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From the Week 1 and 2 lectures on semiotics, player perception and abstraction, I wanted to explore how design can communicate meaning.

I briefly read a PDF I found on the Sean Hall book mentioned in the lecture in Week 1 - (https://visualorganization.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/semiotics_thismeansthat.pdf)

However, I only started the essay on Week 4 when we were introduced to Flow theory and we covered Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow model.

Through Week 6 and 7, the discussion of identity and representation gave me the full idea on what I could culturally reflect upon for Part 2.

I drew upon two major questions:

1. What makes a game feel immersive?

2. Why are Caribbean identities still misrepresented in games and media?

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A screenshot from Week 4s Lecture, introducing Flow Theory.

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Week 2: Explored player perception

Week 4: Focused on Flow

Week 5: Started writing Essay 1

Week 6: Shifted Essay 2 to CoD

Week 7: Drafted both essays

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Screenshot from Week 4s Lecture on Flow Channel in Games from Ernest Adams and Andrew Rollings

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When hit in Bloodbourne, Heaton’s loop and Flow condition of ‘immediate feedback.’ Combat reinforces learning moment by moment.

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Affordance & Norman (Attach PDF or quote from “Discoverability” slides).

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Fallout: New Vegas player agency supported by clear objectives matching Flow’s ‘sense of control’ and ‘autotelic engagement’

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"Caribbean-coded stereotypes.”

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(New Gameplay Today – Return Of The Obra Dinn)

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The minimalist UI shows the Flow theory through the reduction of distraction - pushing a deeper concentration to the game itself.

“Combining Flow with affordance design showed me that interaction isn’t just input—it’s communication between player and system.”

(Csikszentmihalyi, 1991, p.138)

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New Gameplay Today – Return Of The Obra Dinn

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Hall (1997) on stereotyping and representation in media: (https://bgsmediastudies.weebly.com/uploads/8/9/4/2/894215/stuart_hall_representation_theory.pdf).

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Connecting media portrayal to gameplay.

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I did consider GTA: Vice City as they have a few stereotypes, especially Caribbean, in their game yet I thought GTA is a satire game so I didn't really feel as though it was appropriate.

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Upon researching Flow and representation, I had to adapt and change the way I viewed games.

Part 1 made me respect the complexity of good design and how much effort goes towards it.

Part 2 made me reflect on how a poor use of this complexity can dish out harsh stereotypes and misrepresentation.