/library/oar/handle/123456789/131604 2025-12-27T14:57:32Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/138669 Title: The relation between rhythm and combat in action games as explored through the case studies of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Black Myth: Wukong Abstract: This dissertation seeks to explore the relation between rhythm and combat in action games. Many modern titles place great importance on the player’s ability to react and time their movements to succeed in a given combat encounter; the enemy presented to the player tends to follow a pattern of attacks, and the player must in turn react by inputting the correct sequence of button presses to successfully counter the presented attack pattern. This dissertation argues that these sequences can be understood for their rhythmical value, by applying concepts of rhythms drawn from music studies and game studies alike. Following this, the presence of rhythm in two case studies, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Black Myth: Wukong, will be explored to identify a connection between rhythm and combat in action games. This connection will be further discussed in the conclusion, wherein the rhythmic affordances discussed in both case studies will be directly compared, showing that rhythm both is present and aids the player in progressing in a combat encounter. Description: M.Sc.(Melit.) 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/138417 Title: The usability of VR with motion capture in complex environments : unlocking the potential of virtual reality and motion capture Abstract: Integrating virtual reality (VR) with motion capture (Mo-Cap) can revolutionise the approach in various fields, from animation generation within game development and filming to industrial training and education. VR-integrated motion capture can enhance immersion, interaction, and realism. However, the usability of these integrated systems in complex environments remains under-explored, particularly in terms of how they impact user experience and productivity. This dissertation investigates the usability of VR-integrated Mo-Cap systems by comparing them to traditional Mo-Cap systems without VR, focusing on the dimensions of Usefulness, Ease of Use, Learnability, and Satisfaction, as defined by the USE-Lite framework. The study employs a between-subject experimental design, where two independent groups (N=19) of participants interact with one of the systems in a controlled environment, one group using motion capture only and the other also using VR. Their experiences are assessed through a combination of quantitative and qualitative data. The results show no statistical difference between the group that used VR and those that did not use it in perceived usability within this context. However, nuanced insights were obtained, especially when considering the challenges of combining these technologies. The study highlights issues such as virtual sickness, latency and the hardware’s cumbersome nature as key factors in determining usability. Although their effect is slight, the study also suggests that VR improves the ease of use and learnability of motion capture but marginally reduces usefulness and satisfaction within this context. This dissertation contributes to the growing knowledge of VR-integrated motion capture. It also provides developers and researchers in this field avenues to optimise similar systems to improve the overall user experience and productivity. Description: M.Sc.(Melit.) 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/131774 Title: The slaughter of the author : analysing the shift from ergodic to non-ergodic media and its impact on authorship Abstract: In light of the recent surge in video game to non-video game adaptations and transmediations during the last few years, I seek to analyse some of the challenges that may arise when translating a work from ergodic to non-ergodic media. More specifically, I aim to shed light on the inevitable loss of the co-authorial aspect present in video games during the transition to the single-authored nature of non-ergodic works. To illustrate this point, I turn to Roland Barthes' work, The Death of the Author (Barthes, 1977), where he argues that the reader should try to extract meaning through personal interpretation—what he refers to as “the birth of the reader”—rather than to ascribe meaning to a text strictly based on the life or opinions of the text's author. Using this concept as a basis for my own theory, I claim that the narrative branches and emergent storytelling possibilities of ergodic texts render us, to some extent, as authors—not of the text as a whole, but rather to the specific, realised and actualised iteration of our individual experience within it. Due to this relationship between the text and the consumer in ergodic media, I argue that the translation process risks “slaughtering” the player as author by recognising only a single path of engagement in the shift to a non-ergodic medium. To explore this topic of authorship between media effectively, I have chosen to analyse two pairs of case studies where the original works are video games and the secondary works take place in the medium of television: The Last of Us (Naughty Dog, 2013) and its adaptation The Last of Us (Mazin, 2023), alongside the Fallout franchise (Bethesda Game Studios, Black Isle Studios, & Obsidian Entertainment, 1997–2018) and its transmediation, Fallout (Wagner & Robertson-Dworet, 2024). Description: M.Sc.(Melit.) 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z