Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
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- All Subjects: Video Games
Description
Dale and Edna is a hybrid animated film and videogame experienced in virtual reality with dual storylines that increases in potential meanings through player interaction. Developed and played within Unreal Engine 4 using the HTC Vive, Oculus, or PlayStation VR, Dale and Edna allows for players to passively enjoy the film element of the project or partake in the active videogame portion. Exploration of the virtual story world yields more information about that world, which may or may not alter the audience’s perception of the world. The film portion of the project is a static narrative with a plot that cannot be altered by players within the virtual world. In the static plot, the characters Dale and Edna discover and subsequently combat an alien invasion that appears to have the objective of demolishing Dale’s prize pumpkin. However, the aliens in the film plot are merely projections created by AR headsets that are reflecting Jimmy’s gameplay on his tablet. The audience is thus invited to question their perception of reality through combined use of VR and AR. The game element is a dynamic narrative scaffold that does not unfold as a traditional narrative might. Instead, what a player observes and interacts with within the sandbox level will determine the meaning those players come away from this project with. Both elements of the project feature modular code construction so developers can return to both the film and game portions of the project and make additions. This paper will analyze the chronological development of the project along with the guiding philosophy that was revealed in the result.
Keywords: virtual reality, film, videogame, sandbox
Keywords: virtual reality, film, videogame, sandbox
ContributorsKemp, Adam Lee (Co-author) / Kemp, Bradley (Co-author) / Kemp, Claire (Co-author) / LiKamWa, Robert (Thesis director) / Gilfillan, Daniel (Committee member) / Arts, Media and Engineering Sch T (Contributor) / Thunderbird School of Global Management (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This thesis examines two electronic games, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) and Fortnite, which rose to popularity as battle royale-style videogames, to question whether they are viable candidates for success as esports. In his 2018 Barrett Honors Thesis, Noah Hilliker developed a model for assessing electronic games as successful esports. His thesis, titled “Ambassador Communities, Hybrid Spectatorship, and Other Indicators of Success in eSports” applied his model of indicators of success to League of Legends, Overwatch and Hearthstone. In this thesis, I have applied his indicators to (PUBG) and Fortnite, which differ significantly from the games he previously analyzed, precisely as I argue here, because they are battle royale games. These indicators fall under three categories: the nature of fans, the overall design of the game and the relationship between game developers and fans. The data that was examined for this investigation included academic literature on esports, posts on online platforms, news articles, YouTube content and forums. The following indicators were analyzed in their application to the collected data for both games: self-organization, spectator-player hybridity, ambassadors, clear center of action, demonstration of skill, mechanical variance, game balance, character of fan/developer relationship and feedback to fans. Through this project, I apply a previous approach to analyzing esports success to two games, Fortnite and PUBG, in order to analyze how well the model fits battle royale-style games.
ContributorsSmith, Brenden (Author) / Ingram-Waters, Mary (Thesis director) / Schmidt, Peter (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Virtual reality gives users the opportunity to immerse themselves in an accurately
simulated computer-generated environment. These environments are accurately simulated in that they provide the appearance of- and allow users to interact with- the simulated environment. Using head-mounted displays, controllers, and auditory feedback, virtual reality provides a convincing simulation of interactable virtual worlds (Wikipedia, “Virtual reality”). The many worlds of virtual reality are often expansive, colorful, and detailed. However, there is one great flaw among them- an emotion evoked in many users through the exploration of such worlds-loneliness.
The content in these worlds is impressive, immersive, and entertaining. Without other people to share in these experiences, however, one can find themselves lonely. Users discover a feeling that no matter how many objects and colors surround them in countless virtual worlds, every world feels empty. As humans are social beings by nature, they feel lost without a sense of human connection and human interaction. Multiplayer experiences offer this missing element into the immersion of virtual reality worlds. Multiplayer offers users the opportunity to interact with other live people in a virtual simulation, which creates lasting memories and deeper, more meaningful immersion.
simulated computer-generated environment. These environments are accurately simulated in that they provide the appearance of- and allow users to interact with- the simulated environment. Using head-mounted displays, controllers, and auditory feedback, virtual reality provides a convincing simulation of interactable virtual worlds (Wikipedia, “Virtual reality”). The many worlds of virtual reality are often expansive, colorful, and detailed. However, there is one great flaw among them- an emotion evoked in many users through the exploration of such worlds-loneliness.
The content in these worlds is impressive, immersive, and entertaining. Without other people to share in these experiences, however, one can find themselves lonely. Users discover a feeling that no matter how many objects and colors surround them in countless virtual worlds, every world feels empty. As humans are social beings by nature, they feel lost without a sense of human connection and human interaction. Multiplayer experiences offer this missing element into the immersion of virtual reality worlds. Multiplayer offers users the opportunity to interact with other live people in a virtual simulation, which creates lasting memories and deeper, more meaningful immersion.
ContributorsJorgensen, Nicholas Keith (Co-author) / Jorgensen, Caitlin Nicole (Co-author) / Selgrad, Justin (Thesis director) / Ehgner, Arnaud (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Video game culture, permeated for decades by blatant sexism and discrimination, is a toxic community for many individuals. Though its humble beginnings and early games did not overtly focus on the male gaze or demographic, troubled advertising, representations, and the lack of diversity within video game companies has formed the gaming culture into an increasingly hostile and unwelcoming place– especially for women. Those who identify as women or females are often harassed, heckled, and threatened with both verbal and physical violence. Game content and marketing continues to view women as objects of sexuality and violence rather than strong protagonists. Companies have brainwashed society to embrace their commonly held belief that men and boys are the only demographics that play and enjoy games, though this is empirically proven false. The aim of this project is to examine these offenses against women within the video game community– first by exploring video game history and how it fell into its toxic present state as well as the formation of the “gamer” identity and its ramifications for women. I then recount contemporary stories and issues of harassment against women within the community. The project also includes a short student survey that was sent out to gather more data on college-aged women and their gaming habits, which yielded important data supporting previous evidence citing specific gaming communities that struggle the most with these issues. The thesis is concluded by a look into the culture of game development and its hypermasculine nature as well as justification for why companies should care about the plight of women for both ethical and fiscal reasons.
