Capstone Projects

GAMER Group Sponsored Capstone Projects

Found: A Gender-Exploratory TTRPG Program (2021)

In order to go beyond the “Trans 101” programming common within libraries, we developed Found, a table-top role-playing game and discussion inspired by the well-known Mission to Mars passive education and problem-solving activity. Between experiences-based character creation, diverse non-player characters, flexible abilities, a soft tone to allow for vulnerability, a setting that encourages engagement with systemic issues, thought-provoking puzzles, and contemplative discussion questions, Found is a program designed to foster transgender community by giving space to comfortably explore gender, while also increasing cultural competency of cisgender allies.

Project sponsored by: Jin Ha Lee: Associate Professor at the UW Information School and director of the GAMER (GAME Research) Group

 
 
Research Partners
  • Leland Ashford Lanquist, MLIS
  • Marie Peeples, MLIS
  • Caroline Wright, MLIS
Links
Love is a Game!: A Taxonomy and Repository of Dating Games (2021)

Dating games are interactive electronic games that touch upon complex, real-world issues such as successfully navigating relationships, achieving healthy emotional intimacy, and exploring gender and sexual identities. However, conventional game tagging does not reflect the nuances of the genre or serve player information needs. To address this, we developed a taxonomy that is more inclusive of queer themes and can be adapted for both user-facing and back-end game cataloging purposes. We refined it with feedback from user interviews and industry professionals and applied it to create an online repository of dating games that serves as an information hub for players.

Project sponsored by: University of Washington GAMER Group

Research Partners

  • Joanne Chern, MLIS
  • Michelle Li, MLIS
Links
Revealing Connection: Creating a Knowledge Graph for Epic Games (2021)

Epic Games maintains documentation and learning courses for Unreal Engine, a 3D creation tool. Many users find it difficult to search and navigate between these materials. We developed a unified data model that identifies overlaps in the metadata and relationship classes between documentation and online courses. This model formed the foundation of a knowledge graph of 2,700 documentation pages and 130 courses built with Neo4j. Analyzing the knowledge graph reveals dynamic connections. As Epic continues to build on our framework, content creators will be able to identify tags and linkages, bringing relevant material together and delivering relevant content to users.

Project sponsored by: Epic Games, Inc. and GAMER – Game Research Group

 
Research Partners
  • Melissa Henry, MSIM
  • Samuel Erickson, MSIM
  • Angie Peng, MSIM
Diversity and Representation in Gaming (2019)

Women, POC, and LGBTQIA+ individuals are critically underrepresented in video game protagonists, while straight, White male protagonists dominate the medium. This inequality not only alienates players, but also makes marginalized individuals less likely to pursue game development as a career. By conducting a historical overview of the customizability, species, gender, complexion, race, age, and sexual orientation of video game protagonists, we aim to quantify this inequality to establish the need for change on the part of developers. The goal of this research is to effect positive change in representation and inclusivity both on-screen and behind the scenes.

Project sponsored by: GAMER – Game Research Group

Research Partners
  • Kathleen Dobruse, MLIS
  • Anthony McGough, MLIS
Multilingual Video Game Genre Taxonomy (2018)

This project is a multilingual taxonomy (currently English, German, and Japanese) of video game genres, including gameplay and narrative genres. It consists of a multilingual equivalency table, hierarchical schedules, and alphabetical schedules. The purpose of the taxonomy is to create an international standard for describing video game genres. This document aids in the indexing and searching of video game records designed with the Video Game Metadata Schema by providing a robust multilingual controlled vocabulary. This project was sponsored by the iSchool’s GAMER Group and created with data from Germany’s Computerspielemuseum and Japan’s Ritsumeikan University Center for Game Studies.

Project sponsored by: GAMER – Game Research Group

Research Partners
  • Ellen Brigham, MLIS Online
Social Dynamics Within Tabletop Roleplaying Games (2018)

Have you ever wondered whether your own experiences playing a game were mirrored by others? I have. Many months later and hours of research & cursing…here we are. This project explores the relationship between Tabletop Roleplaying Games (TRPG’s) and Social Dynamics. This was done by conducting interviews and an online survey discussing gamer demographics, gameplay, and social dynamics. Analysis of this self-reported data will help to bridge the current information gap regarding the social dynamics of TRPG’s. It will also be the first step in discussing the benefits of playing TRPG’s on social behavior skill development.

