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<<if $gameLayer>><<display "Game Road at Gate">><<else>><<display "Site Main Page">><<endif>>

<<script>>ChangeUrl("Forged In Cobalt", location.origin + location.pathname +"?p="+passage()+"&l="+variables().gameLayer);<</script>><<updatePanel "Map">><<updatePanel "Item">> <<updatePanel "About">><<updatePanel "Game">><<if not tags().contains("Research")>><<set $LibrarySelection to 0>><<endif>>

<div id="MapBarContainer" class="openLeft"><div class="TestBar"><div id="MapDiv" class="barcontainer"><<display "MapMenu">></div></div><div class='HideButton'><<button " ">><<if $MapBarOpen is true>><<set $MapBarOpen to false>><<removeclass "#MapBarContainer" "openLeft">><<addclass "#MapBarContainer" "closeLeft">><<else>><<set $MapBarOpen to true>><<removeclass "#MapBarContainer" "closeLeft">><<addclass "#MapBarContainer" "openLeft">><<endif>><</button>><div class="vertTextLeft">MAP</div></div></div><div id="ItemBarContainer" class="openRight"><div class="TestBar"><div id="ItemDiv" class="barcontainer"><<display "ItemMenu">></div></div><div class='HideButton'><<button " ">><<if $ItemBarOpen is true>><<set $ItemBarOpen to false>><<removeclass "#ItemBarContainer" "openRight">><<addclass "#ItemBarContainer" "closeRight">><<else>><<set $ItemBarOpen to true>><<removeclass "#ItemBarContainer" "closeRight">><<addclass "#ItemBarContainer" "openRight">><<endif>><</button>><div class="vertTextRight">GLYPHS</div></div></div><div id="GameBarContainer" class="openRight"><div class="TestBar"><div id="GameDiv" class="barcontainer"><<display "GameLayerMenu">></div></div><div class='HideButton'><<button " ">><<if $GameMenuOpen is true>><<set $GameMenuOpen to false>><<removeclass "#GameBarContainer" "openRight">><<addclass "#GameBarContainer" "closeRight">><<else>><<set $GameMenuOpen to true>><<removeclass "#GameBarContainer" "closeRight">><<addclass "#GameBarContainer" "openRight">><<endif>><</button>><div class="vertTextRight">GAME</div></div></div><<display "LeftImagePanel">><<display "RightImagePanel">><div id="AboutBarContainer" class="openLeft"><div class="TestBar"><div id="AboutDiv" class="barcontainer"><<display "AboutMenu">></div></div><div class='HideButton'><<button " ">><<if $AboutBarOpen is true>><<set $AboutBarOpen to false>><<removeclass "#AboutBarContainer" "openLeft">><<addclass "#AboutBarContainer" "closeLeft">><<else>><<set $AboutBarOpen to true>><<removeclass "#AboutBarContainer" "closeLeft">><<addclass "#AboutBarContainer" "openLeft">><<endif>><</button>><div class="vertTextLeft">ABOUT</div></div></div>

#Menus <<set $AboutBarOpen to true>> <<set $GameMenuOpen to true>> <<set $MapBarOpen to true>> <<set $ItemBarOpen to true>> #Story Variables <<if !$metDucky>><<remember $metDucky to false>><<endif>> <<if !$foundGlyphs>><<remember $foundGlyphs to [false, false, false, false, false, false, false]>><<endif>> #Tricky Stuff <<prepend "#story">><<display "MenuOverlay">><</prepend>>

<a href="index.html?p=Other Page" onclick="gotoPassage('Other Page')">Otro Pagie</a>

<<widget "htmlLink">><<='<a href="index.html?p=' + $args[0] + '&l=' + $gameLayer + '" onclick="gotoPassage('+"'"+$args[0]+"'"+');">'+$args[1]+'</a>'>><</widget>>

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<<if $gameLayer>><<display "Game Map">><<else>><<display "Site Map">><</if>>

Also Nothing to see, but will be a series of glyphs.

