Literacy and multimedia: How thoughtprocesses are created through interaction with Guild Wars 2, an MMORPG, and the Wikitude World Browser, an augmented reality platform.

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Literacy and multimedia: How

thought-processes are created through interaction with

Guild Wars 2, an MMORPG, and the Wikitude

World Browser, an augmented reality platform.

Supervisor: dhr. Prof. Dr. R.A. Rogers

Datum

N/A

Authors

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2 Abstract

This paper evaluates the concept of literacy, as it has been previously defined within academic research, in order to capture the methods of literacy practice that are encouraged by particular media interfaces. It explores the current multimedia environment, and the way individuals channel their thought-processes in conjunction with digital interfaces, as a way to adapt the understanding of literacy through particular media frameworks. The theories and frameworks are grounded in two case studies, one of which is a multiplayer online role-playing game and the second is an

augmented reality interface. The findings suggest the possibility for platform-specific efficiency - driven through accumulations of practice. This research introduces the identification of a new category of literacy, navigational literacy.

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The present immersion of multimedia into societies is pushing individuals to make stronger connections between mediums. Devices capable of organizing and executing information -based tasks are invading daily lives, transforming the way we interact with othe r people. The interfaces these multimedia platforms present themselves in offer a wide variety of models, through which individuals can learn to connect and communicate. The grammar of action and tasks set by a platform create a unique way for individuals to collaborate through multimedia. As these individual users learn to interact with the components embedded in these platforms, they will develop new ways to complete tasks and connect with other users. The knowledge they draw from interacting with a multimedia platform enables them to combine various forms of media simultaneously, in order to produce a particular result.

The thought-processes exerted by individuals as they interact with multimediatized devices can exemplify a wide connection of intellectual practice(s). As individuals are propelled into an

environment where they are expected to interact with multiple forms of media, they enhance their ability to coordinate thoughts with different mediums. The notion of literacy becomes important to understand the extent of this informational exchange, as a concept that defines human ability to coordinate thought-processes with externalized forms of information transmission. The

technological climate today encompasses humans in a tightly woven network of media outlets. As a result, the coordination of thought processes with externalized information systems is advancing towards new convergences of intellectual potential. With media platforms developing to be

increasingly multidisciplinary, it has become apparent that the notion of literacy cannot be defined through a single method of information transmission. Today, a variety of categories of literacy can be theorised to understand the ways humans are interacting with interfaces.

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games, or MMORPGs, are a type of multimedia interface that exemplifies this tremendous convergence of informational practices into a single platform. These video games invite players into an environment where they can combine interface

functionality with their avatar’s mobility. Players are encouraged to make wide connections between the multiple forms of media encompassed in the game, in order to participate in an activity.

Augmented reality (AR) platforms are another type of multimedia interface that combines a strong breadth of media practices on a single interface. Such models invite users to combine informational structures with the immediate environment, in order to enhance their ability to interact with it. Both MMORPGs and AR platforms place themselves in this new climate of multimediatized interfaces,

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6 where their users have multiple possibilities for interaction. Processes of literacy are accelerated and rendered more complex in these environments. It will be interesting to observe the ways in which media literacy is captured in video game literacy and AR literacy, to elaborate on the ways this informational process is validated. There might also be some potentially unexplored facets of literacy, as these emerging combinations of informational practice are driving individuals towards new ways to complete asks. In this thesis, I would like to explore the concept of literacy and how it relates to media; specifically video games and AR interfaces. I hope to exemplify the forms of literacy driven from interaction with such interfaces, and potentially uncover new understandings on how these practices enable individual thought-processes.

This project builds on Aufderheide (1992) and her definition of a media literate person, as a basis for understanding what makes an individual capable of interacting with new mediums. Other authors, such as Bawden (2012) and Säljö (2012), have extended this definition by theorising subcategories of media literacies such as information literacy and statistical literacy. By studying new media

interfaces, my contribution to this field of knowledge will be to introduce the concept of navigational literacy. This concept extends Aufderheide’s definition of media literacy, by incorporating media use that is not included in current theory.

The multimedia environment

Literacy can be understood as the ability to channel thought-processes in conjunction with models of externalised information transmission, in order to conceive forms of informational re -appropriation. This is the working definition of literacy given for this project, and its’ construction will be

highlighted in further depth in the following literature review. Literacy enables individuals to

correlate their intellectual capabilities within a dynamic network of media texts and individuals. The sheer amount of different types of mediatized stimuli implies a reflexivity within individuals that draws on many types of literacy. (Aufderheide, 1992; Bawden, 2012; Yin & Zhou, 2015) As societies are propelled towards exponential interaction and usage of technologies, a shift in the way we understand our proficiency in literacy becomes fundamental. The MacArthur Foundation’s Digital Media and Learning Initiative, founded in 1970, paves a clear example of how and why cultural institutions should focus more research on the new educational boundaries set by technologies and participatory culture. Their work attempts to re-interpret the necessities of young individuals within an increasingly complex media landscape.

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7 While schools and libraries may represent the best sites for overcoming the participation gap, they are often the most limited in their ability to access some of the key platforms -- from Flickr and YouTube to Ning and Wikipedia-- where these new cultural practices are emerging. *…+ The reliance on standardized testing is in some cases shutting down the potentials for intervention through education and in other cases restricting our understanding of these new skills to only those which can be tested and measured. (Jenkins, 2009)

Although their project is set within an education setting, it concisely describes the necessity for a re -evaluation of the skillsets individuals develop through interaction with new technologies and other people. The philosophy behind their research purveys through other media-related disciplines. Emerging forms of knowledge transmission are limited by the way users can understand them. Users are encouraged to develop individual ways of interpreting media texts they are interacting with . This interaction between user and media is what forges new paths to understand the relation between the brain and the computer.

New technologies bring change. When they are fundamental to transportation and communication they affect more than just the mechanics of how we work and live. Because of them, we find ourselves interacting with people from different cultures who hold different values. We learn to operate in a global space, experiencing cultural clashes and making cultural accommodations. (Stefik, M. 1999)

The author Mark Stefik, during his research about the internet and the technological developments revolving around it, explained technology plays an important role in bolstering cultural interaction. The vast progress made to technological services has enabled individuals to more easily exchange values and resources. Within an ever-increasing number of digital possibilities, individuals have the ability to interconnect values from a range of different backgrounds and assimilate meaning to their online activity. ‘Time becomes spatialized, distributed over the surface of the screen. *…+ here the computer screen functions as a record of memory.’ (Manovich, 2001, p. 325) It is necessary to understand these values embedded in digital interactivity through the spatiality between them, as describes Manovich in research regarding the language of new media. Individuals who wish to be able to interconnect with users around models of digital media must consider the way interfaces are organized in order to draw meaning through their correlation.