 

Project sponsored by: GAMER – Game Research Group

 
Research Partners
  • Ivy Acevedo, MLIS Online
Video Game Development Documents: A User Needs Assessment (2018)

Documents produced during the video game development process are generally scarce because of a lack of incentive for companies to share their work and intellectual property; however, academic and other institutions have begun collecting and persevering video games and development documents in order to preserve the history of this medium. I conducted a user needs assessment of five distinct user groups about what they considered a development document, their individual user needs, and their thoughts on video game preservation in general to develop an initial metadata schema that would support individuals using these types of documents.

Project sponsored by: GAMER – Game Research Group

Research Partners
  • Michael Reeves, MLIS
Game Mechanics Thesaurus (2017)

This project was an attempt to develop a thesaurus of terms to describe the mechanics of various game-based media. This process primarily consisted of seeking feedback from various stakeholder groups on what kind of language they used to describe these media mechanics, and what developments they felt would be most useful. Ultimately, stakeholder needs could not be accommodated in a single document, necessitating the construction and testing of multiple taxonomy structures.

Project sponsored by: GAMER – Game Research Group

Research Partners
  • Ian Backman, MSIM
Knowledge Organization in Transmedia Fictional Worlds: A Study of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Marvel Universe, and Star Wars (2016)

Currently there is no structured data standard for representing elements commonly found in transmedia fictional universes. To address this information gap, we have created an ontological model that will allow researchers, fans, brand managers, and creators to search for and retrieve information contained in these worlds based on their structures. Our process included a domain analysis and user studies based on the contents of four transmedia works in order to build a new model using Ontology Web Language (OWL) and an artificial intelligence reasoning engine. This model can infer connections between the transmedia elements and will facilitate better search and retrieval of the information contained within these vast story universes for all users interested in them. The result of this project is an OWL ontology that is intuitive for users; can be used by AI systems; and has been updated to reflect real user needs based on user research.

Project sponsored by: GAMER – Game Research Group

 

 
Research Partners
  • Theresa Arias, MLIS
  • Frank Branch, MLIS
  • Jolene Kennah, MLIS
  • Rebekah Phillips, MLIS
The Digital Protagonist Research Toolkit - Team Datavores (2016)

Video games are widely consumed as interactive media by a diverse population. 49% of US adults reportedly play video games and the US industry alone is estimated to be worth over $23 billion. However, who gets represented in video games is poorly understood and public discussions on the topic are divisive and heavily anecdotal. Controversies like Gamergate demonstrate a lack of depth, rigor, and scope in discourse on diversity in gaming across stakeholders including academics, consumers, developers, and publishers. Our team identified and built solutions to address the two largest barriers to the study of representation in gaming: a standard way to describe video game protagonists and a representative sample of video games. Released in a public-friendly format in collaboration with key stakeholders (e.g., the GAMER group, Anita Sarkeesian), these materials enable the systematic study of representation we need to advance crucial dialogues about our fastest growing media.

Project sponsored by: GAMER – Game Research Group

 
Research Partners
  • Kameron So, MSIM
  • Kate Sousa, MSIM
    Brian Waismeyer    , MSIM
  • Samantha Coulter, MSIM
UW GAMER Group Video Game Discovery Engine (2016)

UW GAMER (GAME Research) Group has developed the UW/SIMM Video Game Metadata Schema. This Video Game Discovery Engine is constructed in order to implement the schema to catalog video games, and also to share this achievement to support the use of games in entertainment, education and science. The website enables users to find video games by searching or browsing through approaches that are more in quantity and better in quality when comparing to traditional websites. For example, users can browse by progression and visual style to discover video games on this engine. At this stage, our team has developed the website beta version and conducted user testing on visual design and functional design.

