Wednesday, April 30, 2014
#10 (My Favorite Board Game and Why)
I really fell in love with the game Prisoner's Quest.
First of all, the game receives a 5/5 for immersion. Ian Bogost, Author of "How to Do Things With Video Games," claims that "tactility can please the body" (82). I have experienced this with this particular game. There is something about being able to move you character piece through each room, conquering the board as you go. Although the "world" of Prisoner's Quest is confined to a board, the cards and characters are vibrantly rendered enough to immerse me in that world (82). The immersion I experience in the game allows me to invest emotionally while playing, giving me more incentive to play and win, and even try out different characters.
In Jonathon Degann's Game Theory 101, the most important component of a successful game is Story Arc. That is, a beginning, middle and end which turns the game into an "adventure in which the players and the pieces are characters."
This is exactly what Prisoner's Quest is all about! The story arc is simple: You and four other players are in castle, and you must discover rooms to escape, attacking and defeating the other players throughout. The characters are wonderfully created in that they each have their own appearance, statistics, and one can imagine, personality. Players of the game can project their ideas of who their character is, what they would say/do, etc. into gameplay. The story arc and the game design allow for maximum creativity allowed in a structured board game. These work together to keep the player engaged throughout game play.
Because Prisoner's Quest immerses the player and has an engaging story arc, the game is very successful. I want to play it again and again!
Friday, April 18, 2014
Post #9 (Why Skyrim is So Great)
I haven't played Skyrim in a while, and I'm starting to feel like I really want to. Lately, I've been asking myself why I like playing this particular game so much.
In "How To Do Things With Video Games," Ian Bogost gives a number of reasons why this game appeals to me.
Firstly, one of my favorite things about Skyrim is the texture of the game. Although the Skyrim world "remains imprisoned behind the glass of our televisions and our monitors," it still is vibrantly rendered enough to immerse me in that world (82). I am engaged because I can believe the gamescape laid out by the game designers.
Another reason I like this game is due to what Bogost calls "kitsch," or "the overt application of convention" (83). Like his examples of kitsch games, the Skyrim world is based on a sentimental idea of medieval life- life before cars, planes, and industry. The player gets to roam the land, maybe on horseback, and explore beautiful wild vistas. Skyrim also aligns with Bogost's idea that "kitsch was always meant to be displayed" in that achievements can be posted on a gamer's Steam or PlayStation profile for the world to see (87). In a way, even the virtual weapons and armor that players amass through game play act as the "virtual trinkets" Bogost claims "might help realize the video game equivalent of Kinkade's million-sellar art" (88). As a player, I appreciate amassing the trinkets offered i the game; it lets me measure my success and creates new goals for me to achieve.
Finally, Skyrim allows me to relax in the way Bogost associates with "lean backward" media. No, I'm not sitting back on my sofa eating Cheetos. I lean forward and click buttons to avoid sudden death by Blood Dragon. Game play is engaging, challenging, but accomplish-able. This is contradictory to Bogost's claims. But if I want to take a long walk through the pretty wild lands of the Skyrim world, just for fun, I can at any time. Occasionally, a saber tooth cat will ambush me and I'll have to defend it. Yet something about vanquishing the foe is immensely satisfying and deeply relaxing in a way Bogost does not understand. Bogost believes calming games can only achieve total relaxation by being "leaning-back" games; however, why can't an adventure game combine both? I believe Skyrim offers both excitement and relaxation in a way Bogost hasn't considered. Besides, I don't want to play a relaxation game all the time, I want mixed elements of relation and engagement.
The refresh rates of screens (the medium) on which video games are broadcast already wire our brains for engagement and excitement; Bogost needs to go read a book if he really wants to achieve total relaxation.
In "How To Do Things With Video Games," Ian Bogost gives a number of reasons why this game appeals to me.
Firstly, one of my favorite things about Skyrim is the texture of the game. Although the Skyrim world "remains imprisoned behind the glass of our televisions and our monitors," it still is vibrantly rendered enough to immerse me in that world (82). I am engaged because I can believe the gamescape laid out by the game designers.
