Video Game Elements Research Articles

The Negotiation of Truth Claims in Newsgames: The Tension Between “Fact” and “Fiction”

ABSTRACT Newsworkers have utilised the game format to create innovative storytelling through newsgames, a hybrid form of journalism. Newsgames blend journalism's pursuit of truth with the fictional elements of video games, creating a tension between “fact” and “fiction”. Existing literature lacks sufficient exploration of how this tension is managed in the production and consumption of newsgames. This study addresses this gap by examining how newsgame practitioners navigate truth claims and how players engage with these claims. Through semi-structured interviews with practitioners (n = 27) and gaming sessions with players (n = 28), the study reveals that practitioners take deliberate steps to justify newsgames, while players employ various strategies to evaluate their truth claims. These findings underscore the performative dimension of truth negotiation in newsgames, positioning audiences as active participants at the heart of this process.

Problems of copyright protection for gaming content

The article is devoted to a comprehensive study of the current issues of copyright protection of game content in the context of the rapid development of the video game industry. The study examines the peculiarities of legal protection of various elements of video games, including software code, audiovisual components, storylines and characters. It analyses the main challenges faced by developers and publishers in protecting their intellectual property rights, including unauthorised copying, piracy and unlicensed modifications. The author analyses the terminology of the industry, in particular, the concept of ‘video game’ which is widely used in international practice. At the same time, the author establishes that the term ‘computer game’ prevails in the European legal space. This terminological difference reflects regional peculiarities in approaches to classification and legal regulation of interactive entertainment products. Despite certain semantic differences, both terms cover electronic games operating on various digital platforms. With the development of online capabilities, video games have moved far beyond the isolated and closed subculture they once were. Video games now create an interactive virtual community and a thriving business that is part artistic expression, part sporting competition and part mass entertainment. A comprehensive analysis of a wide range of court precedents from different jurisdictions relating to the protection of rights to video content in the field of interactive entertainment was carried out. The study of these court decisions allowed the author to identify the key legal approaches and principles applied in cases of copyright infringement of video game elements. It is found that the differences between video games and other intellectual property objects have led to difficulties in determining the legal regime most appropriate to their specifics. Video games include a variety of constituent elements, many of which are eligible for legal protection. The growing involvement of video games in civilian circulation has given rise to the urgent problem of copyright protection for game content.

Development of an Instrument for Evaluating Action Video Game Elements

Background Studies on the impact of videogame play on the brain and behavior demonstrates potential benefits of playing action video games (AVGs) for cognitive enhancements. However, it is becoming increasingly challenging to distinguish between AVGs and non-AVGs due to the emergence of new video game genres and platforms that incorporate action elements in historically non-action genres. Thus, more research is needed to understand AVG mechanics. Objective This study developed an Action Video Game Elements (AVGE) Likert-type scale for differentiating an AVG from a non-AVG and examined its performance in an AVG and a non-AVG. Method We employed standardized lab data collection procedures to administer the AVGE scale in undergraduate education majors after they played either an AVG ( n = 144) or a non-AVG ( n = 48). Results Exploratory factor analysis revealed a five-factor theoretically sensible structure: (1) focus, (2) pacing & goal setting, (3) challenge, (4) sensory stimulation, and (5) speed. Using an experimental research design, we examined the AVGE scale for its ability to distinguish an AVG from a non-AVG. Players who played the AVG rated the game significantly higher in all AVGE categories than their peers who played a non-AVG, thus providing empirical evidence regarding the scale’s discriminant validity of the game. Additionally, we explored the AVGE score differences in players with and without prior AVG experience in the AVG and non-AVG. Conclusion The AVGE scale has a promising internal consistency and discriminant validity. Future research can use it for examining AVG elements in various games as well as guiding the design and development of video games that aim to enhance cognition and better align these games with players’ demographics.

The Ascendancy of Video Games: Can They Eclipse Literary Works?

