. In context of social media I focus on her Instagram posts and ephemeral stories with ethnographic observation and field notes. I utilize feminist thematic analysis of female athletes’ self-representation strategies on social media. The key concepts emphasizing neoliberal post-feminism here are self-love, self-disclosure and self-empowerment. (Toffoletti & Thorpe 2018.) As a result, I argue that the time is finally right for the new kind of recognition of women’s football and therefore need for a rebellious female athlete who takes advantage of this opportunity to raise awareness of equality among (sports) people.
Kosola, Silja; Meriläinen, Mikko
Netti, some ja pelit
In: Kunttu, Kristiina; Komulainen, Anne; Kosola, Silja; Seilo, Noora; Väyrynen, Tommi (Ed.): Opiskeluterveys, pp. 226-229, Duodecim, 2021, ISBN: 978-952-360-161-1.
Publication for professional or general audience
Tags: Internet, Pelit, Sosiaalinen media
@other{Kosola2021,
title = {Netti, some ja pelit},
author = {Silja Kosola and Mikko Meriläinen},
editor = {Kristiina Kunttu and Anne Komulainen and Silja Kosola and Noora Seilo and Tommi Väyrynen
},
isbn = {978-952-360-161-1},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-11-29},
booktitle = {Opiskeluterveys},
pages = {226-229},
publisher = {Duodecim},
keywords = {Internet, Pelit, Sosiaalinen media},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {other}
}
Mukherjee, Souvik
The Cartography of Virtual Empires: Videogame Maps, Paratexts and Colonialism
In: Beil, Benjamin; Freyermuth, Gundolf S.; Schmidt, Hanns Christian (Ed.): Paratextualizing Games: Investigations on the Paraphernalia and Peripheries of Play, pp. 75-96, transcript Verlag, 2021, ISBN: 9783839454213.
Book chapter Open access
Links | Tags: Cartography, Colonialism, Paratext, Video game maps, Video games
@incollection{Mukherjee2021c,
title = {The Cartography of Virtual Empires: Videogame Maps, Paratexts and Colonialism},
author = {Souvik Mukherjee},
editor = {Benjamin Beil and Gundolf S. Freyermuth and Hanns Christian Schmidt},
url = {https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783839454213-004/html},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1515/9783839454213-004},
isbn = {9783839454213},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-11-27},
urldate = {2021-11-27},
booktitle = {Paratextualizing Games: Investigations on the Paraphernalia and Peripheries of Play},
pages = {75-96},
publisher = {transcript Verlag},
keywords = {Cartography, Colonialism, Paratext, Video game maps, Video games},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
Kinnunen, Jani
Rahat, peli ja rahapelaamisen sosiaaliset palkkiot
2021, ISBN: 978-952-03-2172-7.
Doctoral thesis Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Bingo, Free-to-play, Gambling, Game currency, Online gambling, Peliraha, Pelit, Pelivaluutat, Play money, Poker, Qualities of money, Rahan merkitykset, Rahapelit, Social networks
@phdthesis{Kinnunen2021,
title = {Rahat, peli ja rahapelaamisen sosiaaliset palkkiot},
author = {Jani Kinnunen},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-2172-7},
isbn = {978-952-03-2172-7},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-11-26},
abstract = {Rahapelien ja digitaalisten viihdepelien raja on hämärtynyt erityisesti internetissä. Rahapeleihin integroidaan digipeleistä tuttuja ominaisuuksia ja digipeleihin on lisätty rahapeleille ominaisia arpajaiselementtejä. Lisaksi digitaaliseen pelaamiseen on muodostunut uudenlaisia rahastamisen muotoja, jotka edelleen hämärtävät rajaa aiemmin erillään olleiden pelityyppien välillä. Digitaalisten ilmaispelien eli free-to-play- tai F2P-pelien aloittaminen on ilmaista, mutta pelaamisen aikaiseen rahankäyttöön kannustetaan monin eri tavoin. Rahapelejä ja F2P-ilmaispelejä yhdistää se, että niihin voi kuluttaa rahaa ilman ylärajaa pelaamisen aikana.
Tässä väitöskirjassa rahan, pelien ja pelaamiseen liittyvien palkkioiden suhdetta lähestytään useasta näkökulmasta hyödyntäen ensisijaisesti laadullisia menetelmiä. Väitöskirjassa analysoitava aineisto koostuu pelaajilta kerätyistä kysely- ja haastatteluaineistoista sekä pelinkehittäjiltä kerätystä haastatteluaineistosta. Päätutkimuskysymys on, millä tavoin pelaaminen ja siihen liittyvät palkkiot ovat sosiaalisesti määrittyneitä? Tarkentavina tutkimuskysymyksinä on 1) millaista raha on pelin kehyksessä, 2) mikä merkitys sosiaalisella vuorovaikutuksella on pelikokemukselle, 3a) kuinka pelaajat hallinnoivat pelirahaa ja 3b) millaista pelaamisen ja pelirahan hallintaa pelinkehittäjät odottavat pelaajilta?
Tulosten perusteella raha ei ole laadultaan muuttumatonta, vaan sen merkitykset vaihtelevat tilanteesta ja kontekstista toiseen. Raha voi olla sekä identiteetin että pelin sisäisten ja ulkoisten palkkioiden symboli. Rahapeleihin ja F2P-peleihin käytetty raha ei ole laadultaan samaa rahaa, vaikka pelirahojen muodostamisessa käytetään saman- kaltaisia sosiaalisia käytänteitä. Pelin kehyksen sisällä rahasta muodostuu leikkirahaa, jonka arvo kytkeytyy ensisijaisesti sen kykyyn pitää peli käynnissä. Tämä koskee sekä raha- että F2P-peleja. Pelaamisen aikaisella rahan hallinnoinnilla pelaajat pyrkivät saavuttamaan mahdollisimman laadukkaita pelikokemuksia niin rahapeleissä kuin ilmaispeleissäkin.
Pelinkehittäjät näkevät, että vastuu pelaamisen ja siihen liittyvän rahan käytön hallinnasta on pelaajilla itsellään. Pelinkehittäjien vastuu on valmistaa mahdollisimman hyvä peli, joka on samanaikaisesti reilu ja addiktiivinen. Addiktiivisuus tarkoittaa tässä tapauksessa pelikulttuurissa jaettua puhetapaa, jossa hyvät pelit ovat usein sillä tavoin koukuttavia, että niiden pelaamista halutaan jatkaa pitkään.
Raha- ja F2P-peleissa pitkään pelaaminen tarkoittaa usein suurempaa rahankulua. Hallinnoimalla rahaa arjessaan sosiaalisesti hyväksytyillä tavoilla pelaajat pyrkivät pitämään pelaamisensa sekä yksilöllisesti kestävien taloudellisten rajojen sisällä että sosiaalisesti hyväksyttävänä toimintana. Tällä tavoin toimimalla he pyrkivät integroimaan pelaamisensa osaksi arkielämää ja löytämään tunnustetun paikkansa pelaamiseen liittyvistä sosiaalisista verkostoista.},
keywords = {Bingo, Free-to-play, Gambling, Game currency, Online gambling, Peliraha, Pelit, Pelivaluutat, Play money, Poker, Qualities of money, Rahan merkitykset, Rahapelit, Social networks},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Rahapelien ja digitaalisten viihdepelien raja on hämärtynyt erityisesti internetissä. Rahapeleihin integroidaan digipeleistä tuttuja ominaisuuksia ja digipeleihin on lisätty rahapeleille ominaisia arpajaiselementtejä. Lisaksi digitaaliseen pelaamiseen on muodostunut uudenlaisia rahastamisen muotoja, jotka edelleen hämärtävät rajaa aiemmin erillään olleiden pelityyppien välillä. Digitaalisten ilmaispelien eli free-to-play- tai F2P-pelien aloittaminen on ilmaista, mutta pelaamisen aikaiseen rahankäyttöön kannustetaan monin eri tavoin. Rahapelejä ja F2P-ilmaispelejä yhdistää se, että niihin voi kuluttaa rahaa ilman ylärajaa pelaamisen aikana.
Tässä väitöskirjassa rahan, pelien ja pelaamiseen liittyvien palkkioiden suhdetta lähestytään useasta näkökulmasta hyödyntäen ensisijaisesti laadullisia menetelmiä. Väitöskirjassa analysoitava aineisto koostuu pelaajilta kerätyistä kysely- ja haastatteluaineistoista sekä pelinkehittäjiltä kerätystä haastatteluaineistosta. Päätutkimuskysymys on, millä tavoin pelaaminen ja siihen liittyvät palkkiot ovat sosiaalisesti määrittyneitä? Tarkentavina tutkimuskysymyksinä on 1) millaista raha on pelin kehyksessä, 2) mikä merkitys sosiaalisella vuorovaikutuksella on pelikokemukselle, 3a) kuinka pelaajat hallinnoivat pelirahaa ja 3b) millaista pelaamisen ja pelirahan hallintaa pelinkehittäjät odottavat pelaajilta?
