Welche Qualität haben Medien? Sind sie es »wert«, ausgezeichnet zu werden? Nachdem es in den 1960er Jahren sensationell war, mit dem Grimme-Preis Qualität im Fernsehen zu würdigen, kam als große Innovation vor 20 Jahren der Grimme Online Award hinzu, um hochwertige Internetangebote auszuzeichnen - und seit zehn Jahren würdigt der Deutsche Radiopreis Qualität und Stärken von Hörfunkprogrammen.Die Beitragenden des Bandes beleuchten erstmals übergreifend die Hintergründe rund um Qualität und Medien aus Sicht des Grimme-Instituts, mit Blick auf seine Jurys sowie aus wissenschaftlicher Warte.
Game culture and material culture have always been closely linked. Analog forms of rule-based play (ludus) would hardly be conceivable without dice, cards, and game boards. In the act of free play (paidia), children as well as adults transform simple objects into multifaceted toys in an almost magical way. Even digital play is suffused with material culture: Games are not only mediated by technical interfaces, which we access via hardware and tangible peripherals. They are also subject to material hybridization, paratextual framing, and processes of de-, and re-materialization.
"Qualitative interviews with 7 female players were conducted to gather information on the motives and attitudes of female users of video and computer games. Participants were asked about the importance of different gratifications of game play, critical incidents that initiated their interest in games and their perceived competence in the use of computer technology. Special attention was paid to potential shortcomings of contemporary video and computer games in addressing female players specific needs and the question whether female users can identify with in-game characters of today's computer games. The results indicate that the motive to win is of minor importance for female players. Additionally, many interviewees reported a lack of support for their hobby, especially from same-sex friends. Identification with the avatar is an important component of the gaming experience for the female players in this study. At the same time, contemporary computer games that are often situated in primarily masculine contexts (e.g. war, competition) make it difficult for female users to identify with in-game characters." (author's abstract)
Games have become established tools within participatory urban planning practice that provide safe spaces for collective actions such as deliberation, negotiation of conflicting agendas, scenario testing, and collaborative worldbuilding. While a body of literature on the effectiveness of games to address complex urban planning issues is emerging, significantly less literature addresses the design and development process of serious games with a possible space in its own right within urban planning practice. Our study investigates long term iterative processes of designing a game for visioning urban futures, specifically, how design iterations connect to the application of games in practice by accommodating or responding to emerging needs, goals, and relationships. We approach this topic through the case study of the Sustainability Futures Game, a game designed by the Helsinki-based creative agency Hellon to support business leaders, sustainability specialists, and city officials to imagine desirable alternative urban futures. Through storytelling and collective worldbuilding, players first imagine what sustainable urban living means for a specific city, frame their vision using the UN's sustainable development goals, and finally create concrete pathways towards reaching these goals. This article uses a genealogical approach to systematically analyse the five design iterations of the Sustainability Futures Game. It aims to elucidate the contextual and relational influences on the application of serious games in urban planning practice to understand how these influences might encourage or inhibit their potential to foster transformation towards sustainable futures.
This research explores gender differences in motivations and gratifications related to playing video games such as The Sims. We analyzed both men' and women' differences in game related motivations and gratifications to identify which factors make a game more gratifying for a specific gender of players. We conducted in-depth interviews with 18 male players and 20 female players of The Sims. We also analyzed online forums of The Sims. We found that main gratifying factors related to game-playing experience include appearance, character, storyline, control and complexity, fantasy and social interaction. The findings propose that game researchers with the uses and gratifications theoretical framework should consider the importance of including game features as gratifying factors in their questionnaires. Finally, we have provided implications for future research about gender differences in motivations and gratifications based on uses and gratifications theory.
Video streaming has become very popular among game enthusiasts. Live streams of computer games, where there is the possibility of communication, are developing as community meeting places; a number of social scientists are calling this a trend towards new online "third places". Today's debate draws attention to the reproduction of a participation culture trough streaming, in the space of which everyone can express themselves creatively, share their opinion, experiences, and information. At the same time, there is a tendency towards the capitalist appropriation of streaming by media businesspersons who stimulate the monetization of participation. Investigating the "sociality of streaming", the authors highlight the supplementation of the "Let's Play" discourse with topics from the current agenda, understanding live streams as public media arenas. In the public arenas of computer game live streams, the dramatization and selection of global or local news information in a specific media format takes place. The article demonstrates this phenomenon using the example of the coronavirus, the most prominent topic of spring 2020. The pandemic vocabulary appears in different sections of Twitch game streams, such as titles, audio/ video content, and the chat. Banter and obscene vocabulary are characteristic of the game stream space, however, this is combined with charity fund-raising broadcasts in support of doctors.
