hanna wirman, M.A. Ph.D. Candidate University of the West of England School of Creative Arts D.A. Candidate (not active atm) University of Lapland Faculty of Art and Design Media Studies Department

contact

hanna [dot] wirman [at] live [dot] uwe [dot] ac [dot] uk
skype: urb_nomad
messenger: urb_nomad

research

Computer games, Game cultures, Women players, Gender, Identity, User-generated content, Participatory cultures, Fan cultures, Game artistry, Mobile games, Pervasive games

p.hd.: reworking the man-made

Whereas girls and women have finally found their way to digital game play during the last decade, game design remains largely occupied by men. Depending on a study, approximately 45 % of all players of digital games but only as little as 5-10 % of game designers are female. The lack of women in the game design is believed to be one of the reasons why computer games still include mainly masculine-orientated content and are largely based on themes like war, fighting, racing and sports as well as are targeted and marketed to men. It is important that one of the biggest media industries of our time would become equally constructed on top of two or more sets of values, game characteristics and forms of design by involving more women in their design.

However, the emergence of a very active participatory and co-creative game culture offers women different kinds of opportunities to take part in the creative and creation processes of digital games: not as game designers in the first place but as active participants, fans, co-producers and alterers of the games after they have already been distributed to gaming communities. Players in the contemporary game culture are able to alter their digital game playing environments and use varied means, such as 'skinning' and 'modding', to create games that better respond to their playing preferences. By changing looks of game characters (skinning) or programming new features into the games (modding), for example, also women players are able to rework what is originally designed by men. The aim of my study is to explore these opportunities and the ways identities of women computer game players are constructed and performed through their productive participation in a game culture.

The research will address the following question: How do women players participate in the production of new and altered game cultural texts?; and it leads to sub-questions such as: What kind of player identities are constructed and performed among women players through their participation in game culture? What means are available for women players to shape game culture and create content within it? What means are available for women players to shape game culture and create content within it? I wish to explore how women players locate themselves in the culture and how they negotiate their preferences. In order to do this it is important to show how the game culture is neither stable nor fixed, but fluid, open and flexible. While my study is focussed specifically on games, such research into the ways users are able to participate in the production processes should have wider relevance to the study of participatory cultures and DIY media in general.

conference papers, publications and reports

WIRMAN, H. 2010 (forthcoming). Review of James Newman: Playing with Videogames. New York: Routledge, 2008. MediaKultur.

WIRMAN, H. 2009. Sobre la productividad y los fans de los juegos. In Daniel Aranda and Jordi Sánchez-Navarro (eds.): Aprovecha el tiempo y juega: Algunas claves para entender los videojuegos, 145-184. Barcelona: Editorial UOC. Available for purchase here.

WIRMAN, H. 2009. On productivity and game fandom. Transformative Works and Cultures, Vol 3 (2009). Available online here.

WIRMAN, H. 2009. The Silent Work of The Sims 2 Bedroom(s). 2 September 2009. DiGRA 2009 Conference, Brunel University. Abstract available online here.

WIRMAN, H. 2009. And then he said, gasping, "Good... Excellent". Paper presented at Bad Games colloquium. 18 July 2009. University of the West of England. Abstract available online here.

WIRMAN, H. 2009. Culture-specific Game Modifications: Player-localization of The Sims 2. Paper presented at Roundtable Shoot-out: Contemporary Video Game Scholarship Seminar. 15 May 2009. University of Manchester.

WIRMAN, H. 2008. Skinning Women and Modding Men? Gendered Co-Creative Practices in Computer Game Cultures. Paper presented at Brunel Digital Games Postgraduate Conference 2008. 16 September 2008. Brunel University.

WIRMAN, H. 2008. Play in between: Women Player Identities and the Practice of Skin Making Proceedings of Women in Games Conference 2008. 9-11 September 2008. Warwick University. Available online here.

WIRMAN, H. 2008. Virtual Threads of a Skin. Proceedings of the [player] Conference, 393-415. 26-29 August 2008. IT University of Copenhagen. Available online here.

WIRMAN, H. and LEINO, O. 2008. For Interface, Against Regression! An exploratory surgery of an transhuman umbilical cord. Proceedings of ISEA 2008 conference. 25-30 July 2008. Singapore. Available online here.

LEINO O., WIRMAN, H. and FERNANDEZ, A. (eds) 2008. Extending Experiences. Structure, Analysis and Design of Computer Game Player Experience. Rovaniemi: Lapland University Press.

WIRMAN, H. 2007. "I am not a fan, I just play a lot" - If Power Gamers Aren't Fans, Who Are? Proceedings of DiGRA 2007 Situated Play Conference, 377-385. 24-28 September 2007. The University of Tokyo. Available online here.

ISOMÄKI, H., LEINO, O., PAJUNEN, J. and WIRMAN, H. 2007. Working within the Varying Interests between Academic and Industrial ICTS Research: Ethical Dilemmas and Individual Researchers' Accountabilities. Paper presented by H. Isomäki at CMS5 Conference. 11-13 July 2007. University of Manchester. Available online here.

WIRMAN, H. 2007. Games and (Textual) Productivity: Fan Texts for and beyond Play. Paper presented at Gamers in Society Seminar, University of Tampere. 17-18 April 2007.

NAKAMURA R. and WIRMAN, H. 2006. Mobiilipelit [Mobile Games], 37-55. In Seppo Kuivakari (ed.): Mobiilikulttuuri [Mobile Culture]. Rovaniemi, University of Lapland Press. Available online here.