Tulosten perusteella raha ei ole laadultaan muuttumatonta, vaan sen merkitykset vaihtelevat tilanteesta ja kontekstista toiseen. Raha voi olla sekä identiteetin että pelin sisäisten ja ulkoisten palkkioiden symboli. Rahapeleihin ja F2P-peleihin käytetty raha ei ole laadultaan samaa rahaa, vaikka pelirahojen muodostamisessa käytetään saman- kaltaisia sosiaalisia käytänteitä. Pelin kehyksen sisällä rahasta muodostuu leikkirahaa, jonka arvo kytkeytyy ensisijaisesti sen kykyyn pitää peli käynnissä. Tämä koskee sekä raha- että F2P-peleja. Pelaamisen aikaisella rahan hallinnoinnilla pelaajat pyrkivät saavuttamaan mahdollisimman laadukkaita pelikokemuksia niin rahapeleissä kuin ilmaispeleissäkin.
Pelinkehittäjät näkevät, että vastuu pelaamisen ja siihen liittyvän rahan käytön hallinnasta on pelaajilla itsellään. Pelinkehittäjien vastuu on valmistaa mahdollisimman hyvä peli, joka on samanaikaisesti reilu ja addiktiivinen. Addiktiivisuus tarkoittaa tässä tapauksessa pelikulttuurissa jaettua puhetapaa, jossa hyvät pelit ovat usein sillä tavoin koukuttavia, että niiden pelaamista halutaan jatkaa pitkään.
Raha- ja F2P-peleissa pitkään pelaaminen tarkoittaa usein suurempaa rahankulua. Hallinnoimalla rahaa arjessaan sosiaalisesti hyväksytyillä tavoilla pelaajat pyrkivät pitämään pelaamisensa sekä yksilöllisesti kestävien taloudellisten rajojen sisällä että sosiaalisesti hyväksyttävänä toimintana. Tällä tavoin toimimalla he pyrkivät integroimaan pelaamisensa osaksi arkielämää ja löytämään tunnustetun paikkansa pelaamiseen liittyvistä sosiaalisista verkostoista.
Tässä väitöskirjassa rahan, pelien ja pelaamiseen liittyvien palkkioiden suhdetta lähestytään useasta näkökulmasta hyödyntäen ensisijaisesti laadullisia menetelmiä. Väitöskirjassa analysoitava aineisto koostuu pelaajilta kerätyistä kysely- ja haastatteluaineistoista sekä pelinkehittäjiltä kerätystä haastatteluaineistosta. Päätutkimuskysymys on, millä tavoin pelaaminen ja siihen liittyvät palkkiot ovat sosiaalisesti määrittyneitä? Tarkentavina tutkimuskysymyksinä on 1) millaista raha on pelin kehyksessä, 2) mikä merkitys sosiaalisella vuorovaikutuksella on pelikokemukselle, 3a) kuinka pelaajat hallinnoivat pelirahaa ja 3b) millaista pelaamisen ja pelirahan hallintaa pelinkehittäjät odottavat pelaajilta?
Tulosten perusteella raha ei ole laadultaan muuttumatonta, vaan sen merkitykset vaihtelevat tilanteesta ja kontekstista toiseen. Raha voi olla sekä identiteetin että pelin sisäisten ja ulkoisten palkkioiden symboli. Rahapeleihin ja F2P-peleihin käytetty raha ei ole laadultaan samaa rahaa, vaikka pelirahojen muodostamisessa käytetään saman- kaltaisia sosiaalisia käytänteitä. Pelin kehyksen sisällä rahasta muodostuu leikkirahaa, jonka arvo kytkeytyy ensisijaisesti sen kykyyn pitää peli käynnissä. Tämä koskee sekä raha- että F2P-peleja. Pelaamisen aikaisella rahan hallinnoinnilla pelaajat pyrkivät saavuttamaan mahdollisimman laadukkaita pelikokemuksia niin rahapeleissä kuin ilmaispeleissäkin.
Pelinkehittäjät näkevät, että vastuu pelaamisen ja siihen liittyvän rahan käytön hallinnasta on pelaajilla itsellään. Pelinkehittäjien vastuu on valmistaa mahdollisimman hyvä peli, joka on samanaikaisesti reilu ja addiktiivinen. Addiktiivisuus tarkoittaa tässä tapauksessa pelikulttuurissa jaettua puhetapaa, jossa hyvät pelit ovat usein sillä tavoin koukuttavia, että niiden pelaamista halutaan jatkaa pitkään.
Raha- ja F2P-peleissa pitkään pelaaminen tarkoittaa usein suurempaa rahankulua. Hallinnoimalla rahaa arjessaan sosiaalisesti hyväksytyillä tavoilla pelaajat pyrkivät pitämään pelaamisensa sekä yksilöllisesti kestävien taloudellisten rajojen sisällä että sosiaalisesti hyväksyttävänä toimintana. Tällä tavoin toimimalla he pyrkivät integroimaan pelaamisensa osaksi arkielämää ja löytämään tunnustetun paikkansa pelaamiseen liittyvistä sosiaalisista verkostoista.
Mäyrä, Frans
Hybridien verkoissa: Toimijuus digitaalisissa pelikulttuureissa
In: Laakkonen, Mika (Ed.): Informaatioteknologian filosofia, etiikka ja digitalisoitunut yhteiskunta, pp. 195-213, Jyväskylän yliopisto, 2021, ISBN: 978-951-39-8804-3.
Book chapter Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Digitaalinen kulttuuri, Digitaaliset pelit, Kulttuurinen teknologiasuhde, Toimijuus
@incollection{Mäyrä2021,
title = {Hybridien verkoissa: Toimijuus digitaalisissa pelikulttuureissa},
author = {Frans Mäyrä},
editor = {Mika Laakkonen},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-8804-3},
isbn = {978-951-39-8804-3},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-11-20},
booktitle = {Informaatioteknologian filosofia, etiikka ja digitalisoitunut yhteiskunta},
pages = {195-213},
publisher = {Jyväskylän yliopisto},
abstract = {Tämä artikkeli tekee kulttuurisen teknologiasuhteen analyysiä erityisesti digitaalisten pelikulttuurien kehyksessä. Toimijuus peleissä toteutuu monikerroksisena ja osin sisäisesti jännitteisenä, mitä käsitellään artikkelissa fyysisten ja digitaalisten pelielementtien sekä toisaalta pelaamiseen liittyvien valtarakenteiden kautta. Uudet pelikulttuurin kehityskulut ankkuroidaan artikkelissa kulttuurisen teknologiasuhteen pitkään historiaan.},
keywords = {Digitaalinen kulttuuri, Digitaaliset pelit, Kulttuurinen teknologiasuhde, Toimijuus},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
Tämä artikkeli tekee kulttuurisen teknologiasuhteen analyysiä erityisesti digitaalisten pelikulttuurien kehyksessä. Toimijuus peleissä toteutuu monikerroksisena ja osin sisäisesti jännitteisenä, mitä käsitellään artikkelissa fyysisten ja digitaalisten pelielementtien sekä toisaalta pelaamiseen liittyvien valtarakenteiden kautta. Uudet pelikulttuurin kehityskulut ankkuroidaan artikkelissa kulttuurisen teknologiasuhteen pitkään historiaan.
Karhulahti, Veli-Matti; Backe, Hans-Joachim
In: Research Integrity and Peer Review, vol. 6, iss. 1, pp. 1-13, 2021, ISSN: 2058-8615.
Journal article Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Ethics, Journalology, Open science, Peer review, Social sciences and humanities
@article{Karhulahti2021e,
title = {Transparency of Peer Review: A Semi-structured Interview Study with Chief Editors from Social Sciences and Humanities},
author = {Veli-Matti Karhulahti and Hans-Joachim Backe},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202111225749},
doi = {10.1186/s41073-021-00116-4},
issn = {2058-8615},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-11-18},
journal = {Research Integrity and Peer Review},
volume = {6},
issue = {1},
pages = {1-13},
abstract = {Abstract Background Open peer review practices are increasing in medicine and life sciences, but in social sciences and humanities (SSH) they are still rare. We aimed to map out how editors of respected SSH journals perceive open peer review, how they balance policy, ethics, and pragmatism in the review processes they oversee, and how they view their own power in the process. Methods We conducted 12 pre-registered semi-structured interviews with editors of respected SSH journals. Interviews consisted of 21 questions and lasted an average of 67 min. Interviews were transcribed, descriptively coded, and organized into code families. Results SSH editors saw anonymized peer review benefits to outweigh those of open peer review. They considered anonymized peer review the “gold standard” that authors and editors are expected to follow to respect institutional policies; moreover, anonymized review was also perceived as ethically superior due to the protection it provides, and more pragmatic due to eased seeking of reviewers. Finally, editors acknowledged their power in the publication process and reported strategies for keeping their work as unbiased as possible. Conclusions Editors of SSH journals preferred the benefits of anonymized peer review over open peer and acknowledged the power they hold in the publication process during which authors are almost completely disclosed to editorial bodies. We recommend journals to communicate the transparency elements of their manuscript review processes by listing all bodies who contributed to the decision on every review stage.
