Narrative agency in video games:a case study on how NieR: Automata embraces its medium

Abstract. In this thesis I analyze video games as a narrative medium by focusing on the 2017 video game NieR: Automata by director Yoko Taro and development team PlatinumGames. The main argument of the thesis is that for video games should utilize narrative elements that are unique to video games, such as player interaction. Since video game studies is a relatively new field, it does not have an established theoretical framework similar to traditional media such as literature. Therefore, I present and critique historically relevant approaches related to game narratives like narratology and ludology. Ultimately, I will use neither approach since narratology ignores what differentiates video games from traditional media whereas the ludologists’ viewpoint of games not being stories fundamentally goes against the premise of my argument. I will conduct the majority of the analysis by discussing the main story of NieR: Automata from the beginning to the end while highlighting and elaborating on events that provide narrative agency, which I define as moments of gameplay with narrative significance. In addition, I will analyze these events from the perspective of genre to highlight how the video game elements enhance the rhetoric of the story. Throughout the thirty-hour story of NieR: Automata, the player experiences narrative agency by numerous methods. I will argue that the repetition of in-game events without noticeable differences besides character change provides meaningful insight into how the characters are treated without specifically stating it. In addition, while NieR: Automata has few instances of traditional agency, which is characterized as providing the player with the freedom to do meaningful actions, the player can achieve similar feelings of meaningful interaction while telling a scripted narrative with little player influence. Finally, the final ending of NieR: Automata utilizes the game medium in a unique way as the player may sacrifice all their save data to assist other players complete the game. Other media are incapable of implementing similar narrative tools and highlights the influence of narrative agency as the player is willing to forfeit their invested time and saved progress for a narrative statement.Tiivistelmä. Tässä tutkielmassa analysoin videopelejä narratiivisena mediana käsittelemällä vuonna 2017 julkaistua videopeliä NieR: Automata, jonka on ohjannut Yoko Taro ja kehittänyt pelistudio PlatinumGames. Keskeinen argumenttini on, että videopelien pitäisi hyödyntää niille ominaisia narratiivisia elementtejä, kuten pelaajan kanssa tapahtuvaa vuorovaikutusta. Videopelitutkimuksen ollessa suhteellisen uusi tutkimusala, sille ei ole luotuna samanlaista teoreettista taustaa kuin perinteisen median, kuten kirjallisuuden, tutkimukselle. Tämän vuoksi tuon esiin sekä kritisoin historiallisesti merkittäviä lähestymistapoja pelien narratiivien tutkimuksessa, joita ovat esimerkiksi narratologia ja ludologia. En kuitenkaan käytä kumpaakaan lähestymistapaa analyysissani, sillä narratologia jättää huomiotta sen, mikä erottaa videopelit mediana perinteisistä medioista. Ludologian näkökulman mukaan pelit puolestaan eivät ole tarinoita, mikä on perustavanlaatuisesti vastakkainen näkökulma suhteessa tässä tutkielmassa esittämääni argumenttiin. Toteutan suuren osan analyysista keskittymällä NieR:Automatan päätarinaan korostaen ja tarkentaen tapahtumia, jotka tuottavat narratiivista toimijuutta, jonka määrittelen pelissä pelattuna toimintana, jolla on oleellinen merkitys narratiivin kannalta. Analysoin näitä tapahtumia lisäksi genren näkökulmasta korostaakseni sitä, miten videopelien ominaiset elementit tehostavat tarinan retoriikkaa. NieR: Automatan kolmekymmentätuntisen tarinan aikana pelaaja kokee narratiivista toimijuutta monien menetelmien myötä. Väitän, että pelissä toistuvat osuudet, joiden ainoa huomattava ero on pelattavan hahmon vaihtuminen, tarjoavat merkittävän näkökulman hahmojen kuvaamiseen ilman suoraa kuvailua. Vaikka NieR: Automatassa on vain harvoja perinteistä toimijuutta vaativia tilanteita, joille on tyypillistä tarjota pelaajalle vapaus valita narratiivin kannalta merkityksellinen toiminta, pelaaja voi saavuttaa tunteen merkityksellisestä vuorovaikutuksesta samalla kun peli kertoo käsikirjoitetun tarinan, johon pelaajalla on todellisuudessa vähän vaikutusta. Vielä lopuksi, NieR: Automatan lopetus hyödyntää pelimediaa uniikilla tavalla, sillä pelaaja voi uhrata kaiken tallennetun datansa auttaakseen muita pelaajia läpäisemään pelin. Muut mediat eivät ole kykeneviä käyttämään samanlaisia narratiivisia työkaluja, minkä lisäksi lopetus korostaa narratiivisen toimijuuden vaikutusta, jos pelaaja on halukas luopumaan pelaamiseen käyttämästään ajasta ja tallennetusta etenemisestä luodakseen syvemmän merkityksen tarinalle, vaikka se ei hyödytä häntä pelaajana

