January 2008 Archives
After finishing "Persuasive Games" by Bogost do you feel that video games play an imporant role in today's modern world?
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.
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?This blog entry is a comment for Dr. Jerz's review of Fatworld.
I first want to say that I agree completely that the gameplay has problems. When I first started playing the game I thought, "It seems so basic and is designed for younger children." Dr. Jerz stated, "the game world is full of floating signs labeled "enter" and I think that this is too basic for a video game (it seems childish or maybe it is just illustrating the point by saying it). The next section in the review was, "Exploring Fatworld on Foot" and I thought the same thing. The character moves very slowly to point that I become frustrated. Did anyone else find it frustrating that your character moved so slowly?
Bogost stated, "Persuasive games mount procedural rhetorics effectively" (Bogost 46). In addition, "procedural rhetoric is the practive of using process persuasively, just as verbal rhetoric is the practice of using oratory persuasively and visual rhetoric is the practive of using images persuasively" (Bogost 28). I think that Fatworld is a persuasive game based on the visual rhetoric aspect only. The game does not seem to have the procedures worked out that great, but the visuals are there and show the player how healthy living is important. I did not see the "exercising minigame," but found this to be very interesting. Since my character was extremly obese it would have been a benefit to play the exercise game. This would have allowed my character to walk faster and as Dr. Jerz stated, "my character's default speed was much, much faster, making exploration less tedious." This would have made the game much more fun and less frustrating. I also had another issue with the use of the space bar because I kept pressing the enter key. I think this is because I am so used to pressing enter for everything and this was a change to my routine. Dr. Jerz said, "Why do I need to go shopping at all? Do I have to stock up my refrigerator so that when I shut the game off, my PC will have enough food to live until I return?" This question was very interesting to me also because I found the shopping part to be unrelated. This may be because the game wants the player to understand that you must shop healthly in real life in order to maintain proper health. Dr. Jerz's last question was particularly interesting and stated, "is this just the game's way of telling me I can go home because I've finished my shift?" I did not understand this part of the game because it simply "throws you out of the restaurant." This is something that is left unanswered because why would it put you on the street just because you walked over the exit sign? The are many hypotheses that relate to why the game does this, but I am undecided on a final answer. Overall, this game presented many problems for me at first because I like fast moving games without having to wait. As I became used to the game, on a player's level, I thought that the game was being used to teach us to eat healthly and how it takes time to do things. And yes, this does include walking...Hmmm. I feel a similar reaction to the game as Dr. Jerz has because of the interface problems. I thought that the game would have some issues because it is a new release and has no corrections or feedback yet. I believe that if a newer and more user-friendly verison of this game is released then a lot of these problems may be resolved. Maybe. I think that this game would be great for younger children because it is a teaching tool and also would be fun for them to play.Questions:
Why does the game have a very big hand for the pointer and large screens? Is this because the game is focused more as a teaching tool? Or because it is basic for the user to understand? Did anyone feel that the game did things randomly? For example, when steping over the exit sign it put the character outside. This was interesting...These are just a few questions that I would be happy to hear comments about.
1) Thesis paragraph:
Video games are a great source of fun because they include simulations, character relationships, and role-playing scenarios. The popular “Tomb Raider” video game uses Lara Croft as the main character and shows how females are equal to males. The video game industry has used male figures as the prominent characters for many years. When studying gender differences in video games it is important to consider stereotypes because of how society demotes one gender over another. For instance, most people consider the video game “Barbie” to be played by girls and “Need for Speed” to be played by guys. By allowing females to be involved within the video game industry it will promote new ideas and games that may not have been thought of before. As a result, video games need to be equal in there representation of gender roles and show that females can make a game just as fun as males.
2) Several direct quotations from the literary source(s) you plan to study:
• “The present study was designed to examine potential differences in the cognitive strategies that girls and boys report they use when they learn to play an unfamiliar video game” (Blumberg 152).
• “As Cassell and Jenkins point out in their introduction to the book, males have tended to control the computer games industry, create games for themselves, and market exclusively to boys” (Jackson 125).
• “A second problem is that explanations for gendered play patterns tend to be linked to broad theories about biologically or psychologically based gender differences” (Hayes 24).
• “I did find considerable gender differences in the kinds of games preferred by girls and boys, as well as class differences in the kinds of games played. The girls and boys in my sample showed similar patterns of interest and involvement in the fantasy-adventure games and the spatial relations games. However, only boys played the sports games with any regularity, and only the two working class boys played urban-violence and paramilitary games (Gailey 86).
• “Theories about gender differences in digital gaming tend to be based on inferences drawn from the types of games that women and men already play, or what they say they would prefer” (Hayes 23).
• This research has demonstrated that female game characters are routinely represented in a narrowly stereotypical manner; for example, as princesses or wise old women in fantasy games, as objects waiting on male rescue or as fetishised subjects of male gaze in first person shooters” (Bryce 246).
• “This investigation works at odds with stereotypical game images of women and against larger assumptions about the body” (Flanagan 368).
2A) Quotations that support your thesis...
• “I did find considerable gender differences in the kinds of games preferred by girls and boys, as well as class differences in the kinds of games played. The girls and boys in my sample showed similar patterns of interest and involvement in the fantasy-adventure games and the spatial relations games. However, only boys played the sports games with any regularity, and only the two working class boys played urban-violence and paramilitary games (Gailey 86).
• “As Cassell and Jenkins point out in their introduction to the book, males have tended to control the computer games industry, create games for themselves, and market exclusively to boys” (Jackson 125).
• “If we want to have [game] titles that reach a diverse audience, our workforce has to reflect that diversity” (Pratt 34).
• This research has demonstrated that female game characters are routinely represented in a narrowly stereotypical manner; for example, as princesses or wise old women in fantasy games, as objects waiting on male rescue or as fetishised subjects of male gaze in first person shooters” (Bryce 246).
• “This investigation works at odds with stereotypical game images of women and against larger assumptions about the body” (Flanagan 368).
2B) Quotations that refute your thesis:
• “Some “female” gaming practices can be attributed to women’s lack of experience with gaming rather than to innate gender-specific preferences” (Hayes 24).
• “The gender difference in time dedicated to game play can be attributed to the fact that boys find digital games much more attractive and conductive to their natural cognitive processing” (Bonanno 16).
• “While we may question the methodologies of commercial research and its market agenda such figures point towards a growing representation of women in computer gaming activities” (Bryce 244).
3) Direct quotations from outside sources:
• “The worst thing about today's games is that they're developed almost exclusively by men” (Kasavin 1).
• “There is no doubt that Tomb Raider marked a significant departure from the typical role of women within popular computer games” (Kennedy 1).
• “The absence of any romantic or sexual intrigue within the game narrative potentially leaves her sexuality open to conjectural appropriation on the part of the players” (Kennedy 2).
