A European Voice In Game Design

The definition of terminology is important with regards to the advancement of knowledge. Without clear and understandable definitions, work can become difficult to comprehend and loses clarity. This is important when examining culture, a field which changes substantially over short periods of time. When combined with video games, another field which sees accelerated growth and change, this becomes even more so due to the rapid expansion of consumer understanding and mentality with regards to video games.

The focus of this thesis is to ascertain the meaning behind the use of current geographical terms such as ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ in the video games industry, and in doing so highlight the existence of an emerging European voice within game design and culture. This is achieved through a literature review exploring the preliminary use of the terms, the evolution of the necessity of them in popular culture and the justification of the use of games in research.

The first study within the thesis examines the use of and current meaning behind the current geographical terms within the video gaming industry and culture, while also exploring emerging markets through focus groups consisting of participants within the field. This produces a reasoning for the use of ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ as terminology in game culture. The second study uses this data, in combination with games analysed over a five-year period, to display examples of what Eastern, Western and European games are and gives context to these terms. These are presented as case studies containing key information, a previously developed model used to clearly identify a game’s reward systems and netnographic review.
The thesis concludes that a European voice in game design is present. This has implications into the ways in which video games will be developed and produced. These conclusions challenge the conclusions of existing literature into the East/West divide as well as highlighting new areas for future study.