Author Archive
The first thing I notice looking back at all of my blog posts is that while they are all obviously about different games and subjects, I looked at video games from different perspectives in each post. Throughout the year, I feel like I noticed more subtle elements of games as time went on, in blogs and in general. Perhaps this was because of the nature of the games; there is more to take out of McDonald’s game and the presidential approval ratings game than there is in PacMan, just by the nature of the respective games. There is more to relate to in the in-depth games that made some kind of a political statement than there is in Flow (even though Flow kicked ass). I am glad that I can say, in retrospect, that I really didn’t bee-es through any of these posts. That would have been an easy trap to fall into, as they were things that we had all semester to do. I can honestly say that I put a fair amount of effort into thinking critically about each of the games after playing them.(hard return) Like my pal Zachary, I also tried to throw some humorous elements into my posts, so that they would be more enjoyable for people to read. I totally liked when I saw that people had commented on my posts, especially for the most recent fantasy baseball post. And not to be sexualist as Ali G would say, but I was especially glad to see that the two comments were made by girls! I have made it a mini-goal of mine this year to get as many of my female friends to understand fantasy sports as possible. Total respek to Ryan, as she clearly already had a handle on things. But I actually saw Eshani right after she had read my post, and she said, “I finally get it!” She said that her boyfriend always played fantasy football and she just never understood…but my blog helped her understand! I was so proud. I am pretty sure that my own girlfriend of almost two years still doesn’t quite get fantasy sports. (hard return) I definitely enjoyed having the opportunity to express my social and political views in these posts through a discussion of video games. That is one big idea that I am coming away from 353 with — there is a lot more that video games have to offer in the way of social and political messages than people tend to give them credit for. Just look at the McDonald’s game. A movie or book would not allow a viewer/reader to experience the behind the scenes elements of the McDonald’s corporation like that game did. I plan on showing that game to my Dad. Hmph.(hard return) In conclusion, I like blogging as a method of homework in a college course. It lets the students delve deep into which ever subjects we felt most comfortable with. It allowed us to be able to pick and choose what to write about in depth. Hopefully in the future, more classes will offer blogging as a form of homework as opposed to the standard “write three paragraphs about fhshjkhf.” Not to contradict myself, but as a suggestion, there should be a few more blog posts necessary, or at least set two or three different deadlines. I would hate to have to write nine more blogs with finals season approaching.
April 28th, 2008
I had thought of writing a post about fantasy baseball earlier in the year, but decided that it was not video-gamey enough. Now, at the end of the semester, considering some of the “games” we have played for class, I have no problem considering fantasy baseball a video game. For those of you who do not know, here is how it works. You and a group of nine or eleven friends (to make a total of ten or twelve teams) get together in a league and act as “managers” of teams. In a draft process like that for the NBA or NFL for rookies, you and the other managers take turns selecting players in the league, with the best players going off the board first. It is possible to have a team with a player or two from several different teams. Then, once you have your team complete, you manage it by trading players, tweaking your lineup, and trying to make your compilation of players better than those of the other managers in the league. The most important aspect of fantasy sports: The real-life statistics of the players on your team are reflected in the fantasy league. Therefore, whichever manager has the players who have performed the best throughout the year will have the best chance to win the league.
Fantasy baseball used to be something that was done with pen and paper; each morning, managers would tediously record calculate their players’ stats to see how they did. But now, with the wonders of the Internet, it is all done for you. No longer do managers from each league have to get together in person to draft their teams. Just as my friends and I did it for the league I am in now, we were able to do the draft from different places all around the country. I can leave a trade proposal for another manager to accept, reject, or counter, and pick up and drop players who are free agents, or, have not been claimed by any of the teams in our league.
The shift of fantasy sports from a manual activity to one done through the Internet has increased its popularity exponentially. The majority of my friends who are fans of sports have fantasy football or baseball teams, sometimes both. Though it may not sound like anything special to those who have a limited interest in sports, the idea of drafting, managing, and trading players is a ridiculous amount of fun. In a world with sports talk radio, message boards, and sports blogs, sports enthusiasts all over the country who are dying to run their favorite team have the chance, with Internet fantasy sports, to run their very own team! Is it a video game? I am not sure. It is certainly close. Fantasy sports are a terrific pastime, and one of my favorite electronic activities.
One last thing to bring up about fantasy sports is the issue of rooting for/against certain real-life players to do well or poorly. Here is an example of what I am talking about. I am a Mets fan. If my opponent in fantasy baseball for that week has David Wright (cornerstone of the Mets franchise) on his team, I am forced to have mixed interests in the real-life game! With whom do my allegiances lie? My real team, the Mets, or my fantasy team? Personally, I will always root for David Wright in real life, even if it will affect my fantasy team negatively. But not everybody feels the same way all the time, and it is a matter of much controversy in the sports world today.