ContributorsGulbransen, Alexis C. (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Ingram-Waters, Mary (Committee member) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The purpose of this thesis paper is to discuss the life cycle curves of today’s innovation-driven digital services and how these life cycles can be extended. To decide on this subject, four supply chain management seminars were attended and summarized, and personal notes were added. After analysis of the seminars, the paper will dive deeper into the topic discussed by Professor Adegoke Oke of Arizona State University in his lecture on innovation-driven life cycle curves and their exemplification of the shark fin curve. This paper will analyze the nature of product life cycle curves, discuss three PC games and their life cycle curves, and evaluate the best methods for creating life cycle extension.
ContributorsDriscoll, Trevor (Author) / Oke, Adegoke (Thesis director) / Printezis, Antonios (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Popular competitive fighting games such as Super Smash Brothers and Street Fighter have some of the steepest learning curves in the gaming industry. These incredibly technical games require the full attention of the player and often take years to master completely. This barrier of entry prevents newer players from enjoying the competitive social environment that such games offer, creating a rift between casual and competitive players. Learning the rules can sometimes be more difficult than playing the game itself. To truly master these concepts requires personal attention from someone who deeply understands the core mechanics that operate behind the scenes.
Meanwhile, machine learning is growing more advanced by the day. Online retailers like Amazon run complex algorithms to recommend future purchases and monitor price changes. Mobile phones use neural networks to interpret speech. GPS apps track anonymous motion data in smartphones to give real-time traffic estimates. Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly ubiquitous because of its versatility in analyzing and solving human problems; it follows, then, that a machine could learn how to teach humans skills and techniques. HelperBot is a platform fighting game project that employs this cutting-edge learning technology to close the skill gap between novice and veteran gamers as quickly and seamlessly as possible.
Meanwhile, machine learning is growing more advanced by the day. Online retailers like Amazon run complex algorithms to recommend future purchases and monitor price changes. Mobile phones use neural networks to interpret speech. GPS apps track anonymous motion data in smartphones to give real-time traffic estimates. Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly ubiquitous because of its versatility in analyzing and solving human problems; it follows, then, that a machine could learn how to teach humans skills and techniques. HelperBot is a platform fighting game project that employs this cutting-edge learning technology to close the skill gap between novice and veteran gamers as quickly and seamlessly as possible.
ContributorsPalermo, Seth Daniel (Author) / Olson, Loren (Thesis director) / Marinelli, Donald (Committee member) / Arts, Media and Engineering Sch T (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This paper examines and analyzes what Dr. Marcello Arnaldo Picucci termed “discovery narratives” in video games, which is something unique only to the interactive and dynamic video game medium. Discovery narratives exist to give players a level of freedom in engaging with the game’s story and world, requiring the player to explore and interact with the game in specific ways to access these particular narratives. While Dr. Piccuci didn’t focus on discovery narratives too much and only lightly touched upon the topic with a few examples, this paper will categorize six different types of discovery narratives and explore an example of a game for each category. These categories are “Side-stories,” “Character Information,” “Sidequests,” “Main Quests,” “Challenge Narratives,” and “True Endings.” Before categorizing, though, the paper will make important clarifications regarding some possible areas of confusion or conflict in the analysis, such as the definition of narrative itself according to H. Porter Abbott, the methodology of the categorization, the other three models of narrative architecture besides discovery narratives, the distinction between “alternative narrative paths” and discovery narratives, and the external process of how these narratives are discovered. The categories of discovery narrative are not mutually exclusive, however, and in the final part of the paper, the game Dark Souls will be used as a prime example of how these different categories of discovery narrative can be mixed together in order to create a narrative that functions almost entirely on discovery. By exploring these different methods of discovery narrative and analyzing the games that use them, the unique narrative possibilities of video games will be much more understood.
ContributorsManganiello, Dominic Christopher (Author) / Irish, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Fette, Donald (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Games are prolific as an educational medium, and are able to tell a much richer story than pictures or words alone. This has led to the widespread phenomenon known as “gamification” in the educational and business sectors, as well as educational games. While gamification itself is very prolific, its application to sustainability issues has been somewhat limited. With the progression of technology and the high percentage of gamers within the population, the time is ripe for a paradigm shift. Humans have always played games to inform themselves and others, and though this takes many forms, they always will, be their efforts dedicated to education, entertainment, or profit. While teaching and entertainment may sometimes be at odds with one another, they do not have to be. Many audiences respond well to varied forms of entertainment, and when the ability of a thing designed to further educate or gamify is given room to be entertaining as well, all involved benefit. Sustainability as a whole is an incredibly nebulous and broad concept, such that current educational and entertaining games exploring the subject largely addresses it on a smaller scale, or looks at a piece of the picture instead of all of it, as smaller pieces are easier to break down and address. There are ways that games can be and are vehicles for both entertainment and education, and by combining the two end goals in relatively equal measure, a solid platform can be built off of which both learning and personal growth can occur.
ContributorsHarrenstein, Heather Lee (Author) / Breetz, Hanna (Thesis director) / Selgrad, Justin (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05