The sheer volume of emerging digital media forms shows no sign of slowing down, accentuating this breadth of technological models through which individuals can interact with. Today, digital

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8 Company in 2015 demonstrated an increasingly wide amount of investment in regards to

technologies.

Fig 1. Report on global media expenditures (McKinsey & Company, 2015) Ranging analysis between 2009 and 2014, the report indicates the importance in the growth of sectors such as the video game industry, which grew from $55M of investment to $84M in just 5 years. Reportedly, forms of print media such as newspapers and consumer magazines globally declined in numbers. Today, the number of digital forms of technology continues to rise. Individuals with access to this technology can make wider connections between their abilities and the

computers’. As individuals learn to employ new models of digital technology, they heighten their ability to reflect through the interface.

Individuals facilitate their own possibility to develop methods of thought-processing and reasoning through technology. This reasoning is developed in conjunction to the possibilities encapsulated in the media platform they are utilising. In 2008, Bawden wrote an article regarding the competencies of digital literacy in the new media landscape, defining four components through which to

understand literacy among users. He highlights internet searching, hypertext navigation, knowledge assembly, and content evaluation as forms of knowledge distributed through interacting with digital media. As users learn to adopt the functionalities afforded by a particular interface, the time invested in this digital interaction has impact on potential thought-processing abilities. ‘The deep

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9 interactive ‘immersion’ that leads some to question the negative effects of video games may also be the key to unlocking new forms of creative learning and expression. By activating the link between play, learning, creativity, and a whole host of valuable skills, video games have been perceived as an exciting new frontier for solving problems using media’ (Hunting & Zolides, 2013)

Within a video game context, this ‘immersion’ intensifies through the reward scheme implemented in the game whereby players are encouraged to face challenging situations in exchange for items and abilities. Players are presented with contexts where they must use resources at their disposal to the best of their ability in order to progress through the game.

Banks and Potts (2010) established definitions of multiple game theory, a model that encompasses the way gamers can interact with the video game. This theory describes how action-based and informational advancements made accessible to individuals are enabling them to create deep and intricate meanings, notably within the different interfaces developed within a video game. Multiple games theory provides a method to address the notion that not only are there multiple contexts of action in consumer co-creation – such as intellectual property production, future labour market signalling, learning and feedback, cultural identity and opportunity, cultural participation, community norms – but also that these dimensions are fundamentally incommensurable. (Banks & Potts 2010)

In video game environments, players have the opportunity to regularly engage with multiple action -based and informational processes. These activities suggest the possibility for players to interrelate and utilise a large number of functions within a multimedia interface. As players learn to interact with a video game, they are propelled into understanding the functionalities of a multimedia platform.

Examples of multimedia platforms

Within the range of available video games today, MMORPG offer an intricate gaming platform for players to interact around. In an article about online games and education written in 2008 by Constance Steinkuehler, the author defines MMO gaming as:

Highly graphical 2 or 3-D videogames played online allowing individuals, through their self-created digital characters or ‘avatars’, to interact not only with the gaming software (the designed

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10 environment of the game and the computer-controlled characters within it) but with other players’ avatars as well. (Steinkuehler, 2008)

This digital environment offers players a model through which to explore their behaviour within a simulated social structure. MMORPGs are categorised through their online interconnectivity between players, combined with the incentive of role-play. Role-play compels interaction with the game towards a perception where players define their challenge to play through the role they wish to fulfil in this multiplayer game environment.

MMORPGs *…+ formed huge fan bases all over the world and the number of online game users grew as, by this time, almost every game genre could be played online. The technological advances in communications networks today have resulted in broadband – high speed, uninterrupted internet access, at lower and lower costs has also boosted the popularity of these games. (Curran et al, 2005)

In an article about online gaming, Curran et al. stipulate the growth in utilisation of MMORPGs within the entertainment industry. With the rise of faster internet as well as stronger computers, the use of these types of games has simply increased. The result is a wider network of individuals that have access to these technologies and are willing to interact with them. MMORPGs offer dynamic, immersive environments for individuals to collaborate and compete in. Online multiplayer games create platforms and network opportunities that enable players to solve problem using media (Hunting & Zolides, 2013). The possibilities developed in such MMOs, encouraging individuals to harvest resources and secure open-world objectives collaboratively, are distributed through complex infrastructures tying user-interface into real-time game mechanics. In 2012, Rainie & Wellman offered a framework to categorize the components defining new media literacy, listing the various methods of communication we develop verbally and visually through technology. MMORPGs, consisting of multiple layers of game-related information within the game and on other platforms (Banks & Potts, 2010), would be interesting to study in terms of how they can develop users’ literacy. The game Guild Wars 2, developed by Arena Net, reached a number of 7 million accounts last fall following the release of their latest expansion. Guild Wars 2 has a considerable player base, and combines multiple components of action and social networking into a dynamic environment for players. This MMO offers a relevant lens to explore the facets of digital literacy and how it purveys through its user-interface. Amongst a salient few popular MMORPGs, Guild Wars 2 has attracted a vast network of gamers that work together to explore and exploit its surface. The mechanics they utilize demonstrate a high potential for adopting and interpreting information. Literacies take on new proportions in online spaces, and in present-day academia, it has not yet been considered how

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11 strongly MMORPG environments might reinforce literacy amongst individuals. It will be interesting to explore in which ways rubrics of verbal and visual communication become elementary to the development of any serious multiplayer gamer, and the ways that this might help players develop digital literacies.

Another form of multimedia platform that encompasses a wide possibility of abilities amongst users is that of augmented reality. ‘Augmented reality (AR) user interfaces have improved tremendously in the past few years. AR is drawing considerable interest not onl y because it involves novel or ‘cool’ technologies, but also because it promises to help users manage today’s information overload. AR helps present information succinctly, in its ‘natural’ home, where users can easily benefit from and act on it.’ (Singh & Singh, 2013) AR platforms present users with a view of their immediate

environment in combination with a range of informational interfaces through which to accentuate this view. An example of this is the Wikitude World Browser which was initially founded in 2008. The application offers users a possibility to view their surroundings in combination with an interface linked to Wikipedia and Trip Advisor that display additional information about locations near them. Users dispose of a model through which to aggregate their thought-processes with computational abilities in order to reach new outcomes through interface utilisation. The interesting similarity between MMORPGs and AR interfaces is that they both place users into a system where they are presented with a view of their immediate environment combined with informative and active interfaces. Where they inherently offer a widely different possibility for usage, is the fact one is implemented in a simulated environment and the other in a real -life environment. Both types of platforms capture different types of thought-processing abilities for users and players.

