DerekTickle

This is the last portfolio for MWG: Video Game Culture and Theory and covers many important concepts that I have learned since portfolio 2. After reading Newman’s article called, "The Myth of the Ergodic Videogame'' I learned how on-lookers can have the same pleasure that the actual gamer does. My reflection called, “Character Relationships (Newman)" correlates with Ashley and Zach’s blog entries because of the same ideas we had for this concept. The Presubmission Report and Ex 4: Article Analysis assignments went hand-in-hand, to say, because of how important they were for my research paper. With the completion of “Ex 4” I was able to find and analyze academic articles in a better way because I understood what to look for. For example, finding the thesis, opposing and supporting ideas, and also how the article differs from my experience with traditional and NGJ reviews were some learned concepts.

The recent computer game called “Fatworld” was released and I was able to play it and express my initial opinions. “The Video Game” allowed me to compose a claim (thesis) that was able to be discussed and be debatable among my classmates. This was made possible after finishing the Persuasive Games book by Bogost because he explained different elements in a video game such as procedural rhetoric, values, and artistic expression. I had never heard about the term procedural rhetoric before reading this book and found it to be a very interesting term. In my blog entry called, “Procedural Rhetoric and Maintaining Order” I describe how important it is that video games contain a procedure or method for the player to follow.

After reading the detailed and informative “comment” made by Dr. Jerz about my “Presubmission Report” I realized that I needed to focus on some of my writing skills. This included SHOWING instead of TELLING when describing a research study or stating my opinion, using more specific wording, and also use scholarly quotes to back up my opinion. After completing this assignment and reviewing the feedback I was now able to compose my blog for Dr. Jerz’s "review" of Fatworld. Now knowing my feedback I was able to think of questions that the class could consider when playing or reviewing the game. Within my blog entry, “Fatworld - Interesting Game” Darrell commented about some of my questions and he was able to think of some ideas that arose while playing the game.

After reading the second half of Persuasive Games I was able to apply the learned concepts with a comparison between “Turok and Bogost.” This was important because it sparked discussion and I was able to list my connections between the text and video games. The last section of the book was interesting to me because of the chapter about “Religion and Values.” I compared literature with video games and how morality plays an important role. My “Annotated Bibliography” and “Class Presentation” were easier to compose together because of how each assignment related to each other. Most of my sources from my bibilography were able to be used in my class presentation because I understood what each source consisted of and how they could relate to my research paper.

The last part of Persuasive Games let me learn new concepts about “determinability”, “English,” and “Traditions.” My new experience with text-based games and these learned ideas were very important to me because I was able to connect everything I learned during the course. I would like to finally say that I have enjoyed reading everyone’s blog entries and their comments to me and I hope they feel the same. Now that the class is coming to a close I have completed all blog entries, reflections and assignments for this course that were listed on the “Outline.” Blogging is a great learning tool that lets classmates, like us, interact in a virtual classroom environment and I wish everyone best of luck in your future endeavors!

After finishing the last section of Persuasive Games I learned a lot of information about “Values and Aspirations.” It was amazing to see how this category was broken into many parts which included “Consumption” to “Values of Work” and “Morality and Faith.” In my blog entry called “Religion and Values” I analyze the quote on page 282 that states, “Issues of morality in videogames are more often found in newspaper headlines than in game mechanics” (Bogost 282). This quote seemed very true to me because video games usually do not use morality as a key concept.

Many video games contain morality through choosing different options in the game. For example, if you choose one doorway in a video game instead of the other then there may be a different outcome. On the other hand, Bogost uses examples such as Bible Buffet and Sunday Funday to show that some games are focused around religion. I never knew that there were these types of games in the market, but I think it is great because it can be a wonderful teaching tool. The video game example Bible Buffet could be great in Sunday school because it could let the children learn Bible trivia. This is just a suggestion because I have never played the game and do not know what is involved with it.

Video games contain many values whether they are seen through procedures or visual graphics. The use of religion in video games is great because it shows that game designers are trying to include many options for the player to relate to. It will be interesting to see how future generations interpret the values in current video games.

After reading half of Persuasive Games I began to understand virtual reality, rhetoric, and persuasive games better. Many video games encourage people to do things such as eat healthy or save money in order to buy something. The saving money aspect can be seen with the “Kool-Aid” game because the player has to buy the Kool-Aid packets and save them to get the game. Some advergames such as Tapper are not educational because they use alcohol as a focus point.