},
keywords = {Ethics, Journalology, Open science, Peer review, Social sciences and humanities},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Abstract Background Open peer review practices are increasing in medicine and life sciences, but in social sciences and humanities (SSH) they are still rare. We aimed to map out how editors of respected SSH journals perceive open peer review, how they balance policy, ethics, and pragmatism in the review processes they oversee, and how they view their own power in the process. Methods We conducted 12 pre-registered semi-structured interviews with editors of respected SSH journals. Interviews consisted of 21 questions and lasted an average of 67 min. Interviews were transcribed, descriptively coded, and organized into code families. Results SSH editors saw anonymized peer review benefits to outweigh those of open peer review. They considered anonymized peer review the “gold standard” that authors and editors are expected to follow to respect institutional policies; moreover, anonymized review was also perceived as ethically superior due to the protection it provides, and more pragmatic due to eased seeking of reviewers. Finally, editors acknowledged their power in the publication process and reported strategies for keeping their work as unbiased as possible. Conclusions Editors of SSH journals preferred the benefits of anonymized peer review over open peer and acknowledged the power they hold in the publication process during which authors are almost completely disclosed to editorial bodies. We recommend journals to communicate the transparency elements of their manuscript review processes by listing all bodies who contributed to the decision on every review stage.
Lu, Chien; Peltonen, Jaakko; Nummenmaa, Timo; Nummenmaa, Jyrki; Järvelin, Kalervo
Cross-structural Factor-topic Model: Document Analysis with Sophisticated Covariates
In: Balasubramanian, Vineeth N.; Tsang, Ivor (Ed.): Proceedings of the 13th Asian Conference on Machine Learning, pp. 1129-1144, Asian Conference on Machine Learning, 2021, ISSN: 2640-3498.
In proceedings Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Natural language processing, Probabilistic modeling, Topic modeling
@inproceedings{Lu2021b,
title = {Cross-structural Factor-topic Model: Document Analysis with Sophisticated Covariates},
author = {Chien Lu and Jaakko Peltonen and Timo Nummenmaa and Jyrki Nummenmaa and Kalervo Järvelin},
editor = {Vineeth N. Balasubramanian and Ivor Tsang},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202201241538},
issn = {2640-3498},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-11-17},
urldate = {2021-11-17},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 13th Asian Conference on Machine Learning},
pages = {1129-1144},
publisher = {Asian Conference on Machine Learning},
abstract = {Modern text data is increasingly gathered in situations where it is paired with a high-dimensional collection of covariates: then both the text, the covariates, and their relationships are of interest to analyze. Despite the growing amount of such data, current topic models are unable to take into account large amounts of covariates successfully: they fail to model structure among covariates and distort findings of both text and covariates. This paper presents a solution: a novel factor-topic model that enables researchers to analyze latent structure in both text and sophisticated document-level covariates collectively. The key innovation is that besides learning the underlying topical structure, the model also learns the underlying factorial structure from the covariates and the interactions between the two structures. A set of tailored variational inference algorithms for efficient computation are provided. Experiments on three different datasets show the model outperforms comparable topic models in the ability to predict held-out document content. Two case studies focusing on Finnish parliamentary election candidates and game players on Steam demonstrate the model discovers semantically meaningful topics, factors, and their interactions. The model both outperforms state-of-the-art models in predictive accuracy and offers new factor-topic insights beyond other topic models.},
keywords = {Natural language processing, Probabilistic modeling, Topic modeling},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Modern text data is increasingly gathered in situations where it is paired with a high-dimensional collection of covariates: then both the text, the covariates, and their relationships are of interest to analyze. Despite the growing amount of such data, current topic models are unable to take into account large amounts of covariates successfully: they fail to model structure among covariates and distort findings of both text and covariates. This paper presents a solution: a novel factor-topic model that enables researchers to analyze latent structure in both text and sophisticated document-level covariates collectively. The key innovation is that besides learning the underlying topical structure, the model also learns the underlying factorial structure from the covariates and the interactions between the two structures. A set of tailored variational inference algorithms for efficient computation are provided. Experiments on three different datasets show the model outperforms comparable topic models in the ability to predict held-out document content. Two case studies focusing on Finnish parliamentary election candidates and game players on Steam demonstrate the model discovers semantically meaningful topics, factors, and their interactions. The model both outperforms state-of-the-art models in predictive accuracy and offers new factor-topic insights beyond other topic models.
Korkeila, Henry
Social Capital in Video Game Studies: A Scoping Review
In: New Media & Society, vol. 2021, no. 146144482110547, 2021, ISSN: 1461-4448.
Journal article Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Digital games, Games, Scoping review, Social capital, Socialness, Video games
@article{Korkeila2021,
title = {Social Capital in Video Game Studies: A Scoping Review},
author = {Henry Korkeila},
url = {https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/67710434},
doi = {10.1177/14614448211054778},
issn = {1461-4448},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-11-14},
journal = {New Media & Society},
volume = {2021},
number = {146144482110547},
abstract = {This study explored how social capital has been utilized in video-game studies by conducting a scoping review. In total, 74 peer-reviewed publications were analysed from three different databases. The following aspects pertaining to social capital were analysed: definition, methodology, game or genre as stimulus, its utilization inside or outside the stimulus, whether it was the sole concept or variable, how it was utilized, whether social capital was used to predict variables or whether variables were used to predict it, and what where the predicted or predicting variables. The results of the analysis show that Putnam’s research, the quantitative method and Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games were most commonly combined. Social capital was predominantly utilized in binary form. It was utilized almost equally inside and outside the video games’ sphere of influence. The study then presents the main findings and discusses future research avenues.},
keywords = {Digital games, Games, Scoping review, Social capital, Socialness, Video games},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This study explored how social capital has been utilized in video-game studies by conducting a scoping review. In total, 74 peer-reviewed publications were analysed from three different databases. The following aspects pertaining to social capital were analysed: definition, methodology, game or genre as stimulus, its utilization inside or outside the stimulus, whether it was the sole concept or variable, how it was utilized, whether social capital was used to predict variables or whether variables were used to predict it, and what where the predicted or predicting variables. The results of the analysis show that Putnam’s research, the quantitative method and Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games were most commonly combined. Social capital was predominantly utilized in binary form. It was utilized almost equally inside and outside the video games’ sphere of influence. The study then presents the main findings and discusses future research avenues.
Meriläinen, Mikko
In: Toinen Aatos, 2021.
Publication for professional or general audience Open access
Links | Tags: Digitaalinen pelaaminen, Nuoret
@other{Meriläinen2021b,
title = {“Sielun oopiumia nuorisolle”: Digipelaamisen haittoja liioitellaan, kertoo pelitutkija Mikko Meriläinen},
author = {Mikko Meriläinen},
url = {https://www.mustread.fi/artikkelit/sielun-oopiumia-nuorisolle-digipelaamisen-haittoja-liioitellaan-kertoo-pelitutkija-mikko-merilainen/},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-11-10},
journal = {MustRead},
publisher = {Toinen Aatos},
keywords = {Digitaalinen pelaaminen, Nuoret},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {other}
}
Karhulahti, Veli-Matti; Martončik, Marcel; Adamkovič, Matúš
In: Assessment, vol. Pre-print, 2021, ISSN: 1073-1911.
Journal article Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Addiction, Content validity, Gaming disorder, Kriteerit, Mielenterveys, Mielenterveysongelmat, Mittausmenetelmät, Pelaaminen, Pelihaitat, Pelihimo, Pelit, Qualitative assessment, Riippuvuus, Semantic analysis, Technology use, Teknologia, Terveyshaitat
@article{Karhulahti2021b,
title = {Measuring Internet Gaming Disorder and Gaming Disorder: A Qualitative Content Validity Analysis of Validated Scales},
author = {Veli-Matti Karhulahti and Marcel Martončik and Matúš Adamkovič},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202111035505},
doi = {10.1177/10731911211055435},
issn = {1073-1911},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-11-02},
journal = {Assessment},
volume = {Pre-print},
abstract = {Numerous instruments have been developed to measure gaming-related health problems based on “internet gaming disorder” (IGD) in the third section of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.) and “gaming disorder” (GD) in the International Classification of Diseases (11th rev.). However, the criteria in the manuals tend to be operationalized in numerous diverse ways, which can make screening outcomes incomparable. A content validity analysis is needed to reassess the relationships between the diagnostic criteria and the items that operationalize them. The IGD and GD criteria were divided into sematic components. A qualitative content validity analysis was carried out for all items employed by the 17 instruments that claim to measure either construct by their criteria in English. In all but one instrument, the operationalizations did not include all criterion components. There were two main reasons found for this: the components had simply been left out or had been alternatively modified into other components. Criteria that were vaguely described in the manuals were sources of lower content validity items. The study implies that many of the problems in IGD and GD measurement derive from criteria operationalization and original manual descriptions. The conclusion provides practical recommendations that researchers can apply to improve the content validity of their measurement.
},
keywords = {Addiction, Content validity, Gaming disorder, Kriteerit, Mielenterveys, Mielenterveysongelmat, Mittausmenetelmät, Pelaaminen, Pelihaitat, Pelihimo, Pelit, Qualitative assessment, Riippuvuus, Semantic analysis, Technology use, Teknologia, Terveyshaitat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Numerous instruments have been developed to measure gaming-related health problems based on “internet gaming disorder” (IGD) in the third section of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.) and “gaming disorder” (GD) in the International Classification of Diseases (11th rev.). However, the criteria in the manuals tend to be operationalized in numerous diverse ways, which can make screening outcomes incomparable. A content validity analysis is needed to reassess the relationships between the diagnostic criteria and the items that operationalize them. The IGD and GD criteria were divided into sematic components. A qualitative content validity analysis was carried out for all items employed by the 17 instruments that claim to measure either construct by their criteria in English. In all but one instrument, the operationalizations did not include all criterion components. There were two main reasons found for this: the components had simply been left out or had been alternatively modified into other components. Criteria that were vaguely described in the manuals were sources of lower content validity items. The study implies that many of the problems in IGD and GD measurement derive from criteria operationalization and original manual descriptions. The conclusion provides practical recommendations that researchers can apply to improve the content validity of their measurement.
