Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

diggr@eajrs

Video games as a resource in JapaneseStudies
Kaunas, 12.09.2018
Peter Mühleder
Tracy Hoffmann

Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

4500 video games from Japan, donated from CERO

20152

Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

Requirements of research
Japanese studies/game researchVideo games as a resource in Japanese Studies

How can we play (for research)? (Wishes)−−−

Access−−appropriate access for playing video games = Hardware & Software
handle different requirements (Single player, groups, etc.)

Methods−−

Experiments are very important
Equipment for analyzing, technical tools, etc.

Preservation−is challenging (technical, legal and conceptual)4Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies“It’s only a game...”−−Video games as research subject−−−

Content of games and their technical background (eg. History)
Games as parts of the society; community phenomenon; value creation
Meaning of “Japan” on local and global gaming cultures

Teaching−−

Games as a media object and an important part of a cultural examination ofmodernity and the present in Japan
Games as part of an increasingly important digital culture that evolves in digitalspaces and brings together many themes5Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

AgendaJapanese video games @ Leipzig University Library[j]GamesLab- collection/lab- catalogue- access

diggr research project- collection of video game metadata- video game data model/ontology- generation of research data

6

Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

The CollectionVideo games as a resource in Japanese Studies

Japanese video
game collections /archives

Source: Report by RCGS, 20168

Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

The collection...via platform...

...and release dates of video games.
9Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

The [j]Games LabVideo games as a resource in Japanese Studies

11Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

General requirements for use−−−

Game menus in japanese → knowledge of language neededCountry specific hardware for games (region lock, electricity
transformation, video signal)
Partly physical objects as additional material for games

12Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

General requirements for use−−−

Game menus in japanese → knowledge of language neededCountry specific hardware for games (region lock, electricity
transformation, video signal)
Partly physical objects as additional material for games−

The consequences for usage…
−−

Knowledge of language and technical requirements limits circle of users
Preservation limits the use (eg. loan)− barriers for game preservation - no copies, no emulation, no migration

13

Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

Usage requirements for research−−−−

Regulated access
Flexible opening hours (24/7)
Place for research−

Additional seminar room
(High-End Gaming-PC, 11 Workstations, suitable beamer, video editing software)Technical equipment:−−

consoles, controller, TVs
recorders14Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

Usage requirements for research−−−−Regulated access
Flexible opening hours (24/7)
Place for research−

Additional seminar room
(High-End Gaming-PC, 11 Workstations, suitable beamer, video editing software)Technical equipment:−−

consoles, controller, TVsrecorders→ GamesLab as a place for research on and with the collection15

Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

Usage for research−−

Play + Record + Analyze
Examples for usage:−−−

Analyze games with historical references
Video Games and Gender:
The Depiction of Women in“Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side: 1st love”
Virtual Reality Experiment with Resident Evil 7(observe players while they play)16Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

Video Game
Metadata

Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

Cataloguing games in libraries−−Core Metadata Schema for Cataloging Video Games Version 1 – GAMECIP Tech
Report 1 (December 2015)
Best Practices for Cataloging Video Games: Using RDA and MARC21(Version 1.1 April 2018)18

1 de Groat und Barrett, „Best Practices for Cataloging Video Games Using RDA and MARC21“. Online Audiovisual Catalogers, Inc., 2015(http://www.olacinc.org/drupal/capc_files/GameBestPractices.pdf)

Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

Indexing in accordance with “Best Practices for Cataloging Video
Games: Using RDA and MARC21 (Version 1.0 June 2015)”¹Title●●●Title Proper
Franchise Titles
Other Title Information

Content●
Summarization of the Content●
Language of the Content●
Accessibility Content●
Colour Content●
Sound Content●
DurationGameplay●
Content Type●
Players

Authorship●Statement of Responsibility●
Edition Statement●
Publication Statement●
Distribution Statement●
Copyright Date

Participants●
Performer, Narrator, and/orPresenter●
Artistic and/or Technical Credit

Identifier for the Manifestation

Intended AudienceAwardtechnical Information●Media Type●
Carrier Type●
Extent●Dimensions●
Sound Characteristics●
Video Characteristic●
Digital File Characteristics●
Equipment or System Requirement●Platforms

FRBR/Authority data●
Title of the Work●
Form of Work●
Name Elements●
Recording Relationships●
Unstructured Relationship●
Related Manifestations (StructuredDescription)●
Related Works (StructuredDescription)

19

Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

Enrichment via Media Art Database
JANコードタイトル

パブリッシャー

プラットフォームASIN

発売日

No.