Project sponsored by: GAMER – Game Research Group

Research Partners
  • Cong Niu, MLIS
  • Jasmine Lin, MLIS
  • Zhuohua Zhang, MSIM
Video Game Metadata Schema (VGMS) Publishing (2016)

Video Game Metadata Schema (VGMS) Publishing Print cataloging has a long and standardized tradition to draw from, but with the emergence of interactive media, the same standards do not translate. The GAMER (Game Research) Group, led by University of Washington’s Jin Ha Lee, has been actively creating a schema called the Video Game Metadata Schema (VGMS) that captures concepts that are important to those who research video games. Our project will make this schema publicly available and understandable to all who would like to implement it. It will be especially useful for catalogers, metadata specialists, and information architects working with interactive media. In addition to publishing the VGMS, we are creating a publishing toolkit for future use as the schema is still an evolving project for the GAMER Group.

Project sponsored by: GAMER – Game Research Group

 

 
Research Partners
  • Kris Lackner, MLIS
  • Iris Manning, MLIS
Game Graph: A Video Game Metadata Graph Database (2015)

Video Game Metadata Schema (VGMS) Publishing Print cataloging has a long and standardized tradition to draw from, but with the emergence of interactive media, the same standards do not translate. The GAMER (Game Research) Group, led by University of Washington’s Jin Ha Lee, has been actively creating a schema called the Video Game Metadata Schema (VGMS) that captures concepts that are important to those who research video games. Our project will make this schema publicly available and understandable to all who would like to implement it. It will be especially useful for catalogers, metadata specialists, and information architects working with interactive media. In addition to publishing the VGMS, we are creating a publishing toolkit for future use as the schema is still an evolving project for the GAMER Group.

Project sponsored by: GAMER – Game Research Group and Seattle Interactive Media Museum

 

 
Research Partners
  • Jonathan Lin, MLIS
The Appeals Factory Recommendation System for the GAMER Research Group (2015)

Our project is part of the Game Metadata Research (GAMER) Group’s Crossmedia Advisory Services based on media appeal factors, which investigates common appeal factors across multiple media formats to better support advisory services in the 21st century. Appeals Factory aims to develop a framework for recommending games to users based on preferences regarding selected factors: Story, Character, Setting, Visual Style, and Mood. Traditional mechanisms for game recommendation rely on a user’s gaming history as well as strict subject and genre metadata, but through our appeals methodology, users with any level of experience can find games suited to their taste based on what draws them to stories in general and games in particular. Our project provides a foundation for game and interactive media advisory for researchers, teachers, librarians, parents, and gamers.

 

Project sponsored by: GAMER – Game Research Group and Seattle Interactive Media Museum

Research Partners
  • Billie Boyd, MLIS
  • Heather Welch, MLIS
  • Katie Wilson, MLIS
Database for Video Game Metadata Project for the GAMER Research Group (2014)

Our work is part of the Game Metadata Research (GAMER) Group’s project: Constructing a Metadata Schema for Video Games and Interactive Media, which aims to capture the essential information about these materials in a standardized, user-centered way. The deliverables of our project include: (1) an XML schema representation of their metadata scheme; (2) a repository of XML instances containing cataloging records of sample video games; (3) a user-friendly data input form for game catalogers; (4) interfaces enabling users to search and browse game records within the database; (5) documentation for users and future maintenance. This project consolidates and enhances GAMER’s previously disparate and incomplete game data into a single, easily extensible format, and delivers a concrete product to help GAMER evaluate their developing metadata scheme. It provides a basis for advancing the GAMER research, contributing to the goal of improving video game organization and access for gamers, catalogers, and researchers.

Project sponsored by: GAMER – Game Research Group

Research Partners
  • Susan Fitch, MLIS
  • Emily Jantz, MLIS
  • Wan-Chen Lee, MLIS
Mood Taxonomy for Video Games and Interactive Media (2014)

The objective of this research is to improve our understanding of how people perceive and describe the mood of video games and interactive media. The mood element and its respective controlled vocabulary was developed by the Game Metadata Research Group at the iSchool, in collaboration with the Seattle Interactive Media Museum (SIMM), as a part of the Video Game Metadata Schema.In order to evaluate the applicability of the mood element, I have conducted user interviews in which gamers were asked to evaluate the current mood CV and apply mood terms to familiar game titles. Next, I have compiled a list of over 1500 games, with applied mood terms, and sourced genres and release years. This project rectifies the scarcity of past research, enabling cataloguers and users of the SIMM to search and organize video game metadata by mood.

 

Project sponsored by: GAMER – Game Research Group

 
Research Partners
  • Stephanie Rossi, MLIS

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