Tag: Bethesda Game Studios

‘Sense Of Place,’ Fallout 76 Research To Be Published In New Scientific Journal

 

A study done last year that found the video game Fallout 76 may help forge new emotional connections between those playing it and West Virginia, will be published in a new journal under the American Psychological Association. 

The new journal is titled Technology, Mind, and Behavior.

 

Texas Tech University associate professor Nick Bowman and colleagues spent three months studying more than 500 people who played Fallout 76. About 80 percent of those individuals were not native to West Virginia.

 

His team’s research found that players developed a “sense of place,” or a meaningful and emotional connection with the artifacts and places portrayed in the game.

 

Bowman said in an emailed statement that he hopes his findings add “to a body of research into video games that goes beyond basic criticism of the medium.”

 

He noted there is a lot of research that looks at the negative influence of games on players and that his research might provide something positive.

 

Bowman also said he hopes players, especially who are sheltering in place at home during the coronavirus pandemic, find some comfort in exploring West Virginia right now in virtual space.

 

“Of course not all games are social spaces and many folks are turning to their favorite games to take a temporary break from their surroundings … [but] video games can also be profoundly social spaces,” Bowman said. “Already our team has been thinking about ways to chat with World of Warcraft players to see how they’re finding each other online, both to completely forget about COVID-19 … and to bond with each other and stay in touch.”

 

Bowman said there is not yet a date set for the new publication, however the pre-print of his Fallout 76 research is currently available for viewing here.

Study Shows Fallout 76 May Create Emotional Connection Between Players And West Virginia

Updated on Jan. 10, 2020 to include an extended version of the interview. Scroll below.

It’s been more than a year since the video game Fallout 76 was released. The game — one in a popular series created by Maryland-based Bethesda Game Studios — takes place entirely in a post-apocalyptic West Virginia. Players from around the world play together online to reclaim the land. 

New research finds the game may help forge new connections between those playing it and the Mountain State.

Researcher and gamer Nick Bowman was curious how the game Fallout 76 might affect players who were not native to West Virginia.

“I started thinking to myself … myself being a transplant of West Virginia; what is it like to be a transplant to a digital West Virginia?,” Bowman said. “Where you’re spending 10-12 hours a week in [a] sort of fantasy but kind of anchored in reality West Virginia?” 

Bowman, an associate professor of journalism and creative media industries at Texas Tech University, and colleagues spent three months studying more than 550 people who played Fallout 76 — the majority of whom were not native to West Virginia, about 75 to 80 percent.

“I was curious to find out if there would be a correlation between spending time in this video game and actually fostering a sense of connection for the real West Virginia that’s represented in the video game,” he said.

Bowman said due to West Virginia’s population size and the international popularity of the Fallout video game series, by probability, most of the players of Fallout 76 would likely be from outside the state. 

Two weeks after the game’s launch, Bowman and his team asked the individuals participating in the study what they thought about the state, facts they knew about the state, and their overall opinion of the state. 

Then, two months after the game’s launch, they asked those individuals the same questions. They found that players not native to West Virginia knew as much as players who were from West Virginia, and they were forming an emotional attachment to this digital Mountain State.

“Among our findings included the development of a ‘sense of place’ — a meaningful and emotional connection with the artifacts and places portrayed in the game,” Bowman said. “Players, including many non-native West Virginians, reported an increased knowledge and recognition of West Virginia locations, as well as a deeper understanding of the state’s culture and folklore.”

The game may also help foster a different type of tourism called “digital tourism,” Bowman said.

Highlights of the study are currently on display at West Virginia University’s Appalachian Futures traveling exhibit. 

Bowman and his team’s work on Fallout 76 earned a research award from the National Communication Association and is currently under review by a scientific journal that focuses on technology and human behavior. Bowman said the name of the journal is embargoed until the review process is over.

W.Va. Tourism Officials Celebrate Launch of 'Fallout 76' Video Game

Bethesda Game Studios’ “Fallout 76” video game hit store shelves this week. West Virginia Tourism officials are hoping to promote the state to a wider audience with the game’s launch.

“Fallout 76” debuted Wednesday to a worldwide audience. The game takes place exclusively in West Virginia during a post-apocalyptic time period, and it’s the biggest game yet to come out of Bethesda Game Studios.

State Tourism officials heralded the game’s worldwide release with an event at the West Virginia Capitol in Charleston.

This latest installment in the “Fallout” family of games is a prequel to the rest. It features West Virginia folklore, monsters, and iconic places like Woodburn Hall on West Virginia University’s campus, the Greenbrier Resort, and the state Capitol.

West Virginia Tourism’s website features an interactive map of West Virginia locations included in the game.

Tourism Commissioner Chelsea Ruby says West Virginia “has never had a tourism opportunity quite like this.”

 

In October, state Tourism officials announced a partnership with Bethesda to promote both the game and the state.

Latest in Popular Video Game Series to Be Set in West Virginia

West Virginia will be the setting for the latest in a video game series with an international following. The game will feature landscapes, folklore and well-known locations from around the state in a post-apocalyptic time period.

Over the weekend, American-based Bethesda Game Studios revealed a new trailer and exclusive gameplay for its biggest video game to-date titled, Fallout 76.

Bethesda Director and Executive Producer Todd Howard revealed details for the upcoming game at the 2018 Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

“Set in the hills of West Virginia,” he said, “you are one of the first to emerge into an untamed and very different wasteland.”

Howard says Fallout 76 is a prequel to the family of Fallout video games that started in the late 90s and set in post-apocalyptic times with cyberpunk and retro futuristic art and style.

Some well-known locations are seen in the latest game trailer, like the State Capitol, the Greenbrier Resort, and West Virginia University’s Woodburn Hall. Some of West Virginia’s own local monsters, like the Beast of Grafton and the Mothman, also make an appearance.

“Now most people don’t know West Virginia that well,” Howard said. “It is an incredible array of natural wonders, towns, and government secrets, and the quest will take you through six distinct regions; each with their own style, risks, and rewards.”

Howard says Fallout 76 will be the first Fallout game to be played entirely online and uses new technology to enhance gameplay and visual landscape.

Both the teaser and the latest trailer feature John Denver’s song “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”

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