Tuuri, Kai; Koskela, Oskari; Vahlo, Jukka; Tissari, Heli
Identifying the Impact of Game Music both Within and Beyond Gameplay
In: Baalsrud Hauge, Jannicke; Cardoso, Jorge C. S.; Roque, Licínio; Gonzalez-Calero, Pedro A. (Ed.): Entertainment Computing – ICEC 2021: 20th IFIP TC 14 International Conference, ICEC 2021, pp. 411-418, Springer, 2021, ISSN: 0302-9743.
In proceedings Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Game music, Human-music interaction, Impact, Memories
@inproceedings{Tuuri2021,
title = {Identifying the Impact of Game Music both Within and Beyond Gameplay},
author = {Kai Tuuri and Oskari Koskela and Jukka Vahlo and Heli Tissari},
editor = {Baalsrud Hauge, Jannicke and Jorge C. S. Cardoso and Licínio Roque and Pedro A. Gonzalez-Calero},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202111155659
},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89394-1_33},
issn = {0302-9743},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-11-02},
urldate = {2021-11-02},
booktitle = {Entertainment Computing – ICEC 2021: 20th IFIP TC 14 International Conference, ICEC 2021},
pages = {411-418},
publisher = {Springer},
series = {Lecture Notes in Computer Science},
abstract = {This paper presents an overview of and a brief critical reflection on game music’s impact on players both within and beyond the context of gameplay. The analysis is based both on the current literature as well as on preliminary (work-in-progress) observations of our research project Game Music Everyday Memories. We consider how the functions and uses of game music potentially extend to people’s everyday life, thus constituting a personally and culturally meaningful relationship with music that is not immediately connected to gameplay. On the other hand, we consider the ways game music and a person’s attachment to the music are involved in gameplay motivation and potential game retention. As a conceptual thematization, four approaches for identifying the broader musical impact of games are suggested and discussed. To substantiate the discussion, we combine some preliminary observations from two different datasets gathered within the ongoing project: (D1) personal narratives of fond game music memories (N = 183), and (D2) survey-data on favourite game music (N = 785).},
keywords = {Game music, Human-music interaction, Impact, Memories},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
This paper presents an overview of and a brief critical reflection on game music’s impact on players both within and beyond the context of gameplay. The analysis is based both on the current literature as well as on preliminary (work-in-progress) observations of our research project Game Music Everyday Memories. We consider how the functions and uses of game music potentially extend to people’s everyday life, thus constituting a personally and culturally meaningful relationship with music that is not immediately connected to gameplay. On the other hand, we consider the ways game music and a person’s attachment to the music are involved in gameplay motivation and potential game retention. As a conceptual thematization, four approaches for identifying the broader musical impact of games are suggested and discussed. To substantiate the discussion, we combine some preliminary observations from two different datasets gathered within the ongoing project: (D1) personal narratives of fond game music memories (N = 183), and (D2) survey-data on favourite game music (N = 785).
Pöllänen, Sonja; Arjoranta, Jonne
"Whose Were Those Feelings?" Affect and Likenessing in Halat hisar Live Action Role-Playing Game
In: International Journal of Cultural Studies, vol. 24, iss. 6, pp. 899-916, 2021, ISSN: 1367-8779.
Journal article Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Affect, Affective tonality, Affektiivisuus, Larp, Larppaus, Likeness, Likenessing, Liveroolipelit, Role-play, Roolipelit, Samanlaisuus, Sosiaaliset suhteet, Subjektiivisuus, Toimintaan liittyvä rooli, Tunteet, Vaikutukseen liittyvä rooli, Yhteisöllisyys
@article{Pöllänen2021,
title = {"Whose Were Those Feelings?" Affect and Likenessing in Halat hisar Live Action Role-Playing Game},
author = {Sonja Pöllänen and Jonne Arjoranta},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202106183861},
doi = {10.1177/13678779211023520},
issn = {1367-8779},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-11-01},
journal = {International Journal of Cultural Studies},
volume = {24},
issue = {6},
pages = {899-916},
abstract = {Halat hisar was a live action role-playing game (larp) organized in Finland in 2016. Halat hisar’s ambition as a larp was to mirror the current situation in Palestine. In larps, participants take on different roles and improvise without the presence of an audience. Larps offer a place where emotions and affectivities are transmitted through the embodiment of characters. Larps offer forms of likenessing, which create new affective states for the players. We conclude that larps can be powerful tools for portraying political alternatives of actual events, and they can serve a role in raising awareness. Larps offer a productive context for studying subjectivities where the focus is on affective relationalities because larps place the participants in social positions where they take up roles that might be inaccessible to them in everyday life. Larps offer a window to visit other ‘world-lines’ – and other ways of living.},
keywords = {Affect, Affective tonality, Affektiivisuus, Larp, Larppaus, Likeness, Likenessing, Liveroolipelit, Role-play, Roolipelit, Samanlaisuus, Sosiaaliset suhteet, Subjektiivisuus, Toimintaan liittyvä rooli, Tunteet, Vaikutukseen liittyvä rooli, Yhteisöllisyys},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Halat hisar was a live action role-playing game (larp) organized in Finland in 2016. Halat hisar’s ambition as a larp was to mirror the current situation in Palestine. In larps, participants take on different roles and improvise without the presence of an audience. Larps offer a place where emotions and affectivities are transmitted through the embodiment of characters. Larps offer forms of likenessing, which create new affective states for the players. We conclude that larps can be powerful tools for portraying political alternatives of actual events, and they can serve a role in raising awareness. Larps offer a productive context for studying subjectivities where the focus is on affective relationalities because larps place the participants in social positions where they take up roles that might be inaccessible to them in everyday life. Larps offer a window to visit other ‘world-lines’ – and other ways of living.
Sotamaa, Olli
Studying Game Development Cultures
In: Games and Culture, vol. 16, iss. 7, pp. 835-854, 2021, ISSN: 1555-4120.
Journal article Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Contextual analysis, Game culture, Game development, Game development culture, Game industry
@article{Sotamaa2021b,
title = {Studying Game Development Cultures},
author = {Olli Sotamaa},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202104223313
},
doi = {10.1177/15554120211005242},
issn = {1555-4120},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-11-01},
journal = {Games and Culture},
volume = {16},
issue = {7},
pages = {835-854},
abstract = {By analyzing and contextualizing different aspects of the Finnish game development scene, this article provides concrete examples of why we need cultural studies of game development and how game development cultures can be studied. The article follows a three-layer approach, first exploring some of the historical and political developments that have shaped forms of local game production. Second, a focus is placed on working cultures within the industry and attitudes toward crunch time, work–life balance, and workplace regulation. Third, everyday strategies of organizing creative work are analyzed to better understand game studio cultures. The lessons from this empirical study directly contribute to the larger scholarly discussions around game production and creative labor.
},
keywords = {Contextual analysis, Game culture, Game development, Game development culture, Game industry},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
By analyzing and contextualizing different aspects of the Finnish game development scene, this article provides concrete examples of why we need cultural studies of game development and how game development cultures can be studied. The article follows a three-layer approach, first exploring some of the historical and political developments that have shaped forms of local game production. Second, a focus is placed on working cultures within the industry and attitudes toward crunch time, work–life balance, and workplace regulation. Third, everyday strategies of organizing creative work are analyzed to better understand game studio cultures. The lessons from this empirical study directly contribute to the larger scholarly discussions around game production and creative labor.
Välisalo, Tanja; Ruotsalainen, Maria
Esports Fandom in the Age of Transmedia: The Reception of the Overwatch League
In: Eracle: Journal of Sport and Social Sciences, vol. 4, iss. 1, no. 11-35, 2021, ISSN: 2611-6693.