The impact on literacy and knowledge

It is important in a preliminary stance to understand what literacy means, and how individuals grasp the concept through different forms of multimedia. Interaction with technological devices and digital interfaces imply forms of ability in literacy by users as they process and utilise the information at their disposal. ‘Digitally literate people not only represent an idea by selecting modes and tools but also plan how to spatially and temporally juxtapose multimodal texts to best represent ideas.’ (O’Brien & Scharber, 2008) In an article about the possibilities afforded through digital literacy, the authors O’Brien & Scharber denote that individuals learn to interrelate various sources of

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12 knowledge transmission embedded in digitised media texts are specific to the platform through which they are represented, which will determine the way users chose to interact with them. Knowledge and thought-processing abilities blur between the brain and the computer, in a way that it is the distinct features embedded in particular platforms that define a potential enhancement in thought-processing.

‘The Net’s cacophony of stimuli short-circuits both conscious and unconscious thought, preventing our minds from thinking either deeply or creatively. Our brains turn into simple signal-processing units, quickly shepherding information into consciousness and then back out again’. (Carr, 2010) In a book about the effects of the internet on the brain, writer Nicholas Carr describes the connection between mental activity and computational activity through their combined use. He explains that our intellectual potential is only exerted when stimulated, that users employ functions of literacy dependant on the interface they are presented with. Without this digital support for memory, individuals are incapable of fulfilling the same actions. On this basis, multimedia platforms are able to transmit and transform values of knowledge throughout media.

On both Guild Wars 2 and the Wikitude World Browser, there is a high potential for interpreting and reappropriating information. Literacies take on new proportions in online spaces, and in present -day academia, it has not yet been considered how strongly MMORPG environments and AR

environments might reinforce literacy amongst individuals. It will be interesting to explore in which ways models of verbal and visual communication become fundamental to the deve lopment of any media user.

Relevance and feasibility

Guild Wars 2, amongst a salient few popular MMORPGs, has attracted a vast network of gamers that work together to explore and exploit its surface. The Wikitude World Browser, as an AR platform, offers users an informationally rich system through which to plot activity. The mechanics they utilize demonstrate a high potential for adopting and interpreting information. ‘Naturally occurring literacy learning permeates through massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) and virtual worlds.’ (Gee, 2003; Steinkuehler, 2007; Black & Steinkuehler, 2009). Literacies take on new proportions in online spaces, and in present-day academia, it has not yet been considered how strongly gaming

environments and AR environments might reinforce literacy amongst individuals. It will be

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13 to the development of any serious multiplayer gamer. This research could be a preliminary step towards understanding how multimedia interfaces can contribute to individual literacy practice beyond the academic or professional environment.

The fundamental idea supporting this project is the necessity for an updated understanding of the literacies encompassed in new multimedia environments, such as gaming environments and augmented-reality environments. Current academic conclusions around the definition of literacies require expansion, based on emerging forms of technology. In this thesis, previous understanding of literacy will be revisited, and applied to specific cases of multimedia interfaces, in order to re

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14 Chapter 1: Literature Review

1.1. Basic definitions of media literacy

‘A media literate person – and everyone should have the opportunity to become one – can decode, evaluate, analyse and produce both print and electronic media. The fundamental objective of media literacy is a critical autonomy relationship to all media.’ (Aufderheide, 1992)

Aufderheide, in her conference regarding the definition of media literacy, explains that the concept of being media literate is built based on the notion that individuals have mental tools at their disposal to integrate media texts into their everyday lives. As media consumers develop their ability to interpret and utilise media on a day to day basis, they obtain a form of intuitiveness that helps them ascertain what may or may not be relevant to their personal necessities or interests. This ‘critical autonomy relationship’ Aufderheide depicts correlates with the diversification of media types available to users, following the integration of the World Wide Web 2.0. A s a result, prolonged media consumption amongst individuals with access to technology transcends from previously interrelating a few forms of traditional and new media, to heavily interconnecting many types of available media today.

Most Internet web sites incorporate information text structures similar to those found in books. For example, tables of contents and indexes are the organizing ‘backbones’ of most successful medium to large web sites *…+ crafted around some very complex, inventive --and yet intuitive--index and table of contents structures. (McPherson, 2005)

McPherson, in his work delving into online media literacy, depicts how complex digital infrastructure can be inherently intuitive. Individuals experience the necessity to assimilate a diversity of media texts, constructed to serve different purposes as part of a larger network of information and interaction. What hasn’t been considered to date is how these channels of communication and interaction capture literacy in particular online environments.

To highlight the increasing interconnection of knowledge across multimedia structures, in terms of how literacy reinforces this possibility, it becomes necessary to consider the strengths and

limitations of literacy within mixed media contexts. O’Brien & Scharber wrote an article in 2008 outlining the potholes and possibilities of digital literacy. The authors write that ‘digital literacies enable the bridging and complementing of traditional print literacies with other media.’ (O’Brien &

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15 Scharber 2008) In this sense, merging of methods of information transmission begin to blur the importance of a particular form of media versus another. For example, print newspapers and magazines are becoming increasingly redundant, as online news coverage easily blends into daily online activity. A prominence in literacy within particular domains of media becomes obsolete in the height of this growing conjunction of media platforms.

On the other hand, O’Brien and Scharber also argue that enabling individuals with access to a multiplicity of media platforms creates a wider and more innovative possibility for informational transmission. ‘Digitally literate people not only represent an idea by selecting modes and tools but also plan how to spatially and temporally juxtapose multimodal texts to best represent ideas.’ (O’Brien & Scharber 2008) These researchers understand that harnessing a wider network of

resources and services enable for more intricate mixed-media connections as users learn to navigate through and utilise media texts to their advantage. The necessity to search for a wider

contextualisation of literacy skills within a platform becomes apparent, as users learn to evaluate information across an increasingly larger breadth of texts.

