Nelson Zagalo

Alfabetización creativa en los videojuegos: comunicación interactiva y alfabetización cinematográfica

In this study we have analysed the current state of media literacy focusing on the game and film art forms. We aim to discover if some problems found throughout the history of film literacy were also occurring in game literacy research. It is also our intention to bring both visions together in order to get the attention of people working in the gaming field. To do this we have studied the cultural and creative dimensions in game literacy. The study is defined culturally by educational and critical approaches, and creatively by design and programming. The study also takes into account film literacy perspectives. We found that game literacy has a strong bias towards the cultural rather than the educational approach. The critical component might face the same problems that occur in film literacy studies. In terms of the creative dimension, we found a lack of investment in and support for research in design and programming practices. In conclusion we believe more interest needs to be generated in game literacy and that the literacy perspective based on creative design and programming with an emphasis on communication instead of education should be the model to follow.En este estudio hemos analizado el estado actual de la alfabetizacion mediatica prestando especial atencion al cine y los videojuegos. Hemos intentado analizar si algunos de los problemas encontrados a lo largo de la historia de la alfabetizacion cinematografica han existido tambien en el proceso de la alfabetizacion en los videojuegos, intentando unificar ambas visiones para captar la atencion de las personas que trabajan en el campo de los videojuegos. Para ello, el estudio abarca la alfabetizacion en los videojuegos en dos dimensiones, la dimension cultural y la dimension creativa. La dimension cultural se define a partir de los enfoques criticos y educacionales y la creativa mediante el diseno y la programacion. Estas investigaciones se han llevado a cabo sin dejar de lado la perspectiva de la alfabetizacion cinematografica. Hemos descubierto que la alfabetizacion en los videojuegos tiene una fuerte tendencia hacia el enfoque cultural, sobre todo la vertiente educativa, y que los riesgos que plantea el enfoque critico presentan problemas similares a los que se registran en los estudios sobre el cine. En cuanto a la dimension creativa, hemos advertido una falta de inversion para el estudio y la investigacion de practicas de diseno y programacion. En conclusion, creemos que la alfabetizacion en los videojuegos necesita un nivel de motivacion. Estimamos urgente la implantacion de una perspectiva de alfabetizacion basada en el diseno creativo y la programacion, poniendo especial enfasis en el desarrollo del enfoque comunicativo.

Creative Game Literacy. A Study of Interactive Media Based on Film Literacy

In this study we have analysed the current state of media literacy focusing on the game and film art forms. We aim to discover if some problems found throughout the history of film literacy were also occurring in game literacy research. It is also our intention to bring both visions together in order to get the attention of people working in the gaming field. To do this we have studied the cultural and creative dimensions in game literacy. The study is defined culturally by educational and critical approaches, and creatively by design and programming. The study also takes into account film literacy perspectives. We found that game literacy has a strong bias towards the cultural rather than the educational approach. The critical component might face the same problems that occur in film literacy studies. In terms of the creative dimension, we found a lack of investment in and support for research in design and programming practices. In conclusion we believe more interest needs to be generated in game literacy and that the literacy perspective based on creative design and programming with an emphasis on communication instead of education should be the model to follow.En este estudio hemos analizado el estado actual de la alfabetizacion mediatica prestando especial atencion al cine y los videojuegos. Hemos intentado analizar si algunos de los problemas encontrados a lo largo de la historia de la alfabetizacion cinematografica han existido tambien en el proceso de la alfabetizacion en los videojuegos, intentando unificar ambas visiones para captar la atencion de las personas que trabajan en el campo de los videojuegos. Para ello, el estudio abarca la alfabetizacion en los videojuegos en dos dimensiones, la dimension cultural y la dimension creativa. La dimension cultural se define a partir de los enfoques criticos y educacionales y la creativa mediante el diseno y la programacion. Estas investigaciones se han llevado a cabo sin dejar de lado la perspectiva de la alfabetizacion cinematografica. Hemos descubierto que la alfabetizacion en los videojuegos tiene una fuerte tendencia hacia el enfoque cultural, sobre todo la vertiente educativa, y que los riesgos que plantea el enfoque critico presentan problemas similares a los que se registran en los estudios sobre el cine. En cuanto a la dimension creativa, hemos advertido una falta de inversion para el estudio y la investigacion de practicas de diseno y programacion. En conclusion, creemos que la alfabetizacion en los videojuegos necesita un nivel de motivacion. Estimamos urgente la implantacion de una perspectiva de alfabetizacion basada en el diseno creativo y la programacion, poniendo especial enfasis en el desarrollo del enfoque comunicativo.

Virtual Worlds and Metaverse Platforms: New Communication and Identity Paradigms

While metaverse platforms are no longer a novel topic, they still pose challenges for the adaption of conventional research methodologies and communication practices. Virtual Worlds and Metaverse Platforms: New Communication and Identity Paradigms presents foundational research, models, case studies and research results that researchers and scholars can port to their own environments to evolve their own research processes and studies. The chapters cover scenarios of intellectual disciplines and technological endeavors in which metaverse platforms are currently being used and will be used, including: computation, human-computer interaction, design, media and communication, anthropology, sociology, psychology, education, philosophy, theology, arts, and aesthetics.In this chapter, Second Life is conceived as an open space and symbolic world of user-driven co-creation of content. The questions asked concern the ways in which the actors of three case studies design, mediate, and remediate their Second Life projects and how the choices they make contribute to user-driven content creation and possibly to innovative practices. To answer these questions, concepts of innovation, in particular closed and open innovation are introduced and motivations for engaging in co-creation are identified. It is suggested that we understand user-driven innovation in a world like Second Life in terms of symbolic reorganization of conceptual frameworks and meaning-making. Subsequently, the concept of remediation is suggested as a way to conceive of mediation in the cases studied. It is shown how difficult it is for actors to co-create, mediate, and remediate thus to generate user-driven innovative practices in two Danish business projects (Wonder DK and Times) and in one public service project (Literary). To conclude the analysis of the case studies, it is suggested that methods of creative co-creation and innovative practices can build on the concept of remediation borrowed from research on new media and redefined in virtual worlds.With decades of experience in simulation, the health professions are comparatively well versed in virtual environments for training. More broadly, there is a growing body of experience and supporting evidence on the benefits of virtual worlds for professional information sharing, clinical simulation, healthcare delivery, and as a research tool. Virtual worlds have empirically demonstrated outcomes as a simulation tool that increases knowledge and of health professionals, and initial explorations in regard to healthcare delivery show promise. Key challenges for wider adoption of virtual worlds within the health professions include a lack of established standards around privacy, a fragmented approach to collaboration and marked skepticism toward virtual worlds as a platform for health care delivery. Recommendations for formalised collaboration mechanisms, agreement on standards, and future research avenues are put forward, with a focus on virtual worlds as a tool that increasingly will be central to professional learning and practice.