Game applications as a form of popular culture: The engagement of human senses in multimedia environments

Abstract

Social-media games are platforms in which the emotional mood of the users interacts with contemporary popular culture. The investigation of the motives and emotional background of users while playing a game may be important in identifying the mechanics of their organization and function, particularly since these applications often figure prominently in the day-to-day practices of their users (Jarvinen, 2009). In addition to their previously investigated features – their storytelling, promotion of socialization and intimacy between gamers, and their substitution (in part) of interpersonal interaction – new characteristics seem to arise which explain and/or enhance their popularity. With the transition from Web 2.0 to 3.0, the latest versions of these applications offer their users new experiences based on the interaction of their senses within the game as well as between players. This work uses social semiotics to study two popular Facebook games, as case-studies. Specifically, we approach them as multimodal texts and examine how the engagement of the senses of the users is attempted and/or achieved. Our aim is to investigate whether and how they modify the gaming experience and challenge the traditional hierarchy of the senses.