Papers by Michal Mochocki
Games and culture, Feb 4, 2024
Situated within historical and regional (CEE) game studies, this article is an overview of games ... more Situated within historical and regional (CEE) game studies, this article is an overview of games made in Poland after 1989 about Polish history up to the eighteenth century. It also outlines research made on those games, and it comments on changing cultural and political factors shaping the development of Polish history/heritage-themed games over the last three decades. We group the games in thematic-chronological categories: early medieval Slavic settings up to 1000, medieval to Renaissance Poland, and Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 1569-1795. Main findings: (a) Slavic fantasy became very popular with game developers after Witcher 3, but it has received little scholarly attention beside the witcher series. (b) Medieval Polish monarchies have barely caught the eye of game developers, which translates to the absence of related research. (c) The PLC period is well-represented in digital and nondigital games, and well-researched in historical games studies by Polish scholars in Polish and English.
Images. The International Journal of European Film, Performing Arts and Audiovisual Communication, 2021
We present a framework of story beats, defined as microunits of dramatic action, as a tool for th... more We present a framework of story beats, defined as microunits of dramatic action, as a tool for the ludonarrative analysis of videogames. First, we explain the Goal - Action - Reaction - Outcome model of the story beat. Then, we present six types of story beats, Action, Interaction, Inaction, Mental, Emotion, and Sensory, providing videogame examples for each category. In the second half of the paper, we contextualise this framework in the classic game studies theory of videogame narrative and player action: unit operations, gamic action, anatomy of choice, and game design patterns, wrapping it up in the most recent trends in cognitive narratology. Ultimately, we present the story beat as a ludonarrative unit, working simultaneously as a ‘unit operation’ in the study of games as systems, and as a microunit of character action in narrative analysis. The conclusion outlines prospective directions for using story beats in formal, experiential, and cultural game research.
Games and Culture, Aug 9, 2022
Heritage, Memory and Identity in Postcolonial Board Games is an edited collection that explores t... more Heritage, Memory and Identity in Postcolonial Board Games is an edited collection that explores the interplay of heritage, memory, identity and history within postcolonial board games and their surrounding paratexts. It also examines critiques of these games within the gamer communities and beyond. Drawing on a range of international contributions, examples and case studies, this book shows how colonialism-themed games work as representations of the past that are influenced by existing heritage narratives and discourses. It also considers the implications of using colonial histories in games and its impact on its audience, the ’ players.
Homo Ludens
There are some studies on the educational potential of game jams, but their number seems insuffic... more There are some studies on the educational potential of game jams, but their number seems insufficient given the hundreds of thousands of game jam participants every year. What emerges as the largest research gap is the game industry perspective: its involvement in game jamming and motivations for doing so. This study is a reaction to this research gap. Current research defined some educational benefits of game jams, but how these benefits are relevant for the game industry is radically underresearched. Clarifying this missing link might be essential to the widespread use of game jams as platforms for collaboration between the academia and the game industry. This explorative study answers the following questions: What do we know about the learning outcomes of game jams for participants? How are (or are not) those outcomes relevant for the game industry? How and why do (or do not) video game studios engage with game jams? If so, are the studios also motivated by educational benefits? ...
Heritage, Memory and Identity in Postcolonial Board Games , 2024
A study of live action role plays as transmediations of a global franchise universe, this work an... more A study of live action role plays as transmediations of a global franchise universe, this work analyses two cases: College of Wizardry (world of Harry Potter) and Witcher School (world of The Witcher), using Mark Wolf's (2012) framework of eight infrastructures: space, time, character, nature, culture, language, mythology and philosophy. The case studies lead to questions and predictions about franchise larps in general. For example, characters, culture, mythology, and philosophy are most useful as vehicles for direct imitation / adaptation of elements from the franchise media (books, films or video games) to larps; philosophy is most likely to be subject to ideology-based modifications; whereas space and nature will be heavily influenced by the physical features of the game site. The text ends with a look at possible relationships between larp creators and the copyrighted multimedia entertainment industry.
The paper analyses the evolution of tabletop RPGs in Poland through the prism of Magia i Miecz (1... more The paper analyses the evolution of tabletop RPGs in Poland through the prism of Magia i Miecz (1993–2002) – the first, and for a long time the only commercial Polish RPG magazine. This evolution is discussed by means of the " classic " Gamism-Narrativism-Simulationism model, and with reference to the history of RPGs in the English-speaking world. Even though they reached Poland 20 years after their birth, when simulationism and diceless storytelling were well-known abroad, Magia i Miecz did not import all playing styles at once. Instead, Polish RPGs went through the same developmental stages as in the USA: from gamism, across simulationism and narrativism, to diceless storytelling to dice-friendly storytelling and New Style / indie.
GAMEHIGHED connects four universities and a game industry association in a 3-year project to deve... more GAMEHIGHED connects four universities and a game industry association in a 3-year project to develop innovative teaching programmes, open edu-resources [OER] and recommendations for higher education leading to game dev careers.
