Juul, J ~ Half-Real

Juul, Jesper
2005
Half-Real: Video Games Between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds

When Jesper Juul writes about transmedial games, he refers to the fact that games are a transmedial phenomenon: “many games move between media: card games are played on computers, sports continue to be a popular video game genre, and video games occasionally become board games” {Juul, 2005 #270, p. 48}. He gives the example of chess “as one of the most broadly implemented games, since [it] is available as a board game, on computers, and [is] even played blind, where the players keep track of the game state in their head” {Juul, 2005 #270, p. 49}. He points out “there are big differences in the ways that games move between media. Card games on computers should be considered implementations since it is possible to unambiguously map one-to-one correspondences between all the possible game states in the computer version and in the physical card game. Sports games on computers are better described as adaptations, since much detail is lost in the physics model of the computer program because it is a simplification of the real world, and in the interface because the video game player’s body is not part of the games state. Adapting soccer to computers is therefore a highly selective adaptation” {Juul, 2005 #270, p. 49}.

About the author

Woitek Konzal

Producer, Consultant, Lecturer & Researcher. I love working where technology meets media in novel ways. Once, I even won an Emmy for digital innovation doing that. Be it for a small but exciting campaign about underground electronic music collectives or for a monster project combining two movies, various 360° videos, 72 ARG-like mini puzzles, and a Unity game, all wrapped up in one cross-platform app – I have proven my ability to adapt to what is required. This passion for novel technologies has regularly allowed me to cross paths with tech startups – an industry and philosophy I am all set to engage with more. I intensely enjoy balancing out my practical work with academic research, teaching, and consulting. Also, I have a PhD in Creative Industries, a M.Sc. in Business Administration, and love to kitesurf.

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