1 / 23

DEFRAGGING TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

This article explores close-reading techniques and tools for analyzing games as transmedial objects. It discusses the importance of paying attention to medium-specific properties, such as scripts, code, visuals, and sound design. The article also suggests recording gameplay and using screenshots as visual documentation for analysis. Additionally, it emphasizes the use of research diaries to document observations and findings.

teddys
Download Presentation

DEFRAGGING TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. DEFRAGGING TEXTUAL ANALYSIS Tools and Tips for the Qualitative Study of Play

  2. Close-readings are formalreadings, in otherwords, they focus on the artwork ratherthanits readers or the cultural context in which the artwork emerged. They are carefullyconstructed, well-argued and sustainedreadings of texts. The term is closelyconnected to the emergence of newcriticism.

  3. Games are transmedialobjectsthat have manylayers. Reading theirmedium-specificpropertiesmeanspayingattention to scripts, code, rules, butalso to sound, visuals (character and level designs) orembeddedmovies. Games are performances, butcanalsobeunderstoodthroughtheircinematography, sounddesignorstorytelling.

  4. Youngblood 2013 – queer reading of Persona 4

  5. Close-readings are diverse. For instance, games canbeviewedthrough the lense of proceduralrhetorics(Bogost) as rule-driventexts; beperformances (Nitzsche) orsimulations (Frasca) orworlds. Suchconceptscaninform the kind of close-readingthatyouconduct and howyoudemarcate the game as anobject.

  6. Close-readings of games or game tropesmay even focus particularlyonrepresentations/mediationsof gaming, ratherthan the games themselves.

  7. Ifpossible: recordyour game play as fully as possiblesoyoucanrewatch it. Screenshotswill help youremember the important momentstoo. In traditional games, recordingmaynot even bepossibly. Itmay hinder the otherplayers, the room maybenoisy and ethics are involved. (Askforpermission to record!)

  8. Always considerrudimentarybut important thingslikedrawinga map of the space, or a flowchartof the levels, makingnotesof whoparticipates, whatobjects are involved/props Don’tforgetcostumes/attires/mise-en-sceneornoteson sound/music. Some of these canbedoneafter the initialplaythrough, which is whyvisualdocumentation is so important

  9. FRAPS OPEN BROADCAST SOFTWARE

  10. 1. Tinkerwithoptions. Resolutionshouldbesame as your monitor

  11. 2. Add a scene

  12. 3. Add a sourcewith game capture (right click in sources box, addsource) Tip: Adding to individualscenes is easierthan via globalsources

  13. 4. Select program/game (or open game and pressrenew) and assignhotkey

  14. 5. Admire preview to seeifeverything is okay and start recording

  15. A research diarywill help you document yourinitialthoughts and findings. Reflectonyour game playexperiences, write down observations and parts of the dialogue, takescreenshotsorphotographs. Dependingonyour project, youmayalso want to store literaturesummaries, conference notes and otherthoughtsrelated to your project.

  16. Today I Die

  17. The FourPlayers

  18. The Graveyard

More Related