Bogost presents a “Procedural Literacy” chapter that was very education and informative for me because I am an English major. I never thought about games containing literacy. Some video games contain puzzles or problems that the player must solve in order to win the level. One example was the game Tetris because it makes the player use there cognitive abilities to win before the block reaches the bottom. Bogost also included the literacy concept with procedures and how game designers develop games. This makes sense to me because a programmer must use proper literacy in order to make a game procedural. The video game “Sim City” shows this idea because the player is able to learn about the environment and how planning is important when building a town, road, bridge or anything.

Instead of thinking that video games are just fun I learned how they contain many everyday aspects. The use of “procedural literacy” and “advergames” let me understand how companies and designers use games as a learning tool or for advertising. Every game teaches a concept either through a procedure or marketing technique.

After reading “Persuasive Games” I had developed many different theories and feelings towards video games. I knew that the book was going to be an interesting read from the beginning because I could relate to a lot of examples that he talked about. The first example was about procedures, policies, and technology. When playing video games you can see that there are specific rules and pre-programmed procedures because of how each level requires another skill.

Bogost introduced the concept of “Political Processes” and this is something that I would have never noted in a video game. The example of BioChemFX is important to consider because of how important rules in today’s society are. The beginning of Chapter two was a great read for me because of how it related to the course specifically. The games that were noted were “September 12th” and “Madrid” and let me understand how both games represent a form of rhetoric failure.

I remember that before playing a video game there is always a reference to some type of advertising. This may be before the game starts or during the game such as a logo on a car. After learning about demonstrative, illustrative, and associative advertising I was able to apply them to the games that I played in class. Take “Fatworld” for instance and how the game uses exercise and obesity as a learning tool and how illustrative it can be.

The chapter called, “Procedural Literacy” was particularly important to me because I always like being able to refer literacy to another concept. I compared “Fatworld” to “Sim City” and learned how educational both games are. A last comment about this book is how Bogost refers to values in society and notes Laurel’s ideas. This was important because I compared there ideas amongst each other and noticed how rhetoric had a factor.

The entire time that I was reading this book I felt like I could refer to something in the class. For example, I related Roger Ebert’s issue about artistic expression to Bogost’s chapter about “Values and Aspirations.” After playing many of the video games mentioned in this book I felt that I was able to relate to the topic better than if I had not played the game. Bogost’s last line states, “And the logics that drive our games make claims about who we are, how our world functions, and what we want it to become” (Bogost 340) shows how video games are important in today’s society.

After finishing "Persuasive Games" by Bogost do you feel that video games play an imporant role in today's modern world?

I’m going to use my own blog entry called, “Procedural Rhetoric and Maintaining Order!” to reflect upon the first part of the book. Bogost talks a lot about “Procedural Rhetoric” and how video games incorporate it. I really like how Bogost uses rules as a form of expression because it only makes us think in different ways. I believe that video games all contain a procedure that is pre-inputted by the game designer.

One specific example that I found interesting was the game called, “Tax Invaders” because of how simple it looks, but the game meaning is very detailed. The game uses tax strategy as a key concept and the player has to use a procedure in order to get through the game. Bogost also explains “procedural media” (Bogost 52) and how play is incorporated into it.

There are some parts of the first section that I found hard to understand. This first concept is on page 60 and uses “Fogg’s suggestions about persuasive technology” (Bogost 60). The six terms differ from Bogost’s ideology because they do not make the user see the procedures involved in technology. The “Political Processes” chapter was very interesting to me because of the game BioChemFX. This is because the game gives a simulation of a possible negative event.

Overall, Bogost presents many ideas and questions that are interesting to consider such as “Persuasive Games versus Serious Games.” Not only does he give explanations about every idea, but he provides the reader with examples of video games that relate to the specific topic.

Some questions for the class I thought would be interesting:

1. Is technology a persuasive tool that uses specific ideas to influence society?

2. Are text-based adventure games considered "Procedural Rhetoric" Or "Persuasive?"

These are just a few ideas that I think would be interesting to consider for the first part of Bogost.

Lara Croft excels at the kind of actions performed by Jack Bauer in 24, Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode 3, and Travis Grady in Silent Hill: Origins. Many video game main characters are males and the games do not represent females. Advanced Media Network columnist Aaron Roberts admits that “games are considered a highly male-centric form of entertainment" and suggests that men only play Tomb Raider because they want to look at a pretty girl, but a BBC news article suggests that girls can offer a lot to the video game world and conducted an experiment of adolescent boys and girls. Do you agree with Roberts? Or do you think that women are in video games because they represent the second-half of culture?

