Papers by Enrico Gandolfi
Methods for Studying Video Games and Religion
Journal of Comparative Research in Anthropology and Sociology, 2015
AbstractThe relation between gaming consumption and subcultural feelings represents an issue chal... more AbstractThe relation between gaming consumption and subcultural feelings represents an issue challenging to explore because of the current multiplication of identity affiliations. Furthermore, games are a cultural sector characterized by constant turning points and a persistent growth of audiences in numerical and variety terms. The 'game culture' itself has become an ephemeral concept, while digital entertainment is catalyzing the public attention and influencing the habits of other gaming sectors. This article aims to shed light on the relation between old and new (or less old) ludus as social and identity frame. Applying a mixed approach between Sociology and Cultural Studies, I have interviewed 64 subjects among common players, gatekeepers, association's leaders, publishers, shop's owners and game designers associated with non-digital game cultures in Italy. The intent was to explore the impact of the diffusion of digital games on already established gaming envir...
Nowadays, the gaming instance is an increasingly popular practice. It has become a crossroad of p... more Nowadays, the gaming instance is an increasingly popular practice. It has become a crossroad of perspectives and multidisciplinary hybridizations. Between tradition (Huizinga 1938) and innovation (Bogost 2011), from Game Studies to Social Sciences, from Design to Psychology, the game plays a fundamental role in the everyday life of common people (Fink 1957; Suits 1978) and in research activities. Our intent is to investigate through sociological and design tools how the game, as a communication system for social innovation, is capable of generating experiences that stimulate a reflection on socio-cultural issues (Flanagan 2009). The designer becomes an activator of best practices and the game becomes a facilitator for content transmission: our aim is to understand how the immersion into ludic/fictional world, delimited by the boundaries of the magic circle (Salen, Zimmerman 2004), encourages players to open their mind to new ideas. Playing, we enter the “circle”: our mental and beha...
There is growing evidence to suggest that construction of knowledge is an embodied activity (Alib... more There is growing evidence to suggest that construction of knowledge is an embodied activity (Alibali & Nathan, 2012; Barsalou, 1999; Gallese & Lakoff, 2005). We conjecture that embodied cognition is a useful theoretical lens for explaining teachers’ professional noticing. Evidence from eye-tracking studies suggest that experienced secondary teachers process visual events in a recorded classroom more quickly, while preservice teachers (PSTs) scan the room more frequently and with fewer fixations on particular students or events (van den Bogert et al., 2014). More recently, Kosko et al. (2019) observed that differences in where PSTs attended when watching a 360 video of an elementary math lesson coincided with differences in written descriptions of their noticing. 360 video records in a spherical direction, and PSTs can move their head to determine where in the classroom they attend. Given such evidence, we sought to examine further examine the relationship between where PSTs attend i...
Research has provided evidence of the value of producing multiple representations of content for ... more Research has provided evidence of the value of producing multiple representations of content for learners (e.g., verbal, visual, etc.). However, much of the research has acknowledged changes in visual technologies while not recognizing or utilizing related audio innovations. For instance, teacher education students who were once taught through two-dimensional video are now being presented with interactive, three-dimensional content (e.g., simulations or 360 video). Users in old and new formats, however, still typically receive monophonic sound. A limited number of research studies exist that have examined the impact of combining three-dimensional sound to match three-dimensional video in learning environments. The purpose of this study was to respond to this gap by comparing the outcomes of watching 360 video with either monophonic or ambisonic audio. Results provided evidence that ambisonic audio increased perceived presence for those familiar with the content being taught, led to ...
Digital poetry has been an important and innovative genre in many disciplines. This paper describ... more Digital poetry has been an important and innovative genre in many disciplines. This paper describes two separate tools (Emerge and Thread) that were used to support teacher professional development during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results suggest that within one month, over 120 poems at each of two separate schools were created, showing both a willingness of the teachers to engage in this form of professional development and a desire of the students to share their writing. The paper includes an invitation to freely collaborate in both the use of and research on digital poetry for teacher education.
While roles are highly asymmetrical, fundamental principles such as reward, goals, challenge and ... more While roles are highly asymmetrical, fundamental principles such as reward, goals, challenge and meaningful play … are maintained… Rather than segregate impaired players by placing them in exclusive subsections that provide "cut-down" versions of the canonical experience in an attempt to manage challenge and difficulty, the ARAC model has all players-impaired or otherwise-play in the same space. This is especially relevant in online and shared play, where social interactions and exchanges are relevant and support the whole gaming experience. Imbriani and colleagues claim that "community creation and bonding are key components of successful competitive online games as in those actions are often sensationalized to widen the community with an audience of spectators". According to Schrier, a "learning community can help to encourage connections Introduction Issue 07-2018 7 Enrico Gandolfi Kaybeth Calabria & Richard E. Ferdig https://www.gamejournal.it/07_gandolfi-calabria-ferdig 1. Game analyses often emphasize representation and aesthetics (e.g., Carr, 2014; Lynch et al., 2016). This refers to the interactive component of the medium, from rules to heuristics; these features are not neutral but rather they can communicate specific biases and schemes (Gandolfi & Sciannamblo, 2018). There is also value in exploring Issue 07-2018
International Journal of Virtual and Augmented Reality
Augmented reality (AR) shows potential for positively impacting learning about cultural heritage.... more Augmented reality (AR) shows potential for positively impacting learning about cultural heritage. However, current AR tools do not allow users (e.g., teachers, educators) to easily create their own experiences and lessons; there is a significant skill-barrier for producing augmented content. In order to address this problem, we created GLARE (GeoLocated Augmented Reality Editor), an open source and extensible AR platform hosted on Github. Utilizing overlaid imagery on live video feed using a hotspot and walking path design. The platform is designed to allow users to create tours by simply adding a media list and associated GPS coordinates. The underlying software architecture use basic HTML, scripting and the ThreeJS and Google application programming interfaces. This article describes the framework, and then presents a case study of the system being used to create an augmented reality tour based on the events of May 4th 1970 at Kent State University.
