Video Game Content Research Articles

Exploiting the "video game craze": A case study of the tobacco industry's use of video games as a marketing tool.

BackgroundVideo games have grown in popularity since the 1970s, and tobacco imagery is present in a substantial subset of games, including those oriented to youth. Much like exposure to tobacco content in films, exposure to tobacco content in video games may influence smoking uptake and use; however, the tobacco industry’s role in facilitating or promoting the use of tobacco imagery in video games is unclear. We explored the industry’s interest in and use of video games to market their products to youth and young adults.MethodsWe retrieved and analyzed archival tobacco industry documents. We supplemented information from the documents with current and archived versions of several brand and corporate websites and one website containing user-supplied information on video games.ResultsTobacco companies recognized the youth appeal and marketing potential of video games as early as 1980. Initial marketing ideas included incorporating video game themes into product packaging and design. More fully realized plans focused on incorporating video games into product promotions in bars, as a high visibility way to attract younger patrons and increase long-term marketing opportunities by generating names for tobacco company direct-marketing databases. Tobacco companies also incorporated video games into in-home product promotions, primarily as components of brand websites, in order to enhance brand image and generate repeat website traffic. A similar desire to attract and keep visitors led to discussions about the inclusion of video games on corporate youth smoking prevention websites, although only one company, Lorillard, followed through.ConclusionsVideo game players are an attractive target market for tobacco companies. Video games, as used by these companies, facilitate consumer engagement with particular tobacco brands or particular corporate messages. Eliminating the use of video games as a promotional vehicle may require limiting tobacco marketing in both physical and online environments.

SKAITMENINIO KŪRYBIŠKUMO TAIKYMAS GENERUOJANT ŽAIDIMO OBJEKTUS / COMPUTATION CREATIVITY USING PROCEDURAL GENERATION FOR GAME OBJECT GENERATION

One of the hardest task for a machine is creativity. Computational creativity defines creative task completion for a machine. Three main creative content generation methods are: exploratory, combinatorial and transformational. Video game content can be generated using procedural generation. Computational creativity, procedural generation, and application are explained in this paper. Procedural level generator is used as a base and additional features are built on top of it. The main goal of this research and modification is to increase application creative value, variety and expression. Additional functionality consists of tree and texture generation.

The interaction of contextual realism and fantasy tendency on aggressive behavior following violent video game play: An indirect test of violent content effects

The current study employed a novel experimental paradigm to test the effect of violent video game content on aggressive behavior. This was accomplished by leveraging player engagement with the game's content as opposed to direct manipulation of violent content. Participants reported on their dispositional tendency to engage in fantasy activities after playing either a realistic or fantasy version of the same game. A two-way interaction revealed that participants who regularly engage with fantasy were more likely to administer aversive noise “blasts” to another person after playing the fantasy game, compared to the realistic game. A mediated moderation test revealed that this increase in aggression was due in part to increased player engagement with the game's content. Specifically, participants predisposed to engage with the violent game tended to behave more aggressively following game play as a function of that engagement. The findings provide supporting evidence for violent content effects and detail a novel method for assessing violent and other media content effects.

It's Double Edged: The Positive and Negative Relationships Between the Development of Moral Reasoning and Video Game Play Among Adolescents.

Due to the concerns over the effects of video game play, this study investigated adolescents’ moral development and their video game play. 166 adolescents aged 11–18 years (M = 13.08, SD = 1.91) attending an English school completed an online survey, which included a measure of moral development and questions regarding video game play. In contrast to previous research, male participants were found to have significantly (p = 0.02) higher moral reasoning scores than females. The results also suggested a transition in moral development, which takes place between the ages of 12–14. The results of moral development and video game played suggested both positive and negative relationships. Regression analysis suggested that there was a significant positive relationship between the more types of game genres played and higher moral scores. Although not significant, the results suggested a trend for the following variables; years playing video games, mature content, engagement, moral narrative, Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, and length of time playing video games which all had a negative relationship with moral scores. The implications of these results are discussed with regards to moral education and the variables involved in video game play, including the role of video game content.