Most video games are focused toward being masculine and able to conquer everything whereas games like Barbie provide a more sensitive and caring side. When reviewing the book review called, “From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games” by Jackson one can see how important female video games can be. When “Barbie Fashion Designer” was released thousands of girls bought and played the game. Is this because it was a Barbie game or because girls like feminine games? It is interesting to think how the psychological make-up of girls and boys differs. Blumberg composed an article called, “Boys’ and Girls’ Use of Cognitive Strategy When Learning to Play Video Games” that used an experiment to determine which types of games females and males like. The study concluded that girls and boys used different internal and external responses.

When typing the keywords “female video game characters” into a Google search bar I received many sex related pictures. Some of them included using female breasts as a focus point or wearing limited clothing. This representation of female characters in video games is somewhat negative and gives an impression that females are “sex objects.” Would you agree or disagree that Lara Croft and other female characters are designed to be sexy and attractive? While researching my topic I came across this YouTube home video that presents a woman's opinion on the topic. (When the movie concludes pay special attention to her last statement about video gamers).

Now let’s focus on looking at video games through a female’s lens or viewpoint. It is important to consider values, role-model status, and having power as part of your observation. Before deciding on an answer lets take a look at Brenda Laurel, the author of “Utopian Entrepreneur,” who stated, “Stories, movies, videogames, and Websites don’t have to be about values to have a profound influence on values” (Laurel 62). Does the video game “Tomb Raider” incorporate values? Also, let’s use “Roger Ebert’s” opinion of video games not being an artistic form. Roger believes that video games cannot be compared to famous literature such as Shakespeare or Jonathan Swift. After reviewing different opinions about video games does your lens change?

On a closing note, you as a player must look beyond the stereotypes provided by society. Elisabeth Hayes uses her article called “Women, Video Gaming and Learning: Beyond Stereotypes” to describe how males and females have the same playing experience. Some may say that males put more effort into video games than females. Would you agree or disagree? The lack of female gender roles in video games have been attributed to stereotypes and video games being focused towards the male culture. I will leave you with this article by Helen Kennedy who offers “Lara Croft as a Feminist Icon or Cyberbimbo" and challanges the many stereotypes that are used in today's society about females in video games.

Blumberg, Fran C., and Lori M. Sokol.. “Boys' and Girls' Use of Cognitive Strategy When Learning to Play Video Games.” Journal of General Psychology 131.2 (Apr. 2004): 151-158. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Seton Hill University, Greensburg, PA. 13 January 2008.

Summary: Blumberg’s article is designed to show how boys and girls cognitive structures are different. She uses an experimental observation that includes 104 elementary grade students and the video game, “Sonic the Hedgehog 2.” Each child was tested in a quiet room and was asked questions about video games. One question was, “How often would you say you play video games? A lot or a little?” (Blumberg 154). A code scheme was used for the responses and categorized as either internal or external. The conclusion of this study stated that the children would use internal approaches instead of external.

How it will help my paper: This article uses an experiment that finds the differences in cognitive abilities within children. This will help my research paper introduce how children’s cognitive abilities are different and boys are more likely to use internal strategies. The thesis of Blumberg’s paper states that how a research study will prove cognitive abilities with boys and girls.

Bonanno, Philip, and P. A. M. Kommers.. “Gender Differences and Styles in the Use of Digital Games.” Educational Psychology 25.1 (Feb. 2005): 13-41. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Seton Hill University, Greensburg, PA. 13 January 2008.

Summary: This academic article illustrates gender differences in digital media games. Bonanno introduces how men are better at “visuospatial” than women (15). He then states that women are better at “perceptual speed” than men (15). He lists the advantages of men and women and then introduces playing time, motivations, and game preferences. Each one of these categories connects with a specific study. For example Rosengren and Windahl’s information is listed in the motivations paragraph. An experiment was then conducted with biology students about digital games. The study showed that the PC, ranking in at 56%, was the most used gaming system. The study then went on to show how females played less than males. A visual chart was used and proved that females were not into playing as much as males. The article conducted many more studies including game coding, student grouping, and specific genres.

How it will help my paper: This shows the how different genders have different strengths and abilities. The experiments will be useful to incorporate into my paper because it will show how females differ than males when it comes to video games. When relating to specific genres I will be able to note that the “game genre study showed how females and males are better at certain games.” Overall, this article will be useful to refer to when making specific points.

Bryce, J. & Rutter, J. “Killing Like a Girl: Gendered Gaming and Girl Gamers’ Visibility”, DigiPlay 3: Leisure Constraints, Entitlement and Access to Technologies of Leisure, University of Central Lancashire, 15th Sept.

