Shinji Matsunaga
(松永 伸司)Profile Information
- Affiliation
- Associate professor, Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University
- Visiting researcher, The Kinugasa Research Organization, Ritsumeikan University
- Degree
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PhD(Mar, 2015, Tokyo University of the Arts)
- Researcher number
- 60778520
- J-GLOBAL ID
- 201301064489737190
- researchmap Member ID
- B000234213
- External link
Attention: I'm majoring in game studies, not in game development or game design. For those who are interested in making games, please look elsewhere.
I'm studying video games from a philosophical and aesthetic perspective. My current focus is on the medium of video games and its formal features, and the analysis of the critical practices on works of video games.
Representation in videogames
My doctoral dissertation is about the structure of representation and signification in video games.
In the light of their historical development, I take video games as a hybrid form of traditional games, such as chess or soccer, and fiction, such as novel or film. On that basis, I try to construct a theoretical framework that will be able to describe the ways of signification in games and fiction respectively, and the varied, complex relationship between them.
Such signifying aspects as narrative, temporal or spatial representation, simulation, player's actions, and so on, will be adequately explained in terms of this framework.
Other philosophical / aesthetic interests on video games
- Video games and traditional games: the peculiarity of computer games when compared to non-computer ones.
- Narrative in games: narratives that are emergent, non-linear, environmental, and so on.
- What properties make gameplay (aesthetically) valued: an aesthetic approach to "fun" or "good gameplay."
- Indie game culture: its notable artistic orientation.
- Pixel arts as an object of aesthetic appreciation.
Other interests in philosophy of art
- Definitions of art.
- Popular vs high arts.
- Depiction / pictorial representation.
- Aesthetic judgments on fashion: in particular, the analysis of the concept of "fashionable."
Research Interests
15Research Areas
2Books and Other Publications
4-
Film Art, Inc., Apr, 2019 (ISBN: 9784845918010)
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Keio University Press, Oct, 2018 (ISBN: 9784766425673)
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Keio University Press, Feb, 2017 (ISBN: 9784766422245)
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New Games Order, Sep, 2016 (ISBN: 9784908124082)
Papers
19-
Shun-Shyo Yao, Jian Deng, and Kentaro Matsumoto (eds.), Cultural Studies of Games in Japan, China, and Korea: A Game Criticism Anthology from East Asia (Shin-yo Sha), 144-181, Mar, 2024 Invited
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PhilCul, 7(2) 24-42, Aug, 2022
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PhilCul, 5(2) 48-58, Aug, 2020
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Nobushige Kobayashi (ed.), An Introduction to Digital Game Research (Minerva Shobo), 13-36, Jun, 2020 Invited
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Ecrit-o, 11 221-236, Nov, 2019 Invited
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PhilCul, 4(2) 102-121, Jul, 2019 Invited
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Hiroshi Matsui, Takanori Iguchi, Masumi Oishi, and Mikako Hata (eds.), The Diversification of Gaming Culture and Society (New Games Order), 267-279, May, 2019 Invited
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Shin-ichi Nakazawa and Daichi Nakagawa (eds.), The New Era of Game Studies (NTT Publishing), 46-66, Mar, 2019 Invited
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Eureka, 49(3) 210-223, Jan, 2017 Invited
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Digital Tribe and Youth Culture of East Asian Regions: The Proceedings of the 2016 Culture/Science International Conference, 293-321, Nov, 2016 Invited
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PhilCul, 1(2) 76-111, Sep, 2016 Peer-reviewed
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Aesthetics, 20 89-102, Mar, 2016 Peer-reviewed
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Vanitas: A Critical Journal on Fashion, 4 165-181, Sep, 2015 Peer-reviewed
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Semiotopos, 10 184-202, Jun, 2015 Peer-reviewed
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PhD dissertation, Tokyo University of the Arts, Mar, 2015
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Ronso, Tokyo University of the Arts, 11 27-34, Mar, 2015 Peer-reviewed
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Bigaku (Aesthetics), 64(2) 97-108, Dec, 2013 Peer-reviewed
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Kallista, 19 27-55, Dec, 2012 Peer-reviewed
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Kallista, 17 24-51, Dec, 2010 Peer-reviewed
Misc.
