edited 1 April 2010
Until now the answer to that question was not here; until now my presence in search results on that question would have stemmed from the fact that I have written in separate posts about both citing and games. And I don't like people to leave with their questions unanswered.Now, below, I have an answer. BUT: before you use it, check the requirements of the professor or publication for whom you are writing. Please, if you've come here for an answer to the question, please comment with the game you are considering citing and perhaps in what context so I can check my suggestions, and improve them.
While the Publication Manual (APA, 2010) does not give a specific example for citing games, it outlines principles and the basic components. Chuck at APA's blog outlined these entertainingly as Who When What Where in The Generic Reference. The manual also advises us to adapt the examples that are provided as we need. This point is repeated by Timothy McAdoo in The Frankenreference, also at APA's blog.
Jump to:
Suggested format & examples
In-game quotes
Game manual
Electronic games are a form of software, so the example and guidelines (APA, 2010, p. 210) for citing software might seem the place to start. However the first games I wanted to cite were board games, so the software example was not where I went first, and when it came time to cite an electronic game I adapted from my board game guesses.
Even if one were to start at the software example, I think we'd end with the same format (jump to example) because we are permitted to adapt as needed... and we would want to for:
- Author: the guidelines for software seem to indicate that unless an individual has proprietary rights to the software the reference would be cited as an unauthored work, ie, by the title of the game, however isn't it first preferred to credit a corporate author (ie the game developer), than to assume none? There are also cases where developer and publisher are separate entities. I note that WorldCat's citation export tool generally compiles all reference styles for games using corporate authors.
- Date: Unfortunately the example for software (APA, 2010, p. 211) does not use a date, and offers no explanation for this divergence from normal practice: I considered it an error and that the date of publication (or copyright) is appropriate to include. But then again some online games are continually updated so sometimes, depending on the nature of the information being cited, a date might not be as relevant.
- Place of Publication? This information is not usually provided with game software, is the place important in this case?
Therefore:
In general, unless required otherwise by the university or publication, I would probably cite the developer, with the reference appearing:
Developer unless principal author is acknowledged. (year). Title (version #, if relevant) [gameformat]. Place of publication: Publisher.Apparently this works out to be very similar to the style for game citations (based on APA) required by the publication Game Studies.
in text: (Developer, Year)
Examples:
- Board Game:
- Darrow, C. D. (2006). Monopoly: the property trading board game. Eastwood, N.S.W. : Hasbro / Parker.
- Drennan, D. (1986). Zamitar: a battle for survival in space, employing strategy and skill [Board game]. Australia: Author.
- Offline Electronic Game:
- Firaxis Games Inc. (2005). Sid Meier's Civilization IV [PC game]. New York, NY: Take-Two Interactive Software.
- Acclaim Entertainment. (2002). Turok Evolution [Playstation2 game]. Glen Cover, NY: Acclaim Entertainment.
- Online game:
- Honeyslug. (2009). Ric Rococo: International Art Thief [Flash game]. Honeyslug. Retrieved 28 February 2010 from http://www.miniclip.com/games/art-thief/en/
- Three Rings Design. (2001-2009). Puzzle Pirates. [Java-based game]. San Francisco, CA:Three Rings Design. Retrieved 28 February 2010 from http://www.puzzlepirates.com
--In-Game quotes
We are usually required to define as close a location as possible within the material. For a book this is by page, on the web by paragraph, from a play by division (Act, Scene, etc and Line).
How can we locate a quote within a game? Perhaps by Level or inter-level; or stage of scenario. I'd like to explore a variety of examples, but will have to get help from my gamer sons and friends.
*****
Please send me examples of interesting or fun quotes from your favourite games - with the most concise but accurate location information for the quote
****
- example quote from within a levelled online game?
- example quote from within World of Warcraft or similar quest-based roaming game?
- example quote from acted character in film supporting game storyline?
- example quote from another player in an online role playing game - only if the transcript of game play is archived?
---Update 24 March 2010:
Game Manual
Yesterday someone stopped by having sought how to cite a game manual. It isn't the first time, and I've had a look at a few game manuals over time, trying to see if there are significant points about game manuals that are different from other books. There isn't really.
Key point: Check the details for the manual - whether they are different from the game, that is:
- Manual author / developer - I did once see a board game's manual whose authorship was credited to an individual, so if citing that manual I'd use the individual's name; however whenever as usual there is no individual author, I consider the developer to be the manual's author.
- Manual date - again is it different from publication date of the game?
