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DIGRA
2005
Springer

'Feel It, Don't Think: the Significance of Affect in the Study of Digital Games

13 years 9 months ago
'Feel It, Don't Think: the Significance of Affect in the Study of Digital Games
Game studies methodologies which focus on the visual, narrative, and semiotic content of digital games overlook the way that embodied perception and physiological response contribute to the meaningfulness of games. Gameplay also needs to be understood in terms of affective response: the embodied, multisensory perception of the game environment. Distinguishing between affect and emotion, this paper frames the former in terms of the unquantifiable bodily dimensions of gameplay – the ‘feel’ of a game. It argues that affective response incorporates physiological and temporal dimensions that lie outside the domain of linear time and conscious choice, using examples of games like Rez that link positive player experience to bodily awareness and uncontrollable biological responses. It then proposes some ways that a theory of affect can further our understanding of what digital games are and why people play them. Keywords Affect, emotion, interactivity, physiological response, embodiment...
Eugenie Shinkle
Added 26 Jun 2010
Updated 26 Jun 2010
Type Conference
Year 2005
Where DIGRA
Authors Eugenie Shinkle
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