Game Creativity: Recent Episodes
Jeff Barry
Jack Callan and Henry Singleton take a thoughtful look at the environmental impact of the video game industry.
Truman Chancy and Diego Saavedra explore the sounds and music of video games. They take a close examination of human-composed music in contrast to AI generated music.
Esports: How they are run, what attracts viewers, raise in popularity, and covid’s effects on Esports
Allie describes her episode:
For my individual podcast, I plan on exploring both the positive and the negative cognitive effects that video games have on our mental health. I will be focusing on research studying the negative effects of video games on emotions, self-esteem, academic and social performance while also focusing on the positive effects such as improved reaction time, spatial memory, and attentional capacity. Most research focuses on adolescents and how video games affect their growth, emotional growth, and behavior, but I will also try to find longer-term effects studied from adolescents into adulthood to see if these positive or negative effects are long-lasting.
Bonner describes her episode:
For my individual podcast, I’m going to be discussing the role of video games within the fitness and health industry. I am not a big gamer--largely because I have always associated video games with being sedentary and physically inactive. So, in order to debunk this broad assumption I have always had about the gaming industry, I wanted to research how video games and the technology used in popular games can be used to promote health and fitness. I plan on discussing games and technological innovations such as the Peloton bikes, Wii Fit, Just Dance and Pokemon Go and interviewing people who use these games to stay active.
Jack describes his episode:
For my individual topic I want to do an examination of virtual and augmented reality gaming. I was thinking about structuring it into three sections, the first being a little overview of VR and AR along with how the technology has progressed since its first use in gaming in the early 1990s. Then for the second section I’ll examine the current state of VR gaming and technology and its hardware/software limitations. In this I’ll talk about the features and differences between the leaders of modern VR gaming, such as the Oculus rift, sony's playstation vr or HTC’s vive. Lastly, for the third section I’ll talk about the potential direction and applications VR gaming could have in the future and some potential technological advances that could increase VR’s popularity such as an affordable haptic bodysuit.
Topic: Virtual reality and Augmented reality gaming and where it can go in the future
- Section 1
- VR/AR overview
- Applications
- Global use
- Comparison
- History of VR starting in early 1990s
- First use in gaming around this time
- Becomes more mainstream in mid 2010s
- Roadblocks during this time
- What made it successful
- History of AR?
- VR/AR overview
- Section 2
- Current state of Virtual and augmented reality
- Popular devices
- https://www.cnet.com/news/best-vr-headsets-for-2021/ (Links to an external site.)
- Features and comparison
- Popular games
- Current software/hardware limitations
- Popular devices
- WLU VR game
- superhot
- Current state of Virtual and augmented reality
- Section 3
- Where will vr go in the future
- Ready player one reference
- New features or applications coming in the future
- Specific technology advancements
- Haptic bodysuit
- Ready player one reference
- What will make vr/ar become the main form of gaming
- Paint a picture of the future to close?
- Where will vr go in the future
In this episode, Connor Verrett looks at the role of crypto and blockchain on video games.
In this episode, Sally Ennis talks about the ethical concerns surrounding virtual/augmented reality and potential regulations for minimizing risk factors.
Truman describes his podcast:
My individual podcast will be about the evolution of mobile games and their place in the video game industry. I’ll explore a brief history of mobile games, giving an overview of the most popular mobile games and common genres. Then, I plan to look into the demographics of mobile gamers today and how they might compare to console or PC gamers. This might also involve an exploration of the different levels of mobile gaming, from leisure to esports. Knowing that mobile games now make up a significant portion of the video game industry, I’m curious how these games are viewed among more serious PC or console gamers. I’d like to do an interview with my brother to get his perspective on this. Ultimately, I plan to answer the question: "Where do mobile games fit into the video game industry?"
- A brief history of mobile games and how they’ve progressed
- Focus on what types of games early mobile games were
- What chunk of the industry do mobile games make up?
- What percent of revenue is mobile game revenue?
- How has this grown over time?
- Discuss some common types of mobile games/gamers
- Hyper casual, casual, eSports
- Discuss some console games with mobile versions
- Who plays mobile games and what kinds of games do they primarily play?
- What's the primary demographic of mobile gamers?
- How does this change with age/gender?
- Why do people play mobile games?
- Are people preferring mobile games to console?