• “It could be argued that Lara's femininity, and thus her castratedness, are disavowed through the heavy layering of fetishistic signifiers such as her glasses, her guns, the holster/garter belts, her long swinging hair” (Kennedy 3).
3A) Quotations that support your thesis:
• “There is no doubt that Tomb Raider marked a significant departure from the typical role of women within popular computer games” (Kennedy 1).
• “The worst thing about today's games is that they're developed almost exclusively by men” (Kasavin 1).
3B) Quotations that refute your thesis:
• “It could be argued that Lara's femininity, and thus her castratedness, are disavowed through the heavy layering of fetishistic signifiers such as her glasses, her guns, the holster/garter belts, her long swinging hair” (Kennedy 3).
• “The absence of any romantic or sexual intrigue within the game narrative potentially leaves her sexuality open to conjectural appropriation on the part of the players” (Kennedy 2).
4) A Preliminary conclusion:
As demonstrated through academic articles the use of female characters is limited in video games and shows how racial the industry can be. After analyzing several academic articles including psychology journals and books one can see that video games are focused more towards the male culture. The gaming industry then developed a video game called, “Tomb Raider” that showed how women can be strong and active just like men can be. Gender roles in video games begin to develop when a child is young because of culture stereotypes and can be seen as they grow older. This gender separation is very prevalent with modern video games compared to the beginning of video games which were text-based adventure games.
5) An example of the efficient integration of a brief quotation from an outside source:
• Human psychology is a major factor when playing video games because of how the brain works. Blumberg conducted a research study that, “
was designed to examine potential differences in the cognitive strategies that girls and boys report they use when they learn to play an unfamiliar video game” (Blumberg 152). The study consisted of 104 elementary grade level students and the video game called, Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
6) MLA-style Works Cited list:
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.
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.
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.
Flanagan, Mary. “Next Level, Women’s Digital Activism through Gaming.” Digital Media Revisted. England: London, 2003.
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.
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.
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
Kasavin, Greg. “Samus' Suit Was Made by Men.” GameSpot. 16 Jan. 2008.
Kennedy, Helen. “Lara Croft: Feminist or Cyberbimbo.” Game Studies. 16 Jan. 2008.
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.
Quote: "While we often think that rules always limit behavior, the imposition of constraints also creates expression" (Bogost 7).
The beginning of "Persuasive Games" has been a very interesting read, but somewhat difficult at the same time. I think that Bogost offers the reader many ideas about procedures and rhetoric. I particularly liked this quote because of how true it is. For example, the rules in video games only make the player be creative and express thereselves by finding alternate ways or correct ways to win the level. I think that Bogost incorporates everything that we have learned so far this semster and prepares us for our research paper. I also found the "Eliza" program to be very interesting because it simply re-formulates the questions that the person inputs. This is all based on procedures and how the program works. I have really enjoyed reading this book so far and look forward to finishing it.
Claim: The game "Fatworld" contains issuses about weight and managing a good lifestyle, but learning the difficult game elements and slow simulations make the player feel bored, frustrated, and a sense of not putting effort forth.
This game was very basic to me and was not very interactive. As I was playing I thought that the game was slow and did not allow the player to move quickly. My thesis or claim statement expresses how I "see" the game. The long tutorial elements and slow simulations are not something that I want to see in a video game. Juul states, "Rules are designed to be above disucussion in the sense that a specific rule should be sufficiently clear that palyers can agree about how to use it" (Juul 55). I applied this quote to the game because the directions did not seem particularly easy to follow and some of the rules could be challenged. One rule that I thought would make the game better was when your character had to complete the tasks on the menu panel. I thought the game would be similar to "The Sims" in the sense that you could buy a house, buy grocerys, eat what you wanted and much more without having rules or directions.
When I was designing my character it started out with an 80 year old man who was extremely obese. I laughed and changed the age to about 40 and his weight to obese. I began to think that the game seemed very basic and did not challenge me. The controls were frustrating and everything I wanted to do was another button. After about 5 minutes I felt comfortable with the controls, but still felt like the game was not providing enough for me.
Koster's stated, "It's clear that players tend to prefer certain types of games in ways that seem to correspond to their personalities" (Koster 104). I agree with this quote because "Fatworld" did not correspond with my preference of games. I think that this game would be great for younger kids because it would teach values and also how to live a good lifestyle.
1. Peer-reviewed academic article:
• Mediated Messages: Gender, Class, and Cosmos in Home Video Games by Christine Ward Gailey
2. Author’s Main Thesis:
• The aim of the project was to understand how the structure of the games represent ideas about human nature, gender, class, technology, and the general world view presented by a sector of the corporate structure.
3. Evidence that the author uses in order to support the main idea:
• Gailey, “analyze the content of a range of Nintendo and related home video games, trying to figure out what patterns existed in how the games depicted order and chaos, gender relations, social class, ethnicity, and technology (Gailey 82-83).
• Gailey uses a research experiment consisting of nine adults, eight children, and four friends (five girls and seven boys). Gailey observed these members and the video game stores for several days.
• The author presents many personal views about certain video games throughout the article. For example, “When asked about the sports games, most of the girls said
It’s just reflexes and timing—you don’t really have to think while you’re playing them” (Gailey 88).
• Evidence for Order and Chaos: Gailey uses her observation about good, evil, relationships, winning, and influences to support her argument.
• Evidence for Technology: Improve your technology based on the games genre.
• Evidence for Social Class: “Only parents with sons had purchased sports games” (Gailey 85).
• “I did find considerable gender differences in the kinds of games preferred by girls and boys, as well as class differences in the kinds of games played. The girls and boys in my sample showed similar patterns of interest and involvement in the fantasy-adventure games and the spatial relations games. However, only boys played the sports games with any regularity, and only the two working class boys played urban-violence and paramilitary games (Gailey 86).
• Gailey quotes from academic articles, books, and games in order to support her argument.
• Gailey uses Pac-man and Ms. Pac Man as an example that video games are directed towards boys and contain a masculine approach and that women are seen with sexual themes.
4. Alternative and Opposing Ideas:
• Gailey talks about debates in cultural studies as being just like all other dominant values that are presented in society.
• “Whether game playing is considered as having positive or problematic effects, almost all studies of children playing video games have presented these players as absorbing or rejecting—but not interpreting and thereby altering—values embedded in the games and play process” (Gailey 82).
• Gailey uses the children’s opinions about what video games they think boys and girls like to play. There answers were used as a basis for her to disagree or suggest different view points throughout the article. (Gailey 88)
• “In what I call the “urban jungle” street-fighting games, women sometimes appear in minority roles as dangerous gang members whom the her must beat up or kill through the same martial arts techniques used on male enemies” (Gailey 87). This quote shows how females are being looked upon as minorities.