The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) issued a definition of information literacy in 2009 that adds an interesting level of depth to the responsibility implied in evaluating information in media texts:

Information Literacy has been defined as ‘knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner’ (CILIP, 2009)

This definition of literacy ties into the ‘critical autonomy relationship’ defined by Aufderheide (1992), in the sense that users are expected to be able to execute tasks in relation to the way they chose to interpret information. These factors users employ, to know the right moment to re -appropriate information, indicate a wide correlation of information-based practice amongst individuals. Our understanding of these practices evolves, as new processes enabled through technology are integrated into mainstream media.

1.2. New categories of literacy

To build upon this notion of autonomous relationship with media, it becomes u seful to consider Douglas Kellner and his work regarding critical media literacy. In his article, the academic explains that ‘critical media literacy aims to expand the notion of literacy to include different forms of media

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16 culture, information and communication technologies’. (Kellner 2007) His concept of critical media literacy ties into Aufderheide’s idea of developing ‘a critical autonomy relationship to all media’, furthering that the criticality implicated in media literacy is a reflexive one; where users become adaptive to a multiplicity of specific devices and interfaces.

The development of a relatively critical autonomy, in regards to mixed media, becomes essential for users who wish to be able to fully utilise the resources at their disposal on particular platforms. It is the notion of being able to individually assess information based on previous assimilation of

knowledge and interface familiarity, and weigh out decisions based on how information is perceived. As forms of media become increasingly digitised, Bawden, in a paper researching the competencies outlined by digital literacy, summarized the strengths highlighted by navigating through and utilising information within online contexts. In his research, the methods he underlines to reinforce digital literacy are ‘internet searching, hypertext navigation, knowledge assembly, and content evaluation.’ (Bawden 2008) These concepts all revolve around the online aggregation and reinterpretation of information. Bawden creates a simplified descriptive model of the processes that combine

interacting with media, and defines all of these processes within a context where they are reflexive; able to adapt to platform and context. These values of digital literacy tie well into Kellner’s

previously mentioned ‘critical media literacy’ (2008) that envisions a realm of users able to evaluate and interpret the information they are given before utilising it. As individuals become more

familiarised with the structures, possibilities and restrictions of digital interfaces, they become adept at circulating through layers of interface to utilise those they identify with.

As interaction with texts and interfaces evolve through models of media, the phenomenon that literacy becomes adaptive to a particular medium becomes easier to discern. There are more visual and informational connections tying the mediums together. Rainie & Wellman, in their research regarding the New Social Operating System (2012), attempt to discern what categories of new media literacy are emerging from new trends in human and human-computer interaction. They firstly introduce a range of literacy skills that have already been considered through other academic sources previously in this paper. Categories such as image processing abilities, navigating abilities and organization abilities become primary literacy functions in mapping growing networks of

information and services. The two academics also reinterpret the critical responsibilities that stem in every individual as they adopt literacy within new media landscapes.

(d) Concentration-the ability that strictly distinguishes online and offline life as well as the ability to automatically diminish the distraction from internet; (e) the ability to handle multi-tasks-take care of

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17 various missions of family, job, friends and public institutions simultaneously; (f)

skepticism-consciousness and ability to effectively evaluate and examine information. (Rainie & Wellman, 2012) These additional categories are in line with the theory of ‘critical media literacy’ depicted by Kellner (2007), explored previously in this literature review. Rainie & Wellman highlight the critical reception of media texts, in terms of how individuals learn to position themselves across these mediums and reutilise them. Additionally, the ability to switch through tasks in a multimedia environment satisfies the ability to connect information across various media structures. These functionalities of literacy extend the potential for users to understand interface-specific possibilities and restrictions, and how to work with them. As platformspecific combinations of functionalities emerge, it is necessary to re -evaluate the ways they structure information and comprehend if means of literacy are changing. In MMORPGs, for example, the conflux of actions and information available to users propels

interaction towards new accumulative potential. Players have the possibility to combine widely different aspects of the interface into simultaneous use. On augmented reality interfaces, such as the Wikitude World Browser, users also have the possibility to combine various components of the platforms’ interface to develop their ability to utilise it.

In an article regarding the epistemic practices of literacy, Säljö attempts to describe the parallel of human and digital cognition in terms of how it can harness the use and dissemination of information for the future. The academic employs the term of ‘hybrid minds’ to describe the addition of human intellect to computerised databases, where the combination of the two propel human synergy towards new lengths.

‘Artificial memory systems are essential resources for preserving information and developing knowledge *…+ the presence of an external memory field encourages conceptual and symbolic invention of visuographic representations.’ (Säljö, 2012)

He explains that the artificial memory systems we have entrenched in our current social network pave the way for a wider interconnection of concepts and resources than ever before. Whereas traditional media signified that an individual was able to harness their own intellect in combination with the knowledge enclosed in a particular media text, today the media texts offers an additional layer of reflexivity and intuition to support individuals through a multiplicity of media. The concept of ‘hybrid mind’ that Säljö refers to lies within this notion of individual human cognition being split into subcategories of activity.

‘Hybrid minds operate in environments of external symbolic storages where human reasoning is located at the intersection of the human mind and external.’ (Säljö, 2012)

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18 From this point in the article, Säljö explains in which ways the mind is constantly readapting to implement multiple networks of information into their cognitive practices. He reintroduces a variety of categories of literacy relevant to this hybrid form of media consumption: visual literacy,

information literacy, statistical literacy and multimedia literacy. These categorical interpretations of the various facets of literacy demonstrate a real necessity for organized and perceptive interfaces. It is through the practice of navigating and managing such interfaces that individuals have the ability to reinterpret their predisposed abilities of literacy. This concept introduces an interesting perspective through which to visualize thought-processes in combination with computational processes, where individuals are expected to interact in particular ways on specifi c online platforms based on the conjunction between their reasoning and the interface. When users open a page or application on a computer, they summon their predisposed ability to draw understanding from the information they are presented with, in a way that specifically relates to that information. Säljö argues that, within this context, individuals develop a tendency to retain information for specific re -appropriation across familiarise methods of externalised information storage. This opens up to a new facet of theory, where thought-processing ability is combined to the specificities of an interfaces’ grammar of action. The concept of literacy becomes increasingly ambiguous in its definition as it is an essential

component in any form of visual transmission. ‘The term literacy currently seems to be used as a synonym for expressions such as knowledge, competence and learning.’ (Säljö, 2012) Nevertheless, the propagation of media systems inadvertently requires users to exercise and strengthen their ability to navigate through new media platforms on a regular basis. It is becoming necessary to re -evaluate literacy within the context of evolving digital media to understand if subcategories of the concept of literacy are emerging through multimediatized interfaces. The values of literacy inhibited in these interfaces become a simulation of changing patterns of thought processing.