- Manual title - the manual son #1 just handed me is titled Ashes: Cricket 2009 which is the same as the game's title so I might add [game manual] to more specifically locate my source. I've also seen untitled... well it was more an instruction sheet than a manual, but the point being... if it doesn't have a title make one, enclosed in [ ]. (Just whipped over to APA's blog to check that, thanks Chuck)
- Publisher place & name - I've been assuming that the game manuals that people came here curious to cite would have been published with the game, so this would be same as game publisher. Are there game manuals that were not published with the game?
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Interestingly (thanks Alison Faix) there are some online games for practicing APA style citations (though not for games):
APA Psych Out by Williams College Libraries focusses on citation of books, chapters and articles but the basic principles of these extend to newer online sources.
APA and MLA Citation Games (jigsaw puzzles really) by University of Washington Trio Training Drag and drop the citation pieces in the correct order for that type, and includes puzzles for music recordings and televised broadcasts.
References:
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
I would like to cite a game on Starfall.com for a lesson plan in APA format. Could you help?
ReplyDeleteThanks,
momof2inRH
@momof2inRH
ReplyDeleteThanks for asking :D
I do love to help
I'm curious which game you wish to cite, but in the meantime, I had a look at Earth Day
So far as I can see, for that particular game/book:
- no individual is credited with its creation so I use corporate author:
- nor do I see any specific date for its publication so I take the copyright date from the bottom of its page
- I couldn't see at first what format the game was and would have called it (online game) but the link for instructions if you couldn't see the games was to http://www.starfall.com/n/get/instructions/alt.htm?noflash so I now presume it is a Flash game:
Starfall. (c2007). Earth Day [Flash game]. Retrieved from http://www.starfall.com/n/holiday/earthday/load.htm?f&n=main
alternatively you might go without an Author, putting Title [format]. before the date and put Starfall after date as Publisher.
How does that seem?
In response to query here for more specifically cite the board game Scruples, I did get my copy off the shelf and rough out how I would cite it. In the process I discovered my own scruples for game citation, and pondered the scruples of game publishers in acknowledging credits... you can see those thoughts at More on citing board games: Scruples.
ReplyDeleteIn particular, go there, to understand why I would cite that game this way:
Depending whether my text refers to the game as a whole or a specific part of it, in-text citations might be:
(A Question of Scruples, 1986)
(A Question of Scruples, 1986, q178)
(A Question of Scruples, 1986, rules p.6)
(A Question of Scruples, 1986, base of box)
Reference List:
A Question of Scruples [Board game]. (1986). Sydney, N.S.W. : Milton Bradley
My God, thank you. I'm writing a series of papers about Final Fantasy VII and I've been floundering with how to cite this for days. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteAny idea of how to reference an "actual book" from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim? And what about character's quotes?
ReplyDeleteThanks Anonymous,
DeleteThis is one of the questions I began to ponder, but figured to leave unless I found someone interested... and here you are. Although, it would be a lot more straightforward (and therefore I might have replied sooner) with a specific example of intended use.
APA tells us to jerry-rig something suitable from comparable examples.
Citing a book from within a game, it would probably depend upon the context of your use (say whether you're comparing games, or arguing points of lore, or using the quote to create an atmosphere), and even after you work something out it would be worth checking with your teacher/assessor.
Maybe book in game would be like a chapter/section in a book? Might depend a little on the type of 'book' Does it have an 'author'? Yet I would be disinclined to treat a fictional 'author' in the same way as real authors in a reference list. (eg as discussed (non-academically) at The Straight Dope).
A character's quotes (and I assume you mean non-playing character) might be situation bound (eg tied to a quest) -- and I wonder if that context might usually be relevant to whatever point is being made about the quote?
While blog posts can make a simple reference to the game (eg http://www.destructoid.com/the-ten-most-meaningful-videogame-quotes-of-all-time-64837.phtml) but for an academic purpose we would probably need to identify the in-game location more specifically.
In most cases I imagine that the source location of a quote would be described in text (or footnote, depending on the importance of the quote/point or its context), and that the reference list would only include the game, expansion, version etc.
Having chosen to express the location in-text or in-footnote, what information you mention would be whatever someone would need to know to see if for themselves. Can any player see/hear it? Where/when? Only certain classes? Levels? Quest-takers?
