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Emergent Verbs in Games

Warmke, Daniel A.

Abstract Details

2022, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Mass Communication (Communication).
Game developers use verbs, actions that players take to alter the gamestate, to craft games but lack a language to communicate about these verbs. This grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) project generated a detailed modeling system for game verb systems. A total of 12 games were used to develop the model (all Nintendo or PC titles) and engage with four areas of interest: nuance in platformers, verb themes, shifts in franchises over time, and violent verbs. In addition to the modeling system, a system for quantifying the emergent properties of games was developed which demonstrated the extraordinary emergent properties in games from Super Mario Bros. to Portal. The developed theory links Mechanics Dynamics Aesthetics (MDA) theory with emergence, ludo narrative dissonance, and procedural rhetoric. The grounded theory portion was embedded in an “exploratory–confirmatory MM-GT design” (Shim et al., 2021). The quantitative validation suggested users can understand the system but may consider it challenging.
Gregory Newton (Committee Chair)
Jacob Hiler (Committee Member)
John Bowditch (Committee Member)
Drew McDaniel (Committee Member)

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Warmke, D. A. (2022). Emergent Verbs in Games [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1667506648318048

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Warmke, Daniel. Emergent Verbs in Games. 2022. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1667506648318048.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Warmke, Daniel. "Emergent Verbs in Games." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2022. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1667506648318048

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)