Game Design Commons^™

Razorblade Swing: Sympathy For The Dead, Game Design Document, Matthew Sparksman

Postgraduate

Sydney of the late 20s was a world of dark, crisp shadows and flashing blades. The war has recently ended, and there is a hunger, a mania, to forget and bury the ghosts and spirits. But the dead, and things inhuman, do not like to be forgotten.

Razorblade Swing is a tabletop roleplaying game that seeks to explore this world through the eyes of street-level, everyday, vulnerable people, particularly women. The main conceit is that the Razor Wars were the product of the ghosts and spirits of war. Those who come back often deal with this through addiction, vice and …

Digital Place-Futures Outside A Colonial Metaversal Imaginary: Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley’S We Are Here Because Of Those That Are Not As Critical Digital Place-Craft, Luke A. Meeken

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

In this piece, the author analyzes a recorded digital walk through Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley’s WE ARE HERE BECAUSE OF THOSE THAT ARE NOT, a digital archival place designed to contain, protect, and share the experiences of Black trans people. The author’s encounter with Brathwaite-Shirley’s work is contextualized and analyzed through critical and decolonial place lenses and digital materialist lenses. Particular attention is paid to the ways physical and digital places crafted in colonial contexts bodily habituate settler-colonial sensibilities. The author examines how the critical digital placemaking strategies practiced by Brathwaite-Shirley informed teacher and student place-craft within the context of a …

Asmrtistry In Immersive Sound: Investigating The Effectiveness Of Immersive Sound Technologies In Eliciting Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, Scott D. Nelson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Despite a wide array of immersive sound technologies available to digital media creators who specialize in making audio-visual content that aims to elicit Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR), only a few sound reproduction modalities are widely used: mono/stereo and binaural recording. To date, nearly all research studying ASMR, a bio-sensory phenomenon wherein people feel brain tingles triggered by calming audio-visual cues, has been content to carry out ASMR studies entirely with stereo and binaural sound reproduction methods. Therefore, it stands to reason that more understanding about how diverse immersive sound modalities like wave field synthesis, or three-dimensional spatial audio for …

Revelation Perth International Film Festival Academic Conference 2024, James Thompson

Staff Scholarship - Australia & Dubai

Drawing delegates from around the country The Revelation Perth International Film Festival's Academic Conference is a truly interactive two days of intense discussion and debate on all things cinema

Revelation is Australia's only international film festival to host and encourage academic discussion alongside its screening program and we look forward to taking its discoveries to audiences around the country and world. It represents an important platform in film discussion and analysis in this country.

Taking place on Tuesday July 2nd and Weds July 3rd 2024, the Revelation Academic Conference draws local, national and international academics to discuss and analyse issues …

What Teams Need: Leading Digital Creatives, Matthew Dyet

Staff Scholarship - Australia & Dubai

What Teams Need: Leading Digital Creatives was a talk at the Revelations Conference. Based on my book Great Games Need Great Leaders, this talk was focused more broadly on leadership in the creative industries due to the audience being primarily from film.

Gad213 Designing Game Systems, Sae University College

Exemplars

Exemplar of GAD213.1: game design activities and design documentation for a combat system.

Resisting The Historical And Geographical “Other”: The Role Of Expertise In Video Game Music, Tommy Dainko

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Video games create rich, virtual worlds for players to explore. Game developers have often utilized exoticism, allowing players to experience the “Other” from the comfort of home. Music is a powerful tool to evoke Otherness and can reinforce stereotypes about the past and different cultures. This thesis looks at recent games where developers have collaborated with expert musicians either from the culture depicted or with expertise in historical performance practices. I document two purposes these collaborations can serve. First, the use of expert musicians creates a veneer of authenticity allowing developers to market the games as “authentic” experiences. Second, these …

Cards With Class: Formalizing A Simplified Collectible Card Game, Dan Ha

University Honors Theses

Collectible card games (CCGs) have been a wildly popular game genre since the release of Wizards of the Coast's Magic: The Gathering. These games revolve around their thousands of cards and the hundreds of thousands of interactions they can create with their many effects. For designers, it is an incredibly demanding task to ensure that every single card works properly and that each card's text unambiguously conveys its intended behavior in all cases. The task only grows more difficult over time as the number of cards in the game grows and card effects become more complex or experimental. If the …