5. Evidence sources that work against the author’s thesis:
• “Price (1985) gives a review of earlier social science research on arcade-type video games. Arcade games, of course, present difference in terms of social play process” (Gailey 93).
• “In the fantasy-odyssey games, for instance, there are no active female characters at all” (Gailey 86). On the other hand Gailey presents the idea that “girls were more likely to play fantasy-adventure and spatial relations games than any other genres” (Gailey 88). This is interesting because even though there were no female characters in the games the girls still liked playing them the most. This works against the author’s thesis because it shows that girls can play video games even if there aren’t any females in the game.
• “Other studies suggest social causation for a skewed interest in computers in general and video games in particular (Temple and Lips 215-226).
6. How does this academic article differ from 6A) a traditional game review, and 6B) New Games Journalism?
6A: This academic article focuses on the messages that video games portray and how it affects the people who play them. A traditional game review is mostly focused towards marketing and selling a game. This article shows that games have many different opinions and roles towards gender, class, and cosmos. This article differs a lot from a traditional game review.
6B: Gailey incorporates a personal research observation that uses adults and children as a focal point. This is much different than a traditional game review because of how personal this research becomes by including personal reactions and game plays from the children. A New Games Journalism article incorporates personal reactions, views, and experiments within the research to show how video games relay message.
This article differs from a traditional game review more than a New Games Journalism review because of the information that is provided. Gailey presents a detailed observation analysis about children and video games. This is important because it shows how the article has developed a main goal and is supporting it with proper evidence. This article is similar to a NGJ review because it is a personal observation, includes game techniques based on gender roles, and provides unique information about video games.
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.
Since Portfolio 1, I have composed 14 blog entries consisting of reflections, in-depth discussions, and papers that have introduced many ideas about the video game world. A previous blog entry called "New Terminology in Video Games" incorporated in Portfolio 1 now lists Brandon's comments and comparison's towards my reactions. My first blog entry for this portfolio focuses on finishing Laurel’s book and is called “What should a video game contain?” and I learned how video games can be derived from movies or books. This blog prompted discussions about virtual reality games and how important they may become in the future. After posting my reflection, “Values in Video Games” Kevin McGinnis posted a comment about video games enforcing values. This is one example that shows interaction between me and another classmate.
My blog entry called “The Role of Women in Video Games” is based on the discussion question about gender and games and shows interaction, in-depth conversations, and coverage of the topic. I presented a thesis about women and how video games present them and then the three day debate and discussion began. The first half of “Half-real” describes games and rules and my blog entry called “What have you learned” explains how I never thought about rules being so important. I had to complete an assignment called “Game Analysis 2” and then I posted it on my blog called “Ex 3: Game Analysis 2.” This prompted a classmate to think about the game Pharaoh as learning and teaching tool.
My next blog called, “Juul's Emergence and Stylization Concept” connects Juul’s definition of emergence and a narrative definition from a literary term book. My reflection called “Video Games and Movies, What a Great Combination! let me think how video games turn into movies or the opposite and I used “Final Fantasy” as an example. I listed links to the trailers on Ashley Farmer’s blog entry called, “Transmedia Culture.” After reading about Newman’s theory I posted a blog called, “What are Ergodic Videogames?” This made me think about non-playing time and “onlookers” in a different way. Darrell posted an early morning comment describing the importance of cut-scenes and movies. Ashley Farmer’s blog entry called “Rules rule the game” made me realize how a classic game model and rules fit into a video game. My reflection blog entry called “The Rules are Pre-Programmed” exhibits this reaction.
The next major project in the class is the research paper and I posted a blog entry incorporating Dr. Jerz’s resources and my initial reactions. My blog entry is called “Research Paper - Gender and Video Games” and links all of the websites and my reactions to this topic. After finishing Juul’s book I found “Time and Projection in Video Games” to be very interesting. This reading made me understand how video games can portray world events in a different meaning by changing the speed of time. My last blog entry so far is called, “Newman and Juul - J-Web Essay #3” and offers my thesis statement about character relationships and the “game world.” All of this information has been preparing me for my research paper on gender in video games.
Thesis: Newman challenges the concept of primary-player-character relationships as being understanding and identifiable, but Juul suggests the idea of characters in a “game world” as unaware of being in a game and people who we know.
With this being said, Newman does not seem to believe that video game relationships can be personal and identifiable. On the other hand, Juul believes that we can relate with the characters by knowing them or because they are real life people in a simulated environment. The difference between these two authors is that characters are either personalized and life-like or depersonalized and non-livings objects in which a video game lets the player decide the relationship. This concept is somewhat difficult to understand, but can be seen within video games. Many video games consist of characters that are in real-life and people who we can relate to and this shows us how primary-character relationships can be formed. When a character is not life-like there is not a character relationship formed, but only a limited amount of emotions.
Quote: Projection means that the player's time and actions are projected onto the game world where they take on a fictional meaning" (Juul 143).
The reason why I picked this quote is because it shows how time and actions in games can be different than the real world. I really liked the game that Juul's picked because "The Sims" is a great example of having the ability to speed up or slow down time with a click of a button. By cicking the time button this could be a form of effort? Just as Juul notes on figure 4.12 (page 144): "Building a power plan in a few seconds." The ability to create a powerplant, road system, or town in just seconds is part of the fictional world. When comparing video game time to real-life time there is a major difference because time in video games is infinite whereas life has deadlines.
Juul also makes a very interesting point about "time and historical places." In a video game the player can create a war scene or build a town in under a few mintues. On the other hand, in real life this may take several hours or years. It is interesting to think about how video games can relate to real life and how quick things can happen. When referring this type of technology to modern day advancements it is important to think about, "What if video games could help humans study events in history?" This is an important question to consider because there are video games for almost anything in today's modern world. Juul makes a lot of interesting points about rules, fiction, and games throughout the book. I really enjoyed reading this book and found it to be very interesting and informative.
Hi Class! I began thinking about what should my topic be for my research paper and I thought about my blog entry called, "The Role of Women in Video Games." I was amazed at how much discussion this topic sparked and how important it is when referring to video games. After pondering over the idea I thought I would ask Dr. Jerz's opinion and he thought it would be a great idea. I believe that my topic is going to focus on gender in video games. (Mostly the female role). Dr. Jerz provided me with a couple links that focus on this specific topic.
