Suzanne Conway
Biographic Data
| ID | 163385 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Suzanne Conway |
| GIVEN NAMES | Suzanne |
| FAMILY NAME | Conway |
| SIGNATURE | CONWAY S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Swinburne University of Technology |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1217-0982 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 8 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 10 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Maga (metamodernism as game aesthetic)
This article considers Trump’s presidency as metamodern, embodying contradictions within the established order and resonating with contemporary cultural trends. Oscillating between modernism and postmodernism, metamodernism is defined by coexistence of seemingly contrasting affective states and dispositions: enthusiasm and irony, hope and melancholy, attachment and alienation, generating a multifaceted subjecthood. Trump’s nostalgic slogan ‘Make …
The digital superhero: Conspiracy and convergence
Let's Argue! Designing Satire in Digital Games
This article presents an overview of the design of our digital game, Let's Argue. The project is an immanent critique of digital media, particularly the conventions of social and game applications as affording productive discourse between people, groups, and organizations. Focusing upon the concept of dialogue and its importance to society, we employ satire as a style, lampooning “social games” such as FarmVille and Candy Crush Saga. In aping, di…
Designing an augmented reality experience to increase awareness of Indigenous histories and knowledges
This article provides an overview of a design for a proposed project to increase awareness of Indigenous histories and knowledges through an Augmented Reality (AR) experience designed for Swinburne University of Technology's Hawthorn campus.Key issues are firstly introduced regarding an Aboriginal understanding of place and history, and the myriad problems faced in communicating such knowledges when confronted with the repercussions of colonisati…
Poisonous Pantheons: God of War and Toxic Masculinity
Kratos, protagonist of God of War (2005-current), is an archetypal representation of toxic masculinity. For much of the series, his rage drives much of the narrative and game dynamics, as Kratos destroys the entire Greek pantheon. The latest iteration of the series moves Kratos into Norse mythology and introduces a son. This father-son relationship allows the developers to ruminate upon the toxic masculinity that has defined much of the series' p…
Tusslers, Beatdowns, and Brothers: A Sociohistorical Overview of Video Game Arcades and the Street Fighter Community
Alongside their material dimensions, video game arcades were simultaneously metaphysical spaces where participants negotiated social and cultural convention, thus contributing to identity formation and performance within game culture. While physical arcade spaces have receded in number, the metaphysical elements of the arcades persist. We examine the historical conditions around the establishment of so-called arcade culture, taking into account t…
Reflections on Interdisciplinarity in the Study of Childhood in the Past
One of the hallmarks of research on childhood in the past is inclusive, interdisciplinary thinking. This reliance on interdisciplinarity to produce robust scholarship speaks, in part, to the ways we think about children and childhood today, as simultaneously embodied, material, cognitive, intersectional, relational, and developmental. Scholars working and connecting across disciplinary boundaries are also a product of the relatively recent emerge…
Ayah, Caregiver to Anglo-Indian Children, c. 1750–1947
The ayah, variously described as a nanny, a child-minder, or a nursemaid,1 was one of the most significant and distinctive figures in Anglo-Indian childhood from the eighteenth century until the end of British rule in India in 1947.2 The word itself has two sources: from the Portuguese, aia, and from Hindi and Urdu, aya, both meaning ‘nursemaid’.3 One of the features of colonial life most enjoyed by the British in India from the early days of the…
Zombification: Gamification, motivation, and the user
Gamification is often promoted as a user-centred initiative, engaging and motivating the alienated masses. Yet is such rhetoric reinforced by the design of these programmes? By incorporating a diverse suite of theoretical frameworks that accounts for the social, cultural and psychological effect of design features, this article argues that gamification too often invokes organization-centred design, treating users as zombies: senseless mechanisms …
Starting at “Start”: An Exploration of the Nondiegetic in Soccer Video Games
This article is a critical qualitative textual analysis of a selection of soccer video games, focusing on the representational and functional aspects of machine actions outside the game (Galloway, 2006) as illustrated by the “Introductory Video” and “Start Menu.” I analyze the figurative and ludic implications of these components comparatively, illustrating their crucial role in configuring audience expectations and pleasures for the game genre a…
Zombification: Gamification, motivation, and the user
Gamification is often promoted as a user-centred initiative, engaging and motivating the alienated masses. Yet is such rhetoric reinforced by the design of these programmes? By incorporating a diverse suite of theoretical frameworks that accounts for the social, cultural and psychological effect of design features, this article argues that gamification too often invokes organization-centred design, treating users as zombies: senseless mechanisms …
Starting at “Start”: An Exploration of the Nondiegetic in Soccer Video Games
This article is a critical qualitative textual analysis of a selection of soccer video games, focusing on the representational and functional aspects of machine actions outside the game (Galloway, 2006) as illustrated by the “Introductory Video” and “Start Menu.” I analyze the figurative and ludic implications of these components comparatively, illustrating their crucial role in configuring audience expectations and pleasures for the game genre a…