This article investigates the factors contributing to the rise of video games and their potential to surpass literature in narrative expression. By examining extensive research on the intersection of video games and literature, the study dissects their complex interrelationships, mutual impacts, and shared evolution. Video game narratives, often inspired by literary predecessors, have become increasingly complex and engaging, drawing on literary techniques and non-linear storytelling methods from postmodernism and metafiction. These narratives challenge players to actively construct meaning, enhancing emotional resonance through character development, evocative prose, and carefully crafted dialogue. Technological advancements have played a crucial role in the evolution and rising popularity of video games, offering immersive, interactive experiences that empower players to shape the narrative and storyline, contrasting with literature, which relies on the reader's imagination and interpretation. The future of storytelling is likely to be shaped by the ongoing interplay between video games and literature. The integration of literary techniques and interactive elements across these mediums will continue to evolve, resulting in innovative hybrid entertainment forms that leverage the strengths of both literature and video games. This dynamic interaction ensures a diverse and vibrant future for storytelling, reflecting the multidimensionality of human creativity and imagination. As video games continue to incorporate more sophisticated literary techniques and storytelling methods, they become more capable of delivering rich, nuanced narratives that rival those found in traditional literature. This evolution opens up new possibilities for hybrid forms of storytelling that combine the best elements of both video games and literature. By embracing these hybrid forms, creators can push the boundaries of narrative expression and create new, immersive experiences that engage audiences in ways previously unimaginable. The article concludes that the future of storytelling lies in the continued convergence of video games and literature, promising a diverse and dynamic landscape that celebrates human creativity and imagination in all its forms.

Cultural Imperialism and Video Game Localization: A Case Study of Revelations: Persona

With increasing focus on global markets for media, video game localization continues to be an essential process for the industry. However, video game localization only sometimes effectively handles the unique cultural elements of video games. In some cases, these localizations intentionally erase such elements to make the game more marketable or remove controversial content in an American cultural context. This article explores the localization of Megami Ibunroku Persona (retitled Revelations: Persona for its U.S. release) and considers how its localization changed various elements to convert the setting from a Japanese city to a U.S. one. Using a Neoformalism-inspired approach to game studies, I analyze playthroughs of both the original Japanese version and the U.S. localization, noting how changes erased cultural uniqueness in the original. Then, from the standpoint of cultural imperialism, I discuss how localization can function as a defense mechanism for limiting the cultural impact of imported media.

INVESTIGATING ONLINE GAME ADDICTION: AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF DESIGN ELEMENTS THROUGH THE PLAYER ENGAGEMENT MODEL

The study investigates game addiction by using the design elements of Online video games through the player engagement model, The study explores the motive of the addicted behaviour of gamers and finding the association between game addiction and game design elements standardised by game creators. The study utilizes a quantitative methodology, and gathered data from 309 samples through questionnaires focusing on their engagement with game design elements and Game addiction was assessed using the Video Game Addiction Test. Statistical analyses reveal associations among variables, indicating that the design elements of online video games do not directly contribute to the development of video game addiction. Instead, it is evident that individuals with lower levels of addiction place a significant emphasis on video game design aspects such as immersion, game mechanics, motivation, and social interaction. The research suggests that understanding the impact of design elements on addiction in gaming contexts can inform gamers about how to mitigate game addiction.

Video Games and Video Game Elements as Copyrighted Works

Video Games and Video Game Elements as Copyrighted Works

GAMBLING HABITS AMONG VIDEO GAME PLAYERS

Introduction: Gambling is a legal and socially accepted recreational activity that can progress into a serious public health problem. The prevalence of gambling is higher among men of younger age and lower economic status, and older divorced men. There are many similarities between playing video games and gambling that the industry encourages by implementing the elements gambling into video games, and the elements of video games in gambling, but despite the similarities, in problem use we recognize two separate behavioral disorders. Methods and participants: The research was conducted on an intentional and judgmental sample of adolescents and young adults who play video games. A questionnaire containing questions on sociodemographic characteristics, video game playing and gambling habits, and the SOGS-RA was used to assess the gambling risk. Results: Most of the participants gamble very rarely or not at all, but 5.1% of the participants gamble every day. Almost all of the participants play several types of games of chance, with lottery games, sports betting and games on electronic devices leading the way. Pronounced problems with gambling were recognized in 28.3% of the research participants. Discussion: The lifetime prevalence of gambling in this research is similar to the results of other research conducted among video game players, although the results of all research in this area are not homogeneous. When comparing the results of gambling among video game players and the general population, the prevalence of gambling among video game players is significantly higher than in the general population. Conclusion: Adolescent and young adult video game players play more games of chance, and prefer gambling games that have a higher addictive potential. Considering the age, easy accessibility and the difficult recognition of the development of problem gambling, it is important to focus preventive activities on the youngest age group. Key words: games of chance, video game players, problem gambling

Impact of movie and video game elements on tic manifestation in children.

