Extending Digital Narrative and Understanding Male Gamers

XDN and UMG are interdisciplinary research projects that combine humanities, computer science, and social sciences. They explore new forms of media and culture in electronic literature and game studies. They also examine the social and cultural implications of their media forms, such as how they affect identity, affect, and representation.

The two projects are funded by the Research Council of Norway and based at the University of Bergen, Norway, and collaborations with other Norwegian and international researchers. They aim to produce high-quality research outputs, such as publications, workshops, exhibitions, and public events. Both projects are part of the CoE Center for Digital Narrative at the University of Bergen.

XDN (Extending Digital Narrative) is a research project that explores new genres of digital narrative that use digital media to create innovative and experimental stories. The project analyzes three forms of digital narrative: immersive, conversational, and generative. Immersive narratives use virtual reality and augmented reality to create an immersive visual field for the viewer. Conversational narratives use voice recognition and natural language processing to create dialogues between the user and the work. Generative narratives use artificial intelligence techniques to create texts that are novel, surprising, and sometimes challenging. The project will document, map, and analyze these emerging forms of digital narrative and place them in cultural and technological context. The project is led by professor Scott Rettberg.

UMG (Understanding Male Gamers) is a research project that investigates the current schism in videogame culture from the perspective of male gamers. The project brings together game studies with masculinity studies to study male gamer experiences of game culture as a contested, gendered space. The project examines what games and play mean for establishing a masculine identity, how men experience gender norms in game culture, and how they react to the demographic changes in game culture that challenge their traditional forms of masculinity. The project also explores how it can contribute to a better understanding of these issues and their implications for game culture and society at large. The project is led by professor Kristine Jørgensen.

The two projects will have a joint public kick-off program on November 6th, 2023. Please see detaileds below.

UMG @ Ulrikes Aula, Ulrike Pihls hus

09:00-09:15    Intro: Kristine Jørgensen, Professor University of Bergen
09:15-09:45    Michael Salter, UNSW Sydney, The political-technological-cultural economy of masculinity in gaming
09:45-10:15    Hilde Corneliussen, UiB, Gendering of tech cultures – from women’s experience of barriers to men’s sense of belonging
Break
10:30-11:00    Dag Skarstein, OsloMET, Language and ideology: A phenomenological approach to linguistic data
11:00-11:30    Synnøve Lindtner, UiB, Gaming and Adolescent Masculinity in Norway: Negotiating gamer masculinities in a gender egalitarian context.
11:30-12:00    Mikko Merilainen, Tampere University and Maria Ruotsalainen, University of Jyväskylä, “Critical, not cynical: Re-thinking masculinities in gaming”

XDN @ Auditorium Q, Sydneshaugen skole

Morning XDN Micro-Talks
09:00-10:20 Session 1, moderator: Hans Kristian Rustad

• Scott Rettberg: Welcome
• Anna Nacher, Jagiellonian University, Poland: Narrative in VR environments
• Rod Coover, Temple University, USA: VR and other extended cinema
• Søren Pold, Aarhus University, Denmark: AI from a platform perspective
• Elisa Mekler, IT-University of Copenhagen, Denmark: Evaluating user experiences

10:20 Break

10:40-12:00 Session 2, moderator: Joseph Tabbi, UiB

• Drew Keller, Microsoft and UiB: Computational Creativity (Leveraging AI in Real World)
• Jason Nelson & Alinta Krauth, UiB: Animating Ultra Large AI Images
• David Jhave Johnston, UiB: Identity Upgrade (AI filmmaking)
• Scott Rettberg, UiB: Cyborg Authorship (Writing with AI)

XDN and UMG @ Auditorium Q, Sydneshaugen skole

13:00-13:15    Welcome: Scott Rettberg
13:15-14:15    UMG Keynote: Marcus Maloney, Coventry University: 'Doing justice to your subject(s): Reflections on my work in the masculinity and gaming space'
14:30-15:30    XDN Keynote: Caitlin Fisher, York University, CA
Break and refreshments
15:45-16:45    Panel discussion
16:45-17:00    Closing words: Kristine Jørgensen

The kick-off is open for everyone who is interested in learning more about the two projects and their topics. We look forward to seeing you there!