Poisonous Pantheons: God of War and Toxic Masculinity
Kratos, protagonist of God of War (2005-current), is an archetypal representation of toxic masculinity. For much of the series, his rage drives much of the narrative and game dynamics, as Kratos destroys the entire Greek pantheon. The latest iteration of the series moves Kratos into Norse mythology and introduces a son. This father-son relationship allows the developers to ruminate upon the toxic masculinity that has defined much of the series' p…
Tusslers, Beatdowns, and Brothers: A Sociohistorical Overview of Video Game Arcades and the Street Fighter Community
Alongside their material dimensions, video game arcades were simultaneously metaphysical spaces where participants negotiated social and cultural convention, thus contributing to identity formation and performance within game culture. While physical arcade spaces have receded in number, the metaphysical elements of the arcades persist. We examine the historical conditions around the establishment of so-called arcade culture, taking into account t…
Starting at “Start”: An Exploration of the Nondiegetic in Soccer Video Games
This article is a critical qualitative textual analysis of a selection of soccer video games, focusing on the representational and functional aspects of machine actions outside the game (Galloway, 2006) as illustrated by the “Introductory Video” and “Start Menu.” I analyze the figurative and ludic implications of these components comparatively, illustrating their crucial role in configuring audience expectations and pleasures for the game genre a…
Zombification: Gamification, motivation, and the user
Gamification is often promoted as a user-centred initiative, engaging and motivating the alienated masses. Yet is such rhetoric reinforced by the design of these programmes? By incorporating a diverse suite of theoretical frameworks that accounts for the social, cultural and psychological effect of design features, this article argues that gamification too often invokes organization-centred design, treating users as zombies: senseless mechanisms …
Ayah, Caregiver to Anglo-Indian Children, c. 1750–1947
The ayah, variously described as a nanny, a child-minder, or a nursemaid,1 was one of the most significant and distinctive figures in Anglo-Indian childhood from the eighteenth century until the end of British rule in India in 1947.2 The word itself has two sources: from the Portuguese, aia, and from Hindi and Urdu, aya, both meaning ‘nursemaid’.3 One of the features of colonial life most enjoyed by the British in India from the early days of the…
Reflections on Interdisciplinarity in the Study of Childhood in the Past
One of the hallmarks of research on childhood in the past is inclusive, interdisciplinary thinking. This reliance on interdisciplinarity to produce robust scholarship speaks, in part, to the ways we think about children and childhood today, as simultaneously embodied, material, cognitive, intersectional, relational, and developmental. Scholars working and connecting across disciplinary boundaries are also a product of the relatively recent emerge…
Tusslers, Beatdowns, and Brothers: A Sociohistorical Overview of Video Game Arcades and the Street Fighter Community
Alongside their material dimensions, video game arcades were simultaneously metaphysical spaces where participants negotiated social and cultural convention, thus contributing to identity formation and performance within game culture. While physical arcade spaces have receded in number, the metaphysical elements of the arcades persist. We examine the historical conditions around the establishment of so-called arcade culture, taking into account t…
Designing an augmented reality experience to increase awareness of Indigenous histories and knowledges
This article provides an overview of a design for a proposed project to increase awareness of Indigenous histories and knowledges through an Augmented Reality (AR) experience designed for Swinburne University of Technology's Hawthorn campus.Key issues are firstly introduced regarding an Aboriginal understanding of place and history, and the myriad problems faced in communicating such knowledges when confronted with the repercussions of colonisati…
Poisonous Pantheons: God of War and Toxic Masculinity
Kratos, protagonist of God of War (2005-current), is an archetypal representation of toxic masculinity. For much of the series, his rage drives much of the narrative and game dynamics, as Kratos destroys the entire Greek pantheon. The latest iteration of the series moves Kratos into Norse mythology and introduces a son. This father-son relationship allows the developers to ruminate upon the toxic masculinity that has defined much of the series' p…
Let's Argue! Designing Satire in Digital Games
This article presents an overview of the design of our digital game, Let's Argue. The project is an immanent critique of digital media, particularly the conventions of social and game applications as affording productive discourse between people, groups, and organizations. Focusing upon the concept of dialogue and its importance to society, we employ satire as a style, lampooning “social games” such as FarmVille and Candy Crush Saga. In aping, di…
Maga (metamodernism as game aesthetic)
This article considers Trump’s presidency as metamodern, embodying contradictions within the established order and resonating with contemporary cultural trends. Oscillating between modernism and postmodernism, metamodernism is defined by coexistence of seemingly contrasting affective states and dispositions: enthusiasm and irony, hope and melancholy, attachment and alienation, generating a multifaceted subjecthood. Trump’s nostalgic slogan ‘Make …
The digital superhero: Conspiracy and convergence
Sociology (6 works) · Aesthetics (5 works) · Art (5 works) · Computer Science (5 works) · Digital Games and Media (5 works) · Epistemology (4 works) · Political science (3 works) · Psychology (3 works) · Game design (2 works) · Gothic Literature and Media Analysis (2 works)