Children in developed countries spend a significant portion of their waking hours engaging with audiovisual content and video games. The impact of media consumption on children's health and well-being has been widely studied, including its effects on tic disorders. Previous studies have shown that tic frequency can both increase and decrease during activities like gaming and television watching, resulting in mixed findings. To better understand the impact of audiovisual media on tics, we conducted a fine-grained tic manifestation analysis. We focused on the effects of the impact of a movie scene with suspensful elements and a video game designed to heighten anticipation, thought to stimulate phasic and striatal dopamine release. We closely monitored tic frequency throuhghout these experiences based on moment-to-moment tic annotation. The study included 20 participants (19 males aged 7-16) diagnosed with tic disorders (Yale Global Tic Severity Scale≥8), and we tested the replicability of our findings with an independent group of 36 children (15 females, aged 7-15) with tic disorders. During film viewing, we observed significant synchronization in the temporal tic patterns of various individuals despite diversity in their tic profiles. Furthermore, employing a video game developed for our study, we found that tic frequency increases during anticipation of a pending reward. This finding was replicated in a second experiment with an independent cohort. Our results indicate that tic frequency is affected by media elements in the short-term, and call for further investigation of the long-term impacts of exposure to such tic triggers.

Development of Serious Games for the Rehabilitation of the Human Vertebral Spine for Home Care

With the occurrence of pandemics, such as COVID-19, which lead to social isolation, there is a need for home rehabilitation procedures without the direct supervision of health professionals. The great difficulty of treatment at home is the cost of the conventional equipment and the need for specialized labor to operate it. Thus, this paper aimed to develop serious games to assist health professionals in the physiotherapy of patients with spinal pain for clinical and home applications. Serious games integrate serious aspects such as teaching, rehabilitation, and information with the playful and interactive elements of video games. Despite the positive indication and benefits of physiotherapy for cases of chronic spinal pain, the long treatment time, social isolation due to pandemics, and lack of motivation to use traditional methods are some of the main causes of therapeutic failure. Using Unity 3D (version 2019.4.24f1) software and a personal computer with a webcam, we developed aesthetically pleasing, smooth, and attractive games, while maintaining the essence of seriousness that is required for rehabilitation. The serious games, controlled using OpenPose (version v1.0.0alpha-1.5.0) software, were tested with a healthy volunteer. The findings demonstrated that the proposed games can be used as a playful tool to motivate patients during physiotherapy and to reduce cases of treatment abandonment, including at home.

Costa Resiliente: A Serious Game Co-Designed to Foster Resilience Thinking

Resilience thinking is critical for improving disaster preparedness, response, and adaptation. While there are several strategies focused on assessing resilience capacity in human communities, there are few strategies focused on fostering resilience thinking. Game-based learning is an active and immersive teaching strategy that can foster complex skills such as resilience. However, this field needs further research in terms of its potential to strengthen community resilience to disasters. In this paper, we validated a serious game to foster community resilience. We present the collaborative creation process for the development of the board game Costa Resiliente, and its subsequent migration into a video game. We have developed an experimental study to evaluate the contributions of the mobile game against the board game. The result is a technological tool based on scientific knowledge to foster resilience thinking in coastal human communities exposed to hazards. The board game was developed using data from local research on community resilience, and from experts in emergency planning and developing games collected in focus groups. The board game’s effect on fostering resilience thinking was validated with school students from a coastal town. During the migration process into a video game, we used a design thinking methodological approach for the co-creation of audiovisual elements, in which beneficiaries participate actively and early. Through this approach, visual and auditory elements that are familiar to coastal communities were integrated into the video game elements. Our study indicates that game-based learning is a useful approach to foster resilience thinking, and that a better gaming experience can be provided by a video game. The potential of this video game for educating young age groups about community resilience is further discussed.

Gamifying Decision Support Systems to Promote Inclusive and Engaged Urban Resilience Planning

Urban residents are often unevenly vulnerable to extreme weather and climate events due to socio-economic factors and insufficient greenspace. This can be amplified if citizens are not meaningfully consulted in the planning and design decisions, with changes to greenspace having detrimental impacts on local communities, e.g., through green gentrification. These deficiencies can be addressed through inclusive landscape-level collaborative planning and design processes, where residents are fully engaged in the co-creation of urban greenspaces. A promising way to support co-creation efforts is gamifying technology-based interactive decision support systems (DSSs). Gamification, the incorporation of video game elements or play into non-game contexts, has previously been used for DSSs in urban planning and to inform the public about the impacts of climate change. However, this has yet to combine informational goals with design-play functionality in the redesign of urban greenspaces. We conducted a review of state-of-the-art video game DSSs used for urban planning engagement and climate education. Here, we propose that gamified DSSs should incorporate educational elements about climate change alongside the interactive and engaging elements of urban planning games, particularly for real-world scenarios. This cross-disciplinary approach can facilitate improved community engagement in greenspace planning, informing design and management strategies to ensure multiple benefits for people and the environment in climate-vulnerable cities.