Teksty Drugie, 2017
Artykul dokonuje analizy polskiej myśli “larpologicznej”, widzianej przez pryzmat zredagowanych p... more Artykul dokonuje analizy polskiej myśli “larpologicznej”, widzianej przez pryzmat zredagowanych publikacji wydanych drukiem jako ksiązki lub czasopisma w latach 2010-2016, w porownaniu z analogicznymi publikacjami anglojezycznymi z krajow nordyckich. Z analizy wylania sie podzial na trzy etapy: 2010-2011: Dązenie do ogolnopolskiej wspolpracy miedzy lokalnymi grupami larpowymi, polączone z pewnym kompleksem nizszości wobec sceny nordyckiej i z probami jej naśladownictwa;2012-2014: Rosnąca profesjonalizacja hobby, intensywna wymiana doświadczen wewnątrz kraju, rozwoj kontaktow zagranicznych i adaptacja wzorow nordyckich. Towarzyszy temu szereg wydawnictw – czasopism i tomow konferencyjnych – ktorych tematyka jest zbiezna z nordycką.2015+: Otwarta dunsko-polskim “College of Wizardry” gleboka integracja polskiej spoleczności z zagraniczną, lącznie z wymianą doświadczen w drugim kierunku: polscy tworcy publikują, popularyzują i znajdują naśladowcow za granicą.
IJTL - International Journal of Transmedia Literacy, 2018
This work frames larp as a multimodal medium: based on live-action role-playing but also open for... more This work frames larp as a multimodal medium: based on live-action role-playing but also open for inclusions of other media and technologies. It is approached as a narrative medium, used for performative and participatory cocreation of dynamic storyworlds. The emergent story is experienced by the full sensorium of the players' bodies and simultaneously uses the bodies as a medium of representation. Players combine the roles of authors, actors, characters, and audience. In its prototypical model, larp strives for a high degree of perceptual unity between player and character and prefers iconic representation via live action and live acting, with lesser importance of indexical and symbolic signification. This study reaches for J.-N. Thon's (2014, 2016) typology of forms of representation of character's subjective perception in film, graphic novels, and video games, and applies it to live-action role-playing. The fundamental difference lies in the 'firstperson audience' (Sandberg 2004; Stenros and Montola 2010) mode of participation in larp. Unlike the audiovisual media discussed by Thon, in which it is intersubjective perception that comes unmarked, larp by default is experienced from a subjective spatial point of view. The first-person audience mode makes it hardly possible to switch to (quasi-)perceptual overlay, and to ever leave subjective spatial point of view, unless some of the prototypical principles of larp are broken. By contrast, representations of (quasi-)perceptual point of view and of imagined internal worlds are possible, although with some danger of unwanted metaleptic contact with another character's delusions. For this and other reasons, larp has limitations in the use of simultaneous content markers and representational markers of subjectivity, whereas contextual content markers and all narratorial markers present no difficulty. The paper adds one category to Thon's framework: symbolic markers, which are based on a pre-established code of arbitrary signs and are used to regulate the active agency or perception of the audience, e.g. a player's gesture marking off-game status of the character, or movement from the main game area into a metaroom used for role-playing internal worlds. The overall discussion compares medium-specific affordances of live-action role-playing, which are fairly limited in
Replay. The Polish Journal of Game Studies, 2016
Launched in October 2013, GAMEDEC: game studies & Design is a specialisation track within the 2nd... more Launched in October 2013, GAMEDEC: game studies & Design is a specialisation track within the 2nd Gen Humanities (aka Humanities 2.0) 3-year BA programme at Kazimierz Wielki University (UKW) in Bydgoszcz, Poland. The curriculum was created by UKW academic staff with game design experience, guided by the IGDA 2008 Framework and consulted with game dev professionals. It underwent slight modifications in 2014 and a significant transformation in 2015. This paper aims at a thorough analysis of the structure of the curriculum as seen through the lens of the IGDA Framework (2008), including the coverage of both Core Topics and Institutional Considerations. The analysis is conducted in the context of foreign (mostly U.S.- based) game degrees and supported with comments on its design, implementation and modifications.
The paper presents the results of "Live Action Role Plays in School Education," a quasi-experimen... more The paper presents the results of "Live Action Role Plays in School Education," a quasi-experimental project piloted in 2010 and 2012 and conducted in 2013 by Games Research Association of Poland and educational publisher Nowa Era. In this project, larp was used in high-schools as a revision class before a test in History, the hypothesis being that larp as pretest revision leads to higher retention of knowledge than traditional revision classes. Small sample size cannot be considered conclusive evidence, but the preliminary findings seem encouraging for further research. Beside students' test scores, the report provides non-standardized qualitative observational data on participant attitudes, plus information about practical issues of edu-larp research in public school environment. Next to the findings, the text reports on the research process and the rationale behind its modification.
