Abstract:The discovery and retrieval of video games in library and information systems is, by and large, dependent on a limited set of descriptive metadata. Noticeably missing from this metadata are classifications of visual styledespite the overwhelmingly visual nature of most video games and the interest in visual style among video game users. One explanation for this paucity is the difficulty in eliciting consistent judgements about visual style, likely due to subjective interpretations of terminology and a lack of … Show more
“…The result of this study shows that the participants, as expert users who create video game art, tend to assign more terms about techniques that are used to create particular visual styles. Unlike the prior user testing of the existing visual style taxonomy by Cho et al [3], where the authors found that general game users did not typically use technique-related terms when they were asked to describe the visual style of sample game screenshots [3], our participants did self-generate and offer several technique-related terms. This is especially true for the six artists (as opposed to the two programmers) who tended to provide more descriptors on different techniques.…”
Section: Purposes and Structure Of Metadata Schemamentioning
confidence: 87%
“…The Video Game Metadata Schema (VGMS) was established as a result of this project. The schema was created based on multiple approaches involving domain analysis and a series of user studies, and was tested and modified several times [3] [10] [14]. The existing visual style taxonomy was also created and tested in a prior user study [3], but primarily with general game players.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The schema was created based on multiple approaches involving domain analysis and a series of user studies, and was tested and modified several times [3] [10] [14]. The existing visual style taxonomy was also created and tested in a prior user study [3], but primarily with general game players. With the data contributed by the particular group of participants in our study, we can examine the level of conformity between the user-generated terms and the visual style taxonomy established by the GAMER group.…”
Despite the increasing importance of video games in both cultural and commercial aspects, typically they can only be accessed and browsed through limited metadata such as platform or genre. We explore visual styles of games as a complementary approach for providing access to games. In particular, we aimed to test and evaluate the existing visual style taxonomy developed in prior research with video game professionals and creatives. User data were collected from video game art and design students at the DigiPen Institute of Technology to gain insight into the relevance of the existing taxonomy to a professional audience. Using a think-aloud card sort method, we observed their thought process for describing and categorizing visual styles of video games, and also collected candidate terms for revising the taxonomy. The results of this research will inform ongoing metadata work in the field to develop a standard for cataloging video games and interactive media, and will be useful to information systems that sort and classify games for users and cultural preservation.
“…The result of this study shows that the participants, as expert users who create video game art, tend to assign more terms about techniques that are used to create particular visual styles. Unlike the prior user testing of the existing visual style taxonomy by Cho et al [3], where the authors found that general game users did not typically use technique-related terms when they were asked to describe the visual style of sample game screenshots [3], our participants did self-generate and offer several technique-related terms. This is especially true for the six artists (as opposed to the two programmers) who tended to provide more descriptors on different techniques.…”
Section: Purposes and Structure Of Metadata Schemamentioning
confidence: 87%
“…The Video Game Metadata Schema (VGMS) was established as a result of this project. The schema was created based on multiple approaches involving domain analysis and a series of user studies, and was tested and modified several times [3] [10] [14]. The existing visual style taxonomy was also created and tested in a prior user study [3], but primarily with general game players.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The schema was created based on multiple approaches involving domain analysis and a series of user studies, and was tested and modified several times [3] [10] [14]. The existing visual style taxonomy was also created and tested in a prior user study [3], but primarily with general game players. With the data contributed by the particular group of participants in our study, we can examine the level of conformity between the user-generated terms and the visual style taxonomy established by the GAMER group.…”
Despite the increasing importance of video games in both cultural and commercial aspects, typically they can only be accessed and browsed through limited metadata such as platform or genre. We explore visual styles of games as a complementary approach for providing access to games. In particular, we aimed to test and evaluate the existing visual style taxonomy developed in prior research with video game professionals and creatives. User data were collected from video game art and design students at the DigiPen Institute of Technology to gain insight into the relevance of the existing taxonomy to a professional audience. Using a think-aloud card sort method, we observed their thought process for describing and categorizing visual styles of video games, and also collected candidate terms for revising the taxonomy. The results of this research will inform ongoing metadata work in the field to develop a standard for cataloging video games and interactive media, and will be useful to information systems that sort and classify games for users and cultural preservation.
“…To prepare photorealistic visuals in Mela , photographs were taken (by the game development team or the first author), converted into cartoon format and edited as needed using software (see Figure 10). In few places in Mela , the black and white style (Figure 11) also has been used, which is defined as “a style that mainly portrays characters or environments in shades of black and white” (Cho et al, 2018, p. 637).Figure 10.Converting real photos into cartoon using software.Figure 11.Black and white visual style was used in few places of Mela game.…”
Section: Applied Methods In the Design Of Melamentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Visual Elements in Mela. To make the visuals as realistic as possible for the player, images in the Mela game are mainly based on what Cho et al (2018) referred to as photorealism style. To prepare photorealistic visuals in Mela, photographs were taken (by the game development team or the first author), converted into cartoon format and edited as needed using software (see Figure 10).…”
Research-creation is a growing practice in humanities that tries to balance the pace of socio-cultural inquiries with modern media advancements and qualitative knowledge construction methods. It refers to various conjunctions of “research” and “creation” (i.e., research-for-creation; research-from-creation; creative presentations of research; and creation-as-research) around an artistic component. Drawing from fieldwork with instructors in four agricultural colleges in rural Ethiopia, this article explores how a participatory arts-based serious game design process is explicable within the context of research-creation. This work’s change-oriented agenda led to developing Mela, a serious game, to educate and empower instructors in agriculture colleges to tackle sexual and gender-based violence issues in their institutions. Here, we articulate Mela’s design process, its artistic composition, and how we understand it from different angles of research-creation practices. We also offer our introspective accounts during and after the design stages, referencing culture and gender as critical concepts. Serious games are pedagogical products that are designed for a meaningful learning experience. This work deepens the understanding of how research-creation practice can benefit the serious game design field by ensuring the attention to both process and production.
Video game users have shown strong interests in having subject metadata to find games. However, creating and maintaining subject metadata is costly and difficult. This study explores the utility of an automated approach for generating subject metadata for video games, focusing on plot and narrative. By comparing two methods to analyze the reviews—qualitative analysis conducted by a human researcher vs. automated text analysis using topic modeling—the researchers investigate if an automated method can generate subject terms that are comparable to the ones generated by qualitative analysis. Findings suggest that even with a smaller set of sample dataset, qualitative analysis could create a better set of terms than automated text analysis. However, terms generated from the automated text analysis indicate that its capability to retrieve themes of the video game may be useful in future libraries.
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