Effects of sexualized video games on online sexual harassment.

Negative consequences of video games have been a concern since their inception. However, one under-researched area is the potential negative effects of sexualized video game content on players. This study analyzed the consequences of sexualized video game content on online sexual harassment against male and female targets. We controlled for a number of variables that might be related to online sexual harassment (i.e., trait aggressiveness, ambivalent sexism, online disinhibition). Participants (N = 211) played a video game with either sexualized or non-sexualized female characters. After gameplay, they had the opportunity to sexually harass a male or a female partner by sending them sexist jokes. Based on the General Aggression Model integrated with the Confluence Model of Sexual Aggression (Anderson & Anderson, ), we predicted that playing the game with sexualized female characters would increase sexual harassment against female targets. Results were consistent with these predictions. Sexual harassment levels toward a female partner were higher for participants who played the game with sexualized female characters than for participants who played the same game with non-sexualized female characters. These findings indicate that sexualization of female characters in a video game can be a sufficient condition to provoke online sexual harassment toward women.

Economic model of microtransactions in video games

Abstract: Microtransactions denote a payment made for purchase of mobile phone application or additional content in video games. The basic revenue principle for publisher was to sell the entire content at once, with the buyer having to pay the game as a whole. Trends from mobile applications and mobile games market have slowly transferred to PC games and console video games. About one half of total revenue of big video games publishers comes from microtransactions. The topics of this paper are the economic effects of microtransactions on video game industry business model. The scope of microtransactions and different implementing procedures will be discused in paper. The goal is to determine the change of the position of all stakeholders involved in the process of creating and publishing video games.

News Presentation and the Third-Person Effect of Violent Video Games

The present study explored the relationships between the tone in news presentations and the third-person effect. It investigated whether news stories about violent video games changed viewers perspectives based on the positively or negatively portrayed messages presented by the media. Overall, this study examined how news stories encouraged or discouraged viewers from supporting government regulations of violent video game content. An online survey of 388 American adults served as the main source of data collection. The study found that presumed media effects decreased on both others and self when viewers were exposed to positively presented news coverage. Subsequently, their support for regulating violent video games was reduced. However, no changes were found in third-person perception. In addition, those who were exposed to negative news coverage showed no significant changes in their perceived media effects on self, others, and support regulations on video game contents.

Gaming Sober, Playing Drunk: Sound Effects of Alcohol in Video Games

This article develops a framework for associations between sounds, alcohol, and video games. Some recent studies (Olsen, in The video game debate: unraveling the physical, social, and psychological effects of digital games, Routledge, New York, pp 39–53, 2016; Cranwell et al., Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw 19(2):426–434, 2016) examine representations of drugs and alcohol in video games. While these studies raise serious concerns about drug and alcohol content in games, they primarily focus on the presence and stereotypical use of alcohol, offering limited attention to related sounds and music, or the increased integration between sound design and game-play. Through examples of video games and related media, this article provides historical, cultural, and music-theoretical groundwork for creating an associative soundscape of alcohol in multimedia experiences. After an initial examination of presence and censorship of alcohol content in video games, the article defines and explores four primary categories for representations of sound and alcohol in multimedia: (1) Sound Icons of Alcohol, which highlights sonic objects and their potential interpretive meanings; (2) Sound Environments, which considers cultural appropriations of music and sounds in locations associated with alcohol; (3) Representations of Drinking and Drunkenness, such as the use of specific orchestration or manipulations of musical parameters; and (4) Psychological and Physiological Effects of Sound and Alcohol, which looks specifically at altered sonic perceptions and ludic experiences.