@@.page-title;Forged in Cobalt@@ @@.page-text;Welcome to my website. Here you will find plenty of information about me and my work as a designer and an academic. This site is organized into granular pages to tell you about the work you're most interested in seeing. You can navigate to them from the slide panel marked "Map". This website also doubles as a small narrative experience, so if you want to view all of this under an additional game layer, check the box in the slide panel marked "Game". You can switch back and forth at any time. This organizational page is dedicated to my professional accomplishments, this is where I show off my best work. As such, from here you can see <<htmlLink "Portfolio" "my design portfolio">> and <<htmlLink "Research" "my academic research">>. If you would like to know more about me and the kind of work I do, <<htmlLink "Organization About" "check out this page here">>.@@<<script>>setImagePanel("left", "bg.png", "rgba(142, 161, 215, 0.5)");setImagePanel("right", "bg.png", "rgba(142, 161, 215, 0.5)");<</script>>

@@.page-title;Road at the Gate@@ @@.page-text;You stand on an old, stone <<insert "road">>, filled with cracked, sandstone bricks pressed into the earth by ages gone feet<<endinsert>>. A brillaint red <<insert "sky">>, streaked with feathery clouds glowing with an austere light,<<endinsert>> stretches out over a thick <<insert "forest">>, pines reaching high into the sky and covering the landscape beyond<<endinsert>>. Before you looms a large <<insert "gate">> black iron bars and barbed all the way down<<endinsert>>. From between the bars, you can see a figure<<if $metDucky is false>> waving frantically through the bars<<endif>>. You could <<click "talk">><<replace "#DuckyTalkSpan">> <<display "Ducky Conversation">> <</replace>><</click>> through the bars. <span id="DuckyTalkSpan"></span>Along the side of the road are <<insert "steps">>, dusty and cracked from fallen pillars, <<endinsert>> that lead up into a stone <<insert "building">>. At the top of the stairs is a <<insert "platform">>, cluttered with debris of a roof and pillars that has long since fallen<<endinsert>>. The entrance to a <<htmlLink "Research" "library">> is there<<endinsert>>. To the other side of the road is a small path leading <<insert "down">> towards an round <<insert "structure">>, built of marble,<<endinsert>> enclosed by <<insert "pillars">>, many still standing<<endinsert>>. Open <<insert "archways">>, once carved with façades, now faded,<<endinsert>> invite you into a <<htmlLink "Portfolio" "gallery">><<endinsert>>. The road leads away from the gate and on, <<htmlLink "Organization About" "further into the complex">>.@@<<script>>setImagePanel("left", "bg.png", "rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5)");setImagePanel("right", "bg.png", "rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5)");<</script>>

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Nothing to see here yet. Just organizing!

Normal Navigation, Please.

@@.page-title;Portfolio@@ @@.page-text;Soon to be portfolio stuff! <<htmlLink "Main Page" "Main Page">>@@ <<script>>setImagePanel("left", "bg.png", "rgba(142, 161, 215, 0.5)");setImagePanel("right", "bg.png", "rgba(142, 161, 215, 0.5)");<</script>>

@@.page-title;Academic Research@@ @@.page-text;Here, I will describe the various publications and important papers I have produced over the past few years. Each entry links to a more in-depth page and there, if available, will be links to read the work in full. ''Publications'' "<<htmlLink "Hiding in the Tall Grass" "Hiding in the Tall Grass: Searching for Queer Stories in Pokémon">>" —in //Well Played// 4(3) Special Issue on Diversity in Games (2015) "<<htmlLink "Look What Just Happened" "Look What Just Happened: Communicating Play in Online Communities">>" —in //Understanding Minecraft// (2014) "<<htmlLink "Using Components" "Using Components to Describe Videogames and Their Players">>" —in //Terms of Play// (2013) ''Unpublished Academic Papers'' "<<htmlLink "Building My Own Home" "Building My Own Home: Working Between English and Game Design">>" —Culminating paper for MA in English (Rhetoric and Composition) (2013) "<<htmlLink "Literacy for Video Games" "Literacy for Video Games from Three Perspectives">>" —Theories of Literacy final paper (2013) "<<htmlLink "PGDI Overview" "Player-Game Descriptive Index">>" —Update to the //Terms of Play// publication above (2013) Other, older academic writing can currently be found on <<externalLink "https://incobalt.wordpress.com/player-game-descriptive-index-pgdi/" "this page">>. <<htmlLink "Main Page" "Main Page">><<script>>setImagePanel("left", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(142, 161, 215, 0.5)");setImagePanel("right", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(142, 161, 215, 0.5)");<</script>><<set $LibrarySelection to 0>>@@

<<if $gameLayer>><<display "Game Gallery">><<else>><<display "Site Portfolio">><<endif>>

