Research in the field of digital games is highly interdisciplinary but did not yet arrive at common conceptualizations and at a common language of discourse. The difficulty lies in the heterogeneity of knowledge sources, research methodologies, and practices of discourse relevant to understanding, analyzing, and possibly designing digital games. This paper aims to contribute to fill these gaps. Considering digital games as IT application systems and entertainment media at once it focusses on the distinction of concepts such as game state and play state.
Based on comprehensive studies of DVDi games within a cooperation project of a university research center and the digital games industry the paper first introduces that type of games. Then it looks at DVDi games as formal describable IT application systems. Third it interpretes DVDi games as entertainment media. Revealing some weaknesses of current DVDi games it finally discusses how to improve future games.
Subjects: 1.8 Game Playing; 6. Computer-Human Interaction
Submitted: Feb 11, 2007