I would like to propose a working definition of the word literacy for this project, in parallel with previous academic research. This definition is the result of the accumulation of past research adapted to the parameters of this thesis: Literacy can be understood as the ability to channel thought-processes in conjunction with models of externalised information transmission, in order to conceive forms of informational re-appropriation.

In conjunction to this definition, I would like to present an accumulation of the definitions of literacy uncovered by previous authors, as a theoretical model exemplifying the functionalities of literacy we know today.

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19 Categories of literacy:

Information literacy: understood as the processes of ‘knowledge assembly’ (Bawden, 2008) or as the ‘ability of organizing and connecting information-to fast understand and give reasonable explanation to information’ (Rainie & Wellman, 2012)

Visual literacy: understood as ‘image processing ability-understand this e-time or image-reading era, in online working manners that mainly deal with processing pictures’ (Rainie & Wellman, 2012) Critical media literacy: understood as ‘content evaluation’ (Bawden, 2008) or as ‘concentration-the ability that strictly distinguishes online and offline life as well as the ability to automatically diminish the distraction from internet *…+ and scepticism -consciousness and ability to effectively evaluate and examine information’ (Rainie & Wellman, 2012)

Research literacy: understood as ‘internet searching and hypertext navigation’ (Bawden, 2008) or as ‘ability- to search, exchange and share online information’ (Rainie & Wellman, 2012)

Multimedia literacy: understood as ‘the ability to handle multi-tasks-take care of various missions of family, job, friends and public institutions simultaneously’ (Rainie & Wellman, 2012)

Statistical literacy: understood as the ability to process and uti lise numeric information (Säljö, 2012)

1.3. Engaging with multimedia: video games and augmented reality

Having understood the possibilities to develop patterns of critical information retrieval and utilisation by media users, we will now consider the ways these values of literacy trickle down into game environments and augmented reality environments. Game mechanics, whether they be traditional or digital forms of entertainment, encompass components of literacy, and disseminate a framework of visual representation to their users. In an MMORPG, players can be expected to develop a comprehension for the narrative presented by the game, combined with incentive to explore the geography of the game. Players can be required to solve puzzles, secure objectives, and potentially interact with other players throughout their experience.

In an article regarding the potential for multiplayer games to favour education published in 2008, Steinkuehler describes the experience drawn from MMOS as a constellation of literary practice. The

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20 author describes utilisation of such video games as a portal into activity based around values of literacy.

In order to succeed in the game over time, participants must increasingly engage with the online fandom beyond the virtual world itself in order, for example, to research strategies for success against various in-game challenges, or to develop deeper understandings of the class of character they play not only by using their own in-game experiences to better understand fandom texts (such as those listed above) about their given class but also by using such texts to better understand their own experiences. (Steinkuehler, 2008)

As individual players grow to understand the objectives implied by the video game, and how to complete these objectives within a large network of players and information, they develop abilities to coordinate various components of social interaction with human-computer interaction.

Barr, Noble and Biddle, in a paper about human-computer interaction and video game values, give a concise definition of values in game interfaces and how they can be determinant of behaviour:

Interaction with video games is best understood in terms of values, a central feature of games generally. Specifically, the user-interface of a game represents values of gameplay to the player, and also mediates that player’s expression of values through their conduct. (Barr, Noble & Biddle 2007)

The choices made by game designers to represent the game through a particular interface, purveys the notion that action paths in the game will relate to the way the game is delivered visually and informationally. As users become familiar with interface, they will create unique ways to solve problems using the resources at their disposal.

In an article about gaming and literacy, the American librarian Camila Alire researched the ways and reasons that gamers must adopt a strong sense of decision-making and informational retrieval in order to successfully explore the boundaries of the game. She writes that ‘Gamers need strong literacy skills to learn the rules, sort through conflicting information, make informed decisions, and respond to the consequences of those decisions’. (Alire 2009) Within particularly complex gaming environments, users are required to assimilate a wide network of data and actions in order to successfully progress through the levels of the game. Once basic forms of character and interface navigation have been appropriated by individuals, they must utilise their intellect and common sense to make educated decisions about what they will do next. It is the repetitive nature of interface interaction combined with a degree of moral decision-making within these video games that drive users to reinforce their literacy. These values of learning, situated in gameplay, are

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21 developing the meaning of literacy towards functionalities that have not yet fully been delineated academically. The multiple interfaces embedded in a platform require for a stronger comprehension of how particular components react with each other, to supply various types of information and interaction. When a player takes part in an activity in an MMORPG, they are expected to be able to adequately combine interface components with their environments’ requirements to complete an objective. It is this convergence of active and informational practice that develops new patterns of comprehension within players.

The MMORPG is a powerful platform to begin to explore this changing comprehension of literacy, as it scopes a wide range of communicative and informational practices simultaneously (Steinkuehler, 2008). MMORPG games combine the use of a wide range of different interfaces and mechanisms to enable users to play. The use of such an interface requires users to exert abilities in multiple forms literacy. Some have been delineated through previous academic research, but the wider connection of these actions has not yet been theorised. It becomes interesting to consider how forms of

knowledge transmission are pivoting around such mechanically-rich environments. In terms of human-computer interaction, such environments propel users into a vast network of computational ability, that they are expected to draw understanding from in order to adequately be able to interact with the game. The bridge between human thought-processing and interface utilisation is powerfully interconnected, through the incentive brought forth by the game to compel players to explore it. In an MMORPG, players are generally presented with a number of goals to complete, set out by the game. The interface encourages users to play, inviting them to utilise components specific to their goal. Players can adopt ways to blend their thought-processes with the possibilities situated in the game.