Journal article Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Esports audiences, Fan studies, Overwatch, Thematic analysis, Transmedia
@article{Välisalo2021b,
title = {Esports Fandom in the Age of Transmedia: The Reception of the Overwatch League},
author = {Tanja Välisalo and Maria Ruotsalainen},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202111295821},
doi = {10.6093/2611-6693/8517},
issn = {2611-6693},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-11-01},
journal = {Eracle: Journal of Sport and Social Sciences},
volume = {4},
number = {11-35},
issue = {1},
abstract = {In our article, we analyse the ways audiences engage with Overwatch esports and construct their fan relationships. We situate our research into several intersecting theoretical frames. To understand how Overwatch esports audiences engage with the esports through different media and media related practices we apply the framework of transmedia studies in our examination. To better understand how meanings related to esports are constructed through these practices we also draw from research on fandom and fan engagement. We reflect these findings on earlier research on sports fandom and esports viewership, enabling us to identify how Overwatch esports communities relate to traditional sports communities. Our study reveals how esports is intertwined with the everyday lived reality of the esports audiences, and how meanings are constructed through (mediated) audience practices. Our article contributes to the study of esports transmedia and to the understanding of the similarities and differences of esports and sports audiences.},
keywords = {Esports audiences, Fan studies, Overwatch, Thematic analysis, Transmedia},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
In our article, we analyse the ways audiences engage with Overwatch esports and construct their fan relationships. We situate our research into several intersecting theoretical frames. To understand how Overwatch esports audiences engage with the esports through different media and media related practices we apply the framework of transmedia studies in our examination. To better understand how meanings related to esports are constructed through these practices we also draw from research on fandom and fan engagement. We reflect these findings on earlier research on sports fandom and esports viewership, enabling us to identify how Overwatch esports communities relate to traditional sports communities. Our study reveals how esports is intertwined with the everyday lived reality of the esports audiences, and how meanings are constructed through (mediated) audience practices. Our article contributes to the study of esports transmedia and to the understanding of the similarities and differences of esports and sports audiences.
Wallius, Eetu; Thibault, Mattia; Apperley, Thomas H.; Hamari, Juho
Gamifying the City: E-scooters and the Critical Tensions of Playful Urban Mobility
In: Mobilities, vol. Pre-print, pp. 1-17, 2021, ISBN: 1745-0101.
Journal article
Abstract | Links | Tags: E-scooters, Gamification, Personal mobility devices, Risk perception, Urban mobility
@article{Wallius2021,
title = {Gamifying the City: E-scooters and the Critical Tensions of Playful Urban Mobility},
author = {Eetu Wallius and Mattia Thibault and Thomas H. Apperley and Juho Hamari},
doi = {10.1080/17450101.2021.1985382},
isbn = {1745-0101},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-11-01},
urldate = {2021-11-01},
journal = {Mobilities},
volume = {Pre-print},
pages = {1-17},
abstract = {This article builds on previous scholarship on urban play, playable cities, and gamification by focusing on the contemporary relationship between play and mobility in cities. The article applies Floch’s semiotic square of valorisations to urban mobility by examining the values that are employed to make sense of movement through the city. The model is developed through Caillois’ forms of play: chance, competition, simulation, and vertigo. The model of playful urban mobility is contextualized in relation to historic and contemporary forms of playful urban activity to illustrate the multiple ways in which play is valorised within mundane, everyday practices of urban mobility. The tensions between playful and practical consequences of these different valorisations of play are located and expanded through a case study of the uptake of the e-scooter drawing on news coverage and promotional materials. The case of the e-scooter illustrates how playful urban mobility marks new connections between civic concerns of data security, physical safety, inclusivity, and urban sustainability, in the field of mobility. The key contribution of this article is an applied model of playful urban mobility which uses the e-scooter to illustrate the potential critical tensions that characterise playful and gamified forms of mobility and transportation.},
keywords = {E-scooters, Gamification, Personal mobility devices, Risk perception, Urban mobility},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This article builds on previous scholarship on urban play, playable cities, and gamification by focusing on the contemporary relationship between play and mobility in cities. The article applies Floch’s semiotic square of valorisations to urban mobility by examining the values that are employed to make sense of movement through the city. The model is developed through Caillois’ forms of play: chance, competition, simulation, and vertigo. The model of playful urban mobility is contextualized in relation to historic and contemporary forms of playful urban activity to illustrate the multiple ways in which play is valorised within mundane, everyday practices of urban mobility. The tensions between playful and practical consequences of these different valorisations of play are located and expanded through a case study of the uptake of the e-scooter drawing on news coverage and promotional materials. The case of the e-scooter illustrates how playful urban mobility marks new connections between civic concerns of data security, physical safety, inclusivity, and urban sustainability, in the field of mobility. The key contribution of this article is an applied model of playful urban mobility which uses the e-scooter to illustrate the potential critical tensions that characterise playful and gamified forms of mobility and transportation.
Mukherjee, Souvik
In: Brock, Aske Laursen; van Meersbergen, Guido; Smith, Edmond (Ed.): Trading Companies and Travel Knowledge in the Early Modern World, Routledge, 2021, ISBN: 9781003195573.
Book chapter
Abstract | Links | Tags: Archives, Colonial history, Digital humanities, Travel narratives
@incollection{Mukherjee2021d,
title = {‘Unburying’ Company History: Reconstructing European Company Narratives Through Digital Cemetery Archives},
author = {Souvik Mukherjee},
editor = {Aske Laursen Brock and Guido van Meersbergen and Edmond Smith},
url = {https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003195573-12/unburying-company-history-souvik-mukherjee?context=ubx&refId=b6934cee-9802-4c88-b9f2-e0192ee7c7b3},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003195573},
isbn = {9781003195573},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-10-29},
urldate = {2021-10-29},
booktitle = {Trading Companies and Travel Knowledge in the Early Modern World},
publisher = {Routledge},
abstract = {This chapter addresses how Digital Humanities tools can contribute to conserving and re-assessing colonial history. It explores the colonial cemetery as an archive within the contexts of narratives of travel and also in the larger context of memory studies. The digital cemetery archive, constructed following methodologies drawn from the comparatively new discipline of Digital Humanities, will be seen as using the framework of advanced search algorithms and software bringing to light hitherto neglected connections and, as it were, ‘unburying’ Company history. Nevertheless, logistical problems, costs, and the sheer temporal distance of modern-day Chuchura from the era of the painting of Fort Gustavus in the Rijksmuseum prove to be major roadblocks to any projects of restoration or conservation. The cemetery thus becomes the site of exchange and connections in the early history of colonialism. Mortality rates of Europeans visiting the tropics were very high, particularly due to epidemics of cholera and the general insalubriousness of the climate.},
keywords = {Archives, Colonial history, Digital humanities, Travel narratives},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
This chapter addresses how Digital Humanities tools can contribute to conserving and re-assessing colonial history. It explores the colonial cemetery as an archive within the contexts of narratives of travel and also in the larger context of memory studies. The digital cemetery archive, constructed following methodologies drawn from the comparatively new discipline of Digital Humanities, will be seen as using the framework of advanced search algorithms and software bringing to light hitherto neglected connections and, as it were, ‘unburying’ Company history. Nevertheless, logistical problems, costs, and the sheer temporal distance of modern-day Chuchura from the era of the painting of Fort Gustavus in the Rijksmuseum prove to be major roadblocks to any projects of restoration or conservation. The cemetery thus becomes the site of exchange and connections in the early history of colonialism. Mortality rates of Europeans visiting the tropics were very high, particularly due to epidemics of cholera and the general insalubriousness of the climate.
Olbertz-Siitonen, Margarethe; Piirainen-Marsh, Arja; Siitonen, Marko
Constructing Co-presence Through Shared VR Gameplay
In: Journal für Medienlinguistik, vol. 4, iss. 2, pp. 85-122, 2021, ISSN: 2569-6491.
Journal article Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Co-presence, Conversation, Conversation analysis, Shared gameplay, Single-player games, VR games
@article{Olbertz-Siitonen2021,
title = {Constructing Co-presence Through Shared VR Gameplay},
author = {Margarethe Olbertz-Siitonen and Arja Piirainen-Marsh and Marko Siitonen},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202110295452},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.21248/jfml.2021.31},
issn = {2569-6491},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-10-27},
journal = {Journal für Medienlinguistik},
volume = {4},
issue = {2},
pages = {85-122},
abstract = {This study analyzes how participants playing VR games construct co-presence and shared gameplay. The analysis focuses on instances of play where one person is wearing the VR equipment, and other participants are located nearby without the ability to directly interact with the game. We first show how the active player using the VR equipment draws on talk and embodied activity to signal their presence in the shared physical environment, while simultaneously conducting actions in the virtual space, and thus creates spaces for the other participants to take part in gameplay. Second, we describe how other participants draw on the contextual configurations of the moment in displaying co-presence and position themselves as active and consequential co-players. The analysis demonstrates how gameplay can be communicatively constructed even in situations where the participants have differential rights and possibilities to act and influence the game.},
keywords = {Co-presence, Conversation, Conversation analysis, Shared gameplay, Single-player games, VR games},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This study analyzes how participants playing VR games construct co-presence and shared gameplay. The analysis focuses on instances of play where one person is wearing the VR equipment, and other participants are located nearby without the ability to directly interact with the game. We first show how the active player using the VR equipment draws on talk and embodied activity to signal their presence in the shared physical environment, while simultaneously conducting actions in the virtual space, and thus creates spaces for the other participants to take part in gameplay. Second, we describe how other participants draw on the contextual configurations of the moment in displaying co-presence and position themselves as active and consequential co-players. The analysis demonstrates how gameplay can be communicatively constructed even in situations where the participants have differential rights and possibilities to act and influence the game.
Aurava, Riikka; Meriläinen, Mikko
Expectations and Realities: Examining Adolescent Students' Game Jam Experiences
In: Education and Information Technologies, vol. Pre-print, 2021, ISBN: 1360-2357.
