Journal of Digital Media and Interaction

Meaning and Interaction (Editorial)

The Game is Not Over: Relationships Between Ludic Appropriation and Production of Meaning in Video Games

Abstract This article discusses the relationships between ludic appropriation and the production of meaning in video games. By ludic appropriation, we refer to the act of performing in-game actions that were not designed or expected by the creators of a particular game, thus expanding the possibilities of producing meaningful interactions in this medium. This work is divided into three large blocks. First, we return to discussing particular aspects of games from theorists like Johan Huizinga, Roger Caillois, and Jacques Henriot. Next, we present the concepts of ludic freedom and ludic appropriation as developed by Maude Bonenfant. Finally, we analyze an episode of ludic appropriation by the community of players of Halo: Combat Evolved, seeking to exemplify, from a real case, the concepts worked throughout the text.

How we Construct Meaning in Interactive Digital Narratives: a structurally coupled relation

Abstract Computational systems, by being procedural and interactive, encompass new radical possibilities and augment and extend the way we tell stories. The Interactive Digital Narratives that are created with them are ontological machines that can be formally understood in terms of processes and representations that expose and mask selections of potential action and movement. These qualities change how they construct and establish meaning for readers. This paper will explore meaning-making in Interactive Digital Narratives through an interdisciplinary approach that combines the cognitive theory of enaction with the analysis of the narrative structure in Florence and Her Story. By identifying the different forms that the narrative can take based on the readers’ choices, we seek to comprehend how readers and systems become structurally coupled. We research how the emergent and continuous interactions developed during the reading of an Interactive Digital Narrative are closely intertwined with the readers’ sensory-motor experiences. We shape narratives through how we perceive them, which is essential for sense-making and how we attend to the medium’s specificity.

(The Game Plants Make People Happy: Exploring Agency through Research-Creation)

Résumé Cette recherche-création explore le concept d’agentivité dans les jeux vidéo. En s’appuyant sur les récents développements du concept mettant en avant l’importance de la création de sens par les joueur.euses, l’auteure montre que ce n’est ni en proposant une structure narrative complexe, ni en offrant de nombreuses interactions que se produit l’agentivité. C’est plutôt par la mise en place d’un échange entre les joueur.euses et une situation. Cette dernière englobe le monde du jeu, mais aussi l’environnement hors-jeu, en particulier les créateur.rices du jeu. Le sentiment d’agentivité provient alors d’un dialogue, d’une transaction entre les joueur.euses et le monde, qu’il s’agit simplement d’encourager. Le jeu vidéo créé, Plants Make People Happy, permet de montrer comment un tel échange peut se mettre en place dans une expérience qui mène inexorablement vers l’échec, lui retirant à première vue son agentivité, pour en fait l’exacerber en lui permettant de réfléchir à sa relation avec les créateur.rices du jeu.

Abstract This research-creation delves into the concept of agency in video games. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of meaning-making in the experience of agency, and this work builds upon that research to argue that agency does not arise from a complex narrative structure nor from numerous interactions. Instead, agency arises from an exchange between players and the game situation, which includes the game world and the environment beyond the game, such as the game creators. The feeling of agency comes from a dialogue and transaction between the player and the world, which the game creators should foster. The video game Plants Make People Happy serves as an example of how such an exchange can take place, in an experience that leads the player to inexorable failure. Although at first the game may seem to remove all agency from the players, it actually enhances it by encouraging them to reflect on their relationship with the game creators.

O Impacto da Rede Social TikTok na Viralização da Indústria de Entretenimento - O Caso das séries Netflix

Resumo A Internet e as redes sociais vieram transformar, por completo, a sociedade e o mundo atual, através de um acesso rápido e facilitado a grandes quantidades de informação. Isto traduz-se, cada vez mais, em oportunidades para elevar a notoriedade, exigindo adaptabilidade por parte de vários ramos e setores. Naturalmente, a Indústria de Entretenimento não foge à regra e o método de consumo e alcance de conteúdos dentro da área tem vindo a modificar-se. Com o presente artigo, é explorado até que ponto a rede social TikTok contribui para o processo de viralização de séries da plataforma de streaming Netflix. Foi realizado um levantamento do Estado de Arte, para reunir e consolidar informação e numa fase posterior foi adotada uma metodologia de investigação de natureza quantitativa, através da realização de um questionário online. Os resultados obtidos permitiram responder aos objetivos propostos, sendo possível concluir que o TikTok se afirma, efetivamente, como uma rede social com um papel notório, importante e positivo na promoção da indústria de entretenimento atual, nomeadamente no que diz respeito às séries da plataforma de streaming Netflix.

Abstract The Internet and social media have completely transformed today's society and world by providing quick and easy access to large amounts of information. This increasingly translates into opportunities to raise awareness, requiring adaptability from various industries and sectors. Naturally, the Entertainment Industry is no exception to the rule, and the method of consumption and reach of content within the area has been changing. With the present article, it is explored to what extent the social network TikTok contributes to the viralization process of series from the streaming platform Netflix. A survey of the State of the Art was carried out, to gather and consolidate information and in a later stage a research methodology of quantitative nature was adopted, through the completion of an online questionnaire. The results obtained allowed answering the proposed objectives, being possible to conclude that TikTok effectively asserts itself as a social media with a notorious, important and positive role in promoting the current entertainment industry, particularly with regard to series from the Netflix streaming platform.