<<if $gameLayer>><<if $LibrarySelection is 1>><<goto "Book One">><<elseif $LibrarySelection is 2>><<goto "Book Two">><<elseif $LibrarySelection is 3>><<goto "Book Three">><<elseif $LibrarySelection is 4>><<goto "Report One">><<elseif $LibrarySelection is 5>><<goto "Report Two">><<elseif $LibrarySelection is 6>><<goto "Report Three">><<else>><<goto "Game Library">><<endif>><<else>><<if $LibrarySelection is 1>><<goto "Using Components">><<elseif $LibrarySelection is 2>><<goto "Look What Just Happened">><<elseif $LibrarySelection is 3>><<goto "Hiding in the Tall Grass">><<elseif $LibrarySelection is 4>><<goto "Building My Own Home">><<elseif $LibrarySelection is 5>><<goto "Literacy for Video Games">><<elseif $LibrarySelection is 6>><<goto "PGDI Overview">><<else>><<goto "Site Research">><<endif>><<endif>>

@@.page-title;Library@@ @@.page-text;The sandstone walls of the library are largely intact, though the floor is riddled with the remains of <<insert "bookshelves and old pages">>. The wood of the bookshelves was once dark and strong, but ages without attention have left them faded and in splinters. Pages and leather bindings sit strewn about the floor, full of holes from hungry insects<<endinsert>>. Large, arched windows once set in the back wall are now empty <<insert "cavities">>, the old glass in fragments on the stone<<endinsert>>, letting dust and wind in along with the wan light. A large <<insert "table">> of dusty marble<<endinsert>> sits in a cleared area, beside it a tightly closed stone <<insert "coffer">>. Opening the lid of the coffer releases a cold, stale air. Inside are some loosely bound <<click "books">><<replace "#bookInspect">> <<display "Library Book Selection">><</replace>><</click>> and a few <<click "reports">><<replace "#bookInspect">> <<display "Library Reports">><</replace>><</click>>, all with the same <<insert "author">>: "Lord Mayor, Coba"<<endinsert>><<endinsert>>.<span id="bookInspect"><<if $LibrarySelection is 1 or $LibrarySelection is 2 or $LibrarySelection is 3>> <<display "Library Book Selection">><<elseif $LibrarySelection is 4 or $LibrarySelection is 5 or $LibrarySelection is 6>> <<display "Library Report Selection">><<endif>></span> From here, you can go <<htmlLink "Main Page" "back to the road">>.@@<<script>>setImagePanel("left", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(151, 79, 53, 0.5)");setImagePanel("right", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(151, 79, 53, 0.5)");<</script>><<set $LibrarySelection to 0>>

<<htmlLink "Main Page" "Back to the Road">> <<script>>setImagePanel("left", "bg.png", "rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5)");setImagePanel("right", "bg.png", "rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5)");<</script>>

<<if $gameLayer>>@@.name-text;Coba@@ @@.job-text;Lord Mayor@@ @@.about-text;Not much is known about the last known mayor of this island. Perhaps there are clues about?@@ [img[scroll.gif][http://twitter.com/incobalt]] [img[crystal.gif][mailto:mthomet@gmail.com]]<<else>>@@.name-text;Michael Thomét@@ @@.job-text;Narrative Experience Designer@@ @@.about-text;I am a game designer who specializes in crafting narrative experiences.@@ [img[twitter.gif][http://twitter.com/incobalt]] [img[email.gif][mailto:mthomet@gmail.com]]<<endif>>