The first website was called "Women Gamers" and I found a lot of interesting information on it. After looking through some of the forums I came across a title called, "Digital Women Review: Final Fantasy 7 Women." This on-going discussion was important to consider because it shows how the women in the Final Fantasy games are strong and compared it to Lara Croft. This relates to a lot of discussion we have been doing in class. After reading through another website called, "grrlgamer" I thought this is an important topic to investigate because of how many debates and articles it produced. This website listed a forum that showed how video games have sterotypes for specific gender's.Another website called "Digital Games" provided a lot of articles. The first article I found was called, "From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games." This article is a book review that shows how there are stereotypes in video games. The next article was called, "Women, Video Gaming & Learning: Beyond Stereotypes" and it shows how gender is a "problematic issue in video games." While continuing to research I came across another article called, "She Got Game" that shows how women have contributed to video games.
This topic seems to be a growing argument and is something that would be interesting to explore and learn much more information about. I would welcome any comments, information, or links to any articles or websites that would help me develop the start of my research paper.
Qoute: "A more fruitful way of conceiving the question is to consider how much time we spend actually in non-trivial action when "playing" a videogame" (Game Studies Website).
This quote is a true statement because a lot of video games consist of beginning commericals and introductions along with after each level media. It is important to think that a lot of video games consist of non-playing time. Do you agree that video games include a lot of sit and watch graphics? I think this is important in a game because after you finish a level you want there to be a so-called "gift" or "reward" for completing the level.
On a personal note, I remember playing StarFox 64 and it was a lot of fun. If I can remember correctly the character was like similiar to a fox? I always thought it was a fun game to play with a lot of graphics.
For example, when your just watching someone play a videogame don't you become so into the game that when the player makes a mistake you say, "Oh darn! Here let me try." A lot of pleasure can develop just by watching someone play the video game because of the interactivity and fun.
Thesis: Although video games offer "onlookers" the pleasure of watching someone play a video game, having fun, and also developing a sequence for winning they suggest that having a lot of movies and graphics can be non-ergodicity.
Does this thesis statement seem true while playing video games while friends or family are watching?
"Emergent narrative tends to be described very loosely as the player's experience of the game, or the stories that the players can tell about the game, or, perhaps, the stories that players can create using the game" (Juul 158-59).
When taking EL 150: Introduction to Literary Studies with Dr. Jerz, he required us to purchase the book called, "Essential Literary Terms" by Sharon Hamilton. This book is great because it offers explanations and exercises for many different terms in the English field. Since the dicussion question was referring to the narrative in a story I thought it would be useful to look up the term. According to Hamilton, "narration refers to the act of telling a story, whether in prose or in verse, and the means by which telling is accomplished" (Hamilton 112).
I noticed that there was a difference between the two terms because emergent narrative is described as being lose and the story depends on the player's game strategy. Whereas narration is a structure where the story is told in prose or verse.
Juul also offers an interesting term called "stylized simulations" which are "developed not just for fidelity to their source domain, but for aesthetic purposes. These are adaptations of elements of the real world" (Juul 172).
The use of stylization is important because it shows how video games contain concepts of the real world.
Thesis: The use of violence in video games can offer the option for humans to want to be copycats or how females in video games suggests how women can be empowering icons in society. When referring the term of stylization to video games, it is important to consider how video games can be a stimulating experience, show the importance of females, and also relate to the art of everyday life.
I believe it is important to consider video games as being "stylized simulations" because of how they relate to life and the art they provide.
Listed below is my paper for this exercise and I would enjoy hearing comments about the game "Pharaoh."
The Egyptian Years of History It is amazing to think that humans built the pyramids and buildings in Egypt. The computer video game called “Pharaoh” allows the player to re-enact those mind-boggling days in history. It is designed to let the player create a fun and interactive setting that can grow and develop. This game can be compared to a civilized nation such as present day Egypt. When first playing the game the player has to develop irrigation systems and food supplies for the town, but everything changes when the population increases. The game starts with a basic town, but once more people begin to come then you must produce more food and water. For example, in order to produce wheat you must have workers plant the seeds, tend to them, and harvest them. This takes a lot of man power to complete and when more people come, then the work labor doubles. The game is difficult to sustain the food and water needs for the people, but it is a great adventure along the way. This game received an ESRB rating of everyone which is important because any age group can play this game. It may be difficult for a young adolescent to understand the concept, but they can learn a lot of information while playing. This game is a teaching tool that shows the player that it is very difficult to manage an entire town of people and meet their needs. In the likelihood that the player does not meet the needs of the people, it is easier to just start over. This is because buildings will begin to get old and fall apart and the town, if not managed properly, will be too hard to save. After learning the playing strategy of the game it is important to consider the good and bad. One good concept in the game is maintaining a populations needs, but if not successful then the town will turn downhill. Another important goal in the town is to be able to protect your people against enemies and warships. This is a hard task to complete because if you do not conduct the proper war training, then the warriors attacking will destroy the town. There are many factors to the game, but it is understandable that not everyone will agree with me on what is good and bad. After learning the strategy, concept, and most importantly having fun the player will experience an entirely different view of a computer video game. “Pharaoh” is used to teach how the Egyptians many years ago maintained the land, people, and buildings without technology. Overall, the good in the game outweighs the bad because every time you play you will improve upon your previous mistakes.Quote: A game is a rule-based system with a variable and quantifable outcome, where different outcomes are assign different values, the player exerts effort in order to influence the outcome, the player feels emotionally attached to the outcome, and the consequences of the activity are negotiable" (Juul 36).
Doesn't this quote incorporate everything we have learned so far...the answer would be yes! It explains how a game is designed. The first key point is games with rules and some people would argue that a game shouldn't have rules. If a game didn't have rules what would be the point in playing it? The point made is every move or decision you make in the game determines the values and outcomes of it. For example, this idea of making the "correct" choice can be compared to people everyday. Everyone has to make a choice in life and sometimes it is good and sometimes it is bad. Hmmm...a video game is similar to what we (humans) do everyday? When playing a video game the player exerts effort and feels emotionally attached to the outcome especially when you win.
This quote incorporates Espen Aarseth's theory of ergodic because without putting effort into the game it is not fun. So with all of this being said do you agree that games include all of the factors listed in the above quote?
Thesis: Although the game "Tomb Raider" exhibits women with no class, being destructive, and not being motherly it suggests that women have become strong members in society.
My personal background with the game Tomb Raider is limited, but I have played enough of times to understand the concept of the game. After reading the class presentation on Lara Croft, I learned a lot of information about the game. This included the history of Lara Croft, popular feminist arguments, and Croft being good. The game Tomb Raider uses Lara Croft as a main character who has power and authority. This shows how a woman can do the same things that a man can do and sometimes better. On the other hand, the game describes women as being destructive and dangerous. This is shown by Croft looking like an FBI agent with her gun strap and guns in hands. In addition, Croft wears limited clothing which can show that women have no class (for use of better wording). This negative factor in the game shows that women are people who show their bodies off. My personal opinon is that this is not true! The game uses pornography as a key concept which Zach also stated in his comment. On a positive note, isn't it more important to examine the game as showing how strong women have become in society. Many years ago, women usually were stay-at-home mom's who cleaned the house, prepared meals for her husband, and tended to the children. Women have come very far and I am proud for that. The game uses a woman instead of a man to show that they can do the same thing that men can. Just think, Croft can do anything in the game. I compare her to Kiefer Southerland in the movie "24" because there both able to do everything for some reason. I would enjoy to read comments about my thesis statement from classmates and welcome all suggestions.Quote: "Our goal was to explore relationships bewteen landscape, stories, and play" (Laurel 76).