Exploring Advocacy and Policy Strategies to Change Video Game Content: A Focus on Tobacco

Exploring Advocacy and Policy Strategies to Change Video Game Content: A Focus on Tobacco

Evolutionary generation of game levels

This paper outlines an approach for evolutionary procedural generation of video game content. The study deals with the automatic generation of game level designs using genetic algorithms and the development of a fitness function that describes the playability of the game level. The research explores whether genetic algorithms have the ability to produce outcomes that demonstrate characteristics that arise through human creativity, and whether these automated approaches offer any benefits in terms of time and effort involved in the design process. The approach is compared to a random method and the results show that the genetic algorithm is more consistent in finding levels; however analysis of the game levels indicates that the fitness function is not fully capturing level playability. The ability to produce playable levels decreases as the play area increases, however there is potential to produce larger maps that are both playable and arguably creative through a recombination method.

Sexual content in video games: an analysis of the Entertainment Software Rating Board classification from 1994 to 2013.

Data was obtained about sexual content and rating for 23722 video games from 1994 to 2013 from the Entertainment Software Rating Board database; release dates and information on the top 100 selling video games was also obtained. A yearly prevalence of sexual content according to rating categories was calculated. Trends and comparisons were estimated using Joinpoint regression. Sexual content was present in 13% of the video games. Games rated 'Mature' had the highest prevalence of sexual content (34.5%) followed by 'Teen' (30.7%) and 'E10+' (21.3%). Over time, sexual content decreased in the 'Everyone' category, 'E10+' maintained a low prevalence and 'Teen' and 'Mature' showed a marked increase. Both top and non-top video games showed constant increases, with top selling video games having 10.1% more sexual content across the period of study. Over the last 20 years, the prevalence of sexual content has increased in video games with a 'Teen' or 'Mature' rating. Further studies are needed to quantify the potential association between sexual content in video games and sexual behaviour in children and adolescents.

Tobacco Content in Video Games: Categorization of Tobacco Imagery and Gamer Recall.

Tobacco content has been identified in popular video games played by adolescents. To date, there are no established instruments for categorizing tobacco content. We describe development and demonstrate the use of an instrument to categorize types of tobacco content. Interviews were conducted with 61 participants: 20 adolescents (mean age 17.7), and 41 adults (mean age 23.9), who discussed favorite games and recalled tobacco content. All games mentioned were examined for tobacco content by watching movies of game play on YouTube, examining individual game Wiki sites, and reviewing content descriptors provided by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), Common Sense Media, and the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). A typology of tobacco content was created and correlated with gamer recall of tobacco content. Participants together mentioned 366 games, of which 152 were unique. Tobacco content was verified in 39.5% (60/152) of games. Six categories of content were identified, including "no tobacco content." Of games containing tobacco, 88% (53/60) contained at least two categories of content. Games with more categories were associated with greater gamer recall of tobacco content. Tobacco content is present in video games and consciously recalled by players, with higher accuracy of recall associated with games featuring multiple types of tobacco content and more engaging, player-active content. Playing video games is now a daily part of most adolescents' lives. Tobacco content is present in many popular games. Currently there are no published instruments to assist in categorizing tobacco content in video games. This study describes a systematic approach to categorize tobacco content in video games and demonstrates that games featuring more categories of tobacco content are associated with more accurate gamer recall of the presence of tobacco content when compared with games with fewer categories of content. Understanding the extent of such content will be essential in formulating tobacco control strategies to address tobacco content in games.

Las mujeres y la creación en la industria de los videojuegos en España: oportunidades y dificultades en espacios masculinizados

Los videojuegos son una de las primeras alternativas de ocio en nuestra sociedad y generan millones de euros en beneficios anualmente. Sin embargo, apenas un 17% de sus creadoras son mujeres, lo que implica una importante pérdida de capital creativo y altas ganancias económicas que no se reparten de forma equitativa en un contexto de desigualdad social. El objetivo de este artículo es comenzar una búsqueda de las causas de la infrarrepresentación de las mujeres en la industria de los videojuegos, para poder buscar soluciones, crear una economía más sostenible para Europa, un aumento de los espacios igualitarios y mayores oportunidades laborales para las mujeres.