The Robot On The Hill, James Ryan

College of Computing and Digital Media Dissertations

“The Robot on the Hill” is a rogue-like autobattler that procedurally models the state of the individual in the information age. The game abruptly transitions between diverse framings - a hill, a bedroom, a pond, a chessboard, the void - in order to highlight the disjointedness that is present in the informationalizing of self and reality. It dialogues with Byung Chul Han and Heidegger to portray what Han describes as a ‘narrative crisis’ in modernity and the devaluation of experience. When the value of experience diminishes and disintegrates, “all that is left is bare life, a kind of survival.” …

Machines Of The Absurd: Leveraging Generative Ai For Creativity, Humor, And Playfulness, Tyler Sanders

College of Computing and Digital Media Dissertations

Machines of The Absurd is a collection of four projects exploring how generative AI can be leveraged for creativity, humor and playfulness.

1. neverOS — A node-based visual playground for interacting with large language models.

2. Other Calc — An iOS app with a calculator interface, where players can “calculate” text instead of numbers.

3. What Must Burn — An experiment where players type in text that can be dragged into a campfire to produce contextually appropriate sound effects.

4. Jazz vs Waffles — A turn-based comedy game, where players battle anything they type in.

Together, these projects make the …

Do You Know Where Your Games Come From? Artificial Intelligence And Game Development, Andrew Begemann

International Journal of Emerging and Disruptive Innovation in Education : VISIONARIUM

ABSTRACT

This paper was written to explore the possible effects of artificial intelligence being implemented in the design pipeline of video game development. In it, we will explore a history of artificial intelligence, from its early imaginings in books and philosophy, to its current iterations, such as ChatGPT and other popular engines like Midjourney and Stable diffusion. We will also discuss steps in game development so as to understand where the potential implementations of artificial intelligence can, will, or does occur. Following those explanations, we will explore the three methodologies of Marxism, Psychoanalysis, and Cultural Studies as ways of examining …

Snapbot - The Enhanced Physical Play, Morong Li

Masters Theses

Snapbot is a building toy set. It investigates the integration of physical and digital mediums within the realm of play, addressing the dominance of video games in children’s entertainment. By merging Morong’s interests in toys, design, and psychology, this project aims to balance different play mediums to offer combined benefits without diminishing each one’s value.

To address screen time’s dominance, I developed a toy concept for 11- to 13-year-olds that merges physical and digital play. This concept allows for the physical construction of robotic toys that, when transferred to a digital environment, come alive and tackle digital challenges. In this …

Latin In Video Game Music: The Persisting Importance Of Classics In Video Gaming, Sophie Cassarino

College Honors Program

Video games have grown in popularity and relevance in global significance since the mid 1980’s, proliferating into a cosmopolitan art medium occupied by European, American, and Japanese companies exchanging and navigating their cultural differences. Within this globalized art form, elements of Greco-Roman society have become prevalent. Many facets of Classics can be found in games, including historic figures, ancient texts, and allusions to Roman society. The Latin language in particular is commonly found in video game music in a variety of game genres. This paper discusses the use of the Latin language in video game soundtracks in order to understand …

間, Lele Dai

Theses and Dissertations

LeLe Dai makes contingent participatory public interventions using sensory materials such as sound, flickering light, and water. This paper examines their works through the lens of Chinese character Jian (間), meaning “gap/slit/incision,” to investigate the concept of “in-betweenness.”

Heroines From An Ancient World, Danni Liang

Art Theses and Dissertations

A female warrior wearing different historical armor will fight against each other for territory. Ultimately, it will be presented in Unreal Engine 5 through a fusion of animation, special effects, and armor themes.

I will conduct historical research on armor in its early stages, including its structure and essential components. Then, I will choose a particular armor set from that era for production. I will study the fighting movements of different warriors and make them into animations accompanied by historical background stories.

