In my chapter Spoiling the Future Metagame: The Promotional Logic and Reception of Card Previews in Magic: The Gathering, I analyze the promotional function of card previews for the 2020 Q2 set Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths. The findings suggest that the promotional logic is closely connected to
the game’s business model and that cards that are likely to have higher
prices on secondary markets due to artificial scarcity such as rares and mythic rares are given more attention during the preview period. On the other hand, most of the so-called common
cards were revealed at the tail end of the promotional campaign in one
big batch. The publisher and content creators all benefit from hyping up
the upcoming cards. This increases the interest in strategy content as
well as drives pre-order prices before the cards could have been
properly tested in play. The chapter also explores metagaming
discussions by players, which are sparked by the card previews and allow
fans to theorycraft and hypothesize about new decks and strategies
before the metagame settles again.
DELVERINTOVIDEOGAMES
- analog game studies (6)
- bioware (2)
- errata (2)
- magic the gathering (4)
- mass effect (2)
- microtransactions (2)
- paratextuality (5)
- patch (3)
- platform studies (2)
- production studies (6)
- screenshot (1)
- trailer analysis (5)
- voice acting (3)
2023/08/12
Spoiling the Future Metagame: The Promotional Logic and Reception of Card Previews in Magic: The Gathering
2022/07/02
Mediatization of Tabletop Role-Playing: The Intertwined Cases of Critical Role and D&D Beyond
The journal Convergence has just published my article Mediatization of Tabletop Role-Playing: The Intertwined Cases of Critical Role and D&D Beyond. The article explores the impact of Critical Role (a weekly show on Twitch where voice actors, including Laura Bailey, Ashley Johnson, or Matthew Mercer, play Dungeons & Dragons) and digital tools like D&D Beyond on the tabletop role-playing hobby and industry.
I argue that Critical Role
promotes in-person play with high-end physical accessories despite
being a mediated form of tabletop role-playing. Overall, the process of
mediatization of analog games, including D&D and Magic: The Gathering (see the article Mediatization of a Card game: Magic: The Gathering, Esports, and Streaming),
seems to follow the logic of addition by maintaining analog modes of
consumption alongside new digital and virtual ways of playing (and
watching). This multitude of playstyles is marked by extensive
commodification, ranging from physical accessories (miniatures, dice) to
digital subscriptions and virtual goods. These findings are based on a
quantitative analysis of Critical Role‘s
episode sponsorships and a qualitative analysis of embodied player
practices, including the use of physical accessories as well as D&D Beyond‘s digital character sheets (starting in 2018) by the cast members. Aside from advertising from TTRPG-related businesses, Critical Role
is regularly sponsored by video game companies, which sometimes
commission entire episodes. The show and its cast thus inhabits a unique
position between analog and video game industries, further showing the
complexity of the process of mediatization, which is anything but
straightforward.
2022/06/11
Normalizing Player Surveillance through Video Game Infographics
Deathloop (2021) infographic. |
2021/08/01
Developer Credit: Para-Industrial Hierarchies of In-Game Credit Attribution in the Video Game Industry
The specialized press has repeatedly reported on missing or denied credits, showing that there is no industry standard regarding what constitutes a recognized and noteworthy contribution to video game production. Despite efforts from developer organizations and initiatives like IGDA or Game Workers Unite, my analysis shows that credits are handled in various ways, leaving individual developers at the mercy of studio leadership when comes to receiving credit for their work. In the article, I highlight three major aspects of in-game credits that influence above-the-line/below-the-line divisions.
2021/03/19
Game Production Studies Edited Collection
The official copy: Video games have entered the cultural mainstream and in terms of economic profits they now rival established entertainment industries such as film or television. As careers in video game development become more common, so do the stories about precarious working conditions and structural inequalities within the industry. Yet, scholars have largely overlooked video game production cultures in favor of studying games themselves and player audiences. In Game Production Studies, an international group of established and emerging researchers takes a closer look at the everyday realities of video game production, ranging from commercial industries to independent creators and cultural intermediaries. Across sixteen chapters, the authors deal with issues related to labour, game development, monetization and publishing, as well as local specificities. As the first edited collection dedicated solely to video game production, this volume provides a timely resource for anyone interested in how games are made and at what costs.