Integrating Poor Taste into the Ongoing Debate on the Morality of Violent Video Games

This paper considers the implications of a recent change to the direction of our moral scrutiny of video game content: away from moral assessment based on some form of ‘contamination’ towards a position in which the morality of a video game is determined by the worldview (allegedly) endorsed by the gameplay taken as a whole. It is my contention that, given the nature of video game enactments (i.e., simulations involving make-believe), this switch of focus requires a degree of interpretation characteristic of judgements of poor taste. Because of this, with the exception of rare cases, the force of moral condemnation levelled at putatively immoral gameplays is weakened to the point where, typically, one would find it hard to justify a moral obligation not to permit the gameplay. In defence of this claim, I draw attention to the potential problems facing a moral account based on the interpretation of the worldview contained within a gameplay, even when taken as a whole.

Harsh Words and Deeds: Systematic Content Analyses of Offensive* User Behavior in the Virtual Environments of Online First-Person Shooter Games

While the virtual environments of online games can foster healthy relationships and strong communities, some online games are also marred by antisocial and offensive behavior. Such behavior, even when relatively rare, influences the interactions and relationships of users in online communities. Thus, understanding the prevalence and nature of antisocial and offensive behaviors in online games is an important step toward understanding the full spectrum of healthy and unhealthy interactions and relationships in virtual environments. Extensive research has explored video game content produced by game developers, such as violence, profanity, and sexualized portrayals, but much less research has systematically examined potentially problematic content produced by players in online games. While potential effects of antisocial and offensive online game content are not well understood, a first step toward exploring this concern is systematic documentation of offensive user-generated content in online games. To that end, two large-scale content analyses measured a range of offensive user-generated content, including utterances, text, and images, from a total of more than 2,500 users in popular first-person shooter video games. Findings indicated that some content, such as profanity, was frequent among users who spoke during games. More offensive and potentially harmful content, such as racial slurs, was proportionally very rare, but frequent enough to be encountered often by regular players. Results of this initial investigation should be interpreted tentatively, do not suggest that relationships in online shooter games lack healthy elements, and should not be generalized to other online game communities until further research is conducted.* Note: This paper contains strong language which may be offensive to some readers.

Creating an Archive of LGBTQ Video Game Content: An Interview with Adrienne Shaw

In this interview, Temple University assistant professor of media studies and production Adrienne Shaw discusses her work creating the LGBTQ Video Game Archive. Today, the dynamic interplay between queerness and video games provides scholars with an emerging area of exploration. The methodologies of queer game studies are also developing and expanding into new territories. Bringing together close reading, reception studies, and the quantitative tools of social science, Shaw has created the first scholarly database of queer content in video games. With the help of research assistants, Shaw compiled a list (already more than 700 titles long) of games that include LGBTQ characters and references. The archive was published online (lgbtqgamearchive.com) and made available to the public in spring 2016. For each game in the archive, Shaw and her collaborators include a description of the game's LGBTQ content and often its queer interpretation by fans. The archive represents a massive undertaking, and Shaw encourages those who use it to help by contributing content. As Shaw discusses in the interview, the expansiveness of the archive format reflects an ethos of inclusivity and breadth in the queer games community. By combining scholarly analysis and fan perspectives, the LGBTQ Video Game Archive offers new possibilities for thinking about how the work of queer game studies is done.

Neural Basis of Video Gaming: A Systematic Review.

Background: Video gaming is an increasingly popular activity in contemporary society, especially among young people, and video games are increasing in popularity not only as a research tool but also as a field of study. Many studies have focused on the neural and behavioral effects of video games, providing a great deal of video game derived brain correlates in recent decades. There is a great amount of information, obtained through a myriad of methods, providing neural correlates of video games.Objectives: We aim to understand the relationship between the use of video games and their neural correlates, taking into account the whole variety of cognitive factors that they encompass.Methods: A systematic review was conducted using standardized search operators that included the presence of video games and neuro-imaging techniques or references to structural or functional brain changes. Separate categories were made for studies featuring Internet Gaming Disorder and studies focused on the violent content of video games.Results: A total of 116 articles were considered for the final selection. One hundred provided functional data and 22 measured structural brain changes. One-third of the studies covered video game addiction, and 14% focused on video game related violence.Conclusions: Despite the innate heterogeneity of the field of study, it has been possible to establish a series of links between the neural and cognitive aspects, particularly regarding attention, cognitive control, visuospatial skills, cognitive workload, and reward processing. However, many aspects could be improved. The lack of standardization in the different aspects of video game related research, such as the participants' characteristics, the features of each video game genre and the diverse study goals could contribute to discrepancies in many related studies.