Create three special effects, namely thunder, fire, and ice, and integrate these elements into the animation to present …

Cultural Immersion In Gaming: Ethiopian Influences In Horizon Forbidden West, Henoch Tilahun

ART 108: Introduction to Games Studies

This paper examines the immersive incorporation of Ethiopian culture in the video game "Horizon Forbidden West," focusing on visual, narrative, and thematic themes. It explains how the game represents Ethiopian legacy and custom by examining architectural design, landscape portrayal, mythological integration, and character representation. The paper uses different academic works and gaming articles and emphasizes the game's ability to inspire empathy, curiosity, and enthusiasm for cultural diversity, as well as cross-cultural appreciation and understanding. It also investigates the importance of ethical and responsible game production approaches in ensuring accurate cultural portrayal. Finally, this paper examines the transformative power of cultural …

Scientific Frontiers In Game Studies, Prthvi Kapilavai

ART 108: Introduction to Games Studies

Video game studies as a dynamic field has benefited from this synthesis of the scientific method and critical theories that, together, enrich our understanding of video games as both technological artifacts and cultural products.(Girina and Jung, 2019). More than a mere shadow-boxing between disciplinary echo chambers, this kind of integration enriches our understanding of video game form and experience while projecting a more informed path forward into game design and game scholarship. It demonstrates how findings from psychology and cognitive science describe or explain video games’ enticement or their potential for learning, and how theories of media from the humanities …

An Exploration Of Procedural Methods In Game Level Design, Hector Salinas

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Video games offer players immersive experiences within intricately crafted worlds, and the integration of procedural methods in game level designs extends this potential by introducing dynamic, algorithmically generated content that could stand on par with handcrafted environments. This research highlights the potential to provide players with engaging experiences through procedural level generation, while potentially reducing development time for game developers.

Through a focused exploration on two-dimensional cave generation techniques, this paper aims to provide efficient solutions tailored to this specific environment. This exploration encompasses several procedural generation methods, including Midpoint Displacement, Random Walk, Cellular Automata, Perlin Worms, and Binary Space …

Copyright & Modding In The Modern Gamespace, Josephine Railston

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

In the modern gamespace, modding has become an excellent opportunity for video game enthusiasts to express their creativity and love for a game; but what happens when that passion is stifled by a major company? My poster presentation will examine the ethics behind modding and ROM hacking, from both the perspectives of major video game corporations as well as their fanbase at large. We will analyze this issue using the case study of Pokémon Prism, a Pokémon Crystal ROM hack, which was canceled days prior to its release following a cease and desist by Nintendo. More specifically, we will investigate …

Consequences Of A Dream: Interactivity And Agency Of The Reader/Player In Alice's Adventures In Wonderland And Undertale, Nicholas DáVila

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

In this thesis, I analyze Toby Fox’s 2015 roleplaying game Undertale alongside Lewis Carroll’s 1865 children’s novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. My reason for doing so is to investigate the narrative structures of the two stories, how they use metanarrative, and their use of game as a narrative tool in order to showcase the narrative lineage video games like Undertale share with Wonderland. Through this investigation I wish to show that the use of games and play as a vessel for or a part of narrative structure do not exclude works like video games from posing interesting questions and challenges …

Neurodivergent Gaming: Critical Game Design And Scholarly Practice, Mary Samblis

Honors Theses

This showcase of interactive experiences is designed to simulate and explore the hidden struggles of neurodiversity using game mechanics. It draws on my personal experience as an individual on the autistic spectrum to explore the relationship between game forms, academic scholarship, and critical thinking. The showcase aims to demonstrate the scholarly side of video game development and what video games, as a medium, have the potential to become within academia. Unlike articles or videos, video games have the unique quality to be interactive and immersive, allowing designers to experiment with mechanics as a tool for creating thoughtful and reflective experiences. …

The Phygital Design Process: Using Emerging Technologies To Create A Phygital Fashion Brand Rooted In Nostalgia, Madeline M. Mcdaniel

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This Master's Project is a comprehensive exploration of the intersection of digital fashion design, nostalgia, and sustainable practices. Its primary objective is to create 'project CYBERBAE,' a phygital fashion collection that draws inspiration from early 2000s video game characters, trends, and aesthetics. The project utilizes advanced digital tools like Clo3D to demonstrate a comprehensive digital fashion design process that emphasizes inclusivity and sustainability. It also pioneers the development of a 3D virtual world, providing users with an immersive environment to interact with and experience digital fashion. This virtual space serves as a platform for a community of fashion, technology, and …