<<if $metDucky is false>><<set $dConv to 0>>You approach the <<insert "figure">>, who appears to be a young child with bright green <<insert "hair">>, or perhaps down<<endinsert>>, flowing into a <<insert "gown">>, at least it seems like a gown,<<endinsert>> of rainbow feathers, a bright, marble-patterned <<insert "face">>, swirling back and forth between blue and yellow,<<endinsert>> that ends in a bright orange <<insert "bill">>, long and smooth, ending in the slightest gap<<endinsert>><<endinsert>>. The child immediately stops waving and nearly shouts, "Hey! Hi! Finally, somebody!" Then, shying away, the child waits for you to <<insert "respond.">> You try, but you find that no words come out of your mouth, as though your voice has been stolen. "Oh dear!" the child cried. "Did you lose your voice?" After a moment of fussing, the child nodded sharply. "I bet you could make an offering to the sea witch!" You furrow your brow in <<insert "confusion.">> "Are you asking about the <<insert "sea witch">><<append "#QuestionHook">> The child beams and says, "The sea witch is an ancient being who watches over the ocean and its denizens. She has a shrine on the beach, so if you leave her an offering, she might restore your voice!" Then, the child looks down suddenly. "Oh, but there's a <<insert "problem">>. This gate has been closed for a long time. There are some glyphs that open it, seven of them, but they're all on your side of the gate<<set $dConv to $dConv + 1>><<if $dConv is 3>><<append "#QuestionHook">> <<display "Ducky Conversation 2">><</append>><<endif>><<endinsert>>."<</append>><<endinsert>>, or maybe you're wondering <<insert "who I am">><<append "#QuestionHook">> The child turns away, blushing, and blurts out, "I'm so sorry I haven't introduced myself! I'm Ducky!" A tiny hand is thrust through the bars in greeting. "I would ask your name, but well... I'm sorry." Without any thought on your part, Ducky shakes your hand. "If you were wondering, I'm not a boy or a girl, but a sprite, and I'm older than you probably think I am, not that it matters."<</append>><<set $dConv to $dConv + 1>><<if $dConv is 3>><<append "#QuestionHook">> <<display "Ducky Conversation 2">><</append>><<endif>><<endinsert>>, or do you not even know <<insert 'where you are?"'>><<append "#QuestionHook">> The child gives you a curious look, but says, "Why, you're on the island. Beyond the island is the sea. There aren't many places where the sea floor pokes up out of the water, but this is one of them. And before you ask, no I don't know how you got here. There's a village down the road, but I haven't been in years. Out this way is the beach and the ocean. If only you could see it!"<</append>><<set $dConv to $dConv + 1>><<if $dConv is 3>><<append "#QuestionHook">> <<display "Ducky Conversation 2">><</append>><<endif>><<endinsert>><<endinsert>><span id="QuestionHook"></span><<endinsert>><<else>>"Hi there!" Ducky says in a booming voice. "Do you have any <<insert 'glyphs?"'>> <<display "Glyph Check">><<endinsert>><<endif>>

<<remember $metDucky to true>><<insert '"Hmmm..'>>. So, if you were to find the glyphs," Ducky says, "then you could come to the beach and leave an offering for the sea witch. And I would be able to get back to the village and find something I left there some years ago. <<click "Tell me if you find any glyphs">><<replace "#DuckyTalkSpan">> <<display "Ducky Conversation">> <</replace>><</click>><<endinsert>>."

<<forget $metDucky>> <<forget $foundGlyphs>>

(Glyph Checks are not yet implemented. See the Glyph Panel for your progress.)<<if $ItemBarOpen is false>><<set $ItemBarOpen to true>><<removeclass "#ItemBarContainer" "closeRight">><<addclass "#ItemBarContainer" "openRight">><<endif>>

<<if $gameLayer>><<display "Game Road Midpoint">><<else>><<display "Site About Page">><<endif>>

<<htmlLink "Main Page" "Back to the main page.">> <<script>>setImagePanel("left", "bg.png", "rgba(142, 161, 215, 0.5)");setImagePanel("right", "bg.png", "rgba(142, 161, 215, 0.5)");<</script>>

<<htmlLink "Main Page" "Go back up the road.">>

In the coffer are a few books. All of them seem to be ones that were published by a governing entity. One is an old, <<htmlLink "Book One" "dusty book">> in green leather. Another is a square, <<htmlLink "Book Two" "blocky book">>. The <<htmlLink "Book Three" "last book">> in the chest is made of nearly translucent pages.

In the box are a few loose reports. One, is a <<htmlLink "Report Three" "collection of notes">>. Another is <<htmlLink "Report Two" "technical comparison">>. The last one in the coffer is <<htmlLink "Report One" "qualifying document">>. A note indicates that another of these such documents will be showing up soon, but clearly the society collapsed first.

