![]() In fact the very diversity of mannerpunk, and the dismissive way this label is often used by authors and critics, raises some interesting questions. Given the incredibly varied body of texts labelled “mannerpunk”, it would be unfair to claim any description of the genre is definitive. Although many mannerpunk novels contain little romance, melodrama, or physical description (Priest’s work is a key example), in the comments Sherwood Smith suggests that Hobson is in fact “describing what was called Mannerpunk ten years ago” (Hobson, 2009). Hobson identifies the genre as “aranormal romantic historical fantasy tinged with the Victorian” (Hobson, 2009). Grouping her writings together with the wildly diverse work of Gail Carriger, Cherie Priest, and Sherwood Smith, M.K. One online reviewer writes: “Basically, if you can stick ‘Jane Austen meets X’ in front of your story proposal, it’s got a good chance of being Mannerpunk” (Romano, 2016). With its fetishization of social hierarchies, at first blush mannerpunk, more commonly known as “fantasy of manners” fiction, seems incompatible with a punk aesthetic. In examining these games, this article will ultimately indicate the need for game studies to interrogate the intersection between commercial motivations and game design and a broader need for media and cultural studies to consider the social, cultural, economic and political implications of impatience. This article will examine three ‘freemium’ games, Snoopy Street Fair, The Simpsons’ Tapped Out and Dragonvale, to explore how they combine established branding strategies with gameplay methods that monetize player impatience. Although offering a free gameplay experience in line with open access philosophies, these games also create systems that offer control over the temporal dynamics of that experience to monetize player attention and inattention. Free to download, but structured around micropayments, these games raise the complex relationship between game design and commercial strategies. ![]() The gaming industry has seen dramatic change and expansion with the emergence of ‘casual’ games that promote shorter periods of gameplay. Through the PLEX framework, this research helps to understand the playful experiences in social network games. The genre-specific analysis revealed both similarities and differences between the genres, while the outlier experiences provide new perspectives on social network games. Based on our study, Competition, Completion and Challenge are the most common playful experiences in these games. Lastly, we provide examples of interesting outlier experiences. Then we focus on genre specific experiences in casual puzzle, casual simulation, and mid-core strategy games. First, we provide an overall analysis on playful experiences in social network games. We analyzed 110 reports containing 330 PLEX descriptions and present findings from three perspectives. In our study, 110 informants played 23 games on Facebook and reported their experiences using the Playful Experiences (PLEX) framework. Despite their popularity, qualitative research on experiences in these games has been scarce. Social network games are popular pastime for millions of players on Facebook.
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