Prospect-Refuge Theory Dualisms in Role-Playing Game (RPG) Environments: Examining Critical Engagements in a Virtual City
Keywords:
prospect, refuge, dualism, video gamesAbstract
Computer games have become a source of digital entertainment across generations, spanning multiple genres and themes, creating a spectrum of experiences in virtual worlds. It has emerged from the first generations of arcade games to three-dimensional worlds known as sandbox games. These are largely role-playing games (RPGs) in which players assume the role of a character, forming a digital identity to navigate the world, guided by game mechanics and a storyline. Beyond their basic game structure, game designs grounded in theories are limited. Yet they are observed to exist, albeit inevitably and unnoticed, within elements of game environments, such as the Prospect-Refuge Theory. In this paper, to better understand how the theory’s concepts manifest in a game environment, we examined critical player engagements with a range of the theory’s dualism concepts in a resource-management RPG realm. Using Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (GTA) as a pars pro toto of sandbox games, we seek to understand how these drivers in a virtual city affect game pacing. In this case, the dualism elements were established, leading to a less rigid understanding of player-game pacing, typically noting a positive game pacing. To attain this, we have employed the following methods: 1) video content analysis (VCA); 2) classifying drivers of game engagements; and 3) formulating a game pacing factoring system. The reworked technique omitted the arbitrary pointing system from a seminal study. The pacing curve generated a striking dynamic variation of apexes, plateaus, and pits within the dualism elements, revealing a push-and-pull factor influence. Research findings suggest that the game’s pacing, as determined in the study, depends solely on the set variables. Hence, there is a need to expound on the proposed techniques and test them across various GTA series to determine the ideal game pacing curve and assess the consistency of the findings.
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