What does it mean to say that Games Matter within a new media art context? Conversely, what contributions can artists and scholars exploring the medium make to the cultural conversation around their use and meaning? This contribution highlights the ways in which our interdisciplinary art collective, Psychasthenia Studio, has addressed the cultural effects of games and gamification as they have evolved over the last decade, using a series of videogame art projects as the medium of expression and critique. As Mary Flanagan (2009) suggested in Critical Play, "games carry beliefs within their representation systems and mechanics" (p. 4). Through their thematic content and interaction design, the three videogames developed by us in the interdisciplinary Psychasthenia Studio between 2009-2017 draw attention to those beliefs as they exist not only in the games themselves, but also more broadly in an increasingly gamified contemporary culture. Psychasthenia Studio simultaneously intervenes in the discussion around games in society and pushes the boundaries of what constitutes new media art practice today. By playing the Psychasthenia games, our hope is that users both co-author and witness their own participation in the system.
Computer games (video games) are becoming increasingly popular way to relax, or even to maintain social relationships with other people. However, they are not just only entertainment. Treated as a mass media become a source of income, knowledge and social problems, which may distort the reality presented in them. It may also become the basis for manipulation and propaganda, to serve the struggle for cultural dominance, and indicate social problems.
An authoritative and accessible guide to the worlds most influential force - the contemporary media Our lives are more mediated than ever before. Adults in economically advanced countries spend, on average, over eight hours per day interacting with the media. The news and entertainment industries are being transformed by the shift to digital platforms. But how much is really changing in terms of what shapes media content? What are the impacts on our public and imaginative life? And is the Internet a democratising tool of social protest, or of state and commercial manipulation?Drawing on decades of research to examine these and other questions, Understanding Media interrogates claims about the Internet, explores how representations in TV and film may influence perceptions of self, and traces overarching trends while attending to crucial local context, from the United States to China, Norway to Malaysia, and Brazil to Britain. Understanding Media is an accessible and essential guide to the world's most influential force - the contemporary media
Welche Qualität haben Medien? Sind sie es »wert«, ausgezeichnet zu werden? Nachdem es in den 1960er Jahren sensationell war, mit dem Grimme-Preis Qualität im Fernsehen zu würdigen, kam als große Innovation vor 20 Jahren der Grimme Online Award hinzu, um hochwertige Internetangebote auszuzeichnen - und seit zehn Jahren würdigt der Deutsche Radiopreis Qualität und Stärken von Hörfunkprogrammen. Die Beitragenden des Bandes beleuchten erstmals übergreifend die Hintergründe rund um Qualität und Medien aus Sicht des Grimme-Instituts, mit Blick auf seine Jurys sowie aus wissenschaftlicher Warte.
The same computer games are played by youths all over the world, and worldwide games become matters of concern in relation to children: worries rise about addiction, violence, education, time, and economy. Yet, these concerns vary depending upon where they are situated: in families, legal contexts, industry or science. They also play out differently across countries and cultures. This situated nature of computer game concerns is generally neglected. Not in this book: It gives a detailed mosaic of the complex and multiple everyday realities of computer game concerns in relation to children, as they are variably situated throughout society and across cultures.
Die Repräsentation chronischer Erkrankungen in audiovisuellen und sozialen Medien ist ein bis dato wenig systematisch erfasstes Themenfeld der Gesundheitskommunikation. Der Beitrag stellt eine Studie vor, die diesen Aspekt mittels einer qualitativen Medieninhaltsanalyse empirisch exploriert. Es wurde ein Sample aus den Bereichen Film/TV/Streaming, Soziale Medien und Videospiele anhand von Spezifika, Relevanz, Verfügbarkeit sowie Aktualität ausgewählt und analysiert. Die untersuchten Medieninhalte weisen kaum stereotype Darstellungen, Stigmatisierung oder Tabuisierung chronischer Erkrankungen auf. Es wurden künstlerisch und gestalterisch innovative Formen der Darstellung erfasst. Deutlich wird, besonders im Bereich klassisch-audiovisueller Formate, dass die Beziehung Betroffener zu Angehörigen beziehungsweise zu Unterstützer:innen mit im Fokus der Narrationen steht. Die explorativen Ergebnisse bieten einen ersten Zugang zum Thema, dem weitere Studien folgen sollten.