Doesn't this quote seem to explain the purpose of a lot of video games. Just think about the movie industry and how many video games are derived from them. Also take for example "Colossal Cave Adventure" and Dr. Jerzs' adventure in real life. it's amazing how video games incorporate the current wonders of the world. After finishing Utopian Entrepreneur I thought I learned a lot of information. I found the design principles to be very interesting because all of the factors that Laurel presents are not in video games.
What about this quote: "Culture workers will change both the technology and the ethos of computing" (Laurel 101). It seems very true because it is important to include the values of society in video games and use research as means for learning. Everything that Laurel talked about in her book made sense to me and I understood what she meant. There was no technical wording or specific code that had to be looked up, it was just informative and truthful information. I also really enjoyed reading the section about virtual reality. I think that VR is amazing and how we, the players, have the ability to access it in a video game. Doesn't everyone want to drive a race car or fly a plane? Or anything that can be simulated on a game? I bet the answer is yes! Without virutal reality people wouldn't be able to understand what it is like to do some tasks or jobs. It is amazing how far the video game industry has come over the last several years.Are video games interactive stories or a system of rules?
Jesper Juul thinks that they are not stories, but I do agree with his claim about games being unique and having a specific vocabulary. I was happy to hear that Game Scholarships began in the literature department.(My major is English Literature). When talking about interactive fiction games I believe that they are computer-assisted storytelling. After reading Koster and Laurel I feel a concentration about what is the purpose of video games? This is a good question that I am not sure of, but I have a few ideas. Koster presents the concept that video games are based on theories and fun whereas Laurel focuses on producing games for the female population. It is interesting that Laurel uses the terms popular culture and culture worker because this refers to productive researchers of society. Some questions that I have about the article include, Are Koster and Juul's presenting the same idea of video games being fun? With this being said, is a video game a story or a teaching tool? Based on Laurel's viewpoint about video games and Juul's viewpoint that video games are neither stories or system of rules, I feel that video games incorporate all of these factors. Being a college student at a liberal arts school this topic presents many ideas about video games, but shows how they can be interpreted .The Blog Portfolio incorporates all of the blogs that I have posted for EL 250, MWG: Video Game Culture and Theory. This brief essay explains everything that I have done up until now in the course and also lists links to the works that “sparked new ideas.”
Before the class started I read the previous syllabus and thought that we would be watching movies. The two movies that I watched were “The Matrix” and “It’s a wonderful life.” After comparing the two movies I never thought about, “Simulations and Movies”, as movies being alternate reality and simulations. After reading the first two assignments I compared “Video Games” with culture, theory, and concepts within this class. My blog entry entitled, “NGJ: There very unique” examines one of the Ten Unmissable Examples of New Games Journalism. In this entry, I learned how important NGJ reviews were and how they are composed. On the second day of class, I began to read and write “traditional game reviews”, play video games, and also read, “A Theory of Fun for Game Designers” by Raph Koster. After reading “Always black” and “Bow, N*gger” they made me realize that internet conversation, emotion, and games can all be expressed in “An Intellectual Review,” Now, I was able to play Strong Bad’s video games my blog entry entitled, “Computer Animation” talks about how older video games can produce as much fun as modern games. After reading the first half of Koster, “A Theory of Fun” I learned that “Video Games and Fun” is something that is “hardwired in our brains.” After reading the “History on Video Games” my blog entry entitled, “It's amazing how far technology has come or not...” talks about how the computer and video games are a pair. My blog entry and reflection entitled, “A Conference on Games” connects the conference with Nancy Fry’s blog entry about storytelling and the video game experince. After finishing Koster’s book I noticed how there are “Personality, Emotion, and Character in Games?” My reflection shows “Games, Art, and Fun” are in video games.“IF is one of a kind” because I had never experienced a video game like this before. When playing IF games “Choosing the right words” was very important in learning information. Kevin McGinnis’ blog entry called, "If/if/id = harmony" shows how psychology can be a factor. After watching “Historical Perspective on video games” my blog called, “Culture and Video Games” shows how books, movies, and games are all similar within the past 100 years. The discussion question about “Effort: Work and Fun in Adventure” allowed me to post a blog entry entitled, “New Words for Effort” that taught me how ergodic and fluidity are part of video games.
My “An amazing Conversation” blog describes how a conversation is seen with a text-based game. After reading the Colossal Cave article I thought, “WOW!! Colossal Cave and Games!” which taught me how a game can be “mapped out” in real life. I knew after reading Brandon Gnesda’s blog entry that “We found the cave” because of how different your lense can be after reading the article. My blog called “What an Apartment” lists my experience with the game “Shade,” and shows how it is similar to everyday life and “The Final Death ” is important to consider. Ashley Farmer posted an interesting blog entry about concept and that made me think, "How do I get out?" My reflection called “The Author’s Life” shows how I learned that light and dark are a part of Shade’s game. It was "A True reality” after playing “September 12” and “Madrid” because these games lead me to think “Games and the World” have a lot in common. Th next discussion question was about “Video Games as Art? Roger Ebert says '”No”"> and I immediately posted my blog entry entitled, “Video Games as Art? Some say No?” describing how games can be art.
The next book in the course was “The Utopian Entrepreneur by Laurel” which describes “Becoming Part of the Culture” where everyone succeeds. Kevin McGinnis posted a blog entry called "Laurel Part 1" that made me connect the concepts of the book with everyday life. After finishing the book I realized "What a video game should contain" and Dr. Jerz then posted the daily discussion question about "Narratology and Ludology." These concepts taught me about "New Terminology with Video Games" and why interactivity and rules are in games. The course has been very educational, interesting, and fun to this point and I suspect it will continue to be. All of my previous entries have been posted on time and have covered all of the assigned readings. I have posted comments and reflections for all of the assigned RRRR sequences as long as there was a blog entry. Some of the classmates refer to my blogs and continue with in-depth discussions. For example, Nancy Fry's blog entry entitled, "History of Video Games" exhibits this. If anyone has any questions about the Mid-Point Blog Portfolio I will be happy to answer them!The first forum was about Culture and Theory questions and Dr. Jerz stated: As a white male professor, with a stay-at-home wife who homeschools our two kids, what lenses might affect my attitude towards video games (and towards education in general)?