As gamers adopt norms of behaviour and discourse through in-game interaction and online navigation through game-related platforms, subsequently they learn to adopt a new framework through which to calculate their actions. Video game values, or the meaning inhibited in gameplay, can be understood as the affordances and constraints implied in a particular action in terms of how it will affect the users’ experience on a wider scope throughout the game. For example, when in an MMORPG, favouring particular weapon styles, or devoting more time to a particular resource gathering route, will depend on the amount of time required to invest in this objective. It also depends on how it will connect the gamer within a large network of gamers. The time invested in performing particular tasks or activities can be seen as a decisive process, where the time invested in one activity can be compared to another to evaluate the outcome. An example of this can be

visualized through the board game Monopoly, where players can focus on various aspects of the game to win. They can either try and purchase all of the stations first, or purchase any estate they

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22 land on, or even try to dupe their opponents into buying less i mportant estates. The notion to remember here is the time required to invest into each objective, and its’ outcome in relation to other potential objectives.

Dokphrom (2010), in her qualitative case study of information literacy needs of undergraduates at a Thai university, identified determination, enthusiasm and curiosity as attributes that both academics and students expected to find in an information literate person. In her research about the motives driving users to adopt forms of literacy into their media usage, Dokphrom discovers that the primary reasons individuals latch onto patterns of digital literacy can be traced to particular values

encompassed in a mediatised framework. These values are, according to Dokphrom, reinforced through determination, enthusiasm and curiosity. As the author explains, when these kinds of emotions are developed through interaction with a particular media framework, users are better immersed into the interface they are trying to utilise. Essentially, users become better at

ascertaining information when enthused or curious about the platform they are interacting with. On the Wikitude World Browser, an augmented-reality platform, users are expected to discover points of interest within their proximate environment. The interface encourages users to do this through a number of functionalities, such as an augmented reality and a waypoint index. This indicates that the objectives of particular interfaces will entice individual users into cultivating their comprehension of the interfaces’ functionalities. The technical aspects presented through certain media structures guide users to consider the specific potential outcomes resulting from that structures’ information. AR interfaces are not too different from MMORPG interfaces, bar the fact one is situated in a simulated environment and one is situated in a real environment. They both expect of their users to utilise the range of mechanisms organized across the interface and utilise it in relation to their environment. The evolution of possibilities conceived in AR interfaces requires further analysis in order to understand if it is developing any new methods of thought distribution. Understanding that AR interfaces offer new, complex models for interacting between physical and virtual space, a deeper comprehension of the impact such devices will have on thought processes becomes relatable to the potential to explore game interface.

AR interfaces ‘presents a view of the real, physical world that incorporates additional information to augment this view.’ (Singh & Singh, 2013)

To visualize an augmented reality interface, imagine looking at your environment through your phone camera, and making use of a number of informational and communicational services to assist processing this environment. The culmination of these media texts enable users to develop further understanding about their surroundings and how to interact with them. Naturally, the specific

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23 functionalities of AR interfaces will encompass particular values of literacy and abili ty that users are expected to adopt.

Combining geographical environment and interface into unified platforms suggest the possibility for individuals to heighten forms of contextual navigation in unprecedented manners (Asai, 2010). As users learn to engage with AR interfaces, they adopt abilities to combine information displayed by an interface with their immediate environment. This propels users towards new convergences of interaction between real and digital activities. Augmented reality (AR) interfaces e xemplify another type of multimediatized platform that appropriate a variety of interface functionalities into a computational process (Meiguins et al., 2010). This type of human-computer interaction supplies individual users with new models through which to apply various functionalities of literacy. Previous research in the field of AR has also explored the enhancement of scientific literacy

transferred through augmented reality (Techakosit & Wannapiroon, 2015). Such research provides a basis to understand how individuals can develop literacy in a professionally moderated environment, but does not validate or disprove that other forms of literacy are developed through use of AR interfaces.

1.4. Thinking through multimediatized software

In 2002, McFarlane, Sparrowhawk and Heald conducted a study where they handed out surveys to a number of students, parents and teachers in order to ascertain some understanding of how

interacting in these gaming networks can serve an educational purpose. Their findings, although not solely focused on literacy, demonstrate the possibility individuals are given through games to adopt modes of discourse and communication. The study came to the conclusion that: ‘games were perceived as supporting personal development, language and l iteracy, mathematical skills, creativity, understanding of the world and physical development. Most teachers highlighted that video games were supportive in developing communication and collaboration skills.’ (McFarlane et al., 2002). In conjunction with the academic research done on literacy explored previously in this literature review, McFarlane et al. bring forth the notion that understanding how to make use of interface and character mechanics in a multiplayer video game, encourages gamers to experience particular discourse communities and adopt facets of this communication and behaviour.

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24 Gamers multitask: creating maps, dealing with resources, designing strategies, building, discussing and writing. The gamers have to discriminate between information sources to solve problems. Moreover, gamers may publish their opinions or solutions in online forums, improving their information literacy through information seeking and through information production. (Squire & Steinkuehler 2007)

In an article co-authored by Squire and Steinkuehler that explores the ventures sought out by gamers, the authors wish to demonstrate the complex aggregation of interfaces and actions that gamers learn to make use of. By learning to utilise maps, resources, and interact with other players, gamers strengthen their ability to discern information and appropriate it in the best possible context. This necessity for multitasking gamers encounter when playing in a digital space propels them into a minutely crafted network, which they have to evaluate in a number of different ways before reinterpreting it through their characters’ actions and discourse. In an MMORPG, for example, players are expected to drive their activity through the functions of the interface, in combination to a network of other players. Players are encouraged to comprehend both the interface and the social fabric instilled in the game in order to contribute to it.

Strudwick wrote an article in 2014 about the boundaries of prismatic perception, the academic introduces the ‘reading mind’ and its’ ability to engage with media and learn to utilise it. Strudwick defines neuroplasticity as ‘a neurological feature that proves, not inhibits, the inherent ability to flex and adapt to change’. This ability for individuals to make reflexive decisions when interacting with particular external memory systems (Säljö, 2012) is crucial to comprehend in terms of the necessity for a better understanding of the changing meaning of literacy. It can be understood through this research that the brain has become divided by a wide range of external systems of cognition, and as such humans are developing new ways of processing information. Within a climate of multiple outlets of mediatized interaction, individuals develop tendencies to interrelate thought-processes with a plethora of interfaces on a daily basis. Users inherently develop the ability to reflexively navigate through these various models of information transmission; and understand how to execute platform-specific interactions within them. In an MMORPG, for example, this implies a players’ ability to adopt game-specific vocabulary, within a unique network of activities and information, to be able to explore the boundaries of the game.