Journal article Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Adolescents, Co-creation, Creativity, Game jam, Gender inclusivity, STEAM learning
@article{Aurava2021,
title = {Expectations and Realities: Examining Adolescent Students' Game Jam Experiences},
author = {Riikka Aurava and Mikko Meriläinen},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202110277858
},
doi = {10.1007/s10639-021-10782-y},
isbn = {1360-2357},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-10-25},
journal = {Education and Information Technologies},
volume = {Pre-print},
abstract = {This article describes the expectations and experiences of young (16 to 19 year old) digital game jam participants (N=34) who attend Finnish general upper secondary schools. Game jams are a form of game creation: events where games are made in co-operation. They are widely used in game design education and in addition, when participated voluntarily, learning has been reported as an important motivation.
The existing literature mostly concentrates on game jams for adults, and informal or non-formal learning. This article is adding to the literature by examining learning in formal education for adolescents. As part of our research, we have organised game jams in formal general education, and this article is based on the pre-event and post-event surveys of three game jam events. The article maps 1) the motivations to attend a school related game jam, 2) the expectations and apprehensions the would-be participants have, 3) what kind of learning game jams promote, and 4) how does attending a game jam afect participants’ attitudes and apprehensions regarding learning, STEAM and information technology, and their own skills. Our results indicate the creative side of digital game making, desire to learn new skills and make new friends to be the main motivations for participation, and the lack of confidence in technical skills to cause most anxiety before the jam event. The efects of attending a game jam are mostly positive, with the participants reporting learning experiences in several soft and technical skills and increased motivation to
take part in creative and co-creative projects. A gendered result can be seen in the participants’ altered stance on technology and programming: girls and non-binary students report technology and programming being easier and more fun than they had thought before attending a game jam event, which is well in line with previous research on STEM/STEAM education and gender.
},
keywords = {Adolescents, Co-creation, Creativity, Game jam, Gender inclusivity, STEAM learning},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This article describes the expectations and experiences of young (16 to 19 year old) digital game jam participants (N=34) who attend Finnish general upper secondary schools. Game jams are a form of game creation: events where games are made in co-operation. They are widely used in game design education and in addition, when participated voluntarily, learning has been reported as an important motivation.
The existing literature mostly concentrates on game jams for adults, and informal or non-formal learning. This article is adding to the literature by examining learning in formal education for adolescents. As part of our research, we have organised game jams in formal general education, and this article is based on the pre-event and post-event surveys of three game jam events. The article maps 1) the motivations to attend a school related game jam, 2) the expectations and apprehensions the would-be participants have, 3) what kind of learning game jams promote, and 4) how does attending a game jam afect participants’ attitudes and apprehensions regarding learning, STEAM and information technology, and their own skills. Our results indicate the creative side of digital game making, desire to learn new skills and make new friends to be the main motivations for participation, and the lack of confidence in technical skills to cause most anxiety before the jam event. The efects of attending a game jam are mostly positive, with the participants reporting learning experiences in several soft and technical skills and increased motivation to
take part in creative and co-creative projects. A gendered result can be seen in the participants’ altered stance on technology and programming: girls and non-binary students report technology and programming being easier and more fun than they had thought before attending a game jam event, which is well in line with previous research on STEM/STEAM education and gender.
The existing literature mostly concentrates on game jams for adults, and informal or non-formal learning. This article is adding to the literature by examining learning in formal education for adolescents. As part of our research, we have organised game jams in formal general education, and this article is based on the pre-event and post-event surveys of three game jam events. The article maps 1) the motivations to attend a school related game jam, 2) the expectations and apprehensions the would-be participants have, 3) what kind of learning game jams promote, and 4) how does attending a game jam afect participants’ attitudes and apprehensions regarding learning, STEAM and information technology, and their own skills. Our results indicate the creative side of digital game making, desire to learn new skills and make new friends to be the main motivations for participation, and the lack of confidence in technical skills to cause most anxiety before the jam event. The efects of attending a game jam are mostly positive, with the participants reporting learning experiences in several soft and technical skills and increased motivation to
take part in creative and co-creative projects. A gendered result can be seen in the participants’ altered stance on technology and programming: girls and non-binary students report technology and programming being easier and more fun than they had thought before attending a game jam event, which is well in line with previous research on STEM/STEAM education and gender.
Vahlo, Jukka; Koskela, Oskari; Tuuri, Kai; Tissari, Heli
Linkages Between Gameplay Preferences and Fondness for Game Music
In: Baalsrud Hauge, Jannicke; Cardoso, Jorge C. S.; Roque, Licínio; Gonzalez-Calero, Pedro A. (Ed.): Entertainment Computing – ICEC 2021: 20th IFIP TC 14 International Conference, ICEC 2021, pp. 304–318, Springer, 2021, ISBN: 978-3-030-89393-4.
In proceedings Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Factor analysis, Game music, Music preferences, Player preferences, Survey
@inproceedings{Vahlo2021,
title = {Linkages Between Gameplay Preferences and Fondness for Game Music},
author = {Jukka Vahlo and Oskari Koskela and Kai Tuuri and Heli Tissari},
editor = {Baalsrud Hauge, Jannicke and Jorge C. S. Cardoso and Licínio Roque and Pedro A. Gonzalez-Calero },
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202111155662},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89394-1_23},
isbn = {978-3-030-89393-4},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-10-22},
urldate = {2021-10-22},
booktitle = {Entertainment Computing – ICEC 2021: 20th IFIP TC 14 International Conference, ICEC 2021},
pages = {304–318},
publisher = {Springer},
series = {Lecture Notes in Computer Science},
abstract = {In this paper we explore connections between players’ preferences in gameplay and their desire to listen to game music. Music always takes place in cultural contexts and the activity of music listening is likewise entangled with versatile cultural practices. This is arguably evident in the case of game music since the primary context of encountering it is the active and participatory experience of gameplay. By analyzing survey data (N = 403) collected from the UK, we investigate how contextual preferences in gameplay activities predict fondness for game music. It was found that player preference for Aggression and Exploration are two precedents for liking game music. These findings indicate that a better understanding of the extra-musical qualities of game music is crucial for making sense of its overall attractiveness and meaningfulness.},
keywords = {Factor analysis, Game music, Music preferences, Player preferences, Survey},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
In this paper we explore connections between players’ preferences in gameplay and their desire to listen to game music. Music always takes place in cultural contexts and the activity of music listening is likewise entangled with versatile cultural practices. This is arguably evident in the case of game music since the primary context of encountering it is the active and participatory experience of gameplay. By analyzing survey data (N = 403) collected from the UK, we investigate how contextual preferences in gameplay activities predict fondness for game music. It was found that player preference for Aggression and Exploration are two precedents for liking game music. These findings indicate that a better understanding of the extra-musical qualities of game music is crucial for making sense of its overall attractiveness and meaningfulness.
Apperley, Thomas H.
In: Analog Game Studies, vol. 8, iss. 3, 2021, ISBN: 2643-7112.
Journal article Open access
Links | Tags: Editorial, Fiend Folio, Role-playing games
@article{Apperley2021c,
title = {The Fiend Folio: Editorial},
author = {Thomas H. Apperley},
url = {https://analoggamestudies.org/the-fiend-folio/},
isbn = {2643-7112},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-10-12},
urldate = {2021-10-12},
journal = {Analog Game Studies},
volume = {8},
issue = {3},
keywords = {Editorial, Fiend Folio, Role-playing games},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Sturrock, Ian; Apperley, Thomas H.
Contributing to Fiend Folio: White Dwarf and the UK RPG Scene
In: Analog Game Studies, vol. 8, iss. 3, 2021, ISSN: 2643-7112.
Journal article Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Dungeons & Dragons, Fiend Folio, Interview, Role-playing games
@article{Sturrock2021,
title = {Contributing to Fiend Folio: White Dwarf and the UK RPG Scene},
author = {Ian Sturrock and Thomas H. Apperley},
url = {https://analoggamestudies.org/2021/10/contributing-to-fiend-folio-white-dwarf-and-the-uk-rpg-scene/},
issn = {2643-7112},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-10-10},
urldate = {2021-10-10},
journal = {Analog Game Studies},
volume = {8},
issue = {3},
abstract = {This article collects interviews with five writers of Fiend Folio monsters, offering an insight both into UK hobbyist culture of the time, and the processes of creating and submitting a monster for the anthology. We were interested in exploring how contributors remembered their relationship with the hobby at the time, and what being included in the Fiend Folio meant for them. We also hoped that by speaking with people involved in making the Fiend Folio we could conceptualize the book and the hobby itself as a process made up of many small contributions from people with a more-or-less committed and long-term engagement with the hobby.},
keywords = {Dungeons & Dragons, Fiend Folio, Interview, Role-playing games},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This article collects interviews with five writers of Fiend Folio monsters, offering an insight both into UK hobbyist culture of the time, and the processes of creating and submitting a monster for the anthology. We were interested in exploring how contributors remembered their relationship with the hobby at the time, and what being included in the Fiend Folio meant for them. We also hoped that by speaking with people involved in making the Fiend Folio we could conceptualize the book and the hobby itself as a process made up of many small contributions from people with a more-or-less committed and long-term engagement with the hobby.
Malinen, Ville; Karhulahti, Veli-Matti
북유럽 레트로: 핀란드의 레트로게임 문화 [Retrogaming in Finland]
In: 2021.