- Interview an informed video game consumer
- Discuss the future of mobile games and how mobile games/gamers are viewed within the larger gaming community.
- Conclude by trying to answer the question: What has been and what will be the impact of mobile games on the rest of the gaming industry?
Sam describes her episode:
My podcast is about how video games have changed from a single-player experience to a way of connecting, entertaining, and socializing. To start, I will explore the rise in online games and how far gaming has come from its beginnings in arcades. I will also discuss the ways in which Youtube and Twitch have affected the video game industry as a whole. I plan to focus on the roles influencers play, as well as why viewers choose to spend their free time watching other plays rather than play themselves
- the transition from arcades to at-home consoles, to online games
- how online gaming changed the video game industry
- how playing video games also became a way to simultaneously talk with friends
- the way in which public opinions/demographics have changed surrounding video games
- Youtube and twitch
- interview about how interviewee uses twitch
- Alexandria Cortez using twitch Livestream to reach younger audiences
- Fortnite as a platform, not just game
Walker describes his episode:
For my individual podcast, I plan to do a top 10 list of the best video games of all time and why they succeeded/how they revolutionized or innovated the video game industry. To do this, I plan to look at a wide variety of video games and genres. I have played a lot of video games but I am sure I will need to do a little more research than the ones I have played. I also have to consider whether or not to include entire franchises or select the best individual game from each franchise.
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Call of Duty: Modern Warefare 2
-
Wii Sports
-
Super Mario Bros
-
Grand Theft Auto V
-
Tetris
-
Dark Souls III
-
Legend of Zelda: breathe of the wild
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Pokemon Red
-
Red Dead Redemption
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Minecraft
Alexis Parks looks at the marketing success of Epic Games. Alexis examines the benefits of marketing, how Fortnite generates money, Fortnite marketing strategies, how Fortnite markets other brands in a mutually benefical manner, and how Fortnite is different from other games.
Ellen Dulin examines the gender gap among video game players.
- Address the gender gap in video games usage
- Why is this an issue?
Section 1: Background
- Statistics on how many males vs females play
- Why males might be more willing to play (content in video games, their peers play)
Section 2: Past discussions
- Why Nintendo made it the Gameboy
- Funding shortages
Section 3: Marketing
- How marketing tactics aim towards males more than females
- If there are more males or females in the video game industry
Section 4: Future outlook of games
- Will new games be more enticing to females
- Implications of this happening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y14Ex0pauAQ&t=74s
https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/12/female-gamers-and-masculine-marketers-polygon-s-history-of-the-sexist-selling-of-video-games.html
https://gameluster.com/why-are-games-marketed-toward-boys/
https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/12/female-gamers-and-masculine-marketers-polygon-s-history-of-the-sexist-selling-of-video-games.html
Simona, Seth & Simon discuss the essence of violent video games and the way violence in a virtual space might or might not correlate with violence in real life.
- Do Violent Video Games Lead to Aggressive Behavior? (verywellfamily.com)
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10683160601060655
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1037/a0019000
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15213269.2011.596468
- https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1886419
- https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2015/08/violent-video-games
- https://www.esrb.org/ratings-guide/
- https://www.bestproducts.com/parenting/kids/g2421/e-rated-video-games-for-kids/
- https://www.gamespot.com/articles/top-selling-games-and-consoles-of-2020-revealed-for-the-us/1100-6486361/
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiemadigan/2019/09/22/why-i-dont-trust-the-video-games-cause-violence-argument/?sh=77520a923b71
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201604/violent-video-games-can-trigger-emotional-desensitization
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15213269.2016.1142382
- https://www.webmd.com/balance/news/20170308/violent-video-games-may-not-desensitize-players-brain-scans-suggest
Seth Chapman talks about indie games, especially roguelike games by taking a close look at Hades. Seth also talks about Steam and early access to games.
