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This article (1) analyzes the computer game Braid with regard to the TIME IS SPACE/MOTION metaphor and the multimodal approach, (2) links the possibilities of such a study to the existing studies of temporality in video games, and (3) explores the link between the game's narrative and its gameplay mechanics based on the TIME IS SPACE/MOTION metaphor. The theoretical section briefly overviews conceptual metaphor theory, the TIME IS SPACE/MOTION metaphor, multimodality, CMT in video games, time in video games, and several studies related to the game. The main section investigates Braid so as to evaluate the ways in which the TIME IS SPACE/MOTION metaphor operates within each of the game worlds and how this affects the narrative and the gameplay. The complex, unconventional relations existing among time, space, motion, and causality result in a unique coupling between the narrative and the use of the TIME IS SPACE/MOTION metaphor.

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Investigations into the nature of the activity of gaming have been made difficult by virtue of the plurality of possible forms this activity may take. In this paper, I address this problem by examining (digital) gaming under the heading of practice theory, in an attempt to shed more light on the practical aspects of ludic literacy. Building on the theoretical and conceptual frameworks of Pierre Bourdieu, I present a general model of digital gaming as a form of situated human practice, followed by details of a case study, conducted in order to test and adjust the initial version of the model. Though further research with a greater population of players is needed in order to expand the scope of the model, the findings of the study lend credence to its validity as a conceptual framework for delineating and framing different practices generated by digital game artefacts.

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