ENG 225 Rhetoric and Gaming

Lavigne, C. (2015). "I'm Batman" (and You Can Be Too): "Gender" and Constrictive Play in the "Arkham" Game Series. Cinema Journal Vol. 55, No. 1 (Fall 2015), pp. 133-141 Lavigne used Batman: Arkham City (2013, Rocksteady) to create a qualitative review of dangerous tropes in mainstream games. The article shows that the character Batman “advances heteronormative, hypergendered stereotypes” with his “ripped” physique, justified violence, and having to rescue almost every female he comes in contact with. Catwoman is brought up as an equally dangerous character in regards to tropes. She fights in heels, kisses thugs, and is programmed to show all of her curves while playing as her. This, in addition to NPC interactions with her, make Catwoman a dangerous stereotype. This article shows that mainstream media can be instrumental to stereotypes being brought forward. It also shows that game design is still entrenched in the “typical male fantasy”, and that...

Sarkeesian, A., Petit, C. (2019). Female Representation in Videogames Isn't Getting Any Better. WIRED 2019. This article proves that representative equality in the video game industry is still far behind where it should be. Sarkeesian & Petit used data from the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E 3 ) from 2015 to 2019 to quantify gender representation in the video game industry. The time frame is significant due to Gamergate in 2014, a misogynist movement that used video game as its platform. While open character creation options are more prevalent than in previous years, games with only a female protagonist are few.  Sarkeesian & Petit quantified the data by counting the number of games at E 3 with male, female, gender-ambiguous, and open character options. The data show that in those years, there were 3-10x more male protagonists than female. Sarkeesian & Petit also counted presenters featured at 2019 E 3 , and found that there were about 4x as many male prese...

Greitemeyer, T., Osswald, S., & Brauer, M. (2010). Playing Prosocial Video Games Increases Empathy and Decreases Schadenfreude . American Psychological Association 2010, Vol. 10, No. 6, 796 – 802. This article covers two experiments by Greitemeyer, et al, to show levels of malicious pleasure (schadenfreude) after playing games that were rated as “prosocial”, “antisocial”, and “neutral” in regards to the game’s theme. The first experiment used Tetris (Pajitnov, A., 1984) and Lemmings (Psygnosis, 1991) as the neutral and prosocial games, respectively. The participants were then asked how they felt about a celebrity's misfortune. Those who played the prosocial game were more likely to not feel schadenfreude about the celebrity. The second experiment included the antisocial game Lamers (MobyGames, 1992), a parody of Lemmings where the goal is to kill all of the animals, rather than save them. Those who played the antisocial game experienced the highest level of schadenfreude...

Barr, Matthew. "Student Attitudes to Games-Based Skills Development: Learning from Video Games in Higher Education." Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 80, 2018, pp. 283-294, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563217306684, doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.11.030 The purpose of this study “was to document the attitudes of those students involved in the quantitative study and to explore how the game-based intervention was perceived.” (p. 283).  Researchers found a “broadly positive perception of the games' efficacy for skills development” (p. 283). Of the undergraduates that participated in the study, the in-game elements that participated felt contributed the most to skill development. “include the need to communicate with team mates in order to succeed, and the fluid, unpredictable nature of in-game challenges.” (p. 283). This study suggests, based on the factors that undergraduates think are the most important to developing useful skills (like communication, ...

Qian, M., & Clark, K. R. (2016). Game-based learning and 21st century skills: A review of recent research. Computers in Human Behavior, 63, 50-58. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2016.05.023 The purpose of this paper was to conduct a literature review of the current research of 21 studies that were focused around game-based learning and 21st century skills as the outcome. “The findings suggest that a game-based learning approach might be effective in facilitating students’ 21st century skill development.” (p. 50). This paper also has some recommendations about what future researchers, teachers, and game designers should to about implementation of games as well as educational game design. Or rather that Game-Based Learning (GBL) is dependent on game design. Specifically, game designs which feature a blending of established learning theories with game design elements proven successful in the entertainment game industry are most likely to lead to effective learning. With regard to game genres, ...