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Monday, Oct. 29. Revise one short paper for new grade—due by Dec. 12 Out of town until Tuesday, Nov. 6—contact me by email Wed. readings in email; Class cancelled Friday Readings for next week on Blackboard Suggestion for Video Game Night: Nov. 16. Public Perceptions of Gaming.
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Monday, Oct. 29 • Revise one short paper for new grade—due by Dec. 12 • Out of town until Tuesday, Nov. 6—contact me by email • Wed. readings in email; Class cancelled Friday • Readings for next week on Blackboard • Suggestion for Video Game Night: Nov. 16
Public Perceptions of Gaming • Idealization of play/skepticism about play in society • Taste (Pierre Bourdieu): “a means to establish group boundaries, by signaling one’s membership to a certain social group” • High culture and low culture/pop culture • “Moral panic”/ “media panic” • GTA “Hot Coffee mod” • Smithsonian exhibit: “The Art of Video Games”
Player Culture • MihalyCsikszentmihalyi’s book Flow: state of concentration and satisfaction • “Optimal experience” • Challenge, skill • Immersion, attention, concentration • Goals and feedback • Control • Loss of self-consciousness • Transformation of time • Experiment with different identities (Sherry Turkle)—no unified self
Jane McGonigal, Reality Is Broken • “games are providing what reality cannot” • Rewarding interaction vs. passive entertainment • Intrinsic rewards • Satisfying work: clearly defined, demanding activities, direct impact of efforts • Experience of being successful, feel powerful • Social connection, share experiences, create bonds • Meaning, part of something larger than ourselves • Happiness hacking—life is hard, games make it better • Gamification
Player Communities • Game communities (within the game) • Membership • Relationships (teams, races, classes, guilds) • Commitments, reciprocity (dedication, following rules) • Shared values, practices (game behavior) • Collective goods • Duration (not persistent) • Metaculture (outside the game—fan culture, professionalization)
Aspects of Player Culture • Conflicts • Cheating • Grief play • Bots and goldfarming • Fan Culture • Mods • “Poaching” (creatively reusing content, fanfic, walkthroughs, machinima, skins, videos), from instrumental to expressive • “Leetspeak” • Professional gaming (Major League Gaming) • Virtual economies