Persuasive Processes

Procedural Rhetoric and Deus Ex

Steve Wilcox

Deus Ex, an FPS-RPG hybrid, draws on many cyberpunk tropes while enabling players to implant ‘biomodifications’ at a whim, radically altering the physiology of the player as well as the gameplay itself. And for these reasons Deus Ex might not seem very well attuned to procedural arguments, except for two major exceptions: 1) Deus Ex constructs a persuasive procedural argument through its combat structure (or lack thereof); and 2) Deus Ex deconstructs the conventions of the genre by placing the player at odds with the requests made by the system… Continue Reading →

The Binding of Procedure

Procedural Rhetoric and The Binding of Isaac

Michael Hancock

The Binding of Isaac has generated a lot of discussion in blogs and podcasts. It is the discourse surrounding the game, however, that demonstrates the limitations of that view, and, consequently, the limitations of procedural rhetoric. John Teti, at gamelogical.com, follows a similar argument to the one I’ve posited, that the game’s random unfairness is, ultimately, what it makes it seem fair (though he characterizes this appearance not as the game being more fair, but more real than one with predetermined events, a definition of videogame realism that perhaps is worth discussing on another day)… Continue Reading →

Morality After the Apocalypse

DayZ and Kenneth Burke

Kent Aardse

The online zombie survival shooter DayZ provides an intriguing example of morality and ethics in videogames, and as it is relatively new, has not received much (if any) academic attention. The game is an expansion mod created by Dean Hall, for the realistic military shooter game ARMA II: Advanced Operations, developed by Bohemia Interactive Studio. DayZ takes place in a massive, always-online game-space, in which the player begins a game session on a beach, in the midst of a zombie outbreak. Celebrated for its realism, the player begins with no items or weapons, no map, and no discernible goal. In fact, DayZ is effectively devoid of any narrative whatsoever. The morality and ethics then, by extension, are not forced scales included by the developers to make the world seem more interactive and malleable; rather, the morality comes from the players’ interactions with one another in the game world… Continue Reading →

Newsgames

Journalism at Play by Ian Bogost, Simon Ferrari, & Bobby Schweizer

Michael Hancock

In his 2007 book Persuasive Games, Ian Bogost expounds at length his problem with the term “serious games.” The term was coined in order to define games whose topics were serious things such as economics, or ecology, whose purpose was first and foremost to emphasize their educational and institutional orientation. The problem with “serious games” is that the title implies that whoever used it was defining themselves in opposition to games that lacked the adjective, a distinction that made “regular” games appear light and frivolous, whereas serious games came off as ponderous and pretentious. If the term must be used, he decided, let it be used for games that draw attention to underlying structures, or call for a greater attention to detail. But he’d prefer to use different terms entirely. Continue Reading →

About First Person Scholar

Our Philosophy, Guidelines, & Sections

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About FPS At First Person Scholar we seek to develop and expand the role of the game critic. Historically speaking, games have proceeded from industry-driven production to mainstream-media guided reception (i.e. industry-sponsored games magazines and websites). Within this dynamic the… Continue Reading →

Editorial Staff

Meet the FPS Team

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Staff Editor-in-Chief Emma Vossen   Managing Editor Emma Vossen   Essays Section Editor: Betsy Brey   Associate Editor: Judy Ehrentraut  Commentaries Section Editor: Alexandra Orlando   Associate Editor: Phil Miletic Book Reviews Section Editor: Chris Lawrence   Associate Editor: Elise Vist  Podcasts… Continue Reading →

Board of Discussants

Scholars Who Provide Feedback on FPS Articles

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As a weekly online publication, First Person Scholar has always embraced timeliness in respect to publishing articles. Now we can add timeliness in respect to feedback as well. With our newly established Board of Discussants, contributors can expect a response from a discussant versed in the subject matter of their article. The Board itself is comprised of over twenty game studies scholars from Canada, U.S., U.K., and New Zealand that will provide thoughtful, constructive feedback on the essays and commentaries we publish. Continue Reading →