47-
XD MAGAZINE, 7 96-101, Jul, 2023 Invited
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Kohkoku, 417 121-159, Mar, 2023 Invited
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Media Arts Current Contents Project Report 2022, Mar, 2023 Invited
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Media Arts Current Contents, Feb, 2023 Invited
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田中 “hally” 治久・今井晋監修『インディ・ゲーム新世紀ディープ・ガイド:ゲームの沼』Pヴァイン, 132-147, Sep, 2022
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Mogura VR News, Apr 26, 2022 Invited
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広告, 416 99-110, Mar, 2022 Invited
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以文, 64 24-26, Sep, 2021
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Monbu Kagaku Kyoiku Tsushin, 510 24-25, Jun, 2021 Invited
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Fashion Tech News, Jun, 2021 Invited
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Monbu Kagaku Kyoiku Tsushin, 509 22-23, Jun, 2021 Invited
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Media Arts Current Contents Project Report 2020, 33-43, Mar, 2021 Invited
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Tired Of, 1 127-135, Feb, 2021 Invited
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The Japanese Society for Aesthetics (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, Maruzen Publishing., 568-571, Dec, 2020 Invited
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リアルサウンド テック, Oct 4, 2020 Invited
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リアルサウンド テック, Sep 21, 2020 Invited
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図書新聞, 3484, Sep, 2020 Invited
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Bijutsu Techo, August 2020, 81, Jul, 2020 Invited
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Bijutsu Techo, August 2020, 114-117, Jul, 2020 Invited
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Bijutsu Techo, August 2020, 92-100, Jul, 2020
Presentations
53-
IAMAS 2024: 情報科学芸術大学院大学 第22期生修了研究発表会, Feb 23, 2024 Invited
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The "Into Fiction: Aesthetics of Immersion" Workshop, Feb 10, 2024 Invited
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大岩雄典個展「実効|Work」ガラ トークイベント, Nov 5, 2023 Invited
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PARA「共有の知恵」レクチャーシリーズ, Sep 9, 2023 Invited
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May 21, 2023 Invited
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日本科学哲学会第55回大会シンポジウム「コミュニケーションメディアの哲学」, Dec 3, 2022 Invited
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大岩雄典個展「可能」, Nov 20, 2022 Invited
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PARA「作品とは何か」レクチャーコース, Nov 19, 2022 Invited
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IMART 2022, Oct 22, 2022 Invited
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MAGMA sessions, Mar 18, 2022, 文化庁 Invited
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アジア日本研究ネットワーク第5回会議:アジアにおけるパンデミック後の日本学を考える, Mar 5, 2022 Invited
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Symposium: Esports and Applied Philosophy, The 13th Annual Meeting of the Japan Association for the Contemporary and Applied Philosophy, Sep 25, 2021 Invited
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Jun 26, 2021
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立命館大学ゲーム研究センター2021年度第1回定例研究会, Jun 16, 2021 Invited
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Workshop: Ruins and Ghosts, The 13th Annual Meeting of the Japan Association for the Contemporary and Applied Philosophy, May 22, 2021
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XR Kaigi 2020, Dec 10, 2020 Invited
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『美術手帖』8月号「ゲーム×アート」特集トークイベント, Aug 5, 2020 Invited
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PLAYについて考え直す水曜日 リプレイ13, Jul 22, 2020 Invited
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Feb 16, 2020
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Lectures around Forms, Feb 8, 2020, PLAY and WORKS Invited
Education
3-
Apr, 2010 - Mar, 2015
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Apr, 2008 - Mar, 2010
Research History
9-
Jun, 2015 - Present
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Oct, 2021 - Mar, 2022
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Apr, 2020 - Sep, 2021
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Apr, 2017 - Mar, 2018
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Apr, 2011 - Mar, 2013
Awards
2-
Feb, 2016
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Jul, 2010
Academic Activities
5-
Planning/Implementing academic research, Other文化庁、大日本印刷, Jun, 2019 - Mar, 2020
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Planning/Implementing academic research, Other文化庁、大日本印刷, Sep, 2018 - Mar, 2019
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Planning/Implementing academic research文化庁、大日本印刷, Jan, 2018 - Mar, 2018
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Planning/Implementing academic research文化庁、京都精華大学, Sep, 2016 - Mar, 2017
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Planning/Implementing academic research文化庁、京都精華大学, Jun, 2015 - Mar, 2016
Research Projects
3-
Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Apr, 2019 - Mar, 2022
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Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Apr, 2011 - Mar, 2013
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Grant-in-Aid, Foundation for the Fusion of Science and Technology, Apr, 2010 - Mar, 2011