Week One 9/23

Notes from The Craft of Research: Chapters 4/8

1. Topic: I am studying female character model design in video games.

2. Question: because I want to find out how more accurate and realistic female models can increase enjoyment of games for female gamers.

3. Significance: in order to help my reader understand that there are many misrepresented/lacking female models in video games that can cause body image issues and worse.


(2. Question: because I want to find out why female gamers have responded to inaccurate portrayals of women in negative ways.)

Practical problems and conceptual problems have the same two part structure:
- a situation or condition, and
- undesirable consequences caused by that condition, costs that you (or better, your readers) don't want to pay

• The condition of a practical problem can be any state of affairs whose cost makes you (or better, your reader) unhappy.
• The condition of a conceptual problem, however, is always some version of not knowing or not understanding something

Consider mentioning important limiting conditions even if you feel readers would not think of them.


Research Question progress:

- Met with Professor Wagner and established adviser role
- Met with Professor Frank Lee to discuss thesis
- Set up dates to meet with women studies professors this Thursday (10/3) and next Thursday (10/10)
- Research further on cultivation theory


Side Research into Male Gaze:

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21661221/ns/health-behavior/t/honey-i-was-just-looking-defense-ogling/#.Ukrw-mTXRQM

http://widgetau.org/male-sexualization-in-video-games/

http://www.1up.com/features/op-ed-mainstream-gaming-male-gaze

http://gradworks.umi.com/14/94/1494400.html

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/171567/the_designers_notebook_triplea_.php

http://www.amazon.com/Female-video-game-characters-gaze/dp/124907486X

Player agency can be a powerful contributor to empathy.