Yin & Zhou, in their research about participatory culture, explain how media literacy in the Web 2.0 has taken on new proportions as a result of more complex media infrastructures. ‘New media literacy clarifies the personality as it cares for the collective feature and accentuates practice while highlighting cultural accomplishment.’ (Yin & Zhou 2015) From firstly considering the intricacy of

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25 media in terms of how it can aid users develop stronger patterns of literacy, Yin & Zhou elucidate notions that new media habits are entrenched in a constantly wider sociocultural network, which impact the way individual users’ media usage manifests itself.

The concept of literacy is shifting through platforms and media texts as they are finding their space in mainstream media. Literacy cannot satisfy a single definition at this point in the World Wide Web, rather it defines a scope of intellectual stimulation and merges them together within different media contexts. In order to understand how individuals comprehend their own abilities in literacy, it becomes important to firstly consider how certain multimedia platforms capture media literacy. Previous academic research has highlighted dominant forms of literacy such as multimedia literacy, statistical literacy (Säljö, 2012), critical information literacy (Kellner, 2007). These forms of

information transmission and adaptation make up for a lot of the thought processing that goes into interacting with a digital platform. With an academic understanding of how video games and AR systems enable thought processes, the objective is now to discern how types of literacy may be evolving from more recent models of mixed media in ways that have not yet been explored in past research.

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26 Chapter 2: Methodology

2.1. Research design strategy

2.1.1. Existing game study methodologies:

The methodologies that have shown promise in researching video games encompass widely different practices, each with their set of strengths and gaps. Before constructing a model of research that will appropriately supplement the nature of this project, it is essential to return to some of these previous methodologies.

Ethnographic studies are understood as the study of societies and cultures, through the perspective of a member of a particular society or cultural background. They have been used to write papers recounting first-hand experience of immersion into a particular social cluster or culture. In 2010, the anthropologist Bonnie Nardi published a book entitled ‘My Life as a Night Elf Priest: An

Anthropological Account of World of Warcraft’. The method she employs to undertake this research is ethnographic: to play World of Warcraft for the first time and create a detailed account of the entire experience. This form of research shows strength in terms of the sociocultural observation that can occur, extracted from an insiders’ perspective. However, there can arise a bias in

observation as a result of the researchers' own gaming experience.

Eye-tracking studies employ methods of recording eye movements. Researchers then measure their value, in terms of the activity they are focused on, and the patterns of their eye movements. ‘The motivation for recording eye movements is based on the theory that humans move their eyes when they seek to focus their attention on an object’ (Fowler, A. 2014: 56). This form of study is based on the premise that eye movement is directly linked to cognitive activity. A study released in 2006 by Balk et al. explores the eye movements of participants as they operate a driving simulator. 16 university students were asked to navigate through 24 simulated driving scenes. Half of the participants were on a mobile phone during this experiment. The authors then compared the patterns of eye movements between the two groups, to observe similarities and differences. Another study, released in 2015 by Chen and Tsai, reported on eye -hand coordination amongst a group of children as they played two different virtual reality games. The objective of this paper was to evaluate patterns of eye-hand coordination during gameplay, with different game objectives for

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27 attention to be focused on. Eye-tracking methods are competent forms of research in terms of determining points of focus among participants. They accurately transmit data on attention span and cognitive activity. This form of research is limited in terms of interpreting results within a wider contextualisation of what eye movements might imply. By only determining eye movement in correlation to specific objects such as a driving simulator or mobile phone, it is not poss ible to analyse these movements past this perimeter. Eye movement can also be a result of occurrences that are unrelated to the actual experiment.

Think aloud methods of research ask for participants to verbally narrate their thought processes as they are engaging in an activity. Individuals are asked to read a text or interact with an object, and ‘report the content of their immediate awareness’. (Olson et al. 1984: 22) Although the two

following case studies are not observing video games, think aloud methodology can be used within a game context. In 1993, Davis and Bistodeau published an article evaluating how L1 and L2 language users differ in reading comprehension. 8 native English speakers with basic French, and 8 native French speakers with basic English were asked to read texts in their respective difficulties and report any kind of thought they had whilst reading the text. Their goal was to expose the comprehension readers experience when presented with a particular text. Another study, published in 2000 by Jennifer Branch, observes participant adolescents as they are asked to perform certain tasks on

Microsoft Encarta 98. Participants were encouraged to verbally transmit their thoughts as they

interact with the software, as well as discuss it afterwards. This form of research bears validity in terms of transmitting participants’ thoughts into speech. On the other hand, there remains a wide gap in methodological accuracy, as the simple factor of having participants reflect on their own experience can affect their performance. Even in terms of transmitting speech, individuals’ verbalisations during activity might not showcase coherent thought processing in later analysis. A study was published in 2008 by Boot et al. about the effects of video game on attention, memory, and executive control. The paper analysed the actions of 11 experienced gamers and 10 non -gamers over 15 gaming sessions, playing various computer games such as Medal of Honor and Tetris. This study was promising in terms of studying two groups of participants on similar activity, in order to observe differences. The major gap in this form of research was the nature of these focus groups, where the requirement of being an experienced gamer or non-gamer to participate in the study could have affected the performance of participants.

In 2013, Oei and Patterson released a paper about the enhancement of cognition through video games, within the perimeter of a game training study. The methodology of this paper observes 5 groups of non-gamers who must play an hour a day five days a week over a period of four weeks.

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28 Individuals were asked to complete a series of tasks before and after each gameplay, measuring factors such as blinking and spatial memory and visual search dual tasks. The objective was to observe what forms of cognitive ability are altered through gameplay. This research implied strengths in the ability of observing participants for a study, however showed flaw in terms of the actual game experience of certain participants. Not everyone was a non-gamer, affecting the overall findings of the paper.

Game studies and game training studies infer issues in terms of researching through participant activity. ‘Most game training studies are premised on evidence that expert gamers outperform non-gamers on measures of perception and cognition. *…+ Expert non-gamers will perform better knowing they are recruited to demonstrate their abilities.’ (Boot et al. 2008) There is a fundamental flaw in the way participant-based research projects are undertaken within the context of video games; previous gaming experience among expert gamers outweighs the accumulation of cognitive ability in non-gamers to the point it is difficult to draw comparisons. As a result of this salient issue in terms of participant engagement, I would like to propose an alternative model through which to draw

comprehension around the intricacies of video gameplay. Rather than base research on human participants, I will observe the construct of particular interfaces and the ways they infer thought-processing abilities. The motivation to build an interface-based methodology is a result of

understanding the issues involved in analysing focus groups, and attempting to devise a new method to draw understandings from technologies.

