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Lost Again: Refractive Nostalgia and Video Games
Full text linkIn tackling chronophobia, which Svetlana Boym (2001) defines as the anxiety of deciding how to use our time meaningfully as it depletes, video games become purposeful spaces where we can revisit the things we have lost, or what we anticipate will be lost with time. As such, video games are ideal tools that help us retreat from chronophobia. However, following Boym, I argue that this “does not help us to deal with the future” (2001, p. 351). To revisit or experience what is already “lost” with time through games, players must lose more time and resources in the present to pursue it. This circular use of nostalgia may leave players with chronophobia and in a state of feeling “lost again.” This paper presents three case studies where nostalgic players have “found” something generative for their present and future, rather than feeling “lost again.” This original solution to chronophobia combines Boym’s work, game studies, and nostalgia research, amounting to my contribution of what I call “refractive nostalgia.
The Eruptive History of Death Mountain: A Geological Investigation of a Virtual Volcano Across The Legend of Zelda Series
Full text linkEnrolment in geology-related courses has declined over the last few decades, in part due to a lack of understanding of the subject and its relevance to contemporary society. Although a popular medium for entertainment, video games also hold significant pedagogical potential to overcome this problem by immersing players in geology-related topics through the portrayal of a broad range of geological disciplines in the medium’s dynamic environments. This paper focuses on volcanology as portrayed in Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda series’ (1986-present) Death Mountain, a recurring volcanic peak in the franchise. Volcanic features in each game are documented and compared to real-world examples to determine the accuracy of how the volcanism evolves over time across instalments in the series. I argue that the volcanic history of Death Mountain provides a reasonably realistic evolution, beginning with volcanic hazards like rockfalls and lava from an active stratovolcano, and progressing over time to introduce hydrothermal systems. Then, during divergent timelines, Death Mountain’s volcanism shifts to either explosive, shallow-water eruptions or to showing evidence of massive explosive activity. Through this, I argue that the popularity of The Legend of Zelda series and the gradual introduction of volcanic features can be used together to change the perception of geology as “boring” and encourage people to study the subject by offering a fun and immersive means to engage with its content
Enter the Backrooms of Tattva Bhoomi: An Educational Game for Middle School Students in India
Full text linkThis paper outlines the development process of Tattva Bhoomi, a game-based learning application developed by the authors and designed to teach chemistry concepts to middle school students in India. The paper begins with an overview of the design considerations that guided the game’s development. Additionally, the paper elaborates on the iterative creation of prototypes at different phases and how gradual improvements were integrated. After providing a walkthrough of the entire gameplay, Tattva Bhoomi’s potential is assessed using the criteria established by Solanki and Mathew (2021) for the efficient development of educational and multimedia games
Review: Homebrew Gaming and the Beginnings of Vernacular Digitality
Full text linkReview: Homebrew Gaming and the Beginnings of Vernacular Digitality, by Melanie Swalwell. 2021. The MIT Press. xvi + 256 pp
A Place to Survive: OMORI Through Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory
Full text linkThis research delves into the narrative of the role-playing game OMORI (OMOCAT, 2020). We use Urie Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological systems theory as an analytical framework to investigate character portrayal and development. Our study employed descriptive and interpretive qualitative methods and used a three-phased approach to scrutinise OMORI’s narrative, expound and dissect character portrayals within their broader contexts, and note important character developments throughout the game. Our findings highlight the substantial influence of immediate and non-immediate external environments—family dynamics, societal norms, and cultural elements—on the development of the primary characters within OMORI’s narrative. More specifically, this paper emphasises the roles of culture, capitalism, and religion within the game. The study’s significance lies in its presentation of interconnected relationships among the systems posited by Bronfenbrenner. We offer insights for further research studying games through their socio-historical contexts and scrutinising characters’ backstories. This is particularly relevant where it has been theorised that youth in advanced capitalist societies might be swayed by cultural values that affect their well-being and life contentment (Butler, 2021)
Play My Resume: Exploring Resume and CV Differentiation Through Personalized Web-Based Games
Full text linkSince the 1980s, creative job seekers have turned to nontraditional and interactive resume formats to help set themselves apart from other candidates. The “game resume” is one such example that continues to garner praise eleven years after the first publicly available example by graphic designer Robby Leonardi. This study investigates: a) the history of nontraditional and interactive resumes leading up to resumes that are playable; b) a do-it-yourself (DIY) game development culture setting the conditions for short, personal games; and c) the characteristics of an ever-expanding game resume collection on the itch.io games sharing platform. Thirty-three game resumes were isolated and manually reviewed against a comprehensive playtesting protocol, examining key design choices and features. A qualitative analysis of findings was conducted, leading to a more complete understanding of this online phenomenon, and beginning the process of characterizing and solidifying it as an emerging practice. We may reasonably conclude that: a) game resumes are almost always created by game designers, developers, and adjacent creative personalities seeking employment in the games industry; b) common game conventions such as scoring, power-ups, health bars, and inventory systems are intentionally kept light or even omitted altogether; and c) game resumes are designed to be short (less than five minutes of gameplay) and easy (player immortality) to enable an uninterrupted single playthrough
Review: Une histoire du jeu vidéo en France, 1960-1991 : des labos aux chambres d’ados
Full text linkReview: Une histoire du jeu vidéo en France, 1960-1991 : des labos aux chambres d’ados, by Alexis Blanchet and Guillaume Montagnon. 2020. Pix’n Love. 447 pp
Fleshthetics of the Postcolonial Body: Examining Contested Identities in the Works of Studio Oleomingus
Full text linkThrough a holistic analysis of the games by Studio Oleomingus, the paper will explore the concept of ‘Fleshthetics’, examining how the postcolonial body/Flesh is a palimpsest and collage of both lived experience(s) and intergenerational phantom histories. The games we have chosen are The Uncertain Repetitions of Truth, A Museum of Dubious Splendors, In the Pause Between the Ringing, The Indifferent Wonder of an Edible Place, and Folds of a Separation. The Flesh is not simply rooted in materiality, but is a symptom of a condition, an assemblage (of identities), an absent-present body. In Studio Oleomingus’s games, the postcolonial body/Flesh is, thereby, inherently Plastic. Influenced by discourses enveloping it, the Flesh manifests itself and its Plasticity in a non-linear spatiotemporality. By playing and analysing the games, this paper shows how the blended style of play accentuates the fragmented existence of the postcolonial Flesh. As such, this paper forms only an introduction into the larger domain of Fleshthetics, unearthing untapped potential that can be harvested through further work beyond the simple constraints of media, genre and academic discipline
Curating a Boardgames Museum in India: The Case of the Gautam Sen Memorial Boardgames Museum; An Interview with Souvik Mukherjee and Amrita Sen
Full text linkIndian scholars and boardgames museum curators Souvik Mukherjee and Amrita Sen speak with Zahra Rizvi and Souvik Kar about the Gautam Sen Memorial Boardgames Museum. This interview delves into the conception, creation, and curation of the museum, before launching into a deeper discussion pertaining to the geopolitical dimensions of studying and curating boardgames in India. Mukherjee and Sen shed light on the past, present, and future of boardgames and play in India and the Global South
Review: Videogames in the Indian Subcontinent: Development, Culture(s) and Representations
Full text linkReview: Videogames in the Indian Subcontinent: Development, Culture(s) and Representations, by Souvik Mukherjee. 2022. Bloomsbury. 256 pp