Data Analytics Applications in Gaming and Entertainment
Academicus International Scientific Journal
This proposal focuses on the multifaceted interplay between video games, connectiveness, and onli... more This proposal focuses on the multifaceted interplay between video games, connectiveness, and online communities in a time of emergency; COVID-19 has presented challenges for teenagers, forcing them to re-mediate their interactions with peers. Digital entertainment has been frequently accused to be a bearer of negative attitudes and anti-social behaviors, but there is also relevant evidence about how video games can foster bonding and inclusion. Nevertheless, updated lenses are needed for understanding the impact of the pandemic on playing and vice versa; in other words, video games can become a lens through which we can understand how teenagers and young adults experience and see the world around them, especially during these turbulent times. Moreover, video games are increasingly experienced in multiple ways, from watching live shows on Twitch.tv to discussing games on Reddit; as such, this additional layer must be investigated too for situating the impact of gaming practices on so...
New Media & Society, 2021
Online gaming is becoming increasingly social and interconnected. Millions of players learn from ... more Online gaming is becoming increasingly social and interconnected. Millions of players learn from each other in game-related communities on platforms like Reddit and Twitch.tv. However, few studies have been conducted to examine socially constructed learning in such environments. The purpose of this study was to explore learning in game-related communities using the Game Community of Inquiry Scale (GCoIS). GCoIS is a validated instrument inspired by the community of inquiry framework and developed for measuring constructed learning in these outlets. Over 1000 participants completed an online questionnaire that included the GCoIS and additional variables (e.g. demographics, gaming habits, and gaming metacognition) for measuring possible associations. Results pointed to gender, age, online participation, and metacognition about gaming as significant predictors of GCoIS. Findings suggest that gaming communities can serve as opportunities for meaningful learning when novice members are w...
British Journal of Educational Technology
International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations
This article introduces a new instrument called the game communities of inquiry scale (GCoIS). It... more This article introduces a new instrument called the game communities of inquiry scale (GCoIS). It was inspired by the community of inquiry framework and its related questionnaires. The purpose of the scale is to explore game communities from an educational perspective. It was validated with 1,275 players inhabiting digital outlets like Twitch.tv, Reddit, and Discord. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were completed, leading to a final scale composed of 14 items subdivided in three subscales: 1) community attractiveness, 2) community receptiveness, and 3) community cognition. The paper describes the development and testing of the instrument. It concludes with implications for scholars and practitioners who can employ this instrument for understanding game communities and their traits.
Journal of Affective Disorders
Many studies have addressed and explored the effects of video games with an emphasis on violence ... more Many studies have addressed and explored the effects of video games with an emphasis on violence and aggressive behaviors. This article’s aim is to go beyond the simplistic difference between negative outcomes and their absence by suggesting the concept of “meaningful violence.” For exploring possible instances of such a phenomenon, a content analysis (Gee, 2012) of online materials (online comments, user-generated content) from leading gaming media environments (Reddit, YouTube) was directed targeting the popular video game Overwatch. The theoretical framework adopted drawn its cornerstones from Educational Sciences, Philosophy, and Media Studies, spanning key concepts such as “symbolic imaginary” (Durand, 1999, Wunenburger, 1995) and phenomenological-hermeneutic analysis (Gadamer, 2004). Results point to an alternative overview of gaming violence, which puts in-game aggressiveness and sacrifice in a new light beyond counter-posed viewpoints. Implications are noteworthy for both researchers and practitioners, who can harness positive and proactive processes behind apparently negative attitudes and superficial measurements of explicit content and disruptive actions.
A Matter of Design Making Society Through Science and Technology, Jun 5, 2014
Well Played, 2019
This article addresses how game features are informed and shaped in and through the relation betw... more This article addresses how game features are informed and shaped in and through the relation between different generations and backgrounds. More specifically, the co-play (involving two parents and their 8 years old daughter) of The legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Octopath Traveler has been under scrutiny for three months collecting viewpoints, interpretations, and emerging heuristics. Such an observation drawn its cornerstones from game studies and critical studies, with the distinction between simulation and simulacra as a leading analytical key. Methods spanned critical auto/ethnography, game diaries, thinking aloud instances, and creative exercises as debriefing processes. The two video games were selected for their different and yet complementary approaches to digital entertainment past: Zelda is an updated re-interpretation of an historical brand, while Octopath is a new license mimicking old aesthetics and mechanics. Implications shed light on how gameplay and ludic mechanics change along with personal and generational traits, and on ways to harness shared play for triggering family reflection and communication.
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Papers by Enrico Gandolfi
Questo capitolo è dedicato a quattro casi esemplari capaci di rivalutare la violenza videoludica attraverso la sua portata simbolica e sacrale. Non una difesa a spada tratta, sia chiaro, quanto il porgere alcuni strumenti analitici, una scatola degli attrezzi, per andare oltre il pregiudizio e sfruttare il potenziale del medium, ancora in fase di realizzazione.
Come riferimento verrà principalmente scomodato Roger Caillois, senza dimenticare riferimenti presi in prestito da Filosofia, Sociologia, Game Studies e altri crocevia disciplinari. Ad essere indagati saranno alcuni celebri videogiochi che offrono margini alternativi per riflettere su una violenza sacrale interattiva. Il tentativo è quello di sorvolare l’annoso, e per molti versi inutile, dibattito sugli effetti del medium in questione su giovani e meno giovani.