Publication for professional or general audience Open access
Links | Tags: Digital games, Game culture, Game history, Online games, Retrogaming
@other{Malinen2021,
title = {북유럽 레트로: 핀란드의 레트로게임 문화 [Retrogaming in Finland]},
author = {Ville Malinen and Veli-Matti Karhulahti},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202110255344},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-10-09},
journal = {Game Generation},
keywords = {Digital games, Game culture, Game history, Online games, Retrogaming},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {other}
}
Roine, Hanna-Riikka; Meriläinen, Mikko; Kankainen, Ville
In: The Journal of Play in Adulthood, vol. 3, iss. 2, pp. 96-112, 2021, ISSN: 2632-1254.
Journal article Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Assessment, Game jam, Higher education, Playful learning, Twine
@article{Roine2021,
title = {Jamming the Assessment: The Viability of a Twine Game Jam as a Learning Evaluation Tool in Higher Education},
author = {Hanna-Riikka Roine and Mikko Meriläinen and Ville Kankainen},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202110047383
},
doi = {10.5920/jpa.846},
issn = {2632-1254},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-10-04},
journal = {The Journal of Play in Adulthood},
volume = {3},
issue = {2},
pages = {96-112},
abstract = {While game jams, rapid game co-creation events, have seen increased interest in learning contexts, their potential is still largely untapped. In this paper, we examine game jams as a form of playful assessment. We evaluate the potential of game jams to serve as a tool for assessing learning processes and goals of higher education students.
The study is built around two instances of a university course focusing on the analysis of storytelling in digital media, taught during the autumn terms of 2018 and 2019 at the University of Helsinki. Both instances included a Twine game jam with the idea of giving the students a hands-oninsight into highly abstract topics. In our qualitative study, we examined game jam experiences of the students through their written reports. Following research questions were formulated: Is game jamming with Twine a viable tool for assessing student learning on a university course? What limitations and requirements are there in the use of game jamming in assessment?
Through thematic analysis, we identified categories related to student learning and their experience of the game jam in the data. Categories were examined against the learning goals to discern how students were applying knowledge and concepts obtained during the courses.
Our results suggest that the game jam format encourages reflection of the course content as well as its application. Game jams potentially complement existing, more conventional assessment methods as they strongly encourage the jammers to engage with and apply knowledge they have acquired.
},
keywords = {Assessment, Game jam, Higher education, Playful learning, Twine},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
While game jams, rapid game co-creation events, have seen increased interest in learning contexts, their potential is still largely untapped. In this paper, we examine game jams as a form of playful assessment. We evaluate the potential of game jams to serve as a tool for assessing learning processes and goals of higher education students.
The study is built around two instances of a university course focusing on the analysis of storytelling in digital media, taught during the autumn terms of 2018 and 2019 at the University of Helsinki. Both instances included a Twine game jam with the idea of giving the students a hands-oninsight into highly abstract topics. In our qualitative study, we examined game jam experiences of the students through their written reports. Following research questions were formulated: Is game jamming with Twine a viable tool for assessing student learning on a university course? What limitations and requirements are there in the use of game jamming in assessment?
Through thematic analysis, we identified categories related to student learning and their experience of the game jam in the data. Categories were examined against the learning goals to discern how students were applying knowledge and concepts obtained during the courses.
Our results suggest that the game jam format encourages reflection of the course content as well as its application. Game jams potentially complement existing, more conventional assessment methods as they strongly encourage the jammers to engage with and apply knowledge they have acquired.
The study is built around two instances of a university course focusing on the analysis of storytelling in digital media, taught during the autumn terms of 2018 and 2019 at the University of Helsinki. Both instances included a Twine game jam with the idea of giving the students a hands-oninsight into highly abstract topics. In our qualitative study, we examined game jam experiences of the students through their written reports. Following research questions were formulated: Is game jamming with Twine a viable tool for assessing student learning on a university course? What limitations and requirements are there in the use of game jamming in assessment?
Through thematic analysis, we identified categories related to student learning and their experience of the game jam in the data. Categories were examined against the learning goals to discern how students were applying knowledge and concepts obtained during the courses.
Our results suggest that the game jam format encourages reflection of the course content as well as its application. Game jams potentially complement existing, more conventional assessment methods as they strongly encourage the jammers to engage with and apply knowledge they have acquired.
Harrer, Sabine
We Are the Champions? Performing Whiteness in Ascension: Dawn of Champions
In: Simulation & Gaming, vol. 52, iss. 5, pp. 533-553, 2021, ISSN: 1046-8781.
Journal article Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Ascension: Dawn of Champions, Critical whiteness theory, Cybertypes, Deck-building games, Identity tourism, Racial stereotypes
@article{Harrer2021,
title = {We Are the Champions? Performing Whiteness in Ascension: Dawn of Champions},
author = {Sabine Harrer},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202101081113},
doi = {10.1177/1046878120982014},
issn = {1046-8781},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-10-01},
urldate = {2021-10-01},
journal = {Simulation & Gaming},
volume = {52},
issue = {5},
pages = {533-553},
abstract = {Background: Building on previous studies on racism and whiteness in video games, this article investigates how deck building games provide platforms for identity tourism, the symbolic appropriation of marginalised experiences, through their coupling of mechanics and racial stereotypes.
Aims: The aim is to contribute to our understanding how dominant ideologies are expressed through simulation and gaming in a deck building context and how games similar to ASCENSION: DAWN OF CHAMPIONS (henceforth A: DOC) perpetuate racism and coloniality through gameplay design. This is part of an ongoing game studies effort to critique white supremacist and imperial structures in games.
Method: In this article, I conduct a first-person close reading of A: DOC as an emblematic case study for contemporary deck building design. Using critical whiteness theory, I pay special attention to the gameplay design of the four Champion characters Nairi, Kor, Sadranis, and Dhartha in order to demonstrate the interplay of ludic, racial, and social performative elements in the construction of playful identities.
Analysis: The deck building principles of A: DOC provides a racial pedagogical arena which creates affective links between gameplay and white supremacist values. In coupling digital deck building mechanics with stereotypical fantasy characters, the game invites players to take the roles of fantasy tourists and thereby become implicit in white supremacist play. Even though the characters Nairi, Kor, Sadranis and Dhartha are leaders of different genders and races, their “diversity” is established via popular racial cybertypes like the white female diversity advocate, the technologically advanced white male emperor, the aggressive Black male, and the Asian male exotic Oriental.},
keywords = {Ascension: Dawn of Champions, Critical whiteness theory, Cybertypes, Deck-building games, Identity tourism, Racial stereotypes},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Background: Building on previous studies on racism and whiteness in video games, this article investigates how deck building games provide platforms for identity tourism, the symbolic appropriation of marginalised experiences, through their coupling of mechanics and racial stereotypes.
Aims: The aim is to contribute to our understanding how dominant ideologies are expressed through simulation and gaming in a deck building context and how games similar to ASCENSION: DAWN OF CHAMPIONS (henceforth A: DOC) perpetuate racism and coloniality through gameplay design. This is part of an ongoing game studies effort to critique white supremacist and imperial structures in games.
Method: In this article, I conduct a first-person close reading of A: DOC as an emblematic case study for contemporary deck building design. Using critical whiteness theory, I pay special attention to the gameplay design of the four Champion characters Nairi, Kor, Sadranis, and Dhartha in order to demonstrate the interplay of ludic, racial, and social performative elements in the construction of playful identities.
Analysis: The deck building principles of A: DOC provides a racial pedagogical arena which creates affective links between gameplay and white supremacist values. In coupling digital deck building mechanics with stereotypical fantasy characters, the game invites players to take the roles of fantasy tourists and thereby become implicit in white supremacist play. Even though the characters Nairi, Kor, Sadranis and Dhartha are leaders of different genders and races, their “diversity” is established via popular racial cybertypes like the white female diversity advocate, the technologically advanced white male emperor, the aggressive Black male, and the Asian male exotic Oriental.
Aims: The aim is to contribute to our understanding how dominant ideologies are expressed through simulation and gaming in a deck building context and how games similar to ASCENSION: DAWN OF CHAMPIONS (henceforth A: DOC) perpetuate racism and coloniality through gameplay design. This is part of an ongoing game studies effort to critique white supremacist and imperial structures in games.
Method: In this article, I conduct a first-person close reading of A: DOC as an emblematic case study for contemporary deck building design. Using critical whiteness theory, I pay special attention to the gameplay design of the four Champion characters Nairi, Kor, Sadranis, and Dhartha in order to demonstrate the interplay of ludic, racial, and social performative elements in the construction of playful identities.
Analysis: The deck building principles of A: DOC provides a racial pedagogical arena which creates affective links between gameplay and white supremacist values. In coupling digital deck building mechanics with stereotypical fantasy characters, the game invites players to take the roles of fantasy tourists and thereby become implicit in white supremacist play. Even though the characters Nairi, Kor, Sadranis and Dhartha are leaders of different genders and races, their “diversity” is established via popular racial cybertypes like the white female diversity advocate, the technologically advanced white male emperor, the aggressive Black male, and the Asian male exotic Oriental.
Zeiler, Xenia; Mukherjee, Souvik
In: Games and Culture, vol. Pre-print, 2021, ISSN: 1555-4120.