Topic - Indie Games
- Intro / early access
- Hades
- Soundtrack, mysterious story, progression, art styles, super high reviews
- unique roguelike dungeon crawler
- Valheim
- Procedurally generated, basically minecraft but with different/better graphics
- over 5 million sales since feb 2021
- Risk of Rain 2
- Roguelike, mystery, friends, combat and number/item scaling
- 4 for 3 deal, day one
- Risk of rain (2d v 3d)
- Slay the Spire
- Deck builder, roguelike, secrets
- similarities in these games
- conclusion
Links mentioned in the episode:
- https://www.supergiantgames.com/
- https://www.irongatestudio.se/
- https://hopoogames.com/risk-of-rain-2/
- https://www.megacrit.com/
- https://store.steampowered.com/
- Introduction and description of the Marvel’s Avengers video game (approximately 5 minutes)
- My personal experience with the Marvel’s Avengers video game (approximately 5 minutes)
- Interview with Marvel scholar and video game connoisseur, Addison Powers (approximately 20 minutes)
- Articles, reviews, and the general consensus of the Marvel’s Avengers video game (approximately 5 minutes)
- The future of the Marvel’s Avengers video game and Square Enix’s plans for the game moving forward (approximately 5 minutes)
Lynch, Mark. “Marvel's Avengers: The Good and the Bad of Marvel's Newest Video Game.” Bam Smack Pow, FanSided, 21 Sept. 2020, www.bamsmackpow.com/2020/09/21/marvel-avengers-video-game-review/.
O'Keefe, Matt. “What's Wrong with the Avengers Game and Why It Looks Like a Mess.” Comics Beat, 8 July 2019, www.comicsbeat.com/whats-wrong-avengers-game/.
Park, Gene. “Review | 'Marvel's Avengers': The Problem with Marketing a Game for Everyone.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 8 Sept. 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/reviews/avengers-final-review-problem-with-marketing-game-everyone/.
Wilson, Hunter. “Marvel's Avengers Is Bad and Here's Why.” Vocal Media Gamers, 16 Oct. 2020, www.vocal.media/gamers/marvel-s-avengers-is-bad-and-here-s-why.
In this episode of Game Creativity:
We tackle the art-making aspect of video game development. What it is, what it isn't, what are the processes involved, and why it's important for video game development in general. To answer those questions with us is Daniela (Didi) Draganova - a Games Art student in the U.K. who recently finished her second year of studies in the field. With Didi we discuss:
- What sparked her interest in the field (1:48)
- What art-making for video games encompasses in layman's terms (2:40)
- The different independent art forms that exist within video game design (3:50)
- What the art process looks like from beginning to end (6:28)
- Whether everything is done from scratch, are ready-made objects used or only existing ideas and concepts (8:25, 10:39)
- Whether she has ever faced any problems with plagiarism (9:45)
- What specific software she uses, i.e. a game engine (12:11)
- Where/What she draws inspiration from (14:18)
- Whether making an entire game is the final goal and how close she has gotten (15:26)
- What are some of the challenges of art-making for video games versus the things she finds most enjoyable (17:42)
- How is the process divided up within a team (18:45)
- What is one project she's most proud of (21:04)
- What she thinks is the overall importance of art-making in video game design (22:56)
- Whether art-making by humans will become redundant at any point in time and/or replaced by AI (23:57)
- Advice for someone that wants to develop in the field of Games Art (26:44)
Selected Links:
Didi's most recent project, a.k.a the one she's most proud of!
Cinematic trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Twncz5Mp8Kc
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2alkP-SKXEI
An interview with Feng Zhu, the concept artist Didi mentioned (7:10):
https://evermotion.org/articles/show/8225/a-great-concept-begins-with-understanding-how-things-work
Sam and Beth Ann discuss the evolution of player freedom in games, examining sandbox games, open world games, and RPGs with branching narratives. They also explore the past and potential future of these types of games.
Sandbox Games
- Define what we mean by sandbox games, and describe some games in the genre
- Pros: Encouraging creativity and ownership
- Cons: Time consuming, big learning curve which is a barrier to entry
- Don't Starve
- Planet Zoo
- Animal Crossing
- Gamecube
- Switch
- Minecraft (transition to next section)
Open World Games
- Define what we mean by open world games and describe some games in the genre
- Pros: Hours and hours of content, complete control of where you can go
- Cons: too open and intimidating, overwhelming
- Skyrim
- Shadow of the Colossus
- Assassin's Creed
- Pokemon transformation over time
- Legend of Zelda
- Link to the Past
- Breath of the Wild
- Witcher 3
RPGs with branching narratives
- Define what we mean by this and describe some games in the genre
- Pros: Allows the player to feel like they are really part of the story and what they do in the game matters
- Cons: Some games do a better job at truly branching
- Dishonored
- Undertale
- Telltale games
- Wolf Among Us
- Walking Dead
- Cyber Punk 77
- Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines
● Stories have been told since the beginning of time in oral narratives
● Modern technological developments led to new narrative vehicles, such as the print medium, for example, and gave us only broader and richer ways to tell our stories to one another. Visual mediums, such as film and television, allowed stories to become highly accessible, filling a void that theater and performance arts once occupied alone.