My answer was: A response to Dr. Jerz's lense could be that him and his wife are both education professors. This could affect there attitudes towards video games compared to someone who isn't a teacher. My own lense would be that I am a white male college student who is earning his undergraduate degree in English-Literature with certification in elementary and special education. My environment around me is country land and I live on a farm.
My first comment was by Dr. Jerz which stated: Okay, Derek, your rural environment and your special education focus are part of your world veiw that I don't share, even though we have other things in common. Education is a big theme in the readings we'll be looking at, so I'm hoping that you'll be able to draw on your education training to help provide some insight that your classmates and I woudn't ordinarily get.
My response back was: I am looking forward to gaining information about the education field. I always like when I can relate my education classes with my English classes.
Darrell also stated a comment: Do you feel that because you live on a farm that you would view video games as a less important aspect of life because there is so much physical work that needs to be done on a daily basis on the farm? Or do you look at video games as an escape from the work at the end of the day?
My response back was: Hi Darrell! It's nice to talk to you and thank you for writing on my forum! I think that is one reason because there is always so much work to be done. Especially in the summer time because the fields have to be tended too and maintaining a nice looking farm requires a lot of dedication. On the other hand, I think it's a little bit of both though because I like to play video games at the end of the day when I have finished everything and I don't have a lot on my mind.
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The second forum topic was: One of the J-Web exercises asks you to write a few brief essays about your attitude towards video games, such as listing a few things that are more important to you than video games, and things that are less important to you than video games.
My response was: I enjoy playing video games, but there are more important things to me. This would include listening to music, reading sports car magazines, or browsing the internet. These things are fun for me to do when I'm not at college or doing homework. There are things that are less important to me than video games and one of them is watching television because most of the information and media is on the internet. I enjoy watching current DVD's as much as playing video games. On the other hand, computer games fit into my life a little. I play a few games here and there such as "The Sims" or even "Who wants to be a Millionaire." My family and I sometimes all play a video game together depending if its a multi-player or not. One example I used in my essay was Guitar Hero for Playstation 2. Everyone seems to enjoy this game. My grandparents don't seem to enjoy kids or adults playing video games, but I believe that is because they grew up in a different generation and never had the experience of playing a video game. Most of the people close to me have a positive attitude towards video games.
Dr. Jerz commented and stated: What games do you and your family play together? Do you also watch TV together, or enjoy interests such as racing?
Yes, Guitar Hero is quite a phenomenon. Makes you wonder why they didn't do that sort of thing years ago.... what with sports games and now rock concert games, these recent titles aren't so much simulating what it's like to be in a sport or be in a band, they're simulating what it's like to be in a televised event (that includes Millionaire, too).
So it's interesting to me that you've included TV in this analysis.
My response back was: My family and I usually play guitar hero or racing games together. My nephew loves to play guitar hero with me. (He is only 9 years old). My family and I usually watch TV together when we get a chance, but since our lives are so busy we usually watch whatever we want in different rooms. When we have family dinner together we will watch a movie or program on TV after dinner. We enjoy going to the races, derby's, and sporting events too. Overall, we don't watch a lot of TV programs, but usually movies or something like that. I agree that rock concerts and sports games are much more fun to be at, but I never thought of it as simulating what it's like to be in a televised event. I agree though!
These are the introduction forums to the class.
Quote: "In the competitive world of business, entrepreneurship produces winnners and losers; utopianism strives for a world where everyone succeeds and harmony abounds" (Laurel 7).
I thought that this quote was very important to consider because it shows that utopianism is striving to have a world where no one fails, but only succeeds. This may not be life-like because everybody wins and loses sometimes, but it is important to focus on the wining aspect instead of losing. With this being said, culture work comes into play because it shows how research leads to understanding and the values in society. I really enjoyed reading the first half of Utopian Entrepreneur by Brenda Laurel mostly because of how she talks about topics that are talked about today. The use of violence in video games and how there is more computer games for boys than girls. All of these factors are important to consider because it shows the issues of today. Oh! and how about the Barbie story...everybody seems to think that Barbie is perfect, but is that true? Just as Laurel noted about the story of the lady who had anorexia it is important to understand that everyone is different. Just as Laurel ended on page 65, "Change the stories and you change how people live."Quote: "...video games represent a loss of those precious hours we have available to make ourselves more cultured, civilized and empathetic" (Discussion Topic: Video Games as Art? Roger Ebert says ''No'')
Some people say that video games are not art, but then some say video games offer everything. It is very important to consider different opinions of other people because of how much information we can learn. Take Roger Ebert's website of Questions and Answers for example. The first set of Q and A is about Chicken little. The questions that people propose are very unqiue because no everyone would think of them. Now getting back to the actual question of are video games art? Roger presents a great answer about this. He states, "Video games by their nature require player choices, which is the opposite of the strategy of serious film and literature, which requires authorial control." I can agree with him because I think that movies are followed strictly by what the director has to say and video games allow you, the player, to choose what to do next. It is understandable that his sentence can be debated, but it is important to consider it before making a statement. Many of the famous works of poets such as Shakespeare's, "Hamlet" and Robert Frost's poem entitled, "The Road Not Taken" are so intellectual that it is very difficult to compare them to video games. Some may consider video games more powering than literature or the opposite? On an ending note, the quote listed at the top of this blog entry offers an opinion that is important to analyze. When playing video games the player does not encounter other humans or become a productive member of society. Many would disagree because when playing video games you enter a world that intrigues the mind and makes you think with great depth. It seems that Roger Ebert's lenses are presented as being separate because he feels video games are one genre and literature and everything else is another. My personal lense is one that is combined because it allows the player to encounter new literature and movie skills while playing video games. Some questions that I thought would be good to start the discussion could include, Are video games not equal to movies and literature? Or are they? Also, Since Roger Ebert was a film critic is his profession deciding his personal lense about video games? These are some questions that I would be interested in knowing your personal opinions."Galatea offers a conversation" (Galatea)
Before playing the game I thought, "Wow, we can use more than two words when talking to the game." I thought this was important because it allows the player to learn more information. For example, when I types "A life" I got a detailed response back. It talked about growing up and the the different stages including childhood and adolescence. I then typed "A birth" and I got a response that I became invovled in. It was very interesting how her birth was described based on a carving. The answers seem to have a psychological twist to them. For example, when I type "A birth" the last paragraph states, "But one night he slept in the corner of the stuidio-- I heard him screaming in his sleep. More loudly than usual. And I forgot that I couldn't move, and I just stepped down and woke him." I thought that this response was very interesting. I think of the last sentence as she stepped down and woke him mentally (as in a dream), but not physically. It is very amazing how these text based games, especially Galatea, allow the player to create a one-on-one experience because she has a response to almost anything. It reminds me of the character being more human because she has moods, background, and memory.Website entitled, Effort: Work and Fun with ''Adventure"
After learning two new words associated with effort (ergodic and fluidity) I thought how important it was to consider the concepts of work and fun while playing video games. The term fluidity connected with me, especially, because I always get so invovled with a game that I don't want to stop. Just as Leslie stated, "Get your IF juices flowing," is very true because once you started playing the text-based game you wanted to see what was next. I never knew that, "programs were written to run on terminals which would print out reams of folded paper." This is very interesting to me because imagine if you had to wait for your response...it could be overwhelming! With more modern technology, being able to use your keyboard to enter commands is very important for instant satisfaction. Just as the blog is called, "Effort" it is true that in order to get the juices flowing you must put effort forth. Just as the article states, "you must put effort into the game in order to receive the full effect," is true on all levels. If you don't put any work, effort, or fun into a game (or anything actually)then it's not a good experience. >Produce fluidity >You can, if you put effort into the game! I thought this text game example would be interesting to think of. I have some questions about putting effort into the game though. Can fun be anything that you put effort into? My opinion is that anything can be fun as long as it keeps your attention and your working towards a goal. Another question...Because text based adventure games require you to type what to do next, do you think it requires intellectual effort or just being able to type the right words? These are just a few questions that I think will be good to start talking about Effort in video games. It would be great to get a large discussion going about this topic!After playing the games entitled, "September 12" and "Madrid" I thought isn't it terrible that terrorism is even in games. But then I realized that it is being used to teach us about joining together and stopping these deadly acts. When playing "September 12" I tried to only target the bombs on the terroists, but a larger area would blow up and destroy more. This is similar to the reality of the War on Terror because the men and women of the army have to encounter these types of things everyday. The second game gave me a sense of comfort because it showed how people from all over the world have united and joined together in a candle light ceremony. When lighting the candles I noticed that they would burn out before you could light them all. This shows how people in real life don't stay united when we should.