Finally, Skyrim allows me to relax in the way Bogost associates with "lean backward" media. No, I'm not sitting back on my sofa eating Cheetos. I lean forward and click buttons to avoid sudden death by Blood Dragon. Game play is engaging, challenging, but accomplish-able. This is contradictory to Bogost's claims. But if I want to take a long walk through the pretty wild lands of the Skyrim world, just for fun, I can at any time. Occasionally, a saber tooth cat will ambush me and I'll have to defend it. Yet something about vanquishing the foe is immensely satisfying and deeply relaxing in a way Bogost does not understand. Bogost believes calming games can only achieve total relaxation by being "leaning-back" games; however, why can't an adventure game combine both? I believe Skyrim offers both excitement and relaxation in a way Bogost hasn't considered. Besides, I don't want to play a relaxation game all the time, I want mixed elements of relation and engagement.
The refresh rates of screens (the medium) on which video games are broadcast already wire our brains for engagement and excitement; Bogost needs to go read a book if he really wants to achieve total relaxation.
Monday, April 14, 2014
Post #8 (Bogost and Empathy)
In chapter 2 of Bogost's book "How To Do Things with Video Games," Bogost offers a weak argument for what he calls empathy games. These games feature "feeble characters [who] do not wear shoes anyone wants to wear" (Bogost 23). The idea that such games such as Darfur is Dying causes empathy in players is true.
But my question with Bogost is: who plays these games? Are they really making a big difference, as Bogost seems to believe?
The Darfur is Dying Wikipedia page claims that the game was made in 2006, over 8 years ago. Apparently, only 800,000 people have played this game. Only 800,000 people with access to the internet (which is only about 16% of the Worl's population which is nearing 8 billion) have played this game, and "received" the empathy resulting from game play.
I haven't even heard of the games Bogost lists, united by their objective to create awareness and empathy. Bogost argues that video games can inspire empathy, which I agree with. However, I doubt such games will be able to do well enough in the video game market to spread the empathy around enough for people to make a change.
People who play games and run in circles where they'll have heard about Darfur is Dying may not be willing to download the game in the first place. Honestly, I wouldn't be interested. To me, there are other ways to gain awareness. I don't want to spend time playing a game about a world problem I'd rather just read about; I don't need a game to feel empathy towards the Rwandan genocide. But back to my original concern with access.
Most gamers have internet (leaving out 84% of the world). Gamers play video games they find intriguing. Perhaps it's the game's artwork, characters, plot line, weapons, power-ups, or game world. Perhaps the story resonates with the person and they feel engaged and devoted during game play. These gamers tend to avoid games like Darfur, as Bogost states. He says "critics may argue that frail situations are not fun," and I agree with these critics. They just aren't fun. Gamers like to feel powerful, to live lives rendered impossible by reality. Games allow people to choose to experience challenges, characters, situations, and places that don't exist outside virtual reality.
So there's got to be another reason 800,000 people have played this game.Online, I found a place that lists people who've played this game. On this list is none other than Kanye West. So maybe one of the reasons people have played this game is to enhance their public image. I wouldn't put it past Kanye West.
One teen player of Darfur, John Keenan from Pennsylvania, said, "I'm a gamer, but I don't know how I really feel about making a game out of what's going on. I mean, I don't think you can get a real experience of being a Darfurian refugee by playing a game on the computer" (Vargas).
I completely agree. Such "games for change" may have the purpose to promote empathy for real-world events, but in reality, not many people have played, or are willing to play, them. One website that promotes Darfur is called "5 Fun Games with a Higher Purpose," which just goes to show that gamers mostly just want to have fun.
I think it's actually a little sick to use something as horrific as the Rwandan genocide for a game. One of the reasons it bother me is due to the fact that Games for Change is not just promoting games that promote empathy for current and past events. On the website, I found that they just came out with a game called Uplifted, with the tagline reading, "play and feel happy." Like most game companies, Games for Change is partly in it for the money. It's hard for me to trust the integrity of companies I haven't heard about, and that have top-notch websites which look expensive to maintain.
I like the idea of creating empathy for issues, but I disagree with Bogost that video games are the way to go about it; at least not until more people gain access to the internet. Yes, Darfuris or the Rwandans "deserve our empathy," but if we have to have fun at the expense of the beneficiaries of our empathy, then we may be going about this all wrong. Are we commercializing the horrific tragedies of people other than ourselves? Are such games respectful of the victims of these events, and have they truly helped?