Examining human behavior in video games: The development of a computational model to measure aggression

ABSTRACTVideo games with violent content have raised considerable concern in popular media and within academia. Recently, there has been considerable attention regarding the claim of the relationship between aggression and video game play. The authors of this study propose the use of a new class of tools developed via computational models to allow examination of the question of whether there is a relationship between violent video games and aggression. The purpose of this study is to computationally model and compare the General Aggression Model with the Diathesis Mode of Aggression related to the play of violent content in video games. A secondary purpose is to provide a method of measuring and examining individual aggression arising from video game play. Total participants examined for this study are N = 1065. This study occurs in three phases. Phase 1 is the development and quantification of the profile combination of traits via latent class profile analysis. Phase 2 is the training of the artificial neural network. Phase 3 is the comparison of each model as a computational model with and without the presence of video game violence. Results suggest that a combination of environmental factors and genetic predispositions trigger aggression related to video games.

Content structure is king: An empirical study on gratifications, game genres and content type on Twitch

While video games have been widely investigated from the perspective of play, an emerging online media phenomenon is the spectating of video game play, captivating millions of users daily. This study investigates the relationship of video game genres, content type and viewer gratification in the context of live gaming. To study this phenomenon, we employ an online questionnaire study (N = 1097) to investigate six categories of gratifications: affective, information seeking, learning to play, personal integrative, social integrative & tension release motivations and their relationship with game genres and stream types. The results of this study demonstrate that “the medium is the message”, highlight the importance of archetypal structure (i.e. the type of streamed content) over content topic (i.e. the genre of games being streamed), and help to build a better understanding of user generated content and the democratization of media.

Age Rating for Virtual Reality Games: Less Restriction, More Information

Harmful content in video games, such as violence or pornography, is not a particularly new topic. Hundreds, if not thousands, of books and articles have been written on the various effects video games may have on those who play them. For years, video games have been regarded with suspicion and relentlessly blamed for shootings and other expressions of violent or concerning behaviour in children, adolescents and even adults. Yet, despite the breadth of the conducted research, no direct causal link has thus far been shown to exist between video games and the numerous claimed negative effects. However, despite no unequivocal answer having been given to the question of what (if any) harmful effects video games may have on gamers, with conflicting answers being put forward instead, the accumulated weight of the research as well as media scaremongering have, at times, led to outbreaks of ‘moral panic’ and raised in parents real concerns about the types of video games their children have access to. To address these concerns, various content rating systems have been established to provide individuals, especially parents, with clear, comprehensive, and reliable information and assist them in making informed decisions regarding the games they and their children play. And whilst these systems have not escaped criticism, they have been generally considered to work well and been regarded by parents as useful. However, it appears that the time has come to revisit the topic of harmful content in video games and the appropriateness of existing rating systems in light of virtual reality (VR)-technology gaining more and more market relevance and the high level of immersion and realness it introduces into video games. As an introduction to the discussion, this paper will briefly examine the operation of the main rating systems and the immersive nature of VR. It will then take a closer look at the particular risks gamers can be exposed to as a result of playing VR games, and will criticise the current approach taken by the industry and rating bodies. This paper will note that, by responding to VR by merely increasing age ratings, they fail to adequately address these new risks. Finally, this paper will call for the addition of new content descriptors, specifically focused on VR, to ensure that parents and adult gamers receive proper guidance when purchasing VR games. It will also argue that the introduction of these descriptors will only be meaningful to the extent that the addressees of the ratings are made aware of the existence and operation of the rating systems, and the ratings themselves are displayed not only on physical boxes but also in online stores where most VR games are, in fact, being purchased.