Being a journalism student, there's so much jargon in that opener that I didn't bother reading on. Then again, reports generally aren't meant to be easy to follow, apparently it's impressive if you can use over-the-top big words, which in turn completely contradicts my earlier education of writing how you would want it read.

I'll put it in the 'something to do on a rainy day' box.

Fallible

I'm a firm believer in Owrell's 6 rules:

* Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
* Never use a long word where a short one will do.
* If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
* Never use the passive voice where you can use the active.
* Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
* Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

And this is why me and academia don't get along.

Fwiffo

Words... They came with paragraphs from the blackness...

The_nub_next_door

Maggie, you're in Communication? Aren't you?

Ratuna

@okenny :): You're not alone, that entire paragraph made me feel like my brain was trying to eat itself, and I'm no dummy.

Thorax

@okenny :): Thank God! I thought I was the only one!

D Mitsuki

I only just read the abstract, and I have to say that I'm impressed. I haven't really thought of this sort of process before, and it's kind of eye opening. I'm not sure I can work my way through the entire thesis, though.

I can't help but wonder where this puts the author in the Geek Hierarchy.

eclipsegryph

a 'text'? looks like a bit of NSJ for consolevania fans

the_dudefather

I bookmarked it, and will wade through more seriously later on this evening, before I sleep. But it looks fascinating-- Maggie, will you promise to write an analysis of it later, after your rest from the rigors of academia?

wild homes 5: no disassemble!

cool picture though.

BOOM HEADSHOT!

i hate myself.

Peter-Moore

i agree okenny.

reading that made me shout like a raving rabbid.

Peter-Moore

That paragraph hurt my thinking muscle. :(

Dragon_Warrior

@Maggie:

Come on, you're making me feel dumb here :(

okenny :)

Pretty dense stuff, but worth the time once you get used to the wording. Mostly it makes me want to go bitch about the game on the Bethsoft forums (again), but his conclusions are interesting.

cynopt

It's a shame; the subject matter is quite interesting, but it's buried in needless text.

imaria

Is it sad that I understand the jargon in that? Probably, but I wouldn't be a good Communication student if I didn't. Heck maybe in another year or so my MA thesis will be making the rounds. I can only hope a gaming site might pick it up since I'll be doing work related to the ESRB's ratings system. Though I tend to stay away from discourse analysis like the plague. No, no... I'll stick to questionnaires and lab rats. Did I say "lab rats?" I meant freshmen.

Looks like it will be an excellent read from the abstract, but at 124 pages from the beginning of chapter 1 until the references it might have to wait until I'm not bogged down by other academic reading.

*shakes fist at the persuasion theory books sitting on desk*

MantisDragon

.. that reminds me: whatever happened to Tha Shizzolator? Good stuff.

Fun pic, too. Looks like that scene from Starship Troopers.
".. Medic!!"

zluzlutt

Yeah, that text is just plain ugly. My college papers are a lot easier to read, anyway.

eastx

@Fwiffo: Meh, Newspeak is doubleplusungood.

Ashurahori

I want an Executive Summary.

Evil Tortie's Mom

That paragraph has nothing on my lecturer's vector calculus notes :P

The first six pages I read in this text didn't look that bad, but I didn't really find the subject interesting enough to read it through.

MaxS

@Fwiffo: I second that.

Tiny Post-Impressionist Artist

Clarity and brevity are wonderful things, especially when writing for entertainment; however, I think jargon like this is very much acceptable when the goal is more academic in nature. Such articles should be written using words that the people who could benefit most from reading the article will understand, aiming for precision of ideas over clarity and brevity.

Or, at least, such is my thesis on the purpose of academic discourse . . . :)

Rohsiph

The Internet gives everyone a bullhorn, regardless of their ability to offer rational commentary. When Fallout 3 comes out, there will be one of two reactions from the No Mutants Allowed fanboy crowd:

If it is poorly received: "See, we told you that Bethesda had no place creating a modern, 3D addition to our venerable franchise, instead of giving us what we wanted: a 2D turn-based isometric classical CRPG that no one under the age of 30 would buy."

If it is well received: "See, without all of our incessant harping on Bethesda, they never would have gotten it right. You can thank us for the wonderful fan service this game turned out to be."

You will never hear: "Perhaps we went a little over the top with our assessment of Bethesda's ability to make a great game. We could have been skeptical but a hell of a lot more balanced in our approach, instead of acting like a bunch of tantrum-throwing toddlers. Sorry, and great work."

Now I absolutely love Fallout, and spent the weekend replaying FO2 with the new resolution patch, and could not be more excited about FO3. These other fanboys are a bunch of insufferable trolls who serve no other purpose than to completely alienate the developers from the sane fan base, and I can't blame Bethesda for completely ignoring them as they ceaselessly nitpick and grumble. I hope that they have not set a precedent for future game development/fan community relations.

AtomicPlayboy

@AtomicPlayboy:
Good point.
I guess this one answers the question on "how fans envisioned their labor contribution to the game development process".
At least when seen from the No Mutants Allowed fanboy crowd's point of view.

Though I don't have any real insight on where Bethesda gets its fan feedback from. I always though NMA was the biggest Fallout-focused forum around.

Logician

As one can understand from the thesis, AtomicPlayboy is just simplifying far more complex processes that are in motion.

Briosafreak

Arg this isnt news it just looks like someone's media Critical research.

Masamuru123

@Logician: Beth does check NMA, or did at least, and that's what makes the whole thing such a vicious cycle. Noone is really the bad guy here, despite Atomic's painting all longtime fans as mindless "fanboy" complainers. When announcements first came out there would finally be a new title, rabid joy was the general reaction, with twp major caveats: don't dick wit hthe story, and for fuck's sake, DO NOT make it Oblivion with guns.
They did, the rest is history.

@AtomicPlayboy:
BtW, I'm 25. Guess I'll go get my walkin' cane.

cynopt

@cynopt: I'm not "painting all longtime fans as mindless 'fanboy' complainers". I've self-identified as the former and obviously am deriding the latter. There is a difference. What I'm saying is that the loudest voices here have been the least constructive, i.e. those who would take nothing less than a mild evolution from the past games (a-la the FO3 tech demo that was made available last year), and that instead of engaging Beth in a reasoned dialog, simply became the squeaky wheels. While Beth made valiant (unprecedented?) efforts to provide a venue for dialog with the fanbase through the forums, this was just met with tired whining from the NMA crowd, as evidenced by the negative, sarcastic framing of every piece of FO3 news on the NMA site. Why would Beth listen to this? And don't you think Beth would have been more open to collaboration with the fanbase if the more rational voices could be heard above all the screeching?

BTW, hats off to you for enjoying the series at 25. I took a gratuitous swipe at the under-30 crowd. My bad.

AtomicPlayboy

I'm not sure I agree with much this paper discusses. It sounds like the author is proposing some sort of creative communism between authors and consumers.

Also, the author fails to mention the nature of the extremely vocal Fallout fans. I don't think there can be any valid cooperation between producers and fans when the fans regularly send death threats to the producers.

DTOE