This thesis explores how game makers conceive of and navigate the intersection between digital systems and real world systems by asking, how can social impact game designers shape procedural rhetoric to effectively address complex real world systems with digital systems? By examining three game case studies, I reach four significant findings regarding player agency, subversive play, design approaches to scale, and game difficulty in regards to systems fluency.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis explores how game makers conceive of and navigate the intersection between digital systems and real world systems by asking, how can social impact game designers shape procedural rhetoric to effectively address complex real world systems with digital systems? By examining three game case studies, I reach four significant findings regarding player agency, subversive play, design approaches to scale, and game difficulty in regards to systems fluency.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Albor, Jorge"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts in International Studies","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"International Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Prof. Dorothy Kidd"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-12-16T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-12-16T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:42:35Z","subjects":["games","global systems","video games","serious games","games for change","game design","Film and Media Studies","Interactive Arts","Other International and Area Studies","Other Political Science","Speech and Rhetorical Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://repository.usfca.edu/thes/3","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Prof. Dorothy Kidd"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Albor, Jorge"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2012-01-02T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["International Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts in International Studies"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["games","global systems","video games","serious games","games for change","game design","Film and Media Studies","Interactive Arts","Other International and Area Studies","Other Political Science","Speech and Rhetorical Studies"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://repository.usfca.edu/thes/3"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis explores how game makers conceive of and navigate the intersection between digital systems and real world systems by asking, how can social impact game designers shape procedural rhetoric to effectively address complex real world systems with digital systems? By examining three game case studies, I reach four significant findings regarding player agency, subversive play, design approaches to scale, and game difficulty in regards to systems fluency.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Systems at Play: The Construction of International Systems in Social Impact Games"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Prof. Dorothy Kidd"],"dc:creator":["Albor, Jorge"],"dc:date.available":["2012-01-02T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis explores how game makers conceive of and navigate the intersection between digital systems and real world systems by asking, how can social impact game designers shape procedural rhetoric to effectively address complex real world systems with digital systems? By examining three game case studies, I reach four significant findings regarding player agency, subversive play, design approaches to scale, and game difficulty in regards to systems fluency.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://repository.usfca.edu/thes/3"],"dc:subject":["games","global systems","video games","serious games","games for change","game design","Film and Media Studies","Interactive Arts","Other International and Area Studies","Other Political Science","Speech and Rhetorical Studies"],"dc:title":["Systems at Play: The Construction of International Systems in Social Impact Games"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["International Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts in International Studies"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:42:35Z"}