Strategisk kommunikation, dit navn er spil

Playful Persuasion:  The Rhetorical Potential of Advergames, en artikel om computerspil i markedsføringssammenhæng som jeg har skrevet sammen med Sine Nørholm Just, er nu udgivet i tidsskriftet Nordicom Review. Den kan hentes som PDF.

danskebankspil

I artiklen præsenterer vi en analytisk model for advergames og applicerer den på udvalgte eksemplarer fra Toms Chokolade, Dansk Retursystem, og Danske Bank.

Artiklens abstract lyder:

The use of video games for advertising purposes is persuasive communication which directly involves the recipient in the construction of an argument. This form is becoming increasingly common, and the present article explores the phenomenon of game-based advertising. We begin by discussing the increased reliance on participatory and digital rhetoric. We then proceed to examine game-based persuasion in light of rhetorical theory, and we propose an analytical model for such games which is applied to three sample games. The analytical model takes into account the degree to which the game makes a self-contained argument, the degree to which the product or service is integrated into the game, and whether the game goal and learning goal overlap. Finally, we discuss perspectives for the integration of communication studies and game studies.

My ITU Game Lecture on 5 Sep

On 5 September (15:00 – 17:00) I’ll be speaking at the ITU as part of the Game Center‘s Game Lecture Series.

Title: A practical guide to winning and losing: How players deal with shame, glory, and each other

Abstract: A computer will handle the rules of a game in a fair-minded algorithmic fashion. Players, however, will not. To players, interaction during play (and how to deal with victory and defeat) entails a complex negotiation of social norms. Based on empirical data on multi-player gaming, this talk will explore how players handle competition, collaboration, shame, and glory as they strive to achieve the game goals.

Limited character enactment in computer RPGs

The degree to which computer RPG players speak in-character vs. out-of-character
This graph shows the ratio of in-character to out-of-character statements during five sessions of the PS2 RPG Champions of Norrath. While coding the data, any utterance which could be construed as in-character was categorized as such, heavily favoring this category.
Interestingly, the in-character percentage is significantly lower than in similarly coded pen-and-paper RPG sessions.
As discussed in (*) and in the article I’m currently writing with Anders Tychsen.

* Tychsen, Anders & Smith, Jonas Heide & Hitchens, Michael & Tosca, Susana (2006). Communication in Multi-Player Role Playing Games – The Effect of Medium. Technologies for Interactive Digital Storytelling and Entertainment (Lecture Notes in Computer Science). Berlin: Springer Verlag. (If you don’t have Springer access, try this version).