When the Late Victorian Period and YouTube Meet: A demonstration of digital media literacy

Abstract Social media platforms allow media and digital literacy skills to be exercised before the public. Here, digital literacy is defined as a subset of media literacy. To use digital literacy as a subset of media literacy, a user utilizes three divisions of media usage as defined by Hoof and Boell and three spheres of digital literacy as outlined by Ng. Literacy, however, does not imply full social interaction; parasocial behaviors are part of the field. To demonstrate this, the genre of renovation/restoration videos on YouTube will be explored, with a focus on the channel The 2nd Empire Strikes Back.

(The Hate Speech on Instagram: An Analysis of Famous Women in Spain)

Resumen El discurso de odio contra las mujeres está ampliamente documentado en la literatura. Sin embargo, el impacto de las nuevas tecnologías de la comunicación y de la información desde una perspectiva de género es una cuestión que a menudo no se aborda. Este estudio analizó el acoso cibernético contra las mujeres en la plataforma Instagram con el objetivo de conocer los comportamientos de los usuarios (hombres, mujeres y cuentas falsas) en la red social objeto del estudio. De forma secundaria, se observaron las difamaciones más frecuentes realizadas en contra de las mujeres. Para desarrollar la búsqueda se escogieron en total 8 personalidades femeninas pertenecientes a cuatro categorías diferentes a nivel laboral: política, comunicación, deporte y empresa; se estudiaron todas sus publicaciones y comentarios en Instagram entre noviembre de 2021 y abril de 2022. Se recopilaron un total de 393 publicaciones y 61.703 comentarios. Instagram solo permitió leer el 89,33% del total de los comentarios. Según la categoría correspondiente a cada mujer, se visualizaron grandes diferencias en los insultos totales reunidos. En general se contabilizaron 1144 insultos y otras expresiones insidiosas, que suponen el 2,08% de los comentarios legibles. Se recogen dos formas para llevar a cabo el insulto: de forma directa (76,75%) e indirecta (23,25%). Existe una evidencia clara de la presencia del discurso de odio en Instagram. Por ello, se requiere realizar más investigación, con ensayos bien diseñados, para valorar el alcance del movimiento antifeminista en redes sociales.

Abstract The discourse of hate against women is widely documented in literature. However, the impact of new technologies of communication and information from a gender perspective is an issue that is often overlooked. This study analyzed cyberbullying against women on the Instagram platform in order to understand the behaviors of users (men, women and fake accounts) on the social network under study. Secondarily, the most frequent defamations carried out against women were observed. To develop the search, a total of 8 female personalities belonging to four different categories at the professional level were chosen: politics, communication, sports and business; all their publications and comments on Instagram were studied between November 2021 and April 2022. A total of 393 publications and 61,703 comments were compiled. Instagram only allowed reading 89.33% of the total comments. According to the corresponding category for each woman, large differences were observed in the total insults gathered. In general, 1,144 insults and other insidious expressions were counted, representing 2.08% of readable comments. Two ways of insulting are collected: directly (76.75%) and indirectly (23.25%). There is clear evidence of the presence of hate speech on Instagram. Therefore, further research is required, with well-designed trials, to assess the scope of the antifeminist movement on social media.

Mídias Sociais e Egomuseu: Uma Proposta Conceitual

Resumo O trabalho articula a relação imagem-corpo-tecnologia na interseção dos campos da Comunicação e Educação. Insere-se na recenticidade histórica das tecnologias digitais de informação e comunicação, nomeadamente, a emergência de um novo contexto de relacionamento com o uso de mídias sociais. O objetivo é desenvolver e apresentar o conceito egomuseu para explicar a (auto)representação e musealização de si enquanto processo de (in)formação e autoria através de imagens que são documentadas, colecionadas, acumuladas e expostas nas mídias sociais. O egomuseu evidencia a (auto)representação e musealização de si através de narrativas visuais do sujeito - seus sentimentos, emoções, pensamentos e ações - a partir do que julga ser importante e digno de exibir. Este artigo conceitual parte de uma revisão sistemática de literatura em base de dados especializada (Xavier, 2018; Xavier & Oliveira, 2017); e em pesquisa empírica desenvolvida e em desenvolvimento a partir de grupos sociais com perfis públicos no Instagram (Xavier & Souza, 2021). Aponta para a necessidade em refletir sobre a espetacularização, performance, patrimonialização ambivalente e registro, enquanto componentes conceituais do egomuseu, considerando possíveis desdobramentos e implicações, bem como o seu uso em contextos de ensino-aprendizagem e processos (in)formativos de ensino-pesquisa-extensão.

Abstract The work articulates the image-body-technology relationship at the intersection of the fields of Communication and Education. It is part of the historical recency of digital information and communication technologies, namely, the emergence of a new relationship context with the use of social media. The objective is to develop and present the egomuseum concept to explain the (self)representation and musealization of the self as a process of (in)formation and authorship through images that are documented, collected, accumulated and exposed in social media. The egomuseum highlights the (self)representation and musealization of the self through visual narratives of the subject - its feelings, emotions, thoughts and actions - based on what it deems to be important and worthy of display. This conceptual article is based on a systematic literature review in a specialized database (Xavier, 2018; Xavier & Oliveira, 2017); and on empirical research developed and under development from social groups with public profiles on Instagram (Xavier & Souza, 2021). It points to the need to reflect on spectacularization, performance, ambivalent patrimonialization and registration, as conceptual components of the egomuseum, considering possible developments and implications, as well as their use in teaching-learning contexts and (in)formative processes of teaching-research-extension.