@@.page-title;A Dusty Tome@@ @@.page-text;This dusty <<insert "tome">> is titled "Using Components to Describe (something) and their Players", and it<<endinsert>> indicates that the text is an excerpt from a collection of essays. The book seems to talk about categorizations in game selection. It appears to be related to a number of the reports that were in the coffer. It seems to be quite old and much of the text has faded towards the back, but you can make out some <<insert "headings">>. They include <<insert '"Problematizing Genre"'>>, which goes into a prominent tool this society uses for the making and selection of games<<endinsert>>, <<insert '"A Case Study of"'>>, but the rest is indecipherable<<endinsert>>, <<insert '"Player Personality Models"'>>, which seems to look at some ideas of how players think according to other scholars<<endinsert>>, <<insert '"Player-Game Descriptive Index"'>>, which describes the tool in detail<<endinsert>>, and <<insert '"Using PGDI"'>>, which shows how to apply the tool just described<<endinsert>><<endinsert>>. Still, you get the <<insert "gist of it">>. The book relates to studying how people play games, as well as how they find other games to play. It belies a kind of creator-player society, and suggests a tool to use by members of that society to improvise new games, or find other games to play. The model itself is illegible and a margin note indicates that a newer version of the model exists<<endinsert>>. <<htmlLink "Game Library" "Put the book back.">> <<script>>setImagePanel("left", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(151, 79, 53, 0.5)");setImagePanel("right", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(151, 79, 53, 0.5)");<</script>><<set $LibrarySelection to 1>>@@

@@.page-title;A Blocky Book@@ @@.page-text;This book is squared off and <<insert "blocky">> and is entitled "Look What Just Happened"<<endinsert>>. It appears to be a part of a collection of <<insert "essays">> all about a particular cultural <<insert "artifact">>, the name of which has not survived the test of time<<endinsert>><<endinsert>>. Although the text is somewhat legible, the entirety of it has not survived. Still, you can guess at <<insert "what it says">>. This book is apparently about people who participate in a forum discussion while playing a particular cultural <<insert "game">> about moving blocks of earth and other materials to create something, apparently whatever is desired<<endinsert>>. Overall, the text seems to analyze a particular section of the larger forum, on the topic of how players play this particular <<insert "game">>, which seems to be a common discussion amongst players<<endinsert>><<endinsert>>. <<htmlLink "Game Library" "Put the book back.">> <<script>>setImagePanel("left", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(151, 79, 53, 0.5)");setImagePanel("right", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(151, 79, 53, 0.5)");<</script>><<set $LibrarySelection to 2>>@@

@@.page-title;An Ephemeral Book@@ @@.page-text;This ephemeral book has pages that are so <<insert "thin">>, almost gossamer,<<endinsert>> that it is a wonder it still exists. It is titled "Hiding in the Tall Grass" and seems like it was published alongside similar accounts. The text is still very legible, so you could spend some time <<externalLink ".\documents\Hiding.pdf" "reading it in full">>. Just flipping through the pages, you can get a good idea <<insert "what is being said">>. The book examines a cultural <<insert "phenomenon">>, rife with stories and play surrounding fictional creatures,<<endinsert>> for its society, and pulls out some notable <<insert "stories">>, specifically those focusing on failure<<endinsert>>. It seems to take the stance that finding alternative stories in widely popular cultural phenomenons lead to acknowledgment and encouragement of those kinds of stories<<endinsert>>. <<htmlLink "Game Library" "Put the book back.">> <<script>>setImagePanel("left", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(151, 79, 53, 0.5)");setImagePanel("right", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(151, 79, 53, 0.5)");<</script>><<set $LibrarySelection to 3>>@@

@@.page-title-small;Using Components to Describe Videogames and Their Players@@ @@.page-text;This chapter details the original creation of the Player-Game Descriptive Index, a way of describing games and players that is in opposition to genre and uses player personality models as its basis. It begins by problematizing genre, pointing out the problems of both popular and academic models, using a case study of a difficult game to put into genre: //Fallout 3//. Then, it moves on to discussing a number of player personality models as a set up for the synthesis work that creates the Player-Game Descriptive Index (PGDI). The latter half is mostly concerned with carefully describing each of the 26 components of PGDI, giving real examples from existing videogames and providing academic definitions. A brief section towards the end discusses ways in which the model can be used. "Using Components to Describe Videogames and Their Players" was published in //Terms of Play: Essays on Words That Matter in Videogame Theory//, edited by Zach Waggoner, in 2013. Ironically, the model I described in the text had already been updated for clarity by the time it was released, but the foundational ideas laid out in this chapter are still important to the work. The book is available on <<externalLink "http://www.mcfarlandbooks.com/book-2.php?id=978-0-7864-6970-3" "the publisher's website">>. <<htmlLink "Site Research" "Return to List">> <<script>>setImagePanel("left", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(142, 161, 215, 0.5)");setImagePanel("right", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(142, 161, 215, 0.5)");<</script>><<set $LibrarySelection to 1>>@@