Games are separate from the "reality" of the events; the best graphics and game play cannot change that. Sadly, such issues such as genocide do not "turn off" with the press of a close-window button. We need to make sure we're fully aware of these situations, not just gaining impressions of them that fade quickly after the game is quit.
The Darfur is Dying Wikipedia page claims that the game was made in 2006, over 8 years ago. Apparently, only 800,000 people have played this game. Only 800,000 people with access to the internet (which is only about 16% of the Worl's population which is nearing 8 billion) have played this game, and "received" the empathy resulting from game play.
I haven't even heard of the games Bogost lists, united by their objective to create awareness and empathy. Bogost argues that video games can inspire empathy, which I agree with. However, I doubt such games will be able to do well enough in the video game market to spread the empathy around enough for people to make a change.
People who play games and run in circles where they'll have heard about Darfur is Dying may not be willing to download the game in the first place. Honestly, I wouldn't be interested. To me, there are other ways to gain awareness. I don't want to spend time playing a game about a world problem I'd rather just read about; I don't need a game to feel empathy towards the Rwandan genocide. But back to my original concern with access.
Most gamers have internet (leaving out 84% of the world). Gamers play video games they find intriguing. Perhaps it's the game's artwork, characters, plot line, weapons, power-ups, or game world. Perhaps the story resonates with the person and they feel engaged and devoted during game play. These gamers tend to avoid games like Darfur, as Bogost states. He says "critics may argue that frail situations are not fun," and I agree with these critics. They just aren't fun. Gamers like to feel powerful, to live lives rendered impossible by reality. Games allow people to choose to experience challenges, characters, situations, and places that don't exist outside virtual reality.
So there's got to be another reason 800,000 people have played this game.Online, I found a place that lists people who've played this game. On this list is none other than Kanye West. So maybe one of the reasons people have played this game is to enhance their public image. I wouldn't put it past Kanye West.
One teen player of Darfur, John Keenan from Pennsylvania, said, "I'm a gamer, but I don't know how I really feel about making a game out of what's going on. I mean, I don't think you can get a real experience of being a Darfurian refugee by playing a game on the computer" (Vargas).
I completely agree. Such "games for change" may have the purpose to promote empathy for real-world events, but in reality, not many people have played, or are willing to play, them. One website that promotes Darfur is called "5 Fun Games with a Higher Purpose," which just goes to show that gamers mostly just want to have fun.
I think it's actually a little sick to use something as horrific as the Rwandan genocide for a game. One of the reasons it bother me is due to the fact that Games for Change is not just promoting games that promote empathy for current and past events. On the website, I found that they just came out with a game called Uplifted, with the tagline reading, "play and feel happy." Like most game companies, Games for Change is partly in it for the money. It's hard for me to trust the integrity of companies I haven't heard about, and that have top-notch websites which look expensive to maintain.
I like the idea of creating empathy for issues, but I disagree with Bogost that video games are the way to go about it; at least not until more people gain access to the internet. Yes, Darfuris or the Rwandans "deserve our empathy," but if we have to have fun at the expense of the beneficiaries of our empathy, then we may be going about this all wrong. Are we commercializing the horrific tragedies of people other than ourselves? Are such games respectful of the victims of these events, and have they truly helped?
Games are separate from the "reality" of the events; the best graphics and game play cannot change that. Sadly, such issues such as genocide do not "turn off" with the press of a close-window button. We need to make sure we're fully aware of these situations, not just gaining impressions of them that fade quickly after the game is quit.
Friday, March 28, 2014
#7 [3/28] (A Study of "The Life Blog")
The emotional, melodramatic, this-is-my-life blog. Let’s
call them Life Blogs.
We’ve all seen them. Most seem to be penned by underage
teens and young adults. They are surprisingly abundant on blogging sites like
Wordpress and Tumblr, whose user-base has a younger age range than sites like
Google’s Blogger and Google+.
An August 2011 survey estimated that 13% of U.S. adults
have joined Google+; it was projected to have 22% of U.S. adults in a year.
However, the age for joining was lowered from 18 to 13 (Jan. 2012), which may
account for the growing number of whiny life-documenting blogs seen there.
