Emma Witkowski
ABSTRACT
This article explores the quality of running experience under the scaffolding of one particular audio adventure and running app -- Zombies, Run! Drawing on qualitative methods, in particular autophenomenography, this research maps out a 'Zombies, Run'! running aesthetic where body, environment, and technologies are interweaved and absorbed into the creation of local essences relating to this particular way of running. Considerations on body rhythm, practiced and novice runners, and a deepened awareness of running locations are described and analysed as key features of experiencing movement with this running app in hand. "Feeling the way" towards the nuances of embodied movement contributes to an increased awareness of the range and complexity of sensuous details at work when moving with this modern mobile gaming app. But also, other significant situations are explored including the embrace of this modern Indie exer-game by women, and the situatedness of core game mechanics in code, audio/narrative, environment, and moving bodies. Running from zombies is a playful movement practice, albeit a disorienting one, in which ones running experience in the world sits with the pleasures of running, body knowledge, environmental engagement, and speed play.
- Martin, C. 2007. John Dewey and the beautiful stride: running as aesthetic experience. In Running & Philosophy: A Marathon for the Mind. M. Austin, Ed. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 171--179.Google Scholar
- Ingold, T. 2000. The Perception of the Environment. New York: Harper Perennial.Google Scholar
- Merleau-Ponty, M. & Lefort, C. 1975. The Visible and the Invisible: Followed by Working Notes. Evanston: Northwestern University Press.Google Scholar
- Allen-Collinson, J. 2009. Sporting embodiment: sports studies and the (continuing) promise of phenomenology. Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise, 1 (3), 279--296.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Allen-Collinson, J. 2008. Running the routes together: corunning and knowledge in action. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 37 (1), 38--61.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Gruppetta, M. 2004. Autophenomenography? Alternative uses of autobiographically based research. Association for Active Researchers in Education conference proceedings. Retrieved from http://publications.aare.edu.au/04pap/gru04228.pdf.Google Scholar
- Allen-Collinson, J. & Hockey, J. 2009. The essence of sporting embodiment: phenomenological analyses of the sporting body. The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 4 (4). 71--81.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Moustakas, C. 1994. Phenomenological research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.Google Scholar
- Hockey, J., & Allen-Collinson, J. 2007. Grasping the phenomenology of sporting bodies. International review for the sociology of sport, 42 (2), 115--131.Google Scholar
- Baker, K. 2012. Women on the Run. Grantland Quarterly, 134--141.Google Scholar
- Davis, D. 2003. Changing body aesthetics: Diet and exercise fads in a Newfoundland outport community. In Athletic Intruders, A. Bolin & J. Granskog, Eds. Albany: State University of New York Press, 201--226.Google Scholar
- Murukami, H. 2008. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. Narrated by Ray Porter. Blackstone Audio Ink. Audio book.Google Scholar
- Southerton, C. 2013. 'Zombies, Run!': Rethinking immersion in light of nontraditional gaming contexts. Transmedia: Storytelling and Beyond Digital Interfaces conference proceedings. Draft conference paper retrieved from http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/research/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Southerton-Transmedia.pdf.Google Scholar
- Wisnewski, J. 2007.The phenomenology of becoming a runner. In Austin, M. (2007). In Running & Philosophy: A Marathon for the Mind. M. Austin, Ed. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 35--44.Google Scholar
- Gamer In Thought. 2011. Interview ~ Meet Naomi Alderman and Adrian Hon, the masterminds behind ZOMBIES, RUN! (Oct. 2011). Retrieved from http://gamerinthought.wordpress.com/2011/10/04/interview-meet-naomi-alderman-and-adrian-hon-the-masterminds-behind-zombies-run/#more-608.Google Scholar
- Six to Start and Naomi Alderman. 2011. Zombies, Run! Season One. The Runner's Guide. Retrieved from http://assets.sixtostart.com/runners-guide/zrg.pdf.Google Scholar
- Allen-Collinson, J., & Hockey, J. 2011. Feeling the way: Notes toward a haptic phenomenology of distance running and scuba diving. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 46 (3), 330--345.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Farman, J. 2009. Locative Life: Geocaching, mobile gaming, and embodiment. Digital Arts and Culture conference proceedings. Retrieved from http://www.jasonfarman.com/JasonFarman-Locative_Life_DAC09.pdf.Google Scholar
- Caillois, R. & Barash, M. 2001. Man, play, and games. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
- Sheet-Johnstone, M. (1999).The primacy of Movement. John Benjamins Publishing Company, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
- Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Csikszentmihalyi, I. S. (1992). Optimal experience: psychological studies of flow in consciousness. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
- Nicholson, Brad. 2012. Zombies, Run! Is An Undead App With A Soul (March 2012). Retrieved from http://toucharcade.com/2012/03/02/zombies-run-is-an-undead-app-with-a-soul/.Google Scholar
Index Terms
- Running from zombies
Recommendations
Being chased by zombies!: understanding the experience of mixed reality quests
OzCHI '13: Proceedings of the 25th Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference: Augmentation, Application, Innovation, CollaborationBoth researchers and practitioners show increasing interest in exploring mixed reality games: games, where physical environments blend together with digital technologies. In this paper we have extended earlier work by bringing attention to the role of ...
From Disorientation to Harmony: Autoethnographic Insights into Transformative Videogame Experiences
CHI '24: Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing SystemsVideogames can transform the perspectives and attitudes of players. Prior discussion on this transformative potential has typically been limited to non-entertainment videogames with explicit transformational goals. However, recreational gaming appears to ...
BoomChaCha: A Rhythm-based, Physical Role-Playing Game that Facilitates Cooperation among Players
CHI EA '16: Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing SystemsWe designed a new genre of gaming that is rhythm-based, cooperative, physical and involves role-playing. In the game, three players as a team combat monsters by waving physical weapons on certain beats of the background music. The game requires a ...
Comments