Valentina Rao - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Valentina Rao

With contributions by S. Björk, S. Dreyer, A. Järvinen, B. Kirman, J. Kücklich, J. Paavilainen, V. Rao & J. Schmidt. Hamburg: Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research. Available at: http://socialgamestudies. org/report, Nov 1, 2010

Abstract. This text reports the work-in-progress of a PhD project about the development of evalua... more Abstract. This text reports the work-in-progress of a PhD project about the development of evaluation tools to assist the design of persuasive game systems. The theoretical framework provided by BCSSs can be used in the context of games through a redefinition of games as "systems " in order to highlight their persuasive intent, and to focus on their core quality of interactive systems. The PSD model can be used successfully in game design if integrated with knowledge about game elements that affect persuasion. 1 Introducing game systems As the number of products and systems using the interaction modalities of games to affect attitude and behavior change increases, the need grows for appropriate evaluation tools to insure the effectiveness and ethical soundness of their persuasive strategies. Current design strategies for persuasive games rely heavily on the designer's intuitive skills and can refer to precious few theoretical frameworks, the most popular being the one...

This paper proposes the interpretation of video games as discourse (in the explanation of discour... more This paper proposes the interpretation of video games as discourse (in the explanation of discourse commonly used in linguistics and studies of natural language, not as understood in semiotics or cultural studies) to explore further the dynamics through which video games can propose structured meaning and articulate an argument. Such topic is especially relevant for video games with an agenda, whose goal is not just to produce an engaging game experience, but also to convey a message and have some control over the desired outcome (persuasion, information, expression, aesthetic experience). The notion of discourse can help classify serious games according to their specific aim, and can help understand how meaning production in procedural rhetoric takes place.

This text reports the work-in-progress of a PhD project about the development of evaluation tools... more This text reports the work-in-progress of a PhD project about the development of evaluation tools to assist the design of persuasive game systems. The theoretical framework provided by BCSSs can be used in the context of games through a redefinition of games as "systems" in order to highlight their persuasive intent, and to focus on their core quality of interactive systems. The PSD model can be used successfully in game design if integrated with knowledge about game elements that affect persuasion.

In the general frame of a “ludification of culture” (Raessens 1) we are witnessing the rise of hy... more In the general frame of a “ludification of culture” (Raessens 1) we are witnessing the rise of hybrid entertainment products such as Facebook Applications, media phenomena difficult to define as “games” or “play”, that carry a large share in the responsibility for social interaction within social networks. Are Facebook Applications and its clones in other networks like Bebo or MySpace a form of casual games, are they “just for fun”, how do they participate in the general cultural trend that incorporates play elements in non-play environments? This paper, in order to answer these questions, relates to the two separated fields of game studies and media sociology, with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the role of play in media culture, as well as enter the recent discussion on casual games from a lateral perspective, introducing elements from media psychology and anthropology. This presentation is preliminary to a qualitative research on the use of Facebook Applications amo...

Forum University of Edinburgh Postgraduate Journal of Culture the Arts, Aug 1, 2008

Proceedings of the 12th international conference on …, 2008

This paper's goal is to consider the status of Facebook Applications and indirectly of casua... more This paper's goal is to consider the status of Facebook Applications and indirectly of casual games in social networks, in relation to the various definitions of game and play employed by digital game theory. The focus on the affective elements of fun and playful mood ...