Do you believe that these games are teaching tools and developed to bring people together? Or is it just a video game that shows the realities of the 21st century?Quote: "Shade is a work of light, as a narrative and as a game. As a narrative, it tells a story of enlightenment - in this case, realizing the traveler’s own death and understanding the traveler’s complicity in causing it. As a game, it is a simulation defined by vision and perception" (Douglass 132).
I found this quote very mind-boggling because of the argument between light and dark. I never thought of the game as a world between light and dark or life and death. This is understandable within the apartment because you must stay in the light in order to keep alive. In order to go to the bathroom and bedroom you must first type "hallway" because it is lighted. Just as Douglass notes, the apartment is one entire room. This article was very interesting to read because on page 139 Douglass talks about frustration and how it's hard to find the tickets. This is just like in real-life because when you can't find something you search everywhere until you do. The best part of this game is that we don't know where the tickets are nor can we recall our last events. Its a search from the beginning. A quick note about art and video games is important to have because the apartment is art in itself. The art of light and dark and also being able to find the tickets is a goal. The only reason why things seem natural to us is because we have had experience with that thing. Just like in "Shade" trying to find the tickets can be a natural event where we could misplace them or lose them. Overall, the art of the game can be in any genre that we enjoy.Text: "Clean"
Response:" The vaccum cleaner won't work usefully in the closet. Come to think of it, as with a hangover, dehydration is probably the problem. Your mouth is dry wool."
This text-based game was very interactive and the responses were very interesting. The example that I listed above explains what happens when you type "clean." I actually started to laugh because it incorporated a hangover within the text (That was funny). This game was created with excellence because I had a hard time finding things to say. Has anyone found any good words to use? Were you able to leave the apartment? These are some questions that I would be interested if anyone has any ideas. I had a difficult time finding the specific words to use. For example, when I typed drink water the computer responsed by saying, "Which do you mean, the water from the bathroom sink, the water from the shower, or the water from the kitchen sink." This was very interesting because you can't say the wrong thing because the computer will say, "You can't say any such thing."Quote: “Adventure” involves reading prose descriptions of the setting, and typing brief commands (i.e. “light lamp”) in order to solve puzzles and collect treasure."
After reading Dr. Jerz's, "Somewhere Nearby Is Colossal Cave" I learned a lot of information not only about the game, but about the real cave. It is very interesting to learn how the video game got the information and details. The source code is very interesting also because it follows the annotated game that we played. I really liked the pictures because it showed how the game evovled. From the forest, to the key, to the gate, to the river and etc. *One particular picture that I found to be amazing were the frozen walls of Orange Stone. I have a couple questions: Were the other people in the pictures family of your's Dr. Jerz? Was it difficult to compare the parts of the game with the actual cave? Under the section entitled, Cultural and Commerical Impact I found this sentence fimiliar. "Other entrepreneurs inspired by “Adventure” included Scott Adams (founder of Adventure International), who published the lean but accessible “Adventureland” in 1978." After listening to the Storytelling in Video Games Conference I recongnized Scott Adams name. It is very interesting that he invented the first commerical computer game sold and the game was based on the real cave. I found the pictures to be very intruging because of how they matched up with what you would type in the game. For example, in the game you would type "take keys" and then in one of the pictures Dr. Jerz is holding the keys. I really enjoyed reading the article and thought the pictures were great. It was so interesting that this cave was part of the game. It looks like it would have been a wonderful trip!After listening to the Brief History of Interactive Fiction I learned a lot of information not only about video games, but about their history.
I never knew that Scott Adams invented the first computer game commerical. I found it amazing that computers only used 16k compared to 1000k today. He had stated that the game only allowed for two word sentences. I really liked this part of the conference because it showed how everyone was having fun with a very basic computer game. Everyone was laughing and having fun and I think this shows how computer games can be a whole family activity (I was even laughing). I really liked learning the history of video games because of how much effort and thought it took to produce each new step. The example of the massive online role-playing game is very funny, but also educational.I really liked reading the information handout along with the slide show. Listed below are key points that I found very interesting while reading and watching the slideshow.
1. Slide 16 compares, "The Rise of the Novel" from 1719 with 2003. It was amazing to think that both books look alike and consist of pretty much the same information. 2. From slides 19-34 the pictures from the different movies and TV shows show how similar productions can be. For example, "The Blue Lagoon" can be referred to "LOST" because both shows use islands where the people are lost on. "Cast Away" can also be used as a reference too! 3. Another great comaparison was "Batman" from 1986 and 2005. It's true that fighting and moving around is the same, but the computer graphics are greatly improved. I thought what a difference technology can make.The topics that we are studying can all be seen within the slideshow. They include all art is constrained, realism is a choice, and art presupposes a critical tradition.