Analisis Yuridis Terhadap Pelanggaran Hak Cipta Permainan Video (Video Games) Berupa Pembajakan Secara Online

Video games are games that can be played by one or more people which are produced by computer programs on a television screen or other display screen. Video games are included in a protected work in accordance with Article 40 paragraph (1) letter r and Article 59 paragraph (1) letter d of Law No. 28 of 2014 on Copyright. The nature and elements of video games are complex, creating confusion regarding the video game category. In some countries, video games are included in the category of computer programming while in other countries, video games are included in the category of audiovisual. In addition, another difficulty that arises is the copyright holder of video games because as we know, the video games that are widely played these days, are created by game developers who consist of not only one or two people but hundreds of experts and professionals. Then, another problem is regarding video game online piracy. This has happened so often that it becomes one of the game developers concern and restlesness about every time they launch a new video game. So it also examines the prevention and protection of video games being pirated online.

Gamification Analysis for Motivation and Engagement Using Running Apps

Gamification is the application of game features, mainly elements of video games, in a context not related to the game in order to promote motivation and commitment to learning. The application of gamification in a pedagogical context provides some remedy for many people who feel alienated from traditional teaching methods. The use of gamification could provide a partial solution to the decrease in the motivation and commitment of the students that the user faces today. Specifically, the younger environment could benefit greatly from gamification not only for its enjoyment but also for a healthy life. This critical analysis of gamification literature wants to be part of a sequence on the effect of gamification on motivation and commitment. A methodology proposed in the study of the effects of gamification in motivation and commitment, as well as an empirical study, consists of a smartphone application that provides tracking and gamification elements. While the control arm consists of on an application designed identically only with the characteristics of tracking health information. The proposal will be made among young people who use applications on the day off from cars in Jakarta

Gamification in education: a mixed-methods study of gender on computer science students’ academic performance and identity development

Underrepresentation of women in computer science (CS) increasingly demands the necessity to find and enhance current learning engagement approaches to bring more women into computing fields. Some researchers have been exploring the influence of gamification on female students as one of these possible learning engagement strategies. Gamification refers to the introduction of video game elements into non-game activities to enhance engagement and motivation. Previous studies have reported mixed results of the impact of gamification on women. In this study, we introduce SEP-CyLE (Software Engineering and Programming Cyberlearning Environment), an online gamified tool that was designed to provide supplemental computing content to students. This paper presents a convergent mixed-methods study guided by social identity theory and self-efficacy to understand women's experiences with this gamified tool. More specifically, this study explores virtual points' and leaderboards' effects on CS identity development, self-efficacy, and performance. The results show that virtual points and the leaderboard contributed to improved performance for students of all genders, suggesting that gamification is a gender-neutral learning engagement strategy that improves female students' performance as much as male students. Regardless of improved performance, most women did not actively enjoy or were motivated by the virtual points or leaderboard in SEP-CyLE. Additionally, gamification had no significant impact on CS identity development or self-efficacy constructs and had little to no impact on women's interest and engagement in the field of computing.

The Musical Butterfly Effect in Until Dawn

The interactive drama, a relatively unexplored area of multimedia music discourse, combines elements of film and video game to provide its audience and participants an evolving experience. Because contemporary works of the medium incorporate further innovations that expand the plethora of branching options, the viability of each narrative path and its potential ending necessitates a flexible analytical model for narrative discourse. Music, if it shares the ability to participate in the narrative, must likewise possess this sense of malleability for the work, as its presence or absence in the presented (selected) pathway is not predetermined but remains in a state of potential at all times. This sense of narrative potential for music is a special quality inherent in the interactive drama, allowing for the filmic and ludic qualities of form and function to remain simultaneously “present” and “absent” in a given narrative and provide critical commentary on the events at hand as well as the overall prospective paths that exist in the web of options. Using the interactive drama Until Dawn, this article will explore the concept of narrative potential through three different musical elements that range in their comparative functions to traditionally filmic or ludic roles and their articulation to the underlying narrative. Regardless of supposed function, the music of Until Dawn reveals that narrative form and function of film and video game cannot be differentiated or simply synthesized, but fully appreciated as a unique form of the interactive drama on the multimedia continuum.