Player Exposition: Education And Immersion In Jrpgs, Callan Danenhower

Honors Theses

This thesis examines how the opening segments of Japanese role-playing games use different techniques to educate and immerse the player. Informed by game studies scholarship, I consider how games create exposition differently from other narrative mediums, coining the term “player exposition” as a useful heuristic for game analysis. The thesis will be divided into two sections—education and immersion—to identify the two significant aspects of player exposition. I argue that exposition in Japanese role-playing games draws on concepts from other mediums, specifically film and literature, while using educational and immersive concepts to introduce the player to the game’s fictional world. In …

Diegetic Sonification For Low Vision Gamers, Jhané Dawes

Master's Theses

There are not many games designed for all players that provide accommodations for low vision users. This means that low vision users may not get to engage with the gaming community in the same way as their sighted peers. In this thesis, I explore how diegetic sonification can be used as a tool to support these low vision gamers in the typical gaming environment. I asked low vision players to engage with a prototype game level with two diegetic sonification techniques applied, without the use of their corrective lenses. I found that participants had more enjoyment and experienced less difficulty …

Animating Reality: Enhancing Immersion Through Secondary Animation Rigging Techniques In Video Games, Karim Hudson

All Theses

This thesis explores enhancing realism in video games by strategically applying secondary animation rigging techniques to intensify player immersion. The research adopts a novel approach by exploring hybrid methodologies that seamlessly integrate animator control with simulation techniques to imbue characters with dynamic movements and lifelike qualities. Specifically, the study focuses on simulating intricate aspects such as hair, clothing, and accessories, recognizing their potential to elevate character animation beyond static representations. Through practical experimentation, the thesis examines the symbiotic relationship between animator-driven control and simulation-based dynamics. By harnessing the capabilities of modern rigging tools and simulation algorithms, animators are empowered to …

The Star Caller: Shining A Light On Game Production And Real Time Cinematics, Jehoshaphat Chacko

All Theses

In the landscape of interactive entertainment, the synergy between game play and real-time cinematics has become a pivotal force driving innovation and engagement in modern video games. “The Star Caller” is a project made by a small group of talented artists that explores this intersection. It serves as a prime example of how these two features coexist in modern gaming. This project utilizes the fundamentals of not only video game storytelling, but also all the popular aspects of a single player experience. Artistic inspiration from popular works such as God of War: Ragnarok, Warframe, and films such as Children of …

Options, Matthew C. Mata

Graduate Artistry Projects and Performances

Difficult choices are a part of our everyday lives, and they only get harder as time goes on. Thankfully, we get to choose what those choices are in our lives. What we don't get to choose are the consequences that follow. To share what I mean, six interactive shorts were made so that people could watch and play with the storylines in an effort to show that we are all self-motivated and have agency within us.

Emergent Narrative In Tabletop Role-Playing Games: An Application Of Concepts, Padraig Mumper

Honors Projects

This project examines tabletop role-playing games using concepts from narratology and ludology including emergent narrative and Roger Caillois’ categories of games by applying these concepts in the creation of an adventure zine for the game MÖRK BORG. The existing literature on emergent narrative primarily focuses on video games and Avant Garde texts but tabletop role-playing games provide a novel opportunity to explore emergent narrative in new ways. The dynamic of a collaborative game with multiple players and a gamemaster provides additional challenges for designers due to variance in interpretation of the game events and the lack of a digital program …

The Art Of Motion, Audrey Caleb, Selina Shang

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Animation is an integral part of our daily lives. From entertainment, to advertisements, to medical visualizations and everything in between, it permeates our world. But what makes animation so compelling? Why do we connect with it so well? And what makes it visually appealing?

Humans are story driven creatures, and so we gravitate towards time-based media—it’s the perfect vehicle for telling stories. Our goal was to explore the variety of styles and tools used in animation, research the 12 principles, understand the process of creating a work from start to finish, and successfully demonstrate the science and art of animation.

Best Practices: Enhancing Narrative Communication Through Environmental Shifts, Xinyu Zhang

Level Design Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to integrate traditional storytelling methods with environmental shifts to test the effectiveness in enhancing player immersion and narrative communication. The researcher created a custom single-player level in Fallout 4, which tasks players with investigating a case and finding out the truth of the quest’s narrative with the help of environmental shifts. The researcher collected data on the effectiveness of their researched, environmental shift best practices by observing testers’ playtests and their subsequent understanding of the story.