2015 International Conference on Interactive Mobile Communication Technologies and Learning (IMCL), 2015
A work-in-progress report on the edu-gamification introduced in 2013 at a Polish university to te... more A work-in-progress report on the edu-gamification introduced in 2013 at a Polish university to teach Game Studies & Design. The report presents elements of the gamifled system and online environment used to support it, including the use of mobile technology.
The paper presents theoretical foundations of the author's approach to the design of edu-larp... more The paper presents theoretical foundations of the author's approach to the design of edu-larps.. It is deliberately steering away from cross-disciplinary teaching, artistic education or soft skills training in order to advocate larps tailored to single school subjects, focused on integration and consolidation of curricular knowledge. Putting larp in the context of applied drama, or Drama in Education, the text argues that well-designed edu-larp is likely to be accepted by the average teacher, not just by dedicated and trained drama educators. The concept of print-and-play "larp for dummies" downplays the importance of preparation, acting and immersion, while emphasising the game-like structure of goals and conflicts: gameplay set to work alongside role-play. Therefore, the ideas and tools borrowed from video games and board games design can be useful in the creation of edu-role plays, breeding a form which might be called 'gamified drama'. The recommended funct...
International Series on Computer Entertainment and Media Technology, 2021
Homo Ludens
This paper investigates the evolution of larp safety in the NordicAmerican larp community in the ... more This paper investigates the evolution of larp safety in the NordicAmerican larp community in the last decade, tracing the correlation between safety rhetorics (opinions, arguments, and policies) and mechanics (explicit rules regulating player interactions). It appears that up to around 2010 there was a general acceptance of risk, with a significant share of responsibility for risk identification and harm prevention put on the player. This correlates with mechanics such as safety words, which expected players in distress to actively signal their discomfort. Safety measures expected from the organisers consisted mainly in providing safe off-game spaces, emotional support, and intervention whenever something harmful happened. Around 2014 the safety debate put a larger share of responsibility on players initiating potentially troubling interactions. This correlates with the ‘OK check’ mechanics which requires communication between the initiator and the target of such interactions. Aroun...
Based on J.-N. Thon's (2016) framework for analysing representations of character's subje... more Based on J.-N. Thon's (2016) framework for analysing representations of character's subjective perception in film, video games and comic books, this paper studies representations of subjectivity in live-action role-playing. This is a direct continuation of two previous papers, one positioning larp as a narrative medium in the context of transmedia narratology, the other researching storyworld representation / interpretation by larp participants. The hereby presented text focuses on markers of subjectivity, their three types (narratorial, content, and representational) defined by Thon and the fourth (metasymbolic) by myself. The discussion is organised in three parts, corresponding with Thon's types of subjectivity: (quasi-)perceptual point of view, (quasi-)perceptual overlay, and internal worlds. The analysis confirms Thon's observations about the transmediality of some of the markers (e.g. the use of narratorial markers in larp is very similar to their use in (audio...
Homo Ludens 1(10) / 2017 | ISSN 2080-4555 | © Polskie Towarzystwo Badania Gier 2017 The “Larp Stu... more Homo Ludens 1(10) / 2017 | ISSN 2080-4555 | © Polskie Towarzystwo Badania Gier 2017 The “Larp Studies Seminar” took place on the 29 April as a part of the Pyrkon Convention 2017 in Poznań, Poland. Created as a venue for international academic debate on the subject of live action role-playing, the seminar was organised by Polskie Towarzystwo Badania Gier (Games Research Association of Poland)1; Klub Fantastyki “Druga Era” (i.e. the organisers of Pyrkon); the Institute of Applied Linguistics at the Faculty of Modern Languages and Literatures at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań; and the Institute of Modern Languages and Applied Linguistics at Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz.
Poznań 2018 edited by Michał Mochocki, PhD page 1 What is this about? page 2 Introduction pag... more Poznań 2018 edited by Michał Mochocki, PhD page 1 What is this about? page 2 Introduction page 4 Chapter 1: Game Design Core Curriculum (ver. 1.0) Michał Mochocki page 17 Chapter 2: Example: Game Studies & Design B.A. for Humanities Michał Mochocki, Piotr Milewski page 25 Chapter 3: Feedback to Chapter 2 from students employed in games Mateusz Makowski, Urszula Chmielewska, Iza Dankowska, Patryk Kanarkiewicz, Marcin Szypura, Paulina Michałowska page 27 Chapter 4: Survey Feedback to Game Design Core Curriculum Michał Mochocki & respondents
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Papers by Michal Mochocki
Drawing on a range of international contributions, examples and case studies, this book shows how colonialism-themed games work as representations of the past that are influenced by existing heritage narratives and discourses. It also considers the implications of using colonial histories in games and its impact on its audience, the ’ players.