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This case study refers to a body of research on videogame studies conducted by James Newman. Since 2002, Newman's work has been at the forefront of international research on videogames. His work on fan cultures, media history and preservation led to collaborations with the international videogames industry and cultural heritage sector partners and the foundation of The National Videogame Archive (2008). Newman's public engagement and knowledge exchange activity have explicated the complexities of game studies and game preservation for a variety of audiences including the heritage and museums sector and development community.
An innovative approach towards researching story-telling and its relevance in games design has resulted in cultural and economic impact in the creative sector and generated novel approaches that have influenced creative practice in the games industry. As a direct result of the research, an independent games development studio has been established and two commercial game titles have been released, with commercial sales to date of approximately £1.65m. The first release, Dear Esther, has been a major commercial success, has also won several industry recognition awards and is cited as directly responsible for the genesis of a new gaming genre.
Research on forms of agency in digital games has been directly applied to major game releases in Facebook and social-mobile development, demonstrating substantial and measurable commercial impact with global potential within a highly competitive industry. Specific research insights have affected key aspects of the design of individual games, resulting in higher than usual success rates for the titles involved. These insights have also improved the playing experiences of large numbers of players, as demonstrated by the level of take-up, creating a broader cultural impact. The impact is significant, in substantially improving the performance of games, and has extensive reach via the numbers of players who have benefited from an improved experience.
To date the research has had impact on more than one million players and helped to secure multiple contracts worth more than £2 million for the British game company Mediatonic. It has the potential (based on the user-bases of the companies involved) to reach more than 300 million users. Social-mobile games are at the forefront of the contemporary games industry. Mediatonic is a world leader in this form of gaming and this research has substantially influenced the company's design strategy.
Research at UWE Bristol in new media and games has engaged business and policy communities. The resulting knowledge exchange has underpinned the AHRC Creative Economy Hub REACT (Research and Enterprise for Arts and Creative Technologies) which has stimulated £200k value of new business for SMEs in its first year of operation. The research has enabled start-ups, micro businesses and SMEs in the digital economy to use our critical and creative methods to improve their products and services. It has also made a significant contribution to the development of policy on games for young people.
The ICTE Research Centre at UWS has transformed the way advanced technologies are used as tools within education and training, covering a range of sectors across Europe, and has contributed to policy formation, economic impact and benefits to society. Focussing on Web 2.0 technologies and specifically serious games, underpinning technologies have been applied to a range of educational disciplines at all levels of education and within organisations. External engagement has ranged from the level of individual teachers to the level of regional and national policy, and individual partner organisations have benefited economically from adopting and adapting these underpinning technologies.
Research from the Creative Futures Institute (CFi) has generated original understandings of how social media has triggered change within the practice of journalism. The evidence shows how findings from 3 inter-related projects were a catalyst for skills development and generated new contributions to civil society and the creative community. Impact is demonstrated across 15 organisations where new community media collectives were developed around the Vancouver 2010 Olympics (W2 Centre & True North Media House) and London 2012 Olympics (#media2012 & #CitizenRelay). UWS research led these organisations to invest £115,000 additional funds and implement these findings in their current work.
The key impacts of the research into the non-entertainment use of computer games technology and virtual worlds at the Serious Games Institute (SGI) have been:
The reach of these impacts extends to partners both within the UK and overseas. Beneficiaries include companies, health professionals, educators, young people and their parents.
The research of Richard Stevens and Dave Raybould has had significant worldwide impact on the curricula for, and teaching of, audio for video games. The research conducted by, and under the stewardship of, Stevens by the IASIG's education working group defines the scope of this new discipline and outlines the syllabi required to meet the needs of the economically powerful computer games industry. Based upon this framework, and including additional research into specific creative and technical practices, Stevens and Raybould's book `The Game Audio Tutorial' (Focal Press) has become a core text for both game audio and game design programmes.
Professor Gill's research on the sexualisation of culture has had a significant impact on education, public discourse and policy-making concerned with young people, media and sexualisation. These ideas have been disseminated via the media through programs such as Thinking Allowed and Woman's Hour; have impacted on understandings of Internet safety and sexualisation among governmental and non-governmental bodies (e.g. the police, the NSPCC); and have directly informed policy debate via Professor Gill's expert witness statements to Parliamentary enquiries in 2008, 2010 and 2011.