@@.page-title;Look What Just Happened:@@ @@.page-subtitle;Communicating Play in Online Communities@@ @@.page-text;This chapter analyzes two communities surrounding //Minecraft//, with an aim to figure out how players describe the way in which they play and approach games. //Minecraft// is an apt game around which to do this kind of study, as it is set up to provide a vast multitude of ways to play the game, none of which are prescribed as the "right" or "wrong" way to play. In this chapter, I looked at hundreds of posts over a three month period, categorizing questions and answers as being towards components of my developed research model, trying to understand players of the game and how these player discuss play amongst themselves. Ultimately, this chapter is an ethnography, describing common requests and responses to those requests using exemplary posts. Since this research dealt with analyzing human-created content, this project sought and received IRB approval. "Look What Just Happened: Communicating Play in Online Communities" was published in //Understanding //Minecraft//: Essays on Play, Community and Possibilities//, edited by Nate Garrelts, in 2014. The book is available on <<externalLink "http://www.mcfarlandbooks.com/book-2.php?id=978-0-7864-7974-0" "the publisher's website">>. <<htmlLink "Site Research" "Return to List">> <<script>>setImagePanel("left", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(142, 161, 215, 0.5)");setImagePanel("right", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(142, 161, 215, 0.5)");<</script>><<set $LibrarySelection to 2>>@@

@@.page-title;Hiding in the Tall Grass:@@ @@.page-subtitle;Searching for Queer Stories in //Pokémon//@@ @@.page-text;This essay applies Jack Halberstam's //Queer Art of Failure// to specific games in the //Pokémon// franchise, in hopes to find some queer narratives within one of the world's largest videogame franchises. This article focused on //Pokémon Black// and //White//'s characters of Bianca and N, providing a close reading of each of their narrative arcs as queer characters. The essay also includes some surface narratives from other games to indicate that smaller queer narratives might exist, but focuses on these two narratives within the one game. I conclude with a nod to people calling for queer modes of play, identifying popular modes of play that introduce capacity for queerness into the games, on the player narrative level. "Hiding in the Tall Grass: Searching for Queer Stories in //Pokémon//" was published in Volume 4, Number 3 of the //Well Played// journal, in 2015. This issue was dedicated to diversity in games. The journal is freely available online at <<externalLink "http://press.etc.cmu.edu/content/volume-4-number-3-diversity-games" "the journal's website">>. The text of my article is available <<externalLink "./documents/Hiding.pdf" "here">>. <<htmlLink "Site Research" "Return to List">> <<script>>setImagePanel("left", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(142, 161, 215, 0.5)");setImagePanel("right", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(142, 161, 215, 0.5)");<</script>><<set $LibrarySelection to 3>>@@

@@.page-title;Building My Own Home@@ @@.page-subtitle;Working Between English and Digital Game Design@@ @@.page-text;This, the applied project for my Master of Arts in English, was designed to discuss my then two-year project developing the Player-Game Descriptive Index, and it was aimed towards incoming graduate school students. In it, I detail the idea of negotiating coursework to fit one’s education goals, by discussing one's goals with their instructors and figuring out how to make classes work for everyone involved. I accomplish this by discussing how I did this for my MA, working nearly every class towards the development of PGDI. The whole of it can be read <<externalLink "./documents/Building.pdf" "here">>. <<htmlLink "Site Research" "Return to List">> <<script>>setImagePanel("left", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(142, 161, 215, 0.5)");setImagePanel("right", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(142, 161, 215, 0.5)");<</script>><<set $LibrarySelection to 4>>@@

@@.page-title-small;Literacy for Video Games from Three Perspectives@@ @@.page-text;This paper compares the usefulness of genre systems to PGDI as tools for literacy for video games. It specifically looks at this from three perspectives: the player, the researcher, and the designer. I do my best in this paper to provide a brief background on literacy studies and discourse as it relates to sociolinguistics, and I try to show off the benefits and downfalls of both PGDI and genre, even though I am biased towards my own model. This paper was meant to support PGDI by discussing its usefulness, but I never ended up publishing it anywhere (my first publication about PGDI was still in publishing limbo for a while after I finished this). The full text of this paper can be found <<externalLink "./documents/Literacy.pdf" "here">>. <<htmlLink "Site Research" "Return to List">> <<script>>setImagePanel("left", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(142, 161, 215, 0.5)");setImagePanel("right", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(142, 161, 215, 0.5)");<</script>><<set $LibrarySelection to 5>>@@