The author's arsenal: loosening standards for protectability and substantial similarity in video game copyright

This article examines and critiques the American copyright regime's increasingly protective approach to video games and their subject matter. Over the past decade, a trio of district court decisions have bolstered protection for video games by relaxing standards for protectability and substantial similarity. Subsequent rulings, concerning both games and other forms of intellectual property, suggest this protective streak will continue. While heightened protection might provide a necessary deterrent to ‘cloning’ and other kinds of impermissible copying, it will also endanger valuable forms of appropriation. After decades of limited copyright involvement, mimesis has become an important element of game creation – widely tolerated by the gaming community as a source of inspiration, interoperability, and cultural conversation. A more expansive view of protectability may inhibit imitative behavior that has, in the past, benefited new creators and fans without harming the economic expectations of prior authors. Moreover, that new approach, which relies heavily on juries for unpredictable, case-by-case determinations, may restrict the financial and creative outlook of the video game industry at large. In its first section, this article identifies the elements of video games that have been deemed protectable under copyright law. The second section summarizes foundational video game case law, in which courts established restrictive standards for protectability and substantial similarity. The third then discusses the paradigm shift towards more expansive protectability, recounting cases where courts found games worthy of heightened protection. In its fourth section, this article argues that the protective trend has yet to peak, looking to evidence gleaned from recent copyright suits. A concluding section outlines the risks of overprotection, cautioning against a potentially unreasoned and impractical copyright standard.

Digital growth strategies at Drone Racing League

A new venture—Drone Racing League—was the first, global drone racing championship. The Drone Racing League was considered a new type of sports, mixing elements of traditional racing sports and eSports. The case is situated in 2019, in between the venture’s third and fourth year of operations. During the first few years, the Drone Racing League focused on setting up the physical events and making media productions of those races in an accessible and exciting way, incorporating video game elements. In addition, the Drone Racing League had put a lot of effort into developing a true-to-life simulator, which not only made the sport broadly accessible, but was also a way to recruit pilots for the real physical races. Most recently, the Drone Racing League had announced an autonomous drone racing platform, which would start in a simulated environment in early-2019 and be brought to the real-world later that year. Since its inception, the Drone Racing League had focused on developing a co-creation ecosystem consisting of fans and gamers, traditional and emerging (social) media platforms, and companies from various industries with strong brands.

Losing control: Until Dawn as interactive movie

ABSTRACT This essay contextualizes the horror video game Until Dawn (Supermassive Games, 2015) within the broader history of the ‘interactive movie,’ a genre of storytelling video games with prerecorded video sequences that reached its cultural peak in the mid- to late 1990s. Critics have questioned whether these products truly count as games because of the relative passivity of non-interactive watching and other limits to player control. Previous theorizations of the interactive movie have understood it as a limit case that nevertheless supports the generally accepted definition of the video game medium as something that requires significant player activity and offers players agency and freedom of choice. In contrast, I argue that Until Dawn provides an excellent case study of a video game in which the player’s lack of consequential options, diminished agency, and limited control are crucial to the meaning of the text. I also suggest that interactivity and player action have been overemphasized in the conceptualization of the video game as a medium and that the non-interactive elements of video games should be acknowledged and studied further.

House of Flowers: An Analysis of the Image of Yugoslavia in Video Games

This article examines the image of Yugoslavia in contemporary video games. I researched games of various genres (action games, strategy games, military simulators, etc.) that were released on various gaming platforms (PC, Sony PlayStation, etc.) between 1990 and the present day. I researched such aspects as visualization, information, plot components, and popularity among players. I consider and provide definitions of the terms used to designate various elements of video games and their meaning for the perception of the image of the country. I paid special attention to the characters associated with the Yugoslav region. Two of them – the inventor Nikola Tesla and the main character of the comics of the same name, Largo Winch – owing to their potential significance for the image of Yugoslavia, were considered in detail. The article is accompanied by four illustrations showing important moments of the visualization of personalities and the structure of game moments. As a result of this research, I draw some conclusions about the main plots associated with the image of Yugoslavia that prevails in modern video games. Firstly, there is the obvious peripherality of Yugoslav plots and their generally negative connotation. In most of the video games reviewed, the settings involved the criminal world, the Yugoslav war of the 1990s, or the problem of international terrorism. Secondly, the portrayal of Yugoslav characters is not very homogeneous and it is therefore impossible to talk about their exclusively positive or negative character. Thirdly, in general, Yugoslavia is mostly unplayable: only a very limited set of strategy games and a very small set of action games allow you to control the country, its troops, or characters of Yugoslavian origin.