Citizen engagement around climate change remains a wicked problem. It is particularly challenging in relation to climate change adaptation at the local level. In response, this article presents the design steps taken to create a serious game for young people (aged 15-17) as a means to increase engagement in planning for climate change adaptation in Dublin. The iAdapt game acts as the capstone component of the audio and visual teaching and learning resources for adaptation education on the Climate Smart platform and uses open data, interactive in-browser 2.5D mapping and spatial analysis, and exemplar socio-technical adaptation interventions. Its primary aim is to empower young people to understand and engage with the complexities, uncertainties, and processes of climate adaptation planning by using scientifically validated flood data predictions, grounded in a place-based setting and with diverse examples of diverse adaptation interventions. Participants experience the difficulties of decision-making under conditions of democratic governance and uncertainty in order to educate, increase awareness, and stimulate discussions around the multiple possible pathways to planning for climate adaptation. Initial testing results with a cohort of young people in Dublin are presented. We conclude by reflecting upon the challenges of creating a game that has broad appeal yet remains enjoyable to play and the value of integrating real-world flood data with gamified elements. We also discuss the "value question" regarding the impact of games on expanding public engagement. Finally, the article sets out a plan for further development and dissemination of the platform and game.
Abstrakt: In dem Digitalzeitalter bedeutet Lesen nicht mehr eine bloße Aufnahme der Buchstaben, sondern eine ganzheitliche visuelle Wahrnehmung. Dieser Artikel stellt ein Modell vor, das auf der standardmäßigen digitalen Bildung durch Video-Bildung und der Videospiele-Kultur aufbaut. Dieses Modell kann der so genannten medienübergreifenden Transliteralität zugeordnet werden. Das Forschungsobjekt ist die Verbindung zwischen den Akten des Spielens und des Lesens als Erscheinungen eines Medien-Verhaltens, die als "positive Interdependenz" definiert werden kann. Die verwendete Forschungsmethode für die Primärdatenerfassung ist eine Befragung an aktive Videospieler in Bulgarien, die ihre Haltung zu den Themen "Buch", "Lesen" und "Schreiben" zielgenau erforschen sollte. Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass die Mehrheit der Videospieler aktive Leser sind und feste Gewohnheiten und Vorlieben mit klardefinierten Interessen auf diesem Gebiet aufweisen. Der größte Anteil der Befragten weist eine sehr stabile positive Grundhaltung gegenüber dem Lesen auf. Zwei Probleme ließen sich dabei ebenso erkennen – ein Unverständnis des Begriffes "Schreiben" sowie eine Verachtung der Gaming-Kultur seitens der Non-Gamer und eine Unterschätzung des Potenzials der Gamer als Lesergruppe. Die angewendete komplexe Herangehensweise bei der Erforschung der Verhältnisse "Spielen – Lesen" und "Videospiele – Bücher" – eine Kombination aus Medientheorie und einer empirischen soziologischen Forschung – steigert den theoretischen Wert dieser Forschungarbeit und bestärkt ihre Nützlichkeit und ihre praktische Anwendbarkeit.
Longitudinal studies investigating the relationship of aggression and violent video games are still scarce. Most of the previous studies focused on children or younger adolescents and relied on convenience samples. This paper presents data from a 1-year longitudinal study of N = 276 video game players aged 14 to 21 drawn from a representative sample of German gamers. We tested both whether the use of violent games predicts physical aggression (i.e., the socialization hypothesis) and whether physical aggression predicts the subsequent use of violent games (i.e., the selection hypothesis). The results support the selection hypotheses for the group of adolescents aged 14 to 17. For the group of young adults (18–21), we found no evidence for both the socialization and the selection hypothesis. Our findings suggest that the use of violent video games is not a substantial predictor of physical aggression, at least in the later phases of adolescence and early adulthood. The differences we found between the age groups show that age plays an important role in the relationship of aggression and violent video games and that research in this area can benefit from a more individualistic perspective that takes into account both intraindividual developmental change and interindividual differences between players.