Box

4582127913204(社)日本野球機構承認 バッティングレボリューション

アルファ・ユニット

NintendoWii

B002C1ADO8

16.07.2009

1782204974365910068@field (アットフィールド)ソニックパワードPlayStationVita

B005N4JQ62

29.03.2012

25044988602092219[PlayStation2 ソフト] 遊星からの物体X エピソード2

Konami

PlayStation2B00DOOIRDQ#NV3176374582325378690`&amp;&#39; - 空の向こうで咲きますように - (通常版)

5pb.

PlayStation3

B00FIZRD48

26.12.2013

2402

294582325378713`&amp;&#39; - 空の向こうで咲きますように - (通常版)

5pb.

PlayStationVita

B00FIZRD84

26.12.2013

3444

404995857092772~聖魔導物語~(通常版)

コンパイルハート

PlayStationVita

B00AJG1JMI

28.03.2013

474

54995857091270~緋色の欠片 愛蔵版 ~~あかねいろの追憶~~ (通常版)~

アイディアファクトリーPlayStation3

B004GTLNW0

26.05.2011

2851

334906571150013“みんなで”ワイワイ ココトカート

ケムコ

NintendoDS

B000E8PVIO

23.03.200647864580161677007「うっかり」をなくそう! 文章読みトレーニング 読みトレ

ベネッセコーポレーション

NintendoDS

B000OLV8ZG

28.06.2007

3858

464995857090969「緋色の欠片 愛蔵版」「真・翡翠の雫」ツインパック (「サイン入り名場面ブロマイド (13枚セット) 」同梱)

アイディアファクトリーPlayStation2

B002DR46DU

01.10.2009

2064

23

First comparison with the Media Art Database in january 201620

Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

Additional metadata via Media Art Database

Video game title
Additional video game title
Spieletitel Media Mix
Video game title - Transcription Latin
Video game title - Transcription Kana
English title
Platform
Release dateDeveloper

Publisher
Brand
CERO Rating
No. Players
Price
Medium, Memory
Peripherals/System requirements
Legal statements
References/Genre21

Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

Discover video
games (Prototype)−−

Excel Spreadsheet→ Marc21 →Library catalogue(Vufind)discover further
links to video gamedatabases

22Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

Discover video
games (Prototype)−−

Excel Spreadsheet→ Marc21 →Library catalogue(Vufind)discover further
links to video gamedatabases23

Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

Discover videogames (Prototype)−−

Excel Spreadsheet→ Marc21 →Library catalogue(Vufind)discover furtherlinks to video gamedatabases24Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

Video game metadata“Databased Infrastructure for Global
Games Research”

Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

The project−−

Collaborative research project funded by the German Research
Foundation
Duration: 2017 - 2019−

The Team:−−−interdisciplinary (Information Science, Librarianship, Cultural Studies,[Japan|Area] Studies)
Library's IT department
Institute for Japanese Studies of Leipzig University26Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

Project Goals
1.
2.
3.

Evaluation and integration ofheterogeneous (online) data sources
Generation of use case specificresearch data sets
Development of best-practice solutions
regarding the use of research data27

Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

Data sources−−−−

Research data:
z.B. CLARIN-D, Informatics Research Data Repository (IDR)
Authoritative sources:z.B. Media Art Database, ESRB, PEGI, USK
Online Knowledge Bases:
z.B. Wikipedia, Wikidata, fandom
Community sources:z.B. GameFAQs, Mobygames, ogdb.eu, IGDB-> No unique identifier, no common data model28

Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

Research project and games lab

Future plans and challenges

Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

Summary and what’s next?
−

−

diggr
−
−

reference metadataset for video games
discursive data (e.g., online discussions)[j]Games Lab−−−

use: ~ 5 hours daily
students of Japanese studies
evaluation of use

30Video games as a resource in Japanese Studies

Thank you!
https://diggr.link/
https://github.com/diggr

Licensed under Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)