Idol World in Mobile Games : A look into Japanese idol games and the world built in them
Tuominen, Henna (2021)
2021
Master's Programme in Game Studies
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2021-03-10
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202102182143
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202102182143
Tiivistelmä
This thesis asks, how fictional idol worlds are built in Japanese idol mobile games. The two games chosen for this research are global versions of Love Live! School Idol Festival All Stars and Utano Princesama Shining Live. Qualitative content analysis is used as the method, and it is supported by the idea of building blocks by Clara Fernández-Vara.
There is not yet much English research on idol game genre, which connects to the unique idol culture in Japan, and anime culture with anime-styled visuals. The games may also be a part of a larger franchise, connecting them to the concept of Japanese media mix. Background on this thesis discusses the context of researching Japanese games outside of Japan, and looks into the concept of Japanese media mix. It also discusses real idols and fictional or virtual idols in Japan and research done on them.
Analysis revealed four main categories found on the two games, Love Live! School Idol Festival All Stars and Utano Princesama Shining Live, which are Idol, Player, Connections, and Representation, each of them including different subcategories. Idol-category focuses on what is said about idols in the game’s world and what idol characters do and say. Player-category includes what kind of role the player is given and what kind of character the player is supposed to be. Connections-category reveals the game’s story connections to earlier franchise and real-life events. Representation-category looks on how the game represents itself as an idol game.
Discussion focuses on how these categories bring out similarities and differences between the two games, and how they reflect earlier research on real idols and fictional or virtual idols. For instance, idol characters’ appearance is described in more detail in Love Live! School Idol Festival All Stars, but in both games the player character is assumed to be a female, which is not always the case with idol games. The games also have ways of mixing reality and fiction.
There is not yet much English research on idol game genre, which connects to the unique idol culture in Japan, and anime culture with anime-styled visuals. The games may also be a part of a larger franchise, connecting them to the concept of Japanese media mix. Background on this thesis discusses the context of researching Japanese games outside of Japan, and looks into the concept of Japanese media mix. It also discusses real idols and fictional or virtual idols in Japan and research done on them.
Analysis revealed four main categories found on the two games, Love Live! School Idol Festival All Stars and Utano Princesama Shining Live, which are Idol, Player, Connections, and Representation, each of them including different subcategories. Idol-category focuses on what is said about idols in the game’s world and what idol characters do and say. Player-category includes what kind of role the player is given and what kind of character the player is supposed to be. Connections-category reveals the game’s story connections to earlier franchise and real-life events. Representation-category looks on how the game represents itself as an idol game.
Discussion focuses on how these categories bring out similarities and differences between the two games, and how they reflect earlier research on real idols and fictional or virtual idols. For instance, idol characters’ appearance is described in more detail in Love Live! School Idol Festival All Stars, but in both games the player character is assumed to be a female, which is not always the case with idol games. The games also have ways of mixing reality and fiction.