Summary: This article explains the many concerns and problems with the video game industry. The article uses “gendered game content” as a heading and shows that female characters are stereotyped and given limited roles. The use of violence in then examined to show how females don’t enjoy hurting things. The next topic is “gendered spaces” which explains how females don’t get the space they need. The article goes on to provide examples of “gender activities.” The conclusion of the article re-states that there are many ways to explain gender differences in video games.

How it will help my paper: I will be able to use this article by listing specific examples of video games such as “Tomb Radier” or “The Sims” and show the gender differences. This article can be incorporated into a paragraph about video games being gendered based or also how females are stereotyped objects in society.

Flanagan, Mary. “Next Level: Women’s Digital Activism through Gaming.” Digital Media Revisited. England: London, 2003.

Summary: Flanagan’s article describes many topics such as cyber feminism, questioning women, self-discovery, and many more. The first topic is cyber feminism which shows how women have become a part of the video game industry. This section goes on to explain how articles about females in video games have brought much controversy. The section about questioning women talks about how stereotypes have made women seem like sex objects. The next interesting topic was self-discovery which talked about how women’s video games have introduced expressing yourself through art or culture.

How it will help my paper: In the summary I talked about three specific sections in the article that stood out to me, but there are many more. The use of cyber feminism could be included towards the end of my research paper which talks about how women are an important part of video games. When analyzing “questioning women” and “self-discovery” I will be able to talk about controversy of women in video games and also how women are shown as sex appeal objects instead important human beings.

Gailey, Christine Ward. “Mediated Messages: Gender, Class, and Cosmos in Home Video Games.” Journal of Popular Culture 27.1 (Summer 1993): 81-97. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Seton Hill University, Greensburg, PA. 14 January 2008.

Summary: Gailey’s article describes the messages that video games can portray. These include gender, class, and cosmos. She uses a project that studied “Nintendo” and “Home Video Games.” This then lead into the discussion about “morality games” and class differences. She then shows how technology can be an important part of games through learning new strategies. The next topic was “class” and she mentions that the price of video games can distinguish which class buys them. This is something that I had not thought about before, but I definitely agree with it. She goes on to talk about what kinds of games boys and girls like to play. For example, she notes “Fantasy-adventure” games as being girl’s games.

How it will help my paper: This article is very interesting because of how Gailey introduces the different topics with video games. I will use this article when talking about specific video games and what gender they are liked by. Gailey uses an important topic called, “Impact: Adults’ and Children’s Views” (91) which explains video games and there effects.

Hayes, Elisabeth. “Women, Video Gaming & Learning: Beyond Stereotypes.” TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning 49.5 (Sep. 2005): 23-28. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Seton Hill University, Greensburg, PA. 13 January 2008.

Summary: This article talks about theories in video games and argues three female gaming issues. These include gaming experience, gendered games, and “acquired” skills. She first uses role-playing games as a starting point and moves into experience. Hayes uses the game “Morrowind” as a game with many advantages. Many people think that women like to shop instead of play games, but Hayes tells us that women like games that they can relate and express thereselves in. She debates violence in video games as being a “masculine thing” to women not liking it because it is “direct competition.” She lists five key topics when it comes to gendered learning. The first one is, “Avoid Stereotypes” (27).

How it will help my paper: This article relates to websites such as womengamers.com and how some females enjoy playing games. In addition, when explaining the three issues about females in video games I can use “Morrowind” as a starting point. I like how Hayes uses five points about gender in video games and I can use it to explain what video games need to do in order to attach females.

Jackson, Kathy Merlock. “From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games (Book).” Journal of American & Comparative Cultures 23.3 (Fall 2000): 125. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Seton Hill University, Greensburg, PA. 13 January 2008.

Summary: This entry is a book review showing the psychological aspects of women and men. Jackson notes specific statements that are very strong when talking about gender in video games. One example is, “males have tended to control the computer games industry, create games for themselves, and market exclusively to boys” (125). This statement is true when thinking about video games and shows how women are not even consider apart of the gaming industry. The review goes on to talk about the release of the video game called, “Barbie Fashion Designer” and how successful it was.

How it will help my paper: This article can help start my paper by introducing statements like the one noted above and talking about how important female video games can be in society. This review introduces many ideas that could help the video game industry improve on being not so gendered bias.

Kasavin, Greg. “Samus' Suit Was Made by Men.” GameSpot. 16 Jan. 2008. .

Summary: This website article is composed by an executive editor of GameSpot who talks about how video games are made mostly by men. He continues on to explain how disappointing some of video are today because they do not even include women. He uses the video game “Metroid” as an example of introducing women into the gaming experience. This only occurs at the end of the game when the player wins.