Hi... I have been looking for some type of example on how to cite a soccer game that I watch via NetFlicks, any ideas? I just watched it, wasn't live, recorded from 3/23/13. This is for a sociology class regarding sports. Thanks for your help.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the question Anonymous. APA Blog would be the experts to ask, but I love guessing. I do not use Netflix, so am not aware of any peculiarities that would drastically alter the normal procedure for citing video recordings/broadcast.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to know your context: what specifically you take from the broadcast, which I imagine could be anything from an individual players performance or comments after or during a game; or quantity of footage focussed on spectators, players, advertising, OR commentators or spectators behaviour. These would probably be revealed in text though. Let's begin with Who. (When). What. Where
With video 'who ' is usually Producer - who is reponsible for the recording - but if you cannot determine that, and if no other named person seems responsible you could revert to
What. (When). Where
Perhaps title of program - are there any opening credits to get tthat from? If not, how does Netflix list it?
When is date of recording (2013, March 23)
Where, for tv broadcasts is usually location of network: network. Or it could be location of filming company office: filming company. Is that still available even if you watched it on Netflix? Then, unless you refer to some aspect of Netflix's provision that might be altered viewing date would not be necessary (unless your class assessor wants it), but you would add Netflix to complete your source. Do they offer a permanent link?
The point is to include what will help your reader find your source. And fit it into the appropriate style.
I am looking for a citation for a football game. Doing a research paper APA format regarding player concussions.
ReplyDeleteHi Terrie
DeleteThanks for an interesting example. The following is just my own guess. APA's reference blog might be more knowledgeable, but to help they also would probably need to know more...
It would depend on the source of the specific data (re: player concussions) you plan to use. Is it published (eg after-game report, televised or otherwise published commentator or interviewee statement) or unpublished (your own or someone else's observation of an occurrence or more during the game?).
If published, then you would cite the publication. See for example, on APA blog How to cite a news report.
If unpublished then you have a few options to present the information (and how you obtained it) -- choose one which best makes your point in your overall argument. Options include:
... an appendix (which may be best if it is not a major point and you do not want to spend too much space on it within the overall paper);
... a table or section - if it and your method is an important point worthy of the space;
... or if data and method of observation can be expressed simply then perhaps just a sentence or paragraph.
In any of these cases the information would not appear in the reference list so you would identify the game in text as simply but accurately as possible. Perhaps the date (or season/round?), competition & teams? (I am not a football fan).
If that helps, I'd love it if you share what you ended up doing;
Or if it didn't quite help I'd love to take another look if you can tell me more about the point you want to make and where/how you got the information for your point.
Terrie it just occurred to me that your question might also have been looking for a good source about player concussions? That would be a different question - also interesting - but I'll let you confirm before I chase that up.
DeleteOne question I ran into when citing all of the Dead Space series, is that the main three AAA titles are not only on the PC but both last gen consoles as well. How do I go about noting the platform if it runs across so many?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the question Jeff. In an academic paper you only need to include in a reference the source from which you cite. Without knowing what comment you made to cause the citation, or its context, I'm a little stuck, and I'd guess that you might not need to note the platform within the reference list at all, only commenting in text if relevant.
DeleteOtherwise:
If your comments are based upon observations you make in only one platform, that is the [platform] you would mention beside title.
If you did check all platforms to be sure your comment was relevant to all then perhaps that could be mentioned in text/appendix--and you might choose not to note a platform at all in your reference list.
If your comment reveals differences between platforms then if you want to do more than just note this intext perhaps you could list each separately and if they're all published the same year then the year could be alphabetised eg 2008a, 2008b etc.
Would one of those work in your situation?
So I have a bit of a weird situation. I'm trying to cite a recreation of a classic arcade game. By recreation, I mean they created a similarly functioning game in flash so that it could be hosted on the website (where I played it from). The website includes the developer of the original arcade game but I can't find information on who the website owner is nor who recreated it in flash. This is the game: http://www.classicgamesarcade.com/game/21670/tron-game.html. Information on the classic version it is a recreation of is in the "Game History" tab.
ReplyDeleteIt took me a few minutes to remember that with multimedia like games, software, film, the credits are often within the medium. Unfortunately when they are made available online, often the credits (disappointingly) not made available outside the medium as human readable data.
DeleteI had to risk using Flash to start the game to find a credit screen [image at Google Drive].
Had the game not contained credits, we'd be stuck because the website Classic Games Arcade does not seem to require its developers to provide that information human-readably. I will put aside for now any question as to why that is, so as to get to your challenge.
