Beere, C.A. (1990) Sex and Gender Issues: A Handbook of Tests and Measures. New York: Greenwood Press.
The Sexual Opinion Survey (SOS), summarized in Beere’s handbook, remains relevant despite its age because it provides one of the earliest structured attempts to quantify sexual attitudes across behaviors, fantasies and interpersonal contexts. Although it predates contemporary understandings of gender and sexuality, its clarity as a summated rating scale makes it valuable for analyzing how external measurement tools shape player profiling in game‑based interventions. For my work, the SOS is useful because it reframes surveys not as mechanics but as meta‑systems that sit outside the game loop, mirroring how I think about symbolic systems and player behavior. It helps me understand how designers can use external data to shape narrative, emotional tone and player experience without embedding the measurement directly into gameplay.
Cipriani, G., Cipriani, L. & Di Fiorino, M. (2017) ‘Personality and destiny. Francesco Borromini: portrait of a tormented soul’, History of Psychiatry, 28(3), pp. 352–357. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957154X17691448
This article remains relevant because it shows how an artist’s psychological conflicts directly shape their creative output, a theme that transcends historical context. Borromini’s melancholy and perfectionism become architectural language, demonstrating how identity and inner tension materialize as form. For my practice, this reinforces the idea that digital artists and technical creatives inevitably encode their emotional and symbolic worlds into pipelines, tools and visual decisions. It also clarifies why building an authentic online identity matters: audiences respond to work that carries emotional truth. The article strengthens my understanding of how personal narrative, vulnerability and internal conflict can become engines for innovation rather than obstacles.
Franco Vega, I., Eleftheriou, A. & Graham, C. (2022) ‘Using video games to improve the sexual health of young people aged 15 to 25 years: Rapid review’, Journal of Medical Internet Research, 24(6). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9164099/
Although recent, this review is valuable because it situates games within public‑health interventions, showing how behavioral change can be supported through narrative, feedback loops and external measurement tools. It highlights that games rarely embed psychological scales internally, instead relying on pre‑ and post‑game assessments aligning with my interest in treating surveys as meta‑systems rather than mechanics. For my work, the review clarifies how designers can build emotionally resonant experiences that influence behavior without becoming didactic. It also helps me understand how symbolic communication, narrative framing and player agency can be used to support sensitive topics like sexuality in a way that feels authentic and respectful.
Guo, K. & Mackenzie, N. (2015) ‘Signs and codes in early childhood: An investigation of young children’s creative approaches to communication’, Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 40(2), pp. 78–87. https://doi.org/10.1177/183693911504000210 (Original work published 2015)
This article remains relevant because it demonstrates how children naturally invent signs, hybrid codes and symbolic systems to make sense of their world. Although focused on early childhood, its insights map directly onto creative practice: identity is shaped through the signs we produce. For my work, the article reinforces my belief that artists operate through similar semiotic processes constructing visual languages, stylistic codes and symbolic gestures that communicate who they are becoming. It also strengthens my understanding of communication within production pipelines, where clarity of signs and shared meaning determines whether teams can translate personal vision into collective output.
Lahad, K. (2025) ‘Till we meet again: Towards an affective sociology of schedules’, Sociology, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00380385251376223
Despite being a contemporary piece, Lahad’s argument is relevant because it reframes schedules as emotional forces rather than neutral organizational tools. This perspective helps explain why production pipelines often feel constraining: schedules generate urgency, pressure and affective states that shape creative behavior. For my practice, the article clarifies how time structures influence communication, collaboration and artistic identity. It also helps me articulate why flexibility is essential in creative environments, especially in technical art where problem‑solving requires space for experimentation. Understanding schedules as affective systems allows me to design workflows that protect creativity rather than compress it.
Martens, M. (2011) ‘Transmedia teens: Affect, immaterial labour, and user‑generated content’, Convergence, 17(1), pp. 49–68. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856510383363 (Original work published 2011).
Martens’ article remains relevant because it anticipates today’s creator‑driven ecosystems, where fandoms generate data, trends and emotional momentum for brands. Although written before Fortnite’s rise, its analysis of affective labour maps directly onto how modern games use community creativity as informal R&D. For my work, this text clarifies how user‑generated content becomes both symbolic expression and actionable insight. It strengthens my understanding of how developers can treat communities as co‑authors, shaping worlds through shared emotional investment. It also supports my interest in systems thinking by showing how affect circulates between players and designers, influencing design pipelines and brand identity.
Phelan, J. (2014) ‘Voice, tone, and the rhetoric of narrative communication’, Language and Literature, 23(1), pp. 49–60. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963947013511723 (Original work published 2014).
Phelan’s analysis remains relevant because it frames voice and tone as relational tools that shape how audiences interpret intention and emotional stance. This is essential for both narrative design and professional communication. For my practice, the article helps me understand how tone influences trust, collaboration and creative alignment within teams. It also clarifies how my own writing whether reflective blogs or technical documentation carries symbolic weight beyond the information itself. By becoming more aware of tone, I can shape environments and relationships with greater precision, ensuring that my creative and technical ideas land with clarity and resonance.