I thought it was important to consider Nancy Fry's blog entry (Bullet point #1) because it is true that cell phones are becoming small portable computers. It is amazing that cell phones allow you to browse the internet, text message, talk to people, check email and much more. On the other hand, GPS devices are just as amazing. They have the ability to talk to you and tell you how to get from point A to point B. I never thought of these devices having the option to play video games on until Nancy presented the idea. It is very true that video games will be able to be played on almost anything in the future (as long as it has a screen). I thought this was a great observation."If you're under 38, you're now saying, "Huh?" Text games (or, as some called them, "interactive fiction") were once the most popular electronic games" (Read Game website)
When first reading the article I thought the exact words the quote states. I had never heard about these text or IF games prior to reading and playing one now. I never knew there were so many different kinds of games. After reading the introduction to, "IF: What is it?" I thought this game would be very interesting to play. I was shocked because I never even heard the word "Interactive Fiction" before. The last step was to play the annotated verison of Colossal Cave Adventure. What a new experience it was! I had never played or even seen a game like this before. The first thing I thought about when typing in the game was the movie "LOST." The reason being is because when they are on the island one of the characters finds an underground so called "house" which has supplies, shelter, and a computer. The only thing that they can do on this computer is type in sentences or questions and then after so long they have to type a code in before the alarm goes off. This reminded me of the text adventure game, but I never knew it was called this (until now). Has anyone seen episodes of LOST? or even this particular one when they first find this underground capsule? I think that movies try to incorporate a lot of older technological discoveries such as this text-based computer game. Now I will talk about how I played the game. First I thought it was somewhat confusing because you have to type what to do and the game responds (I'm glad for the hints). After making it through the forest, the building, and the gate I thought this is a little challenging because what if you didn't know any tips or hints? I can agree with Dr. Jerz when he stated, "I've learned that some people get addicted to this kind of game" because it is true. Once your on your own without any hints it becomes a one-on-one game. I played for about 30 minutes and then decided to stop and write my blog, but I could have stayed on this for a long time."Games have the capability to sit on the shelf next to all other communications media. They are capable of art. They are capable of portraying the human condition. They are teching tools. They carry socially redeeming content. They elicit emotion" (Koster 184).
This quote explains what games can offer a human. Its true because just think about when your playing a video game. Usually you get invovled within the game to the point that you don't want to put it down. I can definitely agree to that! Koster offers a wide variety of information within his book, "A Theory of Fun for Game Design." The illustration that is shown on page 185 really puts this quote into perspective. The joystick is on the left followed by the movie reel, Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, and then a guitar. If you were to see these items on someone's shelf you would probably think this person likes to play video games, watch movies, read, and play the guitar. I think that this quote pin-points how important video games are compared with all other media. I'm interested in what the other classmates have to say about this. Would you agree with me? Disagree? Or even offer another intrepretation of this quote? Overall, this book had a lot to offer about the gaming world."Ready or not, computers are coming to the people" (Spacewar website)
Isn't this quote very true...It is amazing how advanced technology is compared to many years ago. After reading Dr. Jerz's article on, "History of Games" and then watching the first video entitled, "Maze War" I was shocked! I am amazed at how huge the networked computers and game discs were. I have never seen a game disc that large. It is important to consider the time period (1973) but look how computers and game discs are today. Now, about the game...It was very interesting to me to see that the player had to actually type Maze Run for the game to play. Overall, this game is shows how technology was developing.
Moving onto the next game entitled, "Spacewar." This game would not have attracted my attention compared to "Maze War" or especially "Tennis for Two." Spacewar is approximately 11 years older than "Maze War," but this game reminded me of an early Star Wars game were the spaceship had to maneuver through space and not hit the asteroids. This next game was my favorite of the three because it kept my attention as the game continued. This was surprising to me because it is the oldest of the three coming in at 1958. This game was called "Tennis for Two" and was not played on a computer, but on a oscilloscope. I never have seen one of these before until now. The most shocking part to me was when I seen the control pad for lauching the tennis ball across the playing field. I agree completely with Dr. Jerz's statement that there was, "No score-keeping, and no way of forcing the players to follow the rules of tennis." Even though this game was so basic without rules or anything, I still found it interesting to watch and I would even play it. I assume it would become uninteresting after a while, but would be fun for the time being. When I first read the article entitled, "The First Video Game" I thought WOW! When the people picked up and read the Brookhaven Bulletin I imagine that a majority of them were shocked to hear that William Higinbotham may have created the first video game. I know I would have been happy if I had seen this. Overall, these three earlier games are very different among themselves but similar in the respect that they are games. Many questions were going through my mind while I was reading because of how different the computers were, how large the discs were, and how basic the games were.Quote: "I know. It's going to be tough. That's why we need a plan. Here's the plan: no one attacks anyone but Donny. He'll get frustrated and give up." "Attack him even if he's on your team?" "Especially if he's on your team, because he won't be expecting it. Shoot him and blame fog of war. Faulty communications gear. Poor command and control. Stuff like that. But make sure you shoot him before he gets to any of the fun parts. Got it?" (Shoot Club: Saving Private Donny website)
Everyone is trying to tell Donny that war and military is something that is unexpected. They are using a video game which is very interesting also. I think it is important to use a video game to dissuade someone from wanting to go to the army or just to understand that you never know what can happen once being on the battle field. This can be seen with greater detail with this quote, “this is what war is like. It's total chaos. You never know when you're going to get shot or who's going to shoot you. It's all very confusing.” It is important to analyze this quote because it shows how the video game made Donny think about how army life is.
After reading a new games journalism article I experienced a new world of writing that I have never seen or read before. It was written as a story, but used a video game as a focus point for persuading someone. This article was not only an excellent game review, but a new experience for me.
Pictures:
Quote: “The brain is hardwired for facial recognition, just as it is hardwired for language, because faces are incredibly important to how human society works” (Koster 16).
Ralph Koster’s, “A Theory of Fun” is a very educational textbook when studying and learning about the theories of video games. The first five chapters contain a lot of useful information that talks about the educational value, having fun, and playing games. One particular chapter I thought was very interesting was chapter two because it describes how the brain works. I always enjoy reading the psychology side of any issue because it allows you to think in a specific manner. The quote that I chose was very interesting to me because it describes how the brain and facial features correlate with human society. This can be referred to with video games also because most of the characters have a face and we can relate the faces with authority or enemy figure status. After reading the NGJ and Gamespot review about Metal Gear Solid 2 I was able to make the connection that the brain uses human features to distinguish what and who the person is. I also enjoyed the illustrations on every other page because after you read you were able to study the pictures and connect them with the reading. I think that this book is very good to study because it allows you to not only learn information about theory, fun and games, but also to think about illustrations and how they connect with the literature. I am excited to finish this book and learn more about games and fun.First blog entry for EL 250, MWG: Video Game Culture and Theory!