Journal article Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Cultural and creative industries, Cultural heritage, India, Indie games, Video game development, Video games
@article{Zeiler2021,
title = {Video Game Development in India: A Cultural and Creative Industry Embracing Regional Cultural Heritage(s)},
author = {Xenia Zeiler and Souvik Mukherjee},
url = {https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15554120211045143},
doi = {10.1177/15554120211045143},
issn = {1555-4120},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-09-24},
journal = {Games and Culture},
volume = {Pre-print},
abstract = {Game development and production practices are complex and highly reflected processes—worldwide. This explorative article discusses video game development as a cultural and creative industry in India, including the industry’s history and introducing recent trends which indicate profound transformations—the use and implementation of Indian cultural heritage in game settings. In the rather short history of Indian game development as compared to other countries—a significant number of games made in India first were produced around 2010—the industry has already lived through big changes and challenges. This article aims at introducing Indian game development and argues that especially independent (so-called indie) game studios in their search for their own, region-specific game development and stand-alone characteristics for Indian games increasingly turn to what they perceive as their own cultural heritage, including, for example, elements from history, art (music, dance, dress styles, and others), and architecture.},
keywords = {Cultural and creative industries, Cultural heritage, India, Indie games, Video game development, Video games},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Game development and production practices are complex and highly reflected processes—worldwide. This explorative article discusses video game development as a cultural and creative industry in India, including the industry’s history and introducing recent trends which indicate profound transformations—the use and implementation of Indian cultural heritage in game settings. In the rather short history of Indian game development as compared to other countries—a significant number of games made in India first were produced around 2010—the industry has already lived through big changes and challenges. This article aims at introducing Indian game development and argues that especially independent (so-called indie) game studios in their search for their own, region-specific game development and stand-alone characteristics for Indian games increasingly turn to what they perceive as their own cultural heritage, including, for example, elements from history, art (music, dance, dress styles, and others), and architecture.
Järvenpää, Hanna
The Playful Affordances of Picture Book Apps for Children
In: Eludamos: Journal for Computer Game Culture, vol. 12, iss. 1, pp. 149–167, 2021, ISSN: 1866-6124.
Journal article Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Affordances, Children's literature, Digitaaliset pelit, Digital children's literature, Digital play, E-kirjat, Kuvakirjat, Lastenkirjallisuus, Leikkiminen, Lukeminen, Mobiilisovellukset, Pelaaminen, Picture book apps
@article{Järvenpää2021,
title = {The Playful Affordances of Picture Book Apps for Children},
author = {Hanna Järvenpää},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202109285009},
issn = {1866-6124},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-09-14},
journal = {Eludamos: Journal for Computer Game Culture},
volume = {12},
issue = {1},
pages = {149–167},
abstract = {The tradition of children’s literature has evolved side by side with the market of children’s entertainment, games, and toys. The selection of contemporary print products includes a wide variety of materially or technologically enhanced picture books. This background is rarely considered in the examination of children’s book applications that have attracted scholarly interest after the arrival of smartphones and tablets during the early 2010s.
The relationship between picture book apps, mobile games, and digital playthings requires further examination that considers the specific affordances of the mobile platform. Leaning on five case studies, this article examines how picture book apps afford opportunities for a reading experience that contains features characteristic for children’s digital play. For this purpose, I adapt a specific model of close reading that focuses on the visual, auditory, tactile, and performative elements of children’s video games.
On the basis of the case studies, it seems that navigating a picture book app requires balancing between different modes of action: reading, playing, and exploring. Engagement with picture book apps has different forms that resemble the features of both traditional print reading and digital play. However, further examination of children’s playful reading practices and intergenerational play is necessary from a premise that recognizes playing with a book as a valuable research topic.
},
keywords = {Affordances, Children's literature, Digitaaliset pelit, Digital children's literature, Digital play, E-kirjat, Kuvakirjat, Lastenkirjallisuus, Leikkiminen, Lukeminen, Mobiilisovellukset, Pelaaminen, Picture book apps},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The tradition of children’s literature has evolved side by side with the market of children’s entertainment, games, and toys. The selection of contemporary print products includes a wide variety of materially or technologically enhanced picture books. This background is rarely considered in the examination of children’s book applications that have attracted scholarly interest after the arrival of smartphones and tablets during the early 2010s.
The relationship between picture book apps, mobile games, and digital playthings requires further examination that considers the specific affordances of the mobile platform. Leaning on five case studies, this article examines how picture book apps afford opportunities for a reading experience that contains features characteristic for children’s digital play. For this purpose, I adapt a specific model of close reading that focuses on the visual, auditory, tactile, and performative elements of children’s video games.
On the basis of the case studies, it seems that navigating a picture book app requires balancing between different modes of action: reading, playing, and exploring. Engagement with picture book apps has different forms that resemble the features of both traditional print reading and digital play. However, further examination of children’s playful reading practices and intergenerational play is necessary from a premise that recognizes playing with a book as a valuable research topic.
The relationship between picture book apps, mobile games, and digital playthings requires further examination that considers the specific affordances of the mobile platform. Leaning on five case studies, this article examines how picture book apps afford opportunities for a reading experience that contains features characteristic for children’s digital play. For this purpose, I adapt a specific model of close reading that focuses on the visual, auditory, tactile, and performative elements of children’s video games.
On the basis of the case studies, it seems that navigating a picture book app requires balancing between different modes of action: reading, playing, and exploring. Engagement with picture book apps has different forms that resemble the features of both traditional print reading and digital play. However, further examination of children’s playful reading practices and intergenerational play is necessary from a premise that recognizes playing with a book as a valuable research topic.
Turtiainen, Riikka
”Unity in Diversity” – The Varying Media Representations of Female Olympic Athletes
In: Jackson, Daniel; Bernstein, Alina; Butterworth, Michael; Cho, Younghan; Coombs, Danielle Sarver; Devlin, Michael; Onwumechili, Chuka (Ed.): Olympic and Paralympic Analysis 2020: Mega Events, Media, and the Politics of Sport , pp. 64, The University of Texas, Austin, 2021, ISBN: 978-1-910042-33-5.
Publication for professional or general audience Open access
Links | Tags: Female athletes, Olympics, Representation, Sports
@other{Turtiainen2021c,
title = {”Unity in Diversity” – The Varying Media Representations of Female Olympic Athletes},
author = {Riikka Turtiainen},
editor = {Daniel Jackson and Alina Bernstein and Michael Butterworth and Younghan Cho and Danielle Sarver Coombs and Michael Devlin and Chuka Onwumechili},
url = {https://olympicanalysis.org/section-2/unity-in-diversity-the-varying-media-representations-of-female-olympic-athletes/},
isbn = {978-1-910042-33-5},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-09-14},
booktitle = {Olympic and Paralympic Analysis 2020: Mega Events, Media, and the Politics of Sport
},
pages = {64},
publisher = {The University of Texas, Austin},
keywords = {Female athletes, Olympics, Representation, Sports},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {other}
}
Masek, Leland; Stenros, Jaakko
In: ELUDAMOS, vol. 12, iss. 1, pp. 13-37, 2021, ISSN: 1866-6124.
Journal article Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Engagement, Literature review, Meta-synthesis, Play, Playful, Playfulness
@article{Masek2021,
title = {The Meaning of Playfulness: A Review of the Contemporary Definitions of the Concept across Disciplines.},
author = {Leland Masek and Jaakko Stenros},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202203072382},
doi = {10.7557/23.6361},
issn = {1866-6124},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-09-14},
journal = {ELUDAMOS},
volume = {12},
issue = {1},
pages = {13-37},
abstract = {‘Playfulness’ is a concept used in various disciplines. In this article, we conduct a qualitative, systematic, and interdisciplinary literature review on the term ‘playfulness’ as used in recent scholarship. The article aims to overcome the ambiguity relating to ‘playfulness’ in order to create opportunities for growth in all related fields of study. Based on 429 written works and the 184 extracted definitions of ‘playfulness’ across disciplines, we find six clusters of meaning all of which emphasise engagement. Three themes describe different methods for how engagement is structured to become a higher priority than its context. The other three themes discuss structural characteristics of contexts that are playfully engaged in. A new synthetic conceptualization is offered: Playfulness prioritizes engagement over external consequence, realness, or convention. Furthermore, the study argues that playfulness is not a ‘what’ or a ‘why,’ but a ‘how,’ a priority organizing principle.},
keywords = {Engagement, Literature review, Meta-synthesis, Play, Playful, Playfulness},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
‘Playfulness’ is a concept used in various disciplines. In this article, we conduct a qualitative, systematic, and interdisciplinary literature review on the term ‘playfulness’ as used in recent scholarship. The article aims to overcome the ambiguity relating to ‘playfulness’ in order to create opportunities for growth in all related fields of study. Based on 429 written works and the 184 extracted definitions of ‘playfulness’ across disciplines, we find six clusters of meaning all of which emphasise engagement. Three themes describe different methods for how engagement is structured to become a higher priority than its context. The other three themes discuss structural characteristics of contexts that are playfully engaged in. A new synthetic conceptualization is offered: Playfulness prioritizes engagement over external consequence, realness, or convention. Furthermore, the study argues that playfulness is not a ‘what’ or a ‘why,’ but a ‘how,’ a priority organizing principle.