@@.page-title;Player-Game Descriptive Index@@ @@.page-text;The Player-Game Descriptive Index (PGDI) is a model of describing games by means of their components. The aim is to be able to describe games and their players, as well as be able to compare games and players with each other. This model was developed in 2012 by synthesizing research done on player types and player motivations. The result was a series of 26 components, divided into six categories. The synthesis and research behind PGDI can be found on this website, and more formally may be found in the following source: Thomét, M. (2013). Using components to describe videogames and their players. In Z. Waggoner (Ed.), Terms of play: Essays on words that matter in videogame theory. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. PGDI is still being developed and refined. The pages linked here will be the most up to date version I can link to, with whatever needed justification listed. All posts related to PGDI can be found here. Click on the links below to go to the relevant page for the category or component. For a more in-depth description of the model, how it came about and how it works, click <<externalLink "https://incobalt.wordpress.com/2013/01/26/pgdi-descriptions-of-categories/" "here">>. <<htmlLink "Site Research" "Return to List">> <<script>>setImagePanel("left", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(142, 161, 215, 0.5)");setImagePanel("right", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(142, 161, 215, 0.5)");<</script>><<set $LibrarySelection to 6>>@@

@@.page-title;A Qualification@@ @@.page-text;This bound report appears to be some kind of <<insert "qualification">> for a <<insert "title">> granted to the author<<endinsert>><<endinsert>>. <<insert "It">> is entitled "Building My Own Home" and<<endinsert>> describes a project from its early stages until its presentation to the <<insert "committee">> that granted the <<insert "title">> of Master<<endinsert>><<endinsert>>. In it, the report shows how working with authority figures to convert required research into research that supported the <<insert "project">>, which appears to be some kind of scholarly tool or model<<endinsert>>. There are some hints that the project might be related to the very place you find yourself in, but only by inference. This text is mostly intact, so it can be read <<externalLink "./documents/Building.pdf" "in its entirety">> Of course, you could always <<htmlLink "Game Library" "put it back">>. <<script>>setImagePanel("left", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(151, 79, 53, 0.5)");setImagePanel("right", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(151, 79, 53, 0.5)");<</script>><<set $LibrarySelection to 4>>@@

@@.page-title;A Technical Comparison@@ @@.page-text;This document appears to have some faded <<insert "pages">>, as though a bit forgotten or left by the wayside<<endinsert>>. Still, its printed text is legible. <<insert "It">>, entitled "Literacy for (something) from Three Perspectives",<<endinsert>> seems to be a technical comparison of two different tools for describing <<insert "cultural phenomena">>, specifically games,<<endinsert>> by looking at how those tools might be usable by three different kinds of <<insert "people">>: scholars, makers, and players<<endinsert>>. As the text is fairly legible, you could sit down and <<externalLink "./documents/Literacy.pdf" "read it">>. Otherwise, you could just <<htmlLink "Game Library" "put it back">>. <<script>>setImagePanel("left", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(151, 79, 53, 0.5)");setImagePanel("right", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(151, 79, 53, 0.5)");<</script>><<set $LibrarySelection to 5>>@@

@@.page-title;A Collection of Notes@@ @@.page-text;This document appears to be a bundle of <<insert "notes">> written on various bits of vellum<<endinsert>>. The <<insert "notes">> are simply titled "Player-Game Descriptive Index" and<<endinsert>> they describe some tool that is used for and by people participating in a <<insert "cultural phenomenon">>, some kind of play,<<endinsert>> to talk about the design of whatever they are participating in. The tool appears to be geared towards games and play, but could be applied to any designed experience. The text is entirely intact, and you could spend some time <<externalLink "https://incobalt.wordpress.com/2013/01/26/pgdi-descriptions-of-categories/" "reading the notes">>. Alternatively, you could <<htmlLink "Game Library" "return">> the notes to the coffer. <<script>>setImagePanel("left", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(151, 79, 53, 0.5)");setImagePanel("right", "bgLibrary.png", "rgba(151, 79, 53, 0.5)");<</script>><<set $LibrarySelection to 6>>@@

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