● The video game is a new medium compared to the thousands of years oral narratives have been around and it is unique in is interactivity between the audience and the narrative. As a player, you participate in the narrative, relying on your own skills and intuition to move forward, unlocking further story points or creating your own.
● However, some of the earliest games had no story at all. Take Pong for example, which is a rudimentary simulation of tennis. As the capabilities of computers improved over time, video games became more complex in the gameplay and in their stories. Many games we play today have long and engaging narratives that require hours and hours of gameplay to complete them.
● The interactivity of games through the story itself allows the player to experience the plot rather than have it be something they consume.
● Traditional storytelling in games is obvious. A lot of single player games have extensive cutscenes which are essentially just scenes from a movie. The gameplay allows you to move from cut scene to cut scene as you unearth more of the narrative and more and more games are using the gameplay as its own form of storytelling.
● When you watch a movie or read a book, you are sitting passively by while the characters are interacting with their world. However, in games, you are that character, in that world, performing those actions. Some games are predetermined, so the story will always follow the same path and have the same outcome. Others are more fluid and will change depending upon the choices you make as a player. Movies cannot do this, but games can and it makes them a special kind of narrative vehicle.
● There are many ways in which games tell stories, whether it be through cutscenes, lore, gameplay, you name it. The game Fortnite, for example, tells a story through subtle changes to its game map. Locations appear and disappear in concordance with the story that is happening, letting players interested in the narrative to dive deeper and find these Easter eggs in the game, while letting other players who just enjoy the gameplay, to continue with their quest to become the last player standing.
● Other games are much more traditional and focus on the character arc of the characters you are playing as. Many games will tie character progression to player progression such as in RPG’s like the persona series. In this series, you start off as a shy and unsure high school student and as you progress through the story you not only become stronger, but more confident in your abilities. You can see exactly how much you have grown as a character by visiting previous areas and seeing how much stronger you are against enemies you initially struggled with.
● This is called player empowerment, and while many find this quite effective, player disempowerment can also be quite a powerful story telling mechanic in games. In the game, The Last of Us, you play as Joel who is a strong character who becomes a father figure to this girl Ellie. As Joel, you are fairly easily able to fight and fend off enemies as you acquire new tools and weapons. However, later in the game, Joel becomes hurt and you switch from playing as him to playing as Ellie. Ellie is much weaker and is much more limited in what she can do to fend off enemies. This switch can be heavily felt by players and adds to the story in showing how scary life in the Last of Us’s world can be when you are essentially defenseless.
● I wanted to hear more about how other gamers felt about games as story telling devices, so i had a conversation with Geronimo and John to learn a little bit more about their perspectives on the topic.
● I appreciate hearing both Geronimo’s and John’s input on this podcast as i believe it showcases just how different gamers can be and how varied their interests are. I think that video games are one of the most exciting and fluid narrative mediums that have come about in the last century. They can be graphic, textural, aural, two dimensional or three dimensional, and even more now with VR. They can bring together many ways of telling stories, and the continued emergence of this new form is a thrilling prospect that I plan to keep a close eye on and I hope you will too. I’ve been Samantha, thank you so much for listening.
"How Video Games Like the Witcher Are Saving Slavic Folklore" by Peter Ray Allison https://www.alphr.com/games/1008348/video-games-witcher-3-slavic-folklore (Links to an external site.)
"The Folklore of Video Games: Using Narrative Design to Create Player Agency" by Nick Jones
https://www.thepunkwriter.com/article/the-folklore-of-video-games-using-narrative-design-to-create-player-agency (Links to an external site.)
The Mythos Podcast by Nicole Schmidt. https://www.mythospodcast.com/
Why is a librarian making a podcast about video games? (Apologies about the audio quality of this episode.)