WIRMAN, H. 2006. Näkökulma naispelaajuuteen. Naiset osallistujina, faneina ja taiteilijoina [Views to women players. Women as participators, fans and artists]. In Eija Timonen, Marjo Mäenpää, Sanna Karkulehto and Sam Inkinen (eds.): Minne matka, luova talous? [Quo Vadis, Creative Economy?] Jyväskylä, Rajalla. Available online here.

WIRMAN, H. 2006. Pelit: koulutus, tutkimus ja kehitys. Pohjoissuomalaiselle pelialalle olennaisia näkymiä pelikoulutukseen, -tutkimukseen ja -teollisuuteen [Games: education, research and development in Nordic Countries]. University of Lapland, Faculty of Art and Design, Mediapolis InnoMedia project.

NAKAMURA, R. and WIRMAN, H. 2005. Girlish Counter-Playing Tactics. Game Studies, 5(1). Available online here.

LEINO, O. and WIRMAN, H. 2005. Developing Pervasive TRIX Mobile Game on MUPE Platform. Non-published research report. University of Lapland, Faculty of Art and Design, Department of Media Studies.

NAKAMURA, R., WIRMAN, H. and ISOMÄKI, H. 2005. Feminine Playing Style: Limiting and Opening Up Opportunities in Computer Games. In Hannakaisa Isomäki and Anneli Pohjonen (eds.): Lost and Found in Virtual Reality: Women and Information Technology, 209-238. Rovaniemi: University of Lapland Press.

WIRMAN, H. 2005. Mobiili ja langaton teknologia terveydenhuollossa [Mobile and wireless technology in health care]. Non-published research report. University of Lapland, Department of Methodological Studies, Department of Information Technology.

NAKAMURA, R. and WIRMAN, H. 2004. Opportunities and Disadvantages of Feminine Strategies in Computer Games. Paper presented at Game Design Research Symposium and Workshop. 7-8 May 2004. IT University of Copenhagen.

NAKAMURA, R. and WIRMAN, H. 2004. Michel de Certeaun strategia ja taktiikka pelitutkimuksen välineenä [Michel de Certau's strategy and tactics as tools for computer game studies]. Lähikuva, 2-3, 60-70.

WIRMAN, H. 2003. ORB-ohjelmistot sovellusarkkitehtuurit-kurssilla: JacORB, MICO ja Java2 ORB [ORB software: JacORB, MICO ja Java2 ORB]. Non-published research report. University of Lapland, Department of Methodological Studies.

grants and prizes

2007-2010 Three-year Ph.D. Bursary at the University of West of England.

2007 Sasakawa Scandinavia-Japan Foundation Travel Fund.

2006 Rector's Award, University of Lapland.

2006 Master's Thesis awarded with the second prize in the national competition of the Youth Research Society in Finland.

teaching and lectures

Autumn 2009 Lecture: "Co-creative players" for the Advanced Computer Game Theory course at the IT university of Copenhagen and Play and Games module at the Bristol Institute of Technology, University of the West of England.

2006 and 2007 "Computer Game Research". University of Lapland, Open University and Mediapolis Innomedia project, Animation and Game Design Programme.

2006 "Researching Media Cultures". University of Lapland, Faculty of Art and Design, Media Studies Department.

2005 "Introduction to Animation and Game Design". University of Lapland, Open University and Mediapolis Innomedia project, Animation and Game Design Programme.

2005 "Programming with Python, II". University of Lapland, Department of Methodological Studies, Department of Information Technology.

2003-2004 "PC and Its Basic Applications" + "Creating Web Pages with HTML". University of Lapland, Department of Methodological Studies, Department of Information Technology.

2003 "Programming with Java". University of Lapland, Department of Methodological Studies, Department of Information Technology.

2003 "SOAP: Simple Object Access Protocol". University of Lapland, Department of Methodological Studies, Department of Information Technology.

book: extending experiences

LEINO O., WIRMAN, H. and FERNANDEZ, A. (eds) 2008. Extending Experiences. Structure, Analysis and Design of Computer Game Player Experience. Rovaniemi: Lapland University Press. ISBN:978-952-484-197-9

A computer game's player is experiencing not only the game as a designer-made artefact, but also a multitude of social and cultural practices and contexts of both computer game play and everyday life. As a truly multidisciplinary anthology, Extending Experiences sheds new light on the mesh of possibilities and influences the player engages with. Part one, Experiential Structures of Play, considers some of the key concepts commonly used to address the experience of a computer game player. The second part, Bordering Play, discusses conceptual and practical overlaps of games and everyday life and the impacts of setting up, crossing and breaking the boundaries of game and non-game. Part three, Interfaces of Play, looks at games as technological and historical artefacts and commodities. The fourth part, Beyond Design, introduces new models for the practical and theoretical dimensions of game design.

The book is now available for purchase here.

contacts

University of the West of England, School of Creative Arts (Ph.D. studies)
Play Research Group, UWE (Member of the Play Research Group)
Pervasive Media Studio (Academic Resident)

University of Lapland, Faculty of Art and Design (D.A. studies, several teaching+research positions 2003-2007)
Elomedia National Graduate School of Audiovisual Media (Resarcher)
Extending Experiences book (Editor)

IT University of Copenhagen, Center for Computer Games Research (Visiting Ph.D. student 2006-2007)
Masaryk University Brno (Erasmus student exchange 2004)
olli leino (The significant other)

personal

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