Gameplay Mechanics, Ideology, and Identity in Mobile and Online Girl Games

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorSen, Biswarup
dc.contributor.authorCummings, Kelsey
dc.date.accessioned2015-08-18T23:04:30Z
dc.date.available2015-08-18T23:04:30Z
dc.date.issued2015-08-18
dc.description.abstractThis thesis analyzes the ideological functions of gameplay mechanics in five mobile and online girl games. The subjects of close reading in this study are Tampon Run, Wonder City, Barbie Fashionistas, Style Studio, and Central Park Wedding Prep. First, a review of the literature is presented. Video game studies and ludology, identity in game studies, and performativity and game studies are examined as the central areas of literature from which the thesis draws. The thesis then explores the historical context of the problem, investigating politics and ideology in gaming spaces and considering the activist and educational games Tampon Run and Wonder City. Finally, the thesis analyzes three traditional girl games: Barbie Fashionistas, Style Studio, and Central Park Wedding Prep. This study argues that activist games rely on limiting mechanics to convey feminist ideologies, while traditional games rely on the perceived mechanics-based empowerment of their players to convey patriarchal ideologies.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1794/19270
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Oregon
dc.rightsCreative Commons BY 4.0-US
dc.subjectGameplay mechanicsen_US
dc.subjectGenderen_US
dc.subjectIdentityen_US
dc.subjectIdeologyen_US
dc.subjectLudologyen_US
dc.subjectVideo gamesen_US
dc.titleGameplay Mechanics, Ideology, and Identity in Mobile and Online Girl Games
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
thesis.degree.disciplineSchool of Journalism and Communication
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Oregon
thesis.degree.levelmasters
thesis.degree.nameM.S.

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Cummings_oregon_0171N_11283.pdf
Size:
450.02 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

Collections

Theses and Dissertations
Journalism and Communication Theses and Dissertations