RQ: Do media literacies capture forms of gaming literacy and augmented reality literacy? How do two multimedia platforms, Guild Wars 2 and the Wikitude World Browser, distribute forms of literacy through their interface?

2.1.2. Example 1 – Guild Wars 2

In a first instance, a theoretical frame based on previous research and debate concerning literacy will be constructed to analyse the user interface embedded in Guild Wars 2. By categorizing different actions and interfaces through different accumulations of literacy practice, the aim of this theoretical research will be to map the infrastructures users employ to successfully complete objectives on through the medium and determine if new forms of practice are enabled by such platforms. Facets of the game will be broken down such as item farming routes, ore extraction paths

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29 and player-versus-player (PvP) battles, in order to determine how particular objectives in the game capture notions of media literacy. The idea is to re-evaluate literacy in the multiplayer gaming environment, and determine how a fast-paced, informationally rich digital environment can encourage gamers to adopt literacy prowess.

Once this framework to observe and analyse literacies has been conceived, it will be utilised to interpret the way game paths reinforce types of literacy through their appropriation. It therefore becomes necessary to separate and evaluate the various action and communication paths available through the games’ interface in order to accurately reflect on their value s. Guild Wars 2’s interface was evaluated to assess the differing paths available to users when they play. Ten components that can be understood as paths of communication or paths of interaction were recorded during these preliminary analyses, which are described below.

Questing: Players are encouraged to complete a tremendous number of quests if they wish to obtain the maximum level in the game. They offer a stable and continuous source of experience points. These quests scope anything from running information between NPCs to certain items from

particular monsters or locations. As such they offer users primary insight into how they are expected to behave in game.

Resource collection: There are a number of additional vocations available to players as they progress through the games’ content. Skills such as cooking, hunting and armorcrafting which require that players find specific resources scattered across its’ virtual landscape.

Crafting system: There is a crafting interface that is also part of this addi tional set of vocations available to players. Once users have found the necessary resources to craft a particular item, they will use an interface that allows them to navigate through crafting recipes and place orders for these items. Users are expected to specialize in a few of these crafting methods, and use their production as a means to acquire currency and purchase items crafted through alternate methods.

LFG systems: The Looking- for-Group (LFG) services embedded in the games’ interface enable gamers to find other players with similar objectives and team them up to make the experience simpler and more enjoyable. The group system comes into play when users wish to complete a dungeon or instance that isn’t achievable as a single player. In front of such instances lies a pillar that can be interacted with to open the party-finding service that groups players from a pool comprised of all of the regional servers.

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30 Guild chats/Local chats: In addition to the interfaces available to recruit party members and guild members, there are chat systems that group these users according to their location in the game and guild affiliation. The guild chat transcends location and is available as a portal of communication for users at all times. The local chats are encompassed around particular geographical zones in the game, and automatically disseminate messages to all users in this zone. This offers more immediate connection with users who wish to complete content and need help.

On Guild Wars 2, there are a number of other layers of text available through the text box. For example, the combat text offers information to individuals regarding each ability cast during a battle where players have the possibility to further interpret their actions against that of their oppone nts. The text boxes can also display other information such as NPC dialogue during quests, or private messages sent from other players. For the purposes of this research, only one information-based text and one communication-based text will be interpreted for its’ value of literacy. As various forms of information based-text and communication-based text do not appear to widely differ in their transmission of information unto players, it does not appear useful to devote large amounts of research to analysing this component of the games’ interface within the boundaries of this project. Trading post: There is a veritable socioeconomic structure built in the game, determined by an auction house where users advertise and purchase objects freely. The value of the items are

determined by the time investment required as well as the availability of that particular object in the market at that time. This interface regulates a lot of the transactions happening between players. PvP: There is an island in the game devoted to PvP competition. Users have the possibility to

participate in casual and ranked arena matches in teams of 5 players, where they will have to collect the most kills and secure the most objectives. This is a rather complex part of the game, where users are expected to not only be able to successfully utilise their characters’ skillset, but also read into their opponents’ actions to overthrow them.

World PvP: On top of the 5-versus-5 matches available in the arena, Guild Wars released a number of larger PvP maps where dozens of players group into camps and try to conquer large strips of land together. These maps are usually split up into more than two teams, in a free for all capture -the-flag type of match. The interesting component of world PvP is the f act that teams will stack on top of each other, resulting in huge strips of players synchronously moving around and spamming offensive actions.

PvE: Player-versus-everything (PvE) is when players are not facing other players but the challenges posed by the game developers. It comprises of a lot more content than the PvP section; dungeons

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31 and instances are available all around the games’ map, inviting groups of relatively experienced players to try to face hordes of enemies and colossal bosses. Successfully running some of these instances entails reading into the fight mechanics and memorising what to do and what not to. Because these fights aren’t against other players, they are much simpler to premeditate. Achievements/daily achievements:

The goal with these various types of action comprised in the game will be to determine which categories of literacy are dominant in which circumstances. The human-computer interaction required to satisfy any of these actions will encompass various compositions of literacy practice.

2.1.3. Example 2 – Wiki World Browser

In a second instance, the same theoretical framework concerning literacy will be utilised to analyse the components of an AR platform, the Wikitude World Browser. The platforms’ interface mechanics will be broken down into set paths of action and information transmission, in order to explore ho w methods of literacy practice are encompassed in it. Facets of the interface will be broken down into paths such as indexes, map routes, and informational waypoints in order to determine how the combination of these interface services form a conjunction of practices. Similarly to the MMORPG, the idea is to re-evaluate how practice of literacy is captured through a mixed-media platform that offers an informationally rich, multi-navigational interface.

Wikitude World Browser’s interface was evaluated to assess the differing paths available to users when they utilise the platform.

Launch window: The window that opens when the application is launched is divided into the platform index, a search bar at the top, the camera and a number of panels at the bottom that enable particular informational services.

Platform index: The platform dispose of an index on the main page of the device where users have access to a number of options to inform themselves and personalize the application. A Favourite button allows users to save specific databases through which they will see particular information about their environment. A Showcases button offers possibility to explore other features of AR supported by Wikitude. There is a Help button, which displays information on the intended use of the application and how businesses can merge their information with the platform. A Develop er

Literacy and multimedia: How thoughtprocesses are created through interaction with Guild Wars 2, an MMORPG, and the Wikitude World Browser, an augmented reality platform.