Tumblr, A microblogging platform
and social
networking website, is most popular with the teen and college-aged user
segments with half of Tumblr's visitor base being under the age of 25.
That’s a lot of teen angst.
But for today, I will be focusing on Wordpress, which has an audience with wide-ranging ages.
I’m not talking about blogs with thoughtful, significant,
and/or funny content about the details of a person’s individual life. Good
writing, especially, can give insight into the mundane aspects of everyday life
and cause reflection and revelation. What we’re dealing with here seems to be
an extension of Twitter, a blog dedicated to the trivial issues in someone’s
life, an online space meant for venting and whiny complaining.
One example of this type of blog, found on Wordpress, is
username Pandaclouds’ blog “I am dramatic.” It’s aptly named! One of
Pandaclouds’ posts is titled “That was weird.” and is a short exposition on her
(her profile pic is pink so I can only assume it’s a she) emotions during the
month of January. Sadly, not a single fellow blogger even liked this post.
Another example of a Wordpress-hosted Life Blog is
username AppointedMan (talk about narcissistic!) called “HarsH ReaLiTy.” One of
his posts is titled “3:47 AM…” and is a detailed account of insomnia and a
random dream he had, and its apparent meaning.
I’m not saying these blogs don’t have valuable content. In
fact, some of the articles are witty, useful, and creative. However, the
majority of these posts seem to catalog emotions, complaints, rants, and other
moody things.
AppointedMan obviously believes he’s appointed to share
his opinion on the world, and his life, with everyone. Clearly. Interestingly,
this guy has graduated college and is actually older than 30. Woah. I would’ve
never guessed.
Language shared by both blogs includes words such as “can’t”
and “guess” and other informal contractions. Much of it seems to be negatively connoted.
Most of the posts, if not all, are written in first person and heavily feature “I”,
“me,” and “my.” The tones can range from happy to depressed to moody to
over-contemplative, depending upon the author’s mood at the time of writing.
Most of these blogs use multimedia sparingly. Words are
often the choice method to communicate “feels” (emotions) in these posts.
However, some authors include gifs, photos, even handmade poems and art. Song
lyrics seem to be a favorite.
So, what does it take to have a Life Blog? The basic
elements:
·
author can be any age
o
must be deeply connected to emotions/inner
turmoil
o
must be able to communicate emotions (skillful
writing not required)
o
must complain at least once a week about
something
·
posts must include opinions/feelings
o
can included art/song
lyrics/poetry/pictures/videos to communicate this emotion
o
can included mundane details about life
o
can include sweeping philosophical theories about
life
o
can be about nothing substantial at all
As far as blogger feedback goes, comments must be
respectful of the author’s feelings. The author reserves the right to his/her
opinion, and may not like being addressed or told to “suck it up.” Mostly, they
just want to be heard.
And there you have my anthropological study of Life Blogs.
Note: Due to the rather negative review of these blogs, I
have not put up links. However, they can easily be found on Wordpress.com.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Links to my past comments on others' blogs
Blog 5
- https://laurelanddtc375.wordpress.com/2014/03/03/post-5-words/
- http://amm356375.wordpress.com/2014/03/03/375-blog-post-5-stock-option/
- http://textsandtechnologiessl.wordpress.com/2014/03/03/post-5/
- http://kyleennk.blog.com/2014/03/02/dtc-475-instructional-technologies/
Blog 4
- https://laurelanddtc375.wordpress.com/2014/02/19/post-4-game-design/
- http://amm356375.wordpress.com/2014/02/19/375-post-game-design-connected-to-mcluhan-concepts-stock/
Blog 3
Blog 2
- https://laurelanddtc375.wordpress.com/2014/02/03/blog-2-having-to-do-with-goodfellas/
- http://amm356375.wordpress.com/2014/02/03/375-blog-post-2-stock/
Blog 1
- https://laurelanddtc375.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/blog-1/
- http://paisleypeterson.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/dtc-375-blog-1/
Monday, March 10, 2014
#6: When I was your age...
When I was your age, I had a CD player. Not an I-pod, not an MP3 player, but a CD-ROM disk reader.
It was grey plastic, about as big as a small dinner plate. It had a place to put in the funky headphones right in the side, making it portable. You opened it up by pressing a button latch thing, until it resembled a flat grey clam. Then you slipped the CD in, being careful not to scratch the surfaces.