April 23rd, 2008
I have been writing this Inquiry 3 bit by bit, and it has made me think about our discussion in class the other day. The more I look at the game and think about it and what Lebonne had to say about it, the more I want to clarify/change my mind about part of what I was saying in class the other day. When we were talking about the idea of glorifying terrorists and school shooters and such, I was like, “bahh!” because I can’t stand the idea of justifying such senseless and unthinkable actions. I know nobody in the class was doing this. But to me, it is never quite clear where Lebonne stands with this. The last paragraph of his “statement” on the game’s site, he calls Harris and Klebold canaries in the mine. Does this mean that Ledonne thinks that the direction of Harris and Klebold is the direction that the country is heading as a whole?
(hard return)
Anyway, writing this paper has taken me a lot longer than I thought it would. And I have discovered that if Ledonne’s goal was to create discourse and make people think about the events and what really caused them, then he has succeeded with me. I have put so much thought over the past couple days into what could possibly drive high school kids to such action. The main point that I have discovered (which I am in the middle of trying to word as articulately and academically as possible in the paper as we speak) is that it is ridiculous to think that Marylin Manson or the game Doom should be looked at as primary reasons that the events occurred. I think the purpose of the realia in the game is to emphasize that things like isolation from peers, loud music, and shooting games were parts of their lives, but were in no way direct reasons that the shootings happened. I may not agree with Ledonne on much, but I concede that he has achieved his goal, at least in my case. His game has really made me think about the Columbine tragedy like never before.
March 31st, 2008
Beth, you just hit the nail right on the head. The beauty of this game is its simplicity. It is one thing to make a political argument about national defense tactics in the form of a lengthy and tedious article or blog, but it is something else altogether to put it in the form of a very easy to use video game. After playing for ten seconds, the point of the game is clear, and even a player who is not particularly politically savvy can understand its real-world implications. Some critics try to make the point that video games are just video games, and they cannot have any kind of great meaning or outside importance. I would instruct those people to check out this game. Now to get a little bit political. The main idea that this game made me think of was the idea of the ‘War on Terror.’ Think about that term for a second. War on Terror? That means war on a tactic, not an actual people or group. Sure, we are after al-Qaeda, we are after the Taliban, and I know who those people are. I know what it means on the news when we say we are going after those people in particular. But who are we fighting in Iraq? The line the Bush always uses is: “We’re over there fighting al-Qaeda and other extremists.” What? Who? What does that even mean? Doesn’t that, just like the term ‘War on Terror’ basically give you license to go in and do whatever you want to whomever you want, because it has a good label? Who could be against a War on Terror? Anyway, to get back to the game, Beth said it perfectly: “The message is clear: violence begets more violence, and bombarding Middle Eastern locations with missiles which disrupt their lives and cause the death of their loved ones only serves to inspire fanaticism and hatred.” The one thing you forgot to mention in this segment is the fact that we are over there in Islamic holy land. That is what makes young Middle Eastern men want to kill us. That was the original reason that bin Laden came to hate the U.S., because we had troops in Saudi Arabia. So the way to fix this kind of problem is to put more troops in the area?!?! Right. This is why we absolutely cannot afford another four years of inept, naive rule in this country. The negative consequences of such asinine policies and decisions may very well be felt for generations, not only in the form of more terror attacks, but problems with international relations and the economy.
March 25th, 2008
I don’t really get it with these games. They are definitely interesting, but I think that I am just spoiled with the depth of modern games. Interactive Fiction games like The Baron cannot understand enough commands for the game to suspend my disbelief. That is essential for me to enjoy video games. The flow (as we have talked about before) cannot be broken up by numerous misunderstandings, like when the computer does not understand the words ‘approach’ or ‘take out.’ And plus, I have all this armor…why don’t I have a sword that I can take out and fight the dragon with?
Let’s start out with a positive about The Baron. Firstly, the computer’s text is very descriptive and paints a very accurate picture for the player’s mind. This is not only helpful, but necessary in an Interactive Fiction game. It is from these subtleties within descriptions that more experienced players than myself can gather information to make a smart next move. I did not get very far in the game, but my favorite part was when the dragon breathes fire and it engulfs you. In terms of how the game describes the ‘disturbing’ features of the scene, it does a good job. I could picture the burnt, blackened bones and skulls, and especially the angry, fire-breathing dragon.
But on the downside, I really just did not enjoy playing this game, even as compared to the other Interactive Fiction games. I liked Zork and even Galatea better. Yes, Victor Goijsdfoajfsorjapsofjgsp does a good job of describing what is going on, but I just don’t find these games engaging enough.
March 6th, 2008
I chose the game Rampage for this project. I would like for my map to be an actual building, like the ones in Rampage, with the steps and processes of the game mapped out towards the bottom. They would progress towards the bottom because the goal of the player in this game is to demolish the buildings and have them crumble to the ground. There are many elements of the game aside from just destructing the buildings. Helicopters try to shoot you down, and people try to hinder your progress up the building. You can eat food out of people’s buildings.
The one potential problem with this is that I do not want the building in the map to be too close to the buildings in the game itself. That would be lame. I will do my best to make it as mappy as possible.
February 26th, 2008