Sharpe, T.H. (2003) ‘Adult sexuality’, The Family Journal, 11(4), pp. 420–426. https://doi.org/10.1177/1066480703255386 (Original work published 2003).
Although published in 2003, Sharpe’s article remains relevant because its emphasis on relational, affect‑driven identity formation aligns with contemporary understandings of sexuality as fluid and experiential. For my work, the article helps me connect affective scheduling and identity development to how players explore sexuality within games. It also clarifies why representation matters: characters whose identities evolve through relationships and emotional encounters feel more authentic to modern audiences. This supports my interest in designing symbolic systems and narratives that reflect lived experience rather than rigid categories, deepening emotional engagement and expanding inclusivity.
Stern, K. (1965) The Flight from Woman. London: George Allen & Unwin.
Despite its age, Stern’s critique of Western rationalism remains strikingly relevant to modern game design. His argument that analytic, system‑driven thinking has overshadowed intuitive, symbolic modes of knowing mirrors the dominance of optimization loops and procedural logic in contemporary design cultures. For my practice, Stern helps me articulate why emotionally thin or overly rationalized design feels unsatisfying: it lacks mythic resonance and intuitive depth. The text strengthens my commitment to blending technical systems with symbolic meaning, ensuring that my work as a technical artist remains emotionally grounded rather than purely functional.
Thrush, E.A. & Bodary, M. (2000) ‘Virtual reality, combat, and communication’, Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 14(3), pp. 315–327. https://doi.org/10.1177/105065190001400304 (Original work published 2000)
Although written before modern VR, this article remains relevant because it identifies early tensions between technological innovation, embodiment and communication issues that persist today. Its discussion of immersive interaction helps contextualize current developments like Disney’s Holo‑Tile, showing how technological breakthroughs create industry‑wide pressure to innovate. For my practice, the article clarifies how VR forces designers to rethink spatial logic, movement and embodied experience. It supports my interest in expanding creative vocabulary through emerging tools and highlights how technical constraints shape symbolic and narrative possibilities in immersive media.
Aleman, E., Brown, M. & Ruchotzke, E. (2025) ‘Listen up!: Game jams as spaces of pedagogical rupture, counterstorytelling and youth agency’, Learning, Media and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2025.2600478
This article remains relevant because it shows how young people use game mechanics to express frustration with systems that demand obedience while offering little agency. The students design loops, forced chores and “keep playing” cycles that mirror the emotional reality of school: progress depends on completing tasks imposed by adults, yet nothing meaningfully changes. These procedural structures become counterstories, turning repetition and unwinnable states into symbolic expressions of being unheard.
For my practice, the article is valuable because it treats mechanics as an emotional language, aligning with my interest in how technical systems encode meaning. It reinforces that constraints, rules and pipelines are never neutral; they carry affect, identity and critique. The study strengthens my understanding of how symbolic systems communicate frustration and resistance through structure rather than narrative alone.
Rextina, G., Asghar, S., Stockman, T., & Khan, A. (2025). Serious Game for Dyslexia Screening: Design and Verification. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 41(8), 4483–4499. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2024.2352205
This article outlines the design and validation of Galexia, a mobile‑based serious game created to support early dyslexia screening for children aged 6–12. The authors map DSM‑5‑TR symptoms to specific game tasks, turning phoneme recognition, letter–sound correspondence and visual–motor challenges into measurable interactions. The game is evaluated through expert review, formative testing and a pilot study with children, showing significant performance differences between dyslexic and non‑dyslexic players.
The study highlights the value of game‑based data collection as a low‑cost, accessible alternative to traditional assessments that require experts or specialized equipment. By structuring cognitive challenges as interactive tasks, the game demonstrates how mechanics can function as diagnostic signals, offering a scalable approach to early identification. This connects to my practice because Technical Art treats systems and symbols not just visuals as carriers of meaning that can be repurposed to support users with specific difficulties.
Tang, Z., & Kirman, B. (2025). Exploring Curiosity in Games: A Framework and Questionnaire Study of Player Perspectives. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 41(4), 2475–2490. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2024.2325171
This article is valuable because it offers a structured, player‑centered understanding of curiosity as a design force rather than an abstract psychological trait. By identifying seven categories and thirteen dimensions of curiosity, the authors show how games sustain engagement through uncertainty, social interaction, strategic depth and the promise of future rewards. Their survey demonstrates that curiosity is not a single impulse but a layered system of triggers that shape how players explore, interpret and remain invested in a game.
For my practice, the study resonates because it treats curiosity as something encoded procedurally. The mechanics, sensory cues and systemic tensions that evoke curiosity function as symbolic structures carrying meaning through behaviour rather than visuals alone. This aligns with my view of Technical Art as the craft of designing systems that communicate, provoke and guide players through encoded patterns of interaction.