Proceedings of the 12th international conference on …, 2008

" Social Anxiety Challenge " is a project for a mobile application to offer a self-help program f... more " Social Anxiety Challenge " is a project for a mobile application to offer a self-help program for social anxiety sufferers, in the form of a gameful system that recommends homework assignments and provides psycho-educational modules. The program is based on mindfulness, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Emotionally Focused Therapy; the system borrows strategies from games of chance and role-playing games to make the execution of the program less emotionally challenging and to support adherence. A location-based approach situates exercises in real-life contexts, whereas elements of randomness emphasize serendipity.

for the seminar about BCSSs during Persuasive 2014 conference

This paper confronts some theoretical issues arising from the application of Persuasive Systems D... more This paper confronts some theoretical issues arising from the application of Persuasive Systems Design (PSD) model and other methods for evaluating persuasive efficacy to game-based systems created to support behavior change. A reframing of the notion of "persuasive games", traditionally associated with the notion of rhetorical discourse arising from procedures (procedural rhetoric) can be very useful to expand theoretical horizons beyond such notion and to find a framework that accommodates also theories from psychology of persuasion. An interpretation of persuasive games through the theoretical lenses of Behavior Change Support Systems, a theory based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model for information systems that support behavior change, can achieve the conciliation of very different approaches to facilitate the application of frameworks from Persuasive technology to game systems. The final goal is to support awareness in design choices and ultimately provide a larger range of options for designers.

As behavior change interventions increasingly use game and gamelike strategies to influence behav... more As behavior change interventions increasingly use game and gamelike strategies to influence behavior, it seems pressing to develop a specific framework that reconsiders game design practices in a way to include the issue of persuasive effectiveness. This paper presents an overview of current discussion regarding persuasion through games and proposes the category of "game systems" to include different kinds of persuasive strategies that employ gaming such as persuasive games, gamification and gameful design, in order to facilitate the development of design tools that are goal-specific towards behavior change. Current tools focus on game usability or playability, but very few offer usable heuristics for the evaluation of persuasive efficacy. The following pages propose an initial differentiation between persuasive game systems that act as computer-mediated communication and others that instead behave as computer human interaction, to highlight the necessity for different design strategies.

This presentation reports the findings emerged from an analysis of recent mobile apps that stimul... more This presentation reports the findings emerged from an analysis of recent mobile apps that stimulate behavior change for depression. Such analysis has been conducted as preliminary research for the design of the gamified system for mobile and web Blues Buddies, conceived to encourage users with mild to moderate depression to engage in outdoor activities and in safe social relationships. The study considers applications that provide information, tracking tools, life management tools and tools for awareness and relaxation as healing support to depression.

Games have been used as a tool to introduce older people to digital technology. Here we are devel... more Games have been used as a tool to introduce older people to digital technology. Here we are developing a gameful system to facilitate the social interactions between older people and young adults in a community run club.

Think Design Play: The fifth international conference of the Digital Research Association (DIGRA), Sep 2011

In the general frame of a "ludification of culture" (Raessens, 1)we are witnessing the rise of hy... more In the general frame of a "ludification of culture" (Raessens, 1)we are witnessing the rise of hybrid entertainment products such as Facebook Applications, media phenomena difficult to define as "games" or "play", that carry a large share in the responsibility for social interaction within social networks.

Thesis Chapters by Valentina Rao

DEA Anthropologie Visuelle , 2001

(in French) (draft version) the thesis addresses the phenomenon of buskers reviving the folkloric... more (in French) (draft version) the thesis addresses the phenomenon of buskers reviving the folkloric music traditions of their area of origin, in this case Naples and surroundings. The work follows one specific community, in the attempt to identify their self-defined cultural lineage and understand which parts of the tradition (both music and theatre) are most cherished and why. After examining the modalities in which the buskers operate and the locations, such as self operated social centres and summer festivals, The up close and personal interviews with a number of buskers give flesh to a number of abstract concepts such as collective rituals and trance. The focus of this work is to uncover the dynamics between personal journeys and the personal mythologies supporting those journeys, mythologies built over the peculiar Neapolitan popular culture, which traditionally amalgamates "high culture" and folklore.

Forum University of Edinburgh Postgraduate Journal of Culture the Arts, Aug 1, 2008

Proceedings of the 12th international conference on …, 2008

for the seminar about BCSSs during Persuasive 2014 conference

Think Design Play: The fifth international conference of the Digital Research Association (DIGRA), Sep 2011

DEA Anthropologie Visuelle , 2001