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Continuing with pt. 2 of GS1: Game Studies in Action, a whole conference of student research by game design grad students! (see thread below for talks from this morning, and gstudies.one for abstracts & author names)

How do deck-building games diverge by platform? Dominion (analog) and Slay the Spire (digital) compared; the former heavily emphasizes immediate physical affect and multiplayer interaction (e.g. attack cards) while the latter focuses more on letting the player self-optimize through synergy

The procedural rhetoric of Destiny 2 raids and progression, as reinforced by the player community, allows players to convert repetitive labor and time investment into social prestige and the appearance of “victory”

Ultrakill’s aesthetics of play analyzed as about more than just speed and violence; rather, affordances of the mechanics (movement, parrying, blood as fuel, lack of scarcity) address player anxiety/fear and foster a courageous emotional affect