How it will help my paper: I can include this paper in my article because it shows how women are separated from the video game experience. The example that he uses is just one game that vaguely uses a female character, but the player does not know it until the end of the game. This article can show how females are limited in video games.

Kennedy, Helen. “Lara Croft: Feminist or Cyberbimbo.” Game Studies. 16 Jan. 2008. .

Summary: The title of this article gives the reader insight about what is going to be talked about. This article uses the video game “Tomb Radier” as a feminist or cyberbimbo example. It starts off by explaining how “Tomb Raider” started and how successful it was. This game introduces many debatable topics about females in video games. Kennedy starts by talking about “Lara Croft as Action Heroine” and how females can be heroes in video games just like males. He then continues by talking about a male player playing a female character. Kyoko Date is introduced as a Japan video game character similar to Lara Croft. This article uses Lara Croft as a comparison to females in video games and how successful they can be.

How it will help my paper: This article will help my paper by providing a well-known video game (Tomb Raider) and analyzing it for female success in video games or how important they can be. Kennedy makes some interesting points about Lara Croft being an “Action Heroine” and this can help make my paper more specific because it shows a female character in control of the entire video game.

Pratt, Mary K. “She Got Game.” Computerworld 41.23 04 June 2007: 32-36. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Seton Hill University, Greensburg, PA. 13 January 2008.

Summary: This important article shows how women can bring “ideas to the table” just like men can. An important quote used in this article stated, “If we want to have [game] titles that reach a diverse audience, our workforces has to reflect that diversity” (34). This title explains what the article is trying to portray because the video game industry must accept female ideas for women to want to play the games. A pie-chart poll shows that more than 60% of males are game players with only 38% being females. This article expresses how important the female voice and brain can be.

How it will help my paper: This article will be important when talking about the women voice in video game industries. The use of statistics can be a focus point that needs to be changed because women are at a lesser advantage when it comes to playing video games. I can also include “What Women Bring” into a paragraph about women’s ideas are as important as males.

Quote: "Issues of morality in videogames are more often found in newspaper headlines than in game mechanics" (Bogost 282).

Why is this?

Most books contain an issue about morality and offers the reader with symbolism, imagery, and allegories. It seems that video games do not use religion or morality in the game mechanics. Is this because it would only appeal to certain religious groups and they would not make such a large profit? Ren Reynolds talks about video games using "good" or "bad" and this can be debated in all video games. For example, the video game "Turok" in my opinion is good because it is fun, interactive, and is a good action-adventure game. On the other hand, many people could say that it is bad because it has a lot of violence and issues of killing things. When thinking about moral choices in games this can be seen throughout all video games. If the player makes a wrong choice then the answer could be failure or re-starting the level. Remember playing the text game "Shade" and how there was light areas and dark areas. This game made the player decide where to go in the apartment and if the player made a wrong choice the answer was simple.

Do you think that video games incorporate "Morality and Faith?" Or should the games focus on being fun and letting the player make their own choices?

Quote: "There are three important types of advertising that can particpate in such persuasion games: demonstrative, illustrative, and associative advertising" (Bogost 153).

This quote is interesting because advertising is in everything we see today, from billboards to the internet. The definitions of these three types of advertising can be interrelated. "Demonstrative advertising provides direct information, Illustrative advertising communicates indirect information, and associative advertising communiates indirect information, focusing specifically on the intangibles of a product" (Bogost 153-54). Now when comparing these types of advertising into video games I would think that demonstrative advertising would be affective because it is direct. Before the menu of the video game there is always commericals and previews to something. This can also be seen throughout the game also. Just think about "Need for Speed" and the cars that are used. Names such as Mercedes and BMW are all over them, along with very expensive car names too!

Is advertising an important part of video games? This is an interesting question to consider and I would be interested in any comments.

This blog entry is the discussion question for Jan. 16, 2008.

I always liked the video game "Turok." I think that this game is very interactive and fun. This game uses visual and digital rhetoric because of how the character has to win the level. The game makes the character find key items and sections of the level. For example, the character has to find better weapons as the game progresses. This is the visual aspect, but incorporates much detail rhetoric. This games uses a lot of violence because the character must shoot all of the animals or enemies in order to continue in the game. I believe that this game uses procedural programming by making the player complete all of these so called "tasks" before winning the level. This is just a basic review of Turok, but I would enjoy to hear comments from classmates that played this game before.

Do you think that "Turok" uses procedurality and rhetoric? And what other ways is the game "Turok" related to Bogost?