As with all questions here, citing method depends on context (what you're saying, in what medium). If you're talking about the work of the person who created the game then, based upon the screenshot (above) I get:
Hsu, D. (n.d). FLTron2.0 [Flash game]. Accessed 15 October 2015 at: http://www.classicgamesarcade.com/game/21670/tron-game.html
n.d because I could not find a date in credits or website specific to this game.
Does that meet your need?
Hi. Thanks for your post. I am going to be citing the game Hanabi (it's a card game) for a psychology capstone paper on autism and social interaction. I needed a game that could be played fairly quickly but that allowed for a decent amount of social interaction between participants in my experiment. Anyway, thank you for providing this resource. I'm just curious, it's been a few years since you first created this post, has your opinion on how this type of citation should be done changed at all?
ReplyDeleteThank you
Thanks for the query Moriah. Sorry it has taken two days to notice you had made it.
DeleteIf one understands that my opinion is that how we cite a game depends on: the context of the game within our writing/communication, the purpose and location of our writing, and our audience/publishers requirements, then: no my opinion has not changed at all.
It sounds like Hanabi is serving as a tool, device, or treatment equipment? If so, perhaps one would identify it title (date) publisher. If a game has different versions or editions, more detail might be needed if other versions would not be suitable to the purpose.
Hi moonflowerdragon
ReplyDeletecould you please help me cite kahoot?
I'd like to try Annabella.
DeleteWhile I work on a few possibilities, could you give me some specifics and context? For example do you want to cite a Kahoot webpage, a quiz someone created with Kahoot, or one of your saved answers to a quiz? Also are you writing for print or online, for a class or an article/book?
I am puzzled about the spam comments being made that do not contain links - are they baiting, trying to find a blog that lets garbage through?
ReplyDeleteA recent one from Anonymous appeared to request permission to quote a couple of my posts. It seems most likely to be spam because if my blog is in any sphere (not the word used in the comment) it is the libraryblogosphere and anyone from that sphere would know that *quoting* small portions (not wholesale plagiarism) when credited to the source appropriately does not require permission. However, for the record, I deny permission to "Anonymous" for anything within my power to deny or permit.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI am wondering if the monopoly rules would have the same citation as the citation for the game monopoly and why the year is 2006?
Thanks!!
Thanks Anonymous
DeleteThe answer to the first question (whether rules would have same citation as for game) depends on at least things: whether you mean citation or reference, and whether the rules have their own publication data.
Of the latter point I gave an example above wherein, rules lacking their own publication data would be cited as (A Question of Scruples, 1986, rules p.6) with that citation being to title because no developer was mentioned anywhere in the game materials.
When it comes to the monopoly example I gave, I had to go find my 2006 copy of the game. I ask myself: Why did I credit it to Charles B. Darrow? Because Hasbro kindly did so on the cover verso. Okay, but Darrow is not mentioned in the rules, and these rules may not match the original. I would probably still cite in text as e.g. (Darrow, 2006, rules, p6). However other options are possible.
Why 2006 = because we cite the source we are using and my copy is from 2006 (the copyright info says 1935-2006).
Of course, one point I may not have made clearly in my post is that such APA style reference & citation examples assume one has made some sort of quote or distinctive reference to a copy of the game. If that is not the case then other options exist such as a footnote explanation, a materials list in whatever format makes sense... which is why discussion with teacher/ reviewer/ editor about context-specific expectations is advisable.
I am trying to publish a workbook for ESL students. In the book I would like to use some popular activities/games that are quite common: ie. “I Spy”, “Taboo”, “Who Am I?”, “Charades”, etc.
ReplyDeleteMy question is about whether or not it is necessary to make the citations for these games, and if necessary, how the citations/references should be made.
If it’s not too much to ask, I would appreciate it if you could provide me with some insight and assistance to this issue.
That is a very good question. It may depend on which games you use, based on whether the game concept is trademarked. For example, if by "I spy" you mean the game families might play in the car "I spy with my little eye..." then I doubt anyone owns that game idea and I believe you could describe it freely. Indeeed I did a quick google search to find it described on websites without citing anyone, including Wikipedia. The only game of Taboo I know involves a boxed deck and timer, published by Hasbro. I understand that there are digital versions for ipad and android. If your suggestion uses any of those versions requiring a set or piece of software then I believe the sensible mention of who published and where to find it would serve your reader and reference requirements both. If you mean a game that does not use a set then it would be like I Spy...
DeleteDo the names of board games need a special format in APA style (ex. italicized, in quotes...)?
ReplyDelete