Entrepreneurs’ age, institutions, and social value creation goals: a multi-country study

This study explores the relationship between an entrepreneur's age and his/her social value creation goals. Building on the lifespan developmental psychology literature and institutional theory, we hypothesize a U-shaped relationship between entrepreneurs’ age and their choice to create social value through their ventures, such that younger and older entrepreneurs create more social value with their businesses while middle age entrepreneurs are relatively more economically and less socially oriented with their ventures. We further hypothesize that the quality of a country’s formal institutions in terms of economic, social, and political freedom steepen the U-shaped relationship between entrepreneurs’ age and their choice to pursue social value creation as supportive institutional environments allow entrepreneurs to follow their age-based preferences. We confirm our predictions using multilevel mixed-effects linear regressions on a sample of over 15,000 entrepreneurs (aged between 18 and 64 years) in 45 countries from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data. The findings are robust to several alternative specifications. Based on our findings, we discuss implications for theory and practice, and we propose future research directions

Varieties of export-oriented entrepreneurship in Asia

This paper explores differences in the proportion of export-oriented early-stage entrepreneurial activity in 12 Asian countries. Drawing on varieties of capitalism theory, we find that Asian countries with high quality institutions are more likely to have higher proportions of young export-oriented firms. However, analysis on a 51 country data set indicates that Asian countries have significantly fewer young export-oriented firms than do non-Asian countries. Furthermore, the multi-country study reveals that countries with higher proportions of export-oriented entrepreneurial activity tend to have flexible industrial relations, high quality vocational training, and confrontational labor-employer relations, however the proportion of export-oriented new ventures is not related to the quality of corporate governance and inter-firm relations

Learning Sequences: Their Existence, Effect, and Evolution

Much is known about the importance of learning and some of the distinct learning processes that organizations use (e.g., trial-and-error learning, vicarious learning, experimental learning, and improvisational learning). Yet surprisingly little is known about whether these processes combine over time in ordered ways, because most research on learning explores one particular process. Using theory elaboration and theory-building methods and data on the accumulated country entries of entrepreneurial firms, we address this gap. Our core contribution is an emergent theoretical framework that develops the concept of learning sequences. We find that learning sequences exist and are influenced by initial conditions. We also find that learning sequences evolve in fundamentally distinct ways over time and with repeated use. Finally, data show how different learning sequences differentially affect both shorter- and longer-term performance, suggesting that it matters which learning processes are used and when. Overall, our findings on learning sequences have important implications for learning theory, international entrepreneurship, and the growing literature on process management

Effects of Processing on the Microstructure of Oat (Avena Sativa) Bran Concentrate and the Physicochemical Properties of Isolated B-Glucans

Fluorescence microscopy was used to study the microstructure of oat cell walls during concentration of oat bran and isolation of ,B-glucans. The bran concentrate separated from c.v. Nasta contained mainly the aleurone and subaleurone endosperm layers, whereas that separated from a commercial bran mixture contained more endosperm . In contrast to Nasta, the commercial bran mixture contained ,B-glucan degrading enzymes, which survived the ,B-glucan isolation procedure. In the presence of enzymes, the solubility and yield of ,B-glucans improved but the viscosity decreased when it was measured at the same ,B-glucan concentration. For inactivation of the enzymes, 80% ethanol at 78 C was more effective than 80% or 94% ethanol at 60 •C or 94 % ethanol at 78 •c. The yield of 11-glucan extracted was higher from Nasta bran concentrate than from commercial bran concentrate, and after alkaline ex traction the Nasta solid residue exhibited intense red fluorescence in the aleurone and subaleurone endosperm cell walls. The solid residue from commercial bran had areas of starchy endosperm cell walls provided the B-glucan degrading enzymes were inactivated

Characterisation of the course of Mycoplasma bovis infection in naturally infected dairy herds

Mycoplasma bovis causes bovine respiratory disease, mastitis, arthritis and otitis. The importance of M. bovis has escalated because of recent outbreaks and introductions into countries previously free of M. bovis. We characterized the course of M. bovis infection on 19 recently infected dairy farms over 24 months. Our objective was to identify diagnostic tools to assess the efficacy of control measures to assess low risk infection status on M. bovis infected farms. PCR assays and culture were used to detect M. bovis, and in-house and BioX ELISAs were used to follow antibody responses. Cows and young stock were sampled on four separate occasions, and clinical cases were sampled when they arose. On 17 farms, a few cases of clinical mastitis were detected, mostly within the first eight weeks after the index case. Antibodies detected by in-house ELISA persisted in the serum of cows at least for 1.5 years on all farms, regardless of the M. bovis infection status or signs of clinical disease or subclinical mastitis on the farm. Six out of 19 farms became low risk as the infection was resolved. Our results suggest that, for biosecurity purposes, regular monitoring should be conducted on herds by screening for M. bovis in samples from cows with clinical mastitis and calves with pneumonia, in conjunction with testing young stock by screening longitudinally collected nasal swabs for M. bovis and sequential serum samples for antibody against recombinant antigen.Peer reviewe

‘Better late than never’: the interplay between green technology and age for firm growth

This paper investigates the relationship between green/non-green technologies and firm growth. By combining the literature on eco-innovations, industrial organisation and entrepreneurial studies, we examine the dependence of this relationship on the pace at which firms grow and the age of the firm. From a dataset of 5498 manufacturing firms in Italy for the period of 2000–2008, longitudinal fixed effects quantile models are estimated, in which the firm’s age is set to moderate the effects of green and non-green patents on employment growth. We find that the positive effect of green technologies on growth is greater than that of non-green technologies. However, this result does not apply to struggling and rapidly growing firms. With fast-growing (above the median) firms, age moderates the growth effect of green technologies. Inconsistent with the extant literature, this moderation effect is positive: firm experience appears important for the growth benefits of green technologies, possibly relative to the complexity of their management

Diffusion Tensor Model links to Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging at high b-value in Cerebral Cortical Gray Matter

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) are widely used models to infer microstructural features in the brain from diffusion-weighted MRI. Several studies have recently applied both models to increase sensitivity to biological changes, however, it remains uncertain how these measures are associated. Here we show that cortical distributions of DTI and NODDI are associated depending on the choice of b-value, a factor reflecting strength of diffusion weighting gradient. We analyzed a combination of high, intermediate and low b-value data of multi-shell diffusion-weighted MRI (dMRI) in healthy 456 subjects of the Human Connectome Project using NODDI, DTI and a mathematical conversion from DTI to NODDI. Cortical distributions of DTI and DTI-derived NODDI metrics were remarkably associated with those in NODDI, particularly when applied highly diffusion-weighted data (b-value = 3000 sec/mm^{2}). This was supported by simulation analysis, which revealed that DTI-derived parameters with lower b-value datasets suffered from errors due to heterogeneity of cerebrospinal fluid fraction and partial volume. These findings suggest that high b-value DTI redundantly parallels with NODDI-based cortical neurite measures, but the conventional low b-value DTI is hard to reasonably characterize cortical microarchitecture

Looking inside the spiky bits : a critical review and conceptualisation of entrepreneurial ecosystems

The authors wish to thank the Organisational for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for funding their original research on entrepreneurial ecosystems.The concept of entrepreneurial ecosystems has quickly established itself as one of the latest ‘fads’ in entrepreneurship research. At face value, this kind of systemic approach to entrepreneurship offers a new and distinctive path for scholars and policy makers to help understand and foster growth-oriented entrepreneurship. However, its lack of specification and conceptual limitations has undoubtedly hindered our understanding of these complex organisms. Indeed, the rapid adoption of the concept has tended to overlook the heterogeneous nature of ecosystems. This paper provides a critical review and conceptualisation of the ecosystems concept: it unpacks the dynamics of the concept; outlines its theoretical limitations; measurement approaches and use in policy-making. It sets out a preliminary taxonomy of different archetypal ecosystems. The paper concludes that entrepreneurial ecosystems are a highly variegated, multi-actor and multi-scalar phenomenon, requiring bespoke policy interventions.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe