Abstract
This paper builds on a general typology of textual communication (Aarseth 1997) and tries to establish a model for classifying the genre of “games in virtual environments” — that is, games that take place in some kind of simulated world, as opposed to purely abstract games like poker or blackjack. The aim of the model is to identify the main differences between games in a rigorous, analytical way, in order to come up with genres that are more specific and less ad hoc than those used by the industry and the popular gaming press. The model consists of a number of basic “dimensions”, such as Space, Perspective, Time, Teleology, etc, each of which has several variate values, (e.g. Teleology: finite (Half-Life) or infinite (EverQuest. Ideally, the multivariate model can be used to predict games that do not yet exist, but could be invented by combining the existing elements in new ways.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | DiGRA '03 - Proceedings of the 2003 DiGRA International Conference: Level Up |
| Editors | Marinka Copier, Joost Raessens |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Publication date | 2003 |
| Pages | 48-53 |
| Chapter | 3 |
| Publication status | Published - 2003 |
| Event | Level Up - 1st International Digital Games Research Conference 2003 - Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands Duration: 4 Nov 2003 → 6 Nov 2003 |
Conference
| Conference | Level Up - 1st International Digital Games Research Conference 2003 |
|---|---|
| Location | Utrecht University |
| Country/Territory | Netherlands |
| City | Utrecht |
| Period | 04/11/2003 → 06/11/2003 |