PhD Oral Exam - Courtney Ann Blamey, Communication

When studying for a doctoral degree (PhD), candidates submit a thesis that provides a critical review of the current state of knowledge of the thesis subject as well as the student’s own contributions to the subject. The distinguishing criterion of doctoral graduate research is a significant and original contribution to knowledge.

Once accepted, the candidate presents the thesis orally. This oral exam is open to the public.

Abstract

As the ability for games to explore social issues and generate deeply emotional experiences proliferates, scholars have yet to connect the processes that occur during and between design and play. This dissertation bridges the theoretical gap between game developers and players by exploring developer intentionality and player perceptions of their game objects. To mobilise affect in games, I propose “sticky units”, a combination of Ahmed’s work on emotions, and Bogost’s unit operations, to trace where emotions occur in gameplay. Through two game analyses of Life is Strange: True Colours and The Last of Us: Part 2 and a set of 15 developer interviews, I highlight how intentionality shifts during production and where player dissonance with the game's messaging can occur, especially when parasocial relationships form with the studio and their games. Finally, I contribute to demystifying game design processes, the divide between designer intentions, and player perceptions in games through my own game development case study Project Self. Central goals and intentions are revealed as points of interrogation for developers to translate into ludic forms, with attention to the player experience - regardless of their actual takeaways. Finally, I propose the game design assemblage to account for the constellation of objects, the articulations, and processes all contained within one game project.