The Interplay of Thematic and Ludological Elements in Western-Themed Games

Auteurs-es

  • Miikka Junnila Aalto University School of Arts Auteur-e
  • Markku Reunanen Aalto University School of Arts Auteur-e
  • Tero Heikkinen University of Arts in Helsinki Auteur-e

Mots-clés :

western (far west), genres vidéoludiques, jeux vidéo, thématisation

Résumé

Le Far West a été produit et remédiatisé de nombreuses fois au cours des cent dernières années. Les jeux vidéo sont relativement nouveaux dans cette série de remédiations, distillant encore plus loin les éléments essentiels de l'Occident dans des scènes, des personnages et des modes de jeu archétypaux. Dans le prolongement de nos précédents travaux sur les genres, nous étudions une sélection de 31 jeux autour du thème du Far West, dans le but de révéler comment un thème fermement établi et codifié affecte la jouabilité. Un thème bien établi, tel que le Far West, se manifeste à des niveaux distincts selon le type de jeu - au minimum, ce thème agit comme une surface artificielle qui n'affecte en rien la jouabilité. À l'autre extrémité du spectre, le thème du Far West affecte tous les aspects d'un jeu, de sa présentation audiovisuelle au récit et aux actions à la disposition du joueur.

Biographies de l'auteur-e

  • Miikka Junnila, Aalto University School of Arts

    Miikka Junnila is the lecturer of game design and head of the Game Design and Production major at Aalto ARTS, Department of Media. He is interested in how narrative theme and game mechanics combine into memorable experiences in games.

  • Markku Reunanen, Aalto University School of Arts

    Markku Reunanen is the lecturer of interactive visualization at Aalto ARTS, Department of Media. His research interests include digital cultural heritage and various branches of digital culture, such as the demoscene and the history of video games. Markku defended his doctoral dissertation, “Times of Change in the Demoscene: A Creative Community and Its Relationship with Technology”, in February 2017.

  • Tero Heikkinen, University of Arts in Helsinki

    Tero Heikkinen is a postdoctoral researcher in the Academy of Fine Arts in the University of the Arts Helsinki. With a background in design, Tero has an interest toward creative digital culture both as a creator and a researcher. He currently studies the uses of media-rich platforms and tools in art research domains.

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Publié

05/01/2019

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Articles