Oh, you don't know what a CD is?
Well, it's a flat round disk with a hole in the middle, like a flattened, shiny doughnut. One side is encrypted with music, which somehow plays when you put it in your car, computer, or CD player.
Usually CD albums come with a max of twenty songs; they have limited space. So when I had my CD player, it was just me and one album for as long as I wanted, until I decided to switch out the disk.
The CD player was important to me because it narrowed my focus. There wasn't a million and ten songs from a million and ten artists I didn't recognize, like on the smartphones and MP3 devices you see these days. Nope, my CD player allowed me to connect deeply with each album I listened to, wherever I was. I may have not had the myriad choices you all have today, but I enjoyed quality over quantity. I could listen to an album over and over again and never get sick of it, because that's all I'd known.
I'm not saying it was easier or better than what we have today, I just know you will never experience anything as simple and almost intimate as listening to one artist's entire album repeatedly. You all have so many choices, you could listen to one album these days; but why? There's no point when you can skip through artists with the press of a button.
It was grey plastic, about as big as a small dinner plate. It had a place to put in the funky headphones right in the side, making it portable. You opened it up by pressing a button latch thing, until it resembled a flat grey clam. Then you slipped the CD in, being careful not to scratch the surfaces.
Well, it's a flat round disk with a hole in the middle, like a flattened, shiny doughnut. One side is encrypted with music, which somehow plays when you put it in your car, computer, or CD player.
Usually CD albums come with a max of twenty songs; they have limited space. So when I had my CD player, it was just me and one album for as long as I wanted, until I decided to switch out the disk.
The CD player was important to me because it narrowed my focus. There wasn't a million and ten songs from a million and ten artists I didn't recognize, like on the smartphones and MP3 devices you see these days. Nope, my CD player allowed me to connect deeply with each album I listened to, wherever I was. I may have not had the myriad choices you all have today, but I enjoyed quality over quantity. I could listen to an album over and over again and never get sick of it, because that's all I'd known.
I'm not saying it was easier or better than what we have today, I just know you will never experience anything as simple and almost intimate as listening to one artist's entire album repeatedly. You all have so many choices, you could listen to one album these days; but why? There's no point when you can skip through artists with the press of a button.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
(#5) I Once Thought EBooks were for Lameos
I love the
feeling of book in my hands. I prefer softcover, because they tend be less
clunky and I can find them in smaller fonts and book sizes. Currently, I’m
reading a series of books by Tad Williams, which I thought were only in print.
I was sad when I couldn’t find the first book in this series at Half-Priced
Books almost two years ago. They had stocked the last three books, but who
starts a series by reading the second book?! So I literally and figuratively
put the series on a shelf until I could find the missing book.
On a whim, I
checked my Kindle app on my phone the other day. I couldn’t believe it when I found
the first book’s EBook edition! It was about the same cost as a printed book, a
price I was willing to pay.
My
experience with reading the book on my phone was actually very enjoyable. For
one thing, I could adjust all the settings for my Kindle app, including font
size, spacing, brightness, and even the font itself (which had a weird but
powerful effect on how the text appeared to me and how I read it). At first I
was hesitant about EBooks, being stubborn and set in my physical-book ways. But
then I realized—a book is a book, no matter what form. I care more about the
content than about the packaging it comes in.
Dennis Baron
states that “critics still attack the newest technologies of writing not simply
as deceptive, but also a impersonal, mechanical, intellectually destructive,
and socially disruptive (Baron 11). I used to be one of these people, not
really trusting EBooks, and certainly never liking them. Only after the ease
with which I found and read my long-searched-for book was I able to change to
my opinion. Sure, text on a screen will always seem slightly less personal then
printed words on touchable pages. There’s no passing-on an EBook to someone
else once you’re done with it, no real ownership of a physical thing. However,
I believe that true book-readers won’t care too much how their favorite stories
are packaged; what matters to us is the quality of writing and storytelling. Just because the story or message is on a screen doesn't mean we perceive it differently, or the story loses its value. Besides, like the pencil Baron refers to, I don't think printed books will be a technology that